John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of THE MOODY BLUES, and inductee of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, has died at the age of 82.

In a statement, Lodge's family said: "It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that John Lodge, our darling husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law and brother has been suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us.

"As anyone who knew this massive hearted man knows, it was his enduring love of his wife, Kirsten, and his family, that was the most important thing to him, followed by his passion for music, and his faith.

"He was never happier than being on stage … and he adored performing with his band and son-in-law, Jon (vocalist with YES),and being able to continue sharing this music with his fans. It gave him even more joy to be able to work with his daughter Emily and son Kristian and spend time watching his grandson John-Henry play football and dream of him playing for Birmingham City one day!

"John peacefully slipped away surrounded by his loved ones and the sounds of THE EVERLY BROTHERS and Buddy Holly.

"We will forever miss his love, smile, kindness, and his absolute and never-ending support. We are heartbroken, but will walk forwards into peace surrounded by the love he had for each of us. As John would always say at the end of the show, thank you for keeping the faith.

"Please understand that we are not making any further comments, however we would like to leave you with John's song 'Whispering Angels' whilst we take a moment to reflect on this incredible man who touched so many lives."

Lodge was the bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the iconic Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2018 inductees THE MOODY BLUES. He was the songwriter of such mega MOODY BLUES hits as "Ride My SeeSaw", "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)" , "Isn't Life Strange?" and many more.

According to NBC4 Los Angeles, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons is "recovering at home" after he allegedly passed out behind the wheel of his car and crashed on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California.

The 76-year-old legendary rocker told responding deputies that he either passed out or fainted while driving, and hit a parked car.

A spokesperson for the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station told People that the accident happened just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7 and "involved a vehicle that struck a parked vehicle." The driver was transported to the hospital by LA County Fire for further treatment, the spokesperson said.

Gene's wife Shannon told NBC4 Los Angeles that the musician is recovering at home, noting that doctors had recently changed his medication and told him to drink more water, which he's not particularly fond of.

Gene has since shared the following message via X: "Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes. I'm completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that's me. All is well."

In 2023 Simmons made headlines after suffering dehydration during a KISS concert in Manaus, Brazil. The KISS co-founder became ill on stage, prompting the band to pause the show.

Simmons also reportedly suffers from the heart condition atrial fibrillation, which he has previously said he manages with rest and liquids.

In a 2016 interview with The Doctors, Gene stated about how he was first diagnosed with atrial fibrillation: "I had never heard of the term AFib, but about 10 years ago, we were on tour someplace, and stage the temperature goes up about a hundred, with all the stage lights and my heart [starts pounding really quickly]. I started to get dizzy and perspire and short of breath. So I called a doctor and he showed up and said, 'Okay, here's what’s going on. There's something called AFib,' and he went down the list. And it was a lot to take in."

Gene and his KISS bandmate Paul Stanley are scheduled to perform without their trademark makeup during next month's "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" event. Set to take place November 14-16, 2025 at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, this special fan experience is being created with co-producers Pophouse, creators of boutique music vacations Topeka and music-led destination experience company Vibee.

KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.

Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert in December 2023 would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."
Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes. I’m completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that’s me. All is well.

— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) October 8, 2025

Anika Nilles has released her first statement since being selected to step in for Neil Peart — who died in 2020 — on RUSH's 2026 tour.

On Monday, October 6, RUSH's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, both 72, announced their plans to hit the road next year. The legendary Canadian musicians revealed that they had chosen Nilles to accompany them at the 23 shows of the tour.

Earlier today (Thursday, October 9),the 42-year-old German-born Nilles released the following statement via her social media: "Hey there, the past few days have been quite overwhelming. I'm sure many of you feel the same.

"I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Geddy and Alex for their trust and for welcoming me on this incredible new journey with RUSH. I also don't want to miss the chance to warmly welcome all the new faces here and to thank you for your kind and open-minded words — they truly mean a lot. At the same time, I'm deeply grateful to everyone who has followed and supported my journey over the years. We're all in this together now, and I couldn't be more excited about what lies ahead."

Nilles, who has more than 250,000 subscribers on YouTube, toured with English rocker Jeff Beck in 2022 and was praised in 2023 by Lee, who told The Guardian at the time: "She played on the last Jeff Beck tour, and I thought she was terrific."

Nilles's official Instagram account, which is filled with her drumming videos, boasts more than 420,000 followers.

In addition to her most recent album "False Truth", which came out last year, Nilles has released "Pikalar" (2017),"For A Colorful Soul" (2020) and "Opuntia" (2022).

The limited run of summer dates — Lee and Lifeson's first official shows under the RUSH banner in 11 years — will begin at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, site of the last RUSH concert on the legendary Canadian band's "R40" anniversary tour.

Tour dates:

Jun. 07 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum
Jun. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum
Jun. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum
Jun. 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum
Jun. 18 - Mexico City, MX - Palacio de los Deportes
Jun. 24 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
Jun. 26 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
Jun. 28 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
Jun. 30 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
Jul. 16 - Chicago, IL - United Center
Jul. 18 - Chicago, IL - United Center
Jul. 20 - Chicago, IL - United Center
Jul. 22 - Chicago, IL - United Center
Jul. 28 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Jul. 30 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Aug. 01 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Aug. 03 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Aug. 07 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
Aug. 09 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
Aug. 11 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
Aug. 13 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
Sep. 17 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Arena
Sep. 19 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Arena

During an invite-only gathering of 150 fans, media and dignitaries at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Foster Theater in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday (October 5),Geddy and Alex of RUSH spoke about their decision to reunite for a tour next year. Regarding how they decided to tour as RUSH again, more than five years after iconic RUSH drummer Neil Peart's death, Alex said: "When we finished the ['R40'] tour [in 2015], it was difficult for Neil, and he'd had enough by that point. I think Ged and I still had gas in the tank and we still wanted to continue working. But it was what it was, and the further I got away from it, the more I thought, 'It's okay. We had 40 years. I'm tired of hanging around a hotel, being away from family and all of that stuff.' And I felt that way for most of the last 10 years, really. I thought we had a great legacy, and it's okay. Then this guy" — referring to Geddy — "came along and had some big ideas. And we talked and we started playing. And then I realized that I love it so much — I love playing so much. And I've continued, over these last years, doing other projects and still playing a lot. But when we sat down and started playing some of the RUSH stuff and I realized how hard it was to play these songs… When you do it every day for 40 years, it's not a big deal, really — you're used to it — but when you're away from it and you are a little more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the nuances and all the things that go into making a RUSH song and performance, to be challenged with that again was really, really exciting. And the more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again."

Added Geddy: "It was a very difficult decision on many levels, first of all, because what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired. Losing a member like Neil, it was devastating and it was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate it. I mean, this is a relatively recent decision. And I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who's irreplaceable? So, we would joke about it sometimes, and Al was doing other things, I was writing books and something happened in the last couple of years that brought us back to jamming in the studio. He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around, we would jam and we would laugh. And then one day — I don't know why — we started playing some RUSH songs for fun. And God, we were laughing so hard and we were enjoying it so much. And it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds. It was not an easy decision to come to, and this is really the first time we're talking about it out loud in front of other people. So, yeah, it feels right, and we're gonna do it."

Asked how they found the right drummer to step in for Neil on the "Fifty Something" tour, Geddy said: "Well, our idea was not to try to be RUSH 2.0, just to pay homage to our music, pay homage to our lost brother and represent the songs and celebrate the songs.

"I haven't talked about this before, but… So, my bass tech Skully [John McIntosh] was working with Jeff Beck. He was on tour with him for a few years. And on the last tour he was playing with this drummer named Anika Nilles — an incredible drummer. And he would come home, he would rave about her, what a brilliant player she was and great person, and blah, blah, blah. So I kind of looked her up. And she's all over YouTube. She's fairly well known in her own world of music. And then we started talking about playing again. I said to Al, I said, 'Check her out. Maybe that's an interesting way to go.' And so one thing led to another, and when we made the decision we wanted to see if it would work, what's it like to play with another drummer — we'd had that experience, of course, at the Taylor Hawkins tributes [in September 2022]. So we know how difficult it is — no matter who the drummer is, they all have their own perception of what it's like to play a RUSH song, and they may not line up with the way we play RUSH songs. So whoever we were going to choose was going to be difficult and there's going to be like a translation. And so we very secretly brought Anika to Canada. And it wasn't an audition, 'cause at that point we weren't really sure that we were going to tour. It was all an experiment. Anyway, I'm very happy to say that she is fantastic to play with. And we've had now a number of sessions with her and we are going to go on the road with her. I think she's a remarkable story. And she's much younger than us… And I like that, that she came to RUSH music without any preconceptions. It also made it very difficult, 'cause we had to explain nuances and work on subtleties, and she had to really try to get into Neil's headspace and his feel. A lot of drummers can play Neil's drum fills, but to combine that with the feel of those songs, so that it feels the way you guys wanna hear those songs, that's work — that requires work. And so she's winning."

As for what RUSH fans can expect from the upcoming concerts, Geddy said: "I don't think we can do a three-hour show the way we did when we were in our younger years, but we're certainly gonna play over two hours. And we'll get a lot of songs in, for sure."

Lee went on to say that "it's not an accident" that he and Alex chose Los Angeles's Kia Forum — where RUSH played its last-ever show with Peart in 2015 — as the location of the first gig of the tour.

"It'll be, I think, quite an emotional moment," Geddy said. "And I have to say also a thank you to [Neil's widow] Carrie Nuttall and [daughter] Olivia Peart who have been very supportive and are supporting us for this tour, and we really appreciate that, and that makes things better. And we also plan to pay tribute to Neil at least a couple of times during the show in our own way. And that'll happen every night, we'll pay tribute to him.

"After Neil passed, COVID hit and we never really were able to do any kind of tribute to him — not a tribute concert," Lee explained. "And so this is one way that we pay homage to the music and the lyrics and the incredible drumming of our pal and partner, and at the same time celebrate the music that [the fans] have thankfully shown up for, for all these years. And we'll just endeavor to do our best to make [the fans] happy."

When the "Fifty Something" tour was announced on Monday (October 6),Carrie Nuttall-Peart and Olivia Peart said in a statement: "We are thrilled to support the 'Fifty Something' tour, celebrating a band whose music has resonated and inspired fans for generations, and to honor Neil's extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and lyricist.

"Neil's musicianship was singular. Compositions of intricacy and power that expanded what rhythm itself could express. As both drummer and lyricist, he was irreplaceable. Inimitable in his artistry, and unmatched in the depth and imagination he brought to the lyrics that inspired and moved so many, he profoundly shaped how fans connected with him and the band, giving voice and meaning to their own lives.

"As the band enters this new chapter, it promises to be truly unforgettable. We are excited to see how their new vision unfolds, and to hear this legendary music played live once again."

On October 6, fans got the news via a RUSH newsletter from a home video that announced the celebration of upcoming dates with Lee and Lifeson at Geddy's home studio.

RUSH will perform multiple shows in seven cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico, beginning June 7, 2026 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. These special "evening with" shows will find the band playing two sets each night. Each show will feature a distinct selection of songs and RUSH will build each night's setlist from a catalogue of 35 songs including their greatest hits and fan favorites.

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

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

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

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According to Metal Sludge, former TIGERTAILZ drummer Ace Finchum passed away over the weekend. He was 62 years old.

The news of Finchum's death was broken by Ace's former TIGERTAILZ bandmate Steevi Jaimz.

Jaimz took to his Facebook page to write: "I know many of you really cared for Ace, and I am sorry to be the bearer of tragic, heart-breaking news… But sadly. Ace passed away at the weekend. Thoughts and prayers to Danny, Rob, Donna and Scott."

Finchum, who had been living in the U.S. in recent years, was part of the classic TIGERTAILZ lineup, along with Jaimz (vocals),Pepsi Tate (bass) and Jay Pepper (guitar). Ace played drums on the first three TIGERTAILZ albums, "Young & Crazy" (1987),"Bezerk" (1990) and "Banzai!" (1991).

Tate succumbed to cancer back in September 2007.

TIGERTAILZ hails from Cardiff, Wales may have the distinction of being the only U.K. band to share in some of the success of hairspray heavies like MÖTLEY CRÜE, L.A GUNS, W.A.S.P. and POISON. They achieved it by being unique, by not following others and by doing it their way.

TIGERTAILZ got its start with its first release in 1987 titled "Young & Crazy" which eventually channeled into the band's highly successful sophomore effort "Bezerk". "Bezerk" saw the band releasing multiple singles and heading out to play major markets and festivals.

Image and video interview credit: Brendon Snyder
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So sad.to.announce the passing of my former Marseille band mate Ace Finchum . Some of Aces recent posts had me worried I...

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As if this week wasn't bad enough I just found out that Ace Finchum has died!! I worked with him in Angel Witch and...

Posted by Richie Wicks Jones on Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Sad Sad News... Ace Finchum not only a bad ass drummer from Tigertailz but also a good friend. We lost him at 62, so so...

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In a new interview with Jovan Ristić of Altnote, PRIMAL FEAR bassist Mat Sinner discussed the band's August 2024 split with guitarists Alex Beyrodt and Tom Naumann, drummer Michael Ehré and touring bassist Alex Jansen. Joining Sinner and Ralf Scheepers (vocals) in PRIMAL FEAR's current lineup are the band's latest additions, Italian/Cuban sensation Thalìa Bellazecca (ANGUS MCSIX, ex-FROZEN CROWN) on guitar and André Hilgers (AXXIS, RAGE, SILENT FORCE, SINNER, BONFIRE) on drums. Also appearing with the group is Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson, who has been primarily a studio member of the band for much of the past decade but who has now rejoined PRIMAL FEAR's touring lineup.

Asked how he felt when Beyrodt, Naumann, Ehré and Jansen exited PRIMAL FEAR a year ago, Sinner said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Bad, because we played together for a long, long, long, long time. And there were some comments by one of the guitarists, which are ridiculous. They were very evil. And as I was feeling that I am able to come back full-time, [I] said, 'Why should I make music with a guy who don't wanna make music with [me]?' It's that easy. And the company, PRIMAL FEAR, belongs to me and Ralf. And I said, 'I'll only continue without this guy.' So, we told him that we don't want him anymore… And we fired him. And then the other guitarist, very close friend of mine since 30 years, he decided that his future is better with him and he left the band because he thought they can do his project, 'Rock Meets Classic', which was once my project, which they stole away from me. And, yeah, but we know that Magnus wants to play live for a longer time and we know how good he is. And the other guys didn't want him to join the band live. It was always a fight. And me and Ralf was writing with [Magnus] most of the songs, so they were part-time jealous about that. And so we knew Magnus is back. André, the drummer, already played the last tour with PRIMAL FEAR. So that was not new. It was easy to decide. And the only position which was not clear at that moment was Thalìa. So for us it was done in seconds. It's a sad story, but that's life."

Asked what it is like playing in a band with Thalìa, Mat said: "In the times of social media, it was everywhere that we were looking for a second guitarist. And we got a lot of interest and offers from very, very well-known guitarists from America, also from the U.K. and Europe. And we were thinking about what we were gonna do — go in the standard way, the usual way, and take one and everybody says, 'Wow. This is cool. They have a new guitarist,' or do we come up with something totally unexpected, a surprise? And I like surprises. And in the beginning I talked to Ralf, and for me it felt a little bit strange — a black girl with an afro and a left hand. And it was, like, 'Wow.' But then first I want to check, can she play the difficult PRIMAL FEAR parts? Sometimes the guitars are really more difficult [than] you think when you hear it. This harmony stuff, it's not that easy. So she has to play that. And another, for me, super-important fact is does she fit in the band as a person? After the last trouble we had, I was really looking out not to make just the announcement or whatever. I have first to check everything, that I'm a hundred percent sure that it would be the right move. I don't want to change again guitarists in six months or so. I need the feeling that this could be [a stable lineup] for longer time. So we checked her out, and she played well. She had to get in this band with four guys who are older than her. On the other side, it was not bad. If you see a PRIMAL FEAR concert, I think it's still a shame that 70 percent of the audience are male; [it] could be more equal. [Laughs] But Thalìa, she looks good, she moves good. So it's also nice for the male audience to watch young, impressive guitarists like Thalìa than to watch, for example, me all the time. [Laughs] Then our social media numbers were exploding. And I have to say that 99 percent of the comments were super positive. One percent [was] stupid idiots. You can't change that. And that's how you have to deal with social media these days. But it was part-time really rude, and mostly Americans. I don't know why, but stupid — really stupid. Then we rehearsed [and] we recorded together for the new album. Everything went well, and she is a super nice person, a great talent and fits very well. We [had] long good talks with each other. So I'm looking forward that we play together for a longer time. You never know, but, hey, it's cool. And we played three shows now together, and all the festivals went super cool and everybody's happy. A good vibe in the band — very friendly, very peaceful, very creative. So everybody's super happy at the moment."

Sinner (a.k.a. Matthias Lasch),who also serves as PRIMAL FEAR's producer, reportedly suffered an extreme adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccination in 2021 and received treatment for eight months at various hospitals. As a result of Sinner's health challenges, PRIMAL FEAR canceled all of its planned shows in 2021 and 2022, eventually recruiting Jansen as Mat's temporary replacement.

PRIMAL FEAR will release its new album, "Domination", on September 5 via Reigning Phoenix Music. The LP was recorded in autumn 2024, produced by Sinner and co-produced by Scheepers as well as Karlsson. Rounded off by multiple PRIMAL FEAR mixing/mastering engineer Jacob Hansen at his own studios in Denmark, the album artwork was designed by Death.Milk.Designs.

Warming up at five select summer festivals, PRIMAL FEAR will return to the live front with its longest European tour since 2018. Reigning Phoenix Music labelmates ELEINE have been confirmed as special guests.

In August 2024, Beyrodt, Naumann, Ehré and Jansen announced their departures from PRIMAL FEAR, writing in a statement: "Dear fans and friends of PRIMAL FEAR, we unfortunately have to inform you today that Alex Beyrodt, Tom Naumann, Michael Ehré and Alex Jansen, who helped us on bass for the last two years, are no longer part of the band PRIMAL FEAR. Triggered by decisions within the band that we do not agree with, this step was anything but easy for us to take. We would like to make it clear that despite the differences of opinion, there was no argument or bad blood.

"We would like to thank you for the time we spent together, the numerous albums, the tours, shows and festivals that have taken us around the world together, and of course for the love of the fans. We wish Mat and Ralf all the best for the future!"

Formed by Sinner in 1997 as an outlet for Scheepers (who had left GAMMA RAY and was a rumored candidate for the then-open JUDAS PRIEST vocal spot, but was considering early retirement from metal),PRIMAL FEAR has emerged as one of the most consistent European metal bands, rarely straying from its core PRIEST-styled power metal sound.

PRIMAL FEAR 2025 is:

Ralf Scheepers - vocals
Mat Sinner - bass, vocals
Magnus Karlsson - guitars
Thalìa Bellazecca - guitars
André Hilgers - drums

Photo credit: Heiko Roith

Ernie Ball has shared an episode of "Big Sound" where you get a rare glimpse of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER beyond the stage. In the episode, singer James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, keyboardist Jordan Rudess and drummer Mike Portnoy invite you into their newly renovated private recording studio, where progressive rock history continues to be written. Surrounded by decades of gear, instruments, and shared history, the band delivers a technically precise, emotionally powerful performance.

This exclusive set features the following songs:

00:00 Night Terror
10:28 Panic Attack
18:25 Midnight Messiah

During an August 6 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Portnoy spoke about what it has been like for him to be touring with DREAM THEATER once again after a 13-year absence. The progressive metal legends played their first concert with Portnoy in 14 years on October 20, 2024 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The drummer, who co-founded DREAM THEATER, played on 10 of the band's albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours. Portnoy told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "It's been incredible — the biggest tour the band has ever done. We started at the O2 in London, which was incredibly emotional, and then we wrapped the U.S. tour at Radio City Music Hall… There's so many highlights. It's been incredible. We did all of Europe once with [the] 'An Evening With' [run of shows], then we did South America. We did North America, then we did this [European] festival run, and now we're about to shift into finally doing a tour for the new album, 'cause through all this we put out a new album in February, and we haven't really had a chance to properly give attention to that yet, 'cause we've been so busy with the 40th-anniversary thing. So we're about to shift into 'Parasomnia' mode, and we have a North American tour kicking off next month. And we'll be all through the States in September and October with a completely different show. So if anybody saw us in the last round, this is a completely different set, completely different stage, and we're gonna play the whole new album in its entirety, which will be a lot of fun and finally give it its due."

Asked if the tracks from DREAM THEATER's sixteenth studio album, "Parasomnia", will be performed in the same order that they appear on the LP on the upcoming tour, Portnoy said: "Yeah, it was written to be performed that way. The whole album is very much like a concept album in that respect. So we've played a couple of the songs this past year on the 40th-anniversary tour, but now we could dig into it and give it a full top-to-bottom presentation. And then gonna celebrate the 30th anniversary of 'A Change of Seasons', which was like the first big epic the band put out 30 years ago. So we're gonna play that as well."

Portnoy added: "We've still got a lot of gas left in the tank. We're gonna go over to Asia right after New Year, and then we have a third European run next spring to do the 'Parasomnia' over there. So it's been incredible, but the emotions at every show — the fans, you just look out there and you see grown men crying, and it's all smiles and tears."

After Trunk noted that a lot of the emotions surrounding DREAM THEATER's current tour are based on the fact that Portnoy is back in the band after such a long time away, Mike said: "I'm so thankful that it's come back full circle. It would've been really sad if we never did reunite. I've seen other bands, like PINK FLOYD with Roger Waters, or GENESIS with Peter Gabriel, certain bands that never do reunite. And as a fan, it's a shame. I would love to see those lineups together again before it all ends. So for us to be back together again and celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band and riding off into the sunset together, it's poetic. It's the way it should be, really. And I'm so glad that we're here together again."

DREAM THEATER kicked off the spring/summer 2025 leg of its "40th Anniversary European Tour" on June 3 at Logomo in Turku, Finland.

DREAM THEATER's summer/fall 2025 "An Evening With Dream Theater" U.S. tour is scheduled for 30 cities across the United States, kicking off September 5 in Reading, Pennsylvania and running through October 25, when it wraps in Long Island, New York. The tour will make stops in Orlando, Floria; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri and Providence, Rhode Island, among others. DREAM THEATER will be performing its latest album in its entirety as well as classics and fan favorites from the band's catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music.

"Parasomnia" came out on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marked DREAM THEATER's first release with Portnoy since 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings".

"Parasomnia" was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

"Parasomnia" is an eight-song, 71-minute set which was recorded at DREAM THEATER's DTHQ studio on Long Island, New York. It is the follow-up to 2021's "A View From The Top Of The World", which debuted at in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts. Six songs on "Parasomnia" are over seven minutes and the closing epic "The Shadow Man Incident" clocks in at nearly 20 minutes.

The North American leg of DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour kicked off on February 7 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trek was "An Evening With Dream Theater" and was the first tour of North America since Portnoy's return to the lineup, joining Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, bassist John Myung and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The tour concluded on March 22 in New York City.

Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung started DREAM THEATER as MAJESTY in 1985, after meeting at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston. LaBrie came on board in 1991, while Rudess joined in 1999.

Prior to Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER, the drummer and Petrucci worked together on the latter's 2020 solo album, "Terminal Velocity", and toured together. Portnoy and Petrucci also joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a third studio album as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT in 2021.

The '80s cult classic "Deathstalker" is back in an amped-up, reverential reboot, courtesy of writer-director Steven Kostanski ("Frankie Freako", "PG: Psycho Goreman") and executive producer Slash (GUNS N' ROSES). The film features a stellar, rousing, equally tributary title track from Emmy- and BAFTA Award–winning composer Bear McCreary ("The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power", "The Walking Dead") and Slash.

"Deathstalker (Songs from the Motion Picture)", a three-track single, will be released digitally by Sparks & Shadows Records on October 10, 2025 (day and date with the film's theatrical release). The mesmerizing title track features McCreary and Slash leading an all-star band comprised of singer Brendan McCreary, original "Deathstalker II" composer Chuck Cirino, drummer Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD),bassist Pete Griffin (Steve Vai, ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA),and guitarist Omer Ben-Zvi (Bear McCreary). The digital release also features "Walking Alone" by Danish actress and singer-songwriter Nina Bergman and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy (THE OFFSPRING). A radio version of the hard-rocking "Deathstalker" title track rounds out the three-track single.

"I loved [the original] 'Deathstalker'. It was sort of tongue-in-cheek, exaggerated, and low budget, and it had this great theme song," says Slash. "My whole interest in getting to do this new one — which isn't a remake; it's sort of another version of it — was really nostalgic for me. Once we got the script, I thought, 'Man, we could really make a great movie.' And Daniel Bernhardt coming in and being the lead was awesome because he played the part so perfectly. It was really a passion project."

Slash adds: "One of the great things about being a producer is I get to get involved in the music. We wanted to do a remake of the 'Deathstalker' theme, and I'm good friends with Bear McCreary, so I called him, and it turns out he's a big 'Deathstalker' fan and a fan of Chuck Cirino, the original composer for the original song. So we thought, 'Let's remake the song. We'll get a live band and we'll do it like that.' So we went into a studio, Bear and I and some musicians and Chuck. And we did a great version of the original theme song. It was just a blast to do. That's how it all came together."

McCreary says: "I spent every weekend in high school watching cult movies with my buddies. The night we watched 'Deathstalker II', I was immediately struck by the catchy melodies in Chuck Cirino's score. I picked up a little Casio keyboard I had lying around and played along. After I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my own dreams of scoring films, Chuck and I became good friends. Years later, my friend Slash told me he was developing a new feature film version of 'Deathstalker', and I knew right away that my worlds were about to collide! I was thrilled to collaborate with Slash, Chuck and my brother, vocalist and lyricist Brendan McCreary, on a new song inspired by Chuck's iconic 'Deathstalker II' theme to match director Steven Kostanski's lovingly bloody vision."

A reboot of the beloved 1983 sword-and-sorcery romp, the new "Deathstalker" film stars Daniel Bernhardt ("John Wick", "The Matrix Reloaded") as the titular warrior, as well as Christina Orjalo, Paul Lazenby and Nicholas Rice. Actor/comedian Patton Oswalt ("Ratatouille", "The Goldbergs") voices Doodad, a benevolent wizard joining Deathstalker on his journey. Bergman, who co-starred with Bernhardt in director Jesse V. Johnson's "Hell Hath No Fury", stars as well and she plays the character of Grendul, who is described as "a confident, tough leader of the Abraxeon Thieves Guild who has a history with Deathstalker."

See it exclusively in select theaters October 10, 2025.

Slash played some guitars for the upcoming #DEATHSTALKER movie with Gene Hoglan and Bear McCreary at Henson Recording Studios in L.A 📸Gene Hoglan

Posted by Slash France on Sunday, August 24, 2025

ICYMI, Slash serves as an executive producer for the new "Deathstalker" film, a reboot of the 1983 sword and sorcery...

Posted by Slash News on Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Death is just the beginning… of great adventure! Steven Kostanski’s sword and sorcery epic DEATHSTALKER only in theaters October 10. First look via Bloody Disgusting. #teaserposter

Posted by Shout! Studios on Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Symphonic deathcore titans WINDS OF PLAGUE recently reunited with their original members for a pair of highly anticipated festival performances. The band took the stage at Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky and Aftershock in Sacramento, California, as well as at a special club show at The Forge in Joliet, Illinois, marking their first shows together in years.

Regarding how the WINDS OF PLAGUE came about, vocalist Jonathan "Johnny Plague" Cooke-Hayden told Sultans Of Slack at last weekend's Aftershock (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Really, we got asked to do these two shows, which kind of blew our minds. Like, well, we can't not do it, right?! So I reached out to all the original guys. We all grew up, going to high school together and we started the band there, and I was, like, 'Hey, it'd be really cool to do this' as it's the actual 20 years since we started WINDS OF PLAGUE; that's when we got the name and all that. So, everybody wanted to do it. We were, like, 'Let's see how these two shows go.' And it was a lot of fun. I think that the general consensus is, yes, we wanna keep doing more. But as of now, this is all we have planned. Today was the end of it. So I guess we'll see what's next, but I think there's definitely more to come."

Asked if he and the other members of WINDS OF PLAGUE have discussed the possibility of new music in the future, Johnny said: "We have. And we actually have a couple songs that we never recorded, from a couple years ago. So we started kind of revisiting those, punching those up a little bit. So there's nothing set in stone right now, but we're definitely leaning towards making new music, playing a couple of more shows, trying to do a couple a year. And it's fun. It's really awesome."

He continued: "We've all kind of moved on from the band stuff in our personal lives. And it's fun to take a step back into it. It feels like a former life, and we're all just here just for the love of it at this point. It has nothing to do with paying the bills or being the biggest band or anything like that. It's just for the love of it. It's awesome."

WINDS OF PLAGUE's lineup for the 2025 shows included drummer Art Cruz, who has been a member of LAMB OF GOD for the past six years.

Originally formed in 2002 as BLEAK DECEMBER, WINDS OF PLAGUE is a symphonic deathcore band from Los Angeles, California. After lineup changes, they released their debut, "A Cold Day In Hell", in 2005, shortly after adopting their current name. Signing with Century Media, they dropped "Decimate The Weak" in 2008, followed by "The Great Stone War" (2009) and "Against The World" (2011),which featured guest spots from members of HATEBREED, TERROR and even the Ultimate Warrior. Their later albums include "Resistance" (2013) and "Blood Of My Enemy" (2017).

In a new interview with Jorge Fretes of Spain's GoetiaMedia, guitarist Michael Amott of Swedish/Canadian/American extreme metal titans ARCH ENEMY spoke about the rising prices of concert tickets. According to recent report by Pollstar, concert tickets have seen an overall 27.38% increase in cost since 2019. This data also showcases a worldwide increase in concert ticket pricing, with the average ticket costs ranging from $40.80 at club venues to $124.47 at stadiums. In 2024, the average cost to attend a concert was $135.92, Pollstar reported. That's up from 1996 when the average ticket cost $25.81. Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I started going to shows, they were extremely cheap and affordable. But I think times were different then. And now costs — I mean, I see the budgets for our tour, for example, and there's a lot of costs. [Laughs] You're fighting to not be in the red. To make these budgets work, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of planning."

Michael continued: "The musician is always the last person to get paid. There's a whole chain, there's a whole line of people that get paid before we do. And that's something that people have to think about as well. These venues are expensive — they're expensive to start with — and then there's a P.A. and there's catering and there's trucks. There's just so many things involved, it's crazy. And the costs have gone up — that's just how it is. And the sad thing is the new prices are here to stay; they're not gonna get lower. That's the sad reality of it, and it sucks. I wish everything cost 10 bucks, like it did when I grew up. I saw a lot of killer bands for, like, 10, 20, 15 euros — amazing shows that I still remember to this day. But that was more the underground scene, I would say. I would go to England and see NAPALM DEATH, EXTREME NOISE TERROR and CARCASS and one more band — DEVIATED INSTINCT or something like that — in one night for, like, seven euros or something like that. But nobody got paid back then, I guess. Nobody got paid back then. [Laughs] That was a different time."

Amott added: "I don't know what to say. For sure, concerts are expensive, and I'm sure there's a lot of competition as well. And everybody's trying to put on a bigger show, a more impressive show. What's popular in metal now is a lot of these cosplay bands that dress up and stuff like that; they have masks and do big shows. That's very, very popular at the moment. We're not really competing with that, 'cause we don't do that. We just kind of just play music. I like to think us more in the vein of a SLAYER or a [IRON] MAIDEN or something like that. We're trying to put on a great killer metal show, but not so the theatrical.

"But what can you do? I don't know. There's a lot of reasons why the prices have been going up. And I think it's the same if you go and buy a loaf of bread and butter and some cheese. It probably costs more than it did 10 years ago."

In a March 2024 interview with Mexico's ATMósferas Magazine, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked if he thought the skyrocketing concert ticket prices were having a negative impact on the music industry. Bruce said at the time: "Well, two things. One, it depends what the show is and kind of who the audience are. I mean, I'm not gonna go around and say specific artists, because most of the artists that are charging, like, 1,200 dollars a ticket — like in Las Vegas, if you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was 1,200 dollars per seat in the sphere. I've got no interest in paying 1,200 dollars to go and see U2 in the sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe. But for me, what's important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price. So by that I mean the right type of tickets, I mean, the tickets that are in front of the stage, which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets. Actually, no, they should be the most reasonably priced tickets, 'cause the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can't afford the crazy money, but they are the people that need to be down the front; they're the people that are gonna keep this music alive. And then you get the people that they might be fans, but they wanna bring their wife and they don't wanna get too hot and sweaty and all the rest of it. So, there's some seats at the top or something else like that, what they're gonna pick, and those get priced differently."

Bruce continued: "I understand how promoters try and do it to try and not lose money, because promoters are part of the whole ecosystem. Without promoters, there would be no shows. The promoters have somehow gotta make their money back. So, it's a delicate balance, but in general, ticket prices have gone through the roof. And some of the ticket prices that people pay, well, some of the prices people pay, for me, it's insane. I would never pay that price, but then again, I'm probably not a fan of that particular artist. People who are, maybe they think it's worth it. I mean, certainly with my shows, we've always tried to keep the ticket prices within the normal, normal boundaries. And the same with MAIDEN."

According to Live Nation, 151 million people attended one of its shows in 2024 — a 50% increase in concert attendance compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index data showed that admission to movies, theaters and concerts jumped 20% since 2021.

Some of the increased cost when it comes to concert tickets is due to dynamic pricing — the tactic of raising prices the more people purchase tickets, and then lowering the prices once the demand dies down.

A December 2024 report by CouponCabin found that concertgoers attended an average of seven shows in 2024, and most planned to see more in 2025.

The survey of more than 1,000 music fans found that nearly 36% said they would spend $100 to $499 on concert tickets in 2025, while more than 17% planned to spend up to $1,000.

ARCH ENEMY's twelfth studio album, "Blood Dynasty", was originally released in March of this year via Century Media Records. The "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)" will be out October 10, and it comes with three bonus tracks, one of which, "Lachrymatory", is previously unreleased.

Upon the release of "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)", ARCH ENEMY will embark on a European headlining tour with support from AMORPHIS, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER.

Mark Jansen's pre-EPICA band AFTER FOREVER reunited for two special 25th-anniversary concerts on October 4, 2025 and October 5, 2025 at 013 Poppodium in Tilburg, Netherlands.

The setlist for the October 5 show was as follows:

01. Monolith Of Doubt
02. My Pledge Of Allegiance #1: The Sealed Fate
03. Tortuous Threnody
04. Emphasis
05. Intrinsic
06. Zenith
07. Inimical Chimera
08. Beyond Me
09. Leaden Legacy (The Embrace That Smothers, Part I)
10. Wings Of Illusion (featuring Joep Beckers and Jack Driessen)
11. Estranged (A Timeless Spell)
12. The Key
13. Semblance Of Confusion
14. Yield To Temptation (The Embrace That Smothers, Part III)
15. Forlorn Hope

Encore:

16. Discord
17. Energize Me
18. Follow In The Cry (The Embrace That Smothers, Part II) (featuring Joep Beckers and Jack Driessen)

Fan-filmed video can be seen below.

This past April, Jansen told FaceCulture about how the AFTER FOREVER reunion came about: "Ego was involved in everything when I was removed from the band back in the day. My ego was hurt, but we talked later on and we came also to the conclusion with that that everybody had too big egos back in the day, and that was clashing. So me, them, everybody. But it's good to see that from yourself and that everybody has grown. And now it's completely different people. And also now when we work to together, everybody wants to have fun. That's the most important thing. And that's also why I'm part of it. Because we wanna have fun, we wanna do this to have a good time, to play these old songs again and just enjoy ourselves. And that's all [it's] about."

Asked why original AFTER FOREVER singer Floor Jansen, who has been fronting NIGHTWISH for more than a decade, wasn't involved in the AFTER FOREVER reunion concerts, Mark said: "Yeah, of course, we asked her as well, and she said, 'For me it's a closed book. It's a closed thing.' And yeah, you can only respect that. Of course, after that, we thought a bit, what shall we do, maybe not do it at all? But at a certain point we thought, yeah, if we wait forever, then maybe it's never gonna happen. So that would also be a pity… Then it's literally 'after forever' and the chance is gone. [Laughs]"

Regarding his current relationship with his onetime AFTER FOREVER bandmate Sander Gommans, Mark said: "Yeah. Some things are the same. That's the humor that's still the same, the same kind of humor. And some things are really different. Like I said, I feel a growth on a personal level, also in him — in myself, in him, also in the other guys. And if that growth had not taken place in me or in him or in in anybody, it would've not happened because then the old struggles would have come to the surface. But now it's, like… How you say that in English? 'Sand over it.' [Laughs] We have that saying in Dutch. And then it's also, we let it go without that it comes to the surface again with stuff."

As for whether the two AFTER FOREVER concerts will be a "one-off" or there is a possibility of more gigs coming up, Mark said: "The plan is one-off, and if it leads to something more, then we won't stop it, if it leads to anything. But the idea is this. And because, yeah, I'm also myself busy enough — EPICA is forever my priority and everybody knows that, but if there would be a bit more time left some somehow and something happens, I don't say right away 'no'. But the plan is first this [one show] and nothing else."

When Mark announced the AFTER FOREVER reunion shows in October 2024, he said in a statement: "2025 marks a monumental milestone: 25 years since AFTER FOREVER left a timeless footprint on the world of symphonic metal with their debut album 'Prison Of Desire'. Its 2001 successor, 'Decipher', pushed their music even further, fusing progressive elements with a heavier sound that helped shape the symphonic metal of today. These two releases marked the start of a wonderful journey — one that took the band to international stages and into the hearts of fans all over the world.

"After five successful albums, the sextet's journey came to an end in 2009. Despite that, their music has lived on, continuing to inspire the next generations of musicians and fans alike. With a loyal following, still passionate about the band's musical legacy, the time has come to bring back to life — and to the stage — the music from these two records that started it all.

"Even though AFTER FOREVER is a closed chapter for the group's original singer, Floor Jansen, members of the original lineup — Mark Jansen, Sander Gommans, Luuk van Gerven and André Borgman — have joined forces with vocalist Angel Wolf-Black (SHEWOLF),guitarist Bas Maas (AFTER FOREVER, DORO),and keyboardist Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION) to honour and celebrate the band's cherished music and its lasting impact, in an unforgettable live experience.

"Join us as we revisit old hits, revive the energy, and celebrate the legacy of AFTER FOREVER!"

In a 2018 interview with FaceCulture, Floor Jansen, who has been a member of NIGHTWISH for more than a decade, stated about AFTER FOREVER: "I think it was a very special time. We made great music, which ended way too fast. I'm still sad that it was not able to continue, but I think it was amazing what we did with our young years and, yeah, I'm still extremely proud of what we made and still listen to the music with great joy and memories."

Asked whether she thought AFTER FOREVER could have accomplished more, Floor said: "Yes, I do. I was not too pleased with stopping. I did not think it was a good idea. I think there was [more to do]."

AFTER FOREVER's latest, self-titled album was released in April 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.

During a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before W.A.S.P.'s September 30 concert in Utrecht, The Netherlands, W.A.S.P. mainman Blackie Lawless was asked if his singing voice is his "natural voice", considering the tone of his speaking voice is less "screamy" than how it comes across when he is performing live. Blackie responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, some singers sound exactly like they talk; some don't. I'm one of those guys that doesn't sound like they talk. I also think a lot of what we do in the in rock the rock community — lead singers are actors. We act out the lyrics. [IRON MAIDEN's] Bruce Dickinson does it. [METALLICA's James] Hetfield does it. I do it. A lot of guys do it. And we look at the lyrics like it's a one-man play. And so when you're writing the lyrics, you're envisioning how you're gonna deliver them. I'll give you an example, and I've used this example before, but it'll make sense to you. When I was doing 'The [Crimson] Idol', in 'Chainsaw Charlie' there's a line in that says, 'Welcome to the morgue, boy.' And when I wrote that line, I knew exactly how I wanted to deliver it. I heard it in my head, I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be. And when it [came] time to actually sing it, the first couple of times I tried it, it didn't sound anything like I heard it in my head. So I kept working on and working on it until I got it to sound exactly the way I had envisioned it. So, like I said, there's a lot of acting that goes on with that. So I think anybody that acts out lyrics, they're probably — especially when you mentioned the screaming portion of it, when you start getting really loud, it starts to change the timber of your voice and the way you sound. And that's for everyone, because most of the guys I know that sing rock, they don't sound the same when they talk, because, again, they're singing loudly, they're acting, so that changes a lot. The country western guys, they don't sing very loud, so they sound a lot like they do when they talk. It's a melodic extension of their natural voice. But rock singers, it's pretty different 'cause it's a lot louder."

Asked if he ever had any voice problems over the decades, Blackie said: "Oh, yeah. I had a huge problem. In '83, before our first record came out, I ruptured the left side of my voice. And there was a flu going around — it was a viral laryngitis — and everyone that got it couldn't speak… I got it, but I didn't sound [hoarse] when I talked because [after] all the years of singing, my muscle and my throat, or my voice, was more developed than other people, so I could talk and I sounded okay, even though I was ill. But I went into rehearsal one day and I tried to sing, and I wasn't getting loose. And I kept cracking while I was singing. And I thought, 'Well, I just need to get a little loose.' And I kept pushing and pushing and pushing. And finally about 30 minutes into it, I couldn't speak. And that went on for about three days — I couldn't speak. And I thought, 'Well, I'd better go see a doctor.' So there's a voice specialist. His name was Ed Kantor. He passed away about four or five years ago, but he was over in Beverly Hills and he was the foremost voice specialist in the world. When you went into his office — most doctors have their certificates on the wall of the schools they went to and things like that. Not this guy — he had gold and platinum records, floor to ceiling, all the way around. Frank Sinatra, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart — I mean everybody, whose careers he had saved. So I went in there and he examined me. And they stick a camera, they put it down your throat, and you can see on the monitor what's going on. The right side of my voice was pink, perfect, healthy, looked great. The left side looked like raw hamburger meat. It was bloody. And he says, 'You've got a problem here. So he says, 'All right. If you do what I tell you to do, I can get you through this. You'll probably never sound the same, but I'll get you through this and you'll be able to sing again.' He goes, 'How good, I don't know. But I'll get you through it.' So it was in many ways identical to the rehab that I just went through [after I had a surgery on my back], because they can't promise you anything. So he told me, he says, 'First thing you do is you don't speak for nine weeks. You don't talk to anyone. You go to a restaurant, you carry a pen and a pad of paper. Phone rings at home? You let it ring. You don't laugh, you don't cough unless you just have to. You do not speak anyhow, anyway to anyone.' And he kept saying to me, 'If you do what I tell you to, I'll get you through this. If you do not follow my instructions specifically, you'll never sing again.' And he kept saying it over and over. 'If you do this, you'll be okay. If you don't do this, you'll never sing again. If you don't do this, you'll be okay. You'll never sing again.' I mean, by the time I left there, I was scared to death to talk."

Blackie continued: "I don't know if you've ever gone nine days without speaking. Try nine weeks. Try nine hours. I mean, you don't realize how much we communicate verbally to each other. And he told me, he says, 'Halfway through, you're gonna start to feel a little better, and the anxiety's gonna start to get to you, but I caution you, do not test that voice. You'll wreck everything that you just did. You'll never sing again.' He just kept saying it over and over and over. Put the fear of God in me. And he's looking at my voice with a camera, and he goes, 'You sing pretty loud, don't you?' And I said, 'Yeah, how'd you know?' He goes, 'I could tell.' He goes, 'I've seen these before.' He says, 'But you don't have a sign of a node on your throat.' He says, 'And for the volume you sing,' he says, 'If you don't have it by now, you're never gonna have it.' And he told me, he says, 'I removed nine of them from Natalie Cole's voice' earlier that week. He says, 'And she don't sing near the volume you sing.' So he says, 'If you don't have 'em by now,' he says, 'You're one of those lucky people.' So I did what he said, and it took about a year to really get it back. And I learned little tricks along the way, and quite honestly, I'm better now than I was before the accident. So it was a blessing in disguise. But it was terrifying to go through."

Two years ago, Blackie underwent a successful surgery to treat two herniated discs and a broken vertebra.

Because of the extensive back injuries Lawless suffered during the European leg of W.A.S.P.'s 40th-anniversary tour, the band's previously announced 2023 U.S. tour was canceled.

W.A.S.P.'s massive European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour wrapped on May 18, 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria at Universidada Sports Hall.

W.A.S.P. wrapped up its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October 2022. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

English doom metal pioneers MY DYING BRIDE have officially parted ways with vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe. The news comes less than a year after MY DYING BRIDE recruited singer Mikko Kotamäki (SWALLOW THE SUN) to front the band for its live appearances in 2025.

Earlier today (Thursday, October 9),MY DYING BRIDE released the following statement via social media: "MY DYING BRIDE have decided to part ways with vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe.

"Please understand that this decision does not come lightly, hence our initial and painful silence while we gathered our thoughts and carefully considered our response to the disengaged, eerily abandoned state we suddenly found ourselves in.

"Our collective decision to move forward without him is not something we thought we would ever be forced to say, but to ensure a continued legacy for what we hold dear to our hearts, we simply have to move past this. Whilst change can be difficult, we are doing our best to bring this new chapter forward with powerful positivity.

"MY DYING BRIDE are not on hiatus, we were never on hiatus. However, we do genuinely wish Aaron all the luck in the world in his new solo endeavours."