During an appearance on the May 8 episode of the Brazilian TV talk show "Conversa Com Bial", Bruce Dickinson was asked if IRON MAIDEN is a democracy. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Uh, ultimately you can't have a team as a democracy. A football team is not a democracy. You've gotta have a manager, you've gotta have a captain, you've gotta have a game plan, and people have gotta stick to the game plan. Now you can disagree, you can have discussions and you can have arguments, because when you're passionate about something, you have arguments. But you can sometimes have areas where the coach will go, 'You know what? I'm not in charge of the physiotherapy department. If the guy in charge of the physiotherapy department tells me that I need everybody to do this, this, this, that's what we're gonna do.' So, with MAIDEN, we divide things up and things seem to work quite naturally now, organically. Like if Steve [Harris, MAIDEN founder and bassist] really is crazy about 'I'm gonna do this, this, this' musically, I'm, like, 'Okay.' So me and Adrian [Smith, MAIDEN guitarist] will write stuff, and if it fits, great; if it doesn't, not a problem. So we live with each other. It's quite cool. It's learning to be tolerant of each of each other, basically, because we're not the same. We all have different interests, all have slightly different attitudes. We were put together as a band. We didn't all know each other from childhood or anything else like that. So I would probably never have met Steve Harris if I wasn't the singer in IRON MAIDEN. I would never have met [MAIDEN drummer] Nicko McBrain if he wasn't the drummer. But we've all grown together, and we've ended up as a kind of family, because we tolerate each other, and we look after each other, and we care for each other."

Two months ago, Bruce was asked by Stereogum why he thinks there haven't been any lineup changes in IRON MAIDEN since he and Smith rejoined the band in 1999. He responded: "I think we've all grown up just enough to appreciate that we were all separate individuals who got together to play IRON MAIDEN music. I think what pissed Adrian off, and me to a certain extent, was this idea that we were just this homogenous blob that was IRON MAIDEN. That we were a single block of concrete. Adrian rebelled against that. I didn't particularly like the idea either. Because it was, like, 'Are we not individuals then?' And then it was, 'To a certain extent.' Well, no. Now we've rejoined."

He continued: "The reason we've rejoined is because we wanted to, so it's a choice. And it was actually our choice. It was a request, and it was our choice to rejoin. And now, having done that, let's have more adult relationships between everybody. It became a lot easier to get on with everybody, a lot easier to speak more honestly and open about things. And also, not to get bent out of shape about things, about somebody has a bad day or somebody's turned into a megalomaniac this afternoon. Just walk away, because tomorrow morning, they won't be like that. Whereas back in the '80s, we'd have had a fucking argument about it, or people would have gone away and sulked about it for weeks. And that just breeds resentment and discontent and things like that."

Dickinson added: "We're in the state now where the band's really successful, and we all get on, probably because — with the exception of [MAIDEN guitarist] Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, who lived in the same street together when they were growing up — none of us would ever have met each other if it wasn't for IRON MAIDEN. I would never have met Nicko McBrain. I would never have met Steve. What brings us all together is MAIDEN. So, this is a great place to be. We're probably one of the biggest heavy metal bands in the world. We mean a huge amount — and I do understand that — to millions of people around the world. And what's not to love about still being able to do it?"

Dickinson joined MAIDEN in 1981, replacing Paul Di'Anno, and made his recording debut with the band on the 1982 album "The Number Of The Beast". He quit the group in 1993, pursuing several solo projects, and rejoined in 1999.

In a 2019 interview with Spain's RockFM radio station, Dickinson said that he had no interest in reconnecting with MAIDEN if it meant only focusing on nostalgia.

"Well, all I needed to know was that we were not gonna come back as some sort of a reunion-type thing," he explained. "I didn't want to go back to the past. This was gonna be about putting a band together that was looking ahead to the future — to do a great new album and to really restart the whole impetus and direction of the band. And Steve said that's what he wanted to do, and I was, like, 'Okay. Let's do it.' And, of course, the first album we came out with after that was [2000's] 'Brave New World' — I think one of the best MAIDEN albums that we've ever done."

During Dickinson's absence from MAIDEN, the band released two albums with his successor, former WOLFSBANE singer Blaze Bayley — 1995's "The X Factor" and 1998's "Virtual XI" — which saw MAIDEN relegated to playing small theaters in America for the first time in years.

Dickinson is considered one of the world's most storied musicians. Aside from decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in IRON MAIDEN, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, his accomplishments include: pilot and airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and Sunday Times best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor, sports commentator and international fencer — to name but a few.

Dickinson, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

Bruce later told iNews that he wanted to cover his cancer battle in his 2017 autobiography, "What Does This Button Do?", to raise awareness of the condition, which affects people who often have no or minimal history of tobacco or alcohol abuse. The individuals with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer who undergo treatment have a disease-free survival rate of 85 to 90 percent over five years.

Bruce's new solo album, "The Mandrake Project", was released on March 1 via BMG. Dickinson and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded the LP largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie

SLIPKNOT has shared an official video recap of the band's first two shows with its new new drummer, former SEPULTURA sticksman Eloy Casagrande.

The one-minute clip, which can be seen below, includes footage from the intimate show on April 25 at Pappy + Harriet's in Pioneertown, California and SLIPKNOT's first festival appearance of 2024, which took place on April 27 as one of the headliners of Sick New World in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For both the Pappy + Harriet's and Sick New World 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.

After parting ways with Jay Weinberg last November, SLIPKNOT teased fans with a hint about a new drummer two 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.

In February 2020, SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green told Australia's Everblack Media that Casagrande had had "a tremendous impact" on the group since he joined in 2011. "It's undeniable because he's such a strong force," he said. "He loves playing metal music. He's one of the most talented drummers I've ever seen, honestly. That power is consistent from beginning to the end. It really has rubbed off on all of us to really push ourselves further. He's such a perfect match for the band. He really is always influencing us in so many ways to really go beyond — above and beyond."

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.

FALLING IN REVERSE performed its new single, "Ronald (Feat. Tech N9ne And Alex Terrible)", live for the first time last night (Friday, May 10) during the band's set at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. Joining FALLING IN REVERSE for the performance were rap rocker Tech N9ne and SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL frontman Alex Terrible. Fan-filmed video of their appearance can be seen below (courtesy of IFM RAW).

"Ronald (Feat. Tech N9ne And Alex Terrible)" will appear on FALLING IN REVERSE's new album — the band's first since 2017's "Coming Home" — "Popular Monster", which will be released on July 26 via Epitaph Records. The LP, produced by frontman Ronnie Radke alongside longtime collaborator Tyler Smyth (I PREVAIL, LIGHTS),arrives with several RIAA-certified singles, which have been made available over time since 2018. "Popular Monster" is certified two times platinum. while "Zombified", "Voices In My Head" and "Watching The World Burn" are all certified gold.

Since 2017, FALLING IN REVERSE has continued to explode by leaps and bounds. The catalog has clocked billions of streams, several gold and platinum certifications, recognition from top tier press such as Pitchfork, Billboard, The New York Times and Forbes, and several No. 1 radio singles.

FALLING IN REVERSE's catalog has accrued 5 billion streams, with 1.7 billion across all the album singles released to date. The catalog streaming remains robust at 35 million per week. Over on TikTok, the band has a stronghold, with 5.7 billion video views, with 4 million creations and a 1.5 billion creator reach.

Earlie this week, FALLING IN REVERSE announced its summer 2024 headline tour plans, produced by Live Nation. The band will play 7,000-12,000-capacity venues with support coming from BLACK VEIL BRIDES, DANCE GAVIN DANCE and Tech N9Ne. Jeris Johnson and Nathan James appear on select dates.

Ronnie formed a series of pop-punk bands in Las Vegas as a teenager, culminating in the creation of ESCAPE THE FATE. The metalcore group's meteoric rise coincided with the singer's spiral into addiction. By the time he was sentenced to two years in prison, the band he started had moved on without him. Some fans, critics, and industry types figured his story would end there. They were very wrong.

The gold-certified debut album from FALLING IN REVERSE, "The Drug In Me Is You" (2011),arrived less than two years after Ronnie's release. Thanks to his formative fascinations with metal, punk, and hip-hop, he almost single-handedly revived rap rock with the ambitious "Fashionably Late" (2013). "Just Like You" (2015),debuted in the Top 5 on the US Rock chart. The grungy and atmospheric "Coming Home" (2017) demonstrated yet another adventurous side of Radke's self-expression.

"Losing My Mind" and "Losing My Life" surprised the so-called "scene" all over again in 2018 when he became the first of his peers to swerve from the album format to standalone singles. "Drugs" explored the American substance abuse epidemic and channeled Ronnie's own heartbreak.

The massive "Popular Monster" became Ronnie's first No. 1 song on the radio and his first platinum single less than two years after its release. It was also the first No. 1 song on Billboard's inaugural Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, which considers airplay, streaming, and downloads. "Popular Monster" eventually went double platinum in the US and triple platinum platinum in Australia. "Zombified" and "Voices In My Head" went to No. 1 back-to-back. "Voices In My Head" was also the No. 1 Song of 2022 at SiriusXM's Octane. The unconventional, caustic, and super heavy "Watch The World Burn" dominated rock radio in 2023 and improbably became his first Billboard Hot 100 song.

As with the top-notch producers and directors Ronnie has hired to help execute his vision, he'd regularly surrounded himself with incredible live players, resulting in unforgettable performances with various lineups over the years. Radke owns the stage, whether taking the Warped Tour mantle held by MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and FALL OUT BOY in the tour's final years, performing in prominent spots on every major rock festival, or on massive headlining treks.

During a recent appearance on "The Rocker Morning Show", which airs on Kalamazoo's rock station 107.7 WRKR, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars was asked about the variety of sounds and musical styles covered on his debut solo album, "The Other Side Of Mars". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that me being on my own really doesn't give me any boundaries or any restrictions or stuff. I can take it to wherever I would like to have it. My album is pretty diverse. It shows different sides of how I write or how I approach music — just a lot of different things."

Regarding how long it took him to put together the material for "The Other Side Of Mars", Mick said: "Some of [the ideas] I had for a while, but it took me a good four years to get out what I really wanted to. 'Cause I listen back to some of my older stuff and I go, 'Ugh', and I get rid of it. 'Cause it sounds dated. I didn't wanna sound like, 'Here's an old rocker that's playing 1980s music still.' And not that that's a bad thing, but I couldn't stay there. I needed to get something different or something people wouldn't really expect from me."

Mars went on to say that he is able to have more freedom with his solo project than he would have been able to with MÖTLEY CRÜE. "I can play anything," he said. "I played everything, from country music to a lot of different things, a lot of different influences, a lot of people that I listen to, everything from classical, Mozart, Beethoven, and all those people, and country music, and all sorts of stuff. I fell in love with the blues."

"The Other Side Of Mars" was released on February 23. The effort was made available via Mars's own label 1313, LLC, in partnership with MRI.

Birmingham, Alabama rocker Jacob Bunton collaborated extensively with Mars on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Bunton had previously worked with former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler and CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, and has songwriting credits with Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler and Smokey Robinson, among others.

Bunton sings lead on all but two of the 12 songs on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Other guests on the LP include WINGER/ALICE COOPER keyboardist Paul Taylor, KORN drummer Ray Luzier, and Brion Gamboa, who handled lead vocals on the songs "Undone" and "Killing Breed".

Bunton previously fronted the Alabama bands MARS ELECTRIC and LYNAM.

This past February, Mick told Joe Rock of the WBAB radio station that he wanted to take the music on his second solo album in a slightly different direction from what he did on "The Other Side Of Mars". "Another level. It has to be that way," he explained. "I'm not a youngster. And I'm not a depressed dark guy or nothing like that. But when you start getting older, you start going, like, 'I don't wanna do that again. Let's try this or move up or go a different level,' instead of putting the same repetitious kind of thing, which is [what you sometimes do when you are stuck in an] album-tour,-album tour [cycle]. And a lot of times, when that does happen, you find yourself kind of repeating yourself, and it gets to be pretty much samey after a while. So I'm fortunate enough to be old — I made it to here — but to be able to change my music, my next step. I don't wanna stay on this level. I have to take it up a notch every time. And if I get to do a third [album], it'll be a notch again, of course."

Regarding which guest musicians he would like to possibly approach about appearing on his second solo album, Mick said: "I think of different things, I guess. I was, at one point, just kind of like fantasizing about it. I don't even know if it would work. But I was thinking, like, Slash [GUNS N' ROSES] is a bud, and calling Slash in and going, 'Hey, come on in there and goof around.' And Doug Pinnick [KING'S X], just to play bass — not to sing, but for his bass playing. And I think that the fans would kind of dig that, but I don't know what would come out of it. But I'm willing to take the chance, of course.

"As far as other things go, let's take it back a bit and go, a lot of people were expecting more of a blues album [from me this time around]," he continued. "Maybe I could throw a blues song on there, but the 'cry in your beer' kind of blues, but the kind that you just wanna get up and fight. After having a couple beers, I'm gonna beat up this [guy]. But, yeah, I can do that kind of stuff. I'm so open, and I have so much freedom to take my project anywhere, of course, and any direction. It's all open. It's a great feeling, really a great feeling just to express myself any way I want. I could go out and get, let's say, an unknown female singer and just totally have something that's so different than what you would expect from me. I don't know if people do know what they expect, 'cause I don't what I'm doing next. I do know what I'm doing next, but I don't know."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, he has since filed a lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Mars — whose real name is Robert Alan Deal — served as MÖTLEY CRÜE's lead guitarist since the band's inception in 1981.

In a new interview with Rapture Radio, Wolf Hoffmann was asked if he ever sees an end to ACCEPT. The ACCEPT guitarist and leader responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have no desire to ever — I don't wanna ever retire or anything, because in a way, the band had a really long break in the '90s, or late '90s to the mid-2000s already. So I've kind of seen what retirement is like, I've had my early retirement in a way, and now that we're back full in the swing of things, I don't wanna ever retire again, 'cause this is what I love and what I wanna do. And I think you only retire from stuff you don't like. And if you find something that really makes you happy, why would you wanna retire from it? So I wanna do this until the bitter end, man — however that looks."

Asked how he keeps things fresh for himself and his bandmates several decades into ACCEPT's career, Wolf said: "I think you only get bored if you stop caring, if you don't give a damn anymore. Maybe then you get bored, but I never feel that way. I'm really still in the middle of all these challenges, and right now it's super exciting. We're touring South America and things are just fresh and we have a full year of touring ahead of us. I can't ever see it getting boring. I mean, there's so many exciting things and so many challenges to overcome. I don't see this ever getting older or boring, because it's never the same — every day is different, every show is different, and every time I go out on stage thinking, 'Tonight's gonna be magic. It's gonna be the best show ever.' So I think with that attitude, it can't really ever get boring."

Hoffmann previously floated the idea of "dropping dead on stage" during an 2018 interview with RockSverige. "Honestly, I'm not even kidding," he said. "That's my personal goal, because I don't think retirement is really an attractive option. That is maybe partly because I've already been retired and away from the music business for 10 years when I became a photographer and I did something completely outside of the music business. I mean, those were good years in a way, but now that I'm back into it, I feel it's much more fulfilling and I have something… a goal where I get up every day in the morning and I have something I'm really looking forward to and it's something that keeps me busy all day long."

He continued: "Retirement is just a terrible thought to me because I wouldn't know what to do, to be honest. Maybe if I found something to do, because I'm never really bored… I'm a guy who's always doing stuff and a I have a lot of different interests, but it wouldn't have the same meaning and appeal as working with music and working with this whole machinery that's called ACCEPT. I don't want to retire if I'm not forced to it. You never know what's in the future."

Asked what has been the high point of his career so far, Wolf said: "You can always talk about the golden '80s and there was certainly something very special about it. Mainly because there was all of this sort of pioneer spirit; everything was new and exciting and everything happened kind of for the first time. We went to America for, like, eight months and stayed on the road and discovered the world, so to say. We were still kids — in our early 20s — so the year 1984 was very, very special. But since we were so young and everything happened for the very first time, you couldn't really put it its proper place. You almost took it for granted in a weird way, because it just sort of happened and we weren't as reflective on things. Now that we're a little bit older and we've been around the world dozens of times, when things happen now, you can put it in a much more clearer perspective."

As for a low point, Wolf said: "Yeah, no doubt that whole period with [singer] David Reece in the '90s when we had that album 'Eat The Heat' out, that was definitely a dip in the curve, I'd say. Another dip was in the late '90s when the band dissolved, but that was a time when heavy metal wasn't cool and nobody wanted to hear it and everybody was just into grunge and alternative this and that. That was definitely a low point for metal in general everywhere in the world. It was also the time when I decided that it was maybe time to call it quits and do something completely different in my life. I didn't really want to go down with the ship any further and didn't really want to make music, because I had to play music to make a living or anything. It sounded like a dreadful idea to me, so I said, 'Maybe it's time to walk away from everything.' An 'it was fun while it lasted' sort of thing."

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

ACCEPT recently announced a massive European headline tour, with more than 20 shows across the continent for autumn 2024. This summer, ACCEPT will also return to some of the world’s most important rock and metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and more, following their South American spring tour.

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

In February 2022, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

ACCEPT's previous album, "Too Mean To Die", came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, the aforementioned Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),2021's "Too Mean To Die" and 2024's "Humanoid".

In a new interview with actor Rainn Wilson for the LiveSigning YouTube channel, Serj Tankian was asked about the songwriting process in SYSTEM OF A DOWN, specifically the way he collaborates on music and lyrics with guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Originally when we started SYSTEM OF A DOWN, I was primarily a lyricist and he was primarily the musical songwriter. Shavo [Odadjian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist] also brought in some riffs, to be fair, that he and I would work on. As time went by, I became a better instrumentalist, playing and composing, and [Daron] became a better lyricist, so we started bringing in more full songs ourselves, and then whatever we were lacking, the other would compensate. So, for example, if Daron brought in a song and he had a chorus idea that was sticking, that was working really well, I would write the verses, the middle eight part, maybe contribute an arrangement idea musically and whatnot, along with the rest of the band. Same with my songs. When I started bringing them in, they were a little more complete than originally, musically. And lyrically, they would pretty much be complete on my end as well. But sometimes there would be an ask to kind of change thematically or this and that by any member of the band, really. So it was a process that developed and changed over time."

Serj, who is currently promoting his upcoming memoir, "Down With The System", also talked in general terms about the relationships he has with the three other members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, saying: "Let me first say that the book goes into very detailed explanations of our relationships. But it also talks about some of the origination of songs and all of that. But one thing that I wanna clarify is, despite some of our creative differences, which has happened over the years, which is quite normal within a band, and the push and pull of songwriting and thematics and direction and all of that stuff — again, all creative differences — we have immense respect for each other. We just played a show called Sick New World in Las Vegas this last weekend. We had a blast. And it's one of those things where life is complicated, and relationships, partnerships are complicated. They don't work perfectly. But there is a certain special thing, bond, especially with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, that I can never replicate elsewhere."

Asked if SYSTEM OF A DOWN fans can expect to see him and his bandmates on tour at some point in the future, Serj said: "I love performing, but especially the long [tours]… I think when you do a long tour, it's not just physically exhausting, but it's artistically redundant after a while, repeating the same thing. That's why we're really enjoying doing these one-offs. They're special events, special occasions. We can't do them everywhere. We can't do them all the time. But performing becomes fun again in a way. And I had kind of lost that. And not just because of that reason, but I also had some back problems, back surgery and things that were hindering me from performing. I'm much better now. I exercise better, all of that stuff, so a lot of that's been worked out. As far as touring somewhere in the near future? Possibly, I would say. I mean, I'm open to looking at stuff, but not thrilled about doing long tours at all, anywhere, just one-offs, or maybe a handful of one-offs with dates in between, personally."

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

Last November, Tankian addressed his comment from a year earlier that he wasn't interested in touring due to some health issues. Asked if those issues are still affecting him, Serj told Revolver magazine: "Some of my back stuff is a lot better, in terms of health, which is cool. I have some other things I'm dealing with right now, which may or may not be affected by travel or touring.

"It wasn't just a health-related decision as far as cutting down on touring, but also a lifestyle decision," he explained. "Based on family and vision.

"I've been touring for 20-something years, on and off, of course. Not every year. And it's fun, it's profitable, it makes a lot of people happy in terms of being out there and sharing the music and [seeing] the reaction, and people really enjoying it and getting that feedback. But after years of doing it and the travel that's involved, it's one of those things where it's not the top priority on my list in life."

Asked if that means that he wants to spend more time with his son, Serj said: "Travel takes you out of… you could take your family with you if you're doing a small tour, I guess. And that's something that we have done, even when our son was really young. But it's just about prioritizing life and what you really want to do.

"Some people like to tour until they're ready to go from this plane, and that's not how I see myself going," he explained. "To me, doing different things in measured form allows me to be more creative than to take something that's repetitious and do it for a long period of time. And that includes everything that I do."

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

Malakian has resurrected his SCARS ON BROADWAY project for its first live appearances in five years: October 5 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles as the support act for KORN, and October 11 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

In a new interview with Guitarist Magazine, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett discussed his new album, The Circus And The Nightwhale. Following is an excerpt from the chat.


Guitarist: One of the acknowledged millstones of a concept album is that there’s the expectation that it has to be performed in its complete form – something you will have experienced before in Genesis with The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Are you going to get a chance to perform this album as a whole?


Hackett: "That’s a huge challenge. I hadn’t expected that it was going to be so well received. One of the videos has gone viral – the one for 'People Of The Smoke' – and I’m at this point where I’ve only got a certain amount of time on my hands. I’d like to do the whole thing, but at the moment I’m supposed to be celebrating Foxtrot in America, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway over here – not in its entirety. It’s a real conundrum. 




I’ve headed towards doing Genesis albums in total; the two that I’ve really gone for have been Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound from ’72 and ’73. That was when John Lennon said he thought that Genesis were true sons of The Beatles, so as far as I’m concerned that’s the golden era of Genesis to celebrate."


Guitarist: How much of your own story is wrapped up in the album’s storyline – or are you going to let people draw their own conclusions?


Hackett: "I have to be a little bit careful because I don’t want to point fingers at people and blame them for my extremely screwed-up state of mind at various points. There was an aspect of claustrophobia that invaded my time with Genesis, and I had to work outside the band. I think if you’re feeling creative and you’ve got that album or that book or that film inside you, you don’t want to let it fester. You’ve got to get it out there. 


Genesis was becoming a little bit too much of a closed shop and it was affecting my ability to sleep. I agonised over leaving the band for a good two years and then I thought, ‘No, I’ve got to make a leap of faith at this point in time.’ And there’s no doubt that I made the right decision. If you look at it purely in financial terms, you would have said, ‘Yeah, but you could afford Buckingham Palace by now if you’d stayed with the band.’ But on the other hand, music is its own currency. It’s what nourishes you, if you need to do it."


Hackett was a member of Genesis from 1971 – 1977. he recorded six albums with the band: Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974), A Trick Of The Tail (1976) and Wind & Wuthering (1976).


Read the complete interview here.


Hackett recently released his new studio album, The Circus And The Nightwhale, via InsideOut Music.


The Circus And The Nightwhale is Steve’s first new music in over two years. It follows the beautiful acoustic LP Under A Mediterranean Sky from January 2021 - which rose to #2 in the UK Classical chart - and, in September of that year, his metallic masterpiece Surrender Of Silence, which hit the UK Top 40. His 2023 live album, Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton, reached #2 in the Rock & Metal Chart. Steve’s new LP promises ballads, blues, blistering progressive rock… and healthy measures of theatre and fantasia.


Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK - with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the lineup for The Circus And The Nightwhale includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.


The new album is available to order on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh. Order here.





Tracklisting:


"People Of The Smoke"
"These Passing Clouds"
"Taking You Down"
"Found And Lost"
"Enter The Ring"
"Get Me Out!"
"Ghost Moon And Living Love"
"Circo Inferno"
"Breakout"
"All At Sea"
"Into The Nightwhale"
"Wherever You Are"
"White Dove"


"Circo Inferno" visualizer:





"People Of The Smoke" video:





"Wherever You Are" video:





For Steve Hackett's upcoming live dates, head here.


(Photo - Tina Korhonen)

On Thursday, May 9, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna belted out karaoke-style covers of two JOURNEY classics — "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Don't Stop Believin'" — at The Church Of Rock & Roll ultimate dive bar experience at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. Video of his appearance can be seen below. Later in the day, Belladonna joined his ANTHRAX bandmates on the Apex Stage to perform a 45-minute set.

Last year, Belladonna, who also fronts a JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS, was asked by Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk if he was serious when he said that he would love to sing with JOURNEY one day. He responded: "I've been around [the JOURNEY] guys, my wife and I.. God, I know Deen [Castronovo, JOURNEY drummer], and I've had dinner with Neal [Schon, JOURNEY guitarist], and soundchecked with the crew. I mean, I'm so far into knowing the whole band and crew that I always would have loved to have done that. 'Cause I just like the music. The music is really appealing to me. I love all the melodic [aspects of it]. I love the musicianship. There's so much there. Without really outright looking for that gig, without asking, you know what I mean? Yeah, I love the music and that's why I put we put BEYOND FRONTIERS together because I've always thought it would be a fun night and I like singing the music."

Joey went on to say that he and rest of BEYOND FRONTIERS are currently working on "studio versions" of their "whole set. And it sounded pretty good," he said. "It just hasn't really been mixed yet to where I want it."

In September 2023, Belladonna was asked point blank by Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station what he would say if he was contacted right now and asked to front JOURNEY. Joey responded: "You know, I would definitely be really interested in doing that. That would be great. Not that I think that that's gonna happen, but, yeah, it would be great. I'd love that challenge. It would be great."

Regarding why he chose to launch a JOURNEY tribute band, Belladonna told 100 FM The Pike: "Well, I've been singing JOURNEY stuff throughout the years, but never had a band that I thought that would be, you know, willing to do it correctly and lengthy like where I could keep it going. I've always liked the music so much. I've owned all the music. I liked JOURNEY long before Steve [Perry] even came. I have all those records, so I was really into the band a lot. But of course, when Steve came along, I was down with singing that live somewhere. And [I] just put it together and said I wanted to do a whole night of it. I just thought it would be fun, and it looked like a blast. And we do have a blast doing it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward.

In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.



Performed two unannounced Journey songs for @churchofrockandroll at @welcometorockville!! Thanks @santoscooks for the invite!

Video credit and thanks to Jon Garner!

#anthrax #beyondfrontiers #monsterenergy @monsterenergy

Posted by Joey Belladonna on Friday, May 10, 2024

In the clip below, Blind Guardian guitarist Marcus Siepen presents his new signature model Solar guitar.


A message from Solar Guitars: "Please note that the guitar featured in the video has seen extensive use during touring and may show signs of wear and tear. However, if you order an S1.6MS from Solar Guitar, you will receive a brand-new instrument in pristine condition."


To pre-order Siepen's signature model, go to Solar Guitars here.







The Haunted guitarist Ola Englund - who is also the founder of Solar Guitars - recently shared the latest episode of Coffee With Ola, featuring Siepen as his guest. Watch below. Says Ola: "An absolute pleasure to have him over. Sorry for the dropout of audio nearing the end of the interview. The RODE microphone decided to NOT record that last part for some reason. Has never happened before."

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach kicked off his "What Do I Got To Lose?" spring 2024 North American tour Friday night at Southport Music Hall in Jefferson, Louisiana.

Bach's 14-song set included two tracks from his new solo album, "Child Within The Man" — "What Do I Got to Lose?" and "Everybody Bleeds" — along with 12 SKID ROW classics.

Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of RockShowTrader).

The setlist was as follows:

01. What Do I Got To Lose?
02. Makin' A Mess (SKID ROW song)
03. Big Guns (SKID ROW song)
04. Sweet Little Sister (SKID ROW song)
05. 18 And Life (SKID ROW song)
06. Can't Stand The Heartache (SKID ROW song)
07. Piece Of Me (SKID ROW song)
08. Everybody Bleeds
09. Slave To The Grind (SKID ROW song)
10. The Threat (SKID ROW song)
11. Rattlesnake Shake (SKID ROW song)
12. Monkey Business (SKID ROW song)
13. I Remember You (SKID ROW song)
14. Youth Gone Wild (SKID ROW song)

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

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

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

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

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

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" tour is a mix of solo gigs and festival appearances. The stateside tour will wrap June 29 in San Diego, California.

Bach performed "What Do I Got To Lose?" live for the first time during his February 24 concert at Palace Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Prior to the arrival of "Child Within The Man", Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014. Like its predecessor, 2011's "Kicking & Screaming", the LP was released through Frontiers Music Srl, the Italian label which specializes in what's commonly called AOR, a term that once signified a popular radio format ("album-oriented rock") but nowadays applies to acts whose airplay is marginal.

SEPULTURA's new touring drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who officially replaced SEPULTURA's longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande in February, has uploaded drum-cam video of his performance of the song "Kairos", filmed during the band's recent South American tour. Check out the clip below.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

The 21-year-old Nekrutman is one of the most explosive young players in the drumming world, having garnered a legion of fans since bursting on to the international music scene just a few short years ago.

Greyson is featured on ALICE IN CHAINS vocalist William Duvall's "11.12.21 Live-In-Studio Nashville" CD, which came out in June 2022. Nekrutman has also performed or recorded with Bakithi Kumalo, Darren Criss, Drumeo, Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals and has been featured in articles by Rolling Stone, Rhythm, Rhythm And Drum (Japan) and Sweetwater Music.

SEPULTURA announced Eloy's departure on February 27, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join "another project", with Eloy later confirming that he is the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy's exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a "farewell tour" which will cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA's statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande's departure, saying they were "taken by surprise" that their now-former drummer would "abandon everything related to SEPULTURA" less than a month prior to the start of the tour.

"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," they said.

"The band were taken by surprise, without prior warning, he immediately left the band, abandoning everything related to SEPULTURA.

"Luckily American virtuoso Greyson Nekrutman will take the position of Eloy Casagrande and is welcomed as the band's new drummer for the 'Celebrating Life Through Death' farewell tour."

Casagrande, who joined SEPULTURA 13 years ago as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, later took to his social media to write: "I would like to announce my departure from SEPULTURA.

"Being part of the biggest Brazilian metal band was one of the best experiences of my life. I just want to thank the band and crew members.

"It was a story of almost 13 years, in which I had the opportunity to learn and contribute with every song, show and recording. These were years of great dedication, intensity and commitment. We did 3 studio albums very well received by the critics, countless shows on 5 continents and a lot of stories to tell. So, first of all, I reiterate my thanks to SEPULTURA and the fans for everything we've been through.

"Maybe for the band's fans it doesn't make sense at this point, but decisions needed to be made thinking about new cycles that will come. We are made of choices and they are not always easy. My departure will never erase my respect and gratitude to the band.

"There is a lot to come and I hope to continue making a lot of music and art. See you on the road."

Nekrutman also commented on his addition to SEPULTURA's lineup, writing in a statement: "Today I express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible opportunity to join the legendary ranks of SEPULTURA for their farewell tour.

"To contribute to this legacy is a privilege that fills me with both honor and excitement. SEPULTURA's fearless approach to exploring new territories in the metal sphere is something that I have always admired and strived to emulate in my own musical endeavors."

He continued: "I am eagerly looking forward to adding my own spirit and passion to the mix, to connecting with the fans who have supported the band through its evolution, and to the electrifying experiences we'll create together on stage. Here's to the new chapters we'll write together, to the stages we'll conquer, and to the powerful music we'll unleash upon the world."

Confirmed "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour dates so far include shows in South America and Europe. More concerts will be announced soon.

In a new interview with The Hook Rocks podcast, Richie Kotzen spoke about his decision to release a new solo single, "Cheap Shots", earlier this month after completing nearly a hundred shows in support of THE WINERY DOGS' third album, last year's "III". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I was of mind to follow course with THE WINERY DOGS as we were. We made the ['III'] album, we did 95 shows and I was of mind to just keep going. And then, obviously, Mike [Portnoy, THE WINERY DOGS drummer] had the opportunity to go back to DREAM THEATER. And so we had a conversation and, obviously, Billy [Sheehan, THE WINERY DOGS bassist] and I were very supportive because we love Mike. The attitude is we love having the band, but as people, the people are more important. So if Mike has something that is dear to him and important that he is excited and motivated to do, then, obviously, that's what he needs to do. So we had the conversation that [he had our] full support, we think it's great. It's exciting, actually, as a music fan. Forget about THE WINERY DOGS for a second and me, but as a music fan, it's exciting. So, that's why the touring, we put a period on it."

He continued: "Unlike where I was at previously [when THE WINERY DOGS went on a three-year hiatus in 2016], I can say that I was of mind to stay the course and keep going. But that's not where we are. And so I came home and went back to looking at the ideas that I had, and I had over 300 audio files in my recorder app. And I started listening to things, and I moved them all into my desktop computer and I started listening to things and I found one, two, three, four, five. 'Wow, I've got some really cool things to work with here. Let me develop it.' And now here I am with a new single out and I've got tour dates booked. I'm going to Europe in June. I'm gonna be touring extensively in North America starting in September and I'm gonna release a solo album in the fall. So everything works the way it's gonna work. You're dealt your cards and you play your hand. And so here we are. And I feel great. I feel really great about it. I feel great about what we did last year with THE WINERY DOGS. I'm completely fine with the fact that the DOGS will go back into hibernation for the foreseeable future. I'm fine with now going back to doing what it was that I was doing before. I'm very comfortable there — very inspired to do it. And Adrian and I also have some new music and we're making plans. So the future is very bright and very inspired."

Last November, during the question-and-answer portion of Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp's "Metalmania III" in Los Angeles, Portnoy was asked about the status of some of his other projects, including THE WINERY DOGS and SONS OF APOLLO, and how they will be affected by his return to DREAM THEATER. He responded: " Before the DREAM THEATER thing happened, I think I was up to like seven bands or something, or eight, or something like that. So, obviously I won't be able to do all of them, and right now the focus is going back to DREAM THEATER and focusing on that. So, I have a feeling some of the bands will survive and some won't. But I think THE WINERY DOGS, it's very likely that THE WINERY DOGS will continue…. We just filmed a live Blu-ray last week at the last show in Europe, so that'll be coming out.

"But, yeah, there's still other things on my schedule," he added, referencing a show with METAL ALLEGIANCE in January 2024 in Anaheim, and some shows with FLYING COLORS. "So I still do have these other obligations and these other things that I still have on the calendar with all these other bands. But I think once all of those obligations clear, I'm gonna focus on DREAM THEATER at least for a while."

"III" was released in February 2023 on THE WINERY DOGS' Three Dog Music label (via Burnside Distribution/The Orchard) and is available on all digital formats. The first two videos from "III", "Mad World" and "Xanadu", were filmed in Los Angeles in November 2022.

The second leg of THE WINERY DOGS' "202III World Tour" included sold-out shows throughout Latin America, and it concluded in Monterrey, Mexico. They then headed out for the third leg, West Coast U.S. dates, beginning in May 2023 in Los Angeles, California at the Regent Theater before hopping over to Europe for two runs in both the summer and fall. A Japanese run of shows followed in November 2023.

"III" was the follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album "Hot Streak", which was released in October 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment).

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Wolfgang Van Halen played his father's classic instrumental "Eruption" during Saturday night's (May 11) FOO FIGHTERS concert at Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The moment came as FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl jokingly complained to the crowd that, unlike his bandmates, he never gets to "fucking solo". Dave then said he would take the opportunity to show off his own guitar skills and launched into the VAN HALEN classic with his back to the audience. Several seconds later, however, the camera revealed that Eddie Van Halen's iconic solo was actually being played by Eddie's son, who was off to the side of the stage after performing Welcome To Rockville earlier in the night with his band MAMMOTH WVH.

"Dude, I told you to keep that cool. Wolfie, what the fuck you doing right now?" Grohl joked. "Everybody, give it up for Wolfgang Van Halen," Dave told the crowd before Wolfgang proceeded to play the opening notes of another VAN HALEN classic, "Hot For Teacher".

Before playing the next song of FOO FIGHTERS' set, "My Hero", Grohl told the audience: "Since Wolfie took all that fucking time to pull off that joke with us, I'm gonna dedicate this one to him. Let's sing this one for him, and let’s sing this one for his fucking dad too."

Wolfgang, who shared the stage with his father together from 2006 until 2015, five years before Eddie's death, played three VAN HALEN songs over the course of two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in September 2022 alongside FOO FIGHTERS members Grohl on bass, Josh Freese on drums and THE DARKNESS's Justin Hawkins on vocals.

That same month, Wolfgang took to Instagram to celebrate the 45th anniversary of "Eruption"'s recording with the release of a 2015 video of him playing the incendiary solo on his father's original Frankenstein guitar.

"Eruption" is considered to be one of the most groundbreaking electric guitar instrumentals of all time.

Voted by Guitar World readers as the second greatest guitar solo of all time in a 2021 poll, "Eruption" wasn't even originally supposed to be on VAN HALEN's self-titled 1978 debut album.

"My guitar solo, 'Eruption', wasn't planned for the record," Eddie told Guitar Player in a 1978 interview. "Al [Alex Van Halen, VAN HALEN drummer and Eddie's brother] and I were picking around rehearsing for a show, and I was warming up with this solo. Ted [Templeman, VAN HALEN's producer] came in and said, "It's great, put it on the record."

Eddie died in October 2020 at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist passed away at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.
Pulled a prank on the @RockvilleFest crowd with Dave and the Foos last night. Good times. Stoked to rock some shows with them this summer! 🙌

📸: @pb93pic.twitter.com/5RxN7s3zm4

— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) May 12, 2024

Greek heavy/power metallers Subfire announce the release of their third single/lyric video entitled “Unbreakable”, taken from the upcoming album, Blood Omen, which is set for release on May 17, 2024 by Symmetric Records.


“Unbreakable” features a guest appearance by Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear. The lyric video, which can be seen below, was made by Stefano Mastronicola (Trick Or Treat, The Silent Rage, Band Of Spice).


Guitarist George D Larentzakis comments: “Weakened by the hard fights of the Shogun's evil plan, the two clans not willing to give up gather their last strength they have left and revive their morale for a fight to the end! Not to be missed, Hattori, the emperor's right-hand man has been secretly sent to inform the Shogun of the outcome of the battle and of course our Sinne is there and describes the battle from his own point of view. The song entitled 'Unbreakable' is divined by Ralf Scheepers with his fantastic interpretation!”







The band has also released a lyric video for the song “Samurai”, and an audio single for the song “Path Of The Assassin”. The lyric video for the track “Samurai” was made by Manthos Stergiou/ManSter Designs (Sakis Tolis, Jinjer, Powerwolf).


The album production and mixing has been once again handled by Bob Katsionis (Stray Gods, Warrior Path, Firewind), while the mastering was done by Nasos Nomikos at VU Productions. The cover artwork was created by Alexis Alifragis aka Perverend SlumberSlut (Obduction, For A Dozen Matters, Goateatgod).





Tracklisting:


“Tides Of Alibis”
“Rage Of Emotions”
“Samurai”
“Path Of The Assassin”
“Iga Land”
“Rise”
“Unbreakable”
“Black Edged Meitu”
“Hunter Of Dreams”


“Samurai” lyric video:





“Path Of The Assassin”:

German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN launched their spring/summer 2024 European stadium tour with a two-night stand on May 11-12 at Letiště Praha Letňany in Prague, Czech Republic. Fan-filmed video of the second concert can be seen below (courtesy of the jederlacht YouTube channel).

RAMMSTEIN's 2024 European stadium tour will wrap up with two performances at Veltins-Arena in Germany, Gelsenkirchen on July 26 and July 27.

RAMMSTEIN released a special "anniversary edition" of its second album, "Sehnsucht", in June 2023. The iconic 1997 LP was made available for the first time in remastered HD sound. In addition to the singles "Du Hast" and "Engel", the album exclusively includes a new mix version of the track "Spiel Mit Mir". The elaborately reworked packaging was designed by the original artwork designer Dirk Rudolph. The CD comes in a Blu-ray-sized eight-panel digipak with a 40-page booklet and an embossed silver foil slipcase. The 40-page booklet features numerous unpublished and re-edited portrait photographs by artist Gottfried Helnwein.

RAMMSTEIN's latest album, "Zeit", arrived in April 2022.

Till Lindemann (vocals),Paul Landers (guitar),Richard Z. Kruspe (guitar),Flake (keyboards),Oliver Riedel (bass) and Christoph Schneider (drums) spent two years working on the eleven songs on the LP. They were once again assisted by Berlin producer Olsen Involtini. "Zeit" was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St. Rémy de Provence, France.

Bryan Adams managed to get a special scoop for the cover of the new album. The Canadian musician and photographer took the shot of RAMMSTEIN on the steps of the Trudelturm in Berlin Adlershof, an imposing monument to aerial research in the city's Aerodynamic Park.

Over the course of a career spanning 30 years, RAMMSTEIN has sold more than 20 million albums around the world and played countless spectacular, groundbreaking tours. When the band's sold-out stadium tour had to be postponed due to the pandemic, RAMMSTEIN used the time to work on their new album.

One of the most revered metal groups of all time, RAMMSTEIN is renowned for its electrifying live shows often involving spectacular pyrotechnics.

In 2022, RAMMSTEIN and European promoter MCT Agentur obtained an injunction against secondary ticketing platform Viagogo, banning the resale site from reselling tickets for the band's 2023 European stadium tour.

Last August, Berlin public prosecutor's office dropped its investigation into accusations of sexual offenses by Lindemann, citing a lack of evidence. Lindemann always denied the allegations, with his lawyers calling them "without exception untrue".

Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA will release their cover of METALLICA's "One" on Friday, May 17. The track, which features guest appearances by METALLICA frontman James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo, is taken from APOCALYPTICA's upcoming album, "Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2". Due on June 7 via Throwdown Entertainment, the LP will continue the journey that began in 1996 when cellists from Helsinki's world-renowned Sibelius Academy played symphonic tribute to the biggest of the big four–heavy metal titans METALLICA.

APOCALYPTICA said: "We have something very special for you! We've been hiding a very big secret for months now. As you hopefully know already, the new 'Plays Metallica Vol. 2' album is coming out soon, June 7th. Now, it is time to reveal some of the cool things that we´ve been holding back!

"The third single is about to be released May 17th. And yes, it will be a new version of 'One'...featuring the master himself, James Hetfield!!! Yes, you read it correctly. APOCALYPTICA feat. James Hetfield and also Rob Trujillo!

"For us, this is truly amazing, incredible and most importantly such an honor! So better wait for it and pre-save the single right away, because we are 100% sure it´s going to blow your mind!"

"Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2" track listing:

01. Ride The Lightning
02. St. Anger
03. The Unforgiven II
04. Blackened
05. The Call Of Ktulu (in memory of Cliff Burton)
06. The Four Horsemen (feat. Rob Trujillo)
07. Holier Than Thou
08. To Live Is To Die
09. One (feat. James Hetfield and Rob Trujillo)
10. One (instrumental)

The album's lead single was "The Four Horsemen", a song that originally appeared on METALLICA's 1983 debut "Kill 'Em All". It features a guest appearance by Trujillo.

APOCALYPTICA's lead cellist Perttu Kivilaakso told the DJ Force X Podcast about how Trujillo's involvement came about: "This album concept has, in a way, been in our minds for throughout the whole career. We always knew that there are still a lot of cool [METALLICA] songs that we wanted play our style one day. So, but now after the pandemic and everything, this felt the exact right moment to dive back to the roots."

He continued: "We have always had a wonderful relation with METALLICA — they have been enormously supportive towards us always — but still we approached them to ask that would they agree, would it be fine for them if we make such an album. And through those conversations, actually, eventually Rob even offered that he could play something for us. And that's an enormous, amazing feature, of course, to be treated like that. And it really, really shows respect also from their side. And we are very, very thankful for it."

When "Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2" was first announced, APOCALYPTICA said in a statement: "The first single we want to present to you is 'The Four Horsemen'. And we couldn't be more excited to have a great feature guest on it: Rob Trujillo himself, who is probably THE greatest bass player in this whole wide world! We've always enjoyed sharing our love for METALLICA. Now, this is next level for us as well!"

APOCALYPTICA leader Eicca Toppinen commented: "It's the coolest thing. We didn't push; it was offered. We played the first album live and it was so much more fun and exciting than we expected, so we got the idea to do something like the first album, but we couldn't do it in exactly the same way; we needed to challenge ourselves and bring a totally new perspective to the original energy and emotion of METALLICA."

Kivilaakso added: "We've been talking about making another METALLICA album for around 20 years, as there were still so many great songs we wanted to play! We waited for the perfect moment to do it. Thinking of that teenage me who is now getting to play his favorite tracks gives me goosebumps!"

This album will be the APOCALYPTICA's final studio release with the band's longtime member, drummer Mikko Sirén, who amicably departed after the new LP's completion. "Plays Metallica Vol. 2" was produced by longtime collaborator and studio supremo Joe Barresi (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SOUNDGARDEN, NINE INCH NAILS, TOOL).

Alongside the announcement, APOCALYPTICA will be touring in support of the record, taking them through Europe.

Sirén started performing live with APOCALYPTICA in 2003 but didn't become a full-time member of the band until 2005, after playing over 200 concerts with APOCALYPTICA and recording an album with the group.

In a 2019 interview with Australia's Heavy magazine, APOCALYPTICA's Paavo Lötjönen spoke about the impact of the band's 1996 "Plays Metallica By Four Cellos" debut. Consisting solely of METALLICA covers, the album cast a spotlight on the group's classically trained abilities, setting the stage for them to release their own material in ensuing years. Since the 20th anniversary of "Plays Metallica By Four Cellos" in 2016, APOCALYPTICA has been playing the album in full at select live dates.

"It's been really fantastic," he said about playing "Plays Metallica By Four Cellos". "If we are talking about music in common, if you listen to music you used to listen to 20 years ago, it's a weird thing somehow, it brings all the same feelings back. Like, you are feeling when we were 20 years younger. I would call music a time machine in that sense. The same happens for us when we play those songs. Somehow the same feelings come back to us when we felt like we were 25 years or 20 years old and touring with a shitty van around Europe playing venues. This time, all the venues are bigger and really portioned nice. There's lots of people, and it's not too hot and shitty on the stage. It's a lot of joy and fun to play those songs. The magic of METALLICA has not disappeared anywhere. It's still really strong and passionate music. It's a lot of fun to play. We have never played this well as we are playing at the moment. I'm happy to see we have learned something during these years."

In 2015, Lötjönen and Kivilaakso spoke to Austria's Mulatschag about what it was like to join METALLICA on stage at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of the band's 30th anniversary in December 2011. Perttu said: "Of course we felt very privileged being included amongst all those amazing artists. And after the thing, what we have done during our career, it has been pleasant to realize and notice that, actually, the METALLICA guys, who are the reason for us to start to do something like this, that they do respect us at least that much that they wanted us to be a part of this big celebration of their career. Of course, it was crazy. I remember that when we started to play 'One', I'm starting this song and James Hetfield is just next to me, and I'm thinking, when I was 13 years old, he was my biggest idol and now we are playing together. So it's absurd, but just natural and logical in other terms."

Added Paavo: "You know, the connection to METALLICA has been really super great all these years. We played first time as a support to them already in '96. It was actually our fifth show for a proper rock and roll audience, and we were supporting METALLICA, so it was quite crazy. And since that, we have played many times with them at same festivals and… Let me say that the connection with METALLICA is really cool and really nice."

The Greg Perry YouTube channel has uploaded video of HEART's May 11 concert at Spectrum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Check out the clips below.

In addition to HEART's classic tracks, the setlist for the concert included some tracks from of Ann and Nancy Wilson's solo albums.

The current members of HEART feature Nancy Wilson (rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals),Ann Wilson (lead vocals and flute),Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar),Ryan Waters (guitars),Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals),Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean Lane (drums and bike).

The setlist for the Charlotte concert was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Bebe Le Strange
02. Never
03. Love Alive
04. Little Queen
05. This Is Now (ANN WILSON & TRIPSITTER cover)
06. Straight On / Let's Dance
07. These Dreams
08. Crazy On You
09. Dog & Butterfly (acoustic)
10. Dreamboat Annie (acoustic)
11. Going To California (LED ZEPPELIN cover) (acoustic)
12. 4 Edward (Nancy Wilson song)
13. Mistral Wind
14. Alone / What About Love
15. Magic Man

Encore:

16. The Ocean (LED ZEPPELIN cover)
17. Barracuda

Last December, HEART played its first three concerts in more than four years — in Highland, California, at Greater Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California, and in Seattle, Washington.

Prior to HEART's December 27, 2023 show in Highland, the band's last performance took place in October 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Royal Flush" features CHEAP TRICK as support on most of the North American leg, while SQUEEZE will open a handful of HEART's summer European dates. HEART will also join DEF LEPPARD and JOURNEY for summer stadium shows in Cleveland, Toronto and Boston.

Since HEART's formation in the early 1970s, the band has sold 35 million albums, including seven that made the Top 10, and notched 20 Top 40 singles. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.

In a recent interview with Billlboard, < Ann and Nancy Wilson said that they were hoping to work on new music in the near future.

"The thing that we really hope to achieve is to maybe write some more stuff together," Ann said. "We don't have plans for that right now. We don't really plan too far in the future; we're not calculating like that. We're just gonna do this tour and see what comes. But I think if a song comes out of a situation, it'll be a real good one, 'cause it'll be authentic. It's just a matter of me and Nancy getting our heads around that."

Nancy said that she has been going through some of the HEART demos and listening to unreleased material with an eye toward possibly reworking it for future release. "There's a couple unfinished things I'd like to finish off with Ann and [longtime collaborator] Sue [Ennis]," she said. "There's one really, really cool song called 'Sweet Deceiver', but the words were never right, so we never recorded it properly. I think I might want to finish that song; I've been trying to think of new chorus lyrics ever since I heard the demo. I would love to write some new stuff, too.

"If we have a song or two that comes out of HEART, that would be really great. These days, it's kind of like one song at a time, but you can still do a whole album, which is cool. I love albums," she added. "When I can put on an album in its entirety, in the sequence it was intended, that's the best to me."

In a new interview with Kat Mykals of the 103 GBF radio station, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked about the lyrics to the band's song "Crown Of Horns", which appears on PRIEST's latest album, "Invincible Shield". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I love love. It's the best four-letter word in the history of words. Love is everything. Love is all you need. We certainly need love more than ever right now. Let's not get into that.

"I think I did a lot of reflecting as I've moved on through these decades," he explained. "You tend to reflect a little bit more. You just gain wisdom, opinions. But I just thought about this thing, particularly about love. Love doesn't come easy. You have to fight for love. And you can't just let it sit and you can't just let it be there. You've gotta work it all the time. You've constantly gotta be reinforcing whatever love you have in your life, whether it's with a partner. Me and [my partner] Thomas have been together for a thousand years, and every night I say, 'I love you.' You tell people that you love them. Just say those words. Just say, 'I love you.' It's just such a powerful, simple statement. So you've got that. And it is true. I found the hard way — I did find the hard way, 'cause it took me forever to find somebody that I fell madly in love with. And I think that is for most of us. Love doesn't come easy. That's a song, isn't it? 'Love Don't Come Easy'. So, that's just a reference. We all wear something like a bit of a crown of horns to get to the place that we need to be in a relationship in particular. So it's a love song. It sounds crazy, but 'Crown Of Horns' is a love song."

Halford, who celebrated the 38th anniversary of his getting sober this past January, was also asked how he stays humble in order to maintain his sobriety when he is literally known to the world as a Metal God. He responded: "First thing in the morning, I say prayers. Last thing at night, I say prayers. I have to — that's part of the sober routine, staying sober.

"I don't think that's ever been lost on me because I know how hard it is for any band to stay together," he continued. "Bands are so complex and so fragile. The toughest bands in the world are like made of glass — they can just shatter and break apart for the craziest of reasons. So to be able to do this work, this job for over 50 years, I am honored and I am humbled by it. I can't believe it, and I'm eternally grateful — I'm grateful every day that I wake up that I'm in this band, JUDAS PRIEST. What a band, what a life, what a story. So, reflection, gratitude, being kind. And it's tough, particularly in the world that we live in. We're surrounded by a constant screaming clutter. And I'm sure being sober has been a big part of my understanding of this. You've gotta try and find your own internal peace and harmony. And that's tough. It's hard work. You can't let it go. You're working at it all the time. So it's a lot of that. But truly, I'm just so, like I said, grateful and honored to be in this band doing the work that I love to do, understanding the power of metal, understanding the power of rock and roll.

"I'm sure people have told you time and time and time again that they've been listening to your show and you've helped them get through a hard part of the day or you played a song that made them cry or you played a song that made them feel good. So this is the power of music that unites us and keeps us all in this connectivity. We call ourselves the metal community in PRIEST, and this inclusiveness, everybody's welcome. And I think again, it's making everybody feel a part of your life.

"When we're up there on stage, when I'm up there being the Metal God and doing my stuff, we're doing this together," Rob added. "It's not just me. Firstly, I can't do that without you guys. I'd be stupid doing that to an empty room. So, that's never lost on me. Every single show is special in that respect, and every single show works its magic for me as a person.

"Before I go on stage, I say my serenity prayer. When I come off stage, I say my serenity prayer. I'm a prayer freak. But it helps me. It's just a beautiful thing. And some of my friends, they say, 'Why are you always praying?' 'I'm not always praying.' I said, 'Do you pray?' I [go], 'Just try it. What have you got to lose? You've got nothing to lose. You've got everything to gain by just finding just even one moment in the day, just like 30 seconds of your day, just close your eyes and say a serenity prayer, and eventually it'll work. Things will start happening. You've got to work at it. It's like love. You can't expect these things to come to you. You can't [go], 'Let me win the lottery. Let me get this. Let me do it.' You can't do that. You've gotta work, you've gotta work. And when you work, when you put in the work, you get the rewards. So all of that is wrapped up in this staying in a sensible, realistic place."

In 2022, Halford spoke to Spain's Mariskal Rock about how he has managed and avoided the urge to relapse since 1986. "I think about it all the time," he said about drinking alcohol. "It's an addiction. When I'm watching the Phoenix Cardinals play on TV the other day, there's constantly adverts for beer and for alcohol and stuff. And I know it's there. And it's a temptation. So you have to have all of the mental tools ready to get you through that instance. 'Cause it's all about instances. And I live one day at a time. I've lived one day at a time for [almost 40] years now. And that's all that matters. It's the moment. You live in the moment — not yesterday, not tomorrow; it's now. And you have to be ready for when that little beer devil comes on your shoulder and goes, 'Come on, Rob. Have a little drink of beer.' 'Fuck off.' [Laughs] Because I don't wanna feel that way again, man. I don't want to be that person. I was miserable. I wasn't happy. I was bad to people. I don't wanna go through that again. So that's also part of my finding a balance in my day-to-day life."

Rob previously spoke about how he manages to stay clean on the road in a 2020 interview with the "Across The Board" podcast. "It's not easy," he said at the time. "It's very much a day at a time. You're given all the tools and resources from your rehab experience. I use 'em every day. A lot of it is just like mental notes — talking things through. Sometimes I speak 'em out; a lot of it is internal. So that's really vital on a day-to-day level of sobriety.

"When I was in rehab [in 1986], there's anonymity in rehab, but at the same time, you have to tell everybody your life story, so everybody knew what I did. And I remember we talked about the fact that I'm gonna go back to this world of sex and drugs and rock and roll and booze. I don't know how I'm gonna be able to cope, because it won't be a gradual reimmersion into society, so to speak. I won't be able to go tiny steps; I'm just gonna go straight into the deep end. I cannot go to work and say to my bandmates, 'You can't drink. You can't do this. You can't do that,' because it's control. Accept your powerlessness.

"I don't think we ever in the band had a sit-down conversation about this, but I think that there was caring and understanding — as there still is," Halford continued. "But I'd be the last person to say that I have to set a set of rules, because then this whole business of living my life on my terms [turns into something] you push on to other people: 'Well, now, you can't do this,' 'You can't do that.' That's just hypocrisy on the highest level.

"Even now, when we're flying after a show, and the guys are having a beer or a cocktail or whatever, man, I would love that cold beer. I would love a slug of Jack and Coke. I can smell it, 'cause we're in a plane together. It's like this little angel on one side and the devil on the other side. My instant thought is I never wanna be sick again. I never, ever wanna feel that bad ever again. I never want to be in that terrible, dark, lonely place ever again. So it's fleeting. But, again, it's always there.

"When I'm home, especially [during] this COVID thing, [my longtime partner] Thomas doesn't drink. When I first met Thomas, he quit drinking. So that's a support to me. I'm never really around alcohol that much, or drugs, when I'm not working. But, yeah, when my fans, or when PRIEST fans come to see us, yeah, they're gonna have some drinks; they might have a couple of spliffs [and] do whatever else recreationally. They're entitled to. And they are living their lives and they are partying and they are having the time of their lives, as they should. They don't have an alcohol problem; they don't have a drug addiction. There are people that can enjoy these things in life and it [has] no effect on them, in a physical sense and in a mental sense.

"So, it's an absolute miracle," Halford added. "I can only say it's a miracle that I've got that far from January the 6th, 1986 without slipping once. And I'm not boasting, because it's all the past — that's the past; it's gone. I live in the moment. I don't think about yesterday or tomorrow; I'm living now. But I'm grateful that I've been able to get this far without failing. Not failing — that's the wrong word. Without a slip off the wagon — whatever the term is. I'm grateful that I've been able to get this far and stay clean and sober. Because if I didn't, who knows where I would have gone and where I would have ended up?"

Halford credited his belief in a higher power for helping him in his recovery. "When I got clean and sober, that was a major change in my life," he said during an appearance on HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta's official podcast, "The Jasta Show". "And part of my recovery is just having this higher-power belief. And it works. It works, man. It really, really is important."

Halford added: "There probably will be people listening to [this] podcast who don't have anything like that in their life, and that's great; it's all about acceptance. But I always say to people, if you're thinking about it, the simplest thing I do is I pray. I pray quite a bit, actually. And even if you don't believe in prayer, just have a go. Pray for a good day, or just pray for your friend, or whatever it might be. And it's amazing, man, 'cause it absolutely works. I guarantee, it genuinely does work. And now I'm sounding like [American evangelical Christian evangelist] Billy Graham, but I'm just trying to express some of the things that are important to me on a day-to-day basis that make me able to walk out on that stage each night and do my work."

In an interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Halford said that he quit using substances because he "was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I will always remember the first show I did clean and sober… It was in New Mexico, in Albuquerque," he recalled. "I literally felt elevated, as everything was coming with such clarity. I was able to really… enjoy the performance of JUDAS PRIEST without having all of the other things in front of it. Since that day, it has been a miracle."

Halford added, "Everybody has to face things in their lives at some point. It [doesn't have to] be booze and drugs. You can eat too much, or you can not exercise, or whatever… It is not easy staying clean and sober in rock and roll. There are temptations galore from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, especially when you're on the road. [But] I think we're some of the strongest people, my friends and my sober brothers in metal."

Rob's autobiography, "Confess", in which he discusses his journey to sobriety, arrived in September 2020 via Hachette Books. It was written with Ian Gittins, co-writer of "The Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx.

The Anty Krist YouTube channel has uploaded video of ARCH ENEMY's May 9 concert at NuBond LiveHouse in Shenzhen, China. The show was part of ARCH ENEMY's 2024 Asian tour, which kicked off on April 24 at Musinsa Garage in Seoul, South Korea.

Last December, ARCH ENEMY announced that it had "amicably" parted ways with longtime guitarist Jeff Loomis.

ARCH ENEMY founder and chief songwriter Michael Amott said in a statement: "It's been a joy having Jeff play with ARCH ENEMY for close to a decade, we truly had a blast touring around the world together! We were friends long before we played music together and we remain even closer buddies now, which feels great. We respect that he's in a place and time in life where he needs to step out of ARCH ENEMY and we all wish him nothing but the best moving forward.

"The only constant is change, and this is one of those moments where things had to change a little to move forward in a satisfactory way for everyone involved. With all that said, we are extremely pleased to announce that we have recruited Joey Concepcion as our new guitarist! Joey's a phenomenal talent and has been a friend of the band for a long time, he even filled in for Jeff on a couple of European festival shows back in 2018.

"We have touring and a myriad of other exciting things coming up on the horizon with ARCH ENEMY for 2024 and beyond and are thrilled to move forward, creating the next chapter and keeping the metal flowing!"

Loomis commented: "My time in ARCH ENEMY has come to an end. I have had a great time (9 years!) of playing and touring with them, but now it's time to enter a new chapter in my life. I wish Alissa, Michael, Sharlee and Daniel the very best and consider them all lifelong friends. I'd also like to thank the crew that have always been nothing but kind to me. Their hard work and dedication towards the band is incredible, and we wouldn't be able to put on the great shows without them. Thank you again for all your support over the years and Happy New Year."

Lastly, Joey Concepcion had the following to say about joining the ARCH ENEMY fold: "It's an honor and a privilege to be working with ARCH ENEMY and I'm very much looking forward to shredding stages across the globe together, playing for and meeting all the fans!"

Jeff, who was the main songwriter in his previous group, NEVERMORE, joined ARCH ENEMY in late 2014, but was not involved in the writing for the latter act's last two albums, 2017's "Will To Power" and 2022's "Deceivers".

In a 2018 interview with All That Shreds, Jeff said that he had "a lot of musical ideas" that he was hoping to contribute to ARCH ENEMY in the future. "I did write three or four songs for ['Will To Power'], but they didn't make it, only because it wasn't in the style that they were looking for," he said. "Fortunately enough, I was able to play guitar solos on the latest album, so that makes me happy."

Seven years ago, Amott said that Loomis is "a strong songwriter" in his own right, "but not in the style of ARCH ENEMY, I feel. He's always writing and recording with his own stuff," he explained. "He has a project called CONQUERING DYSTOPIA, he has his solo stuff, [and] he obviously wrote most of the NEVERMORE stuff. I've always respected him, and continue to respect him, as a guitar player — he's amazing and an amazing human being; he fits in perfectly. [There's] a great chemistry [between us]. But, you know, I've always written most of the music, so it's difficult to… I don't really wanna change the sound of the band too much. The band sort of started around my songwriting and my ideas, and those continue to be the most dominant ones, I guess. But, you know, who knows [what can happen] in the future?"

Loomis's second and latest solo album, 2012's "Plains Of Oblivion" was produced by Aaron Smith (7 HORNS 7 EYES) and featured cover artwork by Colin Marks of Rain Song Design, who had previously worked with ALL SHALL PERISH, THE END and XERATH.

In a new interview with Brian Aberback of The Aquarian, Kerry King spoke about his return to the live stage five years after SLAYER played what was at the time being billed as the band's final gig. He said: "I'm very into playing. It's not the travel. I love going to cities, of course, but getting to cities is a pain in the ass. I would love if I never traveled again; I'm cool with that, but I'm put here to perform and I enjoy performing. I'm looking forward to performing and the more we rehearsed and the more polished we got this stuff, and the more songs we have for the future, so I'm just getting stoked."

Referencing his solo band, consisting of drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH),guitarist Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD) and Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL) on vocals, which will release its debut album, "From Hell I Rise", on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music, Kerry said: "I said to Paul, 'I want to go immediately into the studio and bang out record two afterward.' When you're fresh off the tour and sharp, you can do a super quick performance because we'll all be rehearsed on it. That's the plan. I've got everything in place to make that happen now. We're going to be on tour and I can work on lyrics for pieces that aren't finished yet. Hopefully everything will be done by the time the tour's done."

Regarding why he chose to play his first solo concert at a small club on May 7 at Reggies in Chicago, Kerry said: "It was just so we could get in a performance scenario without being thrust into it with everything out of your own hand [at this month's Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple festivals]. We want to prepare. We don't want to be onstage bumping into each other. Kyle's a lefty so there's going to be a new thing that we've got to look out for. It's a warm-up; that's why it's got to be small. It is just to get your sea legs going, but it's going to be intense and it's probably going to be a sweatbox."

As for how much of "From Hell I Rise" will be in the set, Kerry said: "The problem, so to speak, is all my set times are going to be different. Reggies is a headline set. I'm not going to go in there with an hour-and-a-half of material, but we'll probably play around an hour and 15 or an hour and 20. Those two festivals are either 50 minutes or 60 minutes.

"I'm looking to play the majority of the record. I don't want to play all of it. I feel if I play all of it there's no reason to come back. However long the set is, I'll fill it in with SLAYER songs that I wrote or helped write."

King went on to say that he intends to hit the road again with his solo band after the LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON tour, which runs through August 31, and the three SLAYER reunion shows this fall. "That's my plan," he said. "I'm waiting for plans to fall into line. I definitely want to play out. I'm imagining the touring cycle going well, well into 2025, including next summer's European festival circuit."

Kerry's 17-song setlist for the Reggies concert included six SLAYER tracks as well as 11 of the 13 songs that appear on "From Hell I Rise".

All material for "From Hell I Rise" was written by the 59-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

The Paul Roma YouTube channel has uploaded front-row video of SAXON's entire May 8 concert at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania during the band's "Hell, Fire & Chaos - The Best Of British Rock And Metal" U.S. tour with URIAH HEEP. Check it out below.

SAXON's set list was as follows:

01. Hell, Fire And Damnation
02. Motorcycle Man
03. This Town Rocks
04. Sacrifice
05. Power And The Glory
06. There's Something In Roswell
07. Heavy Metal Thunder
08. Madame Guillotine
09. Dallas 1 PM
10. Witches Of Salem
11. Crusader
12. 747 (Strangers In The Night)
13. Denim And Leather
14. Wheels Of Steel

Encore:

15. Ride Like The Wind (Christopher Cross cover)
16. And The Bands Played On
17. Princess Of The Night

SAXON's critically acclaimed 24th studio album, "Hell, Fire And Damnation", came out on January 19 via Silver Lining Music.

"Hell, Fire And Damnation" is an album which sees SAXON investigate all areas of history and mystery amidst ten of their most confident and thunderously powerful songs yet.

On "Hell, Fire And Damnation", singer Biff Byford delivers his richest vocals in years, Nigel Glockler and Nibbs Carter on drums and bass, respectively, lay down the rhythmic law with bombastic power, and the guitars of Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler are fresh and fiery, a perfect complement to each other, carrying an overall energy and fury which will have fans salivating. Musically, SAXON bring it all to the table. There's a furious tribute to actual heavy metal in the denim-and-leather-coated super-sprint "Fire And Steel", a wonderful nod to the NWOBHM's birth in the electric mid-pace "Pirates Of The Airwaves", but maybe the true treasure amidst the jewels is "There's Something In Roswell", with the sort of expansive groove and embrace which deserves arenas.

Produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) and Byford, with Sneap mixing and mastering, "Hell, Fire And Damnation" strides the perfect line between confident, current power, and gloriously irreverent flexing of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal muscle which SAXON co-created.

"I think this album's one of the best he's done sound-wise, and he's done a lot of albums," Biff declared. "It has a really raw, vibrant sound... if you compress the total time making this album, it was four weeks tops… you can hear everything brilliantly, nothing's overcomplicated, nothing's over compressed. The guitar sounds are fucking immense, they're just great, raw guitar sounds. And we haven't done a lot of overdubbing on there, it's just playing. I really, really like it."

Early last year, SAXON guitarist Paul Quinn announced that he was stepping back from touring with the band. As a result of his decision, SAXON canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Quinn has since been replaced on the road by DIAMOND HEAD's Brian Tatler.

Brian has already joined fellow guitarist Doug Scarratt, drummer Nigel Glockler, bassist Tim "Nibbs" Carter and Byford for a number of shows in late 2023 and early 2024, but will continue to be a member of DIAMOND HEAD.

Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

Elton John and Bernie Taupin, one of the great songwriting duos of all time, are the 2024 recipients of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The prize is named for another legendary songwriting team, George and Ira Gershwin, whose papers are held by the Library.


John and Taupin were honored with a tribute concert in Washington, D.C. on March 20, which then premiered on PBS stations nationwide on April 8.


Metallica are among the artists who performed at the event. They opened the show with a performance of the classic, "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". Official video of the performance can now be viewed below.




Prior to the performance, Metallic issued the following: "We are beyond excited and proud to have been invited to perform at a very special event honoring the legendary songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin as they are presented with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Elton and Bernie have been collaborating for 56 years and counting, and together, they have penned some of our lifetime's most memorable and influential songs. We are thrilled to celebrate this honor with them, and we look forward to an incredible evening of unique performances from their remarkable collection of songs."

Swedish melodic metal sextet Amaranthe played Wacken Open Air for the third time in 2023,  this time opening the Faster Stage. Check out "Damnation Flame", "The Nexus" and "Drop Dead Cynical" below.





Amaranthe have announced their first ever tour of Australia and New Zealand, slated for this August and September. Tickets are available here, dates are below.




August
25 - Auckland, New Zealand - Powerstation
27 - Adelaide, Australia - The Gov 
28 - Perth, Australia - Metropolis Fremantle
30 - Sydney, Australia - The Metro Theatre 
31 - Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Theatre


September
1 - Brisbane, Ausralia - The Tivoli





Amaranthe recently released their new album, The Catalyst, via Nuclear Blast Records. They have checked in with the following update:


"We are absolutely blown away by the incredible support from all our amazing fans! Thanks to you, The Catalyst has climbed its way up the charts in many countries! We couldn't have done it without each and every one of you who streamed, shared, and rocked out to our music. Your love and dedication mean the world to us!


Let's keep this momentum going! Keep spreading the word and sharing the music with your friends and family. Together, we're unstoppable! See you on tour!"





The Catalyst is the most conceptually coherent piece of work in Amaranthe's storied history. Dedicated to notions of transformation and revelation, it delves deeper than any previous album, as Olof Mörck explains: "We’ve done these things before, but we’ve never been as theatrical as we have this time," Mörck grins. "In fact, we all questioned whether we went too far this time, but I also figured that this band was always this way. Literally, the first seconds of our first video was a big explosion! But yes, The Catalyst is more theatrical than ever. We’ve never really been symphonic or orchestral before, but this time we just thought why not? Because we can! The key to this album is that we let go of the boundaries and decided to do something even more adventurous."


The Catalyst represents the culmination of 15 years of hard work and the breathless pursuit of a wholly original musical vision. Change is inevitable. Victory is assured.


Order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"The Catalyst"
"Insatiable"
"Damnation Flame"
"Liberated"
"Re-Vision"
"Interference"
"Stay a Little While"
"Ecstasy"
"Breaking the Waves"
"Outer Dimensions"
"Resistance"
"Find Life"


"Re-Vision" video:





"Outer Dimensions" video:





"Insatiable" video:





"Damnation Flame" video:





Lineup:


Elize Ryd - vocals
Mikael Sehlin - growls
Nils Molin - vocals
Olof Mörck - guitars, keyboards
Johan Andreassen - bass
Morten Løwe Sørensen - drums

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, have shared a throwback performance of the Alice Cooper classic, "Poison", for their weekly Sunday Lunch. Check it out below.





On a recent episode of Rob Squad And The Creators featuring Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox is available for streaming below. During the episode with Rob Squad’s Jay + Amber Robinson, Fripp and Willcox react along with the hosts to their live rendition of Metallica's "Enter Sandman".




On playing with her husband, Toyah comments: "I also love seeing my husband on stage. It's such a joy because normally we're on different continents. To be on stage together, it's an absolute joy!"


On Fripp’s connection to Metallica, Fripp added: “To link this song with (King Crimson's) "Frame by Frame," which we went through a little while ago (NOTE: reference to an earlier episode of Rob Squad and the Creators). I read an interview where Kirk Hammett of Metallica said how much he enjoyed the double guitar parts of Adrian (Belew) and Robert on the Discipline album and "Frame by Frame."


On who he listens to and who influenced him, Fripp says: "Well, Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, McLaughlin, Page, and Chuck Berry. In the early days, Scotty Moore, Elvis's player, Little Richard. The sheer power of that man was astonishing."

In the latest installment of Strat Sessions, Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen gives us a look into his incomparable guitar collection and how the Strat has played a part in his iconic style. Check out the video below.


 


In November 2023, producer / songwriter / educator Rick Beato - who also has a popular YouTube channel, Everything Music - interviewed Malmsteen.




Beato: "In this episode, shred guitar innovator Yngwie Malmsteen dives into his classical influences, his favorite gear, and reflects on recording and touring throughout his career."

The clip below, shared today (May 11th) on guitar legend Joe Satriani's official YouTube channel, is a flashback to a 1992 segment of The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno, where Joe and his band took the stage to hype up the release of his album, The Extremist.


Satriani: "I was so sick with the flu during that very important performance. High on Sudafed and a bit nervous to be on live TV, it’s hard to believe it went as well as it did. Gregg and Matt Bissonette on drums and bass, with Phil Ashley on keys were great. Jay Leno was very supportive, and funny as always."







Joe Satriani and Steve Vai's friendship with each other (and the guitar) started as kids in New York. It’s still going strong five decades later, and for the first time they have  joined up for the Satch/Vai tour. In anticipation of the tour, the duo collaborated on a new three-part piece of music, "The Sea Of Emotion".


The duo recently spoke with Guitar World about the collaboration. Following is an excerpt from the interview.


Satriani: "When Steve and I decided the time had finally come for us to collaborate on an album I immediately thought of our humble beginnings, where we came from, and our teenage rock ’n’ roll hopes and dreams. To anybody else, it may look like just a field, part of the sprawling Carle Place Public School complex, but for some of us, back in the early ’70s, when the sun went down and the moon came up, (that field) became 'The Sea of Emotion'. We would hang out there late at night and share our deepest thoughts. The memories we shared at that location so long ago became the inspiration for a musical journey in three parts. Each part of the song has little reminders of what we were so into musically back then, including a chord sequence that Steve and I would sometimes jam over during guitar lessons."


Vai: "As young teenagers, we would sit overlooking this magnificent field and wax on generously for hours about the meaning of life and many other deep, rich discussions. We deemed this field 'The Sea of Emotion'. Connecting with Joe on this track, and the other music we are working on, is perhaps the most rewarding musical collaboration I’ve ever engaged in. Although we’ve toured and recorded jams together through the decades, for this music we are intimately bringing together our melodic impulses and playing techniques and creating something that is bigger than the sum of its parts."


Read more via Guitar World here.


Check out the official video for "The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1" below.


 


The Satch/Vai tour kicked off on March 22 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL, and it wraps up tomorrow (May 12th) at Luther Burbank Center For The Arts in Santa Rosa, CA. Tonight they play the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Wheatland, CA


Tickets are available here.

Experience the unrelenting power of Crowbar in this electrifying full set from Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival, recorded on Saturday, August 12, 2023. Known for their pioneering sludge metal sound, Crowbar delivers a performance that is as heavy as it is memorable. Fronted by the iconic Kirk Windstein, the band brings their unique blend of slow, heavy riffs and deeply emotional intensity to the UK's largest dedicated heavy metal gathering. This set features classic tracks and fan favorites, showcasing why Crowbar remains a significant force in the metal scene.


Check out the band's full show below.


Setlist:




"High Rate Extinction"
"Negative Pollution"
"I Feel The Burning Sun"
"Chemical Godz"
"To Build A Mountain"
"The Cemetery Angels"
"Bleeding From Every Hole"
"All I Had (I Gave)"
"Planets Collide"
"Like Broken Glass"


 


Kirk Windstein has been a staple of the American metal scene since 1989. Hailing from New Orleans, he has played in a number of influential and successful bands, most notably his own band Crowbar and as a founding member of the heavy metal supergroup, Down.


After Kirk used Solar Guitars over the last few years, Solar Guitars is proud to introduce Kirk’s Signature sophomore Model, the X1.6KW. Simplicity equals power to handle Kirk’s requirements for Crowbar and Down with a tried and true EMG81/85 combination to get it done. Pre-order yours now at this location.


Words from the man himself about bridges and tone, “I like the string through the body, I find it gives you more sustain.”


Style points are registered with a custom fleur-de-lis 12th fret inlay and special block inlays on the side of the fretboard offering unmatched stage visibility, even in the darkest environments. As Kirk says, “It pays tribute to the city of New Orleans… I absolutely love this thing.”





Catch Crowbar live across Europe on the Summer Of Sludge 2024 Tour. 

Germany’s greatest export Scorpions have uploaded classic footage performing Love At First Sting track “Still Loving You” from Rock In Rio 1985.





Check out previous video of the Scorps performing Animal Magnetism track “Make It Real”:







Scorpions recently finished up their Love At First Sting Las Vegas residency at Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark album.

The Tangent have released the new album To Follow Polaris, and to celebrate a video for the track “The Fine Line” has been launched.





Andy Tillison comments of the new album release: “Making To Follow Polaris alone has been one of life's greatest adventures. However alone it may have been though, a lot of people believed in it enough to make it happen: everyone at my record company InsideOut and their publicity departments, everyone in the full lineup of the band who supported me doing it this way and the fans who helped me finance this thing before it was even signed.  It has been a massive learning experience. I hope to have created here an album that belongs in this strange and fraught period of time but with a positive eye on the future. Part of making the future better will always be knowing what must be overcome. That's what this record is about.”




In a year when members of The Tangent could be seen onstage all over the world with Steve Hackett, Soft Machine, Karnataka, David Cross, It Bites, Cyan and others, plus on recordings by those artists and The Anchoret, The Michael Dunn Project, Argos and Retreat From Moscow, it became clear that there was not going to be time to get together for anything more than one gig in April 2023.


So the band agreed that the band’s leader/main writer Andy Tillison would keep the material coming and would make an album by The Tangent entirely alone. It would still be The Tangent. Just for one.


"Besides Which" Andy says, "I've always wanted to do this, use what I have learned from Luke, Jonas, Steve, Theo and many other alumni and take it to final production. Now was the time!"


What transpired over the following year is in one sense an "absolutist" solo album and is entirely the work of one person in all aspects including artwork, layout, design, lyrics, composition, performance, recording, production, mixing, mastering and authoring. But in another sense it's totally Tangent. "I could not have begun to make this record without having had the experiences of working with the band. So although the different instruments are not attempted to be played in the actual style of the normal lineup, they are inspired by the kind of things these guys do"


‘To Follow Polaris’ will be available as a Limited Deluxe Collector’s Edition CD Mediabook (including bonus track and extensive 24-page booklet, Gatefold 180g 2LP vinyl (also including bonus track), & as Digital Album.


Order here.





Tracklisting:


“The North Sky”
“A ‘Like’ In The Darkness”
“The Fine Line”
“The Anachronism”
“The Single (From A Re-Opened Time Capsule)”
“The North Sky” (Radio Edit)
“Tea At Bettys” (Bonus Track)


“The Single” video:





“The North Sky”:

Following the release of their new single “(Not) Rocket Science” last month, UK metal giants Orange Goblin deliver another blast of filthy British metal today with their new single “Cemetary Rats”. The second track to be taken from their upcoming album and Peaceville Records debut Science, Not Fiction (July 19), “Cemetary Rats” is accompanied by a comic book-inspired horror music video by Matthew Vickerstaff.


Speaking on the new single and video, frontman Ben Ward said “You want Metal? You've got Metal! ‘Cemetary Rats’ is an anthem for all the metalheads and rockers, the kids that society deems the 'weirdos and freaks'! Fuck society! This is a song for everyone that likes to hang out in the graveyard, listening to metal and loving life as the underdog! This is doom, thrash and punk all rolled into one, like the mighty Black Sabbath colliding with classic era-Celtic Frost and Discharge! We are the heavy metal underground, we are the CEMETARY RATS!”







 


Science, Not Fiction was recorded at Woodworm Studios UK in late 2023, with production and mixing duties carried out by Grammy winning producer Mike Exeter (most notable for his work with Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Tony Iommi) and mastering conducted by the esteemed Peter Hewitt-Dutton at The Bakery in LA.


From the explosive death-boogie of opener “The Fire At The Centre Of The Earth Is Mine” onwards, the band’s tenth album crackles with energy and belligerence. Following the departure of long serving bassist Martyn Millard in 2020, Orange Goblin welcomed close friend Harry Armstrong (formerly Hangnail) into the fray, making Science, Not Fiction his first studio outing with the band. With the new line-up fizzing with chemistry, the hard rocking likes of “(Not) Rocket Science”, “The Fury Of A Patient Man” and “The Justice Knife” breathe new life into some classic Orange Goblin tropes. Meanwhile, twisted prog-doom detours like “False Hope Diet” and “Cemetary Rats” take the Londoners into epic new territory, with everything from skull-shattering punk ‘n’ roll to transcendent space rock hurled into the swirling brew.


“It is a continuation of what we’ve been doing, and that’s because when we write, it’s a big mixing bowl of all of our influences and favourite artists, and we try and create the perfect band that we always wanted to hear,” Ben states. “This album, it’s just more accomplished and mature, I guess. None of us are spring chickens anymore and we’ve got ten albums under our belts now. I feel like we’re more professional in the recording studio, I feel like we’re better musicians and writers, and now with me looking after myself, I feel like my performance is better as well. It’s all moving in the right direction.”


For the last 30 years, Orange Goblin, London-based hard rock lifers, have tirelessly flown the flag for balls-out heavy metal and maximum rock ‘n’ roll. Driven by passion, persistence and heartfelt love for metal’s dark magic, Orange Goblin have always been a vital force and a risk-free bet. But while some may be content to trade on past glories, Orange Goblin view heavy metal as a lifelong pursuit. In 2024, they open a new chapter in their heroic saga, marking it with the release of their tenth studio album: Science, Not Fiction


“People have funny ideas about what heavy metal is. But to me, it’s an attitude, it’s a lifestyle, it’s not something you decide to dip into. You either are or you’re not. And it’s for life.” - Ben Ward, Orange Goblin


Science, Not Fiction will be released on July 19 on the following formats (preorderhere):
-CD Deluxe with Bonus track presented in a digipack with a 20 page booklet
-Limited Edition Gatefold 2LP Green and Black Marble vinyl edition available exclusively from the band & Peaceville stores
-Limited Edition Gatefold 2LP Crystal Clear vinyl edition.
-Gatefold 2LP in classic black vinyl
-CD Jewel case with 16 page booklet (9 tracks)
-Digitally





Tracklisting:


“The Fire At The Centre Of The Earth Is Mine”
“(Not) Rocket Science”
“Ascend The Negative”
“False Hope Diet”
“Cemetary Rats”
“The Fury Of A Patient Man”
“Gemini (Twins Of Evil)”
“The Justice Knife”
“End Of Transmission”
“Eye Of The Minotaur” (CD Deluxe & LP bonus track)


"Cemetary Rats" video:





“(Not) Rocket Science” video:





(Photo – Tina Korhonen / Astrophography courtesy of Giancarlo Erra)