Professionally filmed video of OBITUARY's entire August 16, 2025 performance at the Dynamo Metalfest in Eindhoven, Netherlands can be seen below.

This past summer, OBITUARY bassist Terry Butler was asked by RichardMetalFan about the possibility of a new studio album from the veteran Florida death metallers. He responded:  "We're just kind of talking about, hey, maybe by '26 or '27 we'll have another album out, possibly. We haven't set any kind of release date. There's really no songs even recorded yet or anything like that. It's just kind of just amongst ourselves kind of kicking ideas around. That's it."

OBITUARY recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of its second album, "Cause Of Death", on a North American tour. Support on the trek came from NAILS, TERROR, SPIRITWORLD and PEST CONTROL.

OBITUARY's latest studio album, "Dying Of Everything", came out in January 2023 via Relapse Records.

In 2022, Decibel Books released "Turned Inside Out: The Official Story Of Obituary", the fully authorized biography of OBITUARY. The book was written by David E. Gehlke, author of "Damn The Machine: The Story Of Noise Records" and "No Celebration: The Official Story Of Paradise Lost".

In a 2023 interview with Invisible Oranges, OBITUARY drummer Donald Tardy stated about the six-year gap between 2017’s self-titled album and "Dying Of Everything": "COVID had everything to do with it. We've been sitting on this album for two years; we started writing it five years ago. When we did the SLAYER tour in Europe, we were hell bound to get home and write an album. The plans were to obviously ride the coattails and get back to Europe on a headlining tour and talk about a new album. But then COVID took everything out. So we realized that we had a fucking awesome start to an album, so what are you gonna do when you realize you're gonna be home for more than just months? We were home, so we just really focused on the songs that we had; wrote some more songs and really focused on, how can you make them killer? And then the recording process… we really took our time because we knew that we were not going to put an album out when we’re sitting on our couches because of COVID. So a lot of bands released records when they were sitting at home."

He added: "I'm not 20 years old anymore, and there's not that many more albums coming out of OBITUARY. This was the 11th one; this was the one we knew was super important. And so we've been sitting on it for two years. It's been finished and in our back pockets waiting for the world to open up, especially Europe. Because Europe hadn't seen us since 2016."

Regarding OBITUARY's longevity, Donald said: "My brother [OBITUARY frontman John Tardy] says it a lot of interviews, and I don't often repeat him, but we're doing something that we're having a good time doing. And if we don't have a good time doing it, we'll find something else to do. I think that's a great way to put it.

"My brother and I moved to Tampa, Florida from Miami, Florida in 1980. Within minutes, I met Trevor [Peres, OBITUARY guitarist] and I was only a 10-year-old kid. And by the time we were 12 years old, we already had the bug and we knew what we wanted; we wanted to be a band. And we've been best friends for 40-something years. And the longevity of the career with this band is simply that we're all brothers, we kind of get along, beyond just bandmates. We're lifetime friends, and, genuinely, we have a good time together. We're fortunate that we found each other in life, and we're good friends. And that's the success plan that kept OBITUARY together now for going on 35 years."

That same year, Donald told Kerrang! magazine that the extended hiatus he and his OBITUARY bandmates went on in 1997 was a positive experience. "Hindsight is 20/20," he said. "At the time we didn't know if that break was going to be one year, two years, six years or whatever it was. But, looking back, it was fantastic for us to step away and recharge, to get away from the music industry and that scene at the age that we were. And we were gone for long enough that we were hungry again when we got back onstage. It's weird to look back at how long ago that was. Our 'second career' has lasted longer than a lot of bands' entire existences."

In a new interview with Rock Daydream Nation, former URIAH HEEP singer Peter Goalby reflected on being asked by Ritchie Blackmore to join RAINBOW during the sessions for the latter band's 1979 album "Down To Earth", only to be let go a very short time later, with Blackmore eventually recruiting ex-MARBLES singer Graham Bonnet. Goalby said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It really hurt me, because I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. And it wasn't until — I think it was probably at least about a year that the story filtered through why, and the reason why is because I couldn't sing high enough — my range wasn't high enough. Now, my answer to that is I didn't ask to join RAINBOW. They asked me. And I read somewhere that Ritchie said words to the effect of, 'He was inadequate, so we sent him away.' And I thought, 'Well, thanks a million, Ritchie.' But a year later or two years later, I joined URIAH HEEP. That's what he said — he said, 'The top note of his range is an A.' That's not true. It's not true. If you listen to [URIAH HEEP's 1982 album] 'Abominog', there's a lot bigger notes than A going on in practically every song that I sang."

Peter continued: "I didn't understand what was expected of me. I'd never worked in a band. I'd always worked — because I was a writer, or I'm singing songs that are already established, and then I learn the song. I'd never worked in an environment where you walk into a rehearsal room and the band are already playing a riff and you're supposed to walk up and just scat and sing anything. I thought that was fucking stupid."

After the interviewer noted that Goalby could have handled all the songs from "Down To Earth" as well as the material from the Joe Lynn Turner era of RAINBOW, Peter said: "If you're in a band and you're learning a song, you can change the key. You can take the key down. I mean, people do it every day. So, when I did… I don't know whether I should tell you this. When I did my version of [RAINBOW's rendition of the Russ Ballard song] 'Since You Been Gone', and the answer's no, you're not gonna ever hear it. I've got it, but nobody's ever gonna hear it. I did it in a lower key. I think it was probably a tone down from Graham. Graham's got an incredible voice. He's almost got — I don't mean this in a bad way — he's almost got a female range. It just goes up and up and up, whereas most male singers, you get to a certain note and then you have to go into falsetto. Graham manages to open his throat up, which is fantastic. When I went to [then-RAINBOW bassist] Roger Glover's house and recorded the demo of 'Since You Been Gone', it was fine. As I say, I've actually got the demo, and Ritchie makes a mistake. How much is that worth? He makes a mistake on the demo; he plays the wrong fucking chords."

Earlier this month, Goalby released his "long-lost" solo album "Don't Think This Is Over".

Goalby was the lead singer of URIAH HEEP during the band's classic "Abominog" (1982) era and also wrote URIAH HEEP's 1980s hit "Blood Red Roses". He also sang on the band's albums "Head First" (1983) and "Equator" (1985).

In addition to URIAH HEEP, Goalby was the lead singer of TRAPEZE and FABLE but has now retired from the music industry after an illustrious career.

Peter had been living with the knowledge he'd recorded a solo album just after leaving URIAH HEEP but it was only when a poorly labeled DAT was spotted, at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was found.

The album was finished when his URIAH HEEP bandmates Mick Box (guitar) and John Sinclair (keys) added the final overdubs to the tracks in 2025. The nine-track album was personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by Goalby.

Goalby explained the background to the release: "In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I'd left URIAH HEEP. I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and SMOKIE recorded 'Fallin' Apart'. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I'd put my heart and soul into was gone forever. Never say never!"

The lost album's release follows the successful release of "Easy With The Heartaches" and then "I Will Come Runnin'".

All Peter Goalby solo albums are also available from Cherry Red.

In a new interview with Ralph Rasmussen of Radio Bypass, DANGEROUS TOYS and WATCHTOWER frontman Jason McMaster once again spoke about the time he was approached by PANTERA about possibly singing for the group before Philip Anselmo connected with the fellow Texas metal act. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. To be fully correct, I was… This probably was in around '86, maybe early '87, but I know I have that timeframe almost spot-on. Mr. Abbott, ['Dimebag'] Darrell [Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] and Vinnie's [Paul Abbott, PANTERA drummer] father, called me on the phone and said, 'Hey, those are my boys, and I'm kind of managing them.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, I know who you are.' He was already kind of a legend in Texas, and PANTERA was already known. And I was in a band called WATCHTOWER, which is this progressive… Before you could put the words 'math' and 'metal' together, we were 'math metal'. We were this technical thrash band, this progressive thrash metal band, which is not… I mean, now it's commonplace for you to talk about extreme metal and have it be completely math rock and math metal, and there's so many different genres of what I'm kind of talking about. But anyway, WATCHTOWER is arguably the pioneer of that genre. But I digress. The point is I was in this really weird metal band. And that's how those guys knew me, and I knew them to be this kind of glam rock. They didn't have Philip [in the band yet]; they had [previous PANTERA singer] Terry Glaze, and they were a little bit more — I don't know — [like] DEF LEPPARD [or] BON JOVI. And that's fine. And they were kicking ass. They were a touring [band]. They would run around Texas and roll up through Oklahoma, go all the way to Nashville and play their way all the way back. And they were killing it. And they were young. And, everyone, I don't have to say it — they had Darrell. But Vinnie and Rex [Brown, PANTERA bassist] are these bad motherfuckers too. So as a band, [they were] unstoppable, no matter what. All my friends, we knew who they were, of course. So, Mr. Abbott calls me and I respectfully decline, because I'm about to have to replace a guitar player in WATCHTOWER, which was no easy feat because of the style of music it is. It's like you can't just call up, 'Hey, Joe, across the street, come and play a guitar.' 'Oh, I got five strings.' You have to have third eye wide open and be into MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA and RUSH in a blender on crush to understand what it is. And, anyway, I explained that to him and he was fine. Two weeks later, Vinnie calls me to basically say, 'Are you sure?' And this was an invitation to only audition."

Asked by Rasmussen if PANTERA was "kind of the biggest band in the area at that point in time", Jason clarified: "No. I didn't know them to be as far as what you would call the 'biggest' band. I mean, they had footprint and they had buzz. Years later I was blessed enough to get into a little conversation about what we're talking about with Darrell. And I'm, like, 'Why me?' Because, obviously, it's funny because they got Philip and ended up being this giant monster that defies genre of… They were thrash. For a minute, they were the heaviest thing on the radio. They were thrash and they were power metal and they were doom. Oh my God — the riffs and just Philip's voice and they were this conglomerate of everything. They were monstrous, and they were obviously breaking down walls, kicking ass and taking names with Philip. Whatever decisions they made, they made right ones. Obviously I was not the right guy, and I knew it prophetically somehow. And here's the thing, too — I got asked to audition for SKID ROW too, and it was verbatim the same storyline. [SKID ROW guitarist] Snake calls me one day, he calls me two weeks later: 'Are you sure?' Same answer I had."

Circling back to why he turned down an opportunity to audition for PANTERA, McMaster said: "Here's my real answer. When I'm leaving WATCHTOWER and I'm joining DANGEROUS TOYS, there's something that a lot of people don't realize. It was really hard to make that decision to leave something I was in almost a decade, and then go with these guys I knew for six months and go make a brand new record. In less than a year, I'm in arenas and on MTV, not in that order. But what's missing in this conversation, and this sounds selfish, maybe not, but this was something in that I had stuck to my shoe, I'll just call it, 'cause it wasn't something that I wore like a badge. I had a chance to sing my songs because in WATCHTOWER, they wrote the lyrics. I wrote the melodies. They may have had compositions that told me where they expected me to sing and what would resemble a verse, and a chorus, and a bridge, et cetera. But that's my voice and it's my melodies, and that's the way the song goes. And I had a lot to do with that. But I didn't write the lyrics, so that part was missing in my skillset, and I needed to sharpen that knife, and this was a chance for me to do it. So by the time the SKID ROW offer to audition — to be a hundred thousand percent clear — obviously they're doing the right thing too, and I have mad respect for them as well and their decisions that they've made too. And it's probably tough in the shoes that they are wearing right now. They stuck to their guns. It must be hard to have a different singer every few years. But they're still a badass band and they're obviously unstoppable and respect to that. But the point: I had a chance to be a songwriter, so when I'm saying this to these guys, I'm still working on this right here, and I don't need to tell you that in so many words. And to give you a little bit of introspect, if that's even a word, into where I am. And so, now that I have my own songs to sing, I feel a lot better, maybe even about being a replacement singer. And I have pretty much been a replacement singer since I got it all figured out."

Four and a half years ago, McMaster told Waste Some Time With Jason Green about being approached by PANTERA about auditioning for the band: "I like talking about this, only because it clears up some things. I was offered an audition. I never auditioned. I didn't accept the offer to audition.

"[Darrell and Vinnie's] father called me first, which was interesting, that someone who could have been my dad is calling me, 'Hey, I'm Mister… And I'm looking…', kind of management style, and I'm just a dude, and I'm going, 'Woah, this is trippy.' And I turned him down. And then Vinnie calls me, like, two weeks later, and the same kind of a thing happened.

"But we — as in my scene in Austin — we had heard about people talking, 'Man, I saw this band PANTERA, and they played this, and they played METALLICA,'" he continued. "But they were saying they would play DEF LEPPARD — they would play the popular hard rock and heavy metal songs. It didn't matter if it was this new thing called thrash or whatever. I don't think that they were covering DESTRUCTION or SODOM or CELTIC FROST or VENOM, like me and my friends kind of wanted to, but they were [playing] the popular stuff. They were doing club circuits. They were wearing pink and purple and green and yellow on stage. They had big hair. And so it was kind of, like, the whole, 'Well, do you call them posers?' Well, you're not a poser if you believe what you do. And they were good. And everyone said how good they were. Darrell was always a guitar legend in Texas. The guy probably never had any lessons and he just learned from slowing down VAN HALEN songs. [He was] an incredible talent, and everyone knew it, even though there was never a citing of any of that, because in my circle, it was a little more hardcore.

"So, '86 comes around. WATCHTOWER's first record is out, 'Energetic Disassembly'. It's getting attention globally — still on an underground level, of course… We helped… I know it's a big crown to wear for me to say this, but I will insert the word 'arguably' WATCHTOWER, and if not myself, had a giant hand in kickstarting the thrash, the metal thing in Austin, Texas in '82.

"So, yes, the PANTERA camp calls me. [WATCHTOWER] was losing [guitarist] Billy White [at the time]. He was ready to jump ship from WATCHTOWER and start playing different styles of music and just rock guitar… So the last two shows we played with Billy White were the only two shows that WATCHTOWER ever played out of the state of Texas, and they were in the Bay Area in the first of October of 1986. I believe it was right before that that the PANTERA camp had called me to see where my head was.

"Years and years later — I think it was '95 — I'm standing behind the backline with Darrell and some of his party boys. It was PANTERA, of course, with TYPE O NEGATIVE in San Antonio, at Sunken Gardens… And I had a chance to just basically get right in Darrell's head and go, 'Dude, why me? 'Cause you hooked up with Philip, and this is working. This is some brutal, really awesome, I'll just call it rock music. This is exactly where you guys needed to be.' And he's, like, 'Man, Jason, you just had a good buzz. Everyone that we knew in the Dallas/Fort Worth area' — I'm paraphrasing — 'knew your name and was a fan of WATCHTOWER. And you were on a list. That's it.' It was a simple answer, and I was, like, 'Oh, okay. Well, that makes sense.' I realized how big of an honor it was by the time they blew up. And I was, like, 'Wow. These guys are cool.'"

According to McMaster, he had no idea at the time he was approached to audition for PANTERA that they would one day turn out to be such an influential metal act.

"I'll put my hands on the table and show you all my cards and everything by saying the riffs from 'Cowboys From Hell', who knows if they were even written at that point?" Jason said. "Who knew that they were going into this completely hardcore and/or arguably creating their own style of 'groove' metal. I don't really like the term, but it became a thing. As well as that they could thrash too. Who knew? 'Cause I didn't. I just thought they were this kind of glam rock band that did the cover band circuit, and that's all I knew about 'em… But I was really kind of blinded by my own worries with WATCHTOWER."

In a new interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Dave Mustaine insisted that MEGADETH won't be like other veteran hard rock and heavy metal bands, such as MÖTLEY CRÜE and SLAYER, who had announced farewell tours, only to return to the live stage a few years later. "I don't think so," he said. "You see the scuttlebutt that is associated with bands like that. You know they never follow through with it and stick to their word."

Although MEGADETH is not planning on releasing any studio album the band's upcoming self-titled effort, which is due in January 2026, Mustaine didn't rule out the possibility of a live album documenting MEGADETH's final tour.

"Look, it all depends on how the statements are crafted," he said. "So, we're doing no more studio albums. Does that mean there might be a live album at the end of all of this? Yeah, it certainly looks that way."

As for how he plans to keep himself busy after MEGADETH has stopped performing live, Mustaine said: "Well, there's so much still going on now that I don't really want to think about that too much. I can't really conceive of an end right now."

He added: "I don't think there is going to be a morning after. I think for all of us, we're always going to be in MEGADETH. We're always going to be brothers now and best friends, and we're always going to be responsible for making some of the most fun music that bassists and guitarists and drummers will ever want to play."

Earlier this month, Mustaine was asked by Spain's MariskalRockTV if he remembers the day that he decided it was time to announce the final round of his career. Mustaine responded: "No. No, 'cause I just brought it up. I didn't decide. We were working in the studio [on MEGADETH's upcoming self-titled album], and it just had been a really difficult few weeks. We were trying to get everything done, and it obviously was important to us to make sure that the record was done right. And we had a bunch of deadlines we ran up against that was making it hard and stuff like that. And my hands were hurting really bad. And then I just said one day to my management, 'You know, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to do this.' I didn't say, 'Hey, I wanna retire right now.'"

Elaborating on the issue with his hands which is preventing him from playing his guitar at a hundred percent, Mustaine said: "Yeah, you can look right here on this hand. There's a line right there that's sticking up. That's something called Dupuytren's contracture, and it's gonna make my finger come down like this. It's already started, where it's kind of bunching up a little bit. And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they're severely arthritic. So, all those bumps makes it really painful to play."

Asked if he has contemplated undergoing surgery to correct the issue or if he has already done that, Dave said: "I'm gonna wait for that until I'm ready to try it, because if I try it now and I'm 95 percent, and I do a surgery and it sets me back, that would've been a bad decision. If I wait until my hands are causing a problem and I try it and it doesn't work, well then I've toured everywhere, I've said farewell to everybody and I'm not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished."

According to the Mayo Clinic, Dupuytren contracture is a condition that causes one or more fingers to bend toward the palm of the hand. The affected fingers can't straighten completely.

There's no cure for Dupuytren contracture. Treatments can relieve symptoms and slow how quickly the condition gets worse.

In a separate interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Mustaine spoke about MEGADETH's recently announced "farewell" tour, which will officially launch in 2026. The trek, dubbed the "This Was Our Life" tour, will be in support of MEGADETH's upcoming "final", self-titled album, which will arrive in January, and will mark the end of more than four decades of musical history for the 64-year-old musician.

Asked why "Megadeth" will be the band's final album and why he decided to embark on a "farewell" tour at this point of his career, Mustaine said: "It had been a long time coming — just physical stuff that was going on with my hands… My hands were letting me down. And there were other things that were difficult because of all the stuff going on in my neck and my trunk. All that area there has arthritis and it has discs that are bulging. I've got a broken lumbar bone. Of course, you know I have my back fused, up by my shoulders, by my neck. And just a lot of stuff."

Mustaine continued: "I always said when it got to the point where I was unable to give a hundred percent every night, that's when I was gonna start considering winding down. And it wasn't that I was unable to give a hundred percent, because we finished the record, and I think we did a good job on it, but there was a period when we were working and I said to my manager, I said, 'I don't know how much longer I can do this. My hands are really hurting.' And I didn't mean to set the ball rolling. Honestly, I just was making conversation, and it turned into me talking to the band guys and sleeping on it and talking to my family and praying on it. And the answer was clear to me that by the time we're done with the record, I'm gonna know how the record's gonna do. If the record does really well, then I'll be able to have one last really good tour. And the part about the farewell thing, it's kind of like the same thing, isn't it? We've got some dates that we wanna play to say goodbye to our friends."

Dave added: "The thing is we're an American band, but we play everywhere. So it's not like we just are weekend warriors, like country acts here in the States. We've got a lot of touring to do in order to do our farewell properly."

After host Eddie Trunk noted that a lot of veteran artists overstay their welcome and don't gracefully bow out of the music scene after they are no longer able to perform their songs properly, Mustaine concurred.  "I don't think there's any reason [for us] to [keep playing when we are not able to deliver a hundred percent]," he said. "I mean, unless you're financially in a bad way and you need to keep playing, which, by the grace of God, I've been successful. I've been able to pay all my bills. All the band guys, they all get their paychecks on time. We do everything right by the book. So, some people, like I said, they may have to keep playing, because there's nothing else for them to do. Now, when I think about, what am I gonna do after I hang the guitar up, that's in relation to touring, and I believe that I'm going to keep doing music in some way, shape or form. But not in the fashion that I was doing with MEGS because if I can't do it and I need to stop playing with my first love, I'm not gonna go out and try and do it again with someone else."

Last month, Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine that MEGADETH's farewell run of shows could last a long time. "We're easily talking about touring for another three to five years," Dave said. "And if we're going to be doing it for that long then, shit, I'll be looking at the birthday I don't even want to think about," he added, referencing the fact that he will turn 70 in 2031.

As someone who overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol and beat throat cancer, Mustaine added: "I'm not caught up in longevity and stuff like that, and being one of those guys who can play until he's in his 80s. I have to remember that people live and they die. And I need to take good care of myself."

"Megadeth" will be released on January 23, 2026. The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be made available via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

In a press release announcing MEGADETH's final album and farewell tour, Mustaine thanked fans for their commitment and love while celebrating the band's impact on the music world.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine said. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them."

He continued. "We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it's now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it's our last studio album. We've made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

"Don't be mad, don't be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that's truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything."

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH two years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the now-38-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

In addition to Mustaine and Mäntysaari, MEGADETH's current lineup includes drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

In a new interview with Veil Of Sound, U.S. doom and heavy metal icon Scott "Wino" Weinrich — the voice of THE OBSESSED, SAINT VITUS and SPIRIT CARAVAN — spoke about his appreciation for some of the early musical output of MOTÖRHEAD. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Here's what I like about MOTÖRHEAD. Before I knew who MOTÖRHEAD was — I'd never heard of 'em before in my life — I was at the mall, and I was pretty young. And I was thumbing through the records, and I was in in the 'M' [section], and I pulled out 'On Parole'. And on the cover of the American version of 'On Parole', it's just Lemmy [MOTÖRHEAD leader] standing there, playing his bass. He's got the big Maltese cross on his bass. And I was, like, 'Wow, look at that motherfucker.' I bought that record sight unseen just because of the way he looked. And I didn't like anything on the whole record except for that version of 'Iron Horse'/'Born To Lose' — that slow, bluesy version of 'Iron Horse'."

Wino continued: " MOTÖRHEAD is sort of like SAINT VITUS. It's more about a feeling. It's a feeling. The music is there, it's raw, it's great. The early shit was great. Philthy's [former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor] meter count came apart there for a while, and Mikkey Dee, of course, stepped in. But, to be honest with you, I never bought anything after 'No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith'. I mean, after that it became too much of the same shit. I wasn't the biggest 'Fast' Eddie Clarke [then-MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] fan, really, of his style or his stuff at all. I think he was pretty limited. And Lemmy, to a point — Lemmy was so rich and stuff, but after a certain point, Lemmy just kind of like… I can't listen to any of that 'Hellraiser' shit. My wife likes a lot of that shit, but I can't listen to any that shit, man. The only song I like from the newer stuff after, after 'No Sleep'... It's not on 'Ace Of Spades', but it's my favorite MOTÖRHEAD song. It's that song 'Just 'Cos You Got the Power'. Two guitars, man. Würzel [former MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] — honestly, I think Würzel was a better guitar player than Phil Campbell [MOTÖRHEAD guitarist]. I spent some time with Phil Campbell personally, driving around, trying to score speed for him and shit, getting high with him. And he was really jealous of Würzel, man. That was funny."

Weinrich released his fourth solo album, "Create Or Die", in October via Ripple Music.

"Create Or Die" was produced and engineered by Frank Marchand and Wino. Mastered by Alan Douches, it was issued on vinyl, CD and digital formats.

Wino formed his first band THE OBSESSED in 1978, starting the reign of "heavy and slow" decades before doom grew into a flourishing worldwide genre unto itself. A few years later, he moved to California to join SAINT VITUS, with whom he released the seminal "Born Too Late" (1986),one of the most powerful statements in doom's early history, with Wino's raspy, heartfelt and punk-charged vocals booming loudly above the crowd of howling, gimmicky Ozzy Osbourne copycats.

Following a reformation of THE OBSESSED and a brief major-label flirtation in the early 1990s, which included a piledriving update of BLACK SABBATH's "The Wizard" alongside Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Rob Halford, Wino formed yet another influential outfit, SPIRIT CARAVAN. The new band fused his trademark sludgy churn with an increased soulfulness, beginning to lay the groundwork for his eventual exploration of acoustic and expansive songwriting. During this time, Dave Grohl also invited Wino to join his all-star PROBOT project alongside Lemmy Kilmister, King Diamond, Max Cavalera and other notables.

Numerous world tours with his various bands later, the creative source remained inexhaustible as Wino embarked on a new direction with the release of his solo debut, "Punctuated Equilibrium", quickly followed by a second solo LP, "Adrift", in 2010, a series of collaborations with German folk songwriter Conny Ochs, and "Forever Gone" in 2020. Wino embarked on extensive European and North American tours as a solo act, continuing to maintain his thriving solo output even with the arrival of a much-heralded and welcomed re-constitution of THE OBSESSED formed for the third time in 2017. THE OBSESSED, now a four-piece, has toured extensively since 2020, and released its latest studio album, "Gilded Sorrow", to great acclaim in 2023 on Ripple Music.

Today, Wino is respected all over the world as the godfather of doom and one of underground heavy music's most revered lifers. Worldwide festivals like Roadburn, Hellfest, Psycho Las Vegas, Desertfest, Maryland Deathfest, Rock Hard Festival, Monolith On The Mesa and countless others keep inviting Wino back through his various sonic incarnations year after year.

Photo courtesy of Purple Sage PR

On a recent episode of TWISTED SISTER guitarist John "Jay Jay" French's "The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond The Music" podcast, Jay Jay was joined by legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, TRAPEZE). During the 44-minute chat, which can be seen below, these two rock legends do a deep dive into their ongoing musical legacies and the life experiences that come with it. Glenn shares stories from his illustrious career, giving us a glimpse of what it was like to be part of legendary bands like DEEP PURPLE and TRAPEZE — the extensive performances, creative breakthroughs, and unforgettable moments. He gets into the evolution of his sound and the challenges that artists face in today's music landscape. Their discussion touches on the impact of streaming, with Glenn expressing his thoughts on how it has transformed the way music is both consumed and created. They discuss Glenn's latest work and listen to two recent singles "Voice In My Head" and "Chosen". The conversation wraps on a hopeful note, as they discuss the importance of live music and the connection it fosters among fans and artists alike.

Regarding his latest studio album, "Chosen", which came out on September 5, 2025 via Frontiers Music Srl, Glenn said  (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, you can see I'm kind of smiling and kind of sad because this probably will be my last solo album. Because, as you know, yourself being in the industry, nobody really buys 'em anymore. I don't like streaming. People buy an album, listen to one or two songs, and it's done. It's painful sometimes for me to write these albums. I mean, these songs are very personal to me, these lyrics are very personal. I don't think I can continue to do that anymore. I think the live work is way more important for me.

"We don't live in a longplayer world anymore, do we, Jay Jay?" Glenn continued. "We don't live there anymore. Maybe [you can release] a single here and there, maybe a live thing coming out. Albums don't really mean anything unless you have a huge fanbase."

Elaborating on his mindset when performing live in 2025 and beyond, Hughes said: "The way I feel about it, Jay Jay, is, look, I've been playing the legacy songs for a couple of years now. I don't know if you know — I've been doing this DEEP PURPLE classic show, and I've come to the point, well, I've done that now, and I've done it years ago. I'm gonna go back to being simply Glenn with all those other great songs. I've done 18 solo albums. They've done really well. I've got [material from] TRAPEZE, I've got HUGHES/THRALL, I've got other things to play. I'm getting into a new era when I wanna play new songs. I look different, I feel different. I'm happy. I can't keep regurgitating these old catalog [songs]. I love them — don't get me wrong — people wanna hear them, but my audience now is ready for something new. They're ready for something more dangerous and more exciting, and I am the man to do that."

Glenn recorded the long-awaited follow-up to 2016's "Resonate" in June 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Glenn previously talked about his reluctance to make a new full-length album this past October in an interview with Marko Syrjälä of Chaoszine. He said at the time: "I don't think I'll make another rock album. You know why? Nobody buys albums anymore… I'm talking in general. You do, people like you, sure, but in general, nobody buys. Nobody buys. I write this stuff, I record it, I do a lot of interviews, and then the album comes out. It's great. It charts the first week, and then it's like, it's over. I'm laughing because I'm like, 'What… what the fuck?' You know, it's the same for everyone. It's not just me. Everybody… you see it. It's not just me. I have to ask the question myself: Is it me? No. I look at THE DARKNESS and my friends and all other people. My friends say it's like… new albums are now like 'in and out.' But I'm really happy with 'Chosen'. If it's the last Glenn rock album, I think it's a great way to finish."

Asked if he has ever thought about releasing his music independently and not working with traditional record labels anymore, Glenn said: "Yeah, I mean, there have been talks about that. I could do it on my own because I've got a great team with me. Right now, I don't have any plans to make another album — but I will, I believe I will. The stuff I'm writing at the moment isn't rock, but it's also not really pure black music. I love doing that kind of stuff, but I'm not black — I'm white, and most of my fans are white too."

Hughes previously floated the possibility of not releasing another rock album this past August in an interview with Phil Aston of Now Spinning Magazine. On the topic of where "Chosen" sits in his discography and what might be coming next, Glenn said: "I can give you an exclusive. I think this will be the last rock album I make, but it might not be the last album I make. I'm not saying I've got plans, but I am thinking about things that won't be too far away from what I've been doing. And if you like albums like 'Feel' and 'First Underground [Nuclear Kitchen]', you'll know what I'm hinting at. It'll be more for the vocals than heavy guitar. But at some point — I think you might un understand me here — it's always been about that voice, and when you take away disrupting instruments so you can hear that voice…"

He continued: "When I did the Jon Lord tribute at the Albert Hall, when you had myself and you had a 73-piece orchestra and that was it, and no drums and no guitar, that's what I consider to be the pure Glenn Hughes voice. And as I close out my career, whenever that's going to be, I want my voice to be… The only thing you wanna hear, if you're coming to see Glenn, is that voice. I'm not being disrespectful to anybody I'm working with, but this voice [which] has been given to me is really a humbling gift sent to me. It's not really me. I'm just portraying what God has given to me."

Elaborating on how he wants his voice to be the focal point in his music going forward, Hughes said: "In the production quality of the ['Chosen'] album, Søren [Andersen], my guitar player, helped me do it. But he also understands the predicament we're in right now, realizing my age, and how many years have I got left to do this? I think what I and the people around me want to portray is that we've got this voice.

"People say, 'Is Glenn the last man standing from his peer group?'" he continued. "I can't say that myself. I have a lot of good friends, and you know who they are in my age group. But if I am the last man standing, please just listen to that voice. I'm talking in the third person. I'm not saying anything about how good it is or bad it is, but let's just take a listen to the voice.

"When we talk about the stratospheric voice, and if you understand R&B music and black music like I do, if you think about Smokey Robinson or Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and Prince, for example, those guys use their voice in the same kind of fashion," Hughes added. "They just sing R&B falsettos. And that's the way I do it. But it's something I only do feel when I feel it necessary in the moment. And by the way, each night I sing live, I might be doing it in places I never did it before. But I don't really think about those moments. All I'm only thinking about is delivering the song. The people know the melody. I never change the melody. I never change the lyric. But I really do enjoy being Glenn."

Glenn, a native of Cannock, England, absorbed all kinds of influences, including early British hard rock, THE BEATLES and, most importantly, American soul and R&B. The sleek Motown sound from Detroit and the gritty Stax/Volt sound from Memphis left their mark on him.

Hughes first found success in the early '70s with the band TRAPEZE before joining DEEP PURPLE in 1973 during a pivotal lineup change that introduced him and David Coverdale to the group. Despite initial skepticism, the revamped band silenced critics with the release of "Burn" (1974),a powerful album that revitalized PURPLE's sound and remains a classic. During this era, the band headlined the iconic California Jam in front of over 300,000 fans, toured the world aboard their private jet The Starship, and released two more studio albums, "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band", before disbanding in 1976.

Glenn's first solo album "Play Me Out" was released in 1977. He joined former Pat Travers guitarist Pat Thrall to form HUGHES/THRALL, which released an acclaimed self-titled album in 1982. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Glenn Hughes made countless guest appearances (both credited and un-credited) as a vocalist, bass guitarist or songwriter on other artists' albums. The endless list includes — among others — Gary Moore, John Norum and Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH.

Since 1992, Glenn has started a prolific solo career with a dozen studio albums where he explored all the different sides of his songwriting and influences: from hard rock to funk and more contemporary sounds. He collaborated — among others — with such musicians as Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Dave Navarro, John Frusciante and many others. He also founded or took part in some amazing musical alliances such as CALIFORNIA BREED (with Jason Bonham and Andrew Watt),BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION (with Joe Bonamassa and Jason Bonham) and THE DEAD DAISIES.

Glenn has collaborated with Robbie Williams on his new single "Rocket", which was released in May. The track also features a collaboration from Iommi and is the first time Glenn has been featured on a record with Tony since 2005, when they released "Fused" together.

Glenn also recently joined forces with SATCHVAI, a new collaboration by legendary guitar icons Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, by writing and singing on their single "I Wanna Play My Guitar".

Fan-filmed video of the East Coast production of the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA performing a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Changes" as a mash-up with SAVATAGE's "Sleep" during TSO's December 21 concert at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania can be seen below. The mash-up was a salute to late TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA producer, composer and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who died in 2017, and SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away in July.

TSO was created to push the boundaries of what was possible for a band to create — both musically and visually. O'Neill dreamed of a different kind of "band" that is not limited by the confines of traditional rock acts and instead established one with multiple singers who could inhabit the various characters he was writing into his rock operas.

Although TSO is best known for their Capra-esque trilogy of holiday records — "Christmas Eve & Other Stories", "The Christmas Attic" and "The Lost Christmas Eve" — they have also released several other rock operas. "Beethoven's Last Night" (2000) was the first of these non-holiday rock operas and tells a compelling tale of a battle for Beethoven's soul between good and evil. It features instrumental crossovers between classical composers and contemporary rock, along with original vocal tracks featuring Patti Russo as the character Teresa, Beethoven's love. Later albums take on great themes such as war and redemption, namely "Night Castle" (2009). "Night Castle" was TSO's first Top 5 album debut and included a bonus track featuring Greg Lake (EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, KING CRIMSON),who was one of TSO's greatest influences. TSO's latest album, "Letters From The Labyrinth" (2015),was another Top 10 release for the band. In total, TSO has sold in excess of 12 million albums and DVDs.

Consistently one of the Top 25 touring acts in the country, TSO shows no signs of slowing down. Since its touring debut in 1999, TSO has played over 2,000 Winter Tour shows for more than 20 million fans. So far TSO has also donated over $20 million from these tours to local charities.

At the time of his passing, O'Neill had several TSO projects in various stages of completion at his recording studio in Florida. He also had two finalized rock operas: "Romanov: When Kings Must Whisper", about the 1917 Russian Revolution, along with a live concert adaptation of "Night Castle". O'Neill also planned to eventually bring the TSO experience to Broadway. Nearly 30 years after the release of their first album, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA continues to create and live on.

With an incredible $1 billion in gross sales, TSO's remarkable and consistent appeal is reflected in recent industry accolades: Pollstar recognized TSO at No. 4 for Top North America Tours and at No. 6 on their Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart by gross for Midyear 2025, while Billboard placed them at No. 5 in Midyear 2025 Top Ticket Sales and No. 13 on the Midyear 2025 Top Tours chart. Adding to their impressive achievements, their iconic hit "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" has surpassed 100 million streams across digital platforms, further cementing its status as a timeless holiday classic.

In a new interview with Robb Chavez of Robbs MetalWorks, VIO-LENCE singer Sean Killian spoke about the 2024 departure of the band's founding guitarist Phil Demmel. Phil's final concert with the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans took place in February 2024 at Carioca Club in São Paulo, Brazil. Asked if he was "adamant" about wanting to keep VIO-LENCE going after Phil's exit, Sean said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Phil] wanted me to shelve the band. And then we sold out the Whisky [A Go Go in February 2023] in L.A., and he brought it up in the green room after we played. And I was, like, 'No, I'm not shelving anything.' 'Cause we never really toured back in the day, so there's so many places around the world that haven't seen VIO-LENCE or heard it live. For him, it's a garage thing that — I don't know… He's kind of a selfish guy. And if you've seen some of his interviews. he even brings it up himself."

Asked why VIO-LENCE's previous reunion in 2001-2003 didn't last, Sean said: "Well, we actually were writing music at the time, so we had Perry [Strickland] on drums and Phil [on guitar], Deen [Dell] playing bass, me singing and we had Ray Vegas playing guitar to fill in, 'cause Robb [Flynn, former VIO-LENCE guitarist] was already taking off with MACHINE HEAD. And we wrote some music and then Robb, he came to Phil and tapped him and said, 'You wanna play [with MACHINE HEAD]?' And then Phil called me and I was, like, 'Look, dude, I'm just a guy that loves to play music. You're a musician.' I've never told him, 'You can't do this' or 'you can't do that,' 'cause he's filled in for LAMB OF GOD [in later years] and a bunch of stuff. And I've always supported him a hundred percent. But when he told me that he wanted me to shelve it [two and a half years ago], that's when I was just kind of, like, 'This relationship…' Like [THE MENTORS legend] El Duce would say, 'This relationship is over.' [Laughs]"

After Chavez noted that it's "really surprising" to hear that Demmel wanted Killian to stop playing shows with VIO-LENCE in 2023, Sean said: "It's an internal thing with him. It's not about me. It's when he started doing interviews. So when [VIO-LENCE] played the Mystic Festival [in June 2024] in Poland, MACHINE HEAD was playing [at the same event], so I text Robb, 'Hey, man, why don't you play [the classic VIO-LENCE song] 'World In A World' with us?' 'Cause he always shows up a day before [MACHINE HEAD is scheduled to play]. And [Robb was], like, 'Fuck yeah.' So we did it. And so then the next week [Phil] does an interview, and it's just nothing but him talking bad about [VIO-LENCE]. And I just finally had it with him and told him, 'Man, you got issues. And I don't want any part of it.' I'm 61. I don't want people like that in my life. And so here we are today. And I'm happy. And the group that I'm playing with are enjoying themselves, and the fans really respond every time."

VIO-LENCE released three studio albums between 1988 and 1993. The group reformed soon after Demmel acrimoniously left MACHINE HEAD seven years ago.

Formed in 1985, VIO-LENCE helped define and refine what came to be known as the Bay Area sound, dropping three seminal albums before splitting in 1993. Leaving behind a heady legacy, they reformed briefly a couple of times in the intervening years before becoming a full-time going concern once more in 2019. After playing a string of successful shows, the quintet started to think about new music and delivered "Let The World Burn", showcasing their first new material in 29 years.

Filling out the band's ranks on "Let The World Burn" alongside Killian and Demmel were drummer Perry Strickland, ex-FEAR FACTORY bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and former OVERKILL guitarist Bobby Gustafson.

Killian is the only VIO-LENCE member from the "Let The World Burn" recording lineup who is still touring with the band.

For VIO-LENCE's recent U.S. tour as the support act for DEATH ANGEL, Killian was joined on stage by Ira Black (LIZZY BORDEN, VICIOUS RUMORS, METAL CHURCH) on guitar, Jeff Salgado (PSYCHOSOMATIC) on bass, Nick Souza (HATRIOT) on drums and Toby Swope on guitar.

"I've got a great group of guys," Sean told Robbs MetalWorks. "Claudeous Creamer's usually [playing guitar] with us, but POSSESSED is in Europe right now, and so anytime POSSESSED plays, we have Toby join us. And he's a great guitar player. He also plays drums. He tells me he plays drums better than guitar. And they're all professionals — Ira, Jeff, Nick Souza, Zetro's son. Great drummer, great attitude. And so it's, like, I'm happy that I have the guys we have because now it's finally, like, okay, this is my band and we're moving forward. And we're taking it to places that people haven't seen it before."

Killian continued: "Look at my Instagram. I'm not constantly on it. I'm not a hound for attention. When we do our tours, you see video or live pictures of us and stuff like that, but in between, you really don't see a whole lot. I don't post a whole lot about stuff. So that's kind of the difference. I'm not a social media rock star. I'm just a guy that fucking loves to play thrash metal."

In June 2024, Demmel told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco Bay Area radio station 107.7 The Bone about his decision to leave VIO-LENCE, the band that he formed nearly four decades earlier: "The VIO-LENCE thing just became… Perry left, or Perry's no longer in the band, and it just became — and I love Christian — it just became something not familiar anymore. And it hit me when we played the Whisky [A Go Go in February 2023 in West Hollywood, California] and it was Adrian [Aguilar], the drummer's first show. And we were having this kid Miles Dimitri Baker, who plays in ICE NINE KILLS right now, come down, and he was gonna be my fill-in [for some dates]. And so he was gonna play on a song or two. And I show up to the show and I walk backstage and, man, there was 50 people backstage and I knew maybe [the guys in] the band and a couple of other people. It was just, like, 'Man, this isn't my home anymore. This doesn't feel like home.' And no slight against the dudes, 'cause I loved playing with Adrian, I loved playing with Christian, and Ira really worked hard for the band and was a big — he was a big fighter for the band. He worked hard. He cared a lot. Ira was a very productive member of VIO-LENCE. But with everything that was happening, it was just time for me to go… The Kerry [King] thing was firing up, the CATEGORY 7 thing was firing up, and [I] just [did] not [want to] let that be a distraction from [the other stuff I was doing]."

Demmel added: "I loved the VIO-LENCE EP ['Let The World Burn'] that I wrote, and me and Sean wrote and we recorded with the dudes. And I'm super proud of those songs and the way that the recording came out. [Producer/engineer] Juan [Urteaga] did a tremendous job."

Circling back to the high turnover of members in VIO-LENCE, Demmel said: "Bobby [Gustafson was in the band for a couple of years] and Miles and this kid Jesse's playing now. Ira, Adrian, Nick Souza has played, [former CANNIBAL CORPSE and current EXHORDER guitarist] Pat O'Brien's been in. And this is all within the past couple years. So it just wasn't the thing that I started in high school, and the songs meaning the same."

Phil added that "it was cool traveling and doing the stuff that we did. And Sean wants to continue and travel and do the fun stuff. I'm still a partner with him in the business."

As for the possibility of VIO-LENCE making new music without Demmel being an official member of the band, Phil said: "That's all something that remains to be [seen]."

When Demmel announced his exit from VIO-LENCE a few days before the São Paulo concert, he said in a video message he shared to his social media: "It's been, I guess, in the works for a bit. My status has been undefined for a while. I'm kind of doing things that I felt comfortable or fell into my schedule or whatever. But given just the latest state of the band and where I feel I belong with it or feel tied to it, I just think that my time is at an end."

Demmel continued: "I'll always identify with the band. Me and [drummer] Perry started this band in high school. It's cool to be going to places that we haven't been.

"I'm feeling that Sean is… We've gone far on different pages. I guess we've always been on different pages. But I don't feel like I fit in with what the objective of this is anymore. And in light of some current events [laughs], I felt compelled to make the break."

Phil went on to say that he "thought about maybe doing a home show" with VIO-LENCE as a way of "saying goodbye," but ultimately concluded that "I don't feel like I need that. I feel like playing those [comeback shows in Oakland in April 2019] with Perry and Deen and Ray and having those two magical days and doing some other stuff that we've done, writing the five songs, doing the EP, I feel fulfilled," he said. "And anything further kind of feels forced. Actually, before this [Latin American] tour [kicked off], I honestly didn't wanna come. [But] I was committed to it. I wasn't gonna back out. I'm committed to the dudes. But I think I'm done. I think that I've done what I wanted to do with this band."

Demmel added: "June 1st, 1985 to February, what will be 11th, 2024. 39, almost 40 years. So, never say never again. Try not to say that. Sometimes you do. It's been life defining, it's been a pleasure, it's been an honor being Phil from VIO-LENCE."

VIO-LENCE played the São Paulo concert as a four-piece after an alleged altercation between Black and Olde Wolbers resulted in Ira being sent home from the tour a few days early.

In February 2023, Demmel addressed VIO-LENCE's future in an Instagram Live video, saying it was "kind of weird playing these shows" with "a bunch of fill-ins and me and Sean." He added that while Adrian is "awesome" and the Whisky gig "was packed", he is "just kind of really torn right now in the sense of what VIO-LENCE is and what it's gonna be and what my role is gonna be in that and how I feel about that." Demmel went on to say that he told Killian he "wanted to shut [VIO-LENCE] down," but then he realized "that to ask that of those dudes to not do it anymore is selfish on my part."

Released in March 2022, "Let The World Burn" was VIO-LENCE's first original release since 1993's "Nothing To Gain".

Demmel was in MACHINE HEAD for nearly 16 years, during which time he played on five of the group's studio albums: "Through The Ashes Of Empires" (2003),"The Blackening" (2007),"Unto The Locust" (2011),"Bloodstone & Diamonds" (2014) and "Catharsis" (2018).

Although Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE's classic incarnation and played on the band's debut album, "Eternal Nightmare", he wasn't approached about taking part in of VIO-LENCE's 2018 reunion.

Photo credit: James Willard (courtesy of Metal Blade Records)

In an interview with Brazil's Heavy Metal On Line, bassist Jørn "Necrobutcher" Stubberud of Norwegian black metallers MAYHEM spoke about the band's recently completed 40th-anniversary tour of Latin America. Asked if he and his MAYHEM are planning to keep making albums and touring until they are physically unable to do it, Stubberud replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think, yes. I think that is the truth, because I've been thinking about it. And I'm thinking that — take an example. Attila [Csihar, MAYHEM singer] said a couple years ago that maybe we should take a little break, a year or two, just to chill out. But everybody got the same thought as I had, and that was, no, it's stupid to stop now because you never know what's gonna happen. And we are not getting younger either. So it's better to do it now.

"I think if something happens with the three main members — me, Hellhammer [MAYHEM drummer Jan Axel Blomberg] or Attila — I'm not sure if there's any point going on, and maybe that would be the end. You could replace any of us, but then again, really? I mean, of course if it could work and if — I don't know. It's hard to say, really, but I think if any of those two guys can't do it anymore, I think I will quit the band. Also, I will finish the band. And not 'finish' as in [completely] finish [doing stuff related to MAYHEM]. We are [still] gonna have a merch shop going.

"Here's another thing. I'm 57 now. We are 42 years and two months [old now as a band]. New carrot for me: if we can stick it [out for another] eight [years], so [in] eight more years, we will have [our] 50-year anniversary. In Norway, you get your state pension when you're 67, and that will be the year I get my state pension. Sorry, the year later. So if we make it next eight years, then I would be like all the people who work their whole life until they retire and get the state pension. And I would be happy with that. That would be a lifetime achievement for me. So everything works out.

"So, to tell you why I think this is gonna happen, that is, we [will] release a new album now in 2026. [There's] gonna be two, two and a half years touring to finish the [touring cycle] of 65 countries and 200 shows. And then we still have one record left on a record deal with Century Media under Sony Music. And it's a progressive deal, so it means that we made a deal for 'Daemon' and then for two more albums. So we come up with a new one now, and we still have another one [to record under the deal]. So if you think that we are able to do it and have inspiration enough to do it, that in three years now we stop the touring circle, we take a year off to write and record the next album, and then we go into the next [touring cycle], it's gonna take us two, three years — boom, we are 50 years old and it's a lifetime achievement. And then if we made it there, I mean, what are we gonna look like in 10 years from now? Are we gonna be in fucking wheelchairs or are we gonna be in diapers? Are we gonna be with a white cane? Are we gonna shake? Who the fuck knows? But this is what happens to people when they start to get to the end of 60 years, 70 years old… And then again, we are not just a guy with a guitar that can come up on stage and do some Johnny Cash songs and play until you're 85. This is high-energy movements and techniques that you need to be on your fucking game to be able to get the fingers around the thing or the drums. I can see people now that are still touring, but everybody knows that they shouldn't. We are not there yet, but I don't wanna be there. I don't wanna come there. I would rather give up when the game is good still."

Last month, Necrobutcher was asked by Mexico's Metal Memes Mx if he thought, when MAYHEM was first formed in 1984, that the band would still be around 40 years later. Stubberud replied: "Yes. And the reason why I can say that very quickly, without even thinking about it, is that I think, as in most things, to put it in perspective so people understand that, if you find something that you believe a lot in, and so you think this is it. And then just with that, you already believe that this is gonna be so great that it's gonna last forever. So, I think that you even need this kind of way of thinking to be able to succeed. You tell yourself, 'This is fucking great. This is gonna go fucking straight up there. We're gonna make it. This is good music.'"

He continued: "I told in many interviews over the years that me and Manheim, the guy I started the band with, we had different bands before we met Øystein [Aarseth, a.k.a. Euronymous]. And I think Øystein was our fifth guitarist at that time, when he came along in 1984. And so when he plugged in and we started jamming with us, he knew some of the same cover songs. We did some VENOM covers. We did some MOTÖRHEAD covers. I think we did a JUDAS PRIEST cover, and we knew some BLACK SABBATH. So we kind of knew the same cover tracks. So when we started to jam on that, I immediately felt — and I never forgot it — the feeling of euphoria. It was, like, This is it. This is what we were looking for.' And I always felt that, and I felt so strongly for this project my whole life. This is my life's work. This is the essence of all my work, my whole life. So, I always believed in it."

Necrobutcher went on to clarify that MAYHEM has never achieved the kind of commercial success that would allow him and his bandmates to stop working. "We are not METALLICA — we are still an underground band — so it's not like achieved everything and now I can retire," he explained. "It's not that kind of achievement. It's more like we made it and we are doing what we are supposed to do. We are now playing live concerts 'cause we are live musicians. We are not studio musicians. We are that, too, but most and foremost, we are a live band and we have been since 1984. And I don't see any reason to stop."

Asked if he would like to see MAYHEM continue as a band even after he is no longer involved in the group, Necrobutcher said: "I think, personally, that there should at least be one original member. Otherwise, it could be watered out, and then maybe it will lose the essence of it.

"I don't see us continuing without, let's say, the old members that are in the band today, and I don't think, let's say, if anything would happen to me, Hellhammer or Attila, we might say, 'Okay, we'll call it quits.' But here's the thing. We're still able to do it. And I'm 57 now. I'm the oldest in the band, so everybody was born two years or more, younger than me, but they are getting there at some point. But here is my philosophy. We go on as long as we can because you never know when you're forced to stop… You never know what's gonna happen. And this is my perspective, and I haven't thought about it, but since you just asked the question, I would think if the core members, something happened to them that they were not able to do it anymore, maybe then we will say that we have met the end of the line. Now, MAYHEM will live on anyway, but there wouldn't be any touring, there wouldn't be any recording of new albums. But the will be there as long as people are interested in listening."

MAYHEM will release its seventh studio album, "Liturgy Of Death", on February 6, 2026 via Century Media.

"Liturgy Of Death" is the follow-up to MAYHEM's sixth studio album, "Daemon", which came out in October 2019 via Century Media. A live album, "Daemonic Rites", arrived in September 2023.

MAYHEM's current lineup consists of Necrobutcher (bass),Hellhammer (drums),Attila Csihar (vocals),Teloch (guitars) and Ghul (guitars).

MAYHEM will embark on the "Death Over Europe" European headlining tour in February 2026. Support on the trek will come from MARDUK and IMMOLATION.

In the fall of 2024, MAYHEM canceled its previously announced North American 40th-anniversary tour "due to a member of the band having a medical emergency that requires immediate surgery."

The North American dates were scheduled to kick off on November 12, 2024 in Montreal, with stops in Toronto; Queens, New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles before and wrapping up November 23, 2024 in Denver.

MAYHEM launched a short European tour on December 4, 2024 in Paris, France. An Australian tour followed in January.

When MAYHEM's North American tour was first announced in August 2024, the band said that its 40th-anniversary show would be "a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans, featuring a setlist that spans their illustrious career, from their groundbreaking debut album, 'Deathcrush', to present day."

In a new interview with Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station, FINGER ELEVEN frontman Scott Anderson spoke about the long gap between the band's last two albums.

Released in November, "Last Night On Earth" marked the first new full-length effort from the Canadian rockers in 10 years, following 2015's "Five Crooked Lines".

Regarding why it took a decade for FINGER ELEVEN to release a new LP, Scott said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Look, we're all dads and we're all husbands. And we didn't do well with remote recording. We tried, but everybody's schedules, it's pretty full up. So the only thing that really worked is — and still — the only effective thing is getting together. So what we would do — always traditionally — we'll rent a cottage and spend a week or two up there and grind the ideas out. Now, that's great because the ideas get developed and they get better and better and better. But the old-school system is you rent a big studio for a month or two, and then when the time runs out, your album is done. Well, we had the exact opposite problem — there was kind of no time limit. We didn't rent the big studio. We would go to cottages and then we would go to Steve's [Molella] house, who is the drummer in the band and the producer on this album. And we would just improve the material. We would break it down and keep what's cool about this song and write it and rewrite it again over and over and over. So that kept the song quality up, but it just took forever. And then last summer rolled around and we had that big tour with CREED and there was some interest in the band. And so we were, like, 'Look, man, we gotta strike while the iron is kind of sort of hot. We need to figure out how to finish this record.' And so we eventually did. But, yeah, I can't believe it took that long, but in a way I can sort of account for the time. But I don't wanna take that long again, that's for sure."

Scott went on to say that being able to take 10 years to fine-tune the material is "great for musical quality" but "it's murder for your career. It's terrible. Don't do it. Finish the record. My advice to any musician out there: finish your dang record earlier than 10 years, please. Don't do this."

After Bingham noted that a lot of FINGER ELEVEN fans were probably getting impatient while waiting for a new full-length album from the band, Scott said: "Well, I think that's true, but I also think it's difficult to get excited about an older band's new record, let's say. Sometimes those don't turn out so good. And I think this one will be a surprising one because of the circumstances, because the quality control is there. The sacrifice was all this time, but the result is that it's a really solid record for a band that's been around for a minute."

Anderson also talked about the FINGER ELEVEN songwriting process, explaining: "Not only is it a collective effort, it's more open than it ever has been, which is pretty magical. And anybody gets to chime in on anything. 'What about this riff?' Or, 'Scott, what's that lyric?' 'Oh, okay.' It's much more open than it ever used to be. That's creatively satisfying, but it takes a very, very long time for everybody to be happy, because if you've got one person saying, 'No, no, no. You play this, you play this, you play this,' your album's gonna be done in, like, a week. But that's not really a satisfying vision, that's not what keep bands together, in my opinion. It's not what keeps them happy, at least. So, it's great. You're not afraid to say anything in the room."

"Last Night On Earth" came out on November 7 via Better Noise Music.

Released in September, the "Last Night On Earth" title track was the follow-up to the album's second single and video which was released in August, the thunderous "Blue Sky Mystery" featuring Richard Patrick from FILTER.

Last year, fans got the first taste of "Last Night On Earth" via the high-octane "Adrenaline" (which reached the Top 20 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart) and a video that's garnered nearly 200,000 views on YouTube. The song also reached No. 2 on the Active Rock chart in Canada, where the song held strong in the Top 5 for over four months.

FINGER ELEVEN have always amalgamated their musical influences from the 1960s forward into their rock mix. They acknowledge that Phil Collins and GENESIS were a big melodic influence on "Last Night On Earth". And the new tunes explore time-honored FINGER ELEVEN concepts with fresh twists. While "Adrenaline" is a rousing, intense anthem about pushing forward against adversity, "Blue Sky Mystery" is another hard-hitting rocker about being beguiled by something just out of reach. Further into the album, "The Mountain" rides musical peaks and valleys in its quest to chase the song, about the creative process expressed in a fantasy setting. Then there is the acoustic number "Last Night On Earth", which tackles relationship turmoil. It's the most personal new track for Anderson.

Originally from Burlington, Ontario and now based mostly out of Toronto, FINGER ELEVEN has released a series of consecutive hit albums and become among the greatest live bands to ever emerge from the great White North. Their self-titled debut album broke the band into the international mainstream, achieving gold status in the United States and platinum in Canada, and smashing the first single "One Thing" across the radio and Billboard charts. Their 2007 album "Them Vs. You Vs. Me" launched the single "Paralyzer", setting radio records in the U.S., peaking at No. 1 internationally and going five times platinum, the band's second million-plus seller. They won the Juno Award for "Rock Album" the following year and set an incredible run at rock radio, with an unbeaten 14 weeks at the top spot. "Life Turns Electric" was nominated for a Juno Award for "Best Rock Album Of The Year". 2015's "Five Crooked Lines" continued to electrify audiences the world over and their 2023 "Greatest Hits" includes their biggest smash hit in a decade, "Together Right", which topped the radio charts for an amazing five-week run at No. 1.

In a recent interview with Chas Byrne of Express FM, HALESTORM bassist Josh Smith spoke about how he and his bandmates — guitarist/vocalist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale and guitarist Joe Hottinger — have managed to stay together and remain successful for more than two decades. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "When I joined it, it was — it is, but it was — this family thing. Arejay was, I think, 18 when I joined. I was, 20, just turning 21. Their parents would still come out, and their mom was tour managing it for a few years. And it was just always this family vibe. And it still feels like that. It feels like they're my brothers and sisters. And we've certainly had our disagreements, and it's like we're best friends. Lzzy and Arejay are siblings. Lzzy and Joe are in a relationship; they have been. And so you're juggling that with also, 'Hey, we're bandmates, we're business partners.' You're wearing a lot of different hats."

Josh continued: "I think in any situation, whether it's your brother and sister or your wife, you live with someone long enough, you know what buttons you can push to upset someone. You know that — you know what to do to push buttons or to not. And I think that's a big part of it, is — I don't wanna say 'compromise', but just being truthful and respectful to each other. And I don't know — to all of us, we just made up our minds quickly: this is what we're doing. And so going back to that mantra thing, it's, like, let's make it work. And we've worked hard at that, we've worked hard at our relationships with each other and as musicians on stage. It's something we put a lot of time and effort into. And when we go home, we're still getting together to work, to prep for tour or anything, but very early on, it became an absolute: 'There's no backup plan. This is what we're doing.' I don't know. It sort of left any question behind about what we're doing and how we're going to work together."

HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has built a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

"Love Bites (So Do I)", from HALESTORM's second album in 2012, won the Grammy Award that year for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance".

In 2019, HALESTORM was nominated for "Best Rock Performance" Grammy for the song "Uncomfortable".

HALESTORM worked with producer Dave Cobb on the band's latest studio album, "Everest", after making three records with Nick Raskulinecz.

Last month, HALESTORM shared a new two-track bundle of singles, the retrospective ballad "How Will You Remember Me?" and the sultry tribute to bisexuality "Like A Woman Can". Recorded live from the road on the Pennsylvania-bred and Nashville-based quartet's recent "nEVEREST" tour, the songs are taken from "Everest", out on Atlantic Records. Lending orchestration to the tracks are tour buddies and Finnish symphonic metallers APOCALYPTICA.

Awarding "Everest" four stars, The Times declared, "There is fantastical appeal throughout." The Daily Star concurred, reminding fans about the band’'s upcoming tour with their four-star review, stating "headlining arenas in November, every track here is sure to get phones out en masse."

"Everest" came hot on the heels of HALESTORM's fiery European tour with metal icons IRON MAIDEN. The U.K.'s Metal Hammer said of opening night, "Before all that, it falls to HALESTORM to take on the famously unenviable task of warming up an IRON MAIDEN crowd — a task they ace pretty effortlessly, in fairness. Decades in and arena headliners themselves at this point, the Pennsylvania rockers also have the ace in the hole that is Lzzy Hale, whose screams, croons, cries and shrieks reaffirm her status as one of the best singers of her generation. Half of their support set is comprised of tracks from imminent album 'Everest', and you can understand why they're feeling confident about it: the new material sounds excellent."

After wrapping the IRON MAIDEN tour, the band had the honor of performing at BLACK SABBATH's "Back To The Beginning", Ozzy Osbourne's last show.

Earlier this year, SHINEDOWN drummer Barry Kerch was asked by My Weekly Mixtape if he was disappointed or relieved to know that the band's upcoming follow-up to 2022's "Planet Zero" album won't be another concept LP. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Thank God it's not a concept record. [Laughs] I had a great time with [2018's] 'Attention [Attention]' and 'Planet Zero'. 'Attention' was purposely a concept record. 'Planet Zero' just happened to become one because of the time period, recording it during COVID. We were talking about what's going on in the world, and, 'Oh, shit. We wrote another concept record.' We purposely said, 'Can we just get a collection of songs together that are fun and put out a record, like old-school rock and roll record?' And that's what this one will be."

Asked if SHINEDOWN's recently released singles "Three Six Five", "Dance, Kid, Dance", , "Killing Fields" and "Searchlight" are "a strong representation of the sound and style that fans can expect" from SHINEDOWN's upcoming eighth album, Barry said: "No, not at all. It's as eclectic as we always do. There's gonna be things that you're gonna be, like, 'Oh, I didn't expect that.' And there's gonna be some that are, like, 'Oh, that took my head off.' Is it a reflection of where we're at right now? Sure. But every song is its own little animal, and I think that's kind of the excitement of it. I think there's gonna be some fun stuff that comes out that fans are gonna really glom on to. And there's certain ones I'm thinking of in the back of my head that are, like, it's different, that one's different, but I love it. And then there's some that, oh, yeah, that's just a straight-ahead, hit-you-over-the-face SHINEDOWN rock song, which I think 'Dance, Kid' is, in a lot of ways. Get ready for a ride, just like we always do."

Asked if "Eight" is the working title for the new SHINEDOWN album or if he and his bandmates have an actual title in mind for the upcoming LP, Barry said: "That's literally the working title, is 'Eight'. [Laughs] We have no idea what we're gonna name it yet. Initially there was talks of 'Dance, Kid, Dance' being the title of it, 'cause it kind of had that vibe in some respects. With 'Planet Zero' and even with 'Attention Attention', they just quickly raised their hands. It was, like, 'Oh, yep, that's gotta be the album title. That just fits.' This one also not being a concept and just being a collection of songs, that one thing hasn't raised its hand yet. And each one of us, 'cause SHINEDOWN is a democracy — we're all 25-percenters, but we're all very opinionated 25-percenters — we'll see what happens. I'll give Brent [Smith, SHINEDOWN singer] the 26 [percent], 'cause you have to have a leader, and he is the leader of SHINEDOWN proudly, and should be. He's got the vision more so than anybody."

Last month, SHINEDOWN released a new single, "Searchlight", via Atlantic Records. The song was first performed live during the band's Opry debut in October where SHINEDOWN's fans packed the infamous venue and the song became the most talked-about moment of the night.

Written by Smith, SHINEDOWN bassist/producer Eric Bass and Dave Bassett and produced by Bass at his Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina, "Searchlight" channels the emotional depth and anthemic power that have become SHINEDOWN's signature but with new sonic elements fitting of the Opry's stage. In the song's music video, shot by Andrew Donoho, you can see each member performing their own instruments including a steel pedal guitar and banjo. Filmed in Nashville, Tennessee the day after their Opry debut, the video showcases the band's live performance as well as the emotional power behind the song.

2025 was a defining year for SHINEDOWN, with "Searchlight" following their powerful global hit "Three Six Five", which topped multiple radio formats including No. 1 at Alternative, Top 10 at Hot AC and AC, and Top 20 at Top 40. The band also released "Dance, Kid, Dance" and "Killing Fields" — both of which hit No. 1 — further cementing their dominance at radio. SHINEDOWN currently holds the record for the most No. 1 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart (21 No. 1s to date),making them the top artist in the chart's history, as well as the most No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock chart (23 No. 1s to date),along with the records for the most Top 5s and Top 10s in the chart's history.

In addition, this year SHINEDOWN sold out and performed at Madison Square Garden for the first time during the band's "Dance, Kid, Dance" arena tour — a career milestone for the band. As part of the tour, they donated $1 from every ticket sold to Musicians On Call, resulting in a $300,000 contribution that helped launch a new bedside music program in partnership with HCA Florida Healthcare. Smith and SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers recently performed at the program's kickoff event. Earlier this year, the band also took home multiple iHeartRadio Awards, further solidifying their standing as one of the most impactful bands of today.

Recently the band announced their first-ever curated festival event — Shinedown's Lunatic Ball Beach Weekend, taking place October 23-25, 2026 in Miramar Beach, Florida. The three-day destination experience will feature performances from SHINEDOWN (two headlining sets),BUSH, HANSON, FLYLEAF (with Lacey Sturm),LIVING COLOUR, FROM ASHES TO NEW, GUARDIANS OF THE JUKEBOX, NEON MOONERS and more.

Not to mention, SHINEDOWN recently announced they will be headlining the unparalleled Sonic Temple festival. They'll take the main stage on Friday, May 15, 2026, marking their first time headlining the iconic Ohio event. Their momentous performance will anchor the festival's second night, with MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BRING ME THE HORIZON and TOOL leading the other days of the lineup.

Photo credit: Ryan Camp

Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland, who has been fronting Dutch rockers THE GATHERING since early 2009, has announced her departure from the band.

Earlier today (Sunday, December 28),Silje shared the following statement via her social media: "It's a new dawn and a new year. After 16 years of creating and playing great music with THE GATHERING, it's time to move on to new ventures.

"I have had so many awesome experiences and made great memories with this band that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"I wish my band mates all the best for the future.

"Thanks for all the great support and the lovely conversations with all you wonderful [THE GATHERING] fans around the globe.

"Lots of love, Silje".

Prior to joining THE GATHERING, Silje sang for the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their "Mandylion" album, THE GATHERING musicians who recorded the LP — including singer Anneke Van Giersbergen — reunited for several shows in their home country this past summer.

The "Mandylion" lineup of THE GATHERING has already announced more than two dozen concerts for 2026, including in Europe, South America and at the ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta in September.

The lineup for the concerts will consist of the following musicians:

* Anneke Van Giersbergen - vocals
* Hugo Prinsen Geerligs - bass
* Frank Boeijen - keyboards, backing vocals
* Hans Rutten - drums
* René Rutten - guitar
* Jelmer Wiersma - guitar

This past September, René Rutten was asked by Chile's Radio Futuro if he had always kept in contact with Anneke during her time away from the band. René said: "Yeah, sometimes, because you've made albums together, so you have some moments that you talk a bit. But not that much. Only last year, the old record label, finally they said, 'Okay, we can't hold it anymore, but your album become a gold record here in the Netherlands.' So we got a gold record last year. So then we saw all the bandmembers again. And I keep contact with Anneke — sometimes we did some lunch, just meeting — and then one moment we said, like, 'Yeah, let's do something next year, if the album becomes 30 years old.' And that's what now is gonna happen with the five shows here in Nijmegen. But we had contact with all the other members as well. Hugo [Prinsen Geerligs] came back earlier already for being playing bass guitar. Frank [Boeijen, keyboards] was always there. And Jelmer [Wiersma, guitar], we asked him, like, 'Hey, do you like to join us in this?' And yeah, he loves it. So he also is very enthusiastic about it to play this album ['Mandylion' in its entirety] and more."

After the interviewer noted that it's unusual for a band like THE GATHERING — which is known for constantly moving forward musically and evolving its sound — to celebrate a moment from the group's past by performing it in its entirety live, René concurred. "I can't make music with the same kind of feeling [as something we have already done]," he explained. "That's not into me. You make that chapter. It's like you're writing a book, and you wrote that part, and then you start with something new. And that's more what my feeling is about music. I can't make two albums — no, I can't make it twice."

THE GATHERING's "Mandylion" lineup officially kicked off its run of five reunion shows on August 27 at Doornroosje in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

The "Mandylion" lineup of THE GATHERING previously played a kick-off "try-out" concert on June 29 at Dynamo in Eindhoven.

THE GATHERING's third studio album, "Mandylion" was released in August 1995 via Century Media Records. It was the band's first LP to feature Van Giersbergen.

In a recent interview with Femmetal - Goddesses Of Metal, Anneke spoke about THE GATHERING's 2025 reunion concerts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Mandylion". She said: "Well, actually, I'm quite excited… This idea came kind of spontaneous. We were having conversations, we had just coffee and talking about life, other things, and then we talked about 'Mandylion' turning 30 and because time flies, we didn't really think about it. And then we said, 'Maybe we can do something nice with it,' because it's such an important album for us personally because we had a great time at the beginning of THE GATHERING career with me, of course. And we said, 'Well, if we do something, we have to do it now, because next year it's not such a good reason because now 'Mandylion' is 30 years old, and let's do something nice.' And so we made this plan, and we made these ideas for these shows. And then a lot of people wanted to come to the shows. I mean, I know THE GATHERING is still a popular band and I know it's alive — people really like THE GATHERING's music now and back then. But we didn't expect this many people to react on it and want [to buy] a ticket [to see us perform live again]. And so we are so happy. And we're gonna make a few beautiful shows and gonna have lots of fun playing together again, 'cause it's been a long time. It's been 10 years, I think."

When the interviewer inquired about the possibility of a show from THE GATHERING in Spain, Anneke said: "Everybody's asking. I mean, it's fantastic. It's a great problem to have, that a lot of people want us to come to their country. But we focus on these shows here, and a lot of people are traveling for it, so that's really, really wonderful. And then we'll see. But we just focus on these shows and take it from there."

Asked which THE GATHERING song she was most excited to play again, Anneke said: "It's kind of a wide variety of atmospheres on this album ['Mandylion'], but I like songs like 'On Most Surfaces' [from 1997's 'Nighttime Birds'], because they're heavy and we can let all the energy flow on this one. I like the more heavy songs as well, but 'In Motion #1' and '[In Motion] #2' are, for instance, very, very melodic — they're carrying you through a story — and I also like that so much. So, different vibes on the album, and I like all of it. But I like also the heavy songs, especially for playing live, 'cause I can sing really loud and headbang and have fun."

THE GATHERING previously said in a statement: "After so many years, we are very excited to celebrate this anniversary together, an album that still means so much to us."

In November 2014, THE GATHERING celebrated its 25th anniversary with a one-time special show at Doornroosje in Nijmegen. All past and present members of THE GATHERING — from 1989 until 2014 — appeared on stage and performed in this unique show together.

Van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released several albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project.

In 2005, Century Media celebrated the 10th anniversary of "Mandylion" by releasing a special deluxe edition of the album. The double-CD set featured new artwork, a 16-page booklet with song-by-song liner notes from the band and never-before-seen photos from the album's recording sessions. CD2 contained the first demo recordings THE GATHERING did with Van Giersbergen in June 1994 and early 1995. "Solar Glider" was a previously unreleased instrumental while "Third Chance" appeared two years later in a different version on the "Nighttime Birds" album.

In a 2007 interview with PopMatters, Van Giersbergen stated about her decision to leave THE GATHERING and launch AGUA DE ANNIQUE: "I had been in THE GATHERING for 13 years, and I had never done anything for 13 years in my life. It's been my whole adult life, so to leave that, on one hand, was a very clear decision and a very strong feeling, and I was ready. In 13 years, things had changed in my personal and musical life. It was difficult as well, because the guys, they were like brothers, so to leave that and to change that relationship has been a long process and was probably one of the hardest things I did.

"I told them at the beginning of March, and so we really took some time to assess the situation," she continued. "Also, the guys, they wanted to see what their plans would be next. Of course they were not happy with my decision, but they are respectful and they have good spirits to continue. Of course, I put a big stamp on the sound and the look of THE GATHERING, but on the other hand I'm not the only singer in the world, so it's going to change, but it's not going to stop."

Regarding her reasons for leaving, Anneke said, "There were a lot of physical reasons, but they all came out of one big feeling in my heart that it was time to change. I was supposed to do this record besides THE GATHERING, and I was given time and it was all okay, but I like to do other small projects and work with other people a lot. I had some plans, and the feeling became stronger to develop that more seriously and also especially to be with my family a little bit more. Now, I can direct everything I do from this one agenda, and it feels very good to be the director of your own life. In a way THE GATHERING was officially a bigger band, and we were day and night constantly working with it, and it was quite intense, all the processes. So a lot of small things became one big feeling, like, 'Okay, I'm ready.'"

Posted by theGathering on Thursday, December 18, 2025

In a new interview with Bonnie Laufer, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee spoke about the band's longevity. Asked what the "secret" is to the secret to MÖTLEY CRÜE's ability to stay together as a band for 45 years, Lee responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know, sweetheart. I pinch myself on a daily basis. Truly. The fact that we're all still here doing this, and our fans are so awesome. They've stuck with us. We're all very fortunate and blessed because this doesn't happen very often. It just doesn't."

Regarding how he keeps things "fresh" for himself after playing in the same band for more than four decades, Lee said: "That's a really great question. Not a lot of people ask that because, look, if you're out there and you're rehearsing or, whatever, or you're performing, I'm always looking for some way to update it. I would play it differently now than I did when we recorded it. So I'm always constantly pushing the band to, like, 'Let's do a new version of this,' even though some people wanna hear the original version. But I don't know — it inspires me to keep things fresh, because I don't know if people understand. You got these guys that are playing these songs and then playing 'em the same way over and over and over and thousands and thousands of times, we, as artists, we gotta keep it fresh too. There's nothing worse than watching a band phone it in."

Asked if he and his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates are "more patient with each other" as they get older, Tommy said: "Well, like any good brotherhood or marriage or whatever you wanna call it, we have our moments, of course. The one thing that is very exciting for us is [MÖTLEY CRÜE's new guitarist] John 5. With all due respect to [original MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist] Mick Mars, when [John 5] came in, he lit a fire under everybody. It was just this new energy, new fire. So I can tell you that that's been really inspirational. And we feed off that — we all feed off that. So, we're actually closer now than we've ever been."

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for Mars.

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in April 2023 the now-74-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

In 2026, MÖTLEY CRÜE will embark on the "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA.

MÖTLEY CRÜE said that $1 from every ticket sold for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative to fund hands-on arts programs for young people.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Las Vegas residency launched on September 12 and at Dolby Live at Park MGM and ran through October 3. The shows had initially been set for spring but were rescheduled after frontman Vince Neil revealed he had suffered a stroke on Christmas 2024.

In September, Vince said that he had actually had a series of strokes before he suffered the "big one" in his sleep the Christmas night of 2024, rendering him unable to get out of bed when he woke up the next day.

When MÖTLEY CRÜE originally postponed the Las Vegas residency, the band said it was because Neil needed a "medical procedure," but offered no further details.