ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann went on Side Jams With Bryan Reesman to talk about the commercial and portrait photography career he developed during ACCEPT's hiatus between the late 1990s and mid-2000s when he was based In Vermont and then moved to Nashville. Two of his most memorable moments were photographing Chet Atkins's guitars and meeting and photographing Les Paul — who is credited with inventing the solid-body electric guitar later wielded by a legion of rock 'n' roll greats — and his guitars which ended up in the book "Les Paul: In His Own Words".

"First I was hired to shoot a guitar collection of Chet Atkins, the legendary guitar player and [vice] president of RCA and producer," Hoffmann told "Side Jams". "He wasn't that well-known to me, but I knew he was a big deal. I got hired to shoot his private guitar collection for a coffee table book. And that, in turn, led to another project that involved the same thing for Les Paul."

At the time, Paul was in his '80s and living "in his amazing house in New Jersey". Whoever hired Hoffmann did not know who he was. He was hired based on his camera skills. He went to Paul's house for a week and had access to all of his personal instruments and shot a portrait of him.

"You had all this amazing equipment, like the first electric guitar and the prototypes for Les Paul guitars, and amazing stuff that nobody else gets to see or touch," Hoffmann recalled. "I could just handle it and put it here, place it there, shoot the pictures. And it was fantastic. It was really a dream project, and it turned into a nice big coffee table book that was sold to collectors and fan club people. I still have a copy of it in my house."

He continued: "It was fascinating because Paul is a living legend, living in this old creepy house that was untouched since the '60s. Basically, nobody's ever done any remodeling or redecorating. It's just like a time capsule... I saw him sitting there all by himself in the middle of the night. He was a night owl. Actually, he only got up at four in the afternoon and was up all night. I saw him many, many times. He was still performing a little bit in New York City, at the Iridium, and I actually followed him to one of the shows while I was there. But I saw him practicing all by himself in the middle of the night in the kitchen there, and it was just that was a touching moment because I thought he's played all his life. And he's a living legend. Yet he still sits there and practices guitar. It was very, very moving."

As previously reported, ACCEPT will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025-2026. To mark this mammoth milestone, the band will ring in the band's golden birthday with a very unique anniversary tour at the end of 2025. An anniversary album will be released early 2026.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, ACCEPT is embarking on a spectacular world tour that will take fans on a musical metal journey through time. Fans can look forward to a unique stage show with surprise guests, all the classic hits from the band's history as well as rarely performed songs.

In spring 2026, ACCEPT will release a special album that covers the band's entire musical history. This anniversary album will contain a carefully curated selection of the best ACCEPT songs from the last five decades, re-recorded — partly with well-known surprise musical guests and colleagues, as well as with some rare tracks that have not been played so often before.

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

For decades, ACCEPT has been recognized as a guarantee of high quality and each of their albums has reached the top of the charts, delivering energy, melodies, killer riffs and an impressively powerful stage presence for 50 years.

ACCEPT's latest album, "Humanoid", was released on April 26 via Napalm Records. The LP was once again produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by critically acclaimed heavy metal producer Andy Sneap.

ACCEPT and KK'S PRIEST will join forces this fall 2024 for a North American tour. The run will begin on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

Fan-filmed video of SEPULTURA's August 4 concert at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2024 at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, South Korea 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."

As part of their massive "Celebrating Life Through Death" farewell tour, SEPULTURA will hit the road in North America this summer and fall. Joining SEPULTURA on the trek will be Florida-based death metal veterans OBITUARY, iconic New York hardcore pioneers AGNOSTIC FRONT, and São Paulo, Brazil's death/thrash metallers CLAUSTROFOBIA.

SEPULTURA's new touring drummer Greyson Nekrutman officially replaced SEPULTURA'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.

In a new interview with the "What Else? With Corey Mann" podcast, STRYPER frontman and main songwriter Michael Sweet spoke about the band's upcoming album, "When We Were Kings", which will arrive on September 13 via Frontiers Music Srl. Asked if STRYPER has changed its sound for the new LP, Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We haven't changed our sound. That's the whole point, is not to. We still have the same sound. We try to modernize it here and there and add little twists and turns along the way to unexpectedly surprise you, but we're still STRYPER. You still hear the new album, any song on the new album, and go, 'That's STRYPER.' The signature sound, guitar tone, production, all the stuff you expect is there, but we always try to incorporate just little things that are different. And we definitely went back purposely, I went back as I was writing the album, and wanted to give people something a little more poppy, so I wrote the song 'Grateful'. It's kind of like our modern-day version of 'Calling On You' or 'Always There For You'. People were complaining we didn't do enough of that. But we've definitely gotten heavier as we've gotten older, and I don't think that's a bad thing. It's not forced. We're not trying to do it. It's just a natural progression. And we're really happy with where we're at as a band. But no, we have not changed our sound, other than just trying to still be relevant in 2024 and not sound like 1986."

Sweet previously spoke about the musical direction of STRYPER's follow-up to 2022's "The Final Battle" album in a recent interview with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said: "I think what it's always been in the past 10 years, 12 years. It's kind of similar to the last album and the album prior to that. But this album has some different twists and turns to it. And you have to hear it to understand that. When I was writing the songs, I wanted to make sure the choruses kind of went from — the verses might be in a minor chord, a little more on the darker side, and the choruses go to a major chord, a little bit more on the lighter side. Not lighter, but happier side— more major, melodic, more of an anthem, sing-along kind of thing. Then when it comes back to the verse, boom, it darkens up a little bit. You hear more of that kind of stuff."

Regarding the lyrical content on the upcoming STRYPER LP, Sweet, who is responsible for almost all of the songwriting in the band, said: "[There are] a couple of twists and turns. There's a song called 'Betrayed By Love'. It's a dark song, musically and lyrically. It's not a happy, typical STRYPER song that people might expect, like 'Honestly'. It's a song about being betrayed by someone you loved or love. And I think people will hear that and think, 'Oh, wow. This is different.' It's a great song. It's really cool. But there's little twists and turns here with the lyrics. The lyrics are a little different. And really cool. I can't wait for people to hear it."

This past March, Sweet wrote in an online post that he was "a little nervous" about his voice prior to the recording sessions for the new STRYPER album, "but in all sincerity, it seems fine to me," he said. "I didn't have any trouble tracking vocals and if anything, it seemed a little easier this time around.

"I have to say that this album has a very special signature," he added. "It has a heaviness yet at the same time, a very melodic approach and a bit more of a 'sing-along' style when it comes to the choruses. I'm really pleased with the results and I truly believe it will be at the top of everyone's 'best of' list. There are some stand out tracks to my ears already but I won't go into details quite yet. Bottom line, a KILLER new STRYPER album is coming!"

Last September, Michael said that he wanted "to branch out a bit" on the next STRYPER album "and try some new things and I also want to get back to some 'pop metal' on a few tracks as well."

In December, Sweet underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland. It is the most common surgery for thyroid cancer.

"When We Were Kings" track listing:

01. End Of Days
02. Unforgivable
03. When We Were Kings
04. Betrayed By Love
05. Loves Symphony
06. Trinity
07. Rhyme Of Time
08. Raptured
09. Grateful
10. Divided By Design
11. Imperfect World

STRYPER's 40th-anniversary tour dates will begin this fall. After an appearance at the Alive Music Festival in July, tour dates kick off September 11 in Greenville, Tennessee and conclude November 16 in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

STRYPER's 40th-anniversary tour will be a celebration of both classic hits and new-era fan favorites, including outfit changes and an exciting new show production. In most cities, this will be a two-set "evening with"-style show.

Formed 41 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and the aforementioned "The Final Battle".

Michael is joined in STRYPER by his brother Robert Sweet (drums),Oz Fox (guitar) and Perry Richardson (bass).

STRYPER's "To Hell With The Amps: The Unplugged Tour" kicked off in late May. For the first time ever, the Christian rockers staged a full tour where they performed their hits and fan favorites acoustically.

Photo credit: Alex Solca Photography

The LUV IT LIVE YouTube channel has uploaded video of VIXEN's August 2 concert at Foellinger Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Check out the clips below.

New VIXEN singer Rosa Laricchiuta, who joined the band in June as the replacement for Lorraine Lewis, spoke to the "All Bets Are Off" podcast with Robby Vegas about her experience so far with the long-running all-female rock outfit. She said: "Oh, it's amazing. I'm absolutely loving my time on stage, but I have to say it has been challenging — probably the most challenging of my entire career. [Laughs] I haven't had to learn 11 songs in such a short period of time, but the songs are amazing. I love the songs. I love melodic rock, and every song I was learning just got better and better. And I was, like, 'Oh my God. I love this. I love this. I love this melody and I love this song.' And I worked really hard. But I'm really proud of myself. And singing them — next level. The girls welcomed me from day one rehearsal, right from the start. And now I have — what? — three performances under my belt. And I honestly feel like I found a family."

Laricchiuta made her live debut with VIXEN on June 21 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California alongside GREAT WHITE, SLAUGHTER and QUIET RIOT. Asked what was going through her head at that first show, Rosa said: "Well, I was really excited because I'm all over the place because I'm so overwhelmed and it's all so surreal. But growing up, I always wanted sisters, so now I feel blessed to have three sisters. And I feel — this is funny, but I feel like I'm a part of an incredible hockey team doing what I love. [Laughs]"

As for the vibe on stage, Rosa said: "My heart was beating so fast and I was really grateful that the first show was only six songs. [Laughs] Oh my goodness. Of course it was adrenaline and the good stress. But, like I said, the girls really welcomed me from the start. And immediately, when we were on stage, I felt the energy. Britt's [Lightning, a.k.a. Brittany Denaro, VIXEN guitarist] infectious vibe, Julia's [Lage, VIXEN bassist] energy is just wow. And sometimes I had to tell myself, 'Rosa, focus on the crowd,' because I was so — I forgot. I was so lost in the energy that I forgot there's a good crowd in front of us. And then Roxy [Petrucci] on the drums, it's so fun. I just wanted to jump on her riser, but I couldn't because the riser was so incredibly high. And then the second and the third show, I had a moment. I like to look everyone in the eye. And I'm telling you, it's intense, it's amazing, but most of all, I'm having a blast."

Asked if she was aware of VIXEN's legacy prior to being asked to join the band, she said: "Sadly, no… The first thing, the first thing I said was, 'Oh my God. It's an all-female band. Is this really happening?' Because, again, growing up, I never had a sister, and I always dreamed of being in an all-girl, all-female band, always. And then the second thing that came out of my mouth was, 'This is so badass.'"

Laricchiuta is a singer, songwriter, and performer from Montreal, Quebec. After several years cutting her teeth with live shows, she auditioned for the third season (2015) of "La Voix", Quebec's version of the popular TV show "The Voice". Rosa had an instant connection with the legendary francophone rocker Éric Lapointe and chose him as her coach. Rosa showed a solid stage presence, with remarkable intensity and a voice so powerful it sent her straight to the Grand Finale where she shared the stage with DEF LEPPARD, Kelly Clarkson, Jean Leloup and her idol, Melissa Etheridge. She left a lasting impression as she won over millions of viewers who named her the new "it" female rocker of Quebec. She then released one album in the Quebec market before beginning work on her first English language album in 2016. That album, "Free", was released the following year and at the end of the year, she joined the popular American band TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA for their annual mega tour of the United States.

Laricchiuta's hard rock project BLACK ROSE MAZE released its self-titled debut album in August 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl.

VIXEN has around ten more shows scheduled for the rest of the summer and early fall.

During a recent appearance on the Battleline Podcast, Britt discussed the decision to part ways with Lewis. Asked what she would say to fans who are concerned that VIXEN bears little resemblance to the band that broke through in the late 1980s, with Roxy as the sole remaining member from VIXEN's classic lineup, Britt said: "Yeah, well, I think Roxy is definitely dedicated to maintaining the musical integrity of the classic VIXEN. And she said that. And I think for whatever reason, she feels that this change is gonna be a positive one… So, I'm excited. I trust her. She's been doing this a long time, and she knows what feels right."

Britt continued: "Sometimes things run its course. And, again, I'm not involved in in this decision or at liberty to really speak about … the reasons in it. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, I guess. We're forging forward, we're forging ahead, and there will be new music. And I think it's gonna rock. So I'm very excited."

Britt went on to discuss the importance of getting along with VIXEN's new singer on a personal level, explaining: "At the end of the day, obviously you have to be talented, but just being a good person and being a cool person, 'cause we spend a lot of time together. I mean, that saying, musicians, we get paid to travel and then we play the gig, but what do we get paid for? The travel. I mean, I've flown to South America for one 30-minute show and then flown right back. So that's a lot of travel time and not a lot of playing. And that's a lot of time that you have to be with each other, and if you're with somebody that just drives you nuts, that's the worst thing ever. And then you can tell on stage too. So you know there's good chemistry when — you can feel it, is what I'm saying, on stage. And I think the audience can always feel it too."

In January 2019, VIXEN recruited Lewis as its new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis had already performed with VIXEN in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Petrucci, bassist Share Ross and Lightning vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988),"Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest full-length release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

More than two years ago, Ross announced that she was "taking a hiatus" from VIXEN. Her replacement is Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock group BARRA DE SAIA and wife of Richie Kotzen. Lage made her live debut with VIXEN on February 8, 2022 at the pre-Monsters Of Rock cruise concert at Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida.

Last year, VIXEN released a new single called "Red". The official music video for the track, which was written and produced by CINDERELLA drummer Fred Coury, was directed by Drew Johnston and Vicente Cordero and edited by Ryan Conion.

Party mode On!🤘Ready to Rock the 80s? Friday Aug 2nd @foellingertheatre in Fort Wayne Indiana with our friends Slaughter...

Posted by Brittany Denaro on Thursday, August 1, 2024

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's upcoming follow-up to 2021's "Persona Non Grata" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm writing the new record right now. We were going to go in the studio in a week, but we needed more time. We're not ready. And if we rushed it, that'd be a huge mistake. Unfortunately, due to touring commitments, our next gap to get in and do this proper, it's, like, the beginning of next year. So, we're pushing back, but it's gonna be worth it 'cause the songs are just coming along very well. I'm super pleased. Stuff's heavy."

He continued: "The last album we had all the time in the world due to the pandemic, and the results are apparent in the record, and to follow 'Persona Non Grata' with a rushed release would be the dumbest thing we could possibly do. But it's coming along — it's coming along really well. Actually, I've got 10 songs I'm working on. Lee's [Altus, EXODUS guitarist] got some stuff, and we'll take it from there."

Asked if it looks like the next EXODUS album will be released in 2025, Gary replied: "Oh, yeah, for sure. It will be next year. It's just gonna be later next year than we hoped."

This past February, EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza said on his Zetro's Toxic Vault YouTube channel about the musical direction of the band's new material: "I haven't heard anything that they're writing. It usually starts with Tom [Hunting, drums] and Gary. So, it'll be music and then drums. And then when they have kind of stuff pasted together, then I'll hear bits and pieces of it. It kind of rolls like that, but within three or four weeks' time, what sounds like just riffs put together actually turn into full songs, with lyrics and everything. 'Persona Non Grata' went that way, for sure. And in the past we had done it like that. So that's what's actually happening as far as EXODUS is concerned right now."

Souza went on to say that Napalm Records, with whom EXODUS signed a new record deal last year, was anxious to start working with the band on promoting the upcoming LP.

"It's been 20 years or even more than we were on Nuclear Blast," Zetro said. "I mean, the first record on Nuclear Blast was 'Tempo Of The Damned', and so [it was] in 2003, 2002, I think, when we actually signed to them. And then everything that [former EXODUS singer] Rob Dukes did with them was on there. And then when I came back, [we did] 'Blood In Blood Out' and 'Persona' [with Nuclear Blast].

"[Napalm] seem very excited, and that's always a good thing," he continued. "We had such a great relationship with Nuclear Blast and they were really good to us. I think sometimes change is good and a breath of fresh air comes. And I think that we were due for that. So, it's worked out good. We've got, obviously, Napalm, their deal for us was really, really good and it's a three-album deal, so there's at least three more EXODUS records on the books there. So we just have number one that will start this year at some point."

EXODUS will embark on "The Battle Of '24" North American tour this fall. The trek marks the band's first headlining run in many years and will feature support from thrash metallers HAVOK, metallic hardcore outfit CANDY and crossover thrashers DEAD HEAT. The tour kicks off on November 2 in Tampa, Florida and will thrash across North America, ultimately concluding on December 7 in Los Angeles, California.

"Persona Non Grata" came out in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap.

"Persona Non Grata" was the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of EXODUS's singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Photo credit: Tayva Martinez

Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL played their first concert with their new guitarist — whose name has not yet been disclosed — on Sunday, August 4 at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Râșnov, Romania. Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.

This past June, LACUNA COIL announced the departure of guitarist Diego Cavallotti.

Cavallotti, who joined LACUNA COIL in 2016, initially as a fill-in guitarist following the exit of Marco "Maus" Biazzi, later said in a social media post that "this decision is not the result of my dissatisfaction or desire to explore new opportunities."

When LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti's departure on June 17, the band wrote in a statement: "As we step into a new cycle, writing and recording our next album, we are parting ways with Diego 'DD' Cavallotti. We thank him for the many unforgettable moments shared over the years and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

"All future live plans remain unchanged and the new songs are taking form, we can't wait to share them with our fans."

On August 1, LACUNA COIL released a new single, "Hosting The Shadow". After their successful collaboration with Ash Costello of NEW YEARS DAY on previous single "In The Mean Time", the new track includes a guest appearance by Randy Blythe from LAMB OF GOD.

LACUNA COIL recently completed the "Ignite The Fire" U.S. tour with support from NEW YEARS DAY and OCEANS OF SLUMBER.

In April, LACUNA COIL released "In The Mean Time", featuring Costello. The song's title is a reference to the mean times the world is living in, as well as a reference to the state the band itself is in, between cycles.

In July 2023, LACUNA COIL released the official lyric video for a new track called "Never Dawn". For the song, the band partnered with CMON, the renowned board game publisher behind the popular game "Zombicide".

In a recent interview with Brazil's Sonoridades Inc., LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia spoke about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2019's "Black Anima" album. She said: "I can't really tell you a lot. I can tell you that we are progressing very fast. We are almost, like, 100… We completed, let's say, the demoing. We still have to record the rest of the songs, but we will soon — probably after the tour, after the [May 2024] North American tour. And if everything goes as projected, before the end of the year [it] will be released. And that's already a big news, because we always say, 'We don't know. Maybe.' … I absolutely love the songs. I'm part of the process. But I'm very pleased."

Asked if "Never Dawn" will be on the upcoming album, Cristina said: "I think it will be. I think it will be, 'cause it will make sense. And it also fits with the other songs — it really fits with the other songs. Many heavy songs."

LACUNA COIL has spent some of the last couple of years promoting "Comalies XX", the "deconstructed" and "transported" version of the band's third album, "Comalies".

"Comalies XX" was made available on October 14, 2022 via Century Media Records.

LACUNA COIL celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Comalies", by performing it in its entirety at a one-night-only concert on October 15, 2022 at Fabrique in Milano.

"Comalies" was originally released on October 29, 2002 through Century Media Records. The LP, which featured the band's breakthrough single "Heaven's A Lie", has reportedly gone on to sell over 300,000 copies in the United States alone.

According to Variety, Doppelgänger Releasing, the genre-focused label of Music Box Films, has acquired North American distribution rights to the sequel to the Finnish movie "Heavy Trip" about IMPALED REKTUM, an underground blackened death metal band and their search for their sound: symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme war pagan, Fennoscandian metal. Charades is handling world sales rights.

Released in 2018, "Heavy Trip", a triumphant celebration of Scandinavian black and death metal, introduced us to the group which, for various reasons, had been stuck for 11 years practicing in a basement. The movie ends with IMPALED REKTUM finally performing in front of a receptive metal audience. The sequel, per writer/directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren, opens a few years later with IMPALED REKTUM in jail and with an offer to play Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. Unprepared and imprisoned, the band refuses the festival slot. However, the guitarist's father goes ill and is in dire need as the family home and slaughterhouse are about to be demolished. Cue the music: time to get out of jail!

"Heavier Trip"'s world premiere will be announced imminently followed by a theatrical and home entertainment release this November.

Laatio and Vidgren said in a statement: "If there's one thing the world needs, it's feel-good movies about dudes who play symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandic metal. We're so excited to bring 'Heavier Trip' to audiences in North America and make lots of noise with this sequel's release!"

Charades CEO Pierre Mazars said: "It's a thrill to see 'Heavier Trip' being distributed in the U.S. Music Box Films and Doppelgänger Releasing's eclectic slate, spanning both demanding arthouse cinema and mainstream comedy, leaves no doubt about their ability to draw audiences to theaters. As a metal fan myself, I couldn't be happier."

Brian Andreotti of Music Box Films added: "We were proud to distribute 'Heavy Trip' and we still sport our t-shirts from IMPALED REKTUM's 2018 North American tour. We were excited to hear that Jukka and Juuso were working on a sequel, and the prospect of any other North American distributor trying to challenge our dominance in the symphonic post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme war pagan Fennoscandic metal space was simply not an option. It's been six years since IMPALED REKTUM conquered North America, and we can't wait for their return this fall."

"Heavier Trip" was funded from a consortium of international sources: Finland, Lithuania, Germany, Belgium, and Bulgaria. The sequel was filmed with a slight increase in the budget, which, according to Vidgren, we will see in production value, but, due to inflation, the additional funds, he says, didn't stretch much further than the original movie's budget. However, Laatio does say that this is a bigger movie. With the experience of making the first movie, they were able to, according to Juuso, "Squeeze the air out of the script pretty early, instead of cutting loads of shit in editing."

With filming in their native Finland and at last year's Wacken Open Air in Germany, an epic mud bath, Juuso confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that Mika Lammassaari (MORS SUBITA, ex-ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW, ex-WOLFHEART) is writing "the band's music, the heavier stuff. But we have Swedish occult rock band YEAR OF THE GOAT that's doing the complete score for this film." He continued: "This has been my 10-year plan, to collaborate with them somehow. I had to make the first film so that I had something to give them: 'Would you, would you be in the second film?' I've been a big, big fan of them for a long time, and this is a personal project in many ways for me. It fulfills a lot of my fanboy dreams."

"Heavy Trip" debuted in 2018 at SXSW and was shown in select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin and more, in conjunction with VOD platforms. The sequel has been in the works for six years, with Juuso and Jukka writing and securing funding since the completion of the last movie.

Helmed by first-time feature filmmakers, the original "Heavy Trip" movie was a satire about the aforementioned metal band's efforts to land its first legitimate gig. In the film, Turo (Johannes Holopainen) is stuck in a small village in the Finnish countryside where his greatest passion is being the lead vocalist for the group IMPALED REKTUM. The only problem is that he and his fellow headbangers have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. But that's all about to change when the guys meet the promoter of a huge heavy metal music festival in Norway and decide it's now or never. Hitting the road in a stolen van with a corpse, a coffin, and a new drummer from a local mental hospital in tow, IMPALED REKTUM travels across Scandinavia to make its dreams a reality. This road trip comedy includes a musical brotherhood, grave robbing, Viking heaven, and an armed conflict between Finland and Norway.

According to Juuso, who is a longtime metal fan, "Heavy Trip" initially bombed in Finland, which is widely considered to be the most heavy metal country in the world.

"Nobody went to see it in the Finnish cinemas," Juuso told Metal Hammer magazine in a June 2022 interview. "It was marketed very poorly and to the wrong audience; it was marketed to 15-year-olds but it's not a film for them. They don't know the metal references and they don't listen to metal anyway. After the failed opening, it was pretty much, 'Well, there goes our career. Nobody's going to work with us again.'"

Kai Nordberg and Kaarle Aho reportedly produced the original "Heavy Trip" for Making Movies on a budget of $3.6 million, financed by the Finnish Film Foundation, YLE and Film Camp.

"Heavy Trip" currently has a 94% critic score from 32 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the online review aggregation service that allows both critics and the public to rate movies. The same site has an 83% audience score for "Heavy Trip" from more than 250 reviews.

"We have the craziest fans in Japan," Juuso told Metal Hammer. "They have cosplay over there and one guy cosplayed as the speed camera! And they had special screenings where the music is turned up extra loud. There's a crazy 'Heavy Trip' scene over there."

Former FEAR FACTORY frontman Burton C. Bell will release a new solo single, "Technical Exorcism", on Friday, August 9. A teaser for the official Don Pancho Films-directed music video for the track is available below.

Bell played the first concert with his solo band on June 13 at 1720 in Los Angeles, California.

Backing Bell at the 1720 gig were guitarist Henrik Linde (THE VITALS, DREN),drummer Ryan Junior Kittlitz (ALL HAIL THE YETI, THE ACID HELPS),bassist Tony Baumeister (ÆGES) and multi-instrumentalist Stewart Cararas.

When the 1720 concert was first announced, Burton called the gig a "historic event" and vowed to perform "new songs and classics spanning my career."

This past March, Bell, who recently released his debut solo single, "Anti-Droid", was asked by Knotfest's "Nu Pod" podcast if he has an entire album's worth of material ready to come out. He responded: "No. I'm working on individual singles at a time. I do have a record's worth of music. But I'm adopting the hip-hop strategy where instead of coming up, releasing a single and then the whole album comes out a couple of weeks later, and then a couple of weeks later, when that album is out, the momentum of the single and the whole record just kind of slows and becomes sluggish and just almost crashes. So I learned watching hip-hop artists and other artists as well, [where] they would just release a single at a time, keep that momentum, keep that spotlight on them and just release a single every few weeks and just keep that momentum going."

He continued: "In this day and age, the short attention span of the masses is very apparent. There's this old saying in economics, less is more — supply and demand, less is more. So if you just feed 'em just a little bit at a time, they wanna hear more. And that's where the interest stays. They're compelled to keep listening. 'Oh, he's got something else coming out. Oh, he's got something else coming out.'"

Bell went on to tease his next single, which he described as "heavy", "groovy" and "dark. It's more uptempo. It's got more guitar in it," he revealed. "And it's gonna be awesome. I've got a couple of guest artists on this next track that it's gonna be sick. I recruited Paul Ferguson again, and I've also recruited Norman Westberg, guitar player from SWANS. SWANS is one of my favorite bands of all time and it's a band that influenced not just me but NEUROSIS — a lot of bands — GODFLESH."

Asked if he is planning to play shows or get a band together to promo his music, Bell said: "Yes to all of those questions. I'm in the process of booking a show. It's gonna be a showcase. It's gonna be in L.A., and I have a band together. They're already working on [the set]. It's a retrospection, so I plan to play four new songs, some deep-cut FEAR FACTORY, some [ASCENSION OF THE] WATCHERS, some G/Z/R, some CITY OF FIRE.

"My new music is an amalgamation of everything I've ever done, and I'm gonna basically put it all together into this package and just see what happens," he explained. "And the live show, it's gonna be heavy, it's gonna be groovy. And I wanna create a vibe. I really do."

When "Anti-Droid" was first released in March, Bell said in a statement: "I'm starting my solo career. I'm working with different producers and co-songwriters, making music that I love, with full control of the music and creative direction."

Bell's discography includes multiple live and recorded collaborations with BLACK SABBATH icon Geezer Butler and JOURNEY's Deen Castronovo (as G/Z/R); industrial maverick Al Jourgensen and MINISTRY; and guest vocal appearances with PITCHSHIFTER, CONFLICT, SOIL, STATIC-X, SOULFLY and DELAIN, among others. He's the vocalist of ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS and CITY OF FIRE and, of course, the co-creator of FEAR FACTORY and the only musician to appear on every FEAR FACTORY release from 1992 through 2024.

FEAR FACTORY created a sound that revolutionized extreme metal, defined in no small part by Bell's innovative scream/sing dichotomy and the influences he brought from post-punk and industrial. Songs like "Replica", "Linchpin", "Edgecrusher", "Fear Campaign", "Archetype", "Cyber Waste" and "Zero Signal" are modern metal anthems. "Demanufacture" (1995) and the RIAA gold-certified "Obsolete" (1998) are genre-redefining works heralded by fans and critics as essential albums. Orwell, Bradbury, "Blade Runner", and sophisticated sci-fi and fantasy works fed Bell's lyrics and concepts.

The band toured the world with METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, KORN, MEGADETH and OZZY OSBOURNE, taking bands like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and STATIC-X out as support acts in their early stages. After years of behind-the-scenes band member turmoil and legal issues, Bell left FEAR FACTORY in the fall of 2020.

In the chorus of "Anti-Droid", he declares: "I'd rather be dead than a slave to the factory."

Bell says "Anti-Droid" is "a statement about breaking free. Breaking the bonds of what I felt was a prison in many ways. Not just financially or contractually but creatively, as well. I felt constrained to this format we'd written ourselves into. The 'factory' doesn't have a capital F. It's the factory of the music industry, a certain form of business, and priorities. Being a slave to an established way of thinking is not really freedom. I am moving forward."

Like the faithful cover of RAMMSTEIN's "Du Hast" he released in 2023, or the cover of "Enter Sandman" recorded with DANZIG's John Christ and METALLICA's Robert Trujillo more than a decade before, Bell's solo work embodies the best of hard rock, metal, and industrial's past, present and future. "Anti-Droid" is but the opening salvo in a brand-new campaign, which will see Burton C. Bell releasing increasingly innovative yet classic feeling, ever-engaging solo material.

The 55-year-old Bell had been largely inactive on the musical front since officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY in September 2020. At the time he said that he could not "align" himself with someone whom he did not trust or respect, an apparent reference to FEAR FACTORY founding guitarist Dino Cazares.

During an appearance on a May 2023 episode of the "Home Is Where The Dark Is" podcast, Bell reflected on his musical journey so far, saying: "I've had a lot of incredible ups in my career, a lot of incredible high points. I've had some devastatingly low points. But for me, this is all I wanna do.

"I consider myself an artist — multifaceted, but first and foremost I'm a musician; I'm a singer. So I wanna keep continuing that," he explained.

"I love performing on stage. I love being out in front of the crowd. I love the energy of the audience, and I miss it completely.

"I am making plans — I'm making steps to get back onstage."

At the end of the chat, when host Alex Crescioni thanked Bell for his "inspiring" musical output over the years, including that with FEAR FACTORY and ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS, Burton said: "People will hear those again. When I get back on the road, I'll be playing… I'm proud of 99 percent of the songs we did [with] FEAR FACTORY. Not every song is a winner, but I'm proud of all the work I did with FEAR FACTORY, THE WATCHERS, GZR, CITY OF FIRE, MINISTRY, HATEFACE. There's all these bands I've been part of. So when I go on the road, I will be playing music from all of these bands. Obviously, a lot from FEAR FACTORY, 'cause I got 30 years of that. But it's not gonna be all about FEAR FACTORY. It's gonna be FEAR FACTORY, WATCHERS, classic GZR, CITY OF FIRE — just do all of it. It's gonna be fun. And I'm jamming with some guys right now. We're working on it and making those steps to make that happen."

In March 2023, Bell was asked by Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast how it felt to see FEAR FACTORY going out on tour with someone else singing the parts he originally wrote and recorded with the band. He responded: "It doesn't affect me at all. To be honest, I haven't been this happy in a long time. More power to them, but I'm just moving forward in my own life, my own career, and I'm just trying to make a name for myself."

Asked if he has checked out any of the videos on YouTube of FEAR FACTORY performing with his replacement, the Italian-born singer Milo Silvestro, Bell said: "No, I don't. I don't care to."

Burton went on to say that he doesn't mind being asked about FEAR FACTORY despite the fact that he is no longer in the band. "FEAR FACTORY, it's what I'm known for," he explained. "And the 30 years I had with FEAR FACTORY were some of the proudest moments of my career. And everything I've ever done in FEAR FACTORY I'm very proud of. Even some of the questionable things I've done in FEAR FACTORY I'm still proud of. It was a great legacy."

During an April 2022 appearance on an episode of "The Ex-Man" podcast hosted by Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES),Bell touched upon FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", which was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Bell and fellow original FF member Dino Cazares (guitar) alongside drummer Mike Heller.

"I was just happy that record finally came out," Burton said. "We finished that record in 2017. By the time it came out, I'd forgotten all about it. 'Oh, yeah, I remember that song. Oh yeah.'

"There's some good songs on that record. The song 'Collapse' is a good song. The title track 'Monolith' is a good song," he added, referencing the LP's original working title, before it was changed by Cazares.

When Coyle noted that the mix on "Aggression Continuum" is "great," Bell hesitated for a couple of seconds before reluctantly agreeing. "I guess," he said. "When I finished the record [in 2017], the record was done and agreed upon and then further work was done without my say."

Elsewhere in the chat, Burton admitted that "it was difficult" for him to leave FEAR FACTORY. "Stepping away from FEAR FACTORY was not an easy decision by [any] means," he said. "But what I experienced for the 10 years before that, the lawsuits, the acrimony, that was the one that killed me. And I just had to step away to realize, you know, they can take all this stuff from me — they can take the money, they can take the royalties, they can take the trademark away from me — and I realized that didn't define me. They can take that, but I'm still Burton C. Bell, motherfucker, and whatever I have they can't take. So I'm just kind of moving forward and doing new things."

According to Bell, hardship is par for the course for most musicians, who often find themselves victims of bad contracts, unscrupulous management and, all too often, what appears to be a penchant for self-destruction.

"I knew a long time ago I wanted to be an artist — way before I was in FEAR FACTORY," he said. "When I was in high school, I was, like, 'I wanna be an artist.' To be an artist, you've gotta suffer. You've gotta understand that people wanna take from you the entire time — what you create they wanna make money off of and take it away from you and just give you a pittance. But being bitter is not my style — never has been.

"Whatever negativity has happened in the past with FEAR FACTORY doesn't even hold up to the amount of positivity that has happened," he continued. "If you think about the negative, it can weigh you down so much, but it's not really that much in comparison to what the band achieved, what we created, what we provided to the music world, and for that I'm proud and very happy.

"No one likes to talk to a bitter person at all," Burton added. "Me for one. It's, like, 'Man, just get over it and just move on.' 'Cause holding on to the past doesn't serve me anything, it doesn't serve anybody else anything. Move on and show 'em what you can do from that point forward."

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's latest LP.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

Last year, Bell unveiled "Paradise Found", his debut exhibition of photographic works, at the Vincent Castiglia Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The photographs Bell presented were representational of his industrial and science-fiction aesthetic.

"Paradise Found" consisted of 20 original full-color photographs of abandoned industrial buildings taken in darkness and fog from 2002 to 2003. Bell's images are printed on aluminum using the dye sublimation process — an approach Bell calls "celluloid impressionism."

Bell's ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS project released its second full-length album, "Apocrypha", in October 2020 via Dissonance Productions.
08/09/2024
Burton C Bell New Song New Video
TECHNICAL EXORCISM
filmed and directed by @donpanchofilmspic.twitter.com/kNeLDeLKBY

— Burton C Bell (@Burton_C_Bell) August 5, 2024

Fan-filmed video of Joe Lynn Turner's August 3 performance at the Gigantes Del Rock festival at Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia can be seen below.

This past April, Turner said that he was "finally living" his" truth" after dropping the hairpiece he had worn since the age of 14 after being diagnosed with alopecia at three years old.

The former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE singer, who turned 73 earlier this month, went public with his new look in August 2022 in a series publicity images released to promote his latest solo album, "Belly Of The Beast". In a press release for the LP, Joe said that he started wearing the wig to deal with "emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying in school."

In a recent interview with VRP Rocks, Joe was asked why now was the right time to finally ditch the wig after all these years. He said: "I guess it's like a fine wine — not before it's time. Everything is timing. It was an open secret. It wasn't like a big deal. I mean, wearing hair — how many people wear hair out there? Unbelievable. And I won't mention any names, now that I'm here in the truth, but it was time for me to just say, to hell with all that — to hell with it.

"I had amazing support and love, of course, from my wife and family and people around me. And they just said, 'Look, you actually look good.' They go, 'A lot of guys can't do this look,' they said. 'But you actually look more badass.' So I said, 'Okay. That's a step in the right direction — more badass.'

"People said, 'Well, was it because you did a metal album?' And I said, 'Well, no, but it coincided,'" he explained It kind of came in like an apex, like when things things come together, so to speak. It just happened that the timing was right. But it was the right thing to do at the right time because I felt comfortable.

"You have to understand — this was not a decision that I made. This was because I was born completely with heads of hair and the whole bit, but I had an autoimmune deficiency. And I won't get into that and why, 'cause it's gonna upset some people, but that's what happened. And during the days when everybody was coming up with THE BEATLES, everybody had to have the hair. So what did I do? I went out and got the wigs. Boom, boom, boom. And it worked. I mean, there were still some people didn't understand I wore a wig. So it worked pretty good. But I never tried to say no. And I had people like my brother Glenn [Hughes] defending me and stuff. One time somebody was saying, 'How about that guy with the wig?' And Glenn was ready to bust him; he was ready to hit him. I said, 'Glenn, this guy's an idiot. Just let it go.' But when you have that kind of love, support and understanding from people you admire — family, friends, compadres — come on, man. So I had to do it. I just said, 'You know, it's time. I'm 70 years old. What am I waiting for?

"I'm really used to it now. I'm really enjoying it. It's a freedom. It's a truth. In my opinion, in a world of lies, I'm finally living my truth. I think that was an important personal message for me. If I'm gonna speak the truth on 'Belly Of The Beast', I'm going to be the truth. So here we are, people. Like it or not, this is me. And I think some people still don't have the courage to do that. Okay. I understand. I'm not judging them. Not at all. But I just felt, for me, I had to be an example. And the love and support I got from the fans out there, it was overwhelming. It absolutely made me cry one night. I was just like tearing up talking to my wife, looking at all these great comments and just saying… She said, 'See, they love you even more.' And I went, 'You're so right. When you're down to earth, when you're real, they love you even more.' And a lot of people said, 'Boy, that's bravery. That's courage.' Of course, you had a few guys saying, like, 'What's the big deal?' Hey, look, pal, what's the big deal? If it happened to you, it would be a big deal. It's all relative. It's all subjective. And it was a big deal for 60-something years. It was a big deal — hiding in plain sight."

Asked if it was a relief to finally let it go and be himself, Joe said: "Oh, man. Shower, everything. So easy to get dressed. Boom. You know what I mean? [Laughs] Really cool. I mean, for me, it's like such a burden is lifted — psychologically, physically, optically.

"I had people… For example, when I get hired sometimes for these big private parties, one guy said, 'My people know you with the hair. Could you put the hair on?' 'Yeah, that'll be another 10 thousand dollars, but I'll put the hair on.' And I would do it, because it's costuming," he explained.

"Everybody out there is costumed. You know what I mean? I think that was Glenn's — yeah, that was one of his remarks. He said, 'Look, it's like Shakespeare said. The world is a stage. We're all actors. Everybody has a costume. Everybody. And that was a costume. So what's the big deal? Look at KISS. They did it right from the beginning… But I'll tell you what: for me? Freeing? Yes. Validating? Yes. Relieving? Yes. All of those words — all of the above and more."

Turner previously discussed his alopecia battle in a November 2022 interview with Metal Talk. At the time, he said: "I lost my hair at three years old, and I'm in the medical books because of that. People who get alopecia totalis, or whatever that type of alopecia is, usually get it in their thirties to forties. Men and women. So at three years old, that was remarkable. I found a doctor when I was nineteen, and he started to give me a certain type of steroid injections, and I started to grow facial hair and body hair. I also had a moustache and beard for a while, which didn't look very good. They actually put me on display at the Mayo Clinic in New York, where all these doctors came in with their clipboards, taking notes to see how he did this because it was medical history at that point. Nowadays, they actually have a drug or something that will grow hair, but the side effects are supposed to be a little dangerous, and I'm too old for that. I don't need that. I like the way I look. I'm comfortable with it now.

"As far as the people I've worked with, when I walked in to audition for RAINBOW, Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover were at the board at the studio," he continued. "One of the first things Ritchie said to me was, 'Do you take your hair off to wash it or do you leave it on?' And I said, 'Either way.' So he said, 'All right. Fair enough, Get in there and sing.' And, obviously, I got the job. So I guess that answers one question of how other people took it. Nobody, at least the people that I worked with, seemed bothered at all. In fact, they were very protective in a way. I'll never forget one time when Glenn Hughes and I were with HTP [HUGHES TURNER PROJECT], we were on the road, and there was one bully, you know, and he was giving me some kind of shit. I mouthed off to him and everything else, but Glenn just got in the way and said to him, 'Look, I'll kick your fucking ass if you don't leave him alone.' And I was, like, 'Wow. Hey, Glenn, you don't have to do all that, you know? I've been fighting my battles for years.' But I was really impressed, and I love him. To this day, we're great friends.

"So, my people loved it, but there were a few haters out there that were always mocking me, making fun of me," Turner revealed. "For them, it was never really about the singing, the writing or anything. It was always about the wig, the hair, you know. [Laughs] I think it says more about them than it does me. I mean, they must have some pathetic lives to make fun of someone who's not in control of this issue. You know, it's not like I chose it.

"Anyway, it made me stronger. As the press release says, I think it made me wiser. It also made me more determined, focused, and angry. But anger is a good tool if you use it right. It's a motivator. And I think it motivated me, too, to try to rise higher than the rest. So in a way, the curse was a blessing."

Turner also discussed his decision to drop the wig in an interview in September 2022 with the "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern" podcast. At the time, he said: "It's absolutely liberating. First of all, I'll give a little background. It was an open secret. It wasn't like I was trying to fool people or ever denied it or anything. In fact, I never thought it was that important, but certain, shall we say haters, or whatever, these bigots, these bullies, they would always take a shot at me, which I always thought they were just pretty jealous, really, to be honest with you. And then it said more about them than it does me. That's not my kind of people. What about the music? That's what's important."

He continued: "I knew this was on my so-called bucket list before I was gonna leave this planet. And while we were making this record, I started to feel, 'Something has to happen.' And my partner, wife, co-manager — she's amazing — she just said, 'Now's the time, man.' And I said, 'You know, you're right.' Even though I was trepidatious about it — of course, she would know naturally I would be a little fearful, because you're putting your foot in an unknown territory — she said, 'You know what? Once you're yourself, people love you more.' And she was damn well right. Once you're yourself, people love you more, because you come out and say, 'This is me. I've got nothing to hide. I've got nothing to prove. Take your shots. Do what you've gotta do. And hey, by the way, here's the record. Now what?'"

Alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Hair follicles are the structures in skin that form hair. While hair can be lost from any part of the body, alopecia areata usually affects the head and face. Hair typically falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter, but in some cases, hair loss is more extensive. Most people with the disease are healthy and have no other symptoms.

Alopecia became a topic of discussion in the mainstream media in March 2022 when actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony. Will's wife, the 52-year-old actress Jade Pinkett Smith, experienced hair loss due to alopecia and has always openly shared her struggle. The confrontation took place after Rock made a joke, calling Pinkett Smith "G.I. Jane" in reference to her bald head, which she has previously explained is due to alopecia. The shocking incident saw Will storm on stage to hit Chris following the offending comment before returning to his seat and yelling "keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth" shortly before he collected his best actor gong for his role in "King Richard".

A few hours after Joe first posted his new photos on social media, fellow ex-RAINBOW singer Graham Bonnet took to his Facebook page to share one of the images and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Hi all. Graham here. I'm posting this photo of my friend Joe Lynn Turner because I was moved to tears today when I saw it.

"Joe exemplifies the meaning of rockstar. His bravery is staggering. This industry is ruthless (especially in our genre),particularly when it comes to hair. I still hear the tale about Ritchie Blackmore posting a guard at my hotel door to keep me from getting a haircut. BTW, that never happened, although he was so pissed when I did visit the barber.

"But I digress...... I don't know if Joe will see this but I want him to know how proud I am of him and how moved I was at his honesty.

"You have blazed a trail today, Joe. If you are reading this, I want you to know that I never realized what a beautiful man you were until I saw this photo."

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

1990 saw Turner reunited with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore in a reformed DEEP PURPLE for the "Slaves And Masters" album.

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Ancient Entities, from Milwaukee, WI is not your average death metal band. With a thematic focus on ancient civilizations, folklore, and mythology from across the globe, their music is a journey through time and legend. Combining technical death metal riffing with thunderous rhythm sections, Ancient Entities creates a sound that is both colossal and captivating. 


This past June they released their debut album “Echoes Of Annihilation” on Worm Hole Death Records. Today, the band has their new music video for the track “Empire In Ashes” - with added bonus footage from their performance at this year's Milwaukee Metal Fest. 


The band comments on some of their backgrounds:




“We have lots of talented musicians in the band. Alex and Luke learned from the same jazz teacher in the Milwaukee area, Steve Peplin. He's a very notable name in Milwaukee and the jazz community. On top of that Alex also took some lessons from Paul Ryan (Origin) in his early 20s and also from Cristiano Trionfera (ex-Fleshgod Apocalypse) a couple of times. Knowledge from these musicians helped form Alex’s style of playing especially when it comes to leads. You can hear a lot of what Paul Ryan calls ‘laser sweeps’ in Echoes Of Annihilation.”


Alex Rausa, the primary songwriter, draws inspiration from various cultures and mythologies, infusing each song with authentic vibes and grandiosity. Brian Gulliford, the band's lyricist, brings Alex's visions to life with vivid storytelling that delves into war tactics, ancient rituals, and the brutality of historical civilizations.


Ancient Entities is picking up steam with recent festival performances and certainly more to come. Echoes Of Annihilation is recommended for fans of Decapitated, Blood Red Throne, and Nile.


New music video for “Empire In Ashes” is streaming below.





Purchase the album on Bandcamp.








For further details, visit Ancient Entities on Facebook.


 

Dallas, Texas modern rock band Empiires has released their latest single "Never Enough" through TLG|ZOID / Virgin Music Group.


"The song 'Never Enough' tells the story of how hard it is to walk away from a bad relationship. We’ve all been in a situation that doesn’t work but we can’t let go. All of the little reminders we think of are the scars we carry around with us. 'Never Enough' sums up that experience for a lot of us," says the band.


They continue, “We’re excited about releasing new music and all of the new listeners we might connect with. We put everything we are into this new track and can’t wait for you to check it out!”




Members, Bishop Booker vocals, Darren Wise guitars, Jeff Comess bass, Chad Crutchfeild drums have been a band for four years. With five charted previous releases, they’re excited about their latest single “Never Enough”.





Empiires live:


August
9 – Hurst, TX – Bronco’s Sports Bar & Grill
23 – North Richland Hills, TX – The Thirsty Turtle


September
6 – Mansfield, TX – Fat Daddy’s Sports & Spirits
13 – Hurst, TX – Bronco’s Sports Bar & Grill
20 – Lewisville, TX – T’s Bar And Grill
27 – North Richland Hills, TX – The Thirsty Turtle
28 – Keller, TX – The Pour Shack


October
26 - North Richland Hills, TX – The Thirsty Turtle


November
2 – Flower Mound, TX – Flower Mound Riverwalk
23 – Lewisville, TX – T’s Bar And Grill


December
6 – North Richland Hills, TX – The Thirsty Turtle

Veonity will release the new album The Final Element on October 18 through Scarlet Records.


As power metal slowly turns softer and synth-based, The Final Element ensures that this trend gets forever broken.


Soaring vocals (courtesy of new frontman Isak Stenvall), twin guitars and mighty choirs – strongly founded on thunderous bass lines and rumbling double bass drums – dominate and define the sixth Veonity's studio album: the playful, energetic and well-crafted songs of the Swedish band deliver a full throttle energy boost.




"The Elements Of Power chronicles", a saga of a hero that needs to seal the veil between the Overworld and the Underworld to prevent darkness from gaining control, is finally unraveled, and it couldn't have been more epic and glorious.


The Final Element - mixed and mastered by Ronny Milianowicz at Studio Seven and majestically illustrated by the Spanish master Alvaro Valverde - will be released in the following formats:


- jewel case CD
- vinyl LP (300 transparent green)
- digital


Cover art by Alvaro Valverde / AV Art Illustracion:





Tracklisting:


“Premonition”
“Chains Of Tyranny”
“Horsemen Of The Dark”
“Carry On”
“Riders Of The Revolution”
“Warriors Code”
“Powerstone”
“Heart Of A Warrior”
“Kings Of Dreamland”
“The Fifth Element”


Veonity:
Isak Stenvall - vocals
Samuel Lundström - guitar
Anders Sköld - guitar
Kristoffer Lidre - bass
Joel Kollberg - drums


(Photo – Mathias Flink / Edit – Thomas Holmstrand)

Germany’s greatest export Scorpions performed live at Wacken Open Air 2024 and they were joined by Doro Pesch for the Love At First Sting classic “Big City Nights.


Check out fan-filmed video below:







Scorpions will celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2025 and guitarist Rudolf Schenker says “interesting things” will be happening in an interview with Spain’s Mariskal Rock.





Talking 60 years of Scorpions, Schenker reflects, “60 years of Scorpions. Sounds like very old band. Maybe on one hand it is, maybe. But on the other hand, we always kept our mind fresh, to be on the spot. That's the very important point. Many bands came up and exploded and were so successful. But the problem is success is a very dangerous thing because the egos fighting in the band together. [The] Beatles, as an example. [The Rolling] Stones managed to stay together. So, and the same with the Scorpions. We started from Germany, very slowly. 


“It was not easy for us to go in other countries then, but we managed it. By doing this, we made our personal Scorpions logo so strong that we, as people, Klaus [Meine, singer] and me, and Matthias [Jabs, guitarist], we became partners in crime, partners in friendship. And because we know how difficult it is to go around the world and make it, make success happening, but we made it with our own power, not make big managements or stuff like this in the first place. No - we did by our own. Out of that, we know what success is all about, and I think that's the important point. And that's the situation, is that when we celebrate next year's 60 years of Scorpions, there will be some interesting things happening."


Deadline is exclusively reporting that Ali Afshar‘s ESX Entertainment has signed on to develop and produce the musical biopic Wind Of Change, about German rock band Scorpions, which will tell the story of three unlikely friends whose passion for rock n’ roll fueled their rise from the ashes of post-World War II Germany to the global stardom in the 1980s as the multi-platinum rock band Scorpions.


With their home soil still divided, and friends and family on the other side of the Berlin Wall, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine & Matthias Jabs made the bold decision to defy state bans and take a leap of faith behind Soviet lines to fill arenas in the heart of the USSR. At the height of their revolutionary tour, the band releases what will become the defining theme for the end of the Cold War – a ballad that circles the globe as the Wall comes down and resonates to this day as an anthem for peace.


The movie’s title comes from the band’s 1991 global hit single, which was released after the failed coup that would lead to the end of the Soviet Union. That’s when the Soviet Union’s hardline Communist party hardliners tried to take control of the USSR from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The single sold 14M copies worldwide.   


French-born filmmaker Alex Ranarivelo (American Wrestler: The Wizard) will direct.


Read more at Deadline.

Hungarian-born singer Dorothy Martin's life changed forever when she was forced to face death on her tour bus around five years ago. After her guitar technician had taken an overdose, and the light began to lift up and out from his body, Dorothy instinctively began praying for his survival. While he may have temporarily died, the technician was astonishingly, miraculously restored back to life as Dorothy and her crew formed a prayer circle near his body. It was this moment that seemed to bring Dorothy to life too. She was gifted a rebirth with a divine intervention that caused a radical and spiritual awakening in the singer.

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Dorothy reflected on the experience of seeing the guitar tech being brought back from the brink of death. Asked how much the event changed her own life, she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Like, 180. It was a real experience. And I I get crap from people, but I get a lot of people who understand who are believers. And I think that night I had a real encounter with the Holy Spirit. And at the time I didn't know it was the Holy Spirit, but now I do, 'cause I've become more educated in my journey. I've come a little further in my journey and my walk with God."

She continued: "I didn't get saved until I went to rehab in 2020. I checked in on Halloween and I had another radical encounter with the Holy spirit there. And when God calls you, God calls you. Some people, God just calls 'em. Some people are searching. I just know that if you search and you reach out, you'll get an answer. It might be immediately, it might take some time. And after that night on the bus. I knew, because I'd prayed the night before, 'God, if you're real, please show me.' And he did. And I wasn't a Christian. I wasn't saved, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt, because of what I had experienced, that God was real. And that was a very tangible experience."

Dorothy added: "We're all on a journey and the story's unfolding. And as I've come further in it, I've learned a lot more."

Reflecting on the turning point when she got sober, Dorothy said: "I went to rehab in 2020, and that's when I actually picked up the Bible and got saved. And then I came home and did the whole baptism thing. And, yeah, it's just been kind of a learning experience since then.

"Listen, when you give your life to God, you're a threat to the darkness, and so it's not necessarily all rainbows and butterflies," she explained. "We're in spiritual warfare. I think everyone can kind of sense it on some level. What's happening in the spirit is playing out in the natural and in the physical world. So, we're in a fight. It's not always easy. But I try to take it one day at a time, stay surrendered to God, stay away from ego and pride. I'm just a human being. I'm just a messenger. I try to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit and do the will of God and plant messages that will help people in the songs that I write.

"I'm not preaching to you," Dorothy added. "I'm not trying to convert anybody. You all have free will. You can choose to do what you want. But I do wanna encourage people to live a better way, because there is a better way. And life's not easy. We all have challenges and battles, but we have hope, and we have a creator that cares about us."

Asked if those kinds of experiences will help people relate to the lyrics on her upcoming album, "The Way", which will arrive in the fall, Dorothy said: "I had a crazy experience one time. I was driving on the freeway. And I kept seeing these signs on the freeway flashing: 'If you're tired, pull over.' And I was, like, 'I'm not tired.' But I saw it a second time, and then I saw it a third time and I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to pull off and go, 'Take a rest.' And I had to go to the bathroom. So I went to like an Amazon grocery store, and I walked in and there's music playing over the loudspeakers. And I think it was Bonnie Raitt, 'Love Sneakin' Up On You'… I went in the bathroom, and the lyrics became sort of — it was like God highlighted the lyrics to me. It was magnified. It was like he was speaking to me through the song. And I felt the presence, I felt the love, I felt like he was telling me, 'I love you.' And he was also kind of telling me, 'This is what I'm gonna do for people with your music,' to kind of give me a broader understanding of why I'm here, what this music's about, what it's used for. Because you can use it for bad and you can use it for good. You can use it to encourage people to abuse drugs and alcohol and be violent, or you can use it to encourage people to seek a better way or to tell them that you love them or that they're loved or that there's hope or encourage them. So I got an understanding of the bigger responsibility when it comes to being a songwriter and a musician. And that was a really special experience. He's, like, 'This is what I'm gonna do with you and your music and touch people.' So I think what will happen is some of those lyrics will resonate with certain people and a seed will be planted and they'll get a message and they'll hear something that they need to hear."

Last month, Dorothy a new single called "MUD". The track was produced by Scott Stevens (HALESTORM, SHINEDOWN, NOTHING MORE).

Dorothy's discography thus far includes "Gifts From The Holy Ghost" (2022),which was inspired by a spiritual awakening, as well as "ROCKISDEAD" (2016),which inspired Roc Nation to sign the artist to the label, and "28 Days In The Valley" (2018). The Budapest, Hungary-born stunner has enjoyed over one billion global streams combined across her career and has participated in high-profile collaborations with everyone from STAIND to Slash of GUNS N' ROSES to Scott Stapp of CREED to ALICE COOPER guitarist Nita Strauss, earning and ultimately cementing her place among the hard rock elite.

Ascending Canadian post-punk sect Pøltergeist will release their debut album Nachtmusik, on October 25 via Bad Omen Records. Recorded in their native Calgary and mixed by Felix Fung (Spell, Spectres) at Little Red Sounds in Vancouver, the record is a dust covered collection of gothic death rock laced with heavy metal grit, which builds on the momentum of the band's debut 7" "Fall To Ruin" - a split with label mates Spell.


Nachtmusik is preceded by the single "Children Of The Dark", perhaps the most perfect distillation of the Pøltergeist style;, a catchy, tempestuous rocker that also functions thematically on a dual level- not only as Kalen reckons "a call to arms for people who share a passion for underground music" but also arriving via a morbid angle to assault the iniquities of the modern labour market; a Stokerist-critique of late-stage capitalism, if you will, but laden with biting hooks.


As Edgar Allan Poe once noted in The Masque Of The Red Death, "there are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion" - it was exactly these that Kalen Baker reached for - in splendid isolation in Grande Prairie, Alberta - at the very genesis of Pøltergeist, whilst fashioning the sepulchral serenades which would form his new band's mighty statement of intent 'Nachtmusik'.




Having played in the traditional metal band Whyte Diamond in Calgary in his teens, Baker moved 450 miles away for work in late 2019. "It was harsh and isolating being away from the Calgary scene, and I didn't end up meeting many musicians who were into the same stuff as me" he notes. "I started recording demos alone in the room I was renting and put them on Bandcamp. I didn't expect much from it, I just wanted a way to make music".


This isolation was exacerbated by the pandemic, and coincided with a period in which Baker's tastes were broadening from the epic metallic chills he'd grown up on into darker quarters. Having always had a penchant for the mystical metallic strains of Angel Witch, Cauldron and Blue Öyster Cult, he found himself moved by both Vancouver contemporary post-punk act Spectres and the epochal British melancholia of The Chameleons' 'Script From The Bridge', not to mention gothic and post-punk legends like Sisters Of Mercy and The Sound, and paradigms of the ethereal like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.


"I consider us first and foremost a Post-Punk band, but heavy metal will always play an important role," says Kalen, citing the likes of In Solitude, Unto Others and Tribulation as bands who've explored the hinterlands between the two worlds. "When I got really into Goth rock, one thing I noticed was that it was just as cold and bleak as black metal but in a different way.”


With this union bolstered by the lyrical influence of spiritual progenitors like Moorcock, Lovecraft, Poe and the David Lynch of Twin Peaks, the sound of Pøltergeist was born - a gritty but magickal realm where crepuscular intensity is joined in psychic battle by metallic fortitude. Whilst the like of the driving “Burning Sword” and “Ethereal Nightmare” may bear the ghoulish atmosphere of deathrock fury past, they're just as riven with the epic bravura and melodic salvation of the finest NWOBHM vintage, as well as possessing an emotional core that transposes the sound and fury to a contemporary world.


The band is now completed by guitarist Jacob Ponton, former Whyte Diamond bassist Ben Wytham and punk rock-styled drummer Amy Moore (although Al Lester from label mates Spell filled in on the recordings) and this line-up recently fulfilled a dream of supporting their trans-generational kindred spirits The Mission in Calgary - sure to be only the first of manifold triumphs to come.


Nachtmusik is true to Kalen's vision of 'a kaleidoscope of emotions, sounds and ideas'. Beguilingly ethereal but riven with steadfast intent, this is a record whose heart may yearn for the spiritual realm of the 1980s but whose feet are firmly treading the twenty-first century here and now. As storm clouds gather overhead, Pøltergeist's journey into darkness is just beginning.





Tracklisting:


“Einfürung”
“Burning Sword”
“Ethereal Nightmare”
“Cold In September”
“Yesterday Fades”
“Nachtmusik”
“Children Of The Dark”
“Swallowed By The Ocean”
“Will We Ever Live Again”
“Walking Alone”
“Dammerung (Outro)”


“Children Of The Dark” video:

Speed/thrash metal band, MindWars, will release their fifth album, appropriately titled V, on September 9. Lyric video for opening track "Stand Guard At The Gates Of Your Mind" is streaming below.


V is the culmination of 10 years of collaboration and dedication of the band to revitalize old school thrash with the taste and aggression of toady’s music. The band is a three-piece conglomeration of varied influences with a common goal to create music they love and hope you will too.


MindWars was formed at the end of 2013 after Mike Alvord (formerly of Holy Terror) and Roby Vitari (formerly of Headcrasher) reconnected through social media. The two met by chance in 1989 when Holy Terror was touring with Exodus and Nuclear Assault.




Roby brought in a juggernaut of a guitarist Danny “Z” Pizzi to play bass. The three managed to record and produce two solid albums (The Enemy Within - 2014 and Sworn To Secrecy - 2016, which was engineered by the mighty Bill Metoyer). In 2017, Roby decided to relocate to Newport Beach, CA and the band soon found that having Danny still in Italy was impossible for the band to play live shows. In 2019, the band decided to hand over the bass duties to the veteran, Rick Zaccaro.


The band proceeded to write and record their highly acclaimed album The Fourth Turning and Danny taking on the role of second guitar. Due to various circumstances and the fact that Danny still lived in Italy, the band decided to continue on as a three piece and toured Japan in the fall of 2024, which culminated at True Thrash Fest 2024 with a co-headlining spot alongside Cyclone.


The Fourth Turning was released during the dog days of COVID and the band immediately started writing new material. Prior to COVID, the band also had a mini-US tour (opening one show for Raven).


The fifth album, V, was recorded during the first few months of 2024 and is slated to be released in September, just in time for MindWars to support their best album yet on their upcoming European Tour, which will end with a performance at the 2024 Storm Crusher Festival.


MindWars is currently unsigned and is solicitingng label support for distribution of V.





Tracklisting:


"Stand Guard At The Gates Of Your Mind"
"Live To Die"
"Beneath The Trees"
"Crusaders"
"The Road To Madagascar"
"West Of Nowhere"
"Chasing The Wind"
"Source Of Destruction"
"Into The Known"
"Vultures Of The Eighth Wonder"
"The Logical Song"


"Stand Guard At The Gates Of Your Mind" lyric video:

Anticipation continues as California masters of brutal aggression Nails reveals the latest single, “Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy”, from the band’s long-awaited, 4th full-length album, Every Bridge Burning, due out August 30 from Nuclear Blast Records.


Following the catastrophic tracks “Give Me The Painkiller” and “Imposing Will”, Nails unleashes a 2+ minute, groove-laden song that seethes with contempt and disdain.  


Every Bridge Burning was produced by Kurt Ballou at God City Studio and is adorned with aptly diabolic artwork by Jef Whitehead. Their first record in 8 years features 10 tracks of unyielding, violence that can only be described as the sound of Nails.




Preorder Every Bridge Burning here.





Tracklisting:


"Imposing Will"
"Punishment Map"
"Every Bridge Burning"
"Give Me The Painkiller"
"Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy"
"Trapped"
"Made Up In Your Mind"
"Dehumanized"
"I Can’t Turn It Off"
"No More Rivers To Cross"


"Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy":





"Give Me The Painkiller":





"Imposing Will":





(Photo - Hristo Shindov)

Get ready for a sonic autopsy! Southern California thrash, punk, and grindcore maniacs Trip To The Morgue has inked a deal with Wormholedeath Records for their new album, Toe Tagged & Body Bagged, set to be unleashed on the masses on September 13, 2024.


The band expressed their excitement about the partnership: "We were in contact with Wormholedeath early in the creation of our new CD. There were a few things that drew us to the label; the existing client list of hardcore and metal bands, the word of mouth as a reputable label, and the work ethic of everyone involved at Wormholedeath Records. After many emails and correspondence with Carlo and Carla, we were able to agree and see that Carlo was willing to work as hard or more than the band was willing to work to ensure our success. This was a 'no-brainer' for Trip To The Morgue. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Carlo and his team, share a label with talented like-minded, and ambitious musicians and bands, but most of all for the sincerity and dedication of those at the label who patiently worked with us to help gather and get our logistics together for a successful promotion and presentation of the band."


Toe Tagged & Body Bagged is a sonic time capsule, that transports listeners back to the golden age of thrash, crossover, grindcore, and hardcore. Brace yourself for a pummeling onslaught of heavy riffs, breakneck tempos, and unadulterated aggression, all inspired by the bands that laid the foundation for extreme music.




Dive into the sonic carnage and witness the band's fury in the music video for "Digging Your Grave" featuring Mitch Harris of Napalm Death:





Toe Tagged & Body Bagged cover art and tracklist:





"Disorder" 
"Toe Tagged & Body Bagged" 
"Digging Your Grave" (Feat. Mitch Harris of Napalm Death)
"Aluminum Bat" 
"Nuclear Holocaust"
"Broken Glass" 
"Tribal Lust" 
"F*ckin Die" 





For further details, visit Trip To The Morgue on Facebook.


 

Writer Andrew Daly of Rock Candy magazine sat down with legendary AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry for a wide-ranging interview where the 73-year-old insisted that new music from the Boston legends could certainly happen. "There's definitely a possibility," Perry said. "I know that Steven [Tyler, AEROSMITH singer] has got some stuff in his back pocket, so we'll see. I'm currently writing stuff for a new HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES album, but after that… What we are definitely doing is remixing some of the early AEROSMITH stuff and finding some interesting outtakes, so it'll be fun to look at that stuff."

AEROSMITH's last new material appeared on the "Music From Another Dimension!" album 12 years ago in 2012, so the band's fans have been starved of new material. Perry, Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton, guitarist Brad Whitford and drummer John Douglas are heading out on the road for the last part of their "Peace Out" tour that was halted in September of 2023 when Tyler developed vocal problems. There were fears the vocalist might never sing again.

"It was pretty heavy," Perry told Andrew Daly. "Imagine being told that you might not ever do it again. It all can be taken away so easily." Now that AEROSMITH are finally back in the saddle it looks like their rejuvenation could be made complete with new music.

You can read the 12-page Joe Perry interview in issue 45 of Rock Candy, as well as in-depth stories and interviews with BLACK SABBATH, VAIN, FIREHOUSE, ANVIL, Sebastian Bach, Jon Anderson and more.

For more details, visit www.rockcandymag.com.

Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly rock mag, created in the U.K. It covers the sights, sounds and smells from the greatest era in hard rock music, the '70s and '80s. It is the brainchild of respected U.K. rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome — all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era.

"Music From Another Dimension!" was released when AEROSMITH's label, Columbia Records, was reportedly going through a leadership change, and it ended up becoming a commercial disappointment.

When AEROSMITH announced the "Peace Out" tour in early 2023, the band also shared news of drummer Joey Kramer's absence from this touring run, saying: "While Joey Kramer remains a beloved founding member of AEROSMITH, he has regrettably made the decision to sit out the currently scheduled touring dates to focus his full attention on his family and health. Joey's unmistakable and legendary presence behind the drum kit will be sorely missed."

Prior to launching the "Peace Out" tour, AEROSMITH wrapped their critically acclaimed Las Vegas residency, "Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild", at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The 90-minute live performance took fans deep diving into AEROSMITH's groundbreaking career with exclusive, unreleased audio and never-before-seen visuals from the band's archives produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning global visual effects studio Pixomondo.

Ahead of the residency, AEROSMITH returned to their hometown in Boston to perform a record-breaking one-off show at Fenway Park as part of the legendary band's 50th anniversary celebrations. With over 38,700 people in attendance, it was the most tickets sold to date for a show at the iconic venue.

For more than two years, AEROSMITH's longtime drum tech John Douglas has been filling in on drums for Kramer, whose wife, Linda Gail Kramer, died in June 2022 at the age of 55. No cause of death has been revealed.

AEROSMITH played its first concert in more than two and a half years on September 4, 2022 in Bangor, Maine.

Prior to the show at Maine Savings Amphitheater, the band's last live performance took place in February 2020 in Las Vegas as part of AEROSMITH's "Deuces Are Wild" residency.

In May 2022, AEROSMITH announced that Tyler had entered a treatment program following a relapse, prompting the band to put their Las Vegas residency on a temporary hold.

Tyler had been struggling with drug and alcohol addiction since the mid-1980s. Over the course of the last four decades, he had relapsed several times, including in the early 2000s and 2009.

Joey has had his own health difficulties in recent years. Kramer suffered a health scare back in 2014, which was initially reported to be "heart-related complications".

In a new interview with Glide Magazine, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King spoke about the rumors which circulated for a while that PANTERA's Philip Anselmo would sing on the debut album from King's solo project. Kerry said: "Well, the Phil connection that was loved by all the suits. And by suits, I mean the booking agents, the promoters, and my manager because they all see dollar signs. And, you know, I'm not upset with that. That's what they get paid to do. But I told them all along, I'm, like, 'Phil's not the guy.' I said, 'I've got the guy,' and they fought me tooth and nail all the way through. But at the end of the day, you know, I'm in charge."

He continued: "We had conversations with Phil, but it never even got to a point where we played in a room together. He was dragging his feet for a long time because I don't think he really wanted to do it. And he got some music and I think he realized it was probably too thrashy for him and what his style is these days. So, you know, the PANTERA thing came around and that just flew right out the door. Never thought of it again."

This past May, Kerry told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that his conversations with Philip about collaborating together "didn't get real far". He added: "And everything you saw online, that was just all rumors, because it never got past me and Phil talking about it.

"I've known Phil decades — I've known Phil before [PANTERA's] 'Cowboy From Hell' [album] came out," King continued. "He's been a friend of mine throughout the years. And all the business suits wanted me to go that way — my manager, my record company, my promoter, everybody — because it's it's gonna put massive butts in seats, so to speak. But talking to [Phil] about it, I know this is too thrashy a project for him. I'm not saying he can't do it; I'm saying I don't think he wanted to do it. But we did a little bit of legwork on it, and especially once [the] PANTERA [reunion] came up, that just blew it out of the water."

Kerry previously discussed the possibility of Philip singing on his solo album back in February during an interview with Rolling Stone. At the time, King acknowledged that a collaboration with Anselmo "was considered. My management, my promoter, my record label all wanted Phil," he explained. "Phil's a good friend of mine, but I always thought he's not the right guy. That has nothing to do with his ability; I just knew he wasn't the right guy. When you hear Mark [Osegueda, DEATH ANGEL singer] on this record, you know that's the guy.

"I had to do due diligence, because at the end of the day, had Philip been the guy, we'd be in arenas immediately because we could play new stuff, we could play PANTERA, we could play SLAYER, and fans would've been happy. It ended when the PANTERA thing came up."

Pressed about the rumors that Kerry was at one point going to be part of the PANTERA reunion, the guitarist replied: "I won't confirm or deny that."

King went on to say that Mark "was on board early on" for Kerry's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise". "I just didn't pull that trigger," Kerry said. "I was, like, 'Let's see what happens.' Say for instance, [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford calls me and says, 'Hey, I would love to be your singer,' I'd have to go that way.

"Mark knew how I expected the songs to be performed. On my demos, I sing with very good conviction, but I don’t have pipes; that's why I don't sing. With 'Residue', he sounded so good I had to ask him, 'Is this sustainable? I don't want you to blow your load on this record and then blow your voice out every third show.' And he swore up and down he could do it. He went on to some of the harder ones and did the same thing on those, so I went, 'Okay.'

When the interviewer said that Mark's vocals make King's music album like SLAYER, Kerry said: "Well, that's me putting the vocals together. Tom [Araya, SLAYER frontman] could scream his ass off. I'll never take that away from Tom. His conviction might come and go — and I'm not looking to jab at Tom, that's not the point — but Mark just showed up every fucking day and is on point every fucking second of every song."

"From Hell I Rise" was released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist alongside the rest of his solo band, consisting of Osegueda, drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),guitarist Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE) and bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH).

King's first-ever festival solo appearance came in early May, just two days after his solo group made its live debut at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.

KERRY KING is the special guest on the LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON North American "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headline tour. The six-week run launched on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.