In a new interview with Primordial Radio, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2022 album "Scoring The End Of The World". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We've been working on it all last year. We did the U.S. headlining version of [the 'Touring The End Of The World'] tour in the fall of '23. And that ended and I kind of just went right into working on the record and worked on it last year and going into this year. I'm taking my time. We're taking our time with it.

"I don't want to feel like for any reason I felt like I had to push the record out, and I have felt like that," he explained. "I've talked about it a few times where there's that immense pressure to get more stuff out more consistently to fans or they're gonna kind of leave you behind and forget about you. But I think I've since kind of just moved on from that and feel the most secure in that, just take your time and do the record that you wanna do, and at the end of the day, you'll at least be happy with it no matter what happens. And that's where I'm at. So we're gonna go back in after this tour and work for a couple months and see what happens. And when it's out, it's out. But it is definitely being worked on. I would say the bulk of it is good to go, and I'm very excited about it."

Regarding the musical direction of the new MOTIONLESS IN WHITE material, Chris said: "The last like three or four records, I feel, have all done a good job of dividing the time between the heavy, the emotional, the kind of artsy experimental tracks. We really just try to keep it from being boring and have the record tell a story through these different soundscapes and different atmospheres of heavy to not so heavy and everywhere in between. And I would say that's just where we're locked in at. There's no desire within us to do an album that's just all singing and abandon the screaming and some of the heavy stuff, because we need the heavy stuff. That's in us that has to be written to feel like MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. But in the same token, we have to get the songs that feel like the more emotionally vulnerable songs, because that's also what we need to do. And we just write what we feel, and that's kind of just that spectrum of heavy to light and everywhere in between. I guess it's pretty simple. So I would say it'll be the same as the other records where it's just a good mixture of it all."

Two months ago, Chris told James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound about a possible timeline for the new MOTIONLESS IN WHITE album: "It's still a slow process. I don't have any expected release date. It's truly just we're going to work on it until we feel like we're happy with it. And it's that simple and that plain and black and white. And you'll get it when you get it. That's the narrative I'm sticking to, and that's what's best for everybody."

Chris went on to say that it takes time for him and his bandmates to create something that they can fully stand behind.

"I do feel like I'm seeing an interesting shift now where it felt like back then bands were putting out records every four years," he said. "It's just dependent. I feel like some albums were just back to back to back, and the bands were just on fire. And I think I loved that — not so much because I was impatient and couldn't wait for new music from these bands I love, but simply just because when this band is awesome and then they give you immediately more amazing material, you're just so energized by that. And I liked that, but I also never minded — it never bothered me that I waited three years for another album from a band, as long as it was cool. And now I feel like because of the attention span, because of the oversaturation of content and music, there's so many bands now that fans can migrate to and sort of move on from you if you're not satisfying the need for new stuff, bands are kind of forced to put stuff out in a hurry. But I have noticed that a lot of the bands that have kind of achieved a status that I feel like, I guess, grants them the ability to wait longer and fans aren't gonna go anywhere, they're taking it. And then, as a result, the albums are better because they spent the time on it. It's, like, what do you want? Do you want something that's half of what it could have been quicker or do you want the full realization of what the band wanted for the record in three years or four years? And then you get that. And I think every single fan is gonna have a different answer, and there's no right or wrong. You just can't answer it. And, again, you have to default back to what is best for the band itself and your mental state while making it."

Chris added: "There's no other way to say that other than there's so much more to have to consider and craft and build in addition to the music. And those are types of things that I feel like are expectations of the fans of bands like that. And that's a personal expectation. So all that lines up and you wanna make sure that you're putting out this complete package that is just bulletproof on the look, the sound, the imagery — every component of what makes that album cycle what it is. So, yeah, we're still in the process of that, and it will get done. [We're] just gonna figure it out."

With over one billion cumulative streams and views to date, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has notched four consecutive Top 5 debuts on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart and Top Rock Albums chart with "Reincarnate" (2014),"Graveyard Shift" (2017),"Disguise" (2019) and their latest effort, "Scoring The End Of The World" (2022),the latter debuting at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, marking the band's second biggest sales week ever. "Scoring The End Of The World" is highlighted by the singles "Masterpiece" which reached No. 1 at Active Rock radio, becoming the band's first chart-topper at the format, and "Werewolf", which reached Top 10 at Active Rock radio and an impressive one million music video views in just four days after its debut.

In September 2023, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE released "Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)", a special deluxe reissue of "Scoring The End Of The World", which saw the Cerulli-fronted outfit expanding on its acclaimed 2022 album with new four new bonus tracks, including "Hollow Points", "Fool's Gold", "Timebomb" (STEOTW Mix)" and "Porcelain: Ricky Motion Picture Collection".

"Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)" is available in multiple formats and on vinyl for the first time ever in several different color variants, including black, orange, hellfire, scorched earth, and electric purple, the latter of which comes with exclusive alternate cover artwork.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE is Chris Motionless (vocals),Ricky Olson (guitar),Ryan Sitkowski (guitar),Vinny Mauro (drums) and Justin Morrow (bass).

Ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones rejoined his former band onstage last night (Tuesday, April 8) at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, sharing the lead vocal duties with KILLSWITCH's longtime frontman Jesse Leach for a performance of the group's track "The Signal Fire". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

Jones left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2012 and battled manic depression and bipolar disorder before forming a new project, DEVIL YOU KNOW, with guitarist Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and drummer John Sankey (DEVOLVED). Along with bassist Ryan Wombacher (BLEEDING THROUGH),they recorded and toured behind two well-received albums, 2014's "The Beauty Of Destruction" and 2015's "They Bleed Red". In 2017, the band changed its name to LIGHT THE TORCH.

Jones made an appearance on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's 2019 album "Atonement", contributing guest vocals to the aforementioned song "The Signal Fire".

Jones discussed his previous mental health issues in a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer. He said: "For a lot of the time during the whole manic depression thing, I didn't realize how bad I was. I thought the high levels of anxiety I was experiencing was just my lot in life, I didn't realize that there was help on hand for me to be able to deal with that. I thought that I was just meant to feel really nervous around large crowds. Now it's like being a kid again, because I can deal with it, so I've got my passion back and it's great."

Asked what made him get back into music after leaving KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, Howard told Heavy New York: "Honestly, I think it was because I was just kind of tired of doing nothing and I don't do much else other than music. I felt like I needed to venture out because I was basically agoraphobic for three years. It's kind of well known. I went off the grid. I didn't have a cell phone for three years — I was gone. It felt, like, 'Okay, maybe I should dip my toe in. I don't have to do it full time. I don't have to do what I don't want to do.' That's all I was thinking. I started moving, I started doing things. It was definitely a struggle, especially for the first few years. I was, like, 'What am I doing?' There's been few things in my life that has been consistent other than music. I just did it. It just took some time, then all of the sudden, the spark showed up. I fell back in love with what I was doing. I really can't explain it. It just sort of happened."

Leach appeared on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the group. Jones took over on vocals for "The End Of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 13 years ago and being replaced by a returning Leach.

In 2012, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio told Boston Globe that the band's split with Jones was necessitated by the singer's struggle with personal issues, including diabetes that had gone untreated for several years. "It became very apparent we had to move on without him," D'Antonio said. "Howard didn't quit."

Jones and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz have spent the past couple of years working on the debut album from their collaborative project BURN ETERNAL. The LP is tentatively expected later this year.

LINKIN PARK bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and new vocalist Emily Armstrong recently discussed the band's journey, new music and evolving dynamics in an interview with Justin Scott and Spiegel on the 98 Rock radio station. Regarding how she ended up joining LINKIN PARK as the replacement for the late Chester Bennington, Emily said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It kind of started back in 2019. I thought it was just writing with Mike [Shinoda, LINKIN PARK co-vocalist and main producer], which it was — it wasn't something that was a preconceived idea of what they were gonna do next. But it wasn't until I came back in 2022, I believe — I don't know — '23, somewhere in there. But I just basically just kept showing up and they just had to deal with it and be, like, 'Okay, I guess she thinks she's proved herself enough.'"

Farrell chimed in: "From our side, Mike, Joe [Hahn, LINKIN PARK DJ/visual director] and I got together and were just kind of saying, 'Let's be intentional about spending some time together. Let's talk. Let's see if we write anything we like, but let's not put any labels on what it is or what we're doing. Then also let's just start getting together with other people, whether it be other songwriters, other vocalists, other instrumentalists, and let's just see what happens.'

"I'm the type of person that I can really paralyze myself thinking that I need to have the whole plan mapped out before I start," he explained. "And this was one where, when I looked at it, I was, like, if I have to figure out what the band looks like — do we play catalog songs when we play live? Do we even play live anymore? Are we releasing new music? Is it an album? Is it a single? — all these things? At a certain point, I kind of just had to tell myself, like, 'I don't need to figure out any of that on the front end. Let's just see what happens, be in the moment, see if we like it.' We might get together and start writing and just be, like, 'This is all just horseshit.' And then it's, like, none of that needs to be planned. At that point, it would almost be freeing because you're, like, 'Okay, good. We tried it and this does not work.' You can kind of shoot yourself down before you even start. With this, it was, like, 'I love these guys. I love this band. I love the relationships we have. I love our fans. I love all of that stuff. So let's just see what happens.' And then in that process, Emily was kind of alluding to it, but very early on it was, like, 'Let's get Emily in the room. She's an awesome vocalist. Let's see what that's like.' And then [new LINKIN PARK drummer] Colin [Brittain]. Mike had worked with Colin on some other projects and things. It was, like, 'Let's get together with Colin as a writer and just see what we write together.' And it wasn't, like, 'Let's be a band.' But in the process of years, it was, like, 'These two are awesome. This vibe that we have all together is great. We love the feel of what this is. Let's keep adding more and more time and energy into that.' And it gradually got to sitting here with you guys."

Asked if the LINKIN PARK members had any songs "ready to go" before starting the sessions with various singers, including Emily, Dave said: "We had started writing. Our writing process is pretty open generally, and there isn't like a start-stop put on anything. We're always doing a version of writing. But when Mike and Joe and myself kind of first got back together and were saying, 'Let's even see what we can do,' that process took a while and we gradually were adding people in and working with writers and vocalists and instrumentalists and whatever. But in that process, yeah, gradually just Emily and Colin were the fit. They were the ones that — it just jelled. It's hard to talk about 'cause there isn't an easy set of words to make that make sense, but it was just right.

"I was telling people very early on — they'd ask me about Emily. My inner circle or family would know obviously what I'm doing and what we're looking at and my description of Emily was that she is the absolute destroyer vocally," he explained. "[She] can do all the things and can just do them in a way that seems so effortless and awesome. But even more importantly, Emily just fits with us. It felt like we had known each other forever when we first started getting together, and it was just easy and fluid, relationally, in that sense. So for us, that was one of the biggest things.

"I didn't want to keep doing music if it didn't still feel exciting and have an energy and a joy to it that I love about the band," Dave added. "If it didn't feel right, then — I don't know… It'd make more sense to be doing something else. But in the process of this, for me, I think where we all kind of came together on it was, like, 'This is the right feel.'"

LINKIN PARK announced its new lineup during a September 2024 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles showcasing Armstrong and Brittain.

Last month, LINKIN PARK released a new song, "Up From The Bottom". The track, which has already been streamed more than 10 million times on Spotify since its arrival, marks the band's first new music since the release of the "From Zero" comeback album last November.

"Up From the Bottom" will appear on a deluxe edition of "From Zero", due out May 16 via Warner.

"From Zero (Deluxe Edition)" 2CD is a limited pressing. It features a four-panel softpak packaging with 16-page booklet and showcases three new songs, five live tracks recorded around the world and all new, expanded packaging.

LINKIN PARK kicked off the 2025 leg of its "From Zero" world tour on January 31 at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico. The trek will resume on April 26 at Austin, Texas's Moody Center.

In late January, LINKIN PARK released an a cappella/vocals-only version of "From Zero", dubbed "From Zero - A Cappellas".

The original version of "From Zero" marked LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before Bennington's death. "From Zero" features Armstrong and Brittain, who have joined returning members Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, Farrell and Hahn in the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder is filling in for Delson at all LINKIN PARK concerts for the foreseeable future.

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

ICED EARTH's founding guitarist Jon Schaffer has given his first interview since being sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment. Schaffer later became one of about 1,500 people accused of crimes related to the riot who were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Speaking to the It Is Later Than You Think podcast of Cornerstone Church, a non-denominational Church in Trafalgar, Indiana, Schaffer stated about what started the buildup to his involvement in the events of January 6 in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In the famous interview that I did [at a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C.] that they showed everywhere, I said, this isn't about President Trump. I mean, I believe that he's a good man who loves his country. But the American people are worked up because we're sick of the tyranny. And he happens to be the figurehead against that. But for me, I would've been just as pissed off if they stole the election from the Democrats, because that means that's the end of our republic, which actually has been hijacked for a very long time… I'm just anti-tyranny. I want people to be free. I want people to be able to be free to speak their minds, to worship, to live, to prosper. That's what we've been told our whole lives that's what our country stands for. We realize how much we've been lied to, but the fact is that's what it was founded upon. And they have demonized everything about our history to the point that if we don't bring common sense back into this discussion, it will be unrecognizable.

"Now I realize my behavior wasn't the greatest behavior and wasn't the smartest thing that I ever did, but it was entrapment — one hundred percent," Schaffer continued. "I mean, there's no doubt. The truth is gonna come out about this. The bad thing is I know better. But I let my emotions get a whole handle on me, and I think there was a force at work there, which I can't really put into words."

Reflecting on the events of January 6, 2021, Jon said: "It took me an hour to get to the Capitol because trying to walk quickly through masses of people like that was not an easy thing to do… It was only a mile, but, which normally I could knock that out pretty quick. But it was just packed. There were people all around you and moving at different paces and some very unfit people moving at really slow paces — I'd say a lot of those. But it was already chaos when I got there. And I just went kind of in a straight line."

Apparently suggesting that the people at the Capitol merely held a protest against an election they claimed was fraudulent and that the rioters were welcomed into the Capitol by police officers, Schaffer continued: "It was sort of like an energy flow going that way, but it was obviously a lot of chaos already going on. From what I heard, people started before Trump was even done speaking, heading over there, stirring up trouble. And so I don't know how many of those people would be agent provocateurs… But I was going in and went up the stairs… I didn't see any entrances being breached. I actually didn't see any of that. So I don't know where that took place. I just saw the same videos that other people have. But I was going up the stairs and I felt what sounded like concussion grenades going off. It was loud. It sounded like it was within the building. And then tear gas canisters were blowing up over the top of us and these girls were coming down the stairs. They were probably 50 feet apart, crying. They're destroying stuff up there. That's not what this is about. So I'm, like, getting more charged up, like, 'What's going on?' I didn't know what was going on. I did not expect that patriots were setting off flash bangs or concussion grenades or whatever I was hearing. It doesn't make sense because that's not what the movement's about. It's not a violent movement. You could see that. It's a very family-oriented movement. I would say that most of the people are just freedom loving, probably a lot of Christians and a lot of of good-hearted Americans… And so destroying property, that's not what we do. That's not our thing. So it became more and more alarming as I was getting higher up the stairs. And there were people on the scaffolds and a lot of stuff was being said and yelled and people were yelling and I saw guys coming down that had been sprayed, which is kind of a weird thing to see when you see it for the first time, because it takes a second for you realize, and then, of course, I found out. [Laughs] But they can't see. But they look normal when you're looking at 'em. But then you see that they can't see 'cause they've been tear gased or pepper sprayed or whatever, chemical irritant. And so I just went up. I don't even know if I had a model of the Capitol, if I could tell you where I was. But there were scaffolds right next to the stairway that was going up and there was a deck up there.. But it looks like it would be a place that maybe they do photographs or something. The doorway that I went in, there was no handles on the doorway. These were doors that I'm certain are very secure. I saw the police officer — he was masked up, but I still identified him; I recognized him — communicating. I saw him through the glass communicating. He was on the other side of the door. The door was not opened at this point, and he was looking up at the camera communicating, and I'm assuming that he was telling central command there to unlock those doors, because those doors, I can almost guarantee you, are magnetically sealed. I mean, it's the Capitol of the United States. You're not gonna be able to just take a hammer and break a window and reach around and grab… And there was no handles on the exterior anyway… I saw him do it… Or at least maybe they weren't mechanically open, but whatever the mechanism is, the magnetic mechanism. And so he opens the door and a few people come out, and just as the door was closing, there was another group of people that yelled, 'Hey, can we go in there?' And he said, 'Yeah, come on in.' They let 'em in. Then the door closed and some period of time later another group came rushing out, and that's when they said, 'The cops are afraid. They're beating an old man in there. Let's go.' And that's what I got caught up in was that last thing. And it wasn't too long after that I got in there that I saw the cop that was communicating to open the door just standing very calmly up in the stairs. 'Cause like you go through the hall and there's a ways down, there's a staircase up here. And he's, like, three or four steps up, just with his arms crossed, looking at everything. And then the police officers are backpedaling because we're coming in. And then I caught off to the side — which, hell, at this point could be crisis actors for all I know. I don't know. It was just pandemonium. I start yelling at 'em. The police, when it looked like to me like an old biker vet was getting hit with a baton by the one that was on the far end on the right, and I started yelling at him and yelling about them not keeping their oaths and 'Congress is full of criminals.' 'What are you doing?' Whatever. Not nice things, I'm sure, I was saying. But then I got sprayed."

Going on to say that January 6 was simply a day of protesting and not a real insurrection, Jon said: "I mean, you're talking about the most armed citizenry on the face of the planet. Somehow all those insurrectionists forgot their ARs [firearms] at home and their handguns and everything. It's almost like that was never the intention."

Schaffer went on to describe in detail how he came to embrace Christianity as a result of his ordeal. "The spiritual journey, I think I've kind of been on it for a while, but let's say it came into focus by going through this," he explained. "I did start reading the Bible, but I wasn't really there… Like I've said, it was the beginning. Actually, it wasn't the beginning, but this has been a slow process 'cause I'm a very bullheaded individual… That's when my faith journey started. Being in solitary, lots of thinking, realizing the power and the evil that you're up against and dealing with those people.

"You would've thought it was hard enough being in there that was the 'come to Jesus' moment," he continued. "It was the step before the 'come to Jesus' moment. It was one of the steps before. And it was really when I realized how outta whack I was when I had the falling out with my daughter, and that was terrible and ugly. And I found a church — well, horribly enough, it was the day after Christmas that I found a church that was in the area that I was living at in Florida. And I went there for a few times and it just started to feel a little bit like religion. And then I went to another one in the area within a 10-minute, 15-minute drive. Also felt a little bit like religion. And then [my friend] invited me to his church, which was an hour and a half away. But I just fell in love with the place. It was Lakeview Church in Tarpon Springs. And so I would go there, stay at [my friend's house] Saturday night, get up and go to church. We'd do it maybe once or twice a month. Most of the time it was streaming, 'cause that was a long, long trip. And sometimes I would go over there just for the service — leave really early in the morning, get there and drive back — but it's a lot of time in the car. And I had asked — his name's Pastor Tim Miller — I asked him to baptize me. And we did that at his house, in his pool. And it still wasn't all the way there. I was on my way there."

Asked what made him want to get baptized and whether it was a public display for him to show that the old Jon Schaffer is dead and that the new Jon Schaffer is out there, Jon said: "Just that. I know that it doesn't guarantee salvation or something like that. That's not the point. It was a more of that I had no choice when I was a baby, and this was a choice that I wanted to make. That's all, really. There's nothing more to it. And so I did. And then I moved back to Indiana and found you wonderful people [at Cornerstone Church] and realized how much we have in common. And I don't know. It's just amazing the way God works. And so I think the next level after me studying God's word, going to Lakeview Church — I still watch Lakeview Church services on Sunday nights when I get home from work. Because I learn, and I like to learn. The next step was when I forgave my parents. That was a big step. It was a huge one. 'Cause I didn't realize it. It was just one of those things — the Holy Spirit told me, revealed it to me somehow. Like, 'Dude, you can't not forgive your parents.' .. And it's still a journey. I think it's always gonna be a struggle just because the human aspect of it."

Schaffer also clarified one of the things he acknowledged in his plea agreement — that he is a founding lifetime member of the Oath Keepers, a large but loosely organized collection of individuals, some of whom are associated with militias.

"There's the whole fake story of the Oath Keepers thing," Jon said. "I mean, yes, I signed up to be a supporter of Oath Keepers when it first started, and I don't even remember what year that was. I'd say it was like [200]9, [20]10, [20]11. I don't know when they started, but it was right at the beginning, I saw an interview with [Oath Keepers founder] Stewart [Rhodes] and I was just, like, 'Yeah.' I mean, who wouldn't want elected officials and first responders in military to take their oath seriously? Why is that a bad thing? So, yeah, I sent whatever the money was — I don't even remember the cost; it was eight or nine hundred bucks — and you get the ultimate swag and the lifetime membership and whatever. And I guess technically I am [a founding member] because I sent them money and I was probably one of the first, 'cause I was super excited when I heard about it, 'cause I realized even at that time, like, we're in serious trouble. I had been awake for a while. So, anyway, they created the whole narrative. I didn't have any information on Oath Keepers, and I'm not even sure that those guys broke any laws. The only person I identified was the cop that opened the door."

He later added: "The Oath Keepers thing, that was a narrative that they created to try to get others to break, as if I had some kind of information. I mean, dude, I am a touring heavy metal guy. I'm not the founder leader of a militia. And I'm not even sure that they did anything wrong. I don't know. I didn't see any violence. I saw the mainstream media saying, 'They walked up the stairs in a military stack formation.' I'm looking at the footage. It looks kind of like they're making their way up the stairs. But that was the narrative, and I couldn't say anything. I was threatened to make any public statement — threatened. 'It's gonna go very bad for you at sentencing if you say anything.' 'Cause they knew they were creating a false narrative."

Schaffer expressed his sympathy for other people who were charged and in many cases imprisoned for crimes committed during the January 6, 2021 riot, a failed attempt to stop the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

"I think the J6ers, besides our president, have gone through possibly the worst political persecution, probably the worst political persecution in the history of the country," Jon said. "And the damage that's done, some of it's never gonna be repaired. And it doesn't matter if we win a lawsuit against the federal government for all the abuses of our rights. I mean, that's money, man. That's not gonna get back. You're not gonna get your reputation back. Some people died, some people killed themselves, man, because of the pressure… It is just horrible what went on. The stories and the truth is gonna come out. I expect there's gonna be a lot of books. But I think many of the people that were in there were Christians anyway. And in fact, I know that — at least on my cell block there were. That also helped me come around to it because there was a lot of love there amongst us. It was a relief to me after being in the hellholes that I was at to be — if I'm gonna be locked up, these are the guys I wanna be locked up with. But I just hope that as bad as it is that all of all of us are gonna be able to find the peace and strength in Christ. That's where it's at. It's the only place you're gonna get it. It's the only way you're gonna get any peace. There is no medication that's gonna help this. Money's not gonna help it. Only Jesus can help this."

Regarding the fact that Trump in January pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — including Schaffer — in a show of solidarity with supporters who stormed the seat of American power in his name, Jon said: "The president kept his word. I think he's the only politician in my lifetime that does what he says he is gonna do. Do I agree with him on every single thing? Nope. Will I agree with everybody on every single thing? Nope. But he's a man of honor. That's for sure. You can say a lot of things about him… But I think it's important for the healing of the country because… Obviously, many people are brainwashed by the narrative. People think I was a rat against the Oath Keepers, like I had some kind of information. I had no information about what those guys were doing. That's in my little bubble. Half of the country believes that people were there for a violent insurrection, because that's been repeated over and over and over by the fake news and the mocking bird media.

"We have got to have some serious truths laid out to the American people, whatever that's gonna end up looking like," Jon continued. "I think it's coming. And there's gonna be those that are so locked and under mind control that they're not gonna be able to handle it or won't accept it or whatever. But there's a horrible evil, and it doesn't have anything to do with the political party. There's evil in both parties in this country and everywhere. And so maybe some big truth bombs are gonna come out that will shock the populace to a point that we can truly heal and come back together.

"I believe deeply in our Bill Of Rights and the Constitution and especially that glorious, beautiful Declaration Of Independence. I mean, that is the document for me," Schaffer added. "And I just think that we have to be shocked, we have to go through something that's gonna make people… We've gotta come together, man. We've gotta come together and get back to being Americans, and I think only the truth is gonna do that at this point. If things come out that I'm pretty convinced have been going on and becomes mainstream, then it'd be the thing that… I can't see how it couldn't bring us all together. I just can't see how it couldn't, because there's code in prison for people that hurt children. You know what I mean? That's a line in the sand. There's a very, very small group, group of people that think that's okay… Most of the people are not okay with that. So I just think that even some of those people, as brainwashed [as they are or] whatever, when the real crimes against the children get exposed, then it's gonna be a thing that, if anything, can unite us in terms of in the world and in politics. I see that as being a chance. But, anyway, it's God's plan that's rolling out and there's no stopping that."

Asked about his future plans when it comes to making music, Schaffer said:  "There's a few releases that I've got up my sleeve that we're gonna be working on. In terms of new material, I'm gonna give that a little bit of time. I need to know that there's clear artistic direction and not something that's manufactured by me. Because I've done enough records in my career to know some of 'em were wedged into schedules because tours on either side and you're kind of forced into a writing mode because of schedule pressures and other commitments. And sometimes working under pressure is really great, and other times you're going through the motions. And so whatever I would do going forward, I only wanna do something that's gonna be great. I don't want anything to be forced. And I want it to glorify God. And I think there's just so much, from a creative standpoint… There's actually been some biblical stuff throughout my catalog anyway, but from the eyes of a Christian now, like, man, there's so much inspiration there that hopefully would have a good effect on people. So I hope that comes back to me. I hope that it's, like, 'Okay, it's time. Activate.' But I don't know.

"It was just Friday this past week where I got a call that the civil case is dismissed, and really, when you consider the level of stress and pressure and fight or flight and the PTSD and all the things, the financial wrecking, all of the, the things, I think it's gonna take a little bit of time to come completely out of this," Jon explained. "Although I'm cool and calm with what's happening, and I do view it as a gift and a blessing, it's still, like, I'm a human living in the world. And I think it's just gonna take a little bit of time to feel free again. Even if it was all an illusion anyway. With my lifestyle, man, I felt like I was. But when I started waking up, I knew it was all B.S. I could [force creativity], but it's not gonna be great. I want it to be great… I know the rough spots in the catalog. I know how it works, and if that's my calling, to be creative again, then I'll do it. But I don't know. It's gotta be something. It'll move me. I'll know it, put it that way. It'll be unstoppable. That's the way it was before. So it's, like, 'Oh, here it comes. I can't stop it. It's going.'. But we'll see. Yeah, it's not my timeline. I've surrendered that."

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department later urged the judge to show leniency during his sentencing. Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

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

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

Founding vocalist for the metal band BUTCHER BABIES, comic book author, artist, novelist, and the holder of multiple degrees in mortuary science and thanatology, singer/musician Carla Harvey has released "Sick Ones", the first single from her new project THE VIOLENT HOUR, via Megaforce Records. The new track, available today, was co-written by Harvey and her fiancé, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, and features MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5.

"'Sick Ones' is a rock 'n' roll anthem about cutting the toxic people out of your life," said Harvey. "It's a call of freedom, a fist-to-the-face to anyone who has tried to hold you down, hold you back or dim your light. It was written at a vulnerable time in my life when I was forced to end relationships I thought would last forever.

"When choosing a theme for this song," Harvey added, "I thought about a phrase I had scrawled across a journal from 1999: 'Cut The Sick Ones Loose.' Those words became my mantra over the last couple years and felt perfect to chant over Charlie's guitar riffs. 'Sick Ones' also features an absolutely shredding guitar solo by John 5 that brings this thrasher to a whole different level."

"'Sick Ones' has a modernized NWOBHM (New wave of British heavy metal) vibe to it," said Benante. "The riff is very catchy and stays with you like a good riff should. 'Sick Ones' is just the tip of the iceberg for this project. Many of the songs we crafted for THE VIOLENT HOUR are unlike anything Carla has ever done as a vocalist, reflecting different moods and a new beginning. The music flowed out of me because I had this motivation, this drive...it was unstoppable."

Harvey is cut from a very unique cloth. She loves to be challenged and is of the opinion that fear is a great motivator in life, that when you throw yourself into what it is that you're most afraid of, when you're uncomfortable, you feel alive and are the most creative. When she decided to exit BUTCHER BABIES after 15 years, it indeed felt scary. But she definitely grew from the experience. "Since I was a kid," she said, "I've questioned everything. I listened more than I spoke to take in the world around me, and I tried to make art out of the discord."

THE VIOLENT HOUR's first music video was directed by Vicente Cordero/Industrial Films and is due out April 25.

Carla was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan — a tough place for her to grow up in as she is bi-racial, and Detroit was a racially divided city during that period. While her preference was always to be at home creating art and music, she held a variety of "day jobs" from a "perfume counter girl "at Detroit's F&M, sold clothes at RAVE in the local mall, and worked at a gas station, while playing in local bands at night, all to save up enough money to move to Los Angeles to follow her dreams. She did just that; at twenty she put all her belongings in her car and navigated from Detroit to Hollywood with a paper map. Throughout her time in Los Angeles, she worked as an actress for multiple TV shows, including "Rules Of Engagement", and played in various local bands trying to find her sound. While art and music were always her primary focus, she always got straight As in school, and craved education (especially science),Carla found mortuary college and was named valedictorian in her bachelor of mortuary science program. She worked as a funeral director and embalmer, eventually founding her own grief counseling service. In addition to her music career, Carla is a grief specialist for the innovative death care company Parting Stone that transforms cremated remains into environmentally friendly stones that the departed's family can hold, treasure and honor. She's also a passionate collector of memorabilia, from the Incredible Hulk to Elvira to vintage Barbie Dolls, and more. She still has her drink tickets from her first time at Hollywood's Rainbow Bar & Grill in the late '90s, a laminate and poker chip with Lemmy's face on it from his last birthday party, and giant KISS dolls. Carla finds authenticity and rawness intoxicating: her favorite artist is Robert Williams, actress is Juliette Lewis, and Charles Bukowski, who wrote "Ham On Rye", is her favorite author. She contends that no matter what may lay ahead for her, she's always considered herself "just a Midwest blue-collar kid with big dreams."

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

In a new interview with Forrest of the Boise, Idaho radio station 96.9 The Eagle, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett spoke about the importance of staying true to the band's identity and not chasing musical trends, especially at a time when rock music is struggling to find a voice in a world that has taken hip-hop fully to its heart. Referencing the fact that POISON plans to return to the road in 2026 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, 1986's "Look What The Cat Dragged In", Rikki said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's like I've always said, or recently I said, is that if I had my druthers, this would be the POISON 40th-anniversary tour, but also call it 'Poison Versus The World 40th Anniversary', because for 40 years we've been the underdog. And I think it honestly helps us. People love the root for the underdog, and it keeps it fresh in a lot of ways. And we've never been the industry darlings. And I kind of wear that with a badge of honor — honestly, I do. So, I have no desire to change course because of what's happening in music. What are we gonna be — suddenly sound like Olivia Rodrigo? [Laughs] Or Chappell Roan? [Laughs]

"So, sure, you pay attention to it," he continued. "You have your ear to the ground. You shouldn't be oblivious to what's going on, but if you have to completely sell out to change, everyone's gonna see that. It doesn't work.

"When the grunge thing happened, I watched a lot of our contemporaries, all of a sudden they changed the way they dressed, they changed the way they sounded, what they were saying in interviews and everything, and it's, like, 'Dude, nobody's buying it,'" Rikki added. "And it didn't work. It didn't work for any of them — not one… Evolving is one thing, but making a left from a right, that's a whole different thing."

Earlier this month, Rikki told The Music Universe about POISON's upcoming 40th-anniversary tour: "You know what? We're in talks right now about that. This week has been the week that we're starting to plan that possibility. I think we should do it.

"I could tour nine months outta the year every year," Rikki continued. "Touring I love. As long as I can see my family, I'm good. Especially the way POISON tours, it's great. It's a great experience. You get to know people out there, all these territories. You get to know the people that do security at the buildings, you get to know the people that supply the food and all this stuff, and then fans that you see every year. It's like this family reunion. And I used to hear older bands talk about that. I'm, like, 'What are you talking about?' Now I know. I get it. Even some of the hotels, you go, like, 'Hey, you were at the front desk the last year I was here.' 'Yeah, welcome back.' And so, yeah, it's pretty cool.

"When somebody said, one time they said, 'You go down the same steps you went up,' it's so true. You run into so many of the same people."

Last December, POISON frontman Bret Michaels told Ethan Dometrius about the band's 2026 touring plans: "So here's the deal. I go through '25. We're doing a bunch of these big festivals [with my solo band] … So I'm doing a bunch of those. And then 2026, C.C. [DeVille, POISON guitarist] and Bobby [Dall, POISON bassist] and Rikki, I'm here because of them, because of us having each other's back in the beginning, through the middle, through right now. And it'll be four years since we've toured, since 'The Stadium Tour', together, and we're just hoping to make this absolutely 40 awesome dates, and just putting every, as we do, putting every ounce of energy on that stage and just bringing an absolute party."

Regarding POISON's mindset when performing live, Bret said: "POISON just goes out there. And I say this, that stadium tour, I was so grateful to be on it. And I just hit that thrust and I couldn't stop… I told 'em, I said, 'I can't stop smiling right now. It's ridiculous.' And we just went out there, and we play real live music. We don't mess around. We just give it, thrills and frills and good times."

Speaking specifically about DeVille's skills as a guitar player, Bret said: "I kid you not, and I get it, POISON's had some good parties, some good times, some highs, lows — that's what you go through as a human being and as a musician — but C.C. and Bobby and Rikki, and I like to put myself in there, we grew up just playing real live music, and C.C. can play; that guy can play… And C.C. up there, his tribute [on 'The Stadium Tour'] to Eddie [Van Halen], who was a friend and he loved, I thought it was not only engaging but it was really sincere. He wasn't doing it just to throw it away; he really meant it."

Last October, Rockett was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if he and his POISON bandmates will embark on a headline tour in 2026 or if they will package with another band, possibly as part of another stadium tour. The 63-year-old Rikki, whose real name is Richard Allan Ream, said: "It's not figured out. We have agreed to do a minimum of 40 dates and maybe more. So whatever it works out to be, but it's for sure gonna be that many, at least. And I don't know. I mean, if there's somebody that we can package with that makes sense, great. If there isn't, then we'll headline. Whatever makes sense. I don't know who's going out yet that year, in '26, but if it makes sense to package with somebody, we'll do it. If it doesn't, we'll do it ourselves. It's like Bret said, if you can't do it right, do it anyway. But we'll be doing it right. [Laughs]"

In September 2024, Bret told Arizona Republic about POISON's plan to tour in 2026: "Yeah, that would be incredible. We've just got to work out all the moving parts. But all original members. There's so much planning goes behind that. When I'm out as Bret Michaels, it's simpler because I'm making all the end decisions. When you're in a band like POISON, it's a committee. You go in there, and you figure it out together. You make sure everyone's good. And hopefully, we can make that work in '26."

Asked if things were "good" between him and his POISON bandmates during the 2022 "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and Joan Jett, Bret said: "Absolutely. I want to be very clear. Other than an occasional throw down fistfight — I'm not making this up — we're like best friends. But there's no gray area. All of a sudden, we'll get in a fistfight. But the next day, we'll go out and play. We'll work it out like a band of brothers. 'The Stadium Tour' was amazing. We were having fun. We didn't get too many soundchecks. We just dealt with what we were given and were grateful to be there. DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY, they were amazing. They played great. But we just came out, and we knew we had one hour at 6 o'clock to go out there and give it everything we had. And it was one of the only stadium tours that from Live Nation's lips to everyone's ears, it was 98 to 100% filled when POISON went on."

Earlier in September, Michaels released a statement via social media in which he said that he was planning to "perform limited shows" in 2025 to focus primarily on his health, "starting with my diabetes which needs a tune-up, not to mention a little R&R." He added that 2026 "would be the perfect" time for a POISON 40th-anniversary tour, "with 40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs, and rock the world."

Bret's explanation came two days after Rockett revealed on social media that Michaels was no longer interested in touring with POISON in 2025.

On September 10, 2024, the POISON drummer took to his official Facebook page to write: "I keep getting asked multiple times a day, 'Why isn't POISON touring in 2025 now?' Super simple answer, Bret doesn't want to." The following day, Rikki clarified: "People, I never said that Bret is cancelling the 2025 tour. It didn't get booked. I said the reason POISON isn't touring in 2025 is because Bret doesn't want to. Doesn't matter what the reason for him is as far as what I said. I'm simply telling you why so that CC, Bobby or myself doesn't get blamed. It isn't dirt. It isn't a fight. Just the facts, ma'am. Surmise what you want from it. You will anyway!"
A year ago, Bret spoke about POISON's plans to regroup for more shows following the band's 2022 participation in "The Stadium Tour" alongside MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and Joan Jett. During a February 25, 2024 question-and-answer session aboard the Rock Legends Cruise XI, he said about his motivation for going back out on the road with POISON after spending most of his time touring with his solo band: "We've known each other since we've been in junior high school… I wouldn't be here without Bobby or Rikki or C.C. And then, as you go along, we've been together a long time — still great friends. If anyone saw 'The Stadium Tour', that was a party. And when you're out there with that DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY and Joan, you're talking A-plus awesomeness. And we just came out and brought it.

"For me, what it is, we do about a couple of years solo, and then we'll go out and do 35 or 40 dates with POISON," he explained. "And we set it up, we schedule it."

POISON's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022.

In 2018, POISON completed the "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour with CHEAP TRICK and POP EVIL.

POISON's last album of new material was 2002's "Hollyweird". An album of covers, "Poison'd", followed in 2007.

At this past weekend's HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, LAMB OF GOD frontman D. Randall "Randy" Blythe spoke to Horror Pop After Midnight about his second book, "Just Beyond The Light: Living With The War Inside My Head", which came out on February 18, 2025 via Hachette Books. It is the follow-up to his 2015 book "Dark Days: A Memoir", which focused on his ordeal in a Czech Republic prison and his subsequent acquittal.

Blythe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, this is my second book. The first book I wrote was called 'Dark Days', and that was about some legal troubles I had in the Czech Republic. And then the second book is more about my sort of struggle for perspective. And I looked at different people and experiences in my life that have altered my perspective for the better, including a fan I met who who died of leukemia. There's a chapter about my grandmother and then there's a chapter about traveling, surfing and stuff like that. So it's about perspective and it's done really well so far. So it just came out last month in February."

Asked if he has any other projects in the works, Blythe said: "LAMB OF GOD's always writing music, so we're working on that now. And we have a lot of festivals this summer and we're gonna go play BLACK SABBATH's last gig."

As for whether he has ever thought about writing a horror film, Randy said: "Yes, I have. I've thought about writing a horror film. More particularly, I've thought about writing a horror novel lately. And I think that's what I'm going to go for next.

Asked what type of horror he is going to tackle with his novel, Randy said: "Vampire stuff, of course. [Laughs]"

"Just Beyond The Light" was previously described by Blythe as a "tight, concise roadmap of how I have attempted to maintain what I believe to be a proper perspective in life, even during difficult times."

Last month, Blythe took part in several spoken-word and question-and-answer events to promote "Just Beyond The Light". The special "evening with" event included a spoken-word performance, an audience question-and-answer session, a copy of "Just Beyond The Light" and an opportunity to have the book signed.

In a recent interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", Blythe was asked if "Just Beyond The Light" picked up where his debut book, "Dark Days" left off or if it's a completely different book. Randy said: "It's a completely different book. It's a collection of — I wouldn't call 'em essays, but different chapters about, basically different people and experiences who have [changed] my perspective for the better.

"As I get older, I try not to make the same stupid mistakes again and again and again and again," he explained. "And surprise, surprise, if you look at people who — you look at them and you think, 'Man, this person has their life together,' or, 'They've acted in a manner that I find admirable,' if you pay attention to them and follow their example, you don't do stupid things yourself. I'm not saying that I don't still do stupid things, but I'm trying fully in my old age to learn from others more."

In 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with manslaughter for allegedly pushing a 19-year-old fan offstage at a show two year prior and causing injuries that led to the fan's death. Blythe spent 37 days in a Prague prison before ultimately being found not guilty in 2013.

Blythe's prison experience inspired two songs on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album "VII: Sturm Und Drang": "512", one of his three prison cell numbers, and "Still Echoes", written while he was in Pankrac Prison, a dilapidated facility built in the 1880s that had been used for executions by the Nazis during World War II. It also led him to write the aforementioned "Dark Days", in which he shared his whole side of the story publicly for the first time.

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Matthew Kiichi Heafy, mastermind and frontman of the metal band TRIVIUM (which is currently on a North American tour with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE),unleashed an original 30-minute soundtrack for the crowd-funded slasher comic series "True Believers", co-written by New York Times bestselling Bram Stoker Award winner Stephen Graham Jones ("The Only Good Indians", "My Heart Is A Chainsaw") and Denver Post bestselling writer Joshua Viola ("Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver", "It Came From The Multiplex"),with interior artwork by Ben Matsuya.

The blood-soaked series features official cameos from horror and pop culture icons like Jamie Lee Curtis, R.L. Stine, Devon Sawa, GWAR, Matthew Kiichi Heafy and more. "True Believers" goes beyond the page, offering fans unique merch like latex masks, prop weapons, and soundtrack editions on vinyl, CD, and cassette, creating an immersive horror experience like no other. The score is available for pre-order from FiXT in partnership with Bit Bot Media, the new multi-media company from Klayton and Josh Viola. The full soundtrack will be released on April 24, 2025.

This beast of a score slams together Heafy's skull-crushing guitar riffs and pummeling intensity with spine-chilling, synth-drenched vibes that scream John Carpenter's horror legacy, where "Halloween" meets a mosh pit. This isn't just a soundtrack, it's a sonic bloodbath that proves Heafy's a genre-smashing titan, fusing metal's raw fury with the twisted pulse of graphic storytelling. The soundtrack's centerpiece, "Too Far Gone", highlights Heafy's intense vocals and guitar prowess, paying homage to classic horror cinema

"Dance Of The Dead" is available now on all platforms from FiXT.

Watch the "Dance Of The Dead" visualizer below.

When away from tour life, Heafy has kept busy by working on other projects. , including his Japanese-inspired black metal side project IBARAKI and scoring soundtracks for video games.

Bit Bot is a dynamic entertainment company dedicated to producing and distributing high-quality media, from films and video games to graphic novels and beyond. It was founded by acclaimed musician Klayton (CELLDWELLER, SCANDROID),bestselling author Joshua Viola and music industry veteran James Rhodes.

FiXT is an independent, artist-owned record label serving a roster of diverse and forward-thinking artists from across the globe, founded in 2006 by Klayton (CELLDWELLER) and James Rhodes. FiXT's catalog of music has garnered over four billion online streams, reaching millions of listeners from over 175 countries each month.

In a new interview with Cutter's Rockcast, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about the band's songwriting and recording sessions with acclaimed Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, known for his previous collaborations with the likes of Sammy Hagar, Slash, GRETA VAN FLEET and RIVAL SONS. Asked if the band's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album was "done", Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. Literally we're getting mixes back as we speak."

Regarding the musical direction of the new HALESTORM material, Lzzy said: "It's really hard to describe this one. We did the record with Dave Cobb, which is a new producer for us. His ADHD mixed very well with our ADHD. But we didn't do it traditionally the way we always do these albums. First day, we walked in and I always have, like, whatever, a ton of half-written songs or full-written songs, or, 'Here's a riff or whatever' — you come in with your bag of tricks. And Dave Cobb says, 'Oh, we're not gonna do any of that.' And I'm, like, 'What do you mean?' He's, like, 'We're not doing demos. I hate demos. What we're gonna do is we're gonna start and we're gonna write, and as we're writing, we're recording at the same time.' So that's what we did. The first day we actually ended up writing our first single that'll be coming out soon. But, yeah, we started, like, 'Okay, who's got a line?' 'Oh, I have this that I thought of yesterday.' 'Cool. That'll work. Let's go.' Set up the drums, set up the guitar, here's the vocals. And so we would be recording while we were writing it, and then we would get done and we would move on to the next day. And so there are songs that don't even have a click track to them or a guide because we forgot."

Lzzy continued: "There's so many different elements of songs that we used to write when we were kids, but, obviously, as adults — a lot of that feeling. It was kind of an emotional rollercoaster. There's also, I think, some of the heaviest songs we've ever written on there, some really beautiful mid-tempos. A lot of personalities that I've always wanted to kind of put on a record, but I never really had the freedom or time to, because usually when we do a HALESTORM record, it's, like, 'Okay, we have to have all the songs picked. We have to have them rehearsed.' We go in and kind of do it like an assembly line. Like, 'Okay, you do the bass, do the drums, do the guitar, do the vocals, and we're good.' So there's no time to really like sit with things before they're, like, 'Okay, we've already decided we're gonna do that.' And so the freedom and kind of the nerve-racking kind of element of the fact that there wasn't really a plan ended up being the special sauce on this album, because we were just chasing everything that got us excited. And if it wasn't a 'hell yeah', it was a 'hell no'. So there's nothing on there on this album that we don't feel complete ownership over. There's nothing on this album that anybody forced us to do. There's nothing on this album that isn't part of our personalities."

Elaborating on why the new HALESTORM album feels like it is a return to the band's roots in a way, Lzzy said: "My bass player said it yesterday. He's, like, 'It's kind of like this long road to the beginning,' 'cause all of the guys at one point in time said this really feels like we're back in our parents' basement again and we're hustling and we're trying to figure out how to write songs on the radio. But we have all this knowledge now. So everything ended up coming together so incredibly well. But it was almost like the reverse, that the music was telling us what to do and not us trying to like shoehorn anything in.

"I'm telling you, man, — it is the most HALESTORM record we've ever done," Lzzy added. "It is the first time in the 20 years we've been on Atlantic Records that we have not felt lorded over in regarding to making records, because usually it's time crunch. Somebody's always there being, like, 'Oh, we can't do that.' 'Oh, you probably shouldn't say that.' 'What about this thing?' And that kind of thing. So it usually becomes like a project, like a group project.

"We didn't do it in Nashville — we did it in Savannah, Georgia, locked in a house in the middle of nowhere, next to a river," Hale revealed. "The guys and I would wake up like around 11:30 a.m., we would start recording and we wouldn't stop until 4:00 a.m. And then we would annoy the hell out of the engineer who was trying to sleep with playing on the proper keyboard and coming up with weird stuff. But we were unsupervised in the best way, and it was all about, who are we now? Who were we then? This is our story. For me, when I listen to this album, it's my personal opus — all the things that I've gone through in my life, both dark and not. There's more questions than answers. It's not just me giving myself a pep talk, like 'I'm the fire', 'I'm back from the dead.' It's like I'm dealing with a lot of my reality and a lot of the reality of the world in my own way. And then it's also our story as a band, and you can really hear it in the music and in the lyrics. So I'm so excited for people to hear it. And it's to the point where it's, like, I don't even really care if anybody likes it because all four of us are, like, 'This is our favorite album we've ever done.'"

Earlier this year, Lzzy and her HALESTORM bandmate Joe Hottinger completed "Halestorm's Lzzy And Joe: The Living Room Sessions" tour featuring the duo performing acoustic, stripped down versions of HALESTORM favorites and the music that inspired the band.

Cobb has shared in nine Grammy wins, including four for "Best Americana Album" and three for "Best Country Album". He's also been named "Producer Of The Year" by the Country Music Awards, the Americana Music Association (twice) and the Music Row Awards, and has been a Grammy nominee in the category.

Last summer HALESTORM and I PREVAIL completed a co-headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, the trek was also the catalyst and the creative spark for HALESTORM and I PREVAIL's collaborative track "Can U See Me In The Dark?", which was released last June.

"Back From The Dead" has tallied over 100 million streams worldwide. Rolling Stone called the title track "a biting but cathartic howler about overcoming all obstacles," and that song as well as "The Steeple" marked their fifth and sixth number ones at rock radio, respectively. Associated Press said the album "will definitely be in the running for best hard rock/metal album of the year." Their previous album, "Vicious", earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Uncomfortable", the band's fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name HALESTORM "Rock Artist Of The Decade" in 2019.

Fronted by Lzzy with drummer Arejay Hale, Hottinger and bass player Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

Swedish occult metallers GHOST have released the official music video for "Lachryma", the second single from their upcoming sixth album, "Skeletá". Check it out below.

Arriving in tandem with a lucid nightmare of a video featuring Papa V Perpetua's first full performance as newly anti-christened frontman, "Lachryma" is quite possibly the most emblematic example to date of GHOST's signature balance of dark lyrical foreboding and irresistible melodic uplift. Following closely on the hooves of first "Skeletá" single "Satanized" — dubbed a "catchy goth-rock epic" by Vice and hailed by Brooklyn Vegan as "the band's trademark occult rock sounding as equally eerie and triumphant as ever" — "Lachryma" supplants the demonic hooks of its predecessor with a purple haze of sonic flourishes that accomplish something even more insidious: a bonafide modern day rock anthem about weeping.

"Skeletá" will arrive on April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings.

GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge told Metal Hammer about "Lachryma": "It opens with more of a riffage. And I guess now comes off as somewhat of a 'typical' GHOST mash-up, where it's heavy on one end and met with a big, bombastic chorus. That's a song about self-deceit."

In a recent interview with Brent Porche of Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR radio station, Forge stated about "Skeletá": "It is a record that is introspective to a further degree, I guess, than especially the previous record [2022's 'Impera']. Just to be clear, I do believe that most artists usually create a new record based on where they were on the previous one — not as a counter-reaction, but usually there's something that you wish to achieve that you maybe didn't on the previous[ one] or you wanna change something or just fill your… At the end of the day, what you're doing is basically you're filling your repertoire with hopefully songs that you didn't have before. But thematically, I usually have some sort of thematic guideline when I write, first and foremost for myself in order to make sense of what the new record is so it's not too whimsically just about everything at the same time. But where 'Impera' was very much not only extroverted, but exteriorly reflecting on bigger society, social issues, and also, as the title implies, imperial structure and its ultimate demise, it didn't feel very productive to continue down that and make an 'Impera 2', talking about the continual demise of… I was more attracted to the idea of this this record that was more shining a light in inside and making a record about healing aspects of being essentially a human being in whatever structural design, because at the end of the day, most humans are surprisingly alike and display the same abilities to sentiments. And these sentiments are usually quite basic. And that idea was attractive to me — making a record that had a song about hope, had a song about hate, had a song about love, acceptance and all these things."

Last month, Forge told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about "Satanized", which came out in early March: "Yeah, it's a fun video and it's a upbeat, fun track. It's a song about being in love and how that can potentially be mistaken as demonic possession, but in reality this song has nothing to do with demonic possession."

Asked why he picked "Satanized" to be the first single from "Skeletá", Tobias said: "It's funny because as I was making the record, I didn't really put much like regard into trying to write… Of course, as a songwriter, you always try to write as good songs as possible, but there wasn't a whole lot of, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna write a hit song.' So I was more interested in sort of making a bunch of songs that I was gonna put cohesively into an understandable and entertaining album. And wise with experience over the years where I've delivered records to the people that work with me, and I'm, like, 'This is the song. This is the single. This is the hit.' And more than often, it ends up being, like, 'Oh, no. We believe in that song instead.' Okay. So finally I've sort of given up a little bit on that. So I just sort of gave the record and I'm, like, 'You guys choose what you wanna do.' And then I'm sort of holding my thumb a little, crossing my fingers, hoping that that maybe they they'll hear what I hear. And to my big surprise, they came back with 'Satanized'. And I was, like, 'I couldn't be happier. I have a really funny video idea for that one. I never thought that you would go for that one,' simply because it's like…"

He continued: "To me, I am a huge fan of '70s music. That's a very simplified way of saying that, but I'm a big fan of SCORPIONS from the '80s, but also the SCORPIONS from the '70s, which sometimes, I guess, a certain age group might not be aware that that SCORPIONS was a band in the '70s, and they released several records. Those records are a little bit different from the '80s records, when they sort of became a '80s hit rock band. And 'Satanized' definitely had more of a SCORPIONS '77 stomp that I really liked about the track. And somehow, therefore, I guess, I wasn't like putting that as a hit-single fan favorite, or a favorite that way. I thought I was gonna work my magic to make that song a big song, the same way that we did with 'Mary On A Cross' once upon a time, when that was regarded as this 'B' track that was just for fun. And I was, like, 'I think that that song is actually quite good. We're gonna play it every show we're playing.' And it took years before it became what that became."

Circling back to the fact that his record company seemingly had the same vision for "Satanized" as he did in terms of the song's potential, Forge said: "I was overwhelmed and overjoyed with the synchronicity, because I have done that mistake before where I have conceived a record, conceived a track, have an idea for a video for a track, and then the powers that be want another kickoff. And then that leads to a discussion, and then more than often, the reasoning as to why you go with another track might be perfectly understandable, but all of a sudden my idea is just not worth the piece of paper it's written on, because it simply doesn't work if it's not in a… Sometimes the crux of being conceptual, sometimes your ideas are simply too conceptual and too based on presentation and stars aligning. But in this case, we ended up with fluency, which was cool."

"Satanized" was described in a press release as "an avalanche of infectious hooks and harmonies is buoyed by a hypnotic shuffle, as the narrator succumbs to dark forces within and without, helplessly acknowledging their own blasphemy and heresy as it inexorably consumes them." By the time the song's opening lines "There is something inside me and they don't know if there is a cure" have moved from the inner monologue of the possessed to the ears of the hapless listener, it will already be too late: You will have been "Satanized".

The "Satanized" music video introduces the new character who will be fronting GHOST for its 2025 touring cycle: Papa V Perpetua.

GHOST's sixth psalm, "Skeletá", is its most unflinchingly introspective work to date. Where previous GHOST albums dealt largely with chronicling and/or observing outward facing subject matter — such as "Impera"'s meditations on the rise and fall of empires and its predecessor "Prequelle"'s evocations of the ravages of era-defining plagues — "Skeletá"'s lyrics render the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its 10 songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror. The end result is a singular collection of timeless, universal sentiments, all filtered through a prism of a uniquely personal point of view.

GHOST has also launched an interactive element dubbed The Satanizer, a first-of-its-kind music video experience for fans who wish to be "Satanized." Developed in partnership with Jason Zada (Elf Yourself),The Satanizer will morph its users into characters featured in the song's melodramatic video. With a quick upload of your photo, The Satanizer will send out a personalized music video clip featuring the participant, who can in turn share via social media that they too have been "Satanized."

"Skeletá" track listing:

01. Peacefield
02. Lachryma
03. Satanized
04. Guiding Lights
05. De Profundis Borealis
06. Cenotaph
07. Missilia Amori
08. Marks Of The Evil One
09. Umbra
10. Excelsis

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018's "Prequelle". In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the character who fronted the act for its "Impera" (2022) album phase.

As previously reported, GHOST will embark on a world tour in 2025. The European leg of the trek will kick off on April 15 in Manchester, United Kingdom and conclude on May 24 in Oslo, Norway. The North American leg of GHOST's 2025 tour will launch on July 9 in Baltimore, Maryland and wrap up on August 16 in Houston, Texas.

The physical home video of GHOST's worldwide Top 10 box office smash feature film debut "Rite Here Rite Now" was made available on December 6, 2024.

Italian technical death metal veterans, Gory Blister, have just released a blistering live tribute video of “Suicide Machine”, the iconic track by Death, originally featured on the groundbreaking Human album (1991).

Captured in a raw and powerful live setting, this performance pays homage to the legendary Chuck Schuldiner, honouring his legacy with crushing precision and signature intensity.

The video showcases the band’s deep respect for the pioneers of death metal while underlining their own technical prowess and aggressive stage presence.

This release follows the success of Reborn From Hatred, Gory Blister’s latest studio album, released in September 2023 via Eclipse Records, which was praised for its ferocity and refined songwriting.

Currently, the band is writing new material and will be heading into the studio after summer 2025 to record their upcoming full-length album.

Watch the live tribute video below:

Italian melodic death metal powerhouse Reality Grey have released a cover of Children Of Bodom’s iconic track “Hate Crew Deathroll”, to commemorate the birthday of the late Alexi Laiho. Children Of Bodom was one of the most influential bands for Reality Grey, especially during their early days, and this cover is nothing short of a tribute.

While they’ve developed their style over the years, they think fans will appreciate their return to a classic ‘old school/mid-2000s sound, which they still love.

They comment on the cover:

“This is our tribute to Alexi Laiho and Children of Bodom. ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ was a pivotal moment in our lives as musicians, as we had just started out as a band in 2003. We kept the song close to the original, which is something we usually won’t do; we like to add our own spin and mix things around. I think we succeeded in keeping the ‘fuck you’ attitude of the original song.”

Hailing from South Italy and formed in 2004, Reality Grey has established themselves as a formidable force in the Italian metal scene. The five-piece band is known for its distinctive blend of melody and brutality, combining complex yet catchy songwriting with fearsome death growls, clean vocals, razor-sharp guitar riffs, and fusion-oriented solos.

Global rock superstars GREEN DAY — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — reup, recharge, and reignite their Grammy Award-nominated fourteenth studio album, "Saviors", with a brand new "(Édition De Luxe)" out May 23 via Reprise Records. To herald its arrival, the band just unveiled a previously unreleased track titled "Smash It Like Belushi". Listen below.

GREEN DAY have expanded "Saviors" with seven new tracks in total, including acoustic versions of "Suzie Chapstick" and "Father To A Son". "Saviors (Édition De Luxe)" once again sees the band firing on all cylinders with its airtight punk rock rhythm, energetic groove, and stadium-ready hook.

Released in January 2024, "Saviors" found GREEN DAY teaming up again with Grammy Award-winning producer Rob Cavallo, who famously helmed "Dookie" and "American Idiot". The record bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, marking the band's ninth career entry in the Top 5 of the respective chart. "Saviors" notably garnered three 2025 Grammy Award nominations, including "Best Rock Album" and "Best Rock Performance" for "The American Dream Is Killing Me" and "Best Rock Song" for "Dilemma".

"Saviors" cemented GREEN DAY as the No. 1 most-played artist at both U.S. Alternative and U.S. Rock radio in 2024. "Saviors" also delivered three No. 1 Alternative hits — their biggest showing since "American Idiot" — and two No. 1 Rock hits. "Dilemma" became a juggernaut, ranking as the No. 3 most-played song at Alternative radio in 2024 and only falling off the charts due to recurrent rules. Meanwhile, their latest single "One Eyed Bastard" is quickly climbing the charts, searching for their fourth No. 1 hit from this record.

Upon release, "Saviors" received massive critical acclaim. The Sunday Times hailed "'Saviors' has fire in its belly and ice in its veins," while Kerrang! proclaimed that "GREEN DAY have lost none of their magic." Billboard declared, "'Saviors' marks a return to the thematic bent of 'American Idiot'," while The New York Times praised, "GREEN DAY flaunts its rock scholarship."

Last year, GREEN DAY dominated stadiums worldwide on their massive sold-out "Saviors" tour. They continued into the new year, having just conquered venues across Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Malaysia. For the first time ever, the band delivered thrilling back-to-back sets of "Dookie" and "American Idiot" from top to bottom in celebration of the former's 30th birthday and the latter's 20th birthday, as well as performed new cuts from "Saviors". The "Saviors" tour marked GREEN DAY's biggest tour of their illustrious 30-plus-year career.

Next up, GREEN DAY is set to take over the desert not once, but twice with a headlining set at Coachella this Saturday, April 12 and next Saturday, April 19. They're also set to light up the global festival circuit this year with headliner slots at Welcome To Rockville, BottleRock Napa Valley, Oceans Calling festival, as well as U.K.'s Download festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil's The Town, Ejekt festival in Athens, Greece, and more.

"Saviors (Édition De Luxe)" track listing:

01. The American Dream Is Killing Me
02. Look Ma, No Brains!
03. Bobby Sox
04. One Eyed Bastard
05. Dilemma
06. 1981
07. Goodnight Adeline
08. Coma City
09. Corvette Summer
10. Suzie Chapstick
11. Strange Days Are Here To Stay
12. Living In The '20s
13. Father To A Son
14. Saviors
15. Fancy Sauce
16. Smash It Like Belushi
17. Stay Young
18. Fuck Off
19. Ballyhoo
20. Suzie Chapstick (Acoustic)
21. Father To A Son (Acoustic)
22. Underdog*

Photo credit: Alice Baxley

Crown X Recordings, Canada's premier reissue label, has announces the release of "Helix 50 - The Best Of", a career-spanning collection celebrating five decades of one of Canada's most legendary hard rock bands. The compilation features an all-star re-recording of HELIX's multi-platinum hit "Rock You", alongside international chart-toppers from their major label debut "No Rest For The Wicked" (1983),through to "Vagabond Bones" (2009). An all-new track completes the circle. Using cutting-edge audio technology, every track has been expertly remastered for both CD and vinyl at Iguana Recording Studios in Toronto, Ontario for a new sonic experience.

HELIX's newest studio track "Stand Up" will be released on all streaming platforms Friday, May 18, preceded by a Friday, May 2 streaming and video release of the all-star recording of "Rock You", featuring founding vocalist Brian Vollmer and longtime bassist Daryl Gray, along with special guests Phil X (BON JOVI),Brent Fitz (Slash),and Todd Kerns (Slash). The track will be available for streaming in both stereo and Dolby Atmos.

"Helix 50 - The Best Of" is a definitive collection including the classic remastered hits "Heavy Metal Love", "Deep Cuts The Knife", "Wild In The Streets", "Running Wild In The 21st Century", "Good To The Last Drop (Radio Version)" and "Animal Inside". Additionally, unplugged versions of "(Make Me Do) Anything You Want", "The Kids Are All Shakin'" and "Dream On" have been remixed for a fresh, updated sound. Released in both CD and LP format, the CD version includes the bonus tracks "That Day Is Gonna Come", "Sleeping' In The Dog House Again", featuring Kim Mitchell, and "Look Me Straight In The Heart", a duet with Lee Aaron.

Fans will be able to order a Deluxe Signed Bundle exclusively through the band's webstore starting Wednesday, May 21. This edition is limited to 300 units and comes in a special gatefold format that holds both the CD and 180g marble color vinyl. This hand signed bundle also includes a record slip mat, a "Helix 50" guitar pick and a "Helix 50" can koozie.

Standard single CD and LP versions will be available in retail stores this July.

The band will celebrate the release of "Helix 50 - The Best Of" with a special unplugged show on Wednesday, May 21, as part of the McBowl Concert Series, an annual charity event in Mississauga, Ontario. Brian Vollmer and Daryl Gray will be joined by former HELIX guitarist Sean Kelly, who will also host a retrospective discussion on the band's history. Before the performance, Vollmer will launch "Helix 50 - The Best Of" via a livestream event, sharing stories from the band's iconic career.

"Helix 50 - The Best Of" track listing:

01. Rock You (2025)
02. Heavy Metal Love (2025 Remastered)
03. Deep Cuts The Knife (2025 Remastered)
04. Wild In The Streets (2025 Remastered)
05. Running Wild In The 21st Century (2025 Remastered)
06. (Make Me Do) Anything You Want (2025 Unplugged)
07. The Kids Are All Shakin' (2025 Unplugged)
08. Animal Inside (2025 Remastered)
09. Good To The Last Drop (Radio Version)
10. Stand Up (2025 Remastered)
11. Dream On (2025 Unplugged)

CD Bonus Tracks

12. That Day Is Gonna Come
13. Sleepin' in the Dog House Again
14. Look Me Straight In The Heart

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

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

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

Today, HELIX continues to tour and record, with "Helix 50 - The Best Of" serving as a monument to their enduring legacy.

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE and current THE DEAD DAISIES frontman John Corabi, who released two standalone solo singles in the last four years — 2021's "Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)" and 2022's "Your Own Worst Enemy" — has confirmed plans to put out more solo music in the not-too-distant future. "I just signed another deal to do another solo record," he told The Rockpit in a new interview. "And so [my manager and I] were talking about it and we were reminiscing and recapping. And it's funny — we were kind of going through this list of how many records I've done… I was just sitting there going, 'Fuck.' I was looking at the records I did just with the DAISIES since '15. And it's 'Revolución', 'Make Some Noise', 'Live & Louder', 'Burn It Down'. Then when I left, they did 'Locked And Loaded'. And then now 'Light 'Em Up' and 'Lookin' For Trouble'. Seven records in 10 years. Not too bad. But I was counting all the records I did, and once I put this solo record out, it'll literally be 20 records that I've done since the start of my career. It's weird.

"And again, in hindsight, there's a couple of live records, whatever, and then the ESP [ERIC SINGER PROJECT] thing, which was basically covers," he continued. "The blues record is covers. So it's not like I wrote all these songs, but if you take all those away, it's still 15, 16 original records that I've done. So it's pretty amazing. I. Some kid from Philadelphia — I thought maybe I had a record or two in me and then maybe drop dead of a fentanyl overdose. But here I am, 40 years later, still ticking like the Energizer bunny, so it's all good."

"Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)" was produced and co-written in Corabi's hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, with songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Corabi in 2016 said that he would avoid talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE in the future because he didn't want his comments about CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx to descend into a feud.

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, Nikki said that writing the "Mötley Crüe" LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it "a very unfocused record" that was "painful for me, because John Corabi can't write lyrics, and I had to do all that work."

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Corabi's autobiography, "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", came out in June 2022 via Rare Bird Books. It was written with the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles.

In a new interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the Scars And Guitars podcast, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of social media, saying that far too many people find themselves engulfed in their smartphones, thereby creating a surge of depression and anxiety. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, you've only gotta drive down the street and you've gotta stop your car 'cause people are walking out in front of you 'cause they're on their phones. They're addicted. Hey, I get sucked into it like everybody else. It takes over your life sometimes. You get bombarded with all the things you like. It all comes very easy, just keeps coming up on your feed, all the stuff you love, so you are there, you're looking at it with your neck bent over like that. You are bombarded with news 24-7 about all these terrible things that are happening in the world. I mean, what you supposed to do? It's not natural to have to be so concerned with absolutely everything.

"I think people are moving way beyond their personal spheres trying to change things that they have no power on because they're aware of them and then they feel that they have to do something about it," he continued. "And they've stopped getting on with the basic, put one foot in front of the other, earn your living, pay your tax, and just live your life and be happy. And it's just — I don't think it makes people happy. Anyway, little rant there."

Smith also weighed in on a debate about people using artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create music. Asked if he would personally ever use A.I. to compose songs, Adrian said: "No way. I don't know. I don't even wanna think about it. I mean, A.I. What was it someone was telling me the other day? Somebody, as a birthday present or as a present to his friends, he had a song written by A.I. for each one of them, using their voice. And it's just mind-boggling. It's like the beginning of the end. I mean, social media's bad enough. But this is just another level.

"I can't see it having any effect," he continued. "I mean, even digital recording and Pro Tools now has enabled anyone to make up something that — you can present something that sounds respectable, but it's all done by computers. At least I grew up old school where you had to actually play in the studio; you couldn't tune it up afterwards. So that makes you more of a craftsman. Digital recording we use because it's convenient and it saves time and it saves money.

"A.I., man, I don't know. [Laughs] I don't know," he concluded.

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist.

"Black Light/White Noise", the second album from Adrian's SMITH/KOTZEN project, in which he is joined by guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen, was released via BMG on April 4. The 10-track LP was recorded at The House, Los Angeles, California, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Jay Ruston.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie

During an April 1 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", RUSH guitarist  Alex Lifeson was asked if he would follow his bandmate Geddy Lee's example and write a memoir. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think [Geddy is] on his fourth book now. So he's got the bug, and he loves doing it. But he warned me. He said you've gotta be careful because you devote all this time and effort to research and write and really think about what you're doing, especially for [Geddy's book] 'My Effin' Life' — that's his life story — but you're torn apart by publishers with editing and their fears of being sued and all of this stuff. And it just sounded like — I don't know if it's worth it to me to spend my time to do something like that."

He continued: "If I was to write a book, I think I would write a book — like my wife says, 'You should write a book about road stories because you tell those road stories when people are here for dinner and everybody's just crying with laughter. Why don't you just put all of those in a book? It doesn't have to be very long, but just a lot of fun stories about those 40 years on the road.' And I thought, 'Yeah, you know what? That's not a bad idea.' And then I kind of forget. [Laughs]"

RUSH drummer Neil Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

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

Since Peart's death, Lifeson and Lee have not recorded any new music or performed live under the RUSH name, although both of them confirmed that several drummers reached out to them in the days after the legendary drummer's passing about the possibility of stepping in for Neil.

Lifeson made his mark on the music industry over 50 years ago, redefining the boundaries of progressive rock guitar. His signature riffing, copious use of effects processing and unorthodox chord structures befitted him the title by his RUSH bandmates as "The Musical Scientist." While the bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with RUSH, he has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as a guitarist, producer and with the release of his 1996 solo album "Victor". Lifeson ranks third overall in the Guitar World readers' poll of "100 Greatest Guitarists" and is also included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."

ENVY OF NONE, the band featuring Lifeson, Andy Curran (CONEY HATCH),Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne, released its second album, "Stygian Wavz", on March 14 via Kscope.

Photo credit: Richard Sibbald (courtesy of Kscope)