Claustrofobia’s latest album, Unleeched, hit physical and digital store racks on September 13, 2024. Get your copy now at this location.


“We have a new video clip for the track ‘The Encrypted’, which is the second song off Unleeched,’ and it's the heaviest, grooving track on the album. There is a curious story about the shooting day of this video,” elaborates singer / guitarist Marcus D’Angelo. “We recorded it on the same day as the video for ‘Stronger Than Faith’ in Nelson Ghost Town, an abandoned gold mine located just 45 minutes from Las Vegas, and then we decided to do an extra take in a different spot, but the photography and background was too different from what we had been doing. Someone mentioned, you could shoot another song in this spot. We looked at each other and said, why not? We switched t-shirts, chose the ‘The Encrypted’ song and improvised everything on the spot without any pre-production or ideas. It was all very spontaneous and we were extremely pleased with the results. Caio D'Angelo, our drummer, edited it and this pure art happened.”







Unleeched was produced, mixed and mastered by Adair Daufembach (Angra, Cadaver, Tony MacAlpine) with cover artwork by Alcides Burn. 


“The first step in our partnership with M-Theory Audio will be the reissue of the album Unleeched, including two bonus tracks – ‘Riff Cult’ and ‘Força além da Força’ which is a Portuguese version of Pantera's ‘Strength Beyond Strength’,” explains Marcus. “We composed and recorded this album during the pandemic, and all that atmosphere of uncertainty, fear and faith were crucial to finishing the work. For the first time we used clean vocals on a song, we brought Marc Rizzo [Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Ill Nino guitarist] as a guest player. This album is very brutal but there are lots of emotions on it. I consider it our most inspired album ever because the band was united and solid.”





Tracklisting:


"Stronger Than Faith"
"The Encrypted"
"Neuro Massacre"
"Psychosapiens"
"Corrupted Self"
"Unleeched"
"Snake Head"
"Crawling Back To Yourself"
"2020 (March To Glory)"
"Riff Cult" *Bonus Track
"Forca Alem da Forca" ("Strength Beyond Strength" - Pantera Cover) *Bonus Track








“We are about to hit the road with Sepultura, Obituary and Agnostic Front and 80% of our set will be focused on the new album, Unleeched, which is gonna be at the merch booth, available on CD and Cassette. We count on your support. Don't expect anything but our best. See you on the road," says Claustrofobia.





Dates:


September
17 - Chicago, IL - ConcordMusic Hall
18 - Minneapolis, MN - UptownTheater
20 - Denver, CO - The Ogden Theater
21 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
22 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
23 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox SODO
25 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
26 - Los Angeles, CA - The Novo
27 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues
28 - Tucson, AZ - RialtoTheatre
30 - Dallas, TX - The Factory


October
2 - Tampa, FL - JannusLive
3 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theater
4 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
5 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
6 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
8 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Ballroom
9 - Toronto, ON - Rebel*
10 - Montreal, QC - L’Olympia*
11 - Worcester, MA @The Palladium
12 - New York, NY - The PalladiumTimes Square


* - Harves

POISON drummer Rikki Rockett has launched a new band called THE ROCKETT MAFIA. Joining him in the group are Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals.

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May at the end of The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

When Rockett and Gibbs first jammed together four months ago in preparation for their appearance at the The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, Rikki wrote on social media: "Last night Brandon and I jammed for the first time in very long time in order to grease the wheels for the show. We rolled through some cover tunes, but when we chomped on a some DEVIL CITY ANGELS tunes we both felt some serious passion come back.

"If you don't know, we put the DEVIL CITY ANGELS together several years back and made what I think is a very good record. Tracii Guns along with Eric Brittingham, Brandon and I, as DEVIL CITY ANGELS, made our way across the country playing shows in a single tour bus and trailer, old school. The steamroller was going well until I got cancer. Then Tracii got asked back into L.A. GUNS, etc, etc. Bottom line, the band sidelined and only ever did a couple more corporate gigs. With the exception of 'The Stadium Tour' and a few sit-ins with CHEVY METAL, I have pretty much stayed away from live performances with other artists. I pretty much have always put my heart and soul into everything I do and I had a passion for the DEVIL CITY ANGELS project.

"This is] not the DEVIL CITY ANGELS and it's not CHEVY METAL, this is THE ROCKETT MAFIA, a jam combo that I may put together from time to time to enjoy my love of Rock 'N' Roll with some of my besties in the rock world."

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.



Posted by Rockett Mafia on Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Posted by Rockett Mafia on Tuesday, September 17, 2024

In a new Facebook Live video, Bret Michaels once again spoke about his recent comment that POISON will likely embark on a tour in 2026 celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, 1986's "Look What The Cat Dragged In". Bret said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[I'm] forever grateful for [my POISON bandmates] C.C. [DeVille, POISON guitarist] and Rikki [Rockett, POISON drummer] and Bobby [Dall, POISON bassist].

"I know a lot of people are wondering, and I try to clear any confusion.

"'25 is going to be an awesome year," he continued. "We're gonna pick out some special dates [to play with my solo band], and I'm just going to do my best to a little R&R, take care of my diabetes, which could just use a tune-up — that's it — and some other things that we're going through right now. All gonna be great. I'm keeping positive. And some great family time to have some fun, but still do some great select shows. And then '26, if all goes great, with a lot of moving parts with C.C. and Bobby, Rikki, myself, I am positive we're gonna work everything out and go out in '26."

Regarding what POISON's tour in 2026 might look like, Bret said: "My feeling is 40 great, limited dates — 40 great, limited dates. Make them incredible. It'll be four years since the last time we toured on 'The Stadium Tour' in '22. If we go out in '26, it'll be our 40th-anniversary Parti-Gras 4.0. And there's four bandmembers — all original. Good, bad or indifferent, we are like a band of brothers. We also love each other."

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

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

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

On September 10, the POISON drummer took to his official Facebook page to write: "I keep getting asked multiple times a day, 'Why isn't POISON touring in 2025 now?' Super simple answer, Bret doesn't want to." The following day, Rikki clarified: "People, I never said that Bret is cancelling the 2025 tour. It didn't get booked. I said the reason POISON isn't touring in 2025 is because Bret doesn't want to. Doesn't matter what the reason for him is as far as what I said. I'm simply telling you why so that CC [DeVille, POISON guitarist], Bobby [Dall, POISON bassist] or myself doesn't get blamed. It isn't dirt. It isn't a fight. Just the facts, ma'am. Surmise what you want from it. You will anyway!"

Just three months ago, Rikki, whose real name is Richard Allan Ream, wrote on social media that POISON would be touring in 2025." He added at the time: "As usual, there will be no backing tracks. Live, raw and uncut. Warts and all."

Seven months ago, Bret spoke about POISON's plans to regroup for more shows following the band's 2022 participation in "The Stadium Tour" alongside MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and Joan Jett. During a February 25, 2024 question-and-answer session aboard the Rock Legends Cruise XI, he said: "When we go back, I think in 2025, it's always been, to me, all-original POISON. We'll have C.C and Bobby and Rikki and myself and go do another big stadium tour and arena tour in 2025."

Regarding his motivation for going back out on the road with POISON after spending most of his time touring with his solo band, Bret said: "We've known each other since we've been in junior high school… I wouldn't be here without Bobby or Rikki or C.C. And then, as you go along, we've been together a long time — still great friends. If anyone saw 'The Stadium Tour', that was a party. And when you're out there with that DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY and Joan, you're talking A-plus awesomeness. And we just came out and brought it.

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

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

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

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



Posted by Bret Michaels on Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend has released the official music video for his new single, "Jainism". The track is taken from his upcoming studio album, "PowerNerd", which is due on October 25.

Devin comments: "This next song was based on my connection to music in the mid-'90s. Also the idea of what it means to rend yourself artistically to an unresponsive world in 2024. I referenced THE WILDHEARTS in the chorus, as Ginger is one of our generation's greatest songwriters.

"In preparation for 'The Moth', 'PowerNerd' is meant to look back and celebrate the past before moving forward. Thank you for the support…back to work here :)".

Earlier this month, Devin released a new video in which he explained the inspiration for the "PowerNerd" title. He said: "'PowerNerd' is essentially a manifesto of working through the problems that you face in life. And the definition of it had originally been — there are certain personality traits or proclivities that one may have that perhaps society deems as being a weakness, whether or not that's empathy or hypersensitivity or something. And to people who don't have those sorts of aspects of their personality, certain things can be taken for granted, as it's, like, 'Oh, it's easy to do that,' 'It's easy to go out in public,' 'It's easy to socialize,' whatever. But if these aren't things that are part of your psychological makeup, it's sometimes effort just leaving the house. So a powernerd, in a sense is — the definition that I at least adhere to — you turn those tendencies into a superpower. So if you're hypersensitive, your hypersensitivity becomes your superpower. It's about harnessing it, so it doesn't get imposed on others, of course, but at the same time, to be able to recognize the ways in which you're different and not view that as being a liability, but rather view it as being a strength. That's the definition of 'powernerd'."

Townsend's career is one of many distinct eras. He's been the leader of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, the lynchpin of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the co-architect of country duo CASUALTIES OF COOL, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath's newest era starts with "PowerNerd".

"It was a conscious thing," Devin said of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. "I thought, 'I've spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work — what would happen if I didn't?' Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I'm trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering."

A song that embodies that is the album's title track, which features a guest spot from HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta. You can watch the video for that high-speed rampage of a song below.

However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from "PowerNerd"'s 11 episodic tracks. "Dreams Of Light", by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. "Younger Lover" calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas "Falling Apart" and "Jainism" add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions.

Where "PowerNerd"'s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On "Falling Apart", Devin commands himself to "keep the tension under control." "You've got to believe that things will only get better," subsequent song "Gratitude" powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record's title.

Devin previously offered as a definition: "I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It's like, 'Okay, yeah, I'm sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'"

"PowerNerd" will be available on several different formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin's first-ever Dolby Atmos mix),limited 2CD digipak in O-card, standard CD, gatefold 2LP and digital album.

The full track listing for "PowerNerd" is as follows:

01. PowerNerd
02. Falling Apart
03. Knuckledragger
04. Gratitude
05. Dreams Of Light
06. Ubelia
07. Jainism
08. Younger Lover
09. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker

The album's artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.

As well as express strength through adversity, "PowerNerd" will open the door to Devin's immediate future. Its positivity and succinctness will soon be contrasted by follow-up "The Moth" — described by Devin as "orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable" — and the "alien weirdness" of finale "Axolotl". Both efforts have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the mind-boggling range of this man's musical talent.

"PowerNerd" recording lineup:

Devin Townsend - Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Darby Todd - Drums
Diego Tejeida - Keyboards, Synths
Mike Keneally - Additional Keyboards
Jean Savoie - Additional Bass
Aman Khosla - Additional Vocals
Tanya Ghosh - Additional Vocals
Jamey Jasta - Additional Vocals

JANE'S ADDICTION has released a new single, "True Love". The track, which was performed live for the first time last year and has been played at a few other shows since, is the second new single from the band's classic lineup of singer Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery, following "Imminent Redemption", which arrived in July.

"True Love" was written by Farrell, Navarro, Avery and Perkins, with assistance from touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Navarro was asked about the possibility of a new full-length album from the reunited classic lineup of the band. He responded: "That's more than likely going to happen. I mean, we have recorded material. I don't know specifically the model, if it's going to be a song at a time, or if we're going to drop a song, and then a record, or I don't really know. I kind of stay out of that stuff. What matters to me most is that this stuff is on vinyl. I don't know anything about streaming or anything like that."

He continued: "I'm 57 years old. I've been in this band since I was 17 or 18, and it's the same band, and we have some of the same hurdles, and we have other obstacles that are no longer there. There's always hurdles in collaborative creative efforts, but overcoming those hurdles is where the solution happens, and the solution, should it reveal itself, can be pretty exciting.

"The songwriting process has really changed thanks to technology," Dave explained. "Everything was on reel-to-reel before, and so all four of us would have to be in the recording studio to get something down. There's something really magical and special about that, because all the tapes are live, and everybody's playing together, and tempos fluctuate, but it's human, and it feels good. But the state of technology now allows us to individually, to work on ideas, away from the room, and then when we come into the room, have a way more concrete concept of where we want to go rather than fishing."

"Imminent Redemption" was tracked at Sweetzwerland Studios in Hollywood, California.

Prior to "Imminent Redemption"'s arrival, Avery's last time in the studio with JANE'S ADDICTION was for the classic 1990 album "Ritual De Lo Habitual".

"Imminent Redemption" was first performed live when JANE'S ADDICTION's classic lineup played its first show in 14 years on May 23 at London, United Kingdom's Bush Hall.

Navarro sat out JANE'S ADDICTION's 2022 and 2023 shows due to his battle with long COVID. He was replaced at last year's gigs by Klinghoffer, a former member of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS who also records with Eddie Vedder and performs with PEARL JAM. 2022 saw QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's Troy Van Leeuwen step in for Navarro.

The fall 2022 "Spirit On Fire" tour marked the first JANE'S ADDICTION run of shows in more than a decade to feature returning Avery. Prior to that, Avery last played with the band for a short stint in the 2000s before departing again in 2010.

This past Monday (September 16),JANE'S ADDICTION announced the cancellation of its remaining tour dates following a recent onstage altercation between Farrell and Navarro. The band said it "made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group," therefore scrapping the rest of the dates of their tour. A short time later, Navarro, along with Perkins and Avery, posted a joint statement to their respective Instagram accounts in which they said the cancelation of the tour is a result of a "continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell."

"Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs," the statement read.

Navarro, Perkins and Avery expressed "regret" for the cancelation but added that they "can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis."

"Our hearts are broken," the statement concluded.

Later that same day, Farrell wrote in a statement posted to his Instagram story that "this weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday's show."

His statement added: "Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation."

CREED and ALTER BRIDGE guitarist/songwriter Mark Tremonti will release the sixth album from his solo band TREMONTI, "The End Will Show Us How", on January 10, 2025 via longtime partner Napalm Records. The official music video for the LP's second single, "The Mother, The Earth And I", can be seen below.

"The Mother, The Earth And I" is a personal favorite of Mark's and sets the tone for what fans can expect from the rest of the album. The song talks about the connection that all people have to the planet Earth regardless of personal differences. The song is now available via all digital service providers. The visually captivating music video depicts the message of the song with cinematic visuals created by director J.T. Ibanez (SEVENDUST, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, LOVELESS).

Tremonti explains about the message of the song: "Throughout mankind, everyone has fought over things like power, religion, and their beliefs. One side believes it's right and everyone else is wrong. No matter what you believe in though, we all belong to the earth. You can always fall back on its beauty."

With a musical catalog that includes 18 previously released full-length albums from his work with CREED, ALTER BRIDGE and various solo endeavors, Tremonti is back with a collection of 12 original compositions that continues his musical evolution while showcasing his ability to write memorable songs — something he has done for nearly three decades. Mark is backed in TREMONTI by Eric Friedman (guitars),Tanner Keegan (bass) and Ryan Bennett (drums). Each song on "The End Will Show Us How" will take the listener on a journey as Mark set out to create an album of a dozen individual compositions each unique from the other. The debut single "Just Too Much" is a perfect example of this. The song opens with a driving guitar riff — the basis for the entire song — as Mark delivers the message to keep pushing forward no matter what adversity is in front of you. An official music video for the single directed by J.T. Ibanez can be seen below.

TREMONTI's musicianship and songwriting is on full display on each song on "The End Will Show Us How". Tracks like the opener "The Mother, The Earth And I" the thought-provoking "It's Not Over" and the epic closer "All The Wicked Things" show that Mark continues to create compositions that continue to engage audiences — both old and new fans alike. "Nails" is a musical idea that Mark has had for years and finally found the inspiration to complete. "Tomorrow We Will Fail" is an inspirational piece that talks about not putting off until tomorrow something you can conquer today. "Now That I've Made It" is a message for anyone who has ever had anyone doubt them and try to hold them back from following their dreams. "The End Will Show Us How" was produced by longtime friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette — the producer Mark has worked with exclusively since 2007.

The track listing for "The End Will Show Us How" is:

01. The Mother, The Earth And I
02. One More Time
03. Just Too Much
04. Nails
05. It's Not Over
06. The End Will Show Us How
07. Tomorrow We Will Fail
08. I'll Take My Chances
09. The Bottom
10. Live In Fear
11. Now That I've Made It
12. All The Wicked Things

Mark Tremonti is currently on tour across the United States with the recently reunited CREED. TREMONTI will tour around the globe in support of "The End Will Show Us How" in 2025.

After three decades, 18 full-length albums, and thousands of shows, Tremonti continues to relentlessly push himself as a guitarist, a vocalist, and a songwriter, above all. This unstoppable drive has underscored his catalog earmarked by a Grammy Award, cumulative streams in the billions, and total sales of 60 million units worldwide across his inexhaustible output with CREED, ALTER BRIDGE and solo band TREMONTI. Distinguished as Guitar World's "Guitarist Of The Decade," selected as a flagship PRS endorsee, and celebrated on the covers of numerous publications worldwide, he approaches the guitar with an insatiable curiosity and innate need to create. At the same time, he constantly stretches his voice, reaching new heights with each subsequent project. His voice, writing, and playing have supercharged TREMONTI as a force in its own right. The band has delivered a string of celebrated releases, including "All I Was" (2012),"Cauterize" (2015),"Dust" (2016),"A Dying Machine" (2019) accompanied by an acclaimed novel of the same name co-written by Mark with John Shirley, and "Marching In Time" (2021). Earning acclaim, Kerrang! hailed the latter as "another worthy chapter in its creator's well-populated book," and American Songwriter praised how "'Marching In Time' is structured around denser melodies and reflective epistles prodding around chunkier riffs." Loudwire applauded the title track as "hypnotically epic," and Guitar World readers voted "Now And Forever" as "The Best Riff of 2021."

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann

British rock veterans THE DARKNESS have returned to bedazzle and amaze once more as they serve up their eighth studio album, "Dreams On Toast", in March 2025 via Cooking Vinyl.

"You know that thing when God's breath tickles your soul and tells you to create? Yeah, makes me giggle too. But you can't resist," comments THE DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins. "God might not be the power she once was, but say what you like about her, she knows damn well that what the world needs now, is rock sweet rock. And who are we, mere mortals of extraordinary ability, to argue with the divine?

"So we knuckled down and thought really hard about the best of the best, the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages. Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch. And these bangers we present to you here, wallowing in an aromatic aural ragu, served atop the charred remains of our envious contemporaries… ladies and gentlemen, I give you 'Dreams On Toast'!"

A lavish display of sonic delicacies, "Dreams On Toast" is a dynamic dish packed full of sure-to-be hits. This is no better demonstrated than with lead single "The Longest Kiss", out today (September 18). An upbeat pop classic which tips its hat to the '70s pop genius of both QUEEN and Paul McCartney, it finds THE DARKNESS dance across jaunty piano keys and frolicking guitar licks in irresistible top form.

Justin explains: "Misty Orchards! That's not my porn name, that's the kind of scenery that I love. I awakened to such a vista in the delightful Scottish highland town of Nairn on the morning that inspiration for 'The Longest Kiss' lyric struck. I was bleary eyed and locked in an unending embrace with my (mid)life partner. Weird that I can still sing, but that's a testament to the resilience of humans, especially lead singers. The music itself is a piano-led composition, the chorus of which my brother and I came up with after he'd taken a long time to empty his bladder during some impressive pub endurance. The verses were transposed from a song I've been working on for decades as part of a musical about the collapse of the Lowestoft fishing industry, called 'The Collapse Of The Lowestoft Fishing Industry'. The musical isn't finished yet. But 'The Longest Kiss' is. The results are astounding. We're all very proud of this. Please, to enjoy!"

The "Dreams On Toast" album artwork was designed by Grammy-nominated artist Perry Shall.

Not only will "Dreams On Toast" feature arguably THE DARKNESS's best collection of songs yet, but the band will also be hitting the road next March for its largest headline tour of the U.K. in years, solidifying their status as one of Britain, and indeed the world's, most important rock bands.

The "Dreams On Toast" U.K. headline tour will see THE DARKNESS play 17 shows across the country, finishing at London's OVO Wembley Arena on March 29. Support comes from Northern Irish indie-rock heroes ASH, who first supported THE DARKNESS on their legendary "Permission To Land" tour over 20 years ago.

Lead singer of ASH, Tim Wheeler, comments: "In 2004 we toured the U.K.'s arenas with THE DARKNESS as 'Permission To Land' catapulted them into the big league. Next March, 21 years later, we will reunite to tear across Britain before an epic crescendo at Wembley Arena. We believe in a thing called rock!"

Fans who pre-order "Dreams On Toast" from THE DARKNESS's official store will receive access to a pre-sale for the March UK tour. The pre-sale, including VIP upgrades, will open at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25 and will remain live until any remaining tickets go on general sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 27.

March 2025 U.K. headline tour dates:

March 07 - Ipswich, Regent's Theatre
March 08 - Oxford, New Theatre
March 09 - Swansea, Arena
March 11 - Guildford, G Live
March 12 - Hull, Connexin Arena
March 14 - Liverpool, Guild Of Students
March 15 - Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
March 17 - York, Barbican
March 18 - Edinburgh, Usher Hall
March 20 - Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
March 21 - Newcastle, O2 City Hall
March 22 - Manchester, O2 Apollo
March 24 - Bristol, Beacon Theatre
March 25 - Portsmouth, Guildhall
March 27 - Leicester, De Montford Hall
March 28 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
March 29 - London, OVO Arena Wembley

More than 20 years after THE DARKNESS exploded with the big bang that changed the face of British rock music, their cheeky, spandex-clad anthems continue to capture hearts, and a new generation of fans, around the world. None more so than Taylor Swift who sparked yet another internet meltdown last week by singing along with the band's eternal mega-hit "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" at the U.S. Open. As a result, her legions of fans sent the track hurtling up charts across the world, including reaching No. 1 in the U.S. iTunes Rock Chart, 21 years after its release.

Photo credit: Simon Emmett

IRON MAIDEN will start their "Run For Your Lives" world tour on May 27 next year in Budapest, Hungary, followed by 27 stadium, festival and arena shows around Europe. The tour marks 50 years since Steve Harris formed the band in late 1975 and, to celebrate this, MAIDEN fans are promised a very special setlist, spanning the nine studio albums from "Iron Maiden" to "Fear Of The Dark", with their most spectacular and elaborate show ever.

Dates are as below. Tickets go on sale next week. As always, there will be an exclusive pre-sale for IRON MAIDEN fan club members and Trooper VIP packages will be available at all U.K. and Ireland shows.

IRON MAIDEN lead singer Bruce Dickinson says: "Next year is a very special one for IRON MAIDEN and we're going to be giving our fans a once-in-a-lifetime live experience. This is a tour that's gonna put a smile on your face and a cheer in your throat. If you've seen us before, then get ready to take that experience to a whole new level. If you've never seen us before, then what the hell have you been waiting for? Now's your chance to find out what you've been missing! IRON MAIDEN's definitely gonna get ya!"

The tour includes five shows in the U.K. and Ireland, with arenas in Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, and outdoor shows in Dublin and London. So it is with immense pride that IRON MAIDEN will celebrate their 50th anniversary with one of the most notable concerts in their history.

On Saturday, June 28, MAIDEN will perform at the London Stadium, home of West Ham Football Club — the team that band founder Steve Harris has supported throughout his life, and with whom IRON MAIDEN have a long and storied history.

This concert in front of over 60,000 fans at the London Stadium, which was constructed in Stratford for the 2012 Olympics and four years later became the new home of West Ham, will be the first time that IRON MAIDEN have performed on the club's hallowed turf. A true homecoming show — with Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain all born in the surrounding area — it will also be the biggest U.K. venue the band have ever headlined outside of their festival appearances.

Steve Harris says: "My love of football and my support of West Ham is no secret, and I know many of our fans around the world have shared that with me too. So we're all very excited to be playing at the London Stadium as part of the 'Run For Your Lives' tour. And of course, it's not just London — the whole U.K. tour is going to be a real celebration for all of us. To be able to bring this very special show to all our fans across the U.K. and Ireland next year is going to be a great way to mark 50 years of IRON MAIDEN. We can't wait to see you all there!"

Special guests for the London and Dublin outdoor shows will be American rockers HALESTORM. British metal band THE RAVEN AGE will open all five U.K. and Ireland shows.

MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood states: "50 years of MAIDEN and I have seen 46 of them! With well over 100 million albums sold and almost 2500 shows in 64 countries and counting, to countless millions of fans, we are all still loving every second and consider every tour a new challenge to bring something different and exciting to our fans. And for this very special one we' re pulling out all the stops!

"We will cover classics and fan favorites from the first nine albums, from 'Iron Maiden' to 'Fear Of The Dark', many of which we haven't played in years and many we will likely never play again in the future. We have already been hard at work for months putting together an even more spectacular and elaborate new show which will bring the songs to life more than we have ever been able to do before. This is going to be a huge couple of years for IRON MAIDEN, and Eddie, of course, and we are very excited about what we have up our sleeves for you fans throughout the whole of our 50th year. I promise you are all going to be very happy indeed!"

"Run For Your Lives" 2025 tour dates:

May 27 - Budapest Aréna, Budapest, Hungary *
May 31 - Letnany Airport, Prague, Czech Republic *
Jun. 01 - TIPOS Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia *
Jun. 05 - Trondheim Rocks, Trondheim, Norway (Festival)
Jun. 07 - SR-Bank Arena, Stavanger, Norway *
Jun. 09 - Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark *
Jun. 12 - 3Arena, Stockholm, Sweden *
Jun. 13 - 3Arena, Stockholm, Sweden *
Jun. 16 - Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland *
Jun. 21 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England ^
Jun. 22 - Co-op Live, Manchester, England ^
Jun. 25 - Malahide Castle, Dublin, Ireland *^
Jun. 28 - London Stadium, London, England *^
Jun. 30 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland ^
Jul. 03 - Eurockéennes Festival, Belfort, France (Festival)
Jul. 05 - Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain **
Jul. 06 - MEO Arena, Lisbon, Portugal **
Jul. 09 - Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland **
Jul. 11 - Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany **
Jul. 13 - Stadio Euganeo, Padova, Italy **
Jul. 15 - Bürgerweide, Bremen, Germany **
Jul. 17 - Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria **
Jul. 19 - Paris La Défense Arena, Paris, France **
Jul. 23 - GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands **
Jul. 25 - Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany **
Jul. 26 - Cannstatter Wasen, Stuttgart, Germany **
Jul. 29 - Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany **
Aug. 02 - PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland **

Support acts:

* HALESTORM
^ THE RAVEN AGE
** AVATAR

Having been established in 1975 in the East End of London, IRON MAIDEN have, over the course of 17 studio albums, more than 110 million records sold and some of the greatest world tours that music has ever witnessed, become one of the greatest and most influential British rock bands of all time. Yet despite their enormous success, they have remained down to earth and true to their roots throughout their career.

IRON MAIDEN are currently on the road completing their acclaimed "The Future Past Tour" dates, which started earlier this month in Australia and New Zealand and continue through Japan, Canada, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina before concluding in Sao Paulo, Brazil with two concerts at the huge Allianz Parque Stadium in December.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie

LINKIN PARK played its new single, "The Emptiness Machine", live on last night's (Tuesday, September 17) episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". Video of the performance can be seen below.

"The Emptiness Machine" was released earlier in the month. The track will appear on LINKIN PARK's upcoming album "From Zero", which will arrive on November 15 via Warner. It will mark LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before the death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington.

LINKIN PARK played the second concert of its comeback mini-tour Monday night (September 16) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show featured LINKIN PARK performing a two-hour set on a high-tech stage shaped like an aircraft carrier, allowing for a unique production as well as a greater-than-usual number of tickets sold at the venue.

As was the case with LINKIN PARK's September 5 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles and the September 11 concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, the Brooklyn gig showcased new singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who have joined returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Joe Hahn in the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder was filling in for Delson for the livestream and the Kia Forum and Barclays Center shows and will continue to tour with LINKIN PARK for the foreseeable future instead of Delson.

The Los Angeles and Brooklyn concerts were the first two nights of a short international tour that will be followed by stops in Hamburg, Germany; London; Seoul; and Bogota, Colombia. A longer tour is promised for 2025.

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

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

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

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

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

BRUJERIA frontman, lyricist, leader and co-founder John Lepe, a.k.a. Juan Brujo, has died at the age of 61.

Earlier today, the following statement was posted on the band's official social media: "It is with deep sadness we have to announce that our leader Juan Brujo has passed away today.

"Juan suffered a heart attack on early Monday morning, after a day off from the current 'Mexorcista' tour in Saint Clairsville, Ohio. He was rushed to the nearest hospital in Wheeling, West Viriginia by emergency services, but, despite the medical team's greatest efforts, he died this morning.

"His family, friends and bandmates are devastated and wish to mourn in private, while they appreciate the fans' love and support."

The announcement of Juan's death comes two days after BRUJERIA canceled all of its previously announced shows "due to a severe medical emergency".

This past July, longtime BRUJERIA vocalist and samplist Ciriaco "Pinche Peach" Quezada died at the age of 57.

BRUJERIA released its fifth full-length album, "Esto Es Brujeria", in September 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records.

In a 2015 interview with The Moshville Times, Brujo said that BRUJERIA was never meant to be a touring band. "We only ever meant to make some records. What it was, was back in L.A. in 1989, there was a metal scene which included grind and hardcore stuff. There was a band called TERRORIZER, and they wouldn't let them play in the normal clubs so they'd play in backyards in the Mexican parts of town. We would go — in the backyard of someone's house — and none of the fans there watching the show spoke English. All these Mexicans — there are a lot of Mexicans in L.A., so we just thought, 'We have to start a band that sings in Spanish. Give them what they want.'

"There were issues with some of the guys — 'I've got a contract with my other band,' 'I might be on the road' — but we were only ever going to make music; we were never going to tour it. Just make music in Spanish and see how it went. We did the first record in a day at the studio. We had nothing written; we had no drummer… we just showed up. Someone who'd never played drums in their lives was playing drums. We recorded four songs and when we left, we gave a copy to a Mexican kid and a white guy — one of those hardcore dudes, just someone who didn't speak Spanish. The next day we met the hardcore guy again and he had a patch on his arm. He'd got a BRUJERIA tattoo. He wanted to be the first guy with a BRUJERIA tattoo. The day after we recorded the songs. The Mexican guy — he didn't speak any English — we saw him a couple of days later and he'd memorized all the words. I mean, they're really [makes harsh vocal noises] but he'd listened to them about a thousand times and worked them all out. He was singing them to us there and that's when we thought, 'This thing is gonna work.'"

BRUJERIA's most recent lineup also included Jessica Pimentel, the American actress best known for her role as Maria Ruiz on the Netflix original series "Orange Is The New Black".

Photo credit: Hannah Verbeuren

Ha partido hacia el Panteón, el mero mero, el más chingón, ¡Juan Brujo! Y ahora, ¿quién nos va a ayudar?

It is with...

Posted by Brujeria on Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA kicked off the North American leg of their massive "Celebrating Life Through Death" farewell tour last night (Tuesday, September 17) at the Concord Music Hall in Chicago, Illinois. The band is playing a career-spanning set that honors SEPULTURA's 40 years of existence. Joining SEPULTURA on this momentous tour are Florida-based death metal veterans OBITUARY, iconic New York hardcore pioneers AGNOSTIC FRONT, and São Paulo, Brazil's death/thrash metallers CLAUSTROFOBIA.

SEPULTURA's setlist for the Chicago show was as follows:

01. Refuse/Resist
02. Territory
03. Propaganda
04. Phantom Self
05. Breed Apart
06. Attitude
07. Kairos
08. Means To An End
09. Guardians Of Earth
10. Mind War
11. False
12. Choke
13. Escape To The Void
14. Kaiowas
15. Dead Embryonic Cells
16. Agony Of Defeat
17. Troops Of Doom
18. Inner Self
19. Arise

Encore:

20. Ratamahatta
21. Roots Bloody Roots

Fan-filmed video can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser and vocalist Derrick Green were asked about their plans for after the completion of the band's ongoing 40th-anniversary "farewell" tour. Andreas said: "I don't know, and it feels great. I want to study acoustic guitar, and to create instructional material on the SEPULTURA music. I've done small things here and there, but not a complete overview of my guitar playing and writing. I will decide when the time comes, but right now it is time to celebrate the moment."

Derrick added: "I want to do a lot more with the TV show I'm working on, 'Highway To Health'. I've also been interested in doing voiceover work in animation or commercials. Musically, I'd like to do something outside of metal with more singing, but if somebody approaches with something I think is intriguing, I'm definitely open to that, because I never want to step away from music."

Asked if Andreas and Derrick will still work together in the future, Kisser quipped: "Nah. We only talk to each other by contract. When the contract is done, we're done. [Laughs] No, of course there are a lot of possibilities. I would love to work with Derrick outside of SEPULTURA. We have the idea for a reggae project on the cards, which we have a great name for. The comfort zone is the worst thing that can happen to an artist. It would be boring to stop SEPULTURA and do something else that is SEPULTURA-like."

SEPULTURA's new touring drummer Greyson Nekrutman officially replaced the band's longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande in February.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

The 22-year-old Nekrutman is one of the most explosive young players in the drumming world, having garnered a legion of fans since bursting on to the international music scene just a few short years ago.

SEPULTURA announced Eloy's departure on February 27, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join "another project", with Eloy later confirming that he is the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy's exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a "farewell tour" which will cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA's statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande's departure, saying they were "taken by surprise" that their now-former drummer would "abandon everything related to SEPULTURA" less than a month prior to the start of the tour.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer, comic book creator and author John Dolmayan has announced his new series "Dead Samurai". A zombie thriller set in 16th century feudal Japan, issue one features cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz ("New Mutants", "Moon Knight", "Elektra: Assassin") and illustration by Ryan Benjamin ("Star Wars", "Iron Man", "Batman", "Wonder Woman"). "Dead Samurai" will be out on October 9 via Diamond Distribution.

About the upcoming release, Dolmayan shares: "With 'Dead Samurai', I've had the chance to combine two things I love: feudal Japan and zombies! I hope people enjoy the adventure!”

Fans can pre-order the comic now at this location. Stay tuned for details on additional cover variants — coming soon.

About "Dead Samurai": In 16th century feudal Japan, a leprosy-based infection that penetrates the brain has turned millions of humans into cannibalistic creatures devoid of morality or memory. A half-Japanese, half-Portuguese Samurai named Shinzu has failed to defend his Daimyo and his family from danger. Shamed beyond redemption, he resigns himself to seppuku (ritual suicide). Before he has a chance, he discovers the Daimyo's youngest daughter has survived. With a regained sense of purpose and a way to regain his honor, he sets off on a quest to find a safe haven for his ward.

"Dead Samurai" is a "Three Musketeers"-esque story of duty and honor, as well as personal sacrifice and friendship.

Dolmayan has always had a passion for acquiring and collecting rare comics; a hobby that began long before he joined Grammy Award-winning and multiplatinum rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN. As a child, Dolmayan would utilize his $5 per week allowance to purchase new issues of his favorite series, and in time, eventually began selling off back issues via newspaper ads and at conventions. After a few years of honing his entrepreneurial skills, Dolmayan was making more money selling comics than he was working at "real" jobs.

Dolmayan took a step back from the comic world when he joined SYSTEM OF A DOWN in 1997, though he never gave up collecting. Touring with the band allowed him to explore comic bookstores, shops, and antique treasures all around the world, looking for vintage, high-end titles that were not readily available. During rare breaks from the road, he would return to conventions to continue selling his finds.

Those pop-ups eventually led to the launch of Torpedo Comics in 2003 — Dolmayan's first brick-and-mortar comic book shop in Las Vegas. It has since expanded into three more stores located throughout Southern California, all specializing in rare and hard-to-find titles.

Dolmayan has taken his love for comics even further by creating and authoring his own series. His first body of work, "Ascencia", is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set 150 years in the future that explores the question: how far will human civilization go to attain immortality?

Dolmayan — who continues to fire on all cylinders in his business as well as in SYSTEM OF A DOWN — likens the process of writing comics to writing music; both provide a much-needed creative outlet. With each new title, Dolmayan draws inspiration from modern life and creates characters that incorporate bits of himself into worlds of his own creation.

Photo credit: Clemente Ruiz

EXTREME has released the official music video for the song "Save Me". The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Six", which came out in June 2023 via earMUSIC.

EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt comments: "This video was shot with a very claustrophobic feel to show the raw emotion of the heavy subject matter of the song. It was important to shoot it this way to create a lack of oxygen in a black void as if 'we' are the voices in your heads… in our own heads, to visually put across the psychological battle of whispers and screams we have all dealt with in coping with life's challenges."

Gary Cherone's schizophrenic vocals in the verses is the dark narrator in our heads, taunting and pushing us to a dangerous edge… whereas in the refrain, his impassioned plea — "Save me from myself / Save me from this hell…" — is our voice that is screaming in our heads but often painfully silent on the outside.

Nuno explains: "The viewer sometimes can't tell where one face ends and the other begins. Like we are small pieces of a human jigsaw puzzle… with one rule… that we will never see the full finished puzzle."

Reaching a crescendo with Nuno's stinging solo, the video ultimately ends in a dark place, but as Nuno and Gary intended, it is a song of hope… in a dark reality.

"YOU ARE NOT ALONE. There is always someone to call when all seems hopeless," they say.

"Six" landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked the band's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992.

Last year, Nuno told Tiago Ribeiro, that he was thrilled with how "Six" turned out. "I would put our album up against anybody's album; I feel that confident," Nuno said. "And I think the album itself — never mind me or EXTREME — if I heard that album and it wasn't us, I would think the same way I think about the album now. I think it belongs there. I think it's a well-made album. I think the songs are there. I think that the musicianship, the chemistry and the guitar playing. But I think, more importantly, what's really there and what people are connecting with is the mythology of rock and roll. I think that's really what's missing a lot in guitar-driven music, is that…

"I think when people saw a guitar player that's in a band with songs and arrangements and the videos and everything, it was almost like seeing something that… People are saying it's so fresh, but for us, it's, like, this is like going back for us," he explained. "This is more of a reminder than it is anything else that you can still be passionate and have fire and do all those things. And the people are letting us know that they're starved — they're starved for rock and roll like this, I think."

Last September, Nuno told American Musical Supply about the long delay in getting "Six" released: "The recording [of 'Six'], a lot of people are saying like, 'Man, [it took] 15 years,' obviously, minus a few of the handmaid's tale years, pandemic years. But the album itself probably, if you add it up, it took the same length as an album takes to record. It didn’t take 15 years to record the album. It's just that we probably had, like, three albums' worth of material. The guys kept coming out to L.A., and we would do a crop of songs, and we'd write another crop of songs or record another couple crop of songs."

Bettencourt went on to say that he and his EXTREME bandmates had "set a bar" for themselves. "You really have to be super proud and super excited to share your music with anybody, even if it's your brother or it's your family member or if it's Tom Morello that you happen to know," he explained. "Once you have that feeling of, 'Would you play these songs in front of your peers?', then you kind of know you got something there and you're ready to go."

During an interview with 89 FM A Rádio Rock at the Rock In Rio festival in Brazil on September 15, EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee was asked about the band's plans for the coming months. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're in the creative process right now, but we're not deep in the throes of it yet. We've been doing a lot of creating, and we just have, like, tons of ideas. So we're gonna get serious and get in the studio in November for the first round. Round one."

EVANESCENCE will embark on its first headline tour across Canada in 15 years this fall. Produced by Live Nation Canada, the trek kicks off on October 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, hitting cities nationwide before wrapping on October 29 in London, Ontario. EVANESCENCE will be joined by special guests, post-grunge/metal rockers HALESTORM across all stops. Alternative sister trio THE WARNING will open all shows.

Delivering a number of dynamic rock hits over the last two decades, EVANESCENCE recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its landmark debut album, "Fallen", originally released in 2003. They recognized the milestone with a special anniversary edition of the smash album, which spawned gigantic rock hits like "Bring Me To Life", "Going Under" and "My Immortal", kickstarting a thriving career they're still carrying out today.

To date, EVANESCENCE has released a total of five studio albums, including the multi-platinum "The Open Door" (2004) and "Evanescence" (2011),both of which topped the Billboard 200. In 2021, the band thrilled fans with their first album of new material in a decade, "The Bitter Truth". Now 20 years on, EVANESCENCE continues to scale new heights. Featuring a lineup of Amy Lee (vocals, keyboards),Tim McCord (guitar/bass),Will Hunt (drums),Troy McLawhorn (guitars) and Emma Anzai (bass, backing vocals),the band continues to travel the globe, staging some of the most successful shows of their career, having wrapped a run of sold-out shows in Latin America, including Allianz Parque, a soccer stadium in Sāo Paulo, Brazil, which was the biggest headline show of EVANESCENCE's career to date, drawing 40,000 fans.

Shortly following its release in March 2021, "The Bitter Truth" rose to the top of the iTunes Album charts in 22 countries and also landed the top spot on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart.

EVANESCENCE first topped the Hard Rock Albums chart in October 2011 with its self-titled effort. The album stayed atop the list for three weeks.

In a new interview with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, Shavo Odadjian spoke about the possibility of SYSTEM OF A DOWN one day making a follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs, which came out in 2005. The Serj Tankian-fronted outfit has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011 but has yet to record any new music. The 50-year-old Armenian-American Shavo, born Shavarsh Odadjian, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Listen, bro, my door is always open with that. I have a hundred riffs waiting, if they need anything for me. The way it would work was Daron [Malakian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist] would come in and he'd have complete songs, which I fucking respect, man. The dude's a fucking sick-ass songwriter. And then Serj would have songs he'd bring in complete. It would just be Serj's were a little different than what the mold of SYSTEM became. So we would use some of it, but not all of it. And I feel like that's where the disconnect happened. It wasn't like someone fucking cursed anybody. It wasn't like someone banged anyone's girl or cussed out… Nothing happened that you can't be cool with. We're still cool with each other. We walk on stage. We love each other. So there's always gonna be that. I wanna always play shows with them. And you never know, bro. I'm always gonna leave that door open. It shouldn't be shut."

Shavo went on to say that "it's a fucking shame that" new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN is "not happening, because we can do so much. Look, we went in, we did two songs four years ago. How they sound, man. I mean, that could be an album of that shit. And we can even write crazier songs. That was quick. Daron brought a few of those in — boom, boom, boom — and the song was done; it was, like, two days. Imagine if it was going in and writing actual music and caring about the album. 'Cause we compose albums. We're not, like, songwriters. We're songwriters that make albums. It's all about the composition of the album."

This past June, Tankian, who has been promoting his recently released memoir "Down With The System", was asked in an interview with The Jesea Lee Show what it would take for him and his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates to release a new studio album,. He responded: "Egalitarian approach to everything within the band. [In other words] kind of more equality in terms of sourcing of the music, in terms of splitting everything, including publishing, in terms of ideas, in terms of sharing the vision — that kind of stuff."

He continued: "It's in the book. We call it a manifesto jokingly because I wrote points down that, years ago when I had some new songs that I thought would be amazing with SYSTEM, and so I played it for the guys. And I said, 'Guys, I've got an idea of a vision, a different way forward that I think would be very beneficial for the band.' And I presented it — we call it a manifesto in the book almost half jokingly, but bringing a manifesto to rock musicians is… [Laughs] I guess it doesn't work — it doesn't work. But I was trying to instill the same type of egalitarian principles as I love as an activist within whatever I do. And at that time, it didn't work, but maybe it will one day. We'll see."

"Down With The System" was released on May 14 via Hachette Books. In the memoir, Serj revealed that his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates had auditioned a new vocalist after he had asked out of the group in 2017. Serj said that his disdain for touring led to his decision to tell his bandmates to carry on without him so they could continue living their dream. Tankian later learned that the band had begun looking at new singers, and he also shared that in "more recent years", he had pitched a close friend as a potential replacement but he didn't think the band ever seriously considered the offer.

In May, Tankian explained to Patrick Ritter of the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station why he felt, from SYSTEM OF A DOWN's early days, that the complex dynamics within the band and the resulting clash of egos and creative tensions would ultimately led to the group's demise. The singer said in part: "John [Dolmayan], my drummer who's also my brother-in-law, recently — he's got an incredible memory. My memory is not as good, but he basically said, 'Yeah, ever since '99, you were looking and going, 'This can't continue this way.'' And I think it had a lot to do with the discrepancy between our attitude and Daron's attitude toward the band and toward everything that was happening. I think for Daron, he had grown up with this becoming his everything. In John's case, for example, even though he's played drums since he was eight years old — I think it was eight — he's done many, many things in life. He's had a comic book company. Shavo's done other things as well, even though music's been a big part of his life. But for Daron, it was the only thing. And I had done many things in life — worked in different industries, got a college degree and went into music almost late, later than all the other guys, definitely. So I think there was a lack of appreciation of stuff happening or whatever it was. I can't remember the exact circumstance, but I felt like there was something wrong with this puzzle that I don't think we could solve from a very early time. And music had become my everything at that time. I had screamed at the gods saying that I wanna do music. And I knew that was my vision. I knew I'd be doing music for the rest of my life, no matter what, with or without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, 'cause that was my calling. But early on, I could see that schism, that schism developing."

Tankian previously addressed how his relationship with Malakian has evolved over the years, particularly as it relates to their collaborative partnership, earlier last month in an interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One. He said: "Well, changing the dynamic is basically years of time and the progression of the band, the success of the band, everything that happened in between the day that we met and now, basically, so 25, 30 years. A lot changes in that time. And so I think that's a part of it.

"Daron's been a lifer and he's incredibly serious about his music and he's incredibly protective of his music and vulnerable due to his music," Serj explained. "All of those things kind of go together. So it's those things, I think, that created some of the creative differences that we started finding. And it's also our progression. Listen, when Daron and I started working together, I didn't really write a lot of instrumental music — I mostly wrote lyrics; I was the lyricist; I was the singer. And he didn't write any lyrics; he just wrote music. But as time progressed and I played more musical instruments and I started becoming a songwriter/composer and he started writing more lyrics, we started kind of covering each other's territory. And I was okay with that. If he wrote lyrics, I was trying to encourage him to write more, because I believe in artistic growth. I believe in progression. I don't believe in things staying the same way, for music's sake. Otherwise the music becomes the same thing over and over again. That progression is necessary in every artist's life or in every group's life. So I was very encouraging of that. And I just wish that I got some of that back. And so that wasn't the case, and it was disappointing. And it became a creative difference over the band's path, and whatnot, over time."

Asked why he wanted to write about this in his book, Serj said: "A lot of it has been publicized in a very sensationalist format by media, music media mostly, and I kind of wanted to put it in a proper perspective and grounding perspective, but with love and with balance and understanding that these things happen. This is normal. You have a relationship and you have differences in opinion as [to] how you wanna go forward, whether it's a band or a marriage or whatever it is. And these things happen. And so I wanted to take that aspect out, I wanted to take the sensationalist aspect out of the whole thing and be, like, this is not only what happened, but this is how I see things."

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

"We haven't been making new music," Serj said. "We only put out two songs when the invasion of Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh happened in 2020 by Azerbaijan, because we felt like the Azeri trolls, the government-sponsored trolls were taking over social media and the news networks, and the victims of these attacks weren't getting the word out. So we became kind of obsessed with getting the word out, because we were seeing our people suffer. So we put out those two songs because of that and we donated a lot of the proceeds for that to the cause as well."

Asked how he balances the love and obligation he might feel toward his fans, those who love SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and the internal struggles within the band, Tankian said: "That's an incredibly smart question. It's really hard catering — when you're an artist, it's really hard catering. If you're an entertainer, catering is [what you do], but if you're an artist, then you're just creating what comes to you. You're almost unaware of what people want. Yes, if it's something heavier, you know people are gonna like it more. But if you're a good songwriter, you could do both. I do orchestral music, I do film music, I do rock music — I do it all. So I enjoy 'em all, but I know that if I do rock, more people are going to listen to it than a piano, instrumental orchestral piece of music, soundtrack kind of music. But it doesn't mean that you don't do both, as an artist. So it's hard to really cater to people's feelings. What I love is, and I know that I can speak for the rest of the guys in the band, that no matter what's going on with our creative difference or the band not making new music or not touring fully or whatever, everyone's incredibly appreciative of what we have in terms of the love that we get from our fans and the way that people react to our music and the way that we get all these e-mails about how it's changed people's lives and all of that stuff, and that is mind-blowing. It's the biggest honor. And when I meet people on the street, I'm still incredibly honored that someone would pick me out and look at me in a positive light, not knowing who I am personally, but knowing me through my music, through our music, let's say. And I think that's a great fucking honor. I feel blessed for it. But it doesn't mean that that thing should continue forever either."

Malakian has resurrected his SCARS ON BROADWAY project for its first live appearances in five years: October 5 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles as the support act for KORN, and October 11 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash was joined by AC/DC singer Brian Johnson at the inaugural Sky Arts Awards at the Roundhouse in London, United Kingdom on Tuesday (September 17) to perform a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor". Video of the performance can be seen below.

Slash collaborated with Johnson on a cover of "Killing Floor" for the guitarist's latest solo album, "Orgy Of The Damned", a collection of 12 revitalized blues classics. The track features Johnson on vocals and AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler on harmonica.

Regarding how he got Johnson and Tyler to appear on "Killing Floor", Slash told Steve Migs of Audacy Check In: "That's a good question. I had the song and I was trying to think who would be great to do it. And Brian came to mind. And I've known Brian for a pretty long time now. And he just has that great kind of grit to his voice. And I called him up and it turns out that he's a huge fuckin' Howlin' Wolf protégé. And so he had been in cover bands before AC/DC and even before GEORDIE. And also, he was telling me that he's doing something at present where he's putting together sort of a blues-orchestra thing. Don't quote me on that, but something to that [effect]. Anyway, and so he was excited to do that particular song anyway. And that's the key thing that you're looking for, is that when you call any of these great artists up and you have a cover song that you want to attack and if they would be willing to participate, that the song speaks to them, that it has meaning to them too, not just me. And that's how it was with Brian. He was, like, 'Oh, fucking great. Yeah, let's do this.' And then Steven Tyler came in. He came to my studio after Brian had already done the vocal. And I'm trying to remember exactly… I mean, he came in to do the harmonica or he just happened to have a harmonica with him. I can't remember, but I played him the track. It was, like, 'This is great.' So it was very spontaneous. It was very just sort of inspired in the moment, which is a great thing to be able to capture, especially nowadays because people just, by and large, don't make records like that now. Everything is very well thought out and cultivated and homogenized and produced, and this was just very, very off the cuff."

Released in May via Gibson Records, "Orgy Of The Damned" also features such guest vocalists as Iggy Pop, THE BLACK CROWES' Chris Robinson, Gary Clark Jr., ZZ TOP's Billy F Gibbons, Dorothy, BAD COMPANY's Paul Rodgers, pop star Demi Lovato and country artist Chris Stapleton.

The video for "Killing Floor", which can be seen below, offers a look at Slash and his blues band — Johnny Griparic (bass),Teddy Andreadis (keyboards),Michael Jerome (drums) and Tash Neal (vocals/guitar) — recording the song in the studio.

Slash previously said about the track: "'Killing Floor' is one of my favorite Howlin' Wolf songs, but also one of the iconic blues riffs that turned me on as a young guitar player. I've always wanted to cover it in some capacity and this record was the perfect vehicle. But playing it with this band, and with Brian Johnson singing, it was an achievement I would never have imagined back then. Let alone Steven Tyler providing the harp."

Johnson stated: "When Slash asked me to sing on 'Killing Floor', I said yes immediately. It was one of the first songs I learned in my very first band, and when he played me the backing track it was a no-brainer, and Steven's harmonica is so bloody hot. I had a ball with Slash in the studio, and I think we did this great old song justice. Rock on."



Brian Johnson ft. Slash - Killing Floor | Performed LIVE at the Sky Arts Awards 17.09.2024

Posted by A Little Bit of Everything on Wednesday, September 18, 2024

The Commoners announce the release of their title track single “Restless”, available on all streaming platforms from Friday, September 13th. The single is taken from their critically acclaimed third studio album Restless; available from TheCommoners.ca.


Watch the official music video for the new single “Restless”:







In support of their new single, The Commoners will hit the road for a major tour in November through December ‘24 across Europe and The UK opening for Canadian music heavyweights The Sheepdogs, rounding out the year with a coveted slot at Planet Rockstock Festival on December 1st. From the speakers to the stage, one thing is certain: The Commoners are ushering in a party rock renaissance, and we’re all invited.


Tickets for all concerts are available here. Confirmed dates are as listed:


November
8 - Groove – Portugalete, Spain
9 - Outono Codax Festival – Santiago de Compostela, Spain *
10 - Sala Mon Live – Madrid, Spain *
11 - LA Nau – Barcelona, Spain *
13 - Strom – Munich, Germany *
14 - Beatpol – Dresden, Germany *
15 - Frannz – Berlin, Germany *
17 - Bahnhof Pauli – Hamburg, Germany *
18 - HeadQuarters – Aarhus, Denmark *
20 - Debaser – Stockholm, Sweden *
21 - John Dee – Oslo, Norway *
22 - Loppen – Copenhagen, Denmark *
24 - Binnenzaal at De Oosterport – Groningen, Netherlands *
25 - Tivoli Vredenburg – Utrecht, Netherlands *
26 - Luxor – Cologne, Germany *
27 - Badaboum – Paris, France *
29 - The Carlisle – Hastings, UK
30 - Strange Brew – Bristol, UK *


December
1 - Planet Rockstock Festival – Trecco Bay, Wales
2 - Oran Mor – Glasgow, Scotland *
4 - Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK *
5 - Islington Assembly Hall – London, UK *
6 - Moonshine Club – Portsmouth, UK
7 - TBA - Wolverhampton, UK


* denotes special guests to The Sheepdogs





The Commoners are experiencing great success with their current album, Restless. The album features ten tracks that grip and groove. The band continues to provide listeners with a hearty dose of Southern-style swagger with every guitar slide, organ swell, and vocal stamp.


Riding high off the strength of their second album, Find A Better Way, the last two years have been a whirlwind for the band. From a UK tour with Grammy-nominated duo Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton in the fall of 2023, to headline dates across Europe and Britain this year, The Commoners are a must-see act.


Possessing a sound tapped from the oaken belly of a whiskey barrel, The Commoners are a five-piece roots rock band from Toronto, Canada. Offering their own blend of a tried-and-true musical mixture, the group pepper their sound with high-energy riffs, soulful vocals, and rich harmonies that takes the listener on a journey through a Southern-style rock experience.





The band is a culmination of like-minded musicians who have bonded over their love of the classics. All seasoned performers in the Canadian music scene, Chris Medhurst (lead vocals, guitar), Ben Spiller (bass, vocals), Ross Hayes Citrullo (lead guitar), Adam Cannon (drums, vocals), and Miles Evans-Branagh (keys, vocals) have united under a shared dream: to write and perform music; an authentic nod to the greats who paved the way before them.


“The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin are big influences for us,” says Commoners lead singer, Chris Medhurst. “Derek Trucks, Marcus King, and the Allman Brothers, as well. These are the bands that we wear on our sleeves as we continue to evolve and create our own music.”


Channelling their deep respect and admiration for roots rock trailblazers, The Commoners also incorporate rhythmic stylings inspired by Motown and Soul’s groove masters. The keystone of their unique blend is lead singer, Chris Medhurst’s emotive vocal style, akin to Burton Cummings and Paul Rodgers, with a dash of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.


A natural evolution from their 2022 album Find A Better Way, Restless offers a peek behind the curtain of success, revealing the grueling routines and ragged emotions that hide behind the glamorous aesthetic of a rock band on the rise. With introspective, slower-tempo numbers pocketed amongst rip-roaring anthems, the new album is a portrait of a hardworking group revitalizing a classic genre.





Tracklisting:


"Devil Teasin’ Me" 
"Shake You Off" 
"The Way I Am" 
"Restless" 
"Gone Without Warning" 
"Who Are You (Ain't Knocked Down)" 
"Body And Soul" 
"See You Again"
"Too Soon To Know You" 
"All That We Have" 

Polish blackened death group Ephialtes shares a brand new music video for their single "To The Victims of Sirens", available now from the band’s upcoming debut album Melas Oneiros, out November 1 via Black Lion Records. Pre-orders can be placed here.


Produced and directed by CMS – Creative Media Solution, the video was filmed on location at Fort Prusy Nysa and Moto Fort Nysa.


"The song, "To The Victims Of Sirens', draws upon a story from Homer's 'Odyssey' - our titular protagonist, Odysseus, trying to reach home after the Trojan war and lands upon the island of Sirens. Their beautiful, mesmerizing voices lead sailors to their doom, causing them to crash their ships and drown in the process. While Odysseus commanded his crew to stuff their ears with wax as a protection and ordered them to tie him to the mast of the ship, in the song our character falls victim to the Sirens’ deceiving singing and ultimately shares the abysmal fate of men that came there before him," reads a statement fromm Ephialtes.







Ephialtes’ debut album, Melas Oneiros, is aggressive, anthem-laden melodic blackened death metal with a traditional heavy metal feel to it. A peculiar, explosive blend that the band itself decided to call heavy metal of death.


The name of the band derives from the ancient Greek word "ephiáltēs", meaning "nightmare", which in turn derives from the "ephàllomai", composed of two elements: "epí" (upon, on) plus “állomai” (assault, climb, uphill, jumping, jump) because, in reference to a popular belief, the nightmares were nicknamed "one who climbed over the body of the dormant."





Tracklist


"Ad Patres" (intro)
"To The Victims Of Sirens"
"In Her Embrace Again"
"The Void"
"Children Of Arachne"
"Homo Deus"
"The Blood Of The Gods"
"Pulvis Et Umbra Sumus"

Unveiling their monumental musical odyssey in their new Creation’s Call EP this past August, Denver's fantasy power metal warriors, Siege Perilous, are sharing their latest lyric video for the recording's closing track, "Brothers Of The Five".


The song is a massive, epic, with a triumphant sound that shows the brighter side of power metal. The lyrical story behind the track centers around a group of heroic knights who live their lives by five tenets: honor, integrity, resilience, willpower, and command.







A culmination of years of storytelling and musical craftsmanship, Siege Perilous' Creation’s Call EP will immerse power metal fans in a world of adventure and intrigue. With each soaring guitar solo and thunderous drumbeat, Siege Perilous invites fans to delve deeper into the realms of their imagination, where epic battles and ancient prophecies unfold. From the thunderous opening chords of “Oathsworn” to the triumphant crescendo of “Brothers Of The Five”, the EP takes listeners on a journey through realms both ancient and mythical.


Drawing inspiration from LARP, historical events, and fantasy literature, Siege Perilous crafts a cinematic landscape that resonates with fans across the spectrum of metal and fantasy fandoms. They are highly recommended for fans of Alestorm, Manowar, and Iron Maiden.


Vocalist Shaughnessy McDaniel comments: “Our goal with ‘Creation’s Call’ is to present fans with an opportunity to escape the modern world and join us in the worlds of history and fantasy. For the more technically inclined, we have tight, complex arrangements and shredding solos that show off how incredibly talented my bandmates are and how fortunate I am to work with them. I like to think of this EP as a sampler platter of lyrical themes, musical ideas, and narrative storytelling that highlights what we are about in a very diverse array of 5 tracks.”


Save the digital edition at distrokid.com and order the CD at siegemetal.com.





Tracklisting:


"Oathsworn"
"Across The Rubicon"
"Sons Of The Verdant"
"Creation’s Call"
"Brothers Of The Five"


"Across The Rubicon" video:





"Oathsworn":





"Sons Of The Verdant" lyric video:

ProgPower USA 2024 took place from September 4 - 7th, 2024, at Center Stage, in Atlanta, GA. Aristsi on the bill included Amorphis, Winger, Dream Evil, Frozen Crown, Elegy, Soen, Striker, Pagan's Mind and more.


Fan-filmed video of Dream Evil's entire show on September 4 - their US live debut - can be viewed below.


Setlist:




"Metal Gods" 
"In Flames You Burn" 
"Crusaders' Anthem"
"Masters of Arms" 
"Immortal Chosen Force" 
"Fight in the Night" 
"The Prophecy" 
"Children of the Night" 
"The Chosen Ones" 
"The Ballad" 
"Chasing the Dragon" (with Snowy Shaw) 
"The Book of Heavy Metal" (with Snowy Shaw)





Dream Evil recently released a video for "Fight In The Night", the third single from their seventh studio album, Metal Gods, which was released via longtime label Century Media Records worldwide on July 26.


Dream Evil comment on the new track: “We had a blast writing 'Fight In The Night' all together in the studio as well as coming up with the lyrics together while the riff ideas came flying from here and there. Making the video for this song with Patric Ullaeus was a non-stop laughing experience. Check it out!”





Once again featuring recording/mixing duties by Dream Evil guitarist Fredrik Nordström at his legendary Studio Fredman (In Flames, At The Gates, HammerFall, Arch Enemy, Bring Me The Horizon, etc.), Metal Gods features cover artwork by Seth Siro Anton (Paradise Lost, Exodus, Rotting Christ, etc.) and includes 10 new songs of pure steel, introducing their newest lineup addition in drummer Sören Fardvik and also featuring guest lead guitar appearances by Jonathan Thorpenberg (The Unguided), Tommy Johansson (ex Sabaton) and Chris Amott (ex Arch Enemy / Dark Tranquillity).





Tracklisting:


“Metal Gods”
“Chosen Force”
“The Tyrant Dies At Dawn”
“Lightning Strikes”
“Fight In The Night”
“Masters Of Arms”
“Born In Hell”
“Insane”
“Night Stalker”
“Y.A.N.A.”


"Chosen Force" video:

In a new interview with Chasta and Baby Huey of the San Francisco Bay Area radio station 107.7 The Bone, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael spoke about what it has been like for him and his bandmates to tour with METALLICA at stadiums across North America and Europe for the past year. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I tell you the coolest thing about that whole thing is [METALLICA frontman] James Hetfield knows my name. He knows my name! METALLICA was a huge influence for me growing up. [Late METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton's still my favorite bassist. I sing because of James Hetfield. I was listening to all the '80s hair-metal stuff, so MÖTLEY CRÜE, SKID ROW, and that's all a real high register. And I'm, like, 'Oh, I can't… I got nothing there.' And then I heard James. I'm, like, 'I can do that.' And he's the reason I play my bass so damn low."

Asked if the entire experience is "old hat yet", Kael said: "No, no, none of this is. I'm lucky that… I mean, there are days when 'this isn't enough.' But I pull myself back: 'Hold on a second. You used to be in the service world at the Hard Rock and hated that. You were just mad, listening to crazy heavy stuff just to keep everybody away to get you out of your bad mood.' And now we've got Marilyn Manson out here with us right now, doing shows with METALLICA, traveling all around the world. The platform that we've got allows me to do the other things that I do, whether it's fan interactions with the bass packages, the vests, any of the charity work that we get to do, the comedy stuff."

He continued: "Just watching the METALLICA machine, it's massive. If you could get back there and see the number of cases that they have, I'm, like, 'Who organizes this?' It's incredible. It's a whole city that they bring in, put it into that stadium and then they take it back out. It's incredible. But finding inspiration in those dudes too, for them to be so involved in the fan experience, like I like to do as well… I mean, they're on top of all the meet-and-greets and different areas in the stadium for different packages and different fan experiences. It's mind-blowing."

This past July, Kael reflected on a recent "fanboy moment" involving Hetfield, telling Sweet Potato Pod With Todd Royce: "I am a huge METALLICA fan. We are out on tour with METALLICA, doing shows with them and then doing dates in between those shows. But I've had the chance to interact with the guys from METALLICA. And people will say, 'Don't meet your heroes.' Fuck that. METALLICA is awesome. Those dudes are great.

"To see them, haven't done it for — what? — 40 years, I think, at this point, and to still be as actively involved in the fan experience as those guys are, it's amazing," he continued. "It gives hope for me down the road and lessons to be learned to stay humble, to stay involved and be on top of everything. Don't let other people do stuff for you. I'm very hardcore punk rock DIY. They are as well. Hands in everything that they do. Very oversight. And I love seeing that.

"There was one day I was in catering with my tech, and James Hetfield walked in," Chris added. "He was on his phone talking to somebody. And I see him put [the phone] down. He goes, 'Hold on a second.' He said, 'Hey, Kael. You doing good? Having a good time? Is there anything that you need?' All that other stuff. And then he's, like, 'Okay, I'll talk to you in a minute.' He got back on his phone. I looked at my tech. I was, like, 'Did James Hetfield just get off the phone to say hi to me?'

"So I'm still very much aware of how wonderful this whole experience is, to be able to rub elbows with people I grew up admiring, people who are the reason that I play music. We opened up for KISS. I got Gene Simmons tattooed on my shin. Just to be able to be on those same stages, playing those same shows — yeah, it's crazy."

This past April, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory spoke to Audacy Check In about what it's been like for him and his bandmates to support METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2023 and 2024. He said: "That's great. Eighty, ninety thousand people in a stadium, that's massive. And it's one of those things where, obviously, we have a big fanbase that overlaps. So, METALLICA is such a huge band; they had four decades to gain that fanbase, so you're gonna have three generations of people in there. And it's such a big band now that — and in some ways they're growing, believe it or not, METALLICA, still; it's crazy. And so it's such a big band that even if you're not necessarily into metal, you've gotta come; you have to come and see. And so that means there are gonna be a lot of people in that arena that, hearing a band named FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, they're probably not gonna us a chance because they have no idea what that would be. So that means that we are playing to a substantial amount of people who never heard of [us] before. And I can tell that we're turning them, I can tell, especially after the show. You can definitely see it, because we have, obviously, statistics and online we can measure that. After every show, there's a jump in visitors and a jump in downloads and a jump in statistics, so I know that we're hitting a massive amount of people with that."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played its first show as the support act for METALLICA on the "M72" tour in August 2023 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was originally supposed to support METALLICA on several European shows in the spring of 2023 but ended up canceling the dates in order to allow singer Ivan Moody to fully recover from his hernia surgery.

When FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played a few shows in Europe as the support act for METALLICA in July 2022, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH shared a video report on the pairing in which Moody said of the experience: "Everyone sets goals, as you should. But you have to understand, for us, this is the apex, this is the climax, this is the top of the fucking hill. And it's amazing to me that we've been on tour for almost 15 years and never crossed paths with this band. And I've gotta tell you, they paved the road for any of us, and anyone that argues that fact is out of their fucking mind. The one and only METALLICA."

Back in 2016, Kael told Loudwire that METALLICA's classic third album, "Master Of Puppets", represented a turning point in his music tastes. He recalled: "I went to a place called Disc Jockey Records back in Lexington [Kentucky] and I had in my hand 'Master Of Puppets' and RUN-DMC 'Raising Hell' and I had to make that decision. Which one? I've heard about this band METALLICA through Circus magazine and whatnot, but I haven't heard the music, but I know RUN-DMC."

He continued: "I ended up picking up METALLICA and 'Master Of Puppets', and right from the first notes of 'Battery', hearing that beautiful guitar piece into crushing and everything that Cliff Burton did on that basically shaped me melodic-wise on bass right from the very beginning. So that album is probably one of the most influential in terms of making me want to play bass. I'll never be able to get to the same level talent-wise that Cliff Burton was, but it was a challenge."

In 2015, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's then-drummer Jeremy Spencer said that Lars Ulrich was a huge influence on him as a drummer and credited the METALLICA sticksman for inspiring him to play double bass.

"['Master Of Puppets' is] definitely my favorite, probably, metal album ever," Spencer said. "It's gotta be top two for sure. It's a toss-up between that and… I actually like 'South Of Heaven' by SLAYER too. But when I first heard 'Master Of Puppets', man, the drumming and the double bass, I never heard anything like that before as a young kid. It made such an impression on me that I just kind of wanted to do all things double bass. There's some really fast moments in 'Damage Inc.', and it just stuck with me and made such an impression on me as a drummer when I was younger; I instantly fell in love with it."

Asked what was so special about "Master Of Puppets" in particular, Spencer said: "I think they blended… They kind of had some European melody going on in the guitars, especially in the early records. That was different. But it was just… It was a different beast at that time; nothing sounded like it. There was an energy coming from that, and I think the riffs and the arrangements of the songs, it made such an impression on me and on so many other people."

Regarding how much of an impact Burton's contributions had on the way "Master Of Puppets" turned out, Spencer said: "I really don't know, but, obviously, he had some serious influence on them, 'cause their sound drastically changed [after his death]. But I love it. I think the first three records are incredible, to me."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is continuing to tour in support of its ninth album, "AfterLife" which was released in August 2022 via Better Noise.

On April 5, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released the digital deluxe edition of "AfterLife", featuring the original 12 tracks recorded with the band's longtime producer Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE) in addition to four bonus tracks: three acoustic versions of the album's songs "The End", "Judgement Day" and "Thanks For Asking" plus a brand new song, "This Is The Way", featuring the late rapper DMX.

AC/DC has released some of the most instantly recognizable songs in rock music history, reports Hugh McIntyre for Forbes. Decades after most of their most famous tracks debuted, some of them are still managing to chart. This time around, one tune in particular isn’t just holding on, it’s actually still finding new fans all around the world.


“You Shook Me All Night Long” debuts on a Billboard chart this week. The single launches at #199 on the Billboard Global 200, the company’s ranking of the most-consumed songs in the world, reaching the list for the first time.


#199 may be second-to-last place on the worldwide list, but the fact that the single has appeared at all is impressive. “You Shook Me All Night Long” was released in 1980 - nearly 45 years ago - but it’s only just now landing on the Billboard Global 200. That fact says that more than just die-hard fans of the band are listening to the cut, and that it may be reaching new audiences.




“You Shook Me All Night Long” marks AC/DC’s fifth career hit on the Billboard Global 200. It’s their lowest-charting placement yet, but that’s not to be unexpected for a track that ranks so low - at least for the moment.


Read the full report at Forbes.





Two new Angus Young Pop! figures are available for pre-order at the official AC/DC store. Expected ship date for both figures is October 11, 2024.





Pop! Moment Angus Young Dancing On Stage:


Amp up your Music collection with Pop! Angus Young of AC/DC as he dances across the stage! This iconic performer is sure to put on a memorable show when you add him to your Pop! Rocks lineup as this Pop! Moment Angus Young. Vinyl collectible is approximately 6.4-inches tall.


Pre-order

Steel Panther recently announced the return of the Steel Panther TV program, Demolicious, today sharing Episode 202. Watch below.


A message states: "Michael and Satchel step into the review booth for a brand new episode of Demolicious! Spooky season is almost here and we're celebrating with this week's submission, the metal band Grave Robbert!! Is there a discussion about penis reduction surgery? Yes. Does it have anything to do with Grave Robbert? Absolutely not. Let's dive in!!







For some folks, 2009 will be remembered as the year pop-legend Michael Jackson passed away, Quentin Tarantino released Inglourious Basterds or the year Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released. For everyone else, 2009 will be the year that California metal maestros, Steel Panther, burst on to the music scene with their debut album, Feel The Steel.


The spandex-clad quartet took the world by storm with the release of their debut single, “Death To All But Metal” – an anthem that called out the evils of the pop music world while shouting the anthemic line “Heavy Metal’s back.” Songs like “Asian Hooker,” “Community Property” and “Girl From Oklahoma” won over fans and critics alike. The debut album also featured guest appearances by Corey Taylor of Slipknot, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Scott Ian of Anthrax.


The 15th Anniversary Edition features two tracks that were only released on the original Japanese import: “You Don’t Make Me Feel Dumb” and “I Want Your Tits.” The album was produced by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Corey Taylor) and sounds as timeless today as it did when originally released on June 8, 2009.





Feel The Steel – 15th Anniversary Edition will be released worldwide on November 15. Fans can order Feel The Steel 15 Anniversary Edition  in various configurations at SteelPanther.com including CD, vinyl, a cassette version (available via Steel Panther website only) and exclusive merch designs. All pre-orders via the band’s website will receive exclusive digital content not available anywhere else. More information on that will be available in the future as the band searches their numerous vaults and drug dealer’s apartments for bonus material.





Feel The Steel – 15th Anniversary Edition tracklisting:


"Death To All But Metal"
"Asian Hooker"
"Community Property"
"Eyes Of A Panther"
"Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)"
"Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’"
"Party All Day (F@#k All Night)"
"Turn Out The Lights"
"Stripper Girl"
"The Shocker"
"Girl From Oklahoma"
"You Don’t Make Me Feel Dumb" (Bonus Track: Originally Available in Japan Only)
"I Want Your Tits" (Bonus Track: Originally Available in Japan Only)


To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the album, Steel Panther will be heading out on the – you guessed it – Feel The Steel 15th Anniversary Tour. The tour will kick off in Huntington, NY on November 20 and will run through December 13 where it will wrap up in Orlando, FL. The tour will make stops in Boston, MA (November 23), Detroit, MI (November 29) and Atlanta, GA (December 10) among others.


Additional Information on all ticket and VIP packages including meet and greets, exclusive 15th Anniversary merch items,