Genre-bending metal powerhouse VEIL OF MAYA has announced its decision to "go on hiatus" as the bandmembers "reassess" their "future".

Earlier today (Thursday, September 19),VEIL OF MAYA released the following statement via social media: "We have made the difficult decision to have VEIL OF MAYA go on hiatus and we will not be playing any of the upcoming festivals or tours.

"We apologize to our fans and appreciate everyone's support over the years.

"This break is necessary for us to reassess our future, and we hope you understand. When the time feels right, we'll update you on what's next for VEIL OF MAYA.

"We will be back. Thank you again."

Earlier this year, VEIL OF MAYA completed a U.S. tour with support from ANGELMAKER, REFLECTIONS and ALLUVIAL.

The band was touring in support of its first new studio album in nearly six years. Titled "[m]other", it was released on the band's longtime label Sumerian Records in May 2023.

By channeling energy in one direction, force grows exponentially. VEIL OF MAYA harnesses the individual experiences and talents of four distinct musicians — Marc Okubo (guitar),Sam Applebaum (drums),Danny Hauser (bass) and Lukas Magyar (vocals) — into airtight groove-laden metal accented by fits of instrumental virtuosity and vocal catharsis.

The members of VEIL OF MAYA have consistently pushed the boundaries of heavy music by challenging themselves collectively. 2015's "Matriarch" made major waves, crashing the Billboard U.S. Hard Rock Albums chart at No. 2 powered by "Aeris", "LeeLoo" and "Mikasa". Simultaneously, they toured alongside ANIMALS AS LEADERS, UPON A BURNING BODY, CHELSEA GRIN, OCEANS ATE ALASKA, and more. In the midst of the pandemic, they dropped "Outsider", "Viscera" and "Outrun".

Photo credit: Paige Margulies

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BMG, in partnership with Rhino Entertainment, has announced the release of "Out Of The Cellar" 40th anniversary, celebrating RATT's massively successful first studio album with limited-edition versions which include a previously unreleased track recorded during the 1983 "Out Of The Cellar" sessions.

Formed in Los Angeles, RATT was featured as an unsigned act on Uncle Joe Benson's "Local Licks Drive Time" show on KLOS-FM. This was their first time on radio and led to their signing to Atlantic Records.

Featuring the classic lineup of Stephen Pearcy (vocals),Warren DeMartini (guitars),Robbin Crosby (guitars),Juan Croucier (bass/vocals) and Bobby Blotzer (drums),RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of "Out Of The Cellar".

Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, the lead single "Round And Round" hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Out Of The Cellar" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with "Back For More" and "Wanted Man".

"Out Of The Cellar" became a huge success, and after the album was released, the band went on a world tour, selling out stadiums and arenas worldwide and sharing a stage with acts such as OZZY OSBORNE, IRON MAIDEN, MÖTLEY CRÜE, TWISTED SISTER and more.

This limited edition of "Out Of The Cellar" is being released in red-and-black splatter vinyl with a lenticular cover and an additional neon orange 7" with the previously unreleased track "Reach For The Sky", as well as a limited-edition CD format with lenticular cover and unreleased track.

"Out Of The Cellar" 40th-anniversary reissue track listing:

01. Wanted Man (Cristofanilli/Crosby/Pearcy)
02. You're In Trouble (DeMartini/Pearcy/Crosby)
03. Round And Round (DeMartini/Pearcy/Crosby)
04. In Your Direction (Pearcy)
05. She Wants Money (Croucier)
06. Lack Of Communication (Croucier/Pearcy)
07. Back For More (Pearcy/Crosby)
08. The Morning After (DeMartini/Pearcy/Crosby)
09. I'm Insane (Crosby)
10. Scene Of The Crime (Crosby/Croucier)
11. Reach For The Sky (Crosby/Pearcy/Torien) (bonus track)

Also available are brand new limited-edition color vinyl versions of the albums "Reach For The Sky", "Invasion Of Your Privacy", "Detonator" and "Dancing Undercover".

RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, "Invasion Of Your Privacy". Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, "Invasion Of Your Privacy" also featured the classics "Lay It Down" (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and "You're In Love".

"Dancing Undercover" followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single "Dance" hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with "Slip Of The Lip", while "Body Talk" was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film "The Golden Child". "Dancing Undercover" became RATT's third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

1988's "Reach For The Sky" saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite "Way Cool Jr.", "Reach For The Sky" was also certified platinum and became RATT's fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. "I Want A Woman" was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.

RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, "Detonator", in 1990. Music was changing, but "Detonator" was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad "Giving Yourself Away" reached No. 39.

In 1991, they released the single "Nobody Rides For Free" from the hit film "Point Break", starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band's classic lineup.

RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.

Scott Stapp's transformative year continues as he reveals a new video for “Black Butterfly,” as the single rises to #19 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart. “Black Butterfly” is the second hit single from Stapp’s chart-topping new album, Higher Power (Napalm Records). It follows title track, “Higher Power” which reached #8 at Active Rock in March.


Exceeding his own career bests this year, the Grammy winning songwriter, solo artist, and Creed frontman has returned to the zeitgeist with multiple projects and Creed’s return, “which may be something this industry has never seen,” according to Pollstar.


Traversing release, acceptance, and growth, the new video features a lone figure tormented by opposing forces until the light within bursts through. The cocoon is the catalyst for narrator’s shift from fragile to fierce, leading a lion’s charge.




As Stapp states: “Growth is challenging, change can be uncomfortable, and personal loss can be crushing. We’ve all been there. Push through. I’ve learned that the ‘next level’ of self-awareness is knowing what you’re capable of and that you’re not defined by your worst experiences.”


Stapp tasked video and motion graphics specialist Scott Kennedy at 12 Inch Media, an outfit based in Glasgow, Scotland, to create the video.


Stapp adds: “When ‘Black Butterfly’ hit radio, I wanted to share a new visual. Scott (Kennedy) didn’t sacrifice artistry for speed. By the final edit, it felt like the prelude to a whole new chapter.”


Transcending defeat to emerge reborn, “Black Butterfly” is a grooving stunner with unshakable chorus, charging riffs from Kevin Thrasher (@kthrash), and Stapp’s hauntingly beautiful vocals.





Higher Power is available in the following formats:


- Digital Album    
- CD Digisleeve
- Solid Viola Gatefold Vinyl LP        
- Black/Red Splatter Gatefold LP - Die Hard Edition w/ Slipmat & Record Butler (Napalm Mail Order Only, Limited to 300)


Order here.





Higher Power tracklisting:


"Higher Power"
"Deadman's Trigger"
"When Love Is Not Enough"
"What I Deserve" (feat. Yiannis Papadopoulos)
"If These Walls Could Talk" (feat. Dorothy)
"Black Butterfly"
"Quicksand" (feat. Yiannis Papadopoulos)
"You’re Not Alone"
"Dancing In The Rain" (feat. Yiannis Papadopoulos)
"Weight Of The World"


“If These Walls Could Talk” video:





"Deadman’s Trigger" lyric video:





“Black Butterfly” lyric video:

In a new interview with Glassman of the 93.5 The Beach radio station, SEVENDUST frontman Lajon Witherspoon, who is African American, was asked if he and his bandmates have ever experienced racism during their three-decade-long career. He responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ""Not a lot, but yeah, on the SLIPKNOT tour, one time we were somewhere, there were some racist kids out there and they were throwing up 'Heil Hitler' signs. And I laughed at 'em and I said, 'You kids don't even know what that means,' that they were doing it. But luckily, we got through that. And I think we made a point to let everyone know that we weren't about the racism and the negativity, even still to this day. We don't wanna be divided then and we still don't wanna be divided now. But I feel like our community and the music industry that we're in and it's metal community and rock that we all come together. There was no room for ignorance then and there's no room for ignorance now. So we'll just keep that going."

Back in September 2020, Witherspoon was asked by Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show how his role as a metal singer can best effect positive change in this time of heightened awareness in America. He responded: "I think today we definitely can see that there's been a lack of equality in this world that's being put in the forefront. Luckily, in the industry that I'm in, in the metal community, I feel like that's definitely something that's not tolerated, I would like to say, as far as I've seen. I feel like this community is incredibly welcoming, and I've been very blessed to be in it. I also feel like there's definitely a lot of people that are hiding behind masks that are racist out there. But if there's anything that I can do, I will never not be a leader of bringing peace, love and equality to this industry and to what I do.

"I can say love sees no color, but I do — I believe that people do see color, obviously," he continued. "But I still want to bring everyone together and [have] it not be a problem.

"I feel like in our community, there's not only black — there's white, there's Asian, there's everybody — and that's what this world should [be like]. We should definitely get to that page and to the point, again, to where we don't have that problem. I pray that we get there.

"But me, musically, I feel like, thank you for letting us have our voices and to be able to speak and to bring people together," Lajon added. "And I think that's something that we're able to do as SEVENDUST, as a band. People see us. and they see a bunch of different guys from different backgrounds and different ethnicities. It's something that we've done for 20-something years now — we haven't stopped — and I hope that's something that people will understand and see and learn from."

Earlier in 2020, SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery addressed his band's past use of the Confederate flag, explaining that it was done "as a spoof."

The Confederate battle emblem has long been decried as a symbol of racism and violence, and it became a frequent target for protesters following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of police.

When SEVENDUST played Woodstock '99, SEVENDUST's Vince Hornsby played a bass with a Confederate flag on the body.

Asked in an interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast how he feels about SEVENDUST's past association with such an offensive and divisive symbol, Clint said: "Our thing was funny, because we were doing it as a spoof. We were trying to kinda use it in this cynical way, so it's gonna be completely misunderstood now. We were using it in a smart-ass way… It's confusing.

"We're all being educated — everyone's being educated," he added. "Things we thought were cool before aren't cool anymore, and I understand why they're not cool anymore. And it's, like, okay, yeah, I didn't know enough about what the situation was to even have a… It was just ignorance. You do things as a younger person — you're, like, 'Oh yeah, this is cool. This is against the grain' — and you realize the sensitivities; you learn about it. And that's what I think that I'm trying to do — is, like, okay, that wasn't cool. That wasn't a decision that was something I'm very proud of. You live and learn, you admit when you do wrong and you change. And that's what everyone needs to do. I can't control anybody. I just do what I do, try to be as open and loving as I can. And that's it."

Witherspoon voiced his views on the Confederate flag during a 2018 interview with Billboard. He said: "Listen, man, I used to wear a belt buckle that had a Confederate flag on it. Just 'cause I flew that flag doesn't mean I was a racist. We're just country boys, and that's a country-boy thing. That's what the cool thing about it was — that Vinnie would have a Confederate flag with me [a black man] standing beside him. At that point, love sees no color at all. But I can't say, 'This guy flies the flag the same as this guy,' because everyone has different values."

In a 2013 interview with Bloody Disgusting, Witherspoon said he hadn't seen racism at SEVENDUST gigs in recent years, but more than two decades ago on tour with SLIPKNOT he saw "a couple of knuckleheads" in the mosh pit give the Hitler salute, oblivious to what it meant.

Asked if he or SEVENDUST are viewed or treated differently because he is black, Lajon said: "No, not at all. You know, if it is, I don't see it. I have no room for ignorance in my life. I think that we've built a relationship and… not a fanbase, but a family base that really doesn't tolerate that. I'm the kind of guy that says, 'If you don't like it, don't come,' you know what I mean? We're not forcing anything on anyone. I know that that's still there, but I don't have time for that ignorance. We just keep on moving because it can never be the way it was before."

Eight years ago, Witherspoon told The Salt Lake Tribune he sometimes thinks about whether his race might have slowed the band's rise.

"I've always wondered if I had not been a black man in SEVENDUST, would it have even gotten bigger?" he asked. "At the end of the day, I'm glad that it took this long because we're still here."

Iron Maiden performed at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on September 16 as part of their Future Past World Tour 2024. Fan-filmed video of classics “Fear Of The Dark”, “The Trooper”, and “Wasted Years” are available below.










The Future Past Tour sees Maiden performing songs from their 2021 album Senjutsu, as well as from 1986’s Somewhere In Time, along with other crowd favorites. 


Remaining dates on The Future Past World Tour 2024 are as listed:


September
22 – Sky Hall Toyota – Aichi, Japan
24 – Osaka-Jo Hall – Osaka, Japan
26 – Tokyo Garden Theater – Tokyo, Japan
28 – Pia Arena MM – Kanagawa, Japan
29 – Pia Arena MM – Kanagawa, Japan


October
4 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – San Diego, CA
5 – Michelob Ultra Arena – Las Vegas, NV
8 – Kia Forum – Los Angeles, CA
9 – Footprint Center – Phoenix, AZ
12 – Aftershock Festival – Sacramento, CA
14 – MODA Center – Portland, OR
16 – Tacoma Dome – Tacoma, WA
18 – Delta Center – Salt Lake City, UT
19 – Ball Arena – Denver, CO
22 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
24 – Allstate Arena – Rosemont, IL
26 – Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
27 – Videotron Centre – Quebec, QC
30 – Centre Bell – Montreal, QC


November
1 – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
2 – Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
6 – DCU Center – Worcester, MA
8 – PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
9 – Prud

Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Morrison — the longtime rhythm guitarist in Billy Idol's band and former bassist for THE CULT — have released the latest episode of their new Internet TV show, "The Madhouse Chronicles".

Episode description: "Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Morrison open up about their personal battles with addiction, the road to sobriety, and how it has shaped their creative journeys. Discover the raw and honest truth behind living and thriving as artists while overcoming the darkest of times."

In 2010, a Massachusetts-based research company called Knome used a blood sample taken from Ozzy to map out his genetic code and attempt to figure out how he has survived after years of abusing drugs and alcohol. Researchers at Knome hoped that analyzing Ozzy's blood and DNA would give them insight into how drugs are absorbed in the body, and why some people can survive extreme substance abuse while others can't. They discovered a never-before-seen mutation that may explain Osbourne's ability to consume alcohol in great quantities and several genetic variations that predisposed him to drug and alcohol dependencies.

Although he's sober now, the now-75-year-old Ozzy estimates that he took drugs and used alcohol for more than 40 years, according to Rolling Stone.

He also survived a 2003 bike accident in which he broke his neck and was diagnosed a few years back with a genetic disorder that is similar to Parkinson's Disease.

In 2018, Ozzy spoke to Orange County Register about his substance abuse and how he finally became sober. He said: "I don't drink alcohol anymore…I don't smoke tobacco. I don't use drugs… I'm doing good right now. I now think, 'How did I think going into a bar and getting smashed and doing all that cocaine was fun?'"

He added: "I have come to think that if right now you had a gun, a bag of cocaine and a gallon of booze and you said, 'Take your pick,' I'd pick up the gun. It's not worth it.

"I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions, so I won't be making one this year. I just hope that God keeps me alive."

Ozzy previously held a gig as a health columnist for England's Sunday Times. In the column — which was largely ghostwritten by his memoir co-writer, Chris Ayres — Ozzy admitted: "By all accounts, I'm a medical miracle. When I die, I should donate my body to the Natural History Museum."

Ozzy and Billy are longtime friends who co-host the "Ozzy Speaks" show on SiriusXM. The BLACK SABBATH singer also makes an appearance on Morrison's star-studded new album, "The Morrison Project", which features additional guest contributions from the likes of SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor, MINISTRY's Al Jourgensen, MÖTLEY CRÜE's John 5 and others. The LP arrived in April.

Ozzy previously appeared on Morrison's 2015 song "Gods Of Rock N Roll".

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Osbourne stated about Morrison: "Billy Morrison has been a good, good friend for such a long, long time. He's helped me out a lot of times over the years."

Asked what he and Morrison have in common on a musical level, Osbourne laughed and said: "Well, we're both fucking crazy."

DROWNING POOL's new single, "Revolution (The Final Amen)", has just been released via SBG Records. It marks the first piece of music founding DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce and his longtime bandmates — drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton — have completed with singer Ryan McCombs in 13 years. Check out the track below.

In celebration of the new single, DROWNING POOL will be at Will Call Bar in Dallas, Texas on September 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for "Hard Rock Happy Hour". Chazz from Power Chords will be interviewing the band. Don't miss this exclusive event — grab a drink and rock out with the band!

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

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

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

Asked if the idea is for DROWNING POOL to put out standalone singles going forward or if he and his bandmates are working on an album, C.J. said: "Well, we wanna put out some singles, and stuff that we're doing with Ryan. And yes, we wanna do a full-length record. But we have a lot of stuff coming up in the works. We just did a bunch of shows in Poland for our troops back in December and January. We did a 17-song jam and acoustic set. And I've always wanted to do that. And we kind of fell into it 'cause they asked us to do it over the holidays right before that happened. So it kind of threw us into acoustic mode, which we've never done. And I love the way that set came out. Some songs, they sound heavier, some songs sound a little different, some sound exactly the same, but acoustic style. So I wanna record that as a whole to get that out there. There's a handful of songs we're doing now with Ryan off [DROWNING POOL's] 'Desensitized' [album]. It's the 20-year anniversary. So we talked about re-recording a few songs with Ryan's voice on it since we do those now. And then we're coming up on the 25-year anniversary of the 'Sinner' record, so I've been putting a lot of stuff together with that, that we have with [original DROWNING POOL singer] Dave Williams. I have so much video and songs we did. And there's a couple of things and ideas we had with Dave I wouldn't mind doing with Ryan and making them solid as well. So there's a lot of stuff in the works, man, on top of writing new songs. So, we wanna get a couple of new things out so you can hear what we're doing with Ryan and then definitely wanna do a full-length record with him in the process of doing these other things. But the writing hasn't stopped, man. Since he's walked into my house last year, the ideas — I mean, it's been 13 years and a lot has happened to all of us in that time frame, and so there's a lot to write about, a lot to share, and it comes out through the music, dude. It's killer."

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

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

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

Asked what fans can expect from the new DROWNING POOL music, Pierce said: "It just came out naturally. We just started writing. We were all excited to be together again. And we never try to be that kind of band to [go], like, 'Okay, let's write 'Bodies Part Two' or 'Sinner Part Two'. We just write what we feel. And then this came out naturally just to have that 'Sinner' record foundation with Ryan singing on it, man. It's probably the closest thing we've had that's like that, that's a good blend of us and Ryan and stuff from the Dave Williams days. And it came naturally and organically and, dude, it's slamming."

Regarding what it has been like having Ryan step back into the band and if that familiarity was there again, C.J. said: "Yeah, it was there like that and then some, man, 'cause we're all different people. And getting to know all of us, the new us — new and improved, hopefully.

"We just did the [Welcome To] Rockville festival, and just to see friends say that, 'cause people are just now seeing us with Ryan again," he continued. "[People are telling us], 'Man, I can just tell you guys are having so much fun with it. It's awesome to see you guys'. You can tell when a band's up there doing it for real. There's no going through motions with us. And we're having fun with it."

Five months ago, Pierce told Tulsa Music Stream about the new DROWNING POOL music: "It's the first time we have new music with Ryan McCombs in 13 years. And everything's organic and natural. We just started jamming and it just came out like that. It's not trying to push anything or any agenda. We just had this great writing relationship, and it was awesome to click like that again, especially with everybody in the band. Before we finish up the lyrics and all the singing, we're all sat down at the table and bounce ideas off each other to finetune the songs. It's awesome to work with my brothers like that, to have that kind of relationship where everybody has some input and say into it. So when the song comes out, all four of us love what we do with it."

Asked if he and his bandmates usually discuss where they want their new music to go or if they just generally stick to a tried-and-tested formula, Pierce said: "It's actually none of those things at all. Sorry. The answer is none of the above. I mean, some people, they approach it like that. I know some bands have the songwriter in the band or two guys writing everything, and some people don't. I love the fact that we all just get in a room and jam. It's a feeling thing. Music's expressing what's going on at the time. So, the way ideas usually come up with us in DROWNING POOL, it's just, 'Hey, man, I have this feeling, this idea. What do you think about this or this subject matter?' If something comes up, like, 'We should write something about that.' It's different. It's not really a set formula. We need to sound like this; we need to sound like that."

He continued: "It was unfortunate that we lost Dave Williams in 2002 from cardiomyopathy, but it also allowed us to work with other singers. They all have their own style and where they fit within the music Mike, Stevie and I write, So that was also fun. I wouldn't say challenge as much as just coming up with you feel and then see how it works with the strong points of the singer that's singing to it as well. So it just comes up. Everything's, again, whatever you feel at the time; that's what we write. It's never been trying to follow the trend, which is I'm fine with bands that do that or trying to fit in here and there. We try to keep it a hundred percent original."

Pierce added: "There's a few bands out there that have that formula — like AC/DC, as an example — and that works for them and that probably works for them to stick with it. With us, we've kind of been all over the board with, obviously, singer changes and stuff. But everybody knows 'Bodies'. And that's the core sound of what we have anyway. And the excitement of Ryan coming back in the band with the new songs that we have are equal to, if not more jamming than, 'Bodies'. And not intentional, like 'we have to like write a 'Bodies Part Two'' or another song [like that]. It's we just have that fire again. So it just comes out like that."

Earlier in April, Pierce spoke to Pierre Gutiérrez of Rock Talks about how the new DROWNING POOL music compares to "Strike A Nerve", the band's first record in seven years, which came out in September 2022 via T-Boy/UMe. It marked the band's third album with singer Jasen Moreno, who joined DROWNING POOL in 2012. Asked if the material is "more balanced" than "Strike A Nerve", C.J. said: "I wouldn't say more balanced. With Jasen Moreno on the last couple of records, we just started going up a heavy thing. Plus our career, just things that were going on at that time — I write what's going on in my life at the time; it's art, it's music — and just things were getting more intense with Jasen. Not just Jasen, but the music business, everything. So the music got intense as well, as you hear. And then with Ryan back in here, we still have that same intention, but Ryan brings a different kind of aspect and the delivery to the songs. There's definitely the style that we had on the two records we did with Ryan that's there, but we still have that heaviness going on as well. So it's definitely the heaviest stuff we've done with Ryan, for sure. So it's all heavy, brother. There's definitely a few songs that may be… We had '37 Stitches' and songs like that with Ryan. We have one or two songs that are kind of more in that mellow zone with him as well that we're working on. But, yeah, the last few records, we were pretty much just slamming, just full-on super-heavy stuff, man, which I enjoy as well. So you're gonna get a mix of it. I feel like with Ryan, we can get more of a mix of styles in there as well… It's intense, man. It's intense music. That's what we write."

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

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

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

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

Photos courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group

Saga frontman, Michael Sadler, was recently diagnosed with "a highly aggressive form of muscle invasive cancer," and underwent surgery on Thursday, September 12.


Sadler's wife, Gwen, has issued the following update:


"We're ecstatic to share that Michael is back home! He is overwhelmed with gratitude for all your kind thoughts, vibes, and prayers.
We've always known he had friends, but your outpouring of love and support has truly left him speechless. He hopes to thank you all personally one day, if possible.




"Many of you have been anxiously awaiting news, so I'm sharing a general update while respecting

Slayer have joined forces with Coney Island Saucery for the new "Raining Blood" hot sauce.


A message states: "We’ve created the ultimate hot sauce: “Raining Blood” - a tribute to Slayer’s iconic anthem. With a heat level of “Complete Brutality,” this sauce is only for the BRAVE. Perfect for spicing up pizza, wings, tacos and more. Get your First Batch Limited Release before it’s gone!"


Order here.







Slayer are set to reunite for for three US dates - Chicago's Riot Fest (September 22), Louisville's Louder Than Life (September 27), and Sacramento's Aftershock (October 10).


Guitarist Kerry King spoke with Nikki Blakk about the upcoming shows.


Asked if there will be rehearsals prior to the Slayer dates, King reveals, "Oh yeah. I saw the e-mail today. I think it's six, seven days, but full stage rehearsal, everything. 'Cause we haven't played in five years."


Where will the rehearsals take place? "It's a private facility," says Kerry. "I don't know much about it. It's in Nowheresville, Pennsylvania, and I'm gonna be fucking stranded for a week. But we'll be burning shit every day, so I'll be excited for a little bit."


Nikki then suggests to Kerry that he doesn't want to miss the pyro cues after all these years. "Yeah. And there'll be different ones," he reveals. "There's some things you've seen before, things you haven't seen before. It's definitely the biggest Slayer show that I've ever seen on paper."


When Nikki says the Slayer retirement tour "was pretty big,", King adds, "Yeah, I liked it. This is still bigger, but we're headlining big-ass festivals, so we've really gotta show up."

Athena XIX present the third single from their new album, Everflow Part 1: Frames Of Humanity, which will be released on October 25 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM).


"I Wish" is a magnificent new hymn by the Italian cult progressive quintet, and features none other than vocalist Roy Khan (Conception, ex-Kamelot) as counterpart to frontman Fabio Lione (Angra, ex-Rhapsody Of Fire), creating a brilliant duet that many melodic/power/symphonic metal maniacs thought they would never hear.


Check out the lyric video below, and stream/purchase the single here.




"Finally me and Roy together on one song! I was really happy to know that he liked the song and wanted to be part of this new Athena XIX record, he was free to improvise and to record his parts the way he wanted to. I just sent him the song with my vocals and let him freely add and sing in the moments he preferred to and I have to say that the combination is amazing! Our two voices combine very well! I'm sure that fans will love it! It's a really nice and cool song, with a great chorus in my opinion, one of the best tracks on this record and a perfect choice thinking about Roy's voice and style," jubilates singer Fabio Lione.





Pre-order/pre-save the Everflow Part 1: Frames Of Humanity album here





Everflow Part 1: Frames Of Humanity tracklisting:


"Frames Of Humanity"
"Legacy Of The World"
"The Day We Obscured The Sun"
"The Seed"
"I Wish" feat. Roy Khan
"The Calm Before The Storm"
"What You Most Desire"
"The Conscience Of Everything"
"Where Innocence Disappears"
"Idle Mind"
"Synchrolife"
"Inception"
"The Departure"


"Frames Of Humanity" video:





"The Conscience Of Everything" lyric video:





Originating in 1991, Athena released their most successful album to date, A New Religion?, in 1998

With tireless perseverance and distinct musical and production talent, the unrelenting ascent of top-charting modern nu metal stars Tetrarch has been palpable in the scene since the release of their first album, 2017's Freak, followed by their Napalm Records label debut, the highly-acclaimed Unstable, in 2021. Now, after three years of intensely focused growth, the band is thrilled to release their first taste of brand new music - launching their next unmissable era.





Today, Tetrarch's gripping new 90s industrial-injected anthem, "Live Not Fantasize", has fully impacted earth. Pummelling guitars and drums blend with intense electronic flourishes, as guitar icon for the new era Diamond Rowe deftly accents the eerie vocals of Josh Fore with quick riffage and a dynamic, spine-tingling guitar solo.




Partnered with a high-quality, energetic, story-driven music video, the track - co-produced by renowned producer Dave Otero, Diamond Rowe and Josh Fore - provides an intense preview for what's to come for Tetrarch in the new year.


Guitarist Diamond Rowe offers about the track and video: "We are extremely excited to release 'Live Not Fantasize' to the world. We had a lot of fun writing this song because of how heavy and aggressive it is, while still having a big catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head. This song is about never letting the negative feelings and thoughts in your mind define who you are and doing everything you can to get through tough times to find peace within yourself - so that you can live instead of dreaming of something better."


Watch the "Live Not Fantasize" video below. Stream/download the track here.





Fierce individuality and a fearless embrace of the outsider are at the heart of Tetrarch. Combining energetic modern musical aggression and lyrical honesty while organically and proudly honoring nu metal's foundations, the band leads the charge of the genre's new wave - appealing to fans both in and outside of the metal scene, and enthusiastically providing newcomers a gateway into heavy music.


The band’s tireless hard work and relentless determination has established them as one of the top newer bands in heavy music, catching the attention of major media, many in which lead guitarist Diamond Rowe was the first African American female lead guitarist from the heavy metal genre to be featured. Featured on Spotify playlists such as Kickass Metal, Rock Hard, New Blood and Metal Tracks, the band has also seen stellar support from Apple Music and their users, appearing on several additional playlists.


Tetrarch’s most recent album, Unstable, received massive critical acclaim. Upon release, Unstable's debut single, “I’m Not Right”, cracked the Mediabase Active Rock Top 30 and has garnered ove

Greek melodic metal outfit, InnerWish, have released the new single and video, "Sea Of Lies", featuring Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch. The track will be featured on the band's new album, Ash Of Eternal Flame, out on November 8 via RPM (Reigning Phoenix Music).


"It wasn't the 'Hansi song' in the beginning but there actually was no way around! And how couldn't it become that since Hansi Kürsch blessed it with his voice! We love 6/8-time songs, they come totally naturally out of us and this one might be our best one to date! Lyric-wise, it's about one of our times' biggest problems: immigration. The story's told from the perspective of a child, leaving home and warmth for an unknown destination and a probably dark future. The obstacles, the images, the thoughts - they're all shown through the child's eyes and mind. Sometimes people overlook this situation perhaps believing that it doesn't affect them or it's far from their future. But is it after all? Who's next in line? Children are the future. They all deserve the world. Nothing less!," state the group.


Drummer Franki Samoilis adds, "I've been a HUGE Blind Guardian fan since my teenage years, and so is our singer George. Having Hansi Kürsch lend his voice to one of our songs was a childhood dream come true. Thanks to my best friend, Sakis Fragos from Rock Hard Greece, we were able to make it happen. When Hansi sent us his recordings, it was a surreal moment - I was moved to tears. That voice, that presence...we are beyond honoured to have him on our album."




Stream the song here. The video, created by John Nikolopoulos, can be viewed below.


Ash Of Eternal Flame can be pre-ordered physically [ltd. CD-digipak or ltd. coloured vinyl], pre-saved on your favourite digital service provider (DSP), or pre-orderd digitally to receive "Sea Of Lies" feat. Hansi Kürsch instantly, here.


Ash Of Eternal Flame features two distinct cover designs by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art Design (known for his work with Amaranthe, Kamelot, Arion, and more). The blue version is used for both the CD and digital formats, while the red version is reserved for the vinyl edition. The album includes twelve tracks (including a bonus cover version for physical formats), recorded at LoNe and Devasoundz Studios in Athens, Greece under the guidance of producer Fotis Benardo. Mixing and mastering were handled by award-winning engineer Henrik Udd, who has worked with acts like Hammerfall, Powerwolf, and Septicflesh.


With a diverse range of lyrical themes -- spanning social and global issues, personal struggles, mythology, and even fantasy -- InnerWish are poised to shine brighter than ever with Ash Of Eternal Flame. Musically, the album cements their legacy as a formidable force in the melodic metal scene.





Ash Of Eternal Flame tracklisting:


"Forevermore"
"Sea Of Lies"
"Higher"
"Soul Asunder"
"Primal Scream"
"Ash O

Michael Schenker's new version of the UFO classic "Love To Love" featuring a guest appearance by GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose can be streamed below. The track is taken from the legendary guitarist's just-released album "My Years With UFO", which celebrates the 50th anniversary of his years with UFO, spanning from 1972 to 1978. The "German Wunderkind" was asked to join UFO at just 17 years old. Touring the globe as a teenager, Schenker became a driving force behind some of UFO's most loved tracks, such as "Doctor Doctor", "Rock Bottom" and "Only You Can Rock Me".

Although Michael Schenker's era with UFO spanned only six years, his influence as a young songwriter and exceptional guitarist had already left a lasting mark on rock. During these meteoric years, the UFO albums "Phenomenon", "Force It", "No Heavy Petting", "Lights Out", "Obsession" and the seminal live album "Strangers In The Night" were recorded, each contributing significantly to the genre. "Strangers In The Night" particularly stands out as one of the most influential live rock albums of all time and is still regarded as a cornerstone in any rock enthusiast's collection.

In this celebratory album, Michael Schenker presents 11 of UFO's greatest hits from this magical era with an impressive lineup of guest stars. Joining Schenker on this journey are Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Brian Tichy on drums, and Barry Sparks on bass.

The stellar roster of guest artists includes Rose, Slash (GUNS N' ROSES),Kai Hansen (HELLOWEEN),Roger Glover (DEEP PURPLE),Joey Tempest (EUROPE),Biff Byford (SAXON),Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY),John Norum (EUROPE),Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER),Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE),Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW),Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, CACTUS),Adrian Vandenberg (WHITESNAKE),Michael Voss, Stephen Pearcy (RATT) and Erik Grönwall (SKID ROW).

In a recent interview with the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Schenker was asked why he decided to make the LP now. Schenker replied: "In '72 I joined UFO. I was 17 years old. In '73 we recorded 'Phenomenon'. In '74, it was released. So it's 50 years, a long time. And that's when it started with UFO. And, of course, that gave me the idea to celebrate, 50th anniversary. And I have also noticed in the past few years that re-releases, they had no information — they just had the name UFO and the songtitles, but there's no info, no details. And so I thought I'd take this opportunity to inform people, to re-educate or educate newcomers that have — maybe they sing the songs, but have no clue what it is. And also, [UFO's 1978 live album] 'Strangers In The Night' is basically the best of UFO. When we used to tour after 'Phenomenon', we would pick a couple of songs to play on tour, and then 'Force It' — every album we made, we would decide collectively which songs we are going to present live. And then by the time we did 'Strangers In The Night', we had that all together and basically it became best of UFO. And also, it just happened to be that most of the songs, the music, were written by myself. And so I wanted to also add that to the info and all together. And then, of course, invite famous musicians, singers and players that have been influenced and inspired by UFO and myself and celebrate with them. They were teenagers themselves or even younger than that, and they got inspired by that. And now II can have them. And it's a great pleasure to have those guys joining me on this album."

Regarding how he got GUNS N' ROSES members Slash and Axl involved in the album, Schenker said: "Yeah, when Michael Voss, my co-producer, and I, we started putting down my guitars, and as we did that, we had no idea what we were gonna do… nothing had been discussed. And so as we were putting down the music, we thought, 'Oh, what about this?' 'What about that?' What about who?' Everybody had some ideas. And so, actually, everybody who participated on this album was added to the whole idea from different sources and different times. So, basically, with Axl and Slash — Slash, I was always interested in doing something with him, but I guess when Michael [Voss] first approached him that we're doing the best of UFO and read him the songtitles, he was for it. And when we met in the Frankfurt recording studio, we were both going jam there to 'Mother Mary'. And I had my technician there and my amplifier, and Slash brought his guys and his amplifier, and actually Slash ended up playing with my amplifier. And we were supposed to do a jam, but then I realized, 'Hey, Michael [Voss], I already put all my guitars down. Why we are wasting time doing additional stuff. I already like what I did.' So I was more into focusing on Slash and getting great takes and add them to what I already had done. And Slash liked that idea. And then also, when he came in, he said, 'Michael, I just told Axl that I was going to do this, and that I'm on my way to do this. And he said, 'I wanna sing a song too.' And I said to Slash, 'That would be fantastic. Ask Axl which song he would like to do.' And so actually Axl ended up singing 'Too Hot To Handle', 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Love To Love'. But I think they also were on tour at the time, and so Axl was not actually happy with his performance on 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Too Hot To Handle'. And I guess it was too many songs, because they were in the middle of a tour, and he preferred to just focus on 'Love To Love'. And he is a perfectionist, I have noticed, and so we waited until he was ready, and then finally he went, 'Okay, 'love to love'. I approve. You can release it. And that was it."

This album is the introduction to an upcoming trilogy, as Michael Schenker has signed an exclusive three-album deal with earMUSIC, with additional albums to follow in 2025 and 2026.

"My Years With UFO" track listing:

01. Natural Thing (feat. Dee Snider, Joel Hoekstra)
02. Only You Can Rock Me (feat. Joey Tempest, Roger Glover)
03. Doctor, Doctor (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Carmine Appice)
04. Mother Mary (feat. Slash, Erik Grönwall)
05. This Kids (feat. Biff Byford)
06. Love To Love (feat. Axl Rose)
07. Lights Out (feat. Jeff Scott Soto, John Norum)
08. Rock Bottom (feat. Kai Hansen)
09. Too Hot To Handle (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg, Carmine Appice)
10. Let It Roll (feat. Michael Voss)
11. Shoot, Shoot (feat. Stephen Pearcy)

A little over three years ago, Michael detailed events which led to his final exit from UFO in 2002, saying that "the natural flow of the chemistry was destroyed" by the time he left the band.

Schenker, whose original tenure with the British rock institution lasted from 1973 to 1978, rejoined UFO in 1993, recording the "Walk On Water" (1995) album with the classic lineup of the band that also included lead singer Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way, drummer Andy Parker, and guitarist/keyboardist Paul Raymond.

Explaining how the reunion came about, Michael told Eonmusic: "Phil Mogg came to Los Angeles in '93, begging me to refuel UFO because he completely had destroyed it. I said, 'I have a few conditions. One is, you have to give me 50 percent of the UFO name so you don't destroy it again, especially if I put my energy into it."

The onetime SCORPIONS man went on to say that initially, things were great within the camp, and that he noticed a change in the formerly dejected Mogg almost immediately. "I tell you, when I saw Phil the next time when we started recording, he looked like an one hundred and eighty degree different person," Schenker said. "He was happy, healthy. He was unbelievably fit."

But it was a harmony that wasn't to last. "'Walk On Water' was a blessing after 17 years," Michael said. "It was such a beautiful record that famously carried on from 'Strangers In The Night' [1979]. And then, of course, we went on the road, and then Phil lost it, and wanted control again and destroyed everything."

Despite going on to record two further albums with the band — 2000's "Covenant" and 2002's "Sharks", Michael said that it was further lineup changes (the ousting of both Parker and Raymond) which ultimately destroyed the band.

"I always said to him, 'Never do a reunion with UFO unless it's the original setup, including the producer,'" Michael said. "Because if you take one piece out, the chemistry is finished."

Bringing in producer Mike Varney for "Sharks" in place of Ron Nevinson, the man behind their greatest '70s triumphs, for Michael, the end was nigh. "I said to Phil, 'Don't do this. It will backfire. It will not succeed.' And it did not. The natural flow of the chemistry was destroyed, and basically, we were just limping towards the end."

Despite this, Michael made one final gesture of good will toward Mogg. "I'd had enough of UFO at that point, and in 2002, Phil Mogg asked me, 'Michael, I need the name UFO back.' I said to Phil, 'You know what? God bless you. I'll give you the name back for free. Enjoy your life.' And then that was it. That was the end of it."

Michael Schenker photo credit: Tallee Savage

BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has released a powerful rendition of "Comfortably Numb" featuring David Gilmour — a fresh take on the classic PINK FLOYD track that explores themes of detachment and introspection. Gilmour's seminal guitar work adds a haunting, authentic touch, seamlessly blending with BODY COUNT's signature intensity and Ice's profound new lyrics, making the track a fusion of rock history and raw, modern energy. BODY COUNT has also revealed the release date for its new album, "Merciless", set to drop on November 22 via Century Media.

Ice-T comments: "For me, 'Comfortably Numb' is an introspective song — it's me acknowledging that I'm older now. I'm telling the younger generation, you've got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It's me trying to make sense of what's happening, but also pointing out that we're all in a place where we don't have to face reality. We've got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it's a TV show. It doesn't feel real until it shows up at your door. I'm a little numb, too — we all are."

Gilmour states: "BODY COUNT's version of 'Comfortably Numb' is quite radical, but the words really struck me. It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again.

"The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics. They're talking about the world we're living in now, which is quite scary.

"Ice-T and BODY COUNT played in London recently. Sadly, I couldn't make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I'd jump at it."

BODY COUNT recently released the official music video for "Psychopath", its first new single since 2020's "Bum-Rush", which won a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance". The new track, which features FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY vocalist Joe Badolato, shows Ice-T and crew on maximum killing overdrive and primed for the next chapter of the legendary Los Angeles-based band's 35-plus-year career. Longtime collaborator Will Putney (KNOCKED LOOSE, THE GHOST INSIDE) produced the song, which was released via Century Media Records.

Directed by Jay Scorsese, the "Psychopath" video pulls inspiration from fictional and real-life horrors, with references spanning from Jason Voorhees to Ted Bundy.

"Merciless" is the follow-up to "Carnivore", which was released to critical acclaim in March 2020, just a week before COVID shut the entire world down.

BODY COUNT's European "Merciless" tour kicked off on June 5 at Mystic festival in Poland and brought the band to some of the world's biggest festivals and venues, across more than a dozen countries. After returning to the States, they will perform at Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky and Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

For BODY COUNT, it's been a history of being both respected and feared — a barbed-wire thread that stretches back to the band's origins as a project between Ice-T and Crenshaw High friend Ernie C. Their first shot fired, the song "Body Count", was a mission statement on Ice-T's 1991 "O.G. - Original Gangster". That's the blueprint they've been running on for more than 35 years.

They touched a nerve with their first, self-titled 1991 album and its divisive track "Cop Killer", which inspired hatred, fear, and paranoia, but also inspired generations of bands to follow. What they took from growing up with BLACK SABBATH and being inspired by fellow L.A. legends like SLAYER and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has only upped the ante for generations of homies and hardcore fans.

BODY COUNT's current line-up includes surviving O.G.s Ice-T, Ernie C. and Sean E. Sean joined by bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey, Juan "Juan Of The Dead" Garcia and backing vocalist Little Ice.

"Carnivore" continued the path of its uncompromising and critically acclaimed predecessors, "Bloodlust" and "Manslaugther", in pairing Ice-T's impassioned and socio-critical lyrics with thick guitar riffs and nods to metal and hardcore greats like SLAYER, METALLICA, PANTERA, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Guest musicians on the LP included Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE),Dave Lombardo (ex-SLAYER),Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Riley Gale (POWER TRIP).

BODY COUNT was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which was held in March 2021 in Los Angeles. BODY COUNT was nominated for "Bum-Rush", a track from "Carnivore".

Ice-T photo credit: Alessandro Solca

In a new interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) confirmed that there are plans to re-release the band's self-titled debut album to coincide with the LP's 25th anniversary.

"I'm fully involved with putting together a reissue package, because I'm the band caretaker," Clown said. "I'm the one that held everything over the years: all the DAT tapes from the [sound]board from all our first shows, all the videotapes from studio sessions at SR Audio and Indigo Ranch, different test mixes that we gave to other people that we said 'No' to at that time and that were never released, but are amazing. They would never have been listened to 25 years ago, but now that the golden egg has been laid, and everyone knows it, you're not going to listen to another mix and go, 'This is better', you're just gonna go, 'Wow, this is SLIPKNOT like this, 25 years ago.'"

Elaborating on what will be included in the expanded reissue of "Slipknot", Crahan said: "There's new artwork, new photos from the time, there's so much music that's so punk rock from board tapes, there's video documents, there's a lot — audio, visuals, everything. It's the best of all things SLIPKNOT."

"Slipknot" arrived in 1999 via Roadrunner Records and was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA). Although it is considered by many to be SLIPKNOT's official debut, it was preceded by the independently released "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." in 1996, an effort which was recorded prior to singer Corey Taylor's addition to the band.

Back in 2011, readers of the British metal magazine Metal Hammer voted "Slipknot" the best debut of the past 25 years. Over 16,000 fans voted in Metal Hammer's special 25th-anniversary poll, with "Slipknot" managing to grab almost a third of all votes cast, beating off competition from the likes of GUNS N' ROSES, KORN, MACHINE HEAD and PANTERA.

The special-edition CD/DVD reissue of SLIPKNOT's self-titled debut album came out in September 2009. The set commemorated the tenth anniversary of the LP and featured 25 tracks, including the original album as well as rare demos, remixes, rare B-sides and more.

In a 2019 interview with Vulture, when "Slipknot" was celebrating its 20th anniversary, Taylor was asked if he envisioned SLIPKNOT lasting more than two decades when he and his bandmates released their first album. He laughed and said: "You gotta remember, dude, we talked about breaking the band up before the first album even came out. We were, like, 'We're gonna do one and done. We're gonna SEX PISTOLS it and say fuck it.' Ruin the world. And then we gave in to selfishness and decided to keep going. The crazy thing is that years ago I didn't think this band could sustain itself because of how fucking gnarly it is, how dark it is, how much physicality goes into this music and this band and this live shit and the creativity, just how exhausting it is to max yourself out every time by trying to attain perfection. I wasn't sure that this could be sustained for that long. I'm pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. Like I've said in the past, nobody's more surprised by our success than we are. On June 29, 1999, if you'd have told me that we'd be 20 years in, dropping a new album and bigger than we've ever been, I'd have fucking laughed at you."

Asked if there is anything he would do differently, in retrospect, over the past two decades, Taylor said: "Oh, man. There's so many fucking things, but it's all from my standpoint. As far as the band goes, though, I think it had to be this way. Obviously, I would want Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist] back. But … now you're talking about people’s personal lives, and as much as I miss him, his health was always an issue. So it's almost bittersweet. But from a professional point of view, musically, no. I think we had to take those steps to get here. We had to go through that roller coaster and that kind of self-discovery to realize there was so much more that we had to give, and so much more that we could give, and so many different band dynamics that it was inevitable to get here."

Symphonic metal veterans NIGHTWISH have released the official music video for "An Ocean Of Strange Islands", the third single from their upcoming album, "Yesterwynde", due on September 20, 2024 via Nuclear Blast. It marks the band's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020.

NIGHTWISH keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, who once again composed most of the material, states: "The song 'An Ocean Of Strange Islands' gives you sheer heaviness with its massive guitars, epic orchestrations and phenomenal vocals by Floor Jansen. Classic NIGHTWISH at its best! 'An Ocean Of Strange Islands' takes us on the ultimate musical island-hopping adventure, reminding the adventurer that happiness is most joyous when shared."

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

The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works after a career of nine classic albums.

"'Yesterwynde' is an experience that takes time to digest," Holopainen explains. "The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features."

He continues: "It's interesting – but not surprising – that 'Yesterwynde' has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on."

And what does Tuomas think of it himself?

"To me, 'Yesterwynde' sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH — enriched with new moods and flavors."

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

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

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

Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance.

"Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings," Tuomas says. "Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme."

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?

"The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line — one hundred percent satisfied,", states Tuomas. "When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy."

NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.

"NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time," Tuomas says. "This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!"

"Yesterwynde" track listing:

01. Yesterwynde
02. An Ocean Of Strange Islands
03. The Antikythera Mechanism
04. The Day Of...
05. Perfume Of The Timeless
06. Sway
07. The Children Of 'Ata
08. Something Whispered Follow Me
09. Spider Silk
10. Hiraeth
11. The Weave
12. Lanternlight

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

This October, Selfmadegod Records will release Apophenia, the devastating seventh studio full-length from long-running Polish death metal technicians, Deivos, today unveiling the record’s cover art, tracklisting, and lead single, “Sermon Of Hypocrisy”.


Deivos formed in 1997, and in 1999 released their first demo, Praised By Generations. After a few years of silence, in 2003 they released the Hostile Blood EP via Butchery Music, which was enthusiastically received by the underground death metal community. In 2004 the band started writing new songs for their first album, which was eventually recorded in early 2006 at the famous Hertz Studio (Decapitated, Vader); Emanation From Below was released in Poland in November 2006 by Empire Records. Thanks to Metal Mind Productions, the album was released in Europe in January 2008, and then in the USA.


In late 2008, Deivos entered the Hertz studio again to record their second album, Gospel Of Maggots. This record gained the attention of the American label Unique Leader Records, who released it in February 2010. Following some lineup changes, the band returned to Hertz Studio in February 2011 to record their third album, Demiurge Of The Void, which was also released by Unique Leader in September 2011.




After a four-year hiatus, Deivos signed with Selfmadegod Records to release their devastating album, Theodicy, in February 2015. The band’s next album, Endemic Divine, came two years later, and their sixth album, Casus Belli, was released in November 2019, both also through Selfmadegod Records.


In 2021, Deivos and Selfmadegod reissued the band’s oldest releases, and so the Emanation From Below, Hostile Blood, and Praised By Generations were reissued together as a double-disc set.


The past few years have been devoted to creating the seventh Deivos album, now revealed as Apophenia, a mesmerizingly demolishing listening experience. The album ruptures forth nine new tracks, void of filler, stacked end-to-end with breakneck transitions and bulldozing passages of technical but not overthought death metal that dismantles everything in its path.


Apophenia was captured across Poland throughout 2023, the drums engineered/recorded by Krzysztof Godycki at Roslyn Studio, the bass recorded at Kamil Home Studio, and the guitars and vocals recorded at Zed Studio where the album was mixed and mastered by Tomek Zalewski at Zed Studio in early 2024. The album’s intros and outros were created by Mścisław except the "Feretory" outro by Head.One.Beatz. Apophenia is completed with cover art by the late Mariusz Lewandowski (Mizmor, Bell Witch, Fuming Mouth), design and layout by Michał Kaczkowski, and photography by Marcin Studziński.


With the album’s lead single, “Sermon Of Hypocrisy”, vocalist Hubert Banach succinctly states, “The song is pretty straightforward about religious hypocrisy and bigotry of the clergy.” Stream the track below.


Apophenia will be released on CD and digital platforms October 18. Watch for pre-orders and additional previews of the album to be dispatched over the weeks ahead.





Apophenia tracklisting:


"Feretory"
"My Sacrifice"
"Sermon Of Hypocrisy"
"De Materia Turpi"
"Revelations"
"The Great Day Of His Wrath"
"Apophenia"
"Maelstrom Of Decay"
"Persecutor"


"Sermon Of Hypocrisy":

British progressive rock legends URIAH HEEP will embark on a lengthy farewell tour in 2025. The trek, which is expected to kick off next February, will run for approximately two or three years and will include performances in all parts of the globe.

Earlier today (Thursday, September 19),URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box released a video message in which he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hello there. It's Mick from the mighty HEEP. And who can believe next year is 55 years since the band started, and that's just so amazing. I know many of you have been with us since the beginning, and we do thank you for that. It means the world to us.

"Unfortunately, we have made the decision to wind down touring the whole world next year under the title of 'Magician's Farewell'. In fact, 'The Magician's Farewell'," he continued. "Over the next two to three years, we intend to play as many places as possible and see you all for the one last time. We will continue to play shows, but these will be limited to festivals and weekends and things like that. But the tour dates will be announced starting February 2025. So we hope to see you all out there.

"On behalf of the band and myself, I wanna thank you all for the continued support you have always given us. It means the world to us, and it means so much to us, and I just wanna thank you for that.

"Happy days."

Last November, Box was asked by Metallerium how he and his URIAH HEEP bandmates have managed to retain their trademark sound despite having gone through so many lineup changes over the years. He responded: "Well, I think, I think, basically, as long as I'm there, the band's gonna sound like URIAH HEEP. Because we created a template on how we sounded back in 1970 with our first album, '...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'. So, we've continued with that all the way along the line. And I think a lot of the credit must go to Jay Ruston, our producer, because he understood where we come from, what we're all about, but he managed to make the album sound really fresh and today, and I think that's a marvelous achievement. So really, as long as we keep playing and writing good songs and doing good performances, and we get someone like Jay Ruston recording it, I think it will always sound fresh and exciting."

Regarding what has kept URIAH HEEP going for so long, Mick said: "I think the only thing that drives us on, it's only one word — it's called passion. And if you've got passion for what you do, then eventually you'll achieve it."

URIAH HEEP's 25th studio album, "Chaos & Colour", was released in January 2023 via Silver Lining Music. The LP was recorded during the summer of 2021 at Chapel Studios in London with the aforementioned Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR, BLACK STAR RIDERS) at the helm.

"Jay was completely on board with what we are trying to achieve in the studio," Box previously said. "We're a band that has a fantastic heritage and to carry on that tradition it was vitally important that the band recorded in the studio all playing at the same time. Jay understood that and he pulled out the best of us as a band, as well as individual players, while getting us some amazing sounds."

URIAH HEEP's current lineup includes Box, frontman Bernie Shaw, bassist Dave Rimmer, drummer Russell Gilbrook and keyboardist Phil Lanzon.

URIAH HEEP debuted in 1970 with the release of one of hard rock's milestones, "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble", and has since sold in excess of 40 million albums worldwide. They have constantly toured the world, playing up to 125 shows a year to more than 500,000 fans. The band's live set features the classic tracks from the '70s and is a musical journey from the band's beginnings to the present day.

Danish rock and rollers VOLBEAT will enter Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark next week with longtime producer Jacob Hansen to begin recording their ninth studio album. The follow-up to 2021's "Servant Of The Mind" is tentatively due in 2025.

Earlier today, VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen, who recently completed a European tour with his death metal project ASINHELL, released a new video message in which he addressed the progress of the songwriting sessions for VOLBEAT's next LP. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hello, VOLBEAT listeners and fans out there. Today is the last rehearsal day for VOLBEAT before we enter the Jacob Hansen studio next week. We have all the songs we need for the next album. It's gonna be out next year. Can't wait. The next update that's gonna be from VOLBEAT is gonna be from the Jacob Hansen studio. See you soon."

Last October, Poulsen underwent a throat surgery. A month earlier, he told "Paltrocast" host Darren Paltrowitz about the procedure: "It's an operation I've been through before. This one is just a little bit bigger and it's gonna take some time to get back in vocal shape. So, VOLBEAT is not playing [in 2024]. I'll use a lot of time to get my voice back after the operation. But at the same time, I will actually be writing a new VOLBEAT album. So hopefully later [in 2024], I can put down the vocals for the next VOLBEAT album. But in the meantime, I will go out and play shows with ASINHELL."

Asked if this means that he might have to change his singing approach to where he will start doing the vocal warmdowns after each show, Michael said: "I do warm up before a show, but there's no way I'm gonna use my voice after a show. I'm very optimistic about the whole thing. As I said, I tried before and I got good people around me. I've got a great coach in Melissa Cross who has been helping out a lot of singers. She will help me out again to get my voice back in shape after the operation. So I like to stay positive, and I'm pretty sure everything's going to be all right."

Back in January 2021, Poulsen told Denmark's BT.dk that he underwent an operation during the coronavirus pandemic to remove a large polyp. He added: "I have managed to retrain my voice so much that there has been time to record a new album," referencing "Servant Of The Mind", which came out in December 2021.

VOLBEAT parted ways with longtime guitarist Rob Caggiano in June 2023 and replaced him for the band's latest tour with Flemming C. Lund of the Danish extreme metal outfit THE ARCANE ORDER.

VOLBEAT played its first concert with Lund on June 10, 2023 at the Rockfest festival in Hyvinkää, Finland.

Just five days earlier, VOLBEAT announced that it had officially parted ways with Caggiano. No reason was given for the split, but the remaining bandmembers said that they wished their "brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future." They went on to thank Rob "for ten amazing years."

Caggiano played on VOLBEAT's last four studio albums: 2013's "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", 2016's "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie", 2019's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" and "Servant Of The Mind".

ASINHELL's debut album, "Impii Hora" (Latin for "Ungodly Hour"),arrived in September 2023 via Metal Blade. Poulsen is joined in the project by ex-MORGOTH singer Marc Grewe (also of INSIDIOUS DISEASE) and RAUNCHY drummer Morten Toft Hansen.
Last Volbeat jam before hitting the studio 😈 #VOLBEAT2025pic.twitter.com/C50CVJ9TtJ

— Volbeat (@VOLBEAT) September 19, 2024

During an appearance on the latest episode of "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell spoke about his upcoming album, "I Want Blood", which is due on October 18 via Double J Music. Addressing the fact that the LP's first single, "Vilified", mentions artificial intelligence (A.I.),Jerry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I'm fully aware of why people are drawn to that theme of the song. And I put it there on purpose, 'cause it's an interesting concept and one I've grown up with since the… I'm a child of the '60s — I was born in the '60s — so I've been fascinated by stories and movies about the subject from [director] Stanley Kubrick's '2001[: A Space Odyssey]' [film] on. So it's in there. But the actual theme of the song, the steak, if you will, is not really A.I. The A.I. is more of a seasoning to the real kind of theme, I guess, of the song."

Regarding how concerned he is as an artist about how rapidly things are changing with artificial intelligence, Jerry said: "We're living in a time right now where it's proliferating and actually becoming integrated into society and used to manage algorithms and set it out and create content and stuff like that. So it's an interesting time because it's happening now.

"I don't know. It's a good tool," he continued. "It's like any tool. You can use a hammer to smash somebody in the face or you can use it to build a house for somebody. It's up to the user how you intend to use it. So it's just another tool. As far as replacing the human aspect of creation and capturing the human experience and putting it into a piece of art, I don't think that that's really possible. I mean, at best you can get a really good facsimile, I think, out of it, but you still need the human touch to create something human and something that's gonna relate to another human being."

Cantrell previously discussed A.I. in a recent interview with Kerrang! He said at the time: "Sci-fi and the fear of technology has been around a long time, from 'The Terminator' to 'Ex Machina'. A.I. is a boogeyman we've grown up with, but now we're living in a time that it's becoming a reality to more of an extent. It's weird to me. I get it, as it's a progression of technology and our use of it, but it's part of the conversation of our lives and the world, so I can't really do anything about it. It's like any tool — you can take a hammer and bash somebody's head in, or you can build a house — it's up to the user. There's still a human element there, of intention and responsibility."

"I Want Blood", co-produced by Cantrell and Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, MELVINS),was recorded at Barresi's JHOC Studio in Pasadena, California. The album features contributions from bass heavyweights Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) and Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),drummers Gil Sharone (TEAM SLEEP, STOLEN BABIES) and Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),and backing vocals from Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).

On the topic of the "I Want Blood" album title, Cantrell told Sylvia of the Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3: "[Previous LP, 2021's] 'Brighten', that was a great record. And I think that was a pretty apt title and a great song to kind of represent that work. And when I was kind of coming up with this group of material that would turn into this record, it had a feel to it that was a bit more on the kind of heavier, aggressive side. And I had a song called 'I Want Blood'. And I thought that was an outstanding title. It had punch, it grabs your attention and it kind of feels right as a representation of the album as a whole."

He added: "One of my favorite records is 'If You Want Blood You've Got It' by AC/DC. So if you want some blood, I got it. [Laughs]"

Regarding how "I Want Blood" compares to some of his previous efforts, Cantrell said: "Yeah, it's a good piece of work. Any artist is gonna be excited about their new record because it's a new record and it takes a lot of effort and it takes a lot of time to put that together. And if you're gonna release it, it obviously meets the level that you wanted it to hit and hopefully maybe it even goes a little bit further than that. And so I've been able to, luckily, not really be disappointed but pleasantly surprised of pretty much every record I've done in my career, and that's a good feeling. So when you bring home a record and then you can kind of take a step back and take a look at it, it's, like, 'Oh, man. That is a serious piece of work there.' And I don't think I could have done any better. It's the absolute best work I could have done in that period of time. So that's always a good feeling."

Elaborating on the songwriting process for "I Want Blood", Cantrell said: "Well, I think you have to start each record the same way. There are habits that I instilled in myself and also by being a member of ALICE. We never pulled any punches. We didn't varnish anything. We didn't sand any rough edges off — 'warts and all' was our approach. And so I kind of carry that wherever I go. But the main ethos, if you will, I guess, that I carry within and outside the band, is you have to start from an absolute zero. It doesn't matter what you did before. You did that record, you wrote those songs, so it's gotta be something completely new. And so that's kind of a daunting task, but it's necessary. 'Okay. It's a blank chalkboard, blank piece of paper, absolute zero. What am I gonna do now?' If you're starting from that and not really relying or trying to compete with your past work, it's kind of a freeing thing. You also have the experience of having made some great records and wrote some great songs and been part of some really amazing collectives of people, musicians to make those records. So, I had a pretty good group of folks together to make this one, too — Gil Sharone, Mike Bordin, Robert Trujillo, Duff McKagan, Vincent Jones, Lola Colette and Greg Puciato and Tyler Bates and Joe Barresi. And that's a pretty good group of folks right there. So, you start from a zero and you just go and see where you end up."

A tour with BUSH concluded at the iconic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 15.

"Brighten" came out in October 2021. The LP was Jerry's first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years.

Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two other solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with William DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018.

Photo credit: Darren Craig

Yle's (Yleisradio Oy) six-part podcast series "The World's Best Alexi Laiho" tells the story of the most revered Finnish metal guitarist of all time. The series explores the factors which influenced Laiho's virtuosic guitar playing in the band CHILDREN OF BODOM, but it also delves into the many facets of his personality, relationships, and the challenges he faced in the final years of his life.

More than 30 people were interviewed for "The World's Best Alexi Laiho" podcast: Alexi's bandmates, friends, spouses, colleagues and fans. The series also features Alexi's own idols, top guitarists like Kerry King, Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde. Vai mentions in the podcast that Alexi was "one of those guitarists who raised the bar for all other guitarists." King, known for his guitar work in SLAYER, believes that Alexi was a natural talent who "could probably shred like a god from the moment he picked up a guitar". One of Laiho's greatest achievements, aside from his guitar playing, according to King, was that he made guitar playing interesting again in the U.S., where it was considered unsexy.

The podcast series "The World’s Best Alexi Laiho" was originally released in Finland in June 2024 and has been one of the most popular music-related podcasts of the summer. An international version with English subtitles has been frequently requested by the fans of CHILDREN OF BODOM and Alexi Laiho outside of Finland. This version is now finally available.

You can listen to the podcast (with subtitles) at Yle.fi.

Last December, CHILDREN OF BODOM members Henkka Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) hosted a listening party for the band's latest live album, "A Chapter Called... Children Of Bodom (Final Show In Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)", at the Bodom Bar & Sauna in Espoo, Finland. The LP, which was recorded at CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, was made available via Spinefarm.

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Wirman and Seppälä discussed their mindset going into CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert, which took place a year before the band's frontman Alexi Laiho passed away due to alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Janne said: "I felt a sense of relief onstage [at the final concert] 'cause I was very tired of Alexi's problems and constant problems with one guy. And then this guy who was our best friend and who wrote all the music, all of a sudden from 2016 on, just became someone I didn't recognize anymore. He was a different person, and he was so overcome with his disease and problems and it got to the point in 2019 we decided that this can't go on anymore. And then this was the last show. It was short notice, and we [originally] had so much better plans for how to say goodbye to all the international fans, how to do a proper farewell around-the-world tour [during 2020-2022] and whatever. But now, something we did not know, was [that] the pandemic [would happen], obviously, and that would have canceled all of those plans anyway."

Added Henkka: "So it was kind of, like, in a way we are lucky that we had this confrontation within the band that made us decide to drop [the group] earlier than we were supposed to and have this final show that was recorded. Because if you would have kept on the original plan with Alexi that let's do a farewell tour until 2022, I think it was, so then the pandemic would have ruined everything. And we probably would have never had this kind of last proper souvenir."

Asked if it ever entered their minds that they could take a long break away from each other and then maybe regroup at a later date, Henkka quipped: "That would have been like a mature way of dealing with it." Janne said: "Our manager at the time, Steve, did ask me that, at the eve of the last show, Steve asked me that, 'Are you ever gonna play with Alexi again?' And I said, 'I would only [play with him] if he would seek help and become fully sober.' And I knew that wasn't an option, that he had decided at that point, unfortunately, that he's just gonna die by his addictions, which is horrible. And it's very sad, but I knew him well enough that there was no way that he's gonna get better. And then that's why somehow it was also a relief for me at the last show. I realized that I need to let go."

Added Henkka: "The problems were pretty bad — I mean, within the band, all the relations. And I don't think anybody could see a future anymore. So [putting the band to rest] was the only option at the time. I'm sure that Steve, our manager, had some hopes of a reunion show within some years, of course, because he's a businessman [laughs], but it didn't even cross my mind at that time."

Continued Janne: "That's why I said that at the time I said that I will never play again with Alexi, 'cause I knew that he will not get sober, he will not get help for his problems. And then it would've been a totally different opinion. If somehow any of us would've felt that, 'Okay, Alexi is gonna get help. He's gonna get better,' all of us would've been, like, 'Okay, fine. Let's give him a couple of years and then let's get back together.' But that was not foreseeable at the time."

Added Henkka: "At the time it was, it was an impossible point."

Released with the blessing of Laiho's estate, the concert album completes the legendary band's career which began in Espoo, Finland in 1993 as INEARTHED. Over their career, CHILDREN OF BODOM released ten studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD. The final lineup of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals),Jaska Raatikainen (drums),Seppälä (bass),Wirman (keyboards) and Daniel Freyberg (rhythm guitar).

In a July 2023 interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Wirman opened up about the string of events that led to the band's 2019 demise and the deterioration of Laiho's health.

"Alexi's downfall started in 2016," Janne said. "I don't know what caused him to do that. He told me but didn't tell anyone else in the band — he made sure no one else was in the room — and told me, 'Dude, from now on, I'm going to drink until I die.' I said, 'Fuck, man. You can't say that to me.' He said it another time in 2018. I knew that was what he was doing — he said he wouldn't take any help for his medical issues. He was going to keep drinking. That's what he did, which is fucking crazy."

Janne continued: "A lot of people who haven't had a family friend or work buddy or someone who is sick with alcoholism, a lot of people don't understand you cannot help the person who doesn't want help. He had decided he didn't want help and would keep drinking until he died. That's what he did."

Wirmen then detailed BODOM's final years, beset by infighting largely stemming from Laiho's substance abuse issues. "The last years were pretty bad," he said. "There was a lot of bullshit. It's so crazy because he was in such a good place a couple of years before. He was happy about being sober and on tour, and the shows were good. I don't know what happened to him. Something pushed him over the edge where he decided, 'Fuck it. I'm going to keep drinking.'"

Alexi's ashes were buried in December 2021 — nearly a year after his tragic passing. He was laid to rest at the Malmi Cemetery, a large cemetery located in the Malmi district in Helsinki, Finland.

Alexi and Jaska founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert. In 2020, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

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

In 2022, Wirman, Raatikainen and Seppälä discussed publicly for the first time the circumstances that led to the band's split and ultimately Laiho's death. In an interview with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat, the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM said the real reason for the band's breakup was not that they wanted to stop touring in order to spend more time with their families, which is how Laiho explained it to Helsingin Sanomat in November 2019. Instead, what caused the group to split was Laiho's substance abuse, and that is also what eventually killed him a year after they went their separate ways.

Laiho's addiction began to take a serious toll on CHILDREN OF BODOM in 2008, when the band was the support act on a SLIPKNOT tour. In the ensuing years, Laiho promised his bandmates that he would not drink on the road anymore. Although he kept his word for a few years, Alexi "went into a tailspin again in 2016," according to Wirman. Laiho, who had a substantial income as COB's main songwriter (all other income, from gigs to merchandise, was split equally),repeatedly complained that his income was declining and threatened to pull himself out of the limited liability company, AA & Sewira Consulting Oy, he and the other members formed in 2003.

After CHILDREN OF BODOM's manager brought up Laiho's substance abuse at a business meeting in New York in early 2019, Alexi refused to go into rehabilitation but did agree to see a doctor. He was diagnosed with diabetes, and he began taking medication to treat the condition.

In the summer of 2019, Laiho filed an application with the Finnish Patent And Registration Office to register the CHILDREN OF BODOM name to Laiho. This infuriated his bandmates who saw this as an attempt to hijack the name and brand that was controlled by the group's LLC.

During CHILDREN OF BODOM's tour of Russia in October 2019, Laiho "was hitting the bottle like back in 2008," his bandmates told Helsingin Sanomat.

"I told Alexi that you don't usually drink starting at breakfast before a gig, and now you don't even warm up with the guitar before going on stage like you always do," Raatikainen recalled.

Laiho later apologized and stopped drinking for the last concerts of the tour.

"His hands were shaking for two days, but the gigs in Moscow and St Petersburg went pretty well," Raatikainen said.

Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman decided to go with Alexi's wish from a few years back and buy him out of the LLC. Laiho retained the rights to his music and was paid royalties on performances and record sales as before, but sold his part of the LLC that owns the name of the band and the merchandising rights.

According to the trio, Alexi was sober for CHILDREN OF BODOM's entire final tour of Finland in December 2019 and he "exchanged cordial messages" with them even after the start of the pandemic.

Alexi's sister Anna Laiho told Helsingin Sanomat that the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM "have the full support of our family."

Anna, Alexi's Australian wife Kelli Wright-Laiho and a few close friends attempted to get him professional help in the fall of 2020, but he refused.

"At heart, he was a warm and caring person, always ready to help others. But he had his demons, and he wanted to fight those alone", Alexi's sister said. "He wanted to make his own choices. For better or worse."