In a new interview with Italy's Poisoned Rock webzine, guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari spoke about his addition to MEGADETH. The 37-year-old Finnish musician stepped in last September for MEGADETH's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, who announced earlier that month 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 Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

"I definitely was aware of MEGADETH for a very long time," Teemu said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "They were one of the first bands that I got into when I discovered metal. I think, for most people, at least my generation or our generation, when they get into metal, it's usually the biggest bands, and MEGADETH, of course, being one of them."

Regarding his first show with MEGADETH, which took place on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mäntysaari said: "That was a very nice venue. We had a day there before, before the show, for production rehearsals, to rehearse on stage, and then on the next day we had the show. So that was nice and relaxed. I think we played through the whole setlist once before the show, the day before, and then played the show. And yeah, it felt very good from the beginning. And I felt like I was prepared. I was confident with my skills and confident with everything. The guys were so helpful and welcoming and, yeah, everything felt to kind of click and fall in the right place. So, it was really nice."

During the interview, which was conducted before MEGADETH's recently completed South American tour, Mäntysaari spoke about the band's plans for the coming months, including the possibility of new music. He said: "Right now we have been working on getting some new songs to the setlist, like old songs that the band hasn't played in a long time, or even some that they never played before. So that's been really exciting. I'm having some daily calls now lately with [MEGADETH leader] Dave Mustaine, going through the songs together. So that's really nice. And then once we get together on the tour, I think then we're gonna start talking about some riff ideas and putting some ideas together. So let's see what happens."

Earlier this year, Teemu told Guitar World magazine about his addition to MEGADETH: "I never thought something like this would happen to me. But at the same time, I've always felt like being prepared was important in case a big band like this did call me."

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.

"I have a specific skillset where I can learn fast, jump into new situations, and be comfortable," Mäntysaari told Guitar World. "I've always liked doing that. I love teaching, and I've been on many cover projects, so being detail-oriented is part of my skillset."

Regarding his preparation for the way he approached playing the MEGADETH material, Teemu said: "[We'd] look at the small details of how they groove, the moods, and the technical side. We talked a lot about what Dave [Mustaine] wants to project, picking directions, being very aware of down-picking, alternate picking, and, in many of the songs, being aware of both. We also talked about things like dampening, the flow of songs, creating contrast, hand positions, and trying to get things right fingering-wise, all of which I enjoy doing. There's a bit of detective work involved, and to get that information from the source in Dave was amazing."

This past February, Mustaine told Brazil's A Rádio Rock about how Teemu ended up landing the MEGADETH gig: "Kiko had recommended Teemu, and Teemu is an exceptional guitar player. Kiko was at the top of his game when this happened, so we were obviously disappointed, but it is what it is. If Kiko would have said, 'I don't know anybody, and you're on your own,' that would have been a lot harder. But Teemu is the right guy for MEGADETH. And Kiko knows that Teemu is the right guy for me. So, he actually did us a really big favor, and I love him and I wish him the best with everything that he does."

Mustaine went on to say that "Teemu is gonna make a lot of people happy" on MEGADETH's upcoming tour "because we're gonna be playing some songs that we haven't played for a long time. When he came in, I figured instead of just saying, 'Well, you've gotta learn these 30 songs here,' I asked him to learn a couple more. I mean, what's the difference when you're learning 30 songs? What's 33, right? Well, if he learned three and I said he's gotta learn 30, that's different. But I asked him to do some other songs that Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] and James [Lomenzo, MEGADETH bassist] have been asking me to play for a very long time, and we're adding them now, which is great."

Kiko announced his decision to step back from MEGADETH in a social media post in November. He wrote in part: "Dear MEGADETH fans, I want to share with you a decision that hasn't been easy for me. In September, I had to step away from the U.S. leg of the tour for family reasons. Looking ahead, during 2024, we anticipate an even heavier touring schedule for MEGADETH. After thorough reflection and discussions with Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH's management, we have collectively agreed that it is the right move to extend my absence. I don't want to hinder any of the band's plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour."

In early October, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."

According to Mustaine, MEGADETH has been able to change up its setlist a bit as a result of the guitarist switch. "We've got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we're playing, a bunch of new songs too," he said. "We've been able to add a bunch of songs to the set because Teemu was a metal fan. Kiko did not grow up baptized in metal… Like the show we did a couple of nights ago, we opened with 'Hangar [18]' and then we followed it up with 'Mechanix'. We've never done that before, so it's a pretty heavy beginning. And we've added a second track off of the new album with 'Soldier On!', and we're getting ready to add a third."

In September, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman]. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

In a new interview with RichardMetalFan, bassist Richard Cabeza of Swedish death metal pioneers DISMEMBER was asked if there is any possibility of fans getting some new music from the band soon. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For sure, man. It's happening. When, I can't tell you right now. But we have talked about writing new music. We are writing new music individually, but we haven't started to write music together as a band. We have been so busy with playing shows the past couple of years and doing all this other stuff. But I think we're getting closer and closer. Let's see what happens next year in 2025. Maybe we'll actually start putting some songs together. But a hundred percent, a new DISMEMBER album will happen. No doubt, no doubt. But we have very high expectations on ourselves as a band to release a new album."

Last August, DISMEMBER drummer and founding member Fred Estby was asked by Arto Lehtinen of Metal Rules if it is harder to write new songs because DISMEMBER has a huge legacy. Fred responded: "It's not hard at all. So the thing is, we have a license deal with Nuclear Blast. We have an option to do one or two more albums. Great. We can do whenever we want, which is even more perfect for us. So we can take our time and we're going to take our time because we're not going to release something that is half-assed. We're going to be very critical about [it], especially since it's been such a long time since the last album. And I love the DISMEMBER album that I'm not even on that was released in 2008. It's a great album. If you're going to release an album now as a reunited band in two thousand and fucking twenty-three, twenty-four, you're going to have to try to match like ever before. You cannot be shy of that. We're going to be very critical about it and that's going to take some time because we don't live in the same cities like we hang out every day."

In July 2022, it was announced that DISMEMBER had once again partnered with Nuclear Blast Records, the label that released the band's 1990 demo, "Reborn In Blasphemy", their 1991 debut album, "Like An Everflowing Stream", as well as the four records that would follow. In celebration of this announcement, a fully remastered version of "Like An Everflowing Stream" was made available on streaming services worldwide after it had been absent for quite some time.

"Like An Everflowing Stream" — hailed by many as one of the best death metal albums of all time — was the first entry in a reissue campaign of the entire DISMEMBER back catalog, which was recently remastered from the original albums.

Between 1988 and 2011, DISMEMBER earned a notorious reputation as the "MOTÖRHEAD of death metal", through eight classic albums and furious live shows around the globe. The band was formed by Robert Sennebäck, David Blomqvist and Fred Estby in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1988 and has long since been regarded as one of the originators of the trademark Swedish death metal sound, next to other pioneering bands such as ENTOMBED, GRAVE and UNLEASHED. DISMEMBER recorded a couple of independently released demos before their 1990 demo cassette, "Reborn In Blasphemy", with Matti Kärki on vocals and ENTOMBED's Nicke Andersson taking over most lead guitar parts, got picked up for a wider release by Nuclear Blast Records. In 1991, "Like An Everflowing Stream" saw the light of day, which was recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at the now-legendary Sunlight Studios, and featured Richard Cabeza (UNANIMATED) on bass. DISMEMBER released its acclaimed sophomore album, "Indecent & Obscene", in 1993, which to this day remains their most successful output. Three more albums would follow on Nuclear Blast, "Massive Kiling Capacity" (1995),"Death Metal" (1997) and "Hate Campaign" (2000),until the band decided to switch labels. They released two more albums, "Where Ironcrosses Grow" (2004, Karmageddon Records) and "The God That Never Was" (2005, Regain) before Estby announced his departure for family reasons in 2007. Their last album, "Dismember", followed in 2008 and the band officially broke up in 2011. After an eight-year hiatus, the band's original lineup reunited for a 30th-anniversary gig at Scandinavia Death Fest in October 2019, performing together for the first time in over 20 years.

DISMEMBER is:

Fred Estby (Drums)
David Blomqvist (Guitars)
Robert Sennebäck (Guitars)
Matti Karki (Vocals)
Richard Cabeza (Bass)

Photo credit: Nathaniel Shannon

HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale played her second show as the vocalist of SKID ROW Saturday night (May 18) at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in Riverside, Iowa. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist was as follows:

01. Slave To The Grind
02. The Threat
03. Big Guns
04. 18 And Life
05. Resurrected
06. Piece Of Me
07. Livin' On A Chain Gang
08. Makin' A Mess
09. Psycho Therapy (RAMONES cover)
10. Quicksand Jesus
11. Time Bomb
12. I Remember You
13. Monkey Business
14. Riot Act
15. The Gang's All Here
16. Youth Gone Wild (with Joe Hottinger)

Lzzy made her live debut with SKID ROW Friday night (May 17) at Walker's Bluff Casino Resort in Carterville, Illinois.

The 40-year-old singer, who has fronted her band HALESTORM for more than two and a half decades, is handling the vocal duties for SKID ROW for four shows only after the group's fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach's departure — "Swedish Idol" contestant Erik Grönwall — quit the band to focus on his health.

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan spoke about the band's pairing with Hale during a recent interview with Fox 26 reporter Ruben Dominguez and Margot Hogan. Regarding how Lzzy was approached about doing the gig, Bolan said: "When we knew Erik made the decision that he made to prioritize his health and leave the band, I said to the [other] guys [in the band], I go, 'You know what? She's like a sister to me, and I'm just gonna ask Lzzy. I know they have a really busy schedule, and they just have a lot going on. We have these four shows. I'm just gonna ask her. And if she says no, no harm, no foul.' And Nick Raskulinecz, who produced our last record, produced a couple of HALESTORM records, and it was his birthday party. I happened to be in Nashville because painters were painting the inside of the house that I'm putting up for sale. So I was just there, and he's, like, 'Hey, dude, it's my birthday. We're having Lzzy, Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] are coming… Everyone's coming. You've gotta come by.' And I was, like, 'Okay, cool.' So I got the painters out of the house a little early, and I went there, and that's when I asked Lzzy. I just said, 'Hey, would you wanna fill in on vocals or you wanna come sing with SKID ROW?' And she thought I meant like at the Mercy Lounge [in Nashville] or something like that. It's, like, 'Yeah, we've jammed a million times. Sure. The guys gonna be in town,' type of thing. And it's, like, 'No, no. We have four shows on the books. And Erik can't do them. So would you come in?' She's, like, 'Hell yeah.' She's, like, 'Let me just double check with my team.' And I hit her up a couple of days later, I go, 'Hey, were you serious about that?' She's, like, 'I was dead serious. And I am good to go for that.'"

Rachel went on to say that he and his SKID ROW bandmates are "really excited" about performing with Lzzy, "because she is a powerhouse, without a doubt. And above all of it, above the band's name and everything involved, she's my friend," he explained. "And it means a lot to me. So far above anything cool someone could do for a friend, she's doing for us. And it means it really means a lot to me that she's doing it. And the reaction has been unreal. Unreal. It's great."

Elaborating on why Hale is the right singer to play with SKID ROW at these four shows, Bolan said: "Lzzy, she is her own person. We asked her not for any other reason than how good she is and how powerful she is and how much she means to people. And I've gotta be completely honest. I knew this was gonna get attention, but I didn't know people were gonna be snapping out. And it's making me, like, 'Wow, my mind is completely blown.' It's a matter of a friend coming in to help friends. And even though we came out before and may have influenced her with stuff, she's helping us a lot, a lot in a situation we're in, and it is becoming something bigger than both of us. And I'm using her words. She's, like, this has become really bigger than the both of us. And so everyone is really excited — her team is excited, SKID ROW team is excited. The fans are just losing their minds. And I can't wait. I just wanna get into rehearsal, man. I just cannot wait to hear her sing these songs. And I think what we're gonna put forth together is something really, really special that people are gonna dig."

A little over a month ago, Lzzy was asked in an interview with Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA how her pairing with SKID ROW came about. Lzzy said: "Well, first I'll give a statement for the beginning, because it just goes so much deeper for me than just helping out some friends.

"I'm from PA [Pennsylvania]. I know all about you Jersey boys. And I know we talk a lot about lifting up women and that's been very important in my life. But I can't forget about the men who raised me. And them being the SKID ROW boys, inadvertently, by my friends from Jersey who were listening to SKID ROW.

"I was always kind of an in-betweener in my interest in music," she explained. "So in the '90s, and like '96, it was BOYZ II MEN and Mariah Carey, BACKSTREET BOYS, Britney [Spears] was about to come out, that whole thing. I wasn't interested in that. I was interested in '80s, big hair, rock and metal. I loved Alice Cooper, BLACK SABBATH, CINDERELLA, JOURNEY, SKID ROW. And as that transition happened in the '90s, where all of a sudden I started getting into heavier music, a lot of the bands, except for a very small group of bands, helped me with that transition. And SKID ROW was one of them, because they were not so in their '80s bubble and in the time that came before that they couldn't see what was happening in the world and they couldn't see what the dark-seated underbelly that we were all feeling in the '90s. So they really helped bridge that gap for me.

"I can honestly tell you right now that I would not be the rocker that I am today without SKID ROW and those albums, because not only did they have those beautiful melodies and the vocal prowess and the riffs and the loud noise that I loved, but then the subject matter they were talking about was always very real and it hit me at the right time in the right place," Lzzy added. "And so this is just a beautiful example of that age doesn't matter. Time doesn't matter. Whenever you discover music, it doesn't matter. It's when it hits you. And so again, those men that raised me, the men from Jersey, the men from PA that all put these records in my hands. Then years later, I'm living in Nashville for the first time and I meet [SKID ROW bassist] Rachel Bolan and I meet [SKID ROW guitarist] Snake [Dave Sabo], and they're, like, 'Oh, man, there's more to Nashville than country. Let me introduce you to this guy.' Then I got to meet Tom Keifer from CINDERELLA and all those boys, and now I'm up playing AEROSMITH songs with all these weird guys that I grew up listening to. Then fast forward to a couple months ago when my good buddy Rachel — we were just at a birthday party, and Rachel's, like, 'Hey, would you ever consider singing with us?' And I'm, like, 'Oh, yeah, you mean like we do all the time down at Mercy Lounge?' He's, like, 'No, like actually be like our front person for some shows. There's some stuff going on.' And so I said, 'Well, yeah, sure. Just let me know when.' And then, you know, a couple of months later he goes, 'Hey, were you serious about that? Because this is going down now, and we've gotta know.' And so I cleared my schedule and I told everybody that that is on my team, 'Let me put up all these dates because I really wanna do this for these guys,' And so I'm helping my buddies out and they're helping me out and it's all full circle. But then we announced it, and I'm hearing from people I haven't heard from in 15 years saying, 'Oh my God, this is gonna save my life.' And we're bringing these two worlds together. It's giving everybody reason to smile and an event for someone to look forward to. And like generational gaps be damned. And it's just all gonna be great. And it's just wonderful.

"For me, I joked with the boys. I said, 'Oh, so my audition tape from '96 finally made it in the mail. Thanks for finally opening it up. My revised audition is in the mail.' So now I have all their songs on a playlist in the order of how they're doing their set. And I'm on the stationary bike trying to make sure I can hit the high notes. And I'm turning it like it's an Olympic sport. It's gonna be great."

Regarding the possibility of more SKID ROW shows with her on lead vocals, Lzzy said: "You never know. I will say something that most likely will happen is that these will not be the only four dates you ever hear. I will say that. As far as me being the permanent member of SKID ROW, we're gonna all have to find a plateau [laughs] in our schedules to do that. But you never know. Sounds like a pretty good gig for me, if I ever get to that point."

She added: "But, yeah, I'm just so grateful for the guys. And then think about it coming full circle. And it all comes from the right place. I mean, Erik, what an amazing voice and what a perfect fit for them and brought them into a whole new game changer. There's everything going on with his health, and how wonderful is it that amicably both parties can be, like, 'Hey, we're looking out for each other.' 'Hey, I can't give you what you need.' And also, 'Hey, us as a band, we can't give you what you need to look after yourself. So, hey, let's do that.' And 'Hey, let's bring in our buddy Lzzy.' I'm helping out my buddies. Everybody's doing it for the right reasons. And so it's a beautiful thing."

Remaining SKID ROW shows with Lzzy Hale on vocals:

May 31 - Nugget Casino Resort – Sparks, NV
June 01 - Hard Rock Live Sacramento – Wheatland, CA

HALESTORM covered SKID ROW's "Slave To The Grind" for the 2011 EP "ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP". The band has also performed the track live.

Grönwall, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, is immunocompromised, which made touring difficult.

"I'm getting stronger and healthier every day but after consulting my doctor I need to allow myself more time to recover, which I can't do as the lead singer of SKID ROW," he said in a statement. "That's why I have reached the tough decision to move on."

The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are "proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years" and "wish nothing but the best to him and his health. To celebrate the last two years, the band will be releasing a live album that perfectly captures this moment of time in the band's 35-plus-year history, to be announced soon."

In September 2021, just four months before he joined SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency.

In a new interview with the 97.7 QLZ radio station, ADEMA guitarist/vocalist Tim Fluckey confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on their first studio album since 2007's "Kill The Headlights". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It hasn't been officially announced yet, and we'll tell the people what label it is [soon], but we got a record deal. And so after this tour, we're gonna do a new record and have it out beginning of next year. That's another thing we've been trying to do for a couple of years. We released a few new songs, but not an album. So we're gonna do an entire album, do that. So we're excited about that."

Regarding the musical direction of the new ADEMA material, Tim said: "I don't know if everybody knows, but everybody in the band is original members. So we really want it to be just an all-in ADEMA record where everybody goes, 'That's ADEMA.' We've strayed a little bit over the years, 'cause we had different members, but I think now that we're back together, it's gonna be back to those days of the real ADEMA sound."

Asked if he will be handling lead vocals on the upcoming ADEMA album, Fluckey said: "On the new one, I will be, yeah. We're done picking singers. We're terrible at it."

This past February, ADEMA "abruptly" parted ways with its previous singer, Ryan Shuck, who joined the group in 2019. A short time later, the remaining members of ADEMA — Fluckey, Dave DeRoo (bass),Kris Kohls (drums) and Mike Ransom (rhythm guitar) — posted a message on social media in which they said: "ADEMA has made the decision to move forward without Ryan Shuck. Our plan is to continue on indefinitely as a four-piece, and we sincerely wish Ryan all the best in the future."

In June 2022, ADEMA released a new song, "Violent Principles". It was the follow-up to ADEMA's first single in nearly a decade, "Ready To Die", which came out in August 2021. Both tracks were planned for inclusion on ADEMA's upcoming album, which was tentatively titled "360 Degrees Of Separation".

Original ADEMA frontman Marky Chavez first
left ADEMA in 2004 due to "creative differences" after two successful albums, "Adema" and "Unstable". The singer — who is the half brother of KORN frontman Jonathan Davis — quit ADEMA again in January 2011 in order to pursue his "solo project." He rejoined the group again six years later and played his first comeback show with ADEMA in May 2017 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

After Chavez's original exit from ADEMA, the other members of the band found their way with new lead singers Luke Caraccioli and later Bobby Reeves, while Mark founded MIDNIGHT PANIC with his cousin Peter Shubert. He also produced fellow artists.

ADEMA's last official release was 2013's "Topple The Giants" EP. The group's first CD since 2007's "Kill The Headlights" contained brand new tracks plus re-worked versions of ADEMA's chart-topping hits "Giving In" and "Unstable". A three-song EP, "The Cerberus", was sold exclusively on ADEMA's 2023 "Nu Metal Madness 2" tour.

Image credit: Arin Sarris

Former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones has revealed that "mixing has begun" on his collaborative new project with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. In addition, he and Adam are in the process of "finding the right [record] label to call home."

Regarding how the project came together, Adam told Ore Bihovsky of TotalRock's "Louder" radio show: "[Howard] just hit me up. He was, like, 'Why don't you write some music for me?' And I was, like, 'Sure.' So yeah, we're working on a record right now."

As for when fans can expect to hear the first music from this new project, Adam said: "I've got so much on my plate right now. It's really hard to schedule anything particularly, like 'it's gonna come out at this point,' 'it's gonna come out at this point,' but we're just almost at a situation where we can maybe release a single. But I think the entire record's gonna take a little bit longer than expected. Because now I have to do double duty and record [the next] KILLSWITCH [album] at the same time. So I'll be doing that."

In August 2023, Jones took to his Instagram to write that "13 demos" were created for the as-yet-unnamed new group, which hoped to put the finishing touches on the record "as soon as possible."

Jones left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2012 and battled manic depression and bipolar disorder before forming a new project, DEVIL YOU KNOW, with guitarist Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and drummer John Sankey (DEVOLVED). Along with bassist Ryan Wombacher (BLEEDING THROUGH),they recorded and toured behind two well-received albums, 2014's "The Beauty Of Destruction" and 2015's "They Bleed Red". In 2017, the band changed its name to LIGHT THE TORCH.

Jones makes an appearance on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's latest album, 2019's "Atonement", contributing guest vocals to the song "The Signal Fire".

Jones discussed his previous mental health issues in a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer. He said: "For a lot of the time during the whole manic depression thing, I didn't realize how bad I was. I thought the high levels of anxiety I was experiencing was just my lot in life, I didn't realize that there was help on hand for me to be able to deal with that. I thought that I was just meant to feel really nervous around large crowds. Now it's like being a kid again, because I can deal with it, so I've got my passion back and it's great."

Asked what made him get back into music after leaving KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, Howard told Heavy New York: "Honestly, I think it was because I was just kind of tired of doing nothing and I don't do much else other than music. I felt like I needed to venture out because I was basically agoraphobic for three years. It's kind of well known. I went off the grid. I didn't have a cell phone for three years — I was gone. It felt, like, 'Okay, maybe I should dip my toe in. I don't have to do it full time. I don't have to do what I don't want to do.' That's all I was thinking. I started moving, I started doing things. It was definitely a struggle, especially for the first few years. I was, like, 'What am I doing?' There's been few things in my life that has been consistent other than music. I just did it. It just took some time, then all of the sudden, the spark showed up. I fell back in love with what I was doing. I really can't explain it. It just sort of happened."

Current KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach appeared on the band's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the group. Jones took over on vocals for "The End Of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 12 years ago and being replaced by a returning Leach.

In 2012, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio told Boston Globe that the band's split with Jones was necessitated by the singer's struggle with personal issues, including diabetes that had gone untreated for several years. "It became very apparent we had to move on without him," D'Antonio said. "Howard didn't quit."

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In a new interview with NPR, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian, whose 2021 documentary "Truth To Power" charted the impact of his political activity and growth as a musician, both with and without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, was asked how he feels about possibly losing some of his fans over his activism. He said: "I'm okay with that because an artist isn't supposed to please everyone. An artist is supposed to basically try to receive through the collective consciousness whatever truths that we're trying to live by, the truths of our times. If we can't do that as artists, then we're entertainers. From day one, you have to make that choice: Are you an entertainer only or are you going to be an artist? If you're an entertainer, that's cool; there's many entertainers I follow and love. But if you're going to be an artist, then the road is not going to be easy. You're going to have to be honest with yourself and everyone else at all times, and people are going to like you and people are going to hate you, and that's okay."

He continued: "I was more of the activist in the band than anyone else. There was always this push and pull between the message and the music. The other guys, rightfully so, didn't want the music to be victimized by the message at all times. I understood that because I loved the music as well, but when there was [a message] that needed to be dispersed, I felt like that was just as important, if not more important, than the music."

In a separate interview with Books On Pod, Tankian touched upon how learning about his grandparents' Armenian background in his early teens prompted him to become an activist.

"When you're in a democracy and you are afraid to speak the truth because of backlash, that's when you feel like that something's really wrong," he said. "And mind you, that, coupled with growing up as an Armenian-American in Los Angeles, paying taxes to a country that is not properly recognizing the genocide of our ancestors, a democracy not recognizing proper history because of political expediency, because of Turkey being a NATO ally, and they didn't want to recognize it, just dirty political fucking geopolitics, that makes you an activist. That made me an activist. That made me someone who fights for truth and justice, not just having to do with Armenians or Armenian issues, but many issues — in the U.S., human rights issues around the world and even animal rights, climate issues. You see the world of injustice and justice, you see that imbalance, and you wanna kind of tip the scales up because you know that that's gonna make the world a better place in every way."

He added: "I've always spoken truth to power, but only because I cared. If I didn't care, I wouldn't speak my mind."

Tankian's autobiography, "Down With The System", was released on May 14 via Hachette Books.

Tankian is best known as the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but he is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. Since launching on to the rock scene in 1993, he's performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. He's also a proud Armenian-American and a dedicated activist; along with Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his own poetry. He has also been an executive producer on multiple documentaries, including "I Am Not Alone", which tells the story of Armenia's 2018 revolution and which won awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, American Film Institute Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Tankian lives with his wife and his son, splitting their time between Los Angeles and New Zealand.

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

SYSTEM OF A DOWN co-headlined the second installment of the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas on April 27.

The quartet will next co-headline a one-off concert with DEFTONES at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California on August 17.

Reveal unveils the lyric video for their single, "Dragon Reborn", taken from their album Still Alive, released last November via Art Gates Records.


This time, the heavy metal act is joined by the incredible talents of Peavy Wagner (Rage) and Marcos Rodriguez (ex-Rage, Induction, Soundchaser).


Originally featured on their November 2023 album release, "Dragon Reborn" has undergone a transformation with the addition of stellar collaborations from Marcos Rodriguez of Induction and Soundchaser, alongside the legendary Peavy Wagner of Rage, the song emerges with newfound vigor and intensity.




The magic of "Dragon Reborn" lies in its intricate layers: synths pulsate with energy, basslines rumble like thunder and the fusion of voices brings forth a rich tapestry of harmonies.


For fans of power metal, "Dragon Reborn" is a must-listen!

In a new interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio, guitarist Jack Owen was asked if he thinks SIX FEET UNDER, which features two former members of CANNIBAL CORPSE — Owen and singer Chris Barnes — could ever stage a joint tour with CANNIBAL CORPSE. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I could. I get along with everybody, but the logistics are just like… I don't know. I would. [Laughs] Short answer, yeah, I would do it. I'm the guy who likes to keep the machine going until it breaks. [Laughs] On paper, it would be, like, okay, SIX FEET UNDER set and then an overlapping CANNIBAL set [featuring songs from CANNIBAL's era with Barnes and Owen] and then the Corpsegrinder set [featuring songs from the George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher era of CANNIBAL]."

Asked if he thinks Barnes and Fisher would be able to make that happen, Owen responded: "Yeah, they could totally get along."

Last September, CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist Alex Webster was asked Loaded Radio for his reaction to Barnes's comment about the state of the death metal scene in which the former CANNIBAL CORPSE vocalist said that he "despise[s] what the genre has become." Alex said: "I don't really put too much emphasis on any of that stuff. I think people should be able to say whatever they want. And if people have an opinion about music, why should they keep it hidden, I guess. If Chris doesn't like something, he's absolutely free to say he doesn't like it. And then people are free to say they don't like his opinion. So I don't really care about that. I think everybody's entitled to their own opinion, and it's fine."

Webster continued: "We all love music so much, especially… I've found metal fans, we're all so passionate about it, we're just prone to debate and argue. And I think it reflects how much we all care about this music. It's not just background music to us. If you go into McDonald's and you can hear a song in the background, then it just seems to me, it's probably not interesting enough to have dedicated fans; it's just sort of background music. But metal and other kinds of music that really require your attention and get you engaged… It's not in the background for us literally or figuratively — it's something very important to all of us. It's our hobby in many ways, it's what we're into, and, yeah, we're gonna argue about it sometimes because we care about it. So I think it's fine."

Asked if there is a relationship there between CANNIBAL CORPSE and Barnes at all today or if it's "kind of like 'you do your thing and we're doing our thing'," Alex said: "Pretty much. Yeah, he can do his thing; we do ours. If I see him, it's always friendly. But I haven't seen him in a few years. But, yeah, to each their own, and it's all cool at this point. We don't really run into each other, though. They [SIX FEET UNDER] haven't toured in a while. Normally when you see everybody and you reconnect with people is at festivals, mainly the European ones, I should say, 'cause that's where the majority of the festivals are. And we reconnect with a lot of people there — bands we've toured with, friends, crew members that we know, working with other bands. So that's where I would run into him. And they haven't been doing that stuff in a little while. So maybe we'll see him next year or something, though. Who knows?"

Webster was also pressed about whether fans have asked to see CANNIBAL CORPSE and SIX FEET UNDER touring together, especially now that SIX FEET UNDER features another Owen. Alex said: "People have asked [about the two bands touring together], but I think, again, SIX FEET just doesn't really tour that much. And we probably wouldn't do it. It's, yeah, like you said, sort of everything's cool, but it's sort of like, you do your thing, we'll do our thing. And it's fine."

In January 2022, Barnes — who exited CANNIBAL CORPSE in 1995, one year after the release of the band's "The Bleeding" album — took to his Twitter to say that he saw a Knotfest"A Death Metal Round Table" hosted by Staypuft Mallow and featuring appearances by current Corpsegrinder, Trevor Strnad from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, Chase Mason from GATECREEPER and Alex Jones from UNDEATH. "I just watched a 'death metal' podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the 'top' death metal vocalists," he wrote. "It made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become."

After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by Fisher.

Seven years ago, Barnes spoke about the possibility of SIX FEET UNDER and CANNIBAL CORPSE one day touring together, telling "The Chainsaw Symphony" radio program: "That would be a tough one to put together, my friend. [Laughs] You wouldn't have any problems from my side of things, but I don't think other people would be agreeable to that."

He continued: "I don't think there's animosity [between us]. I think there's just protecting other people's feelings. I think that everyone knows certain things about everything and they'd like to see things a certain way, and that wouldn't portray things a certain way that they would wanna portray them. So… I'm being very general and trying to be diplomatic about it."

Barnes also talked about the circumstances behind his departure from CANNIBAL CORPSE. He said: "I just didn't like being around them, because I was being ridiculed, and I just didn't feel comfortable being in the same room with people that weren't very nice to me personally. And I was part of that too, so we had all of our own type of differences, personally, and I don't think it was gonna be able to be worked out. You know, mutual respect goes a far way when it comes to being in close quarters with people."

He continued: "I'm sure we'd do things differently [today] — I mean, I know we would. It's just the way things worked out. And I don't have any animosity towards those guys at all, and I don't think they do towards me. It's just that… It would be too confusing for things [if we were to tour together], I think, from their perspective."

Barnes added: "I'd do anything. I just like to see a lot of people out there with smiles on their faces; that's the only thing that's important to me, man. Like, seriously, if I see a big crowd of people that everyone's smiling, like, 'Oh, yeah! This is what we've been waiting for,' I'm ready then, man. If I see a small room of people that are just fired up to go, man, it just gets me going on stage, you know. And that's all I'm there for — that feeling, that sharing of energy, man. And I'll go for it any which way to get that any way I can with any person I can get it with. And if it gets to that means to an end, that's all that's important, man — that transference. And some people just don't see it that way, man, and it's cool.

"I'm not gonna be mean to anybody, and I never wanted to be. I'm my own person, and sometimes I'm put at fault for that, and I think we all are in our own way. And that's just life; those are the things we deal with as people."

Owen left CANNIBAL CORPSE in 2004, explaining in a statement that his "heart just wasn't in it anymore, and it was reflected in my appearance on stage. Times change, and I just don't enjoy the music as much as I used to, and the only thing keeping me in the band was steady work, and the pay," he said. "These things makes it unfair to myself, my band members, and especially the fans."

SIX FEET UNDER released its fourteenth studio album, "Killing For Revenge", on May 10 through Metal Blade Records.

SLIPKNOT performed without percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) at this past weekend's Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Prior to launching into the fourth song of SLIPKNOT's headlining set of the four-day event on Sunday (May 19),singer Corey Taylor addressed Clown's absence, telling the crowd: "First things first, obviously, we are missing one of our brothers. Clown, yesterday, broke a tooth, had to have it removed. There is an issue. He had to stay home for medical reasons, but he insisted that we come here and fucking play this fucking show for each and every goddamn one of you, man."

Corey continued: "He is missed. He is essential, and goddammit, on the count of three, I want you to fuckin tell him all that he is so fucking loved. I wanna hear you scream! ONE! TWO! THREE!"

Sonic Temple marked SLIPKNOT's fourth show with the band's new drummer, former SEPULTURA sticksman Eloy Casagrande.

Prior to Sonic Temple, SLIPKNOT played on April 25 at Pappy + Harriet's in Pioneertown, California, on April 27 at Sick New World in Las Vegas, Nevada and on May 12 at Welcome To Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida.

For all four gigs, SLIPKNOT adopted a classic look, bringing back the 1999 red jumpsuits and elements of their early masks into their modern versions, tying into the fact that SLIPKNOT is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Back in November 2021, Crahan missed the band's performance at the Welcome To Rockville festival after undergoing surgery to repair a torn bicep tendon in his left arm.

In a 2012 interview with LA Weekly, Crahan said that he is "always injuring" himself while performing with SLIPKNOT. "I don't know if it's because I'm a klutz or an idiot, I don't know," he said. "I treat every show like it's the last. Since the beginning, every show we've told ourselves that this could be the last. My kids know that if I die on stage, that's where I should have gone. I don't want to, though. I want to live for a very long time. I'd like to retire and leave on a good note."

After parting ways with Jay Weinberg last November, SLIPKNOT teased fans with a hint about a new drummer two and a half months ago, posting a photo of a single broken drumstick online with the caption "Rehearsal."

The band explained in a statement that the split with Weinberg was a creative decision. Jay followed up with a statement of his own, saying that he was "heartbroken and blindsided" by his dismissal.

Weinberg has since joined SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and INFECTIOUS GROOVES.

Casagrande abruptly quit SEPULTURA three months ago, shortly before he was supposed to begin rehearsals for the band's recently launched 40th-anniversary farewell tour.

"February 6th, a few days prior to the first rehearsal, drummer Eloy Casagrande informed the band that he was leaving SEPULTURA to pursue a career in another project," the band said in a statement.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA nearly 13 years ago as the replacement for Jean Dolabella.

SLIPKNOT's latest album "The End, So Far", arrived in August 2022. It marked the band's the last full-length LP before the departure of both keyboardist Craig Jones, who left the group in June 2023, and Weinberg.

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor's solo album of covers and B-sides from the "CMF2" album sessions, titled "CMF2B… Or Not 2B", has just been released digitally and can be streamed in its entirety below. The effort was previously made available on April 20 via BMG as part of this year's Record Store Day.

According to RecordStoreDay.com, the track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. HSOAT
02. Life Sex & Death (TANK cover)
03. Not In The Mood To Live
04. Killing Machine (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
05. Snuff (live in London '16) (SLIPKNOT cover)
06. Shot In The Dark (OZZY OSBOURNE cover)
07. Stay Calm
08. Is It My Body (ALICE COOPER cover)
09. Bother '23 (Still Bothered) (STONE SOUR cover)
10. Killing Moon (ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN cover)
11. Hey Manifesto
12. Ten Years Gone (LED ZEPPELIN cover)

Corey spent much of the last half of 2023 touring in support of his sophomore solo album, "CMF2", which was released in September. Taylor's first album for BMG and the first on his own label imprint, Decibel Cooper Recordings, was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER, AMON AMARTH),who also helmed STONE SOUR's 2017 LP "Hydrograd" as well as 2020's "CMFT".

In a 2023 interview with Rock Sound, the SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman spoke about the solo album of covers and acoustic recordings, titled "CMFB…Sides", that he released in 2022 via Roadrunner Records. "CMFB…Sides" comprised nine previously unreleased B-sides, covers of tunes that influenced Taylor, acoustic renditions, and live versions. Asked if he used "CMFB…Sides" as an opportunity to tip his hat to artists that had inspired him growing up, Corey said: "Oh, absolutely. I mean, there are so many people I have not had the chance to nod to, to acknowledge, to thank. Let's not forget music kept me alive. Music was the only source of happiness for me for the longest time, from when I was a kid all the way up until even into my twenties, for God's sakes. Music was the only thing that made me feel something other than horrible about myself. So there were so many voices in my head and so many people kind of holding me up that I am just really scratching the surface. Obviously, I've had a chance to show my respect over the years — 'cause of SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR, I've been able to kind of talk about my influences, whatnot — but there's still so many out there that I really want to acknowledge. And the cool thing about doing the B-side stuff is getting to show those little hints and bursts of — doing everything from 'Lunatic Fringe' [RED RIDER cover] to 'Shakin'' [Eddie Money cover]."

He continued: "The B-sides that we have for this album ['CMF2'], people are gonna freak out. We've got everything from Alice Cooper to ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN. I mean, it's that level of fucking radness. And I also have a band who can play anything, and I'm really, really, really spoiled when it comes to that. So I'm really looking forward to putting that out next year. It's one of those things that I want the audience to kind of get to the point where they expect that, just like, 'Oh, man, this album is great. There's also going to be this album that comes out next year with like all the B-side stuff.' And the cool thing with this is that in addition to the covers — it's not just acoustic versions, it's actually leftover originals that didn't make this album. So it's changed up even more from that side of stuff, so it's evolving. And it just feels great. It's everything that I've ever wanted to do. It's everything I've tried to do with SLIPKNOTandSTONE SOUR, and I'm finally getting to do it now because I'm the boss and I get to fucking make the decisions."

Throughout "CMF2", Taylor sings, plays lead and rhythm guitar, piano, and mandolin.

The 13-track opus packs the energy, experimentation, and forthrightness that's defined a career which has seen him sell more than 12 million albums with his Grammy-winning band SLIPKNOT and several million with chart-toppers STONE SOUR.

Taylor began tracking the follow-up to 2020's "CMFT" LP in early January 2023 at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with Ruston. Joining Corey in the studio was the rest of his solo band — bassist Eliot Lorango, drummer Dustin Robert, along with guitarists Christian Martucci and Zach Throne.

Twenty-six songs were recorded for "CMF2", including "Beyond" and "Post Traumatic Blues".

"CMFT" featured the No. 1 Billboard mainstream rock single "Black Eyes Blue" and streaming sensation "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (feat. Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie). The LP hit No. 6 on Billboard's U.S. Top Rock Albums chart.

Three-time Grammy Award-nominated rockers NOTHING MORE have teamed up with David Draiman (DISTURBED) on the track "Angel Song", from their upcoming album, "Carnal", due June 28 via Better Noise Music.

"The power of the track is undeniable," exclaims Draiman. "I've been a fan of the band since the very beginning."

"'Angel Song' is the haunting sound of our past selves melting into a future that is as bright as it is dark," explains NOTHING MORE frontman Jonny Hawkins. "Our animal nature is getting more and more chewed up by society and our souls swallowed by technology, but there's something in us that wants to fight back. As the song was coming together in the studio, it became immediately clear to us that David Draiman's voice would take it to another level. We're so happy with the result."

"Carnal" features 15 songs with the San Antonio, Texas-born quartet's most focused, adventurous, and intense music to date, including recent radio single "If It Doesn't Hurt". Recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Drew "WZRD BLD" Fulk (DISTURBED, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, A DAY TO REMEMBER) with mixing and mastering by Zakk Cervini (LIMP BIZKIT, MGK, BRING ME THE HORIZON),"Carnal" unites NOTHING MORE's trademark introspective philosophical lyrics and unapologetically massive anthems with in-your-face rockers designed for an all-encompassing audience.

"'Carnal' feels like a perfect encapsulation of what NOTHING MORE has always been," says guitarist Mark Vollelunga. "From progressive introspection to steady-state rock 'n roll, we felt like we've achieved the exact balance wanted for this next installment."

"It's a beautiful blend of memorable guitar riffs, illustrious chord progressions and heart wrenching lyrical performances all to the beat of a drum that palpitates with syncopated obsession," states bassist Daniel Oliver. "There's truly something for everyone on this record."

NOTHING MORE was recently presented with plaques for the band's newly RIAA gold-certified 2017 hit single "Go To War" from "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" album. The bandmembers were given the plaques at their recent co-headlining show at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from Better Noise Music's CFO Harris Masood. "Go To War" received two Grammy Award nominations ("Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance"),a nomination for Loudwire Music Awards' "Top Hard Rock Song" and was NOTHING MORE's first No. 1 single on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts. It has since received over 113 million streams and has logged 30 million video views.

NOTHING MORE will wrap up their current co-headlining tour with WAGE WAR featuring special guests VEIL OF MAYA and SLEEP THEORY tomorrow May 18 in Bloomington, Illinois. NOTHING MORE was announced as direct support for GODSMACK in June and earlier this week announced additional support dates with GODSMACK throughout October. Tickets are on sale as of today at 12 p.m. (local time) along with VIP upgrades. NOTHING MORE will also appear at rock's top festivals this fall, including Louder Than Life, Aftershock and MMR*B*Q.

Since their emergence in 2003, NOTHING MORE have continuously topped the active rock radio charts, including nine No. 1 singles and over a half dozen Top 10 singles, among them "Tired Of Winning" from their 2022 album "Spirits".

NOTHING MORE have won over audiences across the globe with their commanding performances, of which Loudwire proclaimed: "it's their famously vivacious live shows that truly enthrall, especially when they pull out some of bassist Daniel Oliver's self-made gadgets. For instance, there's the 'Scorpion Tale', an extremely heavy beast made of metal scraps whose Ableton software permits singer Jonny Hawkins to alter multiple timbres (such as guitar, bass and vocals) while riding it. Then, you have the 'Drumtron/Bassinator,' a rotating bass stand connected to drums that allows for three-man bass solos."

"Carnal" track listing:

01. Carnal
02. House On Sand (feat. Eric V of I PREVAIL)
03. If It Doesn't Hurt
04. Angel Song (feat. David Draiman of DISTURBED)
05. Freefall
06. Blame It On The Drugs
07. Head
08. Existential Dread
09. Heart
10. Down The River
11. Give It Time
12. Sight
13. Stuck (feat. Sinizter)
14. Run For Your Life
15. Sound

STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has paid tribute to the band's original drummer Jon Wysocki, who died on Saturday (May 18) at the age of 53.

Earlier today, Aaron took to his account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: "I'm so sad. I lost my friend. A friend I loved like a brother… fought with like a brother… cared for like a brother… worried about like a brother… cried over like a brother… because he was my brother in arms. My journey would've been different without him.

"The battles we fought together. The battles we fought against each other. The battles we fought side by side alone with our own demons. The battles we won and the battles we lost. He was my friend. He was our brother. My heart is broken. My world has changed.

"I'll see you on the other side my friend. My brother. Godspeed. My heart, my love, and my condolences go out to his family and loved ones. I'm so fucking sad. He will be missed."

STAIND added in a separate statement: "We first met Jon through mutual friends in 1994. We came together with Mike, Aaron, and Johnny April in 1995 and founded STAIND. The 17 years that followed were some of the best memories of our times together.

"From practice in Ludlow, Mass to touring around the world, Jon was integral to who we were as a band. Our hearts go out to Jon's family, and fans around the world who loved him."

Prior to his passing, Wysocki reportedly had been suffering from liver issues that required him to be under medical care.

Wysocki's death was confirmed on social media by his bandmates in LYDIA'S CASTLE.

Wysocki, Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok and bassist Johnny April formed STAIND in 1995. The drummer remained in the group until 2011 when he was fired during the making of STAIND's self-titled seventh studio album.

A few days later, Mushok later told Fuse TV about Wysocki's surprise departure: "Seventeen years being a band together, we went to make the record, and it was tough; things weren't really going the way we wanted [them] to. We tried to work through it, and I think it just got to the point where we realized that we weren't able to, and it was time to make a change."

During Jon's time with the band, STAIND attained three consecutive No. 1 albums with 2001's "Break the Cycle", 2003's "14 Shades Of Grey" and 2005's "Chapter V". The group also topped the U.S. Rock singles chart with such songs as "It's Been Awhile", "So Far Away" and "Right Here".

Aaron Lewis photo credit: Jim Wright / photo credit: Cap2Red Studios (courtesy of Bradley Public Relations & Marketing)
(1/2) We first met Jon through mutual friends in 1994. We came together with Mike, Aaron, and Johnny April in 1995 and founded Staind. The 17 years that followed were some of the best memories of our times together.

— Staind (@staind) May 19, 2024


(2/2) From practice in Ludlow, Mass to touring around the world, Jon was integral to who we were as a band. Our hearts go out to Jon’s family, and fans around the world who loved him.

— Staind (@staind) May 19, 2024


I’m so sad. I lost my friend. A friend I loved like a brother… fought with like a brother… cared for like a brother… worried about like a brother… cried over like a brother… because he was my brother in arms. My journey would’ve been different without him.

— Aaron Lewis (@Aaronlewismusic) May 19, 2024


The battles we fought together. The battles we fought against each other. The battles we fought side by side alone with our own demons. The battles we won and the battles we lost. He was my friend. He was our brother. My heart is broken. My world has changed.

— Aaron Lewis (@Aaronlewismusic) May 19, 2024


I’ll see you on the other side my friend. My brother. Godspeed. My heart, my love, and my condolences go out to his family and loved ones. I’m so fucking sad. He will be missed.

— Aaron Lewis (@Aaronlewismusic) May 19, 2024

Founding STAIND drummer Jon Wysocki died on Saturday, May 18 at the age of 53. Prior to his passing, he had reportedly having issues with his liver that required him to be under the care of medical professionals.

Wysocki's death was confirmed by his bandmates in LYDIA'S CASTLE. They wrote in a social media post: "On 5/18/2024 at 8:02pm, Jon Wysocki passed away surrounded by family and friends that loved him dearly. An official statement will be developed shortly."

Jon's former bandmates in SOIL also issued a statement about his passing. They wrote: "Today we lost one of the greats. Jon Wysocki was not only a great friend, a great drummer, but a great human being. It was an honor to have him in SOIL for the time we did. We had so many laughs, so many good times. You will be missed dearly. Until we meet again dear friend…."

Wysocki, singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok and bassist Johnny April formed STAIND in 1995. The drummer remained in the group until 2011 when he was fired during the making of STAIND's self-titled seventh studio album.

A few days later, Mushok later told Fuse TV about Wysocki's surprise departure: "Seventeen years being a band together, we went to make the record, and it was tough; things weren't really going the way we wanted [them] to. We tried to work through it, and I think it just got to the point where we realized that we weren't able to, and it was time to make a change."

During Jon's time with the band, STAIND attained three consecutive No. 1 albums with 2001's "Break the Cycle", 2003's "14 Shades Of Grey" and 2005's "Chapter V". The group also topped the U.S. Rock singles chart with such songs as "It's Been Awhile", "So Far Away" and "Right Here".

In a 2007 interview with Modern Drummer, Wysocki spoke of his fondness for recording and performing, but admitted he was uncomfortable with some aspects of fame.

"Favorite part of touring? That's easy playing the live show," he said. "The worst part for me is when fans come up to me, sometimes I feel uncomfortable with their excitement at meeting me. People view you a certain way, but we're just like anybody else who happens to be in a position that people think is glamorous. I don't feel any different from anyone else, it's just that I make my living playing the drums. People say certain things and I freeze up, I don't know what to say back. If it's a compliment, I say thanks, but when it's that gawking, worshiping type of thing, it just makes me uncomfortable. But don't get me wrong I love and appreciate our fans."

Regarding how he first got into music, Jon said: "I kind of turned myself on to it. But I'd have to say my mom's side of the family probably had a big influence. I listened to a lot of early-'70s R&B and Top 40 music. And then I started getting into rock with THE BEATLES, KISS, LED ZEPPELIN… and then in the '80s I got into VAN HALEN, WHITESNAKE, and all the '80s stuff. But I also liked all those Shrapnel [Records] guys, because they always had some badass drummer like Deen Castronovo or someone like that."

As for the first drummers he took notice of, Jon said: "It was the late '70s, early '80s, so I'd have to say it was Alex Van Halen and John Bonham. I remember seeing Steve Smith when he was with JOURNEY. He was playing Top 40 JOURNEY songs, and then all of a sudden he does a drum solo and I'm going, 'Oh my god…' He was doing this ridiculous odd-time solo. And Tommy Aldridge is an awesome rock drummer — a lot of flash, but solid."

Photo credit: Cap2Red Studios (courtesy of Bradley Public Relations & Marketing)

On 5/18/2024 at 8:02pm, Jon Wysocki passed away surrounded by family and friends that loved him dearly. An official statement will be developed shortly.

Posted by Lydias Castle on Saturday, May 18, 2024

Today we lost one of the greats. Jon Wysocki was not only a great friend, a great drummer, but a great human being. It...

Posted by Soil on Saturday, May 18, 2024

Jon is currently in the ICU. He has been having issues with his liver that requires him to be under the attention of...

Posted by Shawna Lynn Hornbeck on Saturday, May 18, 2024

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, vocalist Fernando Ribeiro of Portuguese goth overlords MOONSPELL spoke about a possible follow-up to the band's 2021 album "Hermitage". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When it comes to new music, first I have to answer myself the question, do people care about new music or it's just the band that care? I don't have an answer that allows me to make up my mind. Yeah, because now MOONSPELL is at this stage, we did a lot of music, we did a lot of different music, and we could live from our legacy from for the next years. We can do a 'Wolfheart' [30th-anniversary] tour in 2025, we can do an 'Irreligious' [30th-anniversary] tour in 2026 and so forth, we could do a 'Sin/Pecado' [30th-anniversary] tour in 2028."

He continued: "We love to do new music, but we have to wait because I don't think we're gonna have a new album before 2025 or '26, even. It's something that we are really talking within the band. I wrote a lot of lyrics, I had a lot of ideas. I threw them out, I picked them up, so it's this kind of process. And why? Because it has to be a really fucking special album. It cannot be [done on] an automatic pilot. That's not what you should do in the scene. In the scene you should go along the flow, like, 'Let's make a new album. Let's get a new tour,' and people will follow along. But I think this time around we're gonna take our time. I think we bought our time, and it was very pricey. So, this time around, I think new music for MOONSPELL only late 2025 or 2026."

In the spring of 2023, MOONSPELL completed the "American Full Moon" 30th-anniversary trek.

Two years ago, MOONSPELL canceled its summer 2022 North American tour due to "unsolvable logistic and transportation problems".

In September 2022, MOONSPELL released a very special Blu-ray/DVD and album, a live performance of their latest studio album, "Hermitage", with "From Down Below - Live 80 Meters Deep" via Napalm Records.

MOONSPELL's 13th studio album, "Hermitage", was released in February 2021 via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (PARADISE LOST, PRIMORDIAL, GHOST, SÓLSTAFIR) at the Orgone Studios in the U.K.

In 2020, MOONSPELL parted ways with original drummer Miguel "Mike" Gaspar and replaced him with Hugo Ribeiro (no relation to Fernando Ribeiro).

Three years ago, Fernando told Consequence about recording "Hermitage" during the pandemic: "Social distancing wasn't decreed by law, and it's strange because all of Portugal is 10 million people so it was bizarre just seeing structures without people in the cities. We started demoing in 2017, and it wasn't at all about a pandemic. It was more an album about the polarization and atomization of the world — we're all fragments and cannot agree on anything. Especially with social networks, it felt like the authenticity was going away. It was about connectivity, but there were not enough connections.

"For MOONSPELL, we do have a process and it relies on us sitting down, when we could sit down, and talk together. It's about sitting down with the songwriters Ricardo [Amorim] and Pedro [Paixão]. For MOONSPELL, it's not about jamming in a room and then writing about it. When I sit down with the people who are going to write the music and tell them what it's going to be about, that's the start of MOONSPELL painting the canvas. Giving them this information, the music became more melancholic, less layers and more texture.

"When the COVID pandemic came, we were scheduled to record the album in the U.K. We were in anguish sometimes, because we would have our suitcases ready and went to the airport and Portugal was blacklisted, so we had to just be smart and take a window of opportunity to go to the U.K. We couldn't have the whole band together because of COVID restrictions. Everyone lived through the struggle of cancelations and postponements, but I have to say recording was enjoyable. I felt very privileged to be able to even go to the U.K. and record an album. The studio was in the countryside and it was so isolated and it was perfect to record 'Hermitage'."

Photo credit: Rui Vasco

During an appearance on yesterday's (Wednesday, May 15) installment of Waste Some Time With Jason Green, STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox discussed his latest brain surgery, which will force him to sit out the band's upcoming "To Hell With The Amps" acoustic tour. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We go in at five in the morning [on Thursday, May 16] and they start working on me at seven. And it'll be about a six-hour thing… And we'll see how it all ends up on the other side of it, when they wake me up… They're gonna wake me up in the middle and have me play guitar to guide them as they cut… I'll be playing a song and they're gonna make sure that I don't go off of the song. Like I can play a STRYPER song or I can play a BEATLES song or whatever, something that everyone knows. The last time I played something by STRYPER called 'Calling On You', and this time, I thought, 'Well, let's do a little entertaining,' and I thought maybe I'd try some BEATLES songs, like 'Hey Jude'."

Fox confirmed that his latest surgery will be less invasive than the last one. "Yeah, because this is not as big of a piece of mass that they're taking out," he explained. "So they don't feel that there's gonna be as long of a recovery time, and hopefully I'll be able to go home sooner. The hotel [in Los Angeles] is very expensive, and it's the closest to the [UCLA] hospital, and all of the hotels in this area, which is Westwood, Wilshire, they're all expensive. But if anything, this is the one right next door to the hospital, and in case anything happens or it goes wrong, they can get me in right away from the hotel and try to take care of whatever problem comes up, if there is one. Last time there was no problems. I don't expect there's gonna be any this time, 'cause our team's really great."

When STRYPER first announced Fox's absence from the upcoming acoustic tour on Tuesday (May 14),the band wrote on social media: "We want to share an important update regarding our guitarist, Oz Fox.

"Many of you might remember the challenges Oz faced back in 2018 when doctors found two tumors in his brain. After a couple of successful surgeries, we were all hoping that was behind him. Unfortunately, a recent routine scan brought some disappointing news - there is a concern in the same area where he had the operation before, and Oz's medical team thinks another surgery is needed as part of his treatment.

"As we all know, every operation comes with risks, but the doctors say this one should be less invasive than the first, so we are staying positive.

"In light of this news, we have had to make some tough decisions as we gear up for our first acoustic tour – 'To Hell With The Amps'. It is with a heavy heart that we share that Oz will not be able to join us on this run. We know this isn't ideal, as news came well after we booked the tour, but with Oz's blessing, we've invited Will Doughty to join us — he will be playing keyboards and adding harmonies to the mix. Will is a respected Nashville musician and songwriter, best known for his work as the touring keyboardist for POISON since 2007. While we wish things were different, we're genuinely excited to have Will with us for these acoustic shows.

"We are praying that Oz will make a swift and complete recovery, and he is aiming to be back on the road with us by July. In the meantime, please join us in praying for him. We're all counting down the days until we're back on the road together.

"If you'd like to support Oz during this time, you can do so by purchasing an Oz Fox T-shirt made exclusively for this fundraising campaign."

Oz added in a separate statement: "Hello, folks! I appreciate everyone's prayers and support during this time. As a believer when times like this come up we trust that God will get us through our challenges. So many biblical passages show examples of this and God always prevails. But in some cases the outcome is not what we want it to be. This is where faith comes in. So whatever the outcome we will still trust God. His ways are not our ways. And he always has a plan. Sometimes we don't know that plan till a future time.

"Back in March of 2021, I was told that we would have frequent scans of the area where doctors extracted a 4 cm. astrocytoma. These types of tumors tend to return. I was given a trial medication that had success with most people. But in lieu of recent scans, my wife Annie and I feel it is best to have this suggested procedure with the exact same team of doctors to remove what seems to be regrowth. Thankfully this will seemingly be less risky and a quicker recovery time but not in time to be able to be on the acoustic tour.

"Amazingly our STRYPER boys were talented enough to quickly pull things together to create this awesome and unique lineup with Will on keys and vocals. I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience for all who attend the shows coming up. So while I am recovering, you can support me by being a part of that experience and seeing STRYPER take on the challenge of keeping the show going no matter what!

"I am so thankful to be a part of something God has been doing for 40 years plus with STRYPER and all of you have helped to make that happen. While I'm in recovery there will be updates from my wife so by all means keep watching her social media pages. I will be back on my feet and on my frets as soon as I can! Cheers!"

Fox's tumors — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain — were discovered when he suffered his first seizure in August 2018 while performing with SIN CITY SINNERS at Harrah's in Las Vegas.

In October 2020, Fox was briefly hospitalized after suffering another massive seizure.

Within weeks of Fox's original August 2018 seizure, STRYPER toured Australia and Japan as a three-piece, and later recruited Howie Simon to fill in while Fox was unable to go on the road.

Last December, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland.

STRYPER recently completed work on the follow-up to 2022's "The Final Battle" album for a tentative September 2024 release.

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

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", 2020's "Even The Devil Believes" and the aforementioned "The Final Battle".

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

Getting prepped & ready for brain surgery! 🧠👨🏻‍⚕️🩺

I don’t know about you but my husband makes this look so easy....

Posted by Annie Lobert on Thursday, May 16, 2024

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian says that his recent comments about SLAYER's upcoming reunion shows were meant in a "lighthearted" way.

In a recent interview with Dave Ling of Classic Rock magazine, Ian was asked if he was as astonished as everyone else when SLAYER recently came out of retirement. He responded: "I wrote to Kerry [King, SLAYER guitarist] and said: 'Thanks for making me look like a liar.' We were on SLAYER's goodbye tour for over a hundred shows. During that year and a half together, I got the sense that if they said were ending, then that's what was happening. Personally, I felt it was too soon — the world needs SLAYER — but I took them at their word on that. I really felt that they would be the one band that when they said they were retiring, they'd be done for good."

Asked how Kerry responded to his e-mail, Scott said: "He wrote back saying: 'Hahaha. Hey, it's just three shows.' I replied: 'Yeah, we'll see.'"

On May 11, Ian took to his social media to clarify his comments, writing: "I was recently asked in an interview with Classic Rock about SLAYER's upcoming shows. It seems like some people are confused about how I answered the question — maybe because they weren't on the call and couldn't see the smile on my face or hear me laughing as I answered.

"I wrote a lighthearted text to Kerry and said, 'Thanks for making me look like a liar' as a joke. And when I say, 'Personally I thought it was too soon' that was in reference to SLAYER retiring, not about them coming back to play shows.

"There you have it, straight from the beard's mouth."

Five years after SLAYER played the last concert of what was being billed as the band's farewell tour and just weeks after the SLAYER guitarist unveiled the details of his solo project, Kerry and his longtime bandmates announced that they will play at the Aftershock, Riot Fest and Louder Than Life festivals in September and October.

Back in January 2018, just a week after SLAYER announced its "final world tour" via a 30-second video, including what was being billed as the band's last-ever North American run of dates with support from ANTHRAX, among other acts, Ian told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about how he felt about SLAYER pulling the plug on what at the time was its three-and-a-half-decade career: "We've obviously been friends for a very long time, and even in the last seven or eight years, we've played quite a few shows together — a couple of major tours in the States and Europe. So when we got the call a couple of months ago asking if we'd like to be a part of this… At the time, when I first heard about it from our agent, there was no inkling that this was going to be some type of goodbye tour; it was just, like, 'Do you wanna be part of this sick metal package with SLAYER and LAMB OF GOD and BEHEMOTH and TESTAMENT?' And I was, like, 'Yeah.' I got excited. I'm always excited about touring, but that e-mail comes in, and I got excited like a kid, like, 'I can't wait to get tickets for this.' 'Cause that hasn't happened in a while. The Mayhem tour's been gone now for a couple of years, so there hasn't been a major summer metal tour in a long time, and this obviously fills that void in a big way. And I got really excited."

According to Ian, he was unaware that the 2018-2019 tour would mark SLAYER's final run "until the day they publicly announced" it. "I saw that just like everyone else out there, that this was the beginning of the end," he told WRIF at the time. "And I was, like, 'Wow!' I had no idea. I mean, I've known… Obviously I'm friends with the guys and I know from speaking to them that this day was going to come and their schedule had slowed down as compared to what it had used to be. But I didn't know it was happening now. My only hope is that their goodbye tour will take about three or four years to finish. My hope, as a fan of SLAYER, that they really, really pound it into the ground because there's a lot of people that are gonna wanna see 'em a couple of times before it's over, probably."

At the time of the WRIF interview, Scott said that he "got" why SLAYER would want to end its touring career five years after the band's co-founding guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, died from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. Hanneman is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". "I understand," Ian said. "I've been around those guys long enough; I get it. And look, obviously, losing Jeff a couple of years ago, that's something that… as great as it's been, and [Hanneman's replacement] Gary's [Holt] a motherfucker on guitar and there's nobody else that could have filled that role better than Gary Holt, but still, they lost Jeff, and I understand how, after that, certainly for Tom [Araya, bass/vocals] and Kerry [King, guitar], nothing will ever be the same. I can understand that they were able to come to what was obviously a very tough decision to say, 'All right. Let's put an ending on this.' And you know what? All the best things have a great ending, whether it's a book, a movie, a TV series. If you don't stick the ending, it's almost like what was the point in the first place? And I like the way they're doing this and I really think they're gonna go out in a big way and really stick the ending."

Ian believed at the time that SLAYER was making the right decision by going out on top and not just hanging around way past its expiration date. "It's the way you've gotta do it — especially being in a band," Scott said. "People ask me all the time, 'How long can you do this for?' and I'm, like, 'I can do it for as long as I feel like I'm giving everything I have every night.' The last thing I want is being on stage and not being able to perfom at what I consider to be my level of performance, let's say. I never wanna be on stage and someone in the audience can look at me and say, 'Oh, man. He's phoning it in,' or, 'He doesn't even move around anymore.' I would hate to ever disappoint anyone in that way. Playing live for me, being on a stage is that sacred ground, man. That's such a privilege to be there in front of an audience, and for me, if I can't give what I feel like I need to give, then I shouldn't do it anymore."

King addressed the SLAYER reunion earlier this month while speaking to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about his upcoming debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", which will be released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music. Admitting that the announcement of SLAYER's comeback "was not my favorite timing", Kerry said that the SLAYER reunion "is not going to translate into recording and it's not going to translate into touring. For me, it's three shows marking five years since our final shows, a fun, 'Hey, remember us from before the pandemic?' celebration."

Kerry went on to say that he still has not spoken to SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya since the news of the band's reunion was announced. "It's not like I'm angry with him or anything," King clarified. "We're very different people, and we evolved into business partners at the end of the day. He has very different interests from me, and very different outlooks. Does that make me hate him? No. But I don't need to talk to him every day… We just don't have much in common. When it comes time to rehearse, I'll have no problem showing up. We're professionals, and that's what we do."

When Kerry's solo project was first announced, King told Rolling Stone that he was almost positive he and Tom would never resurrect the band. "I can pretty much a hundred percent say no because I have a new outlet, and it's not SLAYER, but it sounds like SLAYER," King said of a potential SLAYER reunion.

The lineup for SLAYER's comeback will be the same as the one which last toured in 2019: Araya and King, along with guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS) and longtime drummer Paul Bostaph.

Days after SLAYER's reunion was announced, Tom Araya's wife wrote on social media that she "harassed him for over a year" before he "agreed finally" to play more shows with the band. "We shared that news with SLAYER's awesome managers and they did the rest!" she explained. "So yes without Tom it wouldn't have happened.. without me BUGGING HIM it wouldn't have happened."

Both Gary and his wife Lisa Holt were among the hundreds of people who "liked" Sandra's Instagram post, with Lisa sharing three heart emojis in response to Sandra's message.

In a statement confirming SLAYER's return, Tom said: "Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we're on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans, and to be honest, we have missed that." King added: "Have I missed playing live? Absolutely. SLAYER means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It will be five years since we have seen them."

The same day that SLAYER's comeback was announced, Holt's wife Lisa Holt took to her social media to write: "Yes, it's true..and an exciting adventure for the band and fans !

"To all the people saying 'they are liars' 'they must have ran out of money' 'its not SLAYER without so and so' ..I have an idea for you all...DON'T GO.. and for all the people who did go to the final tour dates and enjoyed it...awesome!!

"This isn't a 'TOUR' it's some dates..and GREAT NEWS!!!" she added. "And everyone that thinks they know all the inside info..you can't possibly know. so just enjoy the fact that this amazing band will play some amazing shows this year...go or don't..nobody cares!!!!!"

Three weeks before SLAYER's reunion was announced, Kerry told Rolling Stone that he didn't foresee SLAYER coming back together for the foreseeable future.

"Will SLAYER tour again? I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. Could SLAYER play a show again? I'm sure there's a scenario," King said, adding that he hadn't spoken to Araya since that final show. "Am I looking for it? No, I'm just getting ready to start my [solo] career. So if that happens, it happens. But I'm going to be doing this for the next 10 years at least."

SLAYER played the final show of its farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry's wife Ayesha said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more live appearances.

SLAYER's "final" world tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band's intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last SLAYER show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wrapped at the Forum, the band had completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30 countries and 40 U.S. states.
Perfect example of a bullshit clickbait headline. It should read, “Scott Ian jokingly texts Kerry King.” Lazy cut and paste “journalism” by the NME. Maybe next time reach out to the source. pic.twitter.com/RqUW10osmC

— Scott Ian (@Scott_Ian) May 12, 2024



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In a new interview with Rolling Stone, former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry discussed some of his upcoming projects. He said: "I just signed with a new label. I'm very excited about it, and I'll have an opportunity very soon to work with these very, very musically creative people. I'll probably announce who I signed with very soon. That's about as much as I can say, but I'm excited about that, and I am working on stuff."

Asked why he didn't tour in support of his last album, 2018's "Traces", Steve said: "Well, it's a long story. Uncle Steve is up in age, and everybody at this age has some aches and pains and things like that. But it's a really good question that I've been asking myself too.

"It's something that I'm absolutely missing terribly," he continued. "I can't even tell you how much, but there's been a big soulful reclaiming of this original feeling that I had about singing that I needed to get back to. I didn't want to go out and just turn the wheel or turn the crank. … [As far as touring again], I never say never at this point. My life has proven me just that."

Perry went on to say that he is about to get into the studio and recorded the follow-up to "Traces".

"These new label people are so supportive," Steve said. "They said, 'We don't care what you do, we just want to do it with you.'"

Earlier this month, Perry released a new version of the JOURNEY song "It Could Have Been You" with THE EFFECT, the group featuring Trevor "Trev" Lukather (son of TOTO's Steve Lukather) on guitars, Nic Collins (son of Phil Collins) on drums and Steve Maggiora (TOTO) on keyboards.

In the fall of 2018, Perry made his long-awaited return with the release of "Traces", the legendary musician's first new album in 25 years. The LP's personal expression of love, inspiration and renewal resonated with both critics and fans around the world, thrilled to have their "voice of a generation" making new music once again.

Two years later, Steve released "Traces (Alternative Versions & Sketches)" via Fantasy Records. On that LP, Perry revisited several of his favorite tracks, stripping away the grand production touches, taking the songs down to their essence. Presented acoustic and raw (including some in sketch form),tracks like "Sun Shines Gray", "No Erasin'", "No More Cryin'" and "Most Of All" took on new and richer meaning.

Perry's first solo album in more than two decades, "Traces", was released in October 2018 via Fantasy Records (a division of Concord Records/UMG). He credited his late girlfriend, psychologist Kellie Nash, who died more than 11 years ago, with helping him want to sing again; she'd made him promise he wouldn't go back into isolation when she passed.

In 2019, Perry told "The Jim Brickman Show" that the response to "Traces" had been "really great. It's been an interesting experience to release a record in this age that we live in. Meaning, it's such a different landscape… Now we're streaming, now we've got everything… all this stuff. And so it's been such an interesting experience to release music into the new landscape of what it all means. We're streaming, we're still selling some on iTunes…. Nobody sells records anymore; everybody's streaming. But I didn't do this to sell records. If people wanna own it and take it with them, then that's beautiful. But if you wanna listen to it, that's also beautiful, 'cause all I wanted to do — and I said this to many of my friends… The reason I make music again was, number one, to keep a promise that I wouldn't go back into isolation. And number two, I wanted to just see if I was viable as a songwriter, singer, arranger, mixer, producer. I wanted to see if I could even remotely do some sort of creative involvement with all that. And in the beginning, it was challenging, because of the new technologies. But now I've embraced the living crap out of all of it. I have a great studio."

Perry dated Nash for nearly two years before she died in December 2012 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. He mourned for two years, and then began recording again.

Upon its release, "Traces" was met with wide acclaim and tremendous excitement from fans and critics all over the world. The album entered the Billboard 200 Albums chart at No. 6, Perry's highest debut as a solo artist and earned the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer his best-ever chart entries in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan.

Perry reunited with JOURNEY for the first time in years as they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017. The iconic singer appeared onstage with his former bandmates as they each gave speeches, but did not perform with the group later in the event.

GOJIRA drummer Mario Duplantier has released a video for his latest drum solo "Meteor". The clip, which was directed by Anne Deguehegny, can be seen below.

In an interview with the "Behind The Vinyl" podcast, GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier was asked if he ever has arguments with Mario, who is also his brother. He responded: "Sometimes, but we're pretty patient. We have anger. I wouldn't say we have anger issues, but sometimes I wonder. We respect and love each other very much. We're aware that we're dealing with a project that is very life-defining for us, and there's a lot of people around us. So we're pretty patient. Sometimes I can feel and I can tell — and he would say the same — that sometimes we just can't stand each other. For a little bit — for, like, an hour or two hours. And then we'll be, like, 'You know what? I'm outta here.' We will not start screaming, for example, if something is not happening. Maybe once a year or twice a year we'll raise our voice on each other and it's pretty nasty, but it's very short. So, yeah, we're not punching each other in the face or anything like that."

Joseph also talked about the musical chemistry and connection between him and Mario, saying: "Sometimes he starts just playing something and I'll follow him directly. And then something grows. Or we'll stop and say, 'Hey, I have this vision of something. It goes a bit like this.' And then we start… We build together. It's pretty incredible. I actually never really experienced that with anybody — making art together without being, like, 'Oh my God. What is he doing? That's not what I wanna do.' There's always a connection in something. And I'm very comfortable on the creative process, 'cause I know we're looking for the same thing — sort of. He has his world, I have my own world, of course — we're not the same… But sometimes we get together, and the common area is what defines what the band is, pretty much. So when we're in that zone, where we connect, and there's this thing where we're both… And we know — we just look at each other; we raise an eyebrow or something, and, boom. We don't need to talk. We just play, play, play."

GOJIRA's latest album, "Fortitude", entered Billboard's Top Albums chart at No. 1 in May 2021, while also claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Current Albums, Current Rock Albums and Current Hard Music Albums tallies. The release also marked a career high debut on the Billboard 200 for GOJIRA, arriving at No. 12, with several career high chart positions and Top 10 debuts in countries around the globe including: France (No. 2),United Kingdom (No. 6),Australia (No. 3),Germany (No. 8),Belgium (No. 2),Netherlands (No. 4),Denmark (No. 3),Portugal (No. 4),Finland (No. 2) and Norway (No. 10).

"Fortitude" is highlighted by the singles "Another World", "Born For One Thing", "Into The Storm", "Amazonia" and "The Chant", a slow-burning track featuring some of GOJIRA's most melodic material to date.

Furthermore, GOJIRA concluded a month-long fundraising initiative in support of the indigenous-owned NGO The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) who advocate for environmental and cultural rights of indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Working with the social good-focused digital platform Propeller, the charitable campaign raised over $300,000 through an auction and raffle of one-of-a-kind items from the band and their friends in METALLICA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, Slash and more. All proceeds were donated to APIB to support their work aiding the indigenous tribes of the Amazon who have suffered immensely — victims of deforestation, land loss, forced labor, violence, and harassment.

Recorded and produced by Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),"Fortitude" is GOJIRA's first album in five years and the follow-up to 2016's Grammy-nominated LP "Magma". A collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world and then make it happen, "Fortitude" has been earning widespread critical praise with Rolling Stone naming it one of their best albums of April 2021 and remarking "It's all the rage of death metal mixed with the conscience of punk rock and the musicality of progressive rock." NPR hailed "Another World" as "an apocalyptic banger," and Paste called "Into The Storm" a "much-needed revolutionary anthem." Stereogum declared, "hearing this band operating at their peak is a life-affirming thing," while Revolver attested "Fortitude" "could spark a revolution."

Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Morrison — the longtime rhythm guitarist in Billy Idol's band and former bassist for THE CULT — have released the latest episode of their new Internet TV show, "The Madhouse Chronicles". During the chat, the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer reflected on the making of the band's final album, "13". Released in 2013, it was SABBATH's first LP in 35 years to feature Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. Asked how "13" came about, he responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Producer] Rick Rubin, I had met him a long time ago, before he did the album. And he would say, 'Listen, if you ever get back together again, you've gotta let me produce the album.' … And when we reformed to do that [1997] tour, we recorded the live album, [1998's] 'Reunion'. He actually walks into the studio and he goes — we'd had two [studio] bonus tracks [that were included on the album] — he says, 'I like that track, but I don't like that track,' and fucking walked out . And then, as time went on, [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon goes to me, 'Rick Rubin wants you to do an album with him.'"

Reflecting on how "13" came out, Ozzy said: "The only criticism I have about the album — not criticism; the thing we all found hard to do, none of us had that much input. So it was kind of like going straight back to the beginning when we had [early SABBATH producer] Rodger Bain and we didn't know about double tracking and all that. If you have a producer, you don't produce it yourself. Because Tony would basically produce all the albums after a certain time. He must have had to swallow his pride and all that."

He continued: "One of the tracks was a fucking jam. [They would] just say, 'Just fucking play and get warmed up before.' And it was recorded. And it ended up on the fucking album."

Addressing original SABBATH drummer Bill Ward's absence from "13", Ozzy said: "I can't remember why Bill didn't do it. I've gotta be truthful. It wasn't really BLACK SABBATH because Bill wasn't there. I mean, if you had Ginger Baker playing with THE BEATLES, it wouldn't be THE BEATLES."

Ozzy also talked about the final show of SABBATH's "The End" tour, which took place in February 2017 in the band's original hometown of Birmingham, England. Asked if he was glad it was done at that moment, Osbourne said: "Yeah, but I was sad that Bill wasn't there. I mean, I mean, Tommy [Clufetos], my drummer [for my solo band], did a great job [stepping in for Bill], but he ain't Bill Ward."

Pressed about whether he is happy with the arc of the legend of BLACK SABBATH, Ozzy said: "No. Because it wasn't BLACK SABBATH that finished it. It's unfinished. If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance. Do you know what would be cool? If we went to a club or something unannounced and we just got up and did it. We started up in a club."

Back in September 2022, Ozzy was asked by Stereogum if he still feels good about where "13" left things with SABBATH. He responded: "Not really, because, to be perfectly honest, I didn't really get a charge from the album. Although Rick Rubin is a good friend of mine, I wasn't really… I was just singing. It was like stepping back in time, but it wasn't a glorious period. Though Geezer did a lot of lyric writing for me, which he's very, very good at. It wasn't an earth-shattering experience for me."

As for whether BLACK SABBATH is "totally done" in his mind, Osbourne: "I would like to say it's completely done. I think it's time. The only thing I really regret, to be honest, is that Bill Ward didn't play on the ['13'] album. It wasn't really a BLACK SABBATH album. I'm not saying that one day we might not all go in a room and come up with the perfect BLACK SABBATH album. But I'll say, ['13'] wasn't recorded the way BLACK SABBATH recorded records. We'd gone right back past the point where we took charge, back to when someone else had full control of our recording. Which we never did from 'Vol. 4' onwards."

In April 2022, Geezer spoke about Rubin's involvement with "13" during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show. He said: "Some of [the '13' album] I liked, some of it I didn't like particularly. It was a weird experience, especially with being told to forget that you're a heavy metal band. That was the first thing [Rick] said to us. He played us our very first album, and he said, 'Cast your mind back to then when there was no such thing as heavy metal or anything like that, and pretend it's the follow-up album to that,' which is a ridiculous thing to think."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that many other artists who have worked with Rubin walked away from the experience feeling a bit underwhelmed, Butler said: "I still don't know what he did. It's, like, 'Yeah, that's good.' 'No, don't do that.' And you go, 'Why?' [And he'd say], 'Just don't do it.' I think Ozzy one day went nuts 'cause he'd done, like, 10 different vocals, and Rick kept saying, 'Yeah, that's great, but do another one.' And Ozzy was, like, 'If it's great, why am I doing another one?' He just lost it. And that's the way it was. Tony wasn't happy with some of the stuff he was trying to make him play. He was making Tony get 1968 amps — as if that's gonna make it sound like back in 1968. It's mad. But it's good for publicity and it's good for the record company. If you've got Rick Rubin involved, then it must be good, kind of thing."

In an official documentary chronicling the making of the "13" album, Geezer was more complimentary about collaborating with Rubin, saying: "It's great with Rick Rubin in charge. He's got a great track record and he comes up with some great ideas. Some work, some don't, but it's worth trying."

When Iommi was asked about working with Rubin in a 2013 interview with Guitar Player magazine, he said: "It was fine once we got used to him. We didn't know how he was going to work, because through the writing period, we didn't see a lot of him. He'd say, 'Phone me up when you've got an idea and I'll come down.' So we'd have a track together and phone him up or e-mail him, and then he'd come down and say, 'Yeah, I like this part, but I don't like that part' or 'I like everything,' whatever it may be, and then he'd go. He was only there perhaps ten or 15 minutes at the most. We didn't know how he was going to approach recording. It was all a bit of a mystery to us… It's sort of left to the last minute, and then he throws it at you. He just pushes that much more, and that's difficult for a band like us. We've been around so long, it's hard to accept criticism from somebody we've never worked with. But we did, and it was good. It was really good. We might be working on a track, and he'd go, 'Oh no, it doesn't feel right. Try it again and try extending that part.' So we'd do it and then we'd be thinking to ourselves that it may be too long, but we'd do it anyway. And then he'd go, 'That doesn't feel right. Let's try another one.' And then he'd say, 'Okay I think we've got it, but do you want to just try another one?' So we would try another one, and he'd say, 'Okay, let's leave it now.' So we never knew exactly which one he was going to pick."

Asked in a 2021 interview with SPIN if he had learned anything from working with Rubin, Iommi quipped: "Yeah, I learned how to lie on the couch with a mic in my hand and say 'Next!' ... It was just different, the way he works. He wanted to find the original SABBATH sound. He said, 'Have you got your original amps?' I said, 'Rick, that was 50 years ago. Do you have any amps from 50 years ago? … I don't have them, they've blown up. They're gone long ago. I've got my own amps now.' He said, 'No, we need the old stuff.'

"So, I get to the studio, and there are 20 different bloody amps there. He goes, 'They're vintage amps.' I said, 'That doesn't mean they sound good; they're just old.' He went, 'Well, let's try them.' I tried them, and I didn't like any of them.

"So it was a bit of a backwards and forwards till he got used to me, and I got used to him, really," Iommi added. "But we did it, and the album was very basic. I'd done a lot of the songs from the last album in my studio at home. I thought the sound was better, to be honest. But there was more stuff involved; I put more instruments on it. He just wanted it very bare and very basic, which you know, was good."

Ward in May 2012 announced that he was declining to join his former SABBATH bandmates for its scheduled dates, as well as the recording of the new album, due to a contractual dispute. After SABBATH shot down Rubin's suggestion to replace Ward with Ginger Baker (CREAM) ("I thought, 'Bloody hell?'" Iommi told Rolling Stone magazine. "I just couldn't see that."),Rick suggested RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk.

In March 2021, Bill admitted to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he no longer had the "chops" and the "ability" to perform with BLACK SABBATH. "I have to be back to 60 years old to be able to do that," he said.

"I would love to do a studio album with SABBATH, with all the original members," he continued. "I'm just saying that — I'm just floating that out there. But I'm not done. So, the other three might be done, and I respect that, but no, I'm not done. I think as long as we all exist [laughs] and we're still breathing in air, I think we have every possibility of making some great music together."

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio during SABBATH's last tour that Ward was not in shape to participate. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper," he said. "I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something."

It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, something that Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a question-and-answer session about SABBATH's "Ten Year War" box set.

en years SERIOUS BLACK, ten years of melodic power metal, with the license to create anthems! Since their founding in 2014 the band enthuses their fans not only with five studio albums to date (while their last offering, "Vengeance Is Mine", charted at a phenomenal #16 in Germany), but also at frenetically acclaimed concerts and festival appearances around the globe. To celebrate their decadal birthday in glorious style, SERIOUS BLACK have announced the release of a brand new album, entitled "Rise Of Akhenaton", to arrive on September 27, 2024 via AFM Records! The album pre-sale has just started at https://seriousblack.bfan.link/rise-of-akhenaton

At the same time, the band will be on tour throughout Europe, with Sonata Arctica and Firewind. To shorten your wait, SERIOUS BLACK will unleash three singles, including video clips, starting today with the uptempo track "Metalized". With its powerful guitar riffing, the dynamic base of drum and bass and the hymn like catchy tunes this song unites all the band’s excellences!

Band mastermind Mario Lochert comments: "10 years of Serious Black! 10 years was the intro of Akhenaton the first track which blasted like a rolling thunder through the loudspeakers at over 200 concerts worldwide . Now it's time to bring Akhenaton and his army to life "Rise of Akhenaton" the album. So what would be better to start the journey into the album with a song, that reflects the lifestyle, heart and love to the music of every heavy metal fan - aren't we all a little "Metalized"?"

Not only "Metalized", but any of the eleven tracks on their new album showcase, that SERIOUS BLACK stylistically went back to their roots, but at the same time, due to the modern production by Lochert und Bob Katsionis, "Rise Of Akhenaton" sounds more diversified than ever. The interim focus on progressive directives has now changed to more catchy arrangements. Anno 2024, straight, classic power metal - the style the band once got to be known for - reigns again.

„The return to what characterized us once, was already indicated on "Vengeance Is Mine" “, Lochert explains the natural evolution of the band and adds: „Since his joining three years ago our singer Nikola Mijic has turned out to be a real jewel for us. Because of his expressive voice and his intuitive feeling for great melodies the songs got more clarity and a more direct pace.“

Tracklist:

01. Open Your Eyes
02. We Are the Storm
03. Silent Angel
04. Take Your Life
05. Shields of Glory
06. When I´m Gone
07. United
08. Rise of Akhenaton
09. Virtual Reality
10. I Will Remember
11. Metalized

Danish hard rock veterans D-A-D has announced their brand new, thirteenth album, titled "Speed Of Darkness", slated for release on October 4, 2024 via AFM Records.

Not only can we expect an unusually strong collection of songs, but today the band is already premiering two (!) singles, the songs "The Ghost" and "1st, 2nd & 3rd".

Teaming up with producer Nick Foss once again, D-A-D guitarist Jacob Binzer reveals: "He says that this is the strongest pool of songs in a long time, and he has, after all, been in the game since 1988." Jacob adds that he agrees with the producer: "Although you can't really judge albums before one to two years after their release, I also think that this is a strong pool. Some of these songs have surprised me positively while we recorded them, and that is very promising."

D-A-D vocalist/guitarist Jesper Binzer agrees with his brother: "For the first time in three to four albums, I am totally excited about our material, and I look forward to going into the studio every single day. We have an excess of both songs and ideas, and this is a place that I have wanted to reach with the last three to four D-A-D albums. It's crazy how things are circular that way. I thought that everything was done, and I thought that we were just old guys who were doing whatever we could, but a new necessity has arisen."

Jesper adds that cooperation is the operative word: "There is no Kim Larsen (a famous Danish musician) in D-A-D, but four Franz Beckerlees. We are forced to cooperate, since none of us can do it all, and that's also beautiful. New flowers are added to the bouquet every time we gather up in the studio."

About the two new songs, the band states: "'The Ghost' is an epic banger that shines a light both behind and ahead. There is a Scandinavian melancholy in our universe. A song about separated love, loss and hope in a fragmented time. About holding on to something that may come, or which may already have disappeared.

"'1st, 2nd & 3rd' is about the long, hard pull when you are trying to escape something that really holds you back. To be caught in addiction with relapses to bad relationships, with a hope of getting on."

"Speed Of Darkness" was mastered by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, AMARANTHE, POWERWOLF). D-A-D drummer Laust Sonne says: "Jacob Hansen is really good at producing drum sounds, and he has a recording room designed for drums. There are not a lot of studios like that left out there, as most of it is done on computers in peoples’ living rooms these days. It is hard for drummers like me, who hit hard and make a lot of cymbal noise, to find studio people trained for it, but Jacob is one of them. The more I let loose, the better I sounded, so that was really awesome."

In support of today's first songs and while gearing up for their new record release with many more details to be revealed soon, D-A-D is about to kickstart a major festival summer tour with 24 concerts, starting on May 19 at Rock Hard Festival in Germany. Following this run, they will play 16 concerts in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Switzerland as well as a completely sold-out show at Royal Arena in Denmark on November 1.

VICTORY have revealed details about their brand new studio album, entitled ‘Circle Of Life’ for a release on September 13, 2024 via AFM Records! A making-of video for the band's first single, the party anthem "Count On Me", is now premiering below. The album pre-sale for ‘Circle Of Life’ has just started at: https://victory.bfan.link/circle-of-life

About the first song release, "the police would advise to better fasten your seatbelt when listening in the car…“ Guitarist Herman Frank is convinced. Listen to "Count On Me", now available on all digital streaming providers at https://victory.bfan.link/count-on-me

Naturally, the excellent reputation of a successful hard rock act such as VICTORY is based – among other things – on the superb achievements of their long-standing career. The early days of the Hanover-based group date back to the 1980s and include immortal album classics and successful tours around the globe. However, none of this would account for much or would indeed be classed as anything but nostalgia if their present accomplishments weren’t on a par with the band’s impressive past.

Their forthcoming, fourteenth studio album ‘Circle Of Life’ sees the five-piece surrounding founder and guitarist Herman Frank not only effortlessly build on earlier feats, but also sounds stronger than ever. Frank describes the release with its first-rate production as “even more grown-up and mature than its predecessor, we’ve taken the new songs to a whole new level in every respect.” He knows what this optimised performance is due to: “The group operates as a tight unit, based on the experience of the many live shows we’ve played together. ‘Circle Of Life’ brings together what has grown together and belongs together.”

All of the ten new tracks were recorded by Herman Frank together with vocalist Gianni Pontillo, rhythm guitarist Mike Pesin, bassist Malte Frederik Burkert and drummer Michael Stein at Hanover’s famous Horus Sound Studios, featuring a mix courtesy of sound engineer Arne Neurand.

The album title and matching cover artwork, into which graphic designer Oleg (Voodoo) Shcherbakov has incorporated a philosophical “maths problem” by German artist Rune Mields, also deserve an explanation: They’re about the cycle of life mentioned in the moniker and what people leave behind at the end of their earthly existence. As far as Herman Frank is concerned, it’s pretty obvious that ‘Circle Of Life’ will be VICTORY’s powerful statement for posterity which their fans will continue to enjoy. He says: “For us, this recording is also the perfect ticket for even more and even more passionate Victory concerts.” Rest assured that there will be plenty of those in autumn 2024 and early 2025, find all upcoming dates listed below, with many more to follow!

‘Circle Of Life’ Tracklist:
01.Tonight We Rock
02. American Girl
03. Count On Me
04. Surrender My Heart
05. Unbelievable World
06. Moonlit Sky
07. Falling
08. Money
09. Reason To Love
10. Virtual Sin

IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson kicked off his 2024 U.K. solo tour Thursday night (May 16) in Wolverhampton.

The gig at The Halls was the first of a six-date U.K. run, which is also making stops in Glasgow, Manchester, Swansea, Nottingham and London.

As was the case on his recently completed Latin American tour, Dickinson's 17-song set opened with "Accident Of Birth" and closed with "The Tower". There was also the inclusion of a couple of tracks from Bruce's new solo album "The Mandrake Project", among them the latest single "Rain On The Graves", as well as two surprises in the form of the "Skunkworks" track "Faith", which was performed live for the first time since 1996, and MOTT THE HOOPLE's David Bowie-penned song "All The Young Dudes", which was covered by Bruce for the first time since 1990.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Accident Of Birth
02. Abduction
03. Faith (tour debut, first performance since 1996)
04. Afterglow Of Ragnarok
05. Chemical Wedding
06. Many Doors To Hell
07. Gates Of Urizen
08. Resurrection Men
09. Rain On The Graves
10. Frankenstein (THE EDGAR WINTER GROUP cover)
11. The Alchemist
12. Tears Of The Dragon
13. Darkside Of Aquarius

Encore:

14. Navigate The Seas Of The Sun
15. All The Young Dudes (David Bowie cover) (tour debut, first performance since 1990)
16. Book Of Thel
17. The Tower

After playing two warm-up shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California, Dickinson officially kicked off his first solo tour in more than 20 years on April 15 at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California.

Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the trek is his current backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.

Prior to the April 12 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

During an appearance on the April 16 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bruce was asked if there are plans for him to stage a full U.S. tour in support of his recently released solo album "The Mandrake Project". He responded: "I brought the [booking] agents and the promoters, and everybody came down and saw the Whisky show [in West Hollywood, California over the weekend], and now they know what they've got to deal with in terms of doing a U.S. tour. So, we're looking at it, we're planning it.

"I absolutely wanna do a full U.S. tour with 'The Mandrake Project'," he added. "I obviously can't do one for the rest of this year [due to commitments in other parts of the world and MAIDEN's upcoming touring activities], but there's '25 and there's numerous opportunities that will crop up. So the answer to that is yes, of course, we wanna come and do the U.S."

Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent three solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).

O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson last year as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.

Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.

Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.

"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1 via BMG.

Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's last solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

Legendary hard rockers AC/DC kicked off their "Power Up" European tour earlier tonight (Friday, May 17) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

The debut show of the band's first full tour since 2016 took place at the 62,000-capacity Veltins-Arena and saw AC/DC deliver a 24-song set that began with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and closed with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".

The Gelsenkirchen show marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup consisting of singer Brian Johnson, guitarists Angus and Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and the latest addition to the group's touring lineup, bassist Chris Chaney.

The setlist for the Gelsenkirchen concert was as follows:

01. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
02. Back In Black
03. Demon Fire
04. Shot Down In Flames
05. Thunderstruck
06. Have A Drink On Me
07. Hells Bells
08. Shot In The Dark
09. Stiff Upper Lip
10. You Shook Me All Night Long
11. Rock 'N' Roll Train
12. Shoot To Thrill
13. Sin City
14. Givin The Dog A Bone
15. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
16. Dog Eat Dog
17. High Voltage
18. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
19. Riff Raff
20. Highway To Hell
21. Whole Lotta Rosie
22. Let There Be Rock

Encore:

23. T.N.T.
24. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

The 24-date "Power Up" European tour will run through August. The trek will hit Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before landing at London's Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows on July 3 and 7, then moving on to Germany, Slovakia and Paris and winding down at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at last year's rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California.

AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office.

Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A., Matt became a sought-after studio drummer.

In 2001, Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour.

In its announcement about Laug's addition to the band's Power Trip lineup, AC/DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album, "Power Up", which came out in November 2020.

Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade, who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".

Rudd, who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, "Head Job". It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.

AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist." At the time, Johnson had been AC/DC's singer for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album.

To enable him to perform live with AC/DC again, the now-76-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrose, who said he could help resolve the singer's hearing problems.

Ambrose, who invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today, claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums. After three years of experimenting and "miniaturizing" the equipment, Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again.

Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE'S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band. Chaney was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDY, as well as being a prolific and versatile session musician, having played with artists including Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash and Avril Lavigne to Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, SHINEDOWN and Celine Dion. Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL).

Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC/DC's 2015-2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, which also saw Johnson leaving. However, Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in "Power Up". Both of them were also part of the AC/DC lineup that performed at Power Trip.

During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Cliff was asked if Johnson's departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring. Cliff responded: "It was before then. I spoke to Angus about it initially. I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the 'Rock Or Bust' tour — that I just felt, for me, it was time to hang it up. I knew that I didn't wanna keep doing these two-year tours, and I didn't wanna hold them back, so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round. It was a tough tour to finish. God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out, finish it up. He did a great job. And at the end of that, I was definitely — that was it for me. Done — just done. That compounded the whole thing."

According to Williams, he wanted to take part in the recording sessions for "Power Up" as a tribute to Angus's late brother, founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up".

"If 'Back In Black' has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it, for me, 'Power Up' has got Malcolm Young," Cliff said. "This is for him. And it's the band that we played together with for 40-plus years. And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that.

"We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up, and we had great rehearsals," he continued. "The band was playing really well. So [they asked me], 'Do you wanna do a few shows? 'Sure'. A few shows. We were planning on doing that. Everyone goes home to their respective homes, and bang, we've been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown]."

Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC/DC was only for "a few" dates in support of "Power Up".

"For both [my mental and physical] health," he said. "I definitely have some physical issues, which I won't bore you with the details of. But, yeah, it's tough. I'm very grateful for everything. It's been fantastic. But I just don't wanna do that anymore."

Williams previously revealed that a "terrible" bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement. He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group. "It was like the old band back together," he told Rolling Stone. "It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that's been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn't want to miss that."

The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust", "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust".

⚡ AC/DC - PWRUP Tour Set list - 17 May 2024
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - Veltins Arena

#acdc #PWRUP #livemusic #pwruptour #setlist #acdcfamily #acdcfans

Posted by The AC/DC Family! on Friday, May 17, 2024