In a new interview with Elena Rosberg of link textRadiocast BG, Rob Halford was asked about the significance of the album title "Invincible Shield" for a band like JUDAS PRIEST. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "JUDAS PRIEST has been defending the faith of heavy metal, not just the music, but everything related to heavy metal, since we began. And as we were making this record, it's my job as the lyricist to find ideas, to find expressions, to find songtitles that convey not only the music that you're making as you create an album, but to give a title, a significant title, that sends a potent message, idea that says, 'This is JUDAS PRIEST, this is our music and this is an invincible shield.' So then, I remember the day when I'm sitting at my home in Phoenix and I'm on my laptop and a pencil, a pencil and some paper writing things down. And I go, I got the word 'invincible'. And then suddenly from nowhere… This is the joy of creativity. Artists will tell you, we don't know where these things come from. You have to grab them quickly, like lightning in a bottle. And then I think of the word 'shield', and I put the two together, 'invincible shield'. Like, 'Wow, this is JUDAS PRIEST. We're an invincible shield in heavy metal, what we've been doing for so long.' And then I go, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute. All of us, every single person on the planet, has an invincible shield inside of them.' And what I mean by that is we all are gifted by God to have this never-ending well of faith, this never-ending well of hope, this never-ending well of preservation, this never-ending well of sustaining ourselves, our families, our friends. Everything that we do together comes in the form of the power of an invincible shield. So that was a bonus. That was not only the title for the music, but it was also a title for everybody."

Halford added: "All of us have an invincible shield. When you think of some of the things that each of us have, in our lives, have had a challenge. We've had a dark moment, whether it's a medical issue, whether it's work, whether it's something very, very potent. But we've survived, we've pushed through. We look back now and we go, 'How did I get through that?' That's your invincible shield. That's the power that humanity has to survive in every aspect of what that word suggests. What does survive mean? It means many, many things. So the joy of having the title of the album be so expansive was just, again, another extra blessing. So there you have it. Invincible shield for JUDAS PRIEST and invincible shield for humanity."

When Rosberg asked Rob if it is "sometimes overwhelming" to have such "a great responsibility" as a person who is conveying certain messages to a large audience, Halford replied: "Yeah, it can be. It can be. You have to find a balance. You have to find a harmony. I love the power of words. Words can do many, many things. The way you choose words, the way you put words together, they can lift you up, they can bring you solace, that can bring you, again, hope, they can bring you all of these things. They can also bring negativity, they can also bring destruction, they can bring war, they can bring political angst and disruption in separating the light from the dark, the truth from the lies, all of these things can be made together by words. I love words. I love putting words together. So when I was writing 'Panic Attack', and I'm talking about the way that social media can be used in a very potent, and sometimes [negative ways through] disinformation, conspiracy theories. All of these attitudes, all of these emotions, all of these ideas come from words. They come from people speaking, they come from people sending instant messages, writing in various forums and quorums on the Internet. So, I think deeply about things like that, and I try to convey those personal feelings and ideas into songs that are still full of joy and power and excitement and energy and good feelings. And that's a tricky thing to do, because JUDAS PRIEST isn't a political band. We're not a socially motivated band. We don't speak out too much on these types of world affairs, world events, but I thought for this record, I'm gonna take a leap of faith, because our fans are smart, our fans are intelligent. They understand this world that we live in when we talk about that side of the social media, that side of the Internet, the double-edged sword of the internet, the good, the bad, the light, the dark, the yin, the yang. And it's turned out that 'Panic Attack' has been the most rewarding song for our fans that we've made.

"So, yes, there is a responsibility," Rob continued. "There's a responsibility from your creativity to do your very best, not to accept anything just for acceptance. Work really hard. We spend an enormous amount of time making these songs because we treasure them. They're gonna be here long after we're gone. So you want to leave something that will have the power to bring joy, have the power to bring passion, excitement, energy, have the power to bring some thinking about the song. What will people think about 'Panic Attack' a hundred years from now? I think about that. [Laughs] I think so deeply about so many aspects of what we're about in JUDAS PRIEST."

Halford added: "So, yes, responsibility. The ultimate responsibility is when you're on that stage. You're on that stage, you're pouring out your heart, you're pouring out your soul in your performance, and you have a responsibility to give every part of yourself at that show."

JUDAS PRIEST recently announced leg two of its "Invincible Shield" tour with special guest SABATON. The all-time greats will take over new markets in North America this fall with an additional 23 performances.

Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on September 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and makes stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona and more before wrapping up with three shows in Texas on October 22, 24 and 26.

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the spring 2024 U.S. leg of the "Invincible Shield" world tour on April 18 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

"Invincible Shield" entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

Sebastian Bach was joined by his 11-year-old stepson Trace on guitar and his 35-year-old son Paris on drums for a performance of the SKID ROW classic "Youth Gone Wild" during Sebastian's free July 20 concert at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Bach's latest studio album, "Child Within The Man", was released on May 10 via Reigning Phoenix Music. The LP was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

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

In an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Sebastian spoke about the inspiration for the "Child Within The Man" title. He said: "Well, my wife calls me man-child. That's kind of been a theme for me my whole career. I bring a youthful energy to the stage when I get up there. People are smiling and excited and hooting and hollering. But the line 'child within the man' is a line of one of the songs on the record. And I scream it like bloody murder. And it kept haunting me. "

Sebastian also talked about the "Child Within The Man" artwork, which holds special meaning since it was designed by Bach's father, noted visual artist David Bierk.

"I have a lot of my dad's artwork," Bach said. "He's no longer alive. And we all, all of his kids, we got a lot of his art when he passed away. And I unrolled a roll of paintings that I knew had the SKID ROW 'Subhuman Race' painting in it, and I wanna take care of it and make sure it's preserved. But in that roll was this painting that I remember my dad doing of me when I was 10 in a field next to this beat-up old Cadillac car in the field and then behind the car, it's Jesus ascending into heaven, and I'm running next to the car. It looks like an album cover. And then he also did a painting of me from Circus magazine, the first centerfold of me on stage at Giants Stadium. He did a gigantic painting of that, like 12 feet high. And so the cover is gonna be me running as a child into me on stage as a man, and it's child within the man. And it just reminds me of the '70s, like child in time, and it just reminds me of a good '70s album cover. And the fact that I can bring back a painting from the year 1978 and make it into artwork in 2023, 2024, that's really mind-blowing to me."

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" U.S. tour got underway May 10 in Jefferson, Louisiana and wrapped on June 29 in San Diego, California.

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



LIVE with Sebastian Bach

Posted by Fremont Street Experience on Saturday, July 20, 2024

In a new interview with Prescription Punk Rock, vocalist Roger Miret of New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on material for the follow-up to 2019's "Get Loud!" album. "We're currently writing right now," he said. "We've got about eight songs."

Asked if it gets harder for AGNOSTIC FRONT to write new music after having done it for so long, Roger said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "First of all, we have to — we like the songs, we have to like the songs a lot, we have to love the songs, and we have to believe in them. And if we believe in them, we have to then trust that the people will love them and enjoy them too. But there's always the critics, there's always somebody waiting for you to mess up or do something or wanna just bring you down. But they have no one idea how hard it is to write songs when you're under that microscope. Unfortunately, when you get to a certain level of a band — we're going on our 14th album, whatever, spanning a career of 42 years— it's a long career. And most people love it, but there's always that critic, and you can never change their mind, whatever. But I'm here for the people that wanna accept and enjoy our show. We just wanna come to your place, have a great time. We wanna play, make new friends, meet new people and do what we love. And that's who I'm there for, playing for, that's who I write songs for."

Regarding the lyrical themes he covers in AGNOSTIC FRONT's songs, Roger said: "We've always been socially political. We don't really talk about world politics. We'll touch on it here and there, but that's a touchy subject. Everybody's got a really strong opinion about stuff. And some of it's valid, some of it's not what you think… I try to work on day-to-day stuff that happens around me, socially stuff. And I write about real stuff — my experience; it doesn't mean [it will be the same as] your experience."

He continued: "It was interesting. When I was writing my book, I was telling these stories, and I had Amy from NAUSEA, who is the mother of my child. And I respect the mother of my child — I have a lot of respect — I said, 'Hey. I'm writing this book. These are these stories. I want you to read them because it's about you too. So I don't wanna say anything that would upset you.' And the funniest thing of the whole conversation was when she says, 'You know, it's funny. We have two different visions of the same story.' And I never thought about it. I remember what I wanna remember, she remembers what she wants to remember. We were both living the same story, but it's what you take of it. I could witness something and I could write something about it and you witnessed the same thing and you write something different about it. But it's the same thing; it's just how we perceive it in our minds. And it's interesting 'cause with that thought in mind, I'm, like, these are my stories. If you want to listen to my stories, you can. If you don't agree with them, well, this is my experience."

In September 2021, Miret revealed that his cancer was in remission.

After Miret was diagnosed with cancer in early 2021, a long road of tests and diagnoses led to a complex initial surgery and lengthy hospital stay. Even though the original surgery was complicated, the results were extremely positive.

Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the U.S. to escape the Castro regime. He joined AGNOSTIC FRONT in 1983, and the seminal New York hardcore group released classics like "United Blood", "Victim In Pain" and "Cause For Alarm" over the next several years.

In 2017, Miret released a memoir, "My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts, And Glory", which documented his struggles to adapt to life in the U.S. after his family fled the Castro regime. According to the Phoenix New Times, the book delved into many facets of Miret's life: the grinding poverty of his childhood; living as a teenager squatter; becoming deeply enmeshed in downtown New York’s hardcore scene; and later turning to drug-running to support his family.

In addition to fronting AGNOSTIC FRONT, Miret has also played with ROGER MIRET AND THE DISASTERS and is a member of THE ALLIGATORS.

For the past several years, Roger has resided in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Photo credit: Lad & Misfit Photography

Red Hot Chili Peppers will commemorate the 25th anniversary of their Californication album with a 2LP limited edition coloured vinyl pressing, available this Friday (July 26) via Rhino Records.





On June 8, 1999, Red Hot Chili Peppers released their seventh studio album, Californication. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and marked the return of guitarist John Frusciante - his first recording with the band since the 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.




Californication has since become the band's best-selling album, driven by the success of three hit singles: "Scar Tissue", "Otherside," and "Californication". "Scar Tissue" won the Best Rock Song Grammy Award in 2000. Underlining the strength and depth of the album, "Road Trippin'," "Around The World," and "Parallel Universe" were also released as singles.


The album has sold over 15 million copies globally, and is 7 times Platinum in the US. It has reached multi-platinum status in many countries including the UK, Canada, Germany, France, and Australia.


To mark the 25th anniversary of this landmark album, a limited edition double vinyl is being released - with one LP pressed on red vinyl and one LP on ocean blue vinyl.


Pre-order the album here.

Ace Frehley headlined the 80’s Rock Invasion at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, MI on July 20. Other acts that performed were Great White, Slaughter, Steve Adler, and Vixen. 


Check out fan-filmed video of the entire set:







Setlist:


“Shock Me”
“Deuce”
“10,000 Volts”
“Shout It Loud”
“Love Gun”
“Rocket Ride”
“New York Groove” (with “God Of Thunder” tease)
“Rip It Out”
“Detroit Rock City”
“Love Her All I Can” (partial instrumental)
“Cold Gin”
Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
“Rock And Roll All Nite”

Heart’s Nancy Wilson has uploaded a video of Chris Cornell covering the Rolling Stones classic “Wild Horses” in 1991 to mark what would have been the Soundgarden / Audioslave singer’s 60th birthday. 


The performance of “Wild Horses” took place September 22, 1991 during a Seattle show by the Heart acoustic side project the Lovemongers, whose cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Battle Of Evermore” appears with Cornell’s “Seasons” on the Singles soundtrack released in 1992.


 

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, have shared anouther throwback video for Sunday Lunch. Check out their performance of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" below.





The new episode of The Osbournes podcast is available for streaming below.




Descrpition: "The Osbourne fam is back and answering YOUR fan questions: including Ozzy's dream band members and fast food favorites. The conversation flows into hilarious personal stories and memories about travel, dealing with airport mishaps, favorite snacks, and more. The family also discusses their travel essentials and the unpredictable nature of flying, complete with humorous anecdotes and past travel experiences."

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is featured in a new interview conducted by The Guardian. Following is an excerpt from the Q&A.


Q:  What is your greatest fear?


Dickinson: "Well, I’m not too happy about snakes. I also hate sand. It’s very inconvenient."




Q: What scares you about getting older?


Dickinson: "I always work five years in advance; that way I am never surprised. Right now, for example, I am 70. Every year for the next five years will therefore be a cause for celebration."


Q: What is the closest you’ve come to death?


Dickinson: "I’ve been asleep at the wheel on the M11, had an engine fire over the Atlantic in a light aircraft, driven unprotected through an enemy firing zone to do a gig in wartime Sarajevo – the list goes on and on. But I did have stage 3 throat cancer and was cured by some fantastic UK medics."


Read more via The Guardian here.


When we thought that nothing could surprise us anymore in the heavy metal world, a 'miracle' happened recently in Zagreb! Iron Maiden icons Paul Di'Anno and Bruce Dickinson met for the first time and had a friendly chat right in Croatia. New video from the meeting can be viewed below:

German techno metallers, Electric Callboy, performed at Rock Am Ring 2024 in Nürburg, Germany on June 8th. Pro-shot video of the entire show can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"Tekkno Train"
"MC Thunder II (Dancing Like a Ninja)"
"Spaceman"
"Hate/Love"
"Everytime We Touch" (Cascada)
"Castrop X Spandau"
"Arrow of Love"
"Hypa Hypa"
"Parasite"
"RATATATA" (with Babymetal)
"Let It Go / I Want It That Way"
"Hurrikan"
"MC Thunder"
"Pump It"
"Mindreader"
"We Got the Moves"







Electric Callboy and Japan's Babymetal recently teamed up for a new song, "Ratatata", which is now available on all digital platforms.


They have released an official live video for the song, which can be viewed below. It was shot on May 25th at Fox Fest 2024 in Saitama, Japan, and was the first time Electric Callboy and Babymetal performed together live.

DarWin, the ongoing musical exploration featuring Simon Phillips, Mohini Dey, Greg Howe, Derek Sherinian and Matt Bissonette, recently released a video for "Hulks & Heroes", a track from their new album, Five Steps On The Sun. They have shared an official video for the closing track, "What Do We Know".





Five Steps On The Sun is available on CD and strictly Limited Heavyweight Vinyl including exclusive poster.







Tracklisting:


"Soul Police"
"Inside This Zoo"
"Be That Man"
"One Step On The Sun"
"Five Steps On The Sun"
"The Sun"
"Imitation Suede"
"Seasons Of A Life"
"Hulks & Heroes"
"What Do We Know"


"One Step On The Sun" video:





"Be That Man" video:

The masters of Neue Deutsche Härte, Stahlmann, have released the single "Asche Zu Asche" from their new album, Phosphor, which will be released on August 9th. Check it out below, stream or download it here.





Phosphorus, the element that can shine so brightly, burn so hot and destroy - this is the return of Neue Deutsche Härte icons Stahlmann. With German lyrics, an unmistakable look and their unique mix of alternative metal, industrial, new wave and techno, the band stands out from the rest of the crowd. Dark and epic, Stahlmann ring in a new era and the 15th Stahlmann year with Phosphor.




Phosphor is released as a jewelcase CD and comes with a brand new Phosphor T-shirt design. The exclusive, strictly limited fan box includes the CD, a Stahmann patch and stickers, a lanyard, a handwritten, numbered certificate and a high-quality lighter with Stahlmann design. Get it here.    

Acclaimed British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer Steven Wilson has expressed his concern for the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in the music industry. His comments come after several songs used A.I. technology to "clone" his vocals and create new tracks.

Wilson, who has been the driving force in a number of musical projects since the 1980s, the best known of which is the rock band PORCUPINE TREE, shared his sentiments in a social media post on Friday (July 19). He wrote: "For the last few years when I've been asked in interviews about the future of music, I've talked about a scenario I fully expect to happen whereby musicians wouldn't be needed anymore, and neither would pre-recorded tracks. Music will be made in real time for listeners by artificial intelligence depending on their requirements at that moment. You will choose the singer that you want to sing the song for you (Freddie Mercury, Aretha Franklin, John Lennon whoever),the subject matter you want them to sing about, and the musical genre. And it will generate that piece of music for you in real time, at which point you can choose to save it away for a future listen, share it with your friends, or erase it. For me personally things just took a big step further in that direction with several artificial intelligence created Steven Wilson tracks that have been brought to my attention. I don't know who created them or what their motivation was, but even I really struggle to hear that it's not me singing these songs. No matter what I might think about the quality of the music, this is uncanny, almost surreal.

"We're in the midst of a seismic change in the way music is made and how people engage with it," he added. "Do the majority even care that they aren't listening to a human being? The future bites indeed. Please let me know your thoughts."

Wilson isn't the only rock musician who has expressed his concern about the way A.I. could be incorporated in music in the future. Last September, Brian May from QUEEN told Guitar Player magazine: " I think a lot of great stuff will come from A.I., because it is going to increase the powers of humans to solve problems. My major concern with it now is in the artistic area. I think by this time next year the landscape will be completely different. We won't know what’s been created by A.I. and what's been created by humans.”

He continued: "I think we might look back on 2023 as the last year when humans really dominated the music scene. … It makes me feel apprehensive, and I'm preparing to feel sad about this.”

May added that he was worried about "the potential for A.I. to cause evil" in all areas, not just music. "I think the whole thing is massively scary," he said. " It's much more far-reaching than anybody realized — well, certainly than I realized."

During a July 2023 appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored", KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked if he was "excited or worried about artificial intelligence, particularly [as it relates to] the music business." He responded: "Music business aside, I am concerned about the lack of legislation. When you enter a new, let's say a new planet, you're about to land on a new [planet], well, clearly there's opportunity there, there are minerals and things — all kinds of opportunities. Without rules of the game… It's like playing sports without rules. Who's gonna do what? You need some rules that are kind and beneficial to mankind, womankind, transkind, all kinds of kinds. Okay, does that cover everybody?"

He continued: "The problem with A.I. is not… A.I. is here, whether you like it or not. So let's look at it smartly and let's pass legislation. A.I. creates a song using my voice, or what sounds like my voice, with a new song, and it sounds just like me and it definitely sounds like that kind of a thing. So when you buy it, who owns the copyright and the publishing, if A.I. did that? So, is it me, because it sounds like me? You could swear it was me. So these are uncharted [territories]."

This past May, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash weighed in on a debate about people using an A.I. music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning models. He told the Battleground Podcast: "I'm not super excited about this new development, only because I just know that people, for the most part, are gonna use it so much that it's gonna… For one, it's gonna be confusing and misleading. And then there's just gonna be too much of the same kind of look or sound for different things. I see it happening already.

"I'm the guy that likes to go into a studio and record a band live and do it analog, like [my new blues] record ['Orgy Of The Damned'], so the idea of A.I., I can't think of any application where it makes any sense to me for what it is that I do," he continued. "And I'm interested to see who comes up with something really great and unique and useful for me. But having A.I. reproduce anything or actually produce anything original in terms of music does not really thrill me. You can have it write lyrics, you can have it do anything but you doing the actual work and it doesn't thrill me."

Slash clarified that "the technology itself is a human achievement. I mean, it's amazing," he explained. "And technology all the way down the line is always showing some great possibilities with things, but it's how people use them, at the end of the day, as a mass application, that's where you've gotta start worrying."

In a May 2024 interview with Spain's Metal Journal, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt stated about people using A.I. in music: "Everybody's worried and everybody's scared, and how it's gonna change anything. I love it, man. You know why I love it? I'm, like, bring it on. Do more of it. Because what that does, the people who do that and use it and think they can emulate emotion, the bigger, to me, rock and roll is gonna get. Because rock and roll, if you notice — look at all the technology that's happened since the 1930s, everything from telephones to television, to cell phones, to computers to synthesize everything else, what has changed in the guitar? Nothing. Zero. What has changed in a drum set? Nothing. What has changed in a bass guitar? Nothing. A microphone.

"Rock and roll, to me, is, is always there because it's broken," he explained. "It's not artificial. It's not perfect. It's all the imperfections, is what makes us shine. It's the danger of it. A.I. can do all you want — to write lyrics, to write song, to do whatever, even record, to do whatever — but it's always gonna sound sterilized, even when they try… Because even if they tried to sound like, let's say, I don't know, LED ZEPPELIN… LED ZEPPELIN didn't even sound like LED ZEPPELIN every night. Sometimes they were great, sometimes they were sloppy, sometimes it was amazing, and that's the danger, and that's the thing of rock and roll that you will never be able to capture with A.I. I don't give a fuck how much they're gonna try.

"You could see just with the [latest] EXTREME album [2023's 'Six'] — fuck EXTREME; it didn't even matter that it was EXTREME — you could see with just doing an album, people were just thanking us, 'Thank you for a rock album,' 'Thank you just for some rock and roll.' That's how starved and famine that we have. So, to me, the more sterilized pop music, which it's always kind of been already for the last 10, 20 years anyways, it's been very sterilized and very Auto-Tuned and very all that, the bigger rock and roll is gonna be.

"Sometimes I feel like Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix'," Nuno added. "Rock and roll will always outdo any technology or anything that anybody throws at it, because, you know why? Getting in front of an audience will never — A.I. will never be able to step on stage and replicate what we do at any given second or moment, what we say, the sweat, the love, the passion, the audience. That relationship is untouchable by A.I. Period."

Last September, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman told Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips about people using A.I. in music: "There's gotta be something positive in it. And regardless of whether we're fearful of technology or not, it's gonna be a reality — period. So I think we can fight it all the way and there's been guys in the music business fighting analog and digital forever."

He continued: "It's kind of nostalgic to think of the days when everything was analog and you sat down and you listened to a whole album from beginning to end and it's wonderful and people can still enjoy that, but technology has allowed you and I to talk like this, technology has allowed Pro Tools to happen, which has created some of the best ideas for recording in history."

Friedman added: "We just can't fight it all the way because it's like spitting against heaven; it's not gonna mean anything. So A.I., I think its best years are yet to come. It hasn't really done anything that's kicked my ass yet. Of what I've seen, it's just been kind of cute little funny little mashups and stuff, nothing I'd want to sit down and listen to an album of, but technology and A.I. and all that stuff is a reality. It's not going away, for better or for worse. So the sooner we accept it and accept how we can not only live with it, but benefit by it, the healthier we can all enjoy our lives rather than being some old guy just saying, 'I hate this stuff.' It's really easy to fall into that, especially from people of a previous generation, because we know how good it was back then. There's a lot of crap now because of technology, and it's easy to hate on all that stuff, but it's not going away. So what's the benefit in being negative about it?"

For the last few years when I’ve been asked in interviews about the future of music, I’ve talked about a scenario I...

Posted by Steven Wilson on Friday, July 19, 2024

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

During an appearance on the "Bullseye With Jesse Thorn", Serj reflected on his decision to ask out of the band seven years ago. He explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In 2017, after we played a long tour in Europe, 20-something dates, we came back and I was confident at the time that touring was not for me anymore. I had severe back problems, 'cause I hurt my back on tour, in the middle of the tour, in Belgium, I remember, and I was still reeling from it. And over time, over the number of years, because we were… We took a hiatus between 2006 and 2011, and then we kind of toured between 2011 and 2017. And at that point, I was, like, I just really don't wanna tour. I just got over the travel, the physicality of it. I love performing. I just didn't want the travel. And it also gets redundant artistically after a while, while you're on tour, if it's more than one or two shows. So we had a band meeting discussing multiple things, and I asked to add me as one item on the band meeting. And when it got to my turn, I just said, 'Who's throwing me the going-away party. Who's gonna MC it?' And they're, like, 'What?' I'm, like, 'You guys know that I don't wanna tour, and we haven't been able to make a record.' So I kind of [said], 'If you guys need to find a new singer, I'm totally open to that, 'cause I love and respect you guys and I don't wanna hold you back. The band is something very important, not just to you guys, but to me. And let's figure something out, if I can help. Let's be one of those unique situations that instead of cussing each other out and going our separate ways or me going my separate way, let me be constructive. Let me help you find someone, if necessary.' I wanted to give them an option. Now, if you asked me, if I was staying in the band at the time, in 2017, and someone else was gonna leave, I would never continue without them."

Serj continued: "I think SYSTEM OF A DOWN should always be us four. But irrespective of what I felt, because I was the one getting in their way, if you will, I wanted to give them an option. So, that's why I did that. And at the time, they were just, like, 'No, man. It's cool. If something comes up, an opportunity, we'll send it your way. We won't put pressure.' 'Cause before that, if something came up, they were, like, 'Come on, we've gotta do this tour. Come on.' There was a lot of pressure to do tours, to perform and stuff. And I just didn't want that pressure anymore. So they promised they wouldn't do that. And so that kind of changed things a little, at least at that time."

Tankian went on to say that being in a band with several other people is "a unique dynamic". He explained: "They're your creative partners. They're your business partners. No one can have the same exact vision. No one can have the same exact thought process. And trying to negotiate all that where everyone is happy is really, really not easy."

Tankian also talked about his creative partnership with guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian who had initially written all the music for SYSTEM OF A DOWN. He said: "We had the same vision starting. Daron and I were definitely on the same page when we started. And at first, he wrote all the music and I wrote all the lyrics for our first record. Second record, I started bringing in some more music, he started bringing in more lyrics. I would say that 'Steal This Album', which is our third record, it was almost 50-50. I was bringing in half the songs with lyrics, and he was bringing the other half of the songs with lyrics, and then I would add to his lyrics, and he would add to my music, or whatever, rearrange some of the music. So it was very balanced, which is kind of why I really love that album, even though it's not the biggest hit record album, and we've never toured for it. Most of those songs were never played live, but there's something special about 'Steal This Album' for me.

"By the time we got around to 'Mezmerize' [and] 'Hypnotize', while we were working on 'Mezmerize' [and] 'Hypnotize', I told the guys, I gave them like a two-years heads up and said, 'Listen, when we're done with this next record phase, I need to do my own thing.'"

Tankian previously discussed SYSTEM OF A DOWN's inability to make a new studio album earlier in the month in an interview with the "Broken Record" podcast. He said at the time: "Creatively, I keep on making music and making art and doing creatively what I'm meant to do. And if the opportunity arises for us to work together in an egalitarian fashion in the right way with the right vibe and the right influence, then we'll do it.

"In 2020, we put out two songs because there was the invasion of Artsakh and Armenia happening by Azerbaijan during COVID, and people didn't know about what was going on so we used the band and putting out new music as an opportunity to spread awareness and we were successful in doing so," he explained. "So hopefully it's not just the decimation of our people that's gonna take SYSTEM OF A DOWN writing new music, but I think when that time is, and I don't know if it is ever or if it will be, that would be amazing. But I don't get sad by it, because to me it is what it is. When it's right, then it happens. When it's not, it shouldn't happen."

Asked if he would be okay with SYSTEM OF A DOWN going on without him, with a different singer in his place, Serj said: "Absolutely. I've offered them that opportunity and been very supportive of it many years. If they wanted to do that, if they wanted to continue in a way that I didn't — for example, if they wanted to tour a lot and I just wanna do a couple of shows here and there, because I'm not into touring a lot, to be fair to them, if they wanted to do that, I'm totally open to it still. I'm not sure they want to do that. They haven't until now, and I think it would take something away from the prestige and legacy of the band itself, but as friends and as someone who cares very much about my partners, I would be okay with it."

Regarding what it is about the four members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN as individuals, the alchemy of them together, that makes the band so great as a unit, Serj said: "Everything that each person is — from their personality to their playing style to how they think, how they feel and the combination thereof — make SYSTEM OF A DOWN what it is. If you take any particle away from this compound, it's not going to be SYSTEM OF A DOWN. It could be calledSYSTEM OF A DOWN, but it's not going to really be SYSTEM OF A DOWN. Even the stubbornness and the creative differences, everything, the push and pull, the manicness, the calmness, all of the above is what makes who we are."

Last month, Serj was asked by Metal Hammer magazine about comments from his SYSTEM bandmate John Dolmayan last year in which the drummer claimed that Serj "hasn't wanted to be in the band for a long time." Serj said: "John means the world to me. He's my brother-in-law, I love him, and I saw him just yesterday, but there are times he's got mad and said fucking shit. And look, there's times I've gotten mad and said fucking shit, too. The option has always been there for the band to move on without me, and John knows that.

"In the end, to me SYSTEM OF A DOWN is beyond the band," he continued. "It's our relationship together. And it means more to me than the band itself, or even the music itself. And that is hard for other people, maybe even other people in the band, to understand. But, as I saw from the stage at Sick New World [festival in Las Vegas] last year, the multi-generational appeal of the music we have made is mind-blowing, bro. Our music is more timeless than we ever imagined, and that is the hugest compliment for any artist."

Two months ago, Serj spoke to the Soul Boom With Rainn Wilson podcast about his reluctance to embrace the touring lifestyle that characterized SYSTEM OF A DOWN's early years. He said: "We've had incredible, unexpected success as a very far-flung kind of progressive metal band with our 'Toxicity' record in 2001 and touring and doing what we did. And after many years of touring, when we were making the last few records which we made together, 'Mezmerize' and 'Hypnotize' — those recordings were done at the same time, then released as two records within six months of each other in 2005 and 2006 — before those sessions, when we first started those sessions, I told the [other] guys [in the band], 'Guys, this kind of cyclical thing that we're doing with making records for a year, touring for two years at that time, doing all this promo publicity,' it was just cyclical. It was, like, 'I've gotta stop. And I also wanna do my own thing. I have other artistic adventures that I wanna get on.'"

He continued: "Part of it was we had so much creativity and input coming into the band, specifically with Daron's [Malakian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist and vocalist] songwriting and me wanting to bring in music as well, because, over time, he became a better lyricist and I became a better musical songwriter, a better composer, so it became kind of like a push and pull, which is really good for bands, actually, 'cause it's a yin-and-yang kind of thing — two strong, creative forces. And it also broken up so many bands. So, before 'Mezmerize' and 'Hypnotize', I basically told the guys, 'Listen, I'd like to take a hiatus. I'm not saying I never wanna do this, but I'm saying I can't do this right now anymore. And I wanna do my own thing and also take time off and have a life, and all of that stuff.' It wasn't taken well at the time. I won't get into that. But years later, we started touring again in 2011, and it became a fun thing, 'cause it left… Nothing was totally resolved creatively, but it became a fun thing because we at least put everything to the side and said, 'Look, we're friends, we're brothers. We've known each other for a long time. We still respect and love each other. Let's go have fun and tour together.' And we've been doing that since. Not as much as they would like, let's say, or I'm not gonna speak for each and every person of the band, because that wouldn't be fair of me either. But generally I'm the least person that wants to tour. Part of that is physical, because it's tiring. I've done it for 20, 25 years, and I had back surgery a few years ago. I'm much better now and all of that. But part of it is that. Part of it is that it's artistically redundant after a while, because it's 'Groundhog Day'; you're repeating yourself. David Bowie said the first two weeks of every tour is basically — I'm paraphrasing — creative; after that, it's redundant, kind of thing, which is correct. So it's that. But I do enjoy playing with the guys, and when it's a one-off, it's actually fun, 'cause there's no pressure to do this whole rigamarang of a long tour or press or anything. You just rehearse together, make your dumb jokes, have food together, and then go and play that one show and it becomes a hoorah. So that's what we've been doing. And I'm grateful for that."

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

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

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

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

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

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

SYSTEM OF A DOWN played its first live show in 11 months on April 27 as one of the headliners of the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada for the second year in a row.

"Down With The System" was released on May 14 via Hachette Books.

YouTube user Anderson soon has shared pro-shot video of Iron Maiden performing at Rock Am Ring 2014 in Nürburg, Germany. CHeck out the full show below.


Setlist:


"Moonchild"
"Can I Play With Madness"
"The Prisoner"
"2 Minutes to Midnight"
"Revelations"
"The Trooper"
"The Number of the Beast"
"Phantom of the Opera"
"Run to the Hills"
"Wasted Years"
"Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
"Wrathchild"
"Fear of the Dark"
"Iron Maiden"




Encore:
"Aces High"
"The Evil That Men Do"
"Sanctuary"





When we thought that nothing could surprise us anymore in the heavy metal world, a 'miracle' happened recently in Zagreb! Iron Maiden icons Paul Di'Anno and Bruce Dickinson met for the first time and had a friendly chat right in Croatia. New video from the meeting can be viewed below:

Bruce Dickinson, during his performance with his band at the Release Athens Festival yesterday, fulfilled the ardent desire of countless Greek fans, even if just for a moment, to hear "Alexander The Great" live, reports rockpages.gr.


At the end of the set, after finishing "Road To Hell," Bruce put on a plastic helmet with a crest and addressed the audience, saying: "I think you want to sing a little more," before starting the chorus of the song.


It should be noted that Iron Maiden played the song for the first time in Slovenia on May 28, 2023, as part of "The Future Past Tour," which did not pass through Greece.

Greek modern heavy metallers Heavenblack have announce the release of the lyric video “The Dominant”, which is their third single taken from the upcoming album Blindfolded.


The song is about the hero of the concept album and the band's lead singer, Marios Kouroupis, comments: “The Dominant is the hero of the story that takes place on the album. He has what it takes to make his dreams come true, which is none other than to conquer the world and remake it according to them!”


The band previously released the video clip “My Insane” and the audio single “Orphan”. Blindfolded is set for release on Friday, August 9 via Sleaszy Rider Records.







"Orphan":





“My Insane”:





Heavenblack is:
Marios Kouroupis – Vocals
Ioannis Patakakis – Guitars
Dimitris Varvarigos – Guitars, Vocals
Mantalena Krikelli – Drums
Giannis Verios – Bass

Finnish black metal act Hexvessel have set their signatures under a multi-album deal with Prophecy Productions. 


Hexvessel will release their seventh studio full-length via the label and have already been confirmed for this year's edition of Prophecy Fest.


"I am a fiercely independent minded artist and Hexvessel has its own sound, ideology and spiritual path", vocalist and guitarist Mat "Kvohst" McNerney explains. "I wanted a label that would respect, care for and nurture that wild art spirit. I have known and been friends with Martin Koller, Stefan Belda, and Prophecy for many years. We go back to the origin of Hexvessel and our first live shows abroad and they have always supported my work. I felt we would always be destined to work together in a creative aspect and I am proud to now come under the banner of a label that stands for true beauty in art and creative music."




Prophecy Productions state: "We are all thrilled to welcome a long-time friend and outstanding artist such as Mat McNerney and Hexvessel to our roster", the label's founder Martin Koller writes. "Hexvessel are in many regards the perfect fit for Prophecy Productions as their highly individualistic and ever evolving music is exciting as hard to pin down and limit to only one genre."


Prophecy Productions state: "We are all thrilled to welcome a long-time friend and outstanding artist such as Mat McNerney and Hexvessel to our roster", the label's founder Martin Koller writes. "Hexvessel are in many regards the perfect fit for Prophecy Productions as their highly individualistic and ever evolving music is exciting as hard to pin down and limit to only one genre."


In celebration of this occasion, Hexvessel have unveiled a visualiser for the previously unreleased song “Under The Lake”.


"I actually started writing 'Under The Lake’ as the first song for our return to black metal before the other parts of 'Polar Veil' took shape", mastermind Mat McNerney reveals. "Although it was always a favourite of mine, 'Under the Lake' still remained unfinished. This was partly due to the fact that its theme was neither polar nor set in wintertime, which meant that the song did not sit well with the rest of the album. Instead 'Under the Lake' is about summer hikes into the secluded and remote deep fell areas where you will find bottomless clear lakes or 'saivo'. In Sámi beliefs, saivos (sáiva) were thought to be homes to the deceased as well as various spirits and deities. The Sámi word sáiva was used to refer to a holy lake or fell, and the spirits residing in it. 


“It could also denote a dwelling of the deceased or anything sacred; depending on the context. A saivo, like our own world, was usually believed to exist beyond a hole at the bottom of a lake, with another identical lake upside down. To me, this is a perfect metaphor for looking at the world. There is a deeper meaning out there, if you look hard enough. 'Under the Lake' ... there is another lake. I am glad that this personal favourite of mine finally comes to see the light of day. It happens in the preternatural summer in which we announce our pact with Prophecy!"

Judas Priest guitarist Andy Sneap joined German metal legends Accept on stage at the Release festival in Athens, Greece for the classic “Balls To The Walls”.


Accept shared the clip on social media and wrote in an accompanying caption: "Just off the stage at Athens where none other than our long time producer, Metal Legend and member of @judaspriest Andy Sneap came up and performed Balls to the Wall with us. Thanks for that brother!! What a killer crowd and show!"







Sneap has produced every Accept record since their return in 2010 with Blood Of The Nations. 


Accept are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2025-2026. The band will be ringing in its golden birthday with a unique anniversary tour at the end of 2025 to mark this mammoth milestone. An anniversary album will be released in early 2026.


Wolf Hoffmann, the driving force behind Accept, was not only significantly involved in the songwriting of every Accept song, but his work has shaped an entire generation of metal musicians. A founder and the longest-standing member, Wolf Hoffmann has made the most impactful contribution to the band's unmistakable sound and success.


Since joining Accept in 1976 at the age of just 16, Wolf played a central role in the band. His instantly recognizable and signature guitar style not only created the Accept "sound" but influenced a plethora of other highly successful bands and guitarists. Because of Wolf's unflinching dedication, Accept has become one of the most significantly defining bands in heavy metal. Not only did he lay the musical foundations for the band, he also carried the band through the highs and the lows that come with a 50-year career.


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.


Wolf Hoffmann comments:


"It's an incredible honor to be able to look back on five decades of a musical career and share our music with so many people. But nothing lasts forever and who knows how much longer we'll be touring…..


"This tour will be very special because we think 50 years of Accept is a GREAT reason to celebrate in style!"





In spring 2026, Accept will be releasing 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.


"We wanted to create something that captures the essence of Accept while offering something new to our loyal fans," explains Wolf Hoffmann. "This album is a tribute to our journey and to everyone who has accompanied us along the way."


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. Wolf 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 Hoffmann was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them were so remarkable, that Accept reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping number-one 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 states:


“Celebrate with us! We invite the world of heavy metal to join us in the celebrations of this extraordinary anniversary!”





Full Metal Assault Tour 2024:


August
31 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky A Go-Go


September
1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Rainbow Backyard Bash 2024
3 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
5 - East Moline, IL - The Rust Belt
6 - Green Bay, WI - Epic Events Center
7 - Des Plaines, IL - Des Plaines Theater
8 - Detroit, MI - District 142
10 - Toronto, ON - QET
11 - Montreal, QC - Rialto Theatre
13 - New York, NY - The Palladium
14 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall
15 - Boston, MA - The Wilbur Theatre
16 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse
18 - Lititz, PA - Mickey's Black Box
20 - Stroudsburg, PA - Sherman Theater
21 - Providence, RI - The Strand Ballroom
22 - Leesburg, VA - Tally Ho Theater
24 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl
26 - New Orleans, LA - The Fillmore
27 - Little Rock, AR - The Hall
28 - Dallas, TX - Tannahill's
29 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theatre


October
1 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
2 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
4 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center
5 - San Diego, CA - The Magnolia
6 - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades
7 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom


European Headline Tour:


October
17 - Istanbul, Turkey - KCP
28 - Toulouse, France - Le Bikini
29 - Lyon, France - Transbordeur
31 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix


November
1 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
2 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
3 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex
5 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
6 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
7 - Langen, Germany - Stadthalle
9 - Vienna, Austria - Simm City
12 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
13 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
15 - Neu-Ulm, Germany - Ratiopharm Arena
16 - Geiselwind, Germany - Eventcenter
21 - Bremen, Germany - Aladin
25 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
26 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Trädgår’n
29 - Karlstad, Sweden - Nöjesfabriken
30 - Stockholm, Sweden - Fryshuset


Festivals 2024:
July
21 - Athens, Greece - Release Athens
31-August 3 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air


August
1-3 - Rejmyre, Sweden - Skogsröjet


October
20 - Mallorca, Spain - Full Metal Holidays

German power metal pioneers, Helloween, performed with their extended classic line-up at Wacken Open Air 2023. Check out pro-shot video of "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" and "I Want Out" below.





Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM) recently announced the signing of legendary power metal institution, Helloween, for their upcoming studio album. Since their formation in 1984 and the spectacular reunion in 2017, Helloween are undoubtedly one of the world's outstanding representatives of the genre.




RPM comments on the signing: "It is a true milestone for Reigning Phoenix Music to welcome Helloween to our family of artists. Helloween are not just a band, they epitomize the energy and passion of power metal. Their music has inspired generations, and we are proud to collaborate in order to reach new heights."


Helloween themselves are equally enthusiastic about the new partnership: "Sven Bogner and his team have convinced us with their ideas and enthusiasm. They live and love metal, and this is what connects us - we look forward to be working with them!," explains singer Andi Deris.


The combination of Helloween and Reigning Phoenix Music promises a powerful synergy between one of the world's most influential power metal bands and a label that is passionate about promoting up-and-coming talents as well as established artists. Fans can look forward to thrilling musical experiences and innovative projects. Specifically, Helloween will start working on new material from the summer and are planning to release a new studio album in 2025.


Helloween are:


Michael Kiske - vocals
Andi Deris - vocals
Kai Hansen - guitars, vocals
Michael Weikath - guitars
Sascha Gerstner - guitars
Markus Grosskopf - bass
Daniel Löble - drums

In a new interview with Cover Band Confidential, SKID ROW drummer Rob Hammersmith spoke about the recent exit of singer Erik Grönwall. Erik, who was SKID ROW's fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach's departure, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. As a result, he is immunocompromised, which made touring difficult.

"In a situation like this, it's obviously an emotional rollercoaster," Rob said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "You've got a lot of factors at play. There's the business side of things, but you're talking about a health issue. We're all adults. We're all reasonable human beings and we understand that it's unfortunate that it couldn't have gone further than it did, but it is the reality. And it's out of your control.

"One thing I have learned about the original members and the guys in SKID ROW, they're incredibly hard-working guys, they're incredibly loyal and committed to this thing that they've worked very hard to create," Hammersmith added. "And this sounds like a cliché answer, but somehow or another, the machine continues to roll on. And exactly what our future looks like, I don't know, but it's not the end of SKID ROW. That's for sure."

Rob also talked about the possibility of SKID ROW playing additional concerts with guest vocalists, similar to the four gigs the band did in late May and early June with the help of HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale.

"[We have] no confirmed shows on the books as of this conversation," he said. "We are speaking with a few people that might potentially be able to do the special-guest slots, exactly what Lzzy had gone out and done with us. We're hoping that that can come to fruition before the end of this year. And in the meantime, we are looking for a permanent person, a permanent singer. So at this point, I don't have any concrete announcements that I can make. But yeah, that's the plan at this point."

He continued: "Things always move slower than you would like them to. As human beings, I think in a situation like this, it's normal to wanna hurry up and have an answer and have a solution. And we're really just working through it… We do have a live record coming out later this year, which we're all very proud of. We worked hard with the mixing and the packaging of the record. So we're all very pleased with that and we're looking forward to the release of that."

Earlier this month, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan said during a question-and-answer session at the Days Of The Dead horror and pop culture-themed convention in Indianapolis that he and his bandmates are "taking our time" finding a new singer "because we have time. And we've got a couple guys on the radar that we're gonna audition," he revealed. "And there's also a couple of our friends that wanna do what Lzzy Hale did and sit in [on lead vocals] for a few [SKID ROW] shows. And that's fun too. That was so much fun doing those [four] shows [with Lzzy]."

Added SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo: "We also have a live record ['Live In London'] coming out, too. In the next couple of months it'll be coming out. And we did it in London, which was really special for us because that city holds a place in our hearts since the beginning of the band. So, it was a place where we could have a moment in time sort of in perpetuity. And it was a really fun show. And I'm so happy that, after all this time of having SKID ROW, that we were able to capture finally a live record. It's something we're very proud of it."

Two months ago, Rachel confirmed to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he and his bandmates have been talking to singers about potentially stepping in to replace Grönwall. He explained: "No one, really, with a name. But, yeah, we've been talking to a few guys that piqued our interest, for sure."

Asked if he has been working on any new music for a possible follow-up to 2022's "The Gang's All Here" album, Rachel said: "We've been writing. I've been writing a lot when I can. I've been writing in between moving from Nashville back to New Jersey and all that kind of stuff. But, yeah, I always write. Whenever I could hear something in the supermarket, then I just kind of check out real quick and drive home as fast as I can and fire up the Pro Tools [get the ideas down]."

In May, Sabo ruled out a reunion with SKID ROW's former singer Sebastian Bach telling The Hook Rocks podcast: "It's not gonna happen. And I say the same thing every time. I'm thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you're in. So I'll speak for myself personally.

"First of all, I do need to say something too, is that the reason that this isn't happening is because there's three of us — myself, Scotti [Hill, SKID ROW guitarist] and Rachel — who've had conversations about this, and we've all been on the same page that we don't wanna go down that road again. We just — we don't.

"Rachel has taken a beating over this through the years," Sabo continued. "He's the one who's been blamed for this. 'Oh, it's Rachel's ego.' 'It's this and that.' No, that's a load of bullshit. That is not true. And I feel bad because he's really, really had to shoulder that blame and has never said anything derogatory or anything like that. But you know what? The truth of the matter is that Rachel, Scotti and myself have continually felt the same way, that we enjoy being happy in this band and we're really happy.

"It's been such a great experience for the last however, 35 years, everything, all the ups, all the downs, everything, but we just don't wanna revisit that particular aspect of our history," he explained. "I love the songs, [I] love a lot of the memories, [I am] not fond of some of the memories, but just as individuals and as a collective, that's just how we feel. So this is not on Rachel. And this has nothing to do with anyone's ego or anything like that. So that's just gotta be clear. Again, for anyone to sit there and make assumptions that this is Rachel Bolan saying 'nope,' it's not. It's the three of us, and we've all collectively sat there and just said that we don't wanna do it. We just don't wanna do it. And we wish everybody all the best."

Snake added: "We've been just ripped apart by ex-members of the band and stuff — ripped apart. Some really shitty stuff [has been] said about all of us. And we just choose not to [respond]. It's not who I am. It's not who we are. We won't go down that road. We just wanna play music and be happy. This has really never been about a monetary aspect of things because it's known that we've been offered a good amount of money to do shows together and to reunite [with Sebastian] and whatever, but it's just never been about the money, man. I choose my happiness, my willingness to continue to be a really good friend to my best friends and a really good husband and a really good dad and bandmate and person. And I don't wanna endanger that in any way. So the people that we choose to play with, those choices are made in order to keep those particular things in line for all of us."

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February 2022 and was replaced by Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.

Four years ago, Bolan also confirmed that he and his bandmates "were entertaining the idea" of reuniting with Bach following Harnell's departure. But Rachel shot down the possibility of a rekindling of his friendship with Sebastian, explaining: "Well… Here's the soundbite for Blabbermouth. I wouldn't say we were friends [when we were in a band together]. We were bandmates. You know what I mean? We're two very different people." Bolan added that he hadn't seen Bach "in years."

Five years ago, Bach was asked by Rolling Stone what it would take for SKID ROW to be reunited. He responded: "It would take those guys to realize that I have a lifetime manager. His name is Rick Sales. I've been with him since 2006. They don't want to deal with a guy like that. They want to give some singer who doesn't have a manager $700 to $800 bucks a week. I've got a team that's worked with me and don't allow me to get fucked around. I didn't have that team when I was 19 years old."

In response to Bach's statements about the earnings of SKID ROW's singer, Sabo told Rolling Stone in an e-mail: "I guess fact-checking isn't in his skill set… The five of us go on that stage as a band and we all get paid equally. We're in this together. There's no egos."

Sebastian went on to say that SKID ROW was "close to reuniting, but then it didn't happen. The fact that it didn't happen obviously makes me somewhat bitter, because life is only getting shorter, as the song says," he added.

"I wouldn't say 'came close,'" Bolan told Rolling Stone in an e-mail response to Bach's account of the reunion talks. "We entertained the idea. Snake and I went as far as talking with agents and promoters about money. But we quickly learned after a few text conversations, why we fired him in the first place. Nothing is worth your happiness and peace of mind."

Legendary rockers DEF LEPPARD have shared a recap video of the first three shows from the band's summer 2024 stadium tour with JOURNEY: St. Louis, Missouri (July 6); Orlando, Florida (July 10) and Atlanta, Georgia (July 13). Check it out below.

DEF LEPPARD and JOURNEY kicked off their co-headlining North American tour on July 6 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Support at the gig came from fellow rock legends CHEAP TRICK.

13 of the 18 songs in DEF LEPPARD's set were culled from the band's two biggest albums, the diamond-certified "Pyromania" and "Hysteria". Among the tracks featured in the set were "Pyromania" opener "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" and DEF LEPPARD's latest single, the recently released "Just Like 73".

Regarding the setlist for the current tour, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen told Ultimate Classic Rock: "We changed the whole set. You know, there’s a whole screen [production] and we've been using pretty much the same stuff for like 12 years. So we've changed it completely. The stage show is drastically different. It's going to take a lot of energy. There's going to be a lot of running around. So I'm working out, trying to get the stamina up and all of that. Vocally, too. You know, I'm having to sing every single day."

DEF LEPPARD's setlist was as follows:

01. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
02. Rocket
03. Foolin'
04. Armageddon It
05. Animal
06. Love Bites
07. Just Like 73
08. Comin' Under Fire
09. Too Late For Love
10. Die Hard The Hunter
11. Two Steps Behind
12. This Guitar
13. Bringin' On The Heartbreak
14. Switch 625
15. Rock Of Ages
16. Photograph
17. Hysteria
18. Pour Some Sugar On Me

DEF LEPPARD's 23-city trek with JOURNEY will continue through September 8 in Denver, Colorado. Along the way, the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will bring their show to stadiums in major cities like Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. CHEAP TRICK will play two shows at the beginning of the tour and two concerts at the end of the trek, while STEVE MILLER BAND will join the bill for the majority of shows.

DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott previously shared that the band's set on the 2024 tour will celebrate specific parts of the rockers' history. "We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves," he said in a statement.

JOURNEY recently completed a number of dates as part of its 50th-anniversary "Freedom" tour.

The DEF LEPPARD/JOURNEY tour is being promoted by AEG Entertainment.

Both bands are offering VIP packages through their respective web sites.

DEF LEPPARD's VIP experiences include a premium seat, personal photo with the band, exclusive merchandise and more.

During an appearance on the June 20 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Collen stated about "Just Like 73": "We started it when we were doing [2022's] 'Diamond Star Halos' [album], and anyone who doesn't know, that's a line from a Marc Bolan song [from] T. REX. He says 'hubcap diamond star halo'. And me and Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] have always used that phrase to describe the time that we got really baptized into music. I remember seeing [David] Bowie on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' and 'Top Of The Pops' and was, like, 'Oh my God. This is my guy.' I was, like, 14 or 15. I'd already seen DEEP PURPLE; it my first concert, which was amazing. So, then all of a sudden this glam stuff came out. So we would always describe that as 'Diamond Star Halos'."

Phil continued: "I was writing a song with Dave Bassett, who I wrote 'Kick' with. And the same deal — I really want to put a SLADE slant on the backing vocals and just make it very much about '72 or '73. And Joe heard the demo and he's, like, 'Why can't you have both?' So we did, and then Joe started writing some lyrics because he's obviously really tapped into that, and all the verse lyrics and all the imagery from exactly that 'Diamond Star Halos' period ends up on this song. We actually hadn't finished it, so the rest of the band hadn't even heard the demo, and we played it to everyone and they all loved it. They all put their stuff on it. Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] played guitar, Sav [Rick Savage] did [his bass tracks], Rick [Allen, DEF LEPPARD drummer] put his part on and then we had some vocals — everyone had sung on it — and before you know it, it came out like this. So, we're really thrilled. It actually sounds better than the stuff on 'Diamond Star Halos', to my ears. So I'm really excited about that. And it seems that everyone really digs it as well."

Asked if this is a one-off single or the seed of another DEF LEPPARD full-length album, Phil said: "Oh, it's absolutely the seed of another DEF LEPPARD record. I mean, it was a leftover from the album before, but it was also the start of a new album. So, without a doubt. [Joe and I] write all the time. We send each other things. Sav gets in on there. Just between the three of us, there's just a lot of stuff floating around already. So we've, yeah, got a bunch of stuff. It's really exciting. And it's a great place to be. It's never that thing where, 'Well, we've got to sit down and write an album.' It's, like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play this to the guys and see what the reaction is.' And we keep pushing the boat out even further."

Regarding whether he envisions a new DEF LEPPARD full-length album coming out this year, Phil said: "This year would be pushing it, I think this year. But once we kind of get into the groove, I think — yeah. Who knows? Next year [or] early the year after. But you know how these things go. We have these tours and everything, but we've got a new song. So that's really exciting. So that'll be on the go pretty soon."

"Just Like 73" will arrive on seven-inch vinyl on August 2, 2024 and will be available in a special color variant only through the band's D2C store and in black at all retailers.

"Just Like 73" notably marks the first collaboration between the iconic rock titans and the legendary guitarist, sonic innovator and co-founder of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. The single revolves around a classic DEF LEPPARD stomp fueled by a robust stadium-size beat, thick riffing, and a signature chant, "Rock with me, just like 73!" Meanwhile, a knockout gang vocal gives way to a signature fret-scorching solo from Morello. The instantly recognizable whammy bar wheezes as he shreds at lightspeed into one last head-nodding hook.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

DEF LEPPARD's 2022 stadium tour across North America with MÖTLEY CRÜE reportedly sold more than 1.3 million tickets.

Joey Belladonna, six-time Grammy-nominated lead vocalist of the legendary thrash metal icons ANTHRAX, doesn't sit still when not recording or performing with his main band. His new project JOEY BELLADONNA CLASSIC ROCK! takes you on an exciting — and unique — journey through the golden ages of classic rock.

With his extraordinary powerful, dynamic vocals and charismatic stage presence, Belladonna pays homage to the great bands and their songs from the 1960s through the 1990s.

Joey teams up in his new project with Dutch classic rock band THE CLARKS. THE CLARKS are, for decades, the most successful rock and roll cover band from The Netherlands with TV performances and live shows under their belt in all over Europe, USA, India, Indonesia and South Africa.

Belladonna performed by chance with THE CLARKS at the 100th-anniversary event of bus and coach company Royal Jan De Wit on December 8, 2023 in Haarlem, The Netherlands, and they had an instant sensation which brought them together in JOEY BELLADONNA CLASSIC ROCK!

JOEY BELLADONNA CLASSIC ROCK! will make its live debut on August 3, 2024 at the world-famous festival Wacken Open Air in Germany. A club tour will take place in December in The Netherlands.

In the past, Belladonna had played drums and sung for a classic-rock covers band called CHIEF BIG WAY. The upstate New York-based group performed versions of songs from JOURNEY, AC/DC, ZZ TOP, BOSTON, CHEAP TRICK, FOREIGNER, PINK FLOYD, VAN HALEN, COLLECTIVE SOUL, THE WHO, THE DOORS, SHINEDOWN and BON JOVI, among others. Belladonna has also played sporadic shows with his JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS.

More than a decade ago, Belladonna was asked by Tricia Weight whether singing different styles of music in his side projects is good for him, almost acting like "exercises" to keep his vocals in shape. He said at the time: "Yeah, it [is]. I mean, now I've got more projects than I've ever had. Even at home I sing to records, that's how I learned to do it anyhow, I used to pull out the coolest records and sing to 'em all day long, before I went out [on stage]. And I do it now, even [on the way] to the gig. If we've got an hour drive tonight — I'm rocking the stuff on the iPod all the way there!"

BUTCHER BABIES have parted ways with singer Carla Harvey.

The band announced Harvey's exit in a social media post earlier today (Saturday, July 20). BUTCHER BABIES wrote: "As you may have already guessed, it is confirmed that Carla Harvey and BUTCHER BABIES have officially parted ways.

"Carla has been an integral part of our journey, bringing her unique talent, passion, and energy to the band. We are grateful for the incredible memories we've made together and the impact she has had on our music and our fans. We will miss her greatly and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

"We deeply appreciate your support over the past 15 years," BUTCHER BABIES added. "We feel incredibly fortunate to keep making and playing music as our career, and we are excited for this new era of BUTCHER BABIES!

"See you on the road."

Carla added in a separate post: "Over the last 6 months You may have noticed my absence from BUTCHER BABIES posts. After 15 years of dedication, I wanted to let you know that I will not be rejoining the band for any future endeavors.

"I am super proud of my work with BUTCHER BABIES…2 EPS, 5 Full lengths albums and countless tours with our metal heroes! To all of our incredible BUTCHER BABIES friends and fans…you have provided me with some of the greatest experiences of my life! I have loved every second of writing and performing all over the world for you! I have loved meeting you. WOW. I still can't believe this kid from Detroit got so lucky.

"I am not done making music and performing. I WILL see you soon".

Last fall, BUTCHER BABIES completed a European tour without Carla, who sat out the trek in order to undergo emergency surgery on her left eye.

Harvey shared the news of her absence from the tour on October 26, 2023 in a social media post. The 47-year-old singer, who co-founded BUTCHER BABIES in 2010 with fellow vocalist Heidi Shepherd, posted a photo of her performing with her bandmates, and she included the following message: "Here's a picture of a girl in her happy place; unfortunately i won't be in that happy place on the upcoming @butcherbabies Euro run. Love you all but i have to sit this one out!

"I have a history of problematic vision and I had to have a major surgery about 10 years ago in my right eye for a retinal detachment. On our summer tour the telltale symptoms repeated themselves in my left eye. I've been hoping to avoid major surgery but it is clear that it must be done. My emergency surgery will include a healing process of laying face down for a number of days with a gas bubble in my eye."

Carla added: "This is the first time in fifteen years i won't be able to join my friends on stage but right now my health and sight take precedence for me. While I am gutted that I cannot make the tour the risk of me waiting till after a tour to do such a surgery is too great and includes permanent vision loss. The beauty of having two vocalists is that Heidi can cover for me until i'm better!

"Hoping to make it out for part of this euro run...go to the shows, have a blast and support my bandmates for me! I'll see you soon!"

In the comments section, Shepherd voiced her support for her then-bandmate, writing: "Sending all the love and healing. We'll hold down the fort while you heal. We need those beautiful eyes to work!!! Love you!"

BUTCHER BABIES are scheduled to kick off a three-week European tour on July 27 at the Stonehenge festival in The Netherlands.

This past January, Harvey and ANTHRAX and PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante announced that they were officially engaged.

BUTCHER BABIES released a double album "Eye For An Eye..." and "…'Til The World's Blind", in July 2023. The double album celebrates the tenth anniversary of BUTCHER BABIES' critically acclaimed debut, "Goliath", released on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records.

BUTCHER BABIES' previous album, 2017's "Lilith" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marked the band's recording debut with drummer Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner in 2016.

In July 2019, longtime BUTCHER BABIES bassist Jason Klein announced his departure from the band. He has since been replaced by Ricky Bonazza.

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In a new interview with Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips, BUCKCHERRY frontman Josh Todd was asked what he learned from touring with AC/DC for about a week back in May 2001. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "How to be humble and really cool. And those guys, they were very humble and sweet, and answered all our questions. [They] let us have full sound on their P.A., which doesn't happen. Mostly headliners only give you so much sound so that when they come out, they sound bigger. AC/DC was, like, 'You can have full P.A. Do whatever you want.' They were very gracious and cool, and that's what we wanted to be. So that's what I learned."

He continued: "I got to sit on a couch and drink tea with [AC/DC guitarist] Angus [Young] and talk about his career. And [AC/DC singer] Brian Johnson was walking around the room telling jokes. And I was, like, 'Wow, this is fucking so amazing.' Because sometimes you meet musicians and… I give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Not everybody is in a great headspace every day. So sometimes people can be a little bit not what you thought they were gonna be, and you've gotta give 'em a second, and maybe next time it'll be different. And I always do that with everybody. But when we met those guys, they were the same all the time. And that's what I loved about them."

Last November, BUCKCHERRY released a new holiday song called "Tell 'Em It's Christmas".

BUCKCHERRY previously released another holiday song, "Christmas Is Here", back in 2010.

BUCKCHERRY's latest album, "Vol. 10", came out in June 2023. The 11-song LP features 10 new BUCKCHERRY originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of 69". The album was produced by Marti Frederiksen and recorded at Sienna Studios in Nashville. The album was released in North America by Round Hill Records, in Japan by Sony Japan, and by Earache Records for the rest of the world.

Frederiksen previously produced 2021's "Hellbound" as well as BUCKCHERRY's fourth album, "Black Butterfly", and co-wrote "Sorry", among other songs, with the band.

In the summer of 2020, BUCKCHERRY recruited JETBOY's Billy Rowe as its new guitarist. He joined the group as the replacement for Kevin Roentgen, who left BUCKCHERRY in July of that year.

In 2019, BUCKCHERRY enlisted Francis Ruiz as its new drummer. He joined the group as the replacement for Sean Winchester, who exited BUCKCHERRY after laying down the drum tracks on "Warpaint".

LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton and MASTODON singer-bassist Troy Sanders are featured in Heavy Consequence's "Two For The Road" series in which two artists touring together chat about playing shows, life backstage, and more. Regarding the fact that SLAYER guitarist Kerry King's new eponymous band will serve as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON's co-headlining North American "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour, Mark said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It speaks to the character of Kerry King, a legend in this game. [I have the] utmost respect [for him]. [He was] part of some of the greatest metal songs in history. SLAYER [was] absolutely formative in my understanding and my love for metal. And SLAYER has taken LAMB OF GOD out on multiple occasions, MASTODON out on multiple occasions, at some point together. And so now SLAYER is defunct or on hiatus, whatever it is that they're doing, or not doing. I don't know how to characterize that, but they've not been around, they've not been actively working."

Morton continued: "First of all, it speaks to who he is as a musician and as a songwriter and as an artist and as a performer that he doesn't just like kick back and go play with the snakes or whatever he does for fun. He puts a new band together, writes a new album, records a banger of an album, and now he's gonna go out on tour opening for these guys that opened for him. No pretense, no ego, none of the behind-the-scenes stuff, prima donna stuff — none of it. Because that's who he is.

"If there's any question, to the fans that are watching this or hearing this, but understand that that dude is a real one," Mark added. "He's an absolute real one. He's doing this not for the money — it's none of that. He's doing this because that dude is, in the truest, realest, most genuine sense of the concept, a heavy metal guitar player, songwriter. And if he can't do it with that band [SLAYER], he's gonna do it with this band. And if he can't do it headlining, he's gonna open up. It does not fricking matter. 'Cause that's who he is. And out of all the things I could say out of respect and accolades for Kerry King, that, to me, hits the hardest. That is the most impressive thing to me."

The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour will launch on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).

In early May, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).

KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released in May. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

In a new interview with Pablo of the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X, MUDVAYNE frontman Chad Gray spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for their next studio release. The reunited metallers haven't put out any new material since 2009, which means a decade and a half has gone by without a single fresh MUDVAYNE song.

Asked if he and his bandmates have done any "file sharing" to create their new music, Chad said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've done it pretty much every fucking way you can do it at this point. But we did some file sharing and stuff like that. Greg [Tribbett, guitar] sent around some risks and then Matt [McDonough, drums] — 'cause Matt does a lot of like ambient-style music on his own, so he can definitely program. So he programmed some drums, and, obviously, when I get that… All I need is basically the guitar riff and I can start kind of feeling it out for melody and lyrical direction and shit like that. I don't need necessarily the whole thing. I can just have very basic shit for me to start writing… But I'll have the nuts and bolts, and, ultimately, that's what file sharing is all about. It's about getting the nuts and bolts of what you're wanting to do. And then from there, you go in the studio and you fucking tweak it, and you fucking add harmonies and you add fucking layers and fucking overdubs, and you can go crazy and then really make it special. So I'm excited about that. We haven't done that yet. That's the one thing we haven't done yet, is got in a room with a fucking producer."

Addressing the pressure he and his bandmates feel to make music of a high-enough quality to live up to the fans' expectations, Chad said: "Honestly, dude, if we were to go into a studio situation and we were to record something, if every single fucking person on our team — us, the producer, our fucking manager, our fucking lawyer — if everyone on our team is not fucking jumping up and down and high-fiving, then it ain't worth putting out. That's just me — I only wanna put out fucking great shit. And with great shit, [I mean] timeless. You wanna create timeless music, and you have to ask yourself the question, 'Is that timeless? Is this timeless music or is this a fucking fad? Are we following something here or are we leading something here?'"

Gray also talked about the relationship he has with his MUDVAYNE bandmates, particularly as it relates to the creative process. He said: "We are who we are. How we are with our personalities is almost the dynamic of what makes MUDVAYNE great. And it's not conflict or whatever, but we test each other. But I think that that comes across in the music we create. And I think we've always had that since the beginning or whatever. And I think that that's one of the things that kind of makes it great. Obviously, we overcome it and we get through it, but there are like times when we start writing, man, where it's, like, 'Do we want the same thing?' We're trying to mold it. But the good thing is that everybody in the band is really open-minded, and that's what it takes. But when we start, like, I have a vision, Matt has a vision, Ryan [Martinie, bass] has a vision, Greg has a vision, and they're not always the same. Through that, you bring it together, but you've gotta give a little, take a little, give a little, take a little, but you've gotta be willing to do that.

"But, yeah, it's really cool," he continued. "I like the dynamic we have. I like the personalities that we have in the band, and I think that, honestly, that's one of the things that makes it great. And I think that's one of the things that make it special.

"Our music is emotional music, whether it's helplessness or fucking anger or aggression or any fucking gamut — our music definitely covers the gamut of all emotions — and I think that those emotions are what bring people close to our music, because they can build a relationship with it," Chad added. "'Cause I'm not the kind of writer that's, like, 'This is what the song is. This is what the song's about.' I kind of get you going down a road, maybe reel you in a little bit so you kind of get the vibe on where I'm at, but I'm giving you off ramps all the way through it where you can take it and make it applicable to your life. But that's what makes it special, 'cause now you're building your own relationship with it and not what I'm telling you the relationship has to be. There's no boundaries on it, so it's pretty boundless."

This past March, Chad told The Jesea Lee Show that he and his MUDVAYNE bandmates were still "trying to figure out" where they wanted their new material to go.

"Right now, we've got some, you can call them whole songs 'cause they have a start and a finish, but I feel like they're kind of half-songs," he said at the time. "I just don't think they're realized yet. I don't think we have figured out exactly how we want this to play out with what we're doing in our business or how we want it to sonically sound."

Gray continued: "Nothing inside of me wants to be the MUDVAYNE of [the band's 2000 debut album] 'L.D. 50'. I think that the more albums we wrote, the better we got as songwriters. A lot of people would probably disagree with me, but [2008's] 'The New Game' is probably one of my favorite fucking albums. It's got like 'Dull Boy' on it, it's got just some really quintessential MUDVAYNE stuff that's not anything like anybody else was doing. I feel like we fucking finally had kind of found our groove. 'L.D. 50', to me, was a very gratuitous, individual workshop, and we put all four pieces together and called it an album."

Last October, Gray told Australia's Heavy that he and his MUDVAYNE bandmates had "started putting some new stuff together a little bit and people that have heard [some of the early demo] stuff are really excited about it. Only the people that are closest to us have heard anything, and, like I said, it's really rough; it's demos," he explained. "But you can tell it's special. And I think that we have to make sure it's MUDVAYNE. We have to make sure that it's what we want. So we'll just have to see. We were working on it, working on it, working on it a little bit here and there.

"We all live states away from each other — nobody lives even close to each other — so it makes it a little bit difficult," he explained. "But we were able to get some stuff demoed up or whatever, but with us being so far apart, it's a little slow going. And then we just kind of hit a wall. We were, like, 'Okay, we've gotta get back into touring.' So we put everything together and we went back out [last] summer."

In August 3034, Chad told The Oakland Press that he and his MUDVAYNE bandmates had "four [songs] in the pipe. I've written each one of them probably three different times, 'cause it's like nothing's good enough," he revealed. "We're gonna keep pushing. We're all getting along really good. We're all talking. Hopefully we all want the same thing from our music, so we'll see. It's definitely the thing that makes the most sense to do now."

MUDVAYNE completed its first headlining tour in over 14 years, "The Psychotherapy Sessions", last summer. Support on the 26-city trek, which was produced by Live Nation, came from COAL CHAMBER, along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the "Freaks On Parade" tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marked MUDVAYNE's first headlining endeavor since 2009.

Gray told The Oakland Press that his "main motivation for putting [MUDVAYNE] back together and coming back was our fans", including those who discovered the band during its absence. "There's so many younger kids that are coming up and coming into our world, the metal world, and they're learning about MUDVAYNE," he said. "So you have this, like, the ground's kind of rumbling and it goes out and touches more and more people, but we weren't out there to scratch that itch. You still have your actual fan base but you're accumulating new people. So when we came back it was very exciting for us. It was about our fans and giving those new fans the experience."

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms.

Gray spent 15 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away six years ago.

MUDVAYNE did not tour behind its fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release.