During an appearance on the latest episode of Billy Corgan's podcast "The Magnificent Others", KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley reflected on the band's first farewell tour, which took place in 2000-2001 and featured KISS's original lineup, consisting of Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. "Unfortunately, the same problems just started to creep in," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "In a perfect world, I had hoped that we could get back together. Everybody would learn their life lessons and we'll walk into the sunset together making music. That story doesn't exist. So it was very stressful and disappointing, but more stressful because for me it's all about what goes on on stage. You leave everything at the bottom of the stairs — you leave your problems. There have been times where people in the band might not be talking, but you get up on stage and hug and have a great time and make the most of that. Anything that happens beyond the stage is a bonus. So, it was very stressful, and not knowing how we're gonna be night to night because of people's indulgences. And that's not fun."

Elaborating on how relationships within the band deteriorated to such an extent, Stanley said: "Things take such an incremental turn. I don't think most of the time things fall off a cliff… It just became, sadly, the divide happened, and it wasn't like that when we first got back together. For me, there was a sense of anticipation and a joy in revisiting and coming back together and bringing whatever we had done in the interim. And we had some of the guys going, 'I really fucked up. I'll never do that again. I'm so grateful to be here.' And it truly was the feeling and the sentiment. And over time it became, 'You said you wouldn't do that again. You're doing it.' The resentments that I think were there in the beginning came back. I think that perhaps what bothered people before just bothered them again, and maybe they had a — shall I say — distorted or inaccurate sense of who they were."

Paul continued: "Everybody in the [original] band was so important to creating it. But when you're in a car, only one person can drive. Everybody can be in the same car, but you can't have everybody's hands on the wheel because ultimately people are pulling 'cause they wanna do different things. So it became politics again of, unfortunately, people wanting things sometimes because you wanted something else."

Asked by Corgan if he is the type of performer who is "very much in the moment" while on stage or if he is "inwardly reflecting on what used to be", Paul said: "When I'm on stage, I'm in the moment. And there's nothing ever in my life that could take the place or compete with that. You know that to be in front of 20, 50, a hundred thousand people who are there to see you, it emits such an incredible amount of force and also gratitude and adulation and a positive response and feedback to something you created and that you believed in initially."

Looking back on KISS's mindset during the early days of the reunion tour in 1996, Stanley said: "Look, we can say life is short. But I reached a point where I thought, you don't know when somebody's going to bite the bullet. You don't know when anybody's gonna disappear. Let's do this while we're still here. And we did. So it was very exciting and also kind of tenuous because we were used to… We had been playing — Gene and I never stopped playing. We were playing. So I think perhaps our chops were a little more sharpened and there was work to be done because people's memories over time kind of glossed things over it. We had to create the show people thought they saw, not the show they actually saw. If you look at photos from KISS 'Alive!' or even KISS 'Alive II', the lighting truss was fairly bare bones, but compared to everybody else, it was stunning. So we had to come back and raise the bar that would parallel today and take us that much bigger. And we had to be who we were. And I think part of the omnipotence, if you will, of the band has always been that we were ageless, and that's potent stuff. If you see a band 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, they look the same. Well, we may not look the same this close up, but we can pull it off as a band, and that takes work. So everybody was told that they had to go work out and we got trainers for everybody, because we had to be how people remembered us. You don't wanna go on stage and have somebody [go], 'Oh, Jesus. Put a jacket on.' Nobody wants to see a fat rock star in tights. It's not a pretty sight."

Stanley went on to say that he was "really miserable" during KISS's original farewell tour. "The music was erratic at best," he said. "Some nights [were] awful, there was no sense of camaraderie or joy in what we were doing."

Paul explained that while bad reviews don't normally bother him, it becomes an issue when he agrees with them. "It's different when you go, 'They have their heads up their asses' or they want to attack what you're doing, but when you read things and go, 'This is right and I'm really unhappy,'" he said. "So it really felt like, 'Let's put the horse down. Let's just shoot it.' It went against everything that we had always believed and that's that the band is bigger than us."

KISS played its two final shows ever in December 2023 at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The last show, held on December 2, 2023, streamed live on pay-per-view.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

Early last year, KISS sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind "ABBA Voyage". A biopic, an avatar show, and a KISS-themed experience are already in the works, with Simmons and Stanley playing key roles in the development of all these projects, working closely with Pophouse.

Frontiers Music Srl has announced the signing of legendary English rock supergroup ASIA for an exciting new chapter in the band's celebrated history.

2024 was the Year Of The Dragon — and with it came a powerful rebirth: a new ASIA lineup featuring founding member, songwriter, producer, and keyboardist Geoff Downes, acclaimed drummer Virgil Donati, virtuoso guitarist John Mitchell, and stunning vocal newcomer and bassist Harry Whitley. This new chapter promises to reignite the band's iconic spirit, stepping into a promising new creative era.

Downes commented: "ASIA is thrilled to have recently signed a new deal with Frontiers Music Srl. Having been loyally supported by the label throughout the ASIA reunion period from 2005-2015, we are now entering an exciting new chapter in the band's 45-year history with a sequence of live albums, DVDs and a brand new studio album scheduled for a 2026 release. It's very much a homecoming for the band, and so we are greatly looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with them in the future. Watch this space!"

Mario de Riso, A&R and business affairs VP of Frontiers, commented: "So proud and excited for the label to be able to bring back this iconic band. There was certainly unfinished business to deal with and, thanks to this fabulous new lineup, new music from ASIA can now come to fruition. It will be a blast!"

In the summer of 2023, Downes spearheaded a memorial concert to remember and celebrate the life of his late, much-loved friend and ASIA co-founder member, the great John Wetton. At the concert, he invited rock and roll veteran John Mitchell, who had played with both Wetton and Downes in ICON and in Wetton's own band, to join him on stage, taking on lead guitar duties. The duo was joined by newcomer Harry Whitley, whom Downes had discovered and whose vocal talents so closely resembled those of Wetton's, it was nothing short of spine-tingling.

In 1982, Wetton, Downes, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe became the founding fathers of supergroup ASIA, responsible for a string of multi-million-selling albums and chart-topping hits across the globe. ASIA's self-titled 1982 debut album was the biggest-selling album in the world that year. The band dominated the airwaves and for many "Heat Of The Moment", "Only Time Will Tell" and "Sole Survivor", among others, were the soundtrack to their youth.

Another multi-million seller, "Alpha" followed in 1983, and in 1986 "Astra" completed the trio of MTV-era hits. Greg Lake briefly joined the band for a Japanese tour, where ASIA's show from the fabled Budokan was the first intercontinental simulcast.

In 2006, the founding members reformed ASIA and released several new albums before Wetton's untimely passing in 2017. Since John's death, Geoff and Carl have toured with Sam Coulson, Billy Sherwood, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Steve Howe guesting.

Busy touring the globe, Palmer is now immersed in a project very dear to his heart, the RETURN OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER, while the legendary Howe remains at the helm of progressive rock legends YES. So, Geoff made the decision to take a fresh, new-looking ASIA back out on the road, recruiting Mitchell and Whitley as new members and bringing in the drumming excellence of the incomparable Virgil Donati, who had played with Wetton in UK.

ASIA has entertained and delighted a multitude of audiences over the last forty years. Some of the world's greatest musicians have taken up the ASIA baton during that time. However, Downes believes that the time is right to bring a fresh, new-looking ASIA out into the light.

The Year Of The Dragon foretells good fortune, abundance, and prosperity. The Dragon blessed 1982, the year ASIA was first unleashed into the world, and now the journey has come full circle. Time for the dragon to take flight once more.

Photo credit: Scruffy Bear Media

In a new interview with The Mixtape podcast, guitarist Eric Peterson of San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans TESTAMENT confirmed that he and his bandmates have completed mixing their upcoming studio album with Swedish producer Jens Bogren, who had previously worked with OPETH, KREATOR, PARADISE LOST, SOILWORK and AMON AMARTH, among others. The LP will mark TESTAMENT's follow-up to 2020's "Titans Of Creation", which was co-produced by Juan Urteaga, who previously worked with TESTAMENT on "Dark Roots Of Earth" (2012) and "Brotherhood Of The Snake" (2016).

Eric said about TESTAMENT's upcoming effort (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We just finished mixing last Friday, and we're gonna be mastering it this week. [We're] in the middle of okaying art for the album. Everything needs to be turned in before we leave [for our tour of] Australia. A busy week coming up, but I'm excited because it's all done. We're just putting it all together, getting ready to send it in to the label, and then, yeah, it's gonna be coming out in the fall. And it came out really good. Jens Bogren mixed it, and I'm really, really happy with it."

Asked how he stays motivated and engaged in the songwriting recording process after so many years, Peterson said: "It's a good question. Obviously, we've slowed down as far as the timing on how we put records out. [There's] a lot more going on in our lives. We tour a lot more places. New blood in the band, I think. So this time around, [TESTAMENT drummer] Chris [Dovas] is with us. But, yeah, it feels good right now. Everybody's happy. We get on really well. That's a good thing, especially in the writing area. So I foresee some really good couple of new TESTAMENT records coming out — this one, and we're already working on the new one, which is unheard of for us. Usually we start writing a couple of years later after we put out a record, but we've kept the writing going. It's just a lot of fun jamming."

Regarding how the TESTAMENT creative and songwriting process has changed over the years, Eric said: "Yeah, so like I was saying, just with this new lineup — it's not a new lineup, but we have a new drummer — it all starts with me, with riffs, and a drummer, I think. And it was just a lot of fun. And we're already working on new stuff for a record after the one that you haven't even heard yet. So it's cool. And then we know if there's downtime, we're, like, 'Let's jam.' So I think when we're done in '26, maybe early '27 with this record, [we'll be, like], 'Okay, now what do you got? Now we're gonna write again.' 'Cause we're getting older. I don't think we have enough time to wait five years. We'll be in our seventies or something. I'm trying to take advantage of knowing that I'm into it now and that we've got a got a good thing going. Just don't waste it."

When Bogren's name was first publicly floated last September in connection with TESTAMENT's upcoming album, Peterson told Brutal Planet Magazine. "[Jens is] a producer from Sweden, and he's done — God, he's done KREATOR, he's doing the new BEHEMOTH, he's done IN FLAMES, ARCH ENEMY. A lot of European bands. We usually work with Andy Sneap, but he's [the touring guitarist] in JUDAS PRIEST and he's just, like, 'Bro, I need some time off.' It's a good switch, though. I think Jens will do a good job. And yeah, there's a lot of crazy stuff on this record. I'm excited for everybody to hear it."

Last August, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy told Oran O'Beirne of Overdrive.ie about the music direction of the follow-up to "Titans Of Creation": "We always try to outdo ourselves or make a better record or write better songs. It's always a challenge for ourselves, and I think this time we really took a long time to create the record. We kind of got everybody in the same room to really go through the songs and kind of put their two cents in to the arrangements. I think by having [our new drummer] Chris [Dovas] — he's a younger drummer, a really great drummer — but I think he brought you know a new fire to Eric in the writing process. And I believe because we're going on 37 years of making records, it's kind of full circle right now. We're kind of inspired by new generation, I guess, of music and metal. And Chris is a big part of that. He's a big fan of that. So I think he inspired Eric just to write some really aggressive, fast, creative riffs. And it really inspired me to really push myself to try to do a little more screaming, death vocals, melodic stuff. We even went as far as writing — I don't wanna say 'ballad', but it's something really catchy that's really slow that's something we haven't done in over 30 years. So I think just the overall songs and the confidence in the writing this time really is gonna stand out on this record."

When O'Beirne noted that TESTAMENT continues to "raise the bar" with each successive release, Billy concurred. "It's true," he said. "I think since 2000, 'The Gathering' record is where I think TESTAMENT kind of had a new life, I'd say the second life TESTAMENT. And then I became ill. And then after that, I didn't think I was actually gonna be playing music anymore. I just wasn't the same person. I'd look in the mirror and I didn't see the same guy. And after I beat it and survived it, I kind of thought, 'Okay, now it's time to continue on with life.' And then shortly after that we had the original[-lineup] reunion. And I think that's kind of what really set off the new life of TESTAMENT, because we were writing music, jamming with the guys who started it from the beginning and kind of taking the attitude, like, 'We're gonna finish this together, what we started.' But over time, Louie [Clemente, former TESTAMENT drummer] had to drop out 'cause of health reasons; he couldn't hold the sticks like he used to. So he had to drop out. And then shortly after that Greg [Christian, former TESTAMENT bassist] dropped out. But from then on, I think we've just kind of been writing for ourselves, maybe not really caring what necessarily the press thought. You always wanna impress the fans, but we were really writing to make us happy."

Earlier last August, TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the band's upcoming LP: "Well, I think everybody knows we went through a couple different drummers the past couple years, I know it's very 'Spinal Tap'… Life imitating art. There were scheduling conflicts with Gene Hoglan. Then we got Dave Lombardo, who was amazing, but when it came to going all in on a next record, Dave was overbooked. And we needed somebody [who could step in]. And we've got a new drummer. His name's Chris Dovas. He wasn't even born when the first TESTAMENT record came out. But I've gotta say he is lighting fires. He's lit a fire under everybody and just great to play with. He nails everybody's parts from before, but he has his own style. And I'm excited about the next record."

In June 2024, Chuck told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone about the lyrical themes covered in the new TESTAMENT songs: "[It's] not as focused [on], like, the aliens, creating mankind and that kind of stuff, but there is some of that. There's a lot. Each song definitely has its own identity lyrically. And again, we're writing stuff that is real, that happens with the environment; we're singing about that again. A.I., we're singing stuff about that. That's a big thing. So, there's always an inspiration for songs. I think it's a little easier. There's so much going on in our world to write about now. It's a crazy world today, so there's a lot of stuff to talk about. And I like singing about what's real and what's going on instead of some fantasy lyrics, because, for me, I think when I sing 'em, I have more conviction, I believe in 'em a little more. And maybe it's easier for me to remember the lyrics live. [Laughs]"

Naming specific tracks, Chuck said: "There's a song, 'Havana Syndrome', which is about the Havana Syndrome. People, look that up. There's 'Infanticide A.I.', which is another song going A.I. direction. And there's actually a slower song. We haven't done a slower song. I'm not gonna say 'ballad', but I'm gonna say a slower song that has a lot of groove and soul, called 'Meant To Be'. And it's like a classic TESTAMENT-type ballad, I guess, if you wanna use that word. But we've got a little bit of everything, but, again, I think it's really sticking to TESTAMENT, having to have some melodic stuff, even though there's some really brutal lyrics and real brutal, more of a death voice. I still put the hook in with more of a melodic hook or something. It's still classic TESTAMENT. If you listen to it, you'll go, 'That's TESTAMENT, but a little more octane to it.'"

Also in June, Chuck told Canada's The Metal Voice that he writes most of TESTAMENT's lyrics with Del James. "Del, he works with GUNS N' ROSES," Chuck said. "He's been working with them and wrote with them a long time ago. I think he had big hits like 'November Rain' with them. And we've been working [together] for over 20 years. So I always go down and work with him because I come up with a lot of the ideas and concepts, but he really interprets and gets the right words, how to say what I'm thinking. And we work fast. When we get together, we'll knock out like two songs in a day. So we don't mess around. We get there, say hello to each other, we sit down and we go right to work. It's about what we do."

In August 2023, Dovas was asked by Pod Scum if it was "unnerving" to step into a group whose list of previous drummers includes such heavyweights as Lombardo and Hoglan. He responded: "It was, especially at first because I knew that a lot of eyes were on me, and also I looked up to the band since I was a kid. Especially Lombardo and Gene — those are two of my favorite drummers right there. So to be put in that situation of taking over for them, I felt like I had a lot of responsibility and a lot of… I felt like I had something to prove a little bit, and I'm still practicing a lot and I just wanna do the best that I can do. Right now I'm not really nervous anymore because I've done two full tours with them now and we're working on the [new TESTAMENT] album and the friendship has been developing now and we all get along super well. They've welcomed me with open arms and it's been great and the fans have been great. I've been putting hours and hours of practice into it to make sure that I can do the best that I could do. And I look up to Dave and I look up to Gene as well, so, yeah, I just wanna play the songs well live and keep making the band sound good."

Prior to joining TESTAMENT as a full-time member, Dovas filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour".

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral (courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records)

Fan-filmed video of KING DIAMOND's entire June 16 concert at Alcatraz in Milan, Italy can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Arrival
02. A Mansion in Darkness 6:51
03. Halloween 11:33
04. Voodoo 15:56
05. "Them" 20:48
06. Spider Lilly 23:33
07. Two Little Girls 28:24
08. Sleepless Nights 31:07
09. Out From The Asylum 36:17
10. Welcome Home 37:47
11. The Invisible Guests 42:23
12. The Candle 47:31
13. Masquerade Of Madness 54:10
14. Eye Of The Witch 58:19
15. Burn 1:02:33
16. Abigail 1:06:17

KING DIAMOND launched its spring/summer 2025 European tour on June 4 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

The band's lineup for the current trek consists of King Diamond on lead vocals, Andy La Rocque and Mike Wead on guitars, Pontus Egberg on the bass, and Matt Thompson on drums. Greek female vocalist Hel Pyre, who previously played bass for NERVOSA, is handling backing vocals on the trek.

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, La Rocque spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for KING DIAMOND's forthcoming horror trilogy, part one of which is titled "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920". He said: "Right after the [fall 2024] U.S. tour, we talked about, 'Okay, let's just take a short break and we start working on the next few songs right away,' because we have most of the songs like a demo thing of most of the songs. But then we had some issues with… I'm not gonna go into that, but there were some diseases, people were sick for a long time, and then the time just ran out kind of thing. And then we had to start planning the European tour [for the summer of 2025]. It's, like, 'Wow.' We now will, after going back from this European summer tour, we will just have a short break and then go back into recording the stuff."

Asked if all the lyrics for the next KING DIAMOND album have been written, Andy said: "[KING DIAMOND frontman and namesake has] got all the ideas in [his head]. A lot of lyrics are already done. He's got everything in [his head]. A lot of small Post-it notes everywhere with lyric lines and stuff like that. The whole story is pretty much there. So we just need to start recording the music in a proper way. And we've got demos of a lot of things. I mean, I think I have seven or eight songs kind of already. Demo needs to change, drums need to change, a few things, we could use that. But King also has a lot of ideas and songs. So we'll see how many of my songs will end up on the album — maybe three, maybe four. I don't know. We'll see. But we have a lot of music, that's for sure."

Elaborating on the KING DIAMOND songwriting process, Andy said: "I would say me and King write the music. That's how we want it to be. And we try to write it as complete as possible when we present it to each other. Sometimes it's not complete — it's like a guitar riff, maybe a click track or a drum machine. And sometimes it is kind of complete, except for we need real drums on it because usually on the demos it's like a programmed drum machine, things like that. Sometimes I play the bass, and we want [KING DIAMOND bassist] Pontus [Egberg] to play the bass, of course, but for the demos [I sometimes play the bass] to get the complete picture of what we want. And also I try to make as much of the keyboards as possible too. And same with King. And then when we think that, 'Okay, this might be a good song,' so we'll send it to each other. And then we start doing arrangement. King can call me and say, 'I think you should just take that part out or double that section because that's really good.' So that's how we work out things. And maybe I can tell him, like, 'That solo section or that section of the song is really good to play a solo on, so maybe we can use that instead of what yet have.' Things like that, arrangement-wise."

Andy also talked about the new KING DIAMOND songs "Electro Therapy" and "Spider Lilly" which were first performed during the band's fall 2024 U.S. tour. He said: "We were kind of done with these songs. That's why we decided to try to play them live and see how it works out. And that's what we did. So, for example, 'Spider Lilly' is gonna be on the album. And we play that live. And it's also released on video. So, yeah, that's how we do it. We don't have to wait for a whole album. We thought, 'We need to put out something now for the fans.'"

During the chat, La Rocque addressed his previous comment that he wanted the next KING DIAMOND album to have a more organic sound, similar to how it was on some of the band's early efforts. Asked if he and his bandmates will have to do a lot of "tweaking" in the studio to achieve this sound, Andy said: "Not really. That's what we don't do this time around. We don't do a lot of tweaks to it. It's organic also in the way of the playing is not like copied and pasted, stuff like that. It's more relaxed play. And there might be some things you hear that are like, 'Oh, yeah…' We're gonna keep that… Because that's what we had back in the '80s too when we recorded an album. Everything wasn't perfect — more organic, and not everything triggered and sound like everyone else. But we want a more acoustic, kind of more of the acoustic drums, and stuff like that, to make it a little bit more organic. It doesn't have to be perfect everywhere. It's good, but some things might not be a hundred percent, only 99.99, you know what I'm saying? But that's also to make everything like a more loose or organic feel to it. Of course it's gonna be good. We don't release anything that we're not happy with."

As for when "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" might see the light of day, Andy said: "We have been talking about we have to have it recorded before Christmas. That's the plan we have. Then if someone gets sick or whatever happens, then if that's not the case, we'll see. But that's the plan we have. We have to record everything by Christmas. So that means it's coming out next spring."

On the topic of KING DIAMOND's touring plans in support of "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920", Andy said: "I don't know. Maybe next fall [we will be back on the road]. I don't know yet. We don't really have any plans with that yet. We'll see. When the album's done, we're gonna start working on a new cycle, so that includes touring. But hopefully, yes."

In a separate interview with Fistful Of Metal magazine, King stated about the status of the long-awaited new KING DIAMOND album: "Well, for starters, the original name that we had picked was 'The Institute'. However, that has now changed to, 'St Lucifer's Hospital 1920', since the start of the U.S. tour. There very well may be a track on the album called 'The Institute'. We were supposed to release the album this year, and in fact the album was supposed to be completely finished prior to the live shows, but I just want to make sure that it's the best material I've ever released. Right now, we are gearing up to film the next video for the single 'Lobotomy', which will definitely be released later this year. Other songs that are completed are an intro track called 'Under The Surface', 'The Institute', 'The Nun', 'Faceless' and, of course, 'Spider Lilly'. There's another track, which I'm not sure is going to be on the album yet, called 'Deep In The Darkness 1920'. Andy has been working on at least five tracks, one of which has as monster chorus that we plan to record with a choir. The plan is that this album will be the first of a trilogy, and I already have all three album titles."

Last December, KING DIAMOND released a studio version of "Spider Lilly". It was a first-time mixing collaboration with Arthur Rizk, who also mastered the track. The music and lyrics were written by King Diamond.

The official music video for "Spider Lilly" was directed by My Good Eye Visuals. Part of the clip was filmed at the very haunted Pennhurst Asylum outside of Philadelphia on a travel day during the band's 2024 North American tour, two days before Halloween. It was only King himself and actress Jodi Cachia who could participate on that specific day, together with producer David Brodsky, Allie Woest and their crew.

KING DIAMOND performed "Spider Lilly" live for the first time at the kick-off concert of the band's 2024 North American headlining tour, which launched on October 15 at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. The "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" trek ran through December 6 in Dallas, Texas. Support came from OVERKILL and NIGHT DEMON. Additional backing vocals for the KING DIAMOND set were provided by the special guest Myrkur.

In November 2024, the KING DIAMOND shows in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (November 20 at Edmonton Convention Center),Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (November 21 at TCU Place),Calgary, Alberta Canada (November 22 at Grey Eagle Event Centre),Portland, Oregon (November 24 at Keller Auditorium) and Seattle, Washington (November 25 at The Moore Theatre) were canceled due to "unforeseen circumstances".

In October 2023, KING DIAMOND released a music video for the 2019 single "Masquerade Of Madness". The clip was directed by David Brodsky and Allison Woest of My Good Eye Visuals.

A month after KING DIAMOND released "Masquerade Of Madness" in November 2019, La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."

KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".

"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captured 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances featured KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Matt Thompson.

Photo in poster by Jeremy Saffer

In a new interview with Tom Robbins of the And Now The Band podcast, former FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell — who issued one solo single in 2025 ("Savages"),two solo singles in 2024 ("Anti-Droid" and "Technical Exorcism"),and a cover of RAMMSTEIN's "Du Hast" in 2023 — spoke about how he approached the writing and recording of his latest solo output. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Working on my own now, I'm able to work with different producers at any given time. And Alex Crescioni, who did 'Anti-Droid', I met him while recording the RAMMSTEIN cover for 'Du Hast' that was part of a RAMMSTEIN tribute record. So, I met him doing that, and I had the opportunity to speak to him about my wishes and my goals for the future. Essentially, I was putting it out there in the universe, as they say. And he heard me, and he was, like, 'Hey, I've got this song. How would you like to try it?' So I listened to it, and I'm, like, 'Oh my God.' The song spoke to me. So I was, like, 'Well, let's start here. Let's do this.' And it just kind of snowballed since then. I'm able to work with a band now. The song I started working on after 'Anti-Droid' was 'Technical Exorcism', and I started working with a guitar player-producer named Henrik Linde, who is now in my band, and he wrote 'Savages'. And 'Savages' is a banger, man. As soon as I heard it, I'm, like, 'Yes, let's do this.' I think I struck a chord with my fanbase, and I think a lot of people are really happy with what they're hearing. So there's been a lot of positivity. Of course, there's always gonna be the haters. You can't control that. But it comes with the territory. I've been dealing with that for 30 years."

Regarding his plans to release more music in the coming months, Burton said: "The new music that we're currently recording is as good. It's not the same song as 'Savages', but it's still heavy, and we're exploring different ideas. So it's all within my mantra of 'heavy, groovy, dark and moody'. One of the songs we're working on has a really heavy BLACK SABBATH/TYPE O [NEGATIVE] type of vibe, which is fucking cool. Which is great. I love both bands. So we're exploring. I'd like to keep on working. They understand what I'd like to do, and they want the best for me as well as for them. So, what's good for me is great for them. So we're making it happen. So hopefully we'll get back from [touring] Australia [in June] and we're gonna keep recording new music."

Asked if the plan is to eventually release "a fully fleshed out album", Burton said: "I think probably an EP will be my next release. I'm trying to get more music done and put out the EP and then write more music and then put out a full album. But the idea is to just keep working, keep putting things out, dropping nuggets here and there for the fans, show 'em I'm still alive, show 'em I'm still working, show 'em I'm still doing music. I'm not obsolete yet."

Bell kicked off his Australian solo tour on June 11 at The Triffid in Brisbane.

Burton played the first concert with his solo band on June 13, 2024 at 1720 in Los Angeles, California.

Backing Bell at his recent gigs have been guitarist Henrik Linde (THE VITALS, DREN),drummer Ryan "Junior" Kittlitz (ALL HAIL THE YETI, THE ACID HELPS),bassist Tony Baumeister (ÆGES) and multi-instrumentalist Stewart Cararas.

Bell's discography includes multiple live and recorded collaborations with BLACK SABBATH icon Geezer Butler and JOURNEY's Deen Castronovo (as G/Z/R); industrial maverick Al Jourgensen and MINISTRY; and guest vocal appearances with PITCHSHIFTER, CONFLICT, SOIL, STATIC-X, SOULFLY and DELAIN, among others. He's the vocalist of ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS and CITY OF FIRE and, of course, the co-creator of FEAR FACTORY and the only musician to appear on every FEAR FACTORY release from 1992 through 2024.

FEAR FACTORY created a sound that revolutionized extreme metal, defined in no small part by Bell's innovative scream/sing dichotomy and the influences he brought from post-punk and industrial. Songs like "Replica", "Linchpin", "Edgecrusher", "Fear Campaign", "Archetype", "Cyber Waste" and "Zero Signal" are modern metal anthems. "Demanufacture" (1995) and the RIAA gold-certified "Obsolete" (1998) are genre-redefining works heralded by fans and critics as essential albums. Orwell, Bradbury, "Blade Runner", and sophisticated sci-fi and fantasy works fed Bell's lyrics and concepts.

The band toured the world with METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, KORN, MEGADETH and OZZY OSBOURNE, taking bands like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and STATIC-X out as support acts in their early stages. After years of behind-the-scenes band member turmoil and legal issues, Bell left FEAR FACTORY in the fall of 2020.

The 56-year-old Bell had been largely inactive on the musical front since officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY in September 2020. At the time he said that he could not "align" himself with someone whom he did not trust or respect, an apparent reference to FEAR FACTORY founding guitarist Dino Cazares. Bell has since been replaced in the band by the Italian-born singer Milo Silvestro.

In early May, Burton reflected on his decision to leave FEAR FACTORY in September 2020 after a 31-year run as the band's singer and pursue a solo career. He told the Post-Punk.TV podcast:  "It was time for me to do other things. And here I am. Venturing out on my own is scary. Doing something solo is frightening. I'm, like, 'Am I doing the right thing?' As artists, we always question ourselves. [We hear] voices in our head. There's voices in my head that are, like, 'Oh my God. What the fuck are you doing?' But I've gotta follow my heart because my heart is directing me towards a path that I truly wanna be in, and that's the artistic path."

Bell continued: "Failure is something that, as artists, we experience on a daily basis. But you just can't let that failure dictate your life. You have to learn from it. And once you learn from that, it's, like, 'Okay, I did that wrong. This time I'll try it this way. And so I am moving forward with my solo career, writing music that, for me, fits my mantra.

"I came up with a mantra maybe a couple years ago," Burton added. "Now that I have a [solo] band that I'm working with on a daily basis, they have grown to understand me as well. And so this next [solo] song I'm about to release called 'Savages' on May 30th, we wrote together as a band. And it fits my mantra, which is 'heavy, groovy, dark and moody'. And I think that fits every aspect that I wanna do. It fits the criteria of every band that I've ever liked. I think it fits the criteria of every band I've been a part of. So what I'm doing now is an amalgamation of everything I've ever done. I'm taking it all, creating this nice little piece, and I'm releasing it, making something new for myself. And I think when people hear this new song 'Savages', and the next song, which is called 'Cold Lazarus', they [will be], like, 'Wow, that sounds familiar, but it's kind of new.' So it's, like, there you go. That's what we're doing."

Burton went on to say: "So I'm super excited about the future. I'm super excited about my tour coming up in June, going to Australia, and just very excited for what the future holds. I'm just staying creative. That's what it's all about. Being an artist is being creative, and creating art, whether it's writing music or photography, you're expressing yourself through your visions and from what you see and how the world affects you."

In a new interview Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about his band's continued commitment to stressing compassion for those dealing with mental illness and attempting to remove the stigma that comes with it. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's important. I think it's a reflection of the walk I've had with my life and my ups and downs and just my brutal honesty with it and just being real about my life and finding that people connect with that authenticity and what we do. And it's gnarly, 'cause now I look back at this story that I've written through all these songs and I listen to some of the old songs and I'm, like, 'Dude, you weren't all right.' I was going through some of my old notebooks and just reading — sometimes I just put my pen to the paper and just write out, I would call it writing out the crazy — and there was crazy in there. And I'm glad I made it out the other side with the perspective that I have now. I've gained a lot of tools and skills and knowledge about self-awareness and to own my issues and learn and grow and not drag everybody through the thick of my highs and lows of my life."

Jacoby added: "I've transformed my life in so many ways and put that into the music… [And] it is a trip that we are as impactful as we are now. And I think speaking about mental health and using our music as a voice for that in culture is important. And I feel like that's really a huge bond that we have with our fans and culture. And I think my ability of just being honest and vulnerable has opened that space for us. And it's dope. 'Cause now we're working with the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention [AFSP] and raising money with them, and this story that we've been telling about mental health and the highs and the lows and the struggles of it, now I've got a partner in the real world that's actually boots on the ground, putting the work in with the people helping people. And that's a beautiful thing to be part of."

Shaddix recently told Skratch N' Sniff and SNSMix.com that PAPA ROACH had "about five, six songs finished up" for the follow-up to the band's 2022 album "Ego Trip". He added: "We don't have a release date yet [for the new PAPA ROACH album]. We just wanna get this one perfect before we drop it. But fans can expect new music throughout the year. Actually, after I go in the studio, I'll jump back down to L.A. We're shooting a music video for a brand new single we're gonna drop in the middle of June, and so that's coming up right around the corner. And that one's a fucking banger, dude. I'm so excited about this next song."

Asked if there is a possibility of some guests appearing on the new PAPA ROACH album, Jacoby said: "Actually, yeah. I've got a couple guests already on this record, but I ain't gonna tell you who it is 'cause we just wanna surprise you as the tracks drop."

Last month, PAPA ROACH released a music video for an acoustic version of "Even If It Kills Me". The original single reached No. 1 at U.S. Rock Radio, marking PAPA ROACH's 13th appearance at the top of the charts.

In March, PAPA ROACH released a "reimagined" version of "Even If It Kills Me". The band and Joshua Landry again produced the track. "Even If It Kills Me (Reimagined)" was a fresh take on its heavier counterpart, showcasing the hit song in a new light, with a melodic arrangement and signature vocals delivered by Shaddix.

PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music. PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health and have been doing so since the seminal release of their first hit single "Last Resort". Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, including "Ego Trip".

Photo credit: Bryson Roatch

In a new interview with John J. Thompson of the True Tunes podcast, KING'S X frontman Doug "Dug" Pinnick spoke about his band's supposed influence on such early 1990s grunge acts as PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When our first record came out, it was the first time I ever heard Drop D tuning. Later I heard a couple of other bands that did it, like on one or two songs. But what happened was, in 1985 Ty [Tabor, KING'S X guitarist] wrote this song, and it was in Nashville tuning, Drop D… I can't remember which song it was. And this is before we got a record deal because we were on getting on a plane, going to Heritage farm, where Jim and Tammy Bakker's TV show was, and we were on the show playing with Morgan Cryar, and we were flying out. And Ty handed us a cassette and said, 'I wrote this song.' He says, 'I don't know if it's any good or not, but give it a listen.' And Jerry [Gaskill, KING'S X drummer] and I plugged in together on the plane before we took off and listened to this demo, and we just went, 'That is really cool.' And I said, 'How did you do that?' And he says, 'The Nashville tuning. I tuned the E down to D.' I said, 'I'm gonna go home and try that when I get back.' And when we got back home, I wrote, like, eight songs that are on the first record and Ty wrote the other songs that were in Drop D. And it was just something that he came up with and I ran with it."

Regarding KING'S X's musical connection to some of Seattle's biggest grunge bands, Pinnick said: " About five, six years ago, Kim Thayil from SOUNDGARDEN told me that in 1985 he showed Chris [Cornell, SOUNDGARDEN singer] Drop D tuning, and Chris started writing songs in Drop D also. 'Ultramega OK', I think it is, by SOUNDGARDEN. The beginning has all this weird-sounding noises, and then it comes in with a riff that's Drop D-tuned… Our record came out maybe a month before that, and our record had all that noise in the beginning of it, and it had Drop D tuning. So I argue — who was it [that came first]?

"The thing I know though is that in rock music in general, everybody turned their heads at KING'S X because we came out of that metal thing, and grunge wasn't even on the register yet," Pinnick continued. "It was this little thing that was happening in Seattle but it hadn't exploded yet, so nobody was paying attention. But I know that after we came out, I met ALICE IN CHAINS, and Jeff Ament from PEARL JAM, and all those people told me how influential we were to them. So I would say that I think that we kind of influenced a lot of bands, but ALICE IN CHAINS was really what brought it out to the world. I remember that Kerrang! [magazine] called ALICE IN CHAINS 'KING'S X in hell'… They didn't like ALICE IN CHAINS when they came out — hardly any of the media did — and I thought, 'These people are stupid, 'cause this is a great band.' And that record, I heard that KING'S X influence or that vibe, and they made it dark. And it was kind of the way I wanted KING'S X to be. I always wanted KING'S X to be very dark like that, but every time the three of us sang, it sounded like THE BEATLES and everything was pretty."

This past February, Pinnick was asked by The Lounge With Jake Ellenbogen about Ament's declaration in the early 1990s, at the height of PEARL JAM's success, on MTV that "KING'S X invented grunge". Doug said: "It was really, really, really, really so cool for him to say that, especially when nobody else would, especially those who would agree with him, who wouldn't say nothing. And it meant a lot for him to publicly say that. 'Cause I've been told how influential KING'S X has been by almost every musician I've run into, but very few will make a big statement about it. They'll mention the classics… And for us, I think we just carried the torch of a type of music that needed to be explored.

"Drop D tuning isn't nothing new," Doug continued. "We just decided to play [THE BEATLES'] 'She's So Heavy' in Drop D tuning. That's about it. Drop D country music with BEATLES singing. Because Drop D tuning is basically bluegrass music. And Ty listened to bluegrass when he played it, when he was in grade school and stuff. His dad and his brother, and his brother played banjo and so he comes from that. And he would play these riffs with this Drop D thing, and he just took the distortion up, and there it is. And grunge happens. And it was the easy thing to do, I think. And I think that when a lot of people heard the difference in the sound of when you Drop D tune, it's just a different tone. And we weren't used to it at the time. Everybody's used to it now. It's, like, everybody's even lower. It's not even special anymore. Drop D tuning is, like, what's that? That's, like, weak. It really is. Now, regular Drop D tuning is, like, 'Huh?' Yeah, we got KORN, we got MESHUGGAH. Fuck that. But back in the day, just Drop D was, like… METALLICA was in E. And that was the heaviest shit. SLAYER, that was the heaviest shit we ever heard. Now, every now and then, Eddie Van Halen would drop his E string down to D, and Tony Iommi would tune down on some BLACK SABBATH stuff, but at the end of the day, the whole Drop D way it's played and how you phrase it and stuff is a unique way that bluegrass players play. And it's an easy, simple way.

"Someone told me one time that the easiest way to change the world with your music is make up something cool that any kid could play as soon as he picks up a guitar," Pinnick added. "So think about when grunge hit — from HELMET to you name it. FILTER. I mean, within six months there was like a whole another wave of music. And people said it was grunge because it was grungy like Neil Young."

Reflecting on how NIRVANA's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", upon its release in September 1991, wreaked confusion upon the hair metal vanguard, putting an end to an era dominated by glamorous, androgynous and sparkly rock stars who absolutely saturated the radio waves and were almost exclusively what aired on MTV, Doug said: "Well, they wiped out the germs, if you wanna look at it in a pharmaceutical way of looking at it. We were just burnt out on late '80s everything. And it was like a virus. Everything sounded the same. It was on the radio, it was on TV — everybody looked the same, the songs sounded the same. And when grunge came out, right before that, there was KING'S X, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, FAITH NO MORE and JANE'S ADDICTION, all within a year of each other. All of a sudden, there was this new thing that was happening. Nobody was following anybody, but we were all listening to each other. And kids wanted something new. And I think that because of those bands and KING'S X, the grunge thing, those bands kind of helped push people to look towards Seattle, which was coming out with some radical stuff that was inspired by these bands, I feel us included."

He continued: "I know that Kim told me, from SOUNDGARDEN, that he showed Chris Cornell Drop D tuning in '85. And Ty wrote 'In The New Age' in 1985… So both bands had never heard of each other and had started writing songs in Drop D tuning. Chris and I both — I've gotten to know him before he passed away and stuff. We talked about tunings and all that stuff. And so there was like a neck-and-neck SOUNDGARDEN-KING'S X thing happening where we were that generation that was daring to do different tunings and different timings, and we had these two different singers. And you listen to some of the SOUNDGARDEN and KING'S X stuff, and there was times where you're going, 'Which band is which?', like 'Outshined' and 'Spoonman' and 'Black Hole Sun' and stuff. And even though nobody's gonna go, 'Oh, that sounds like KING'S X,' but I know that we were all listening to each other. Well, not all. There was always like one person in all those bands that was a KING'S X fan, the rest of them couldn't care less. But that one person always would bring in that thing that pushed it towards that vibe, which was pretty cool. I mean, even PEARL JAM, they don't sound like KING'S X, but put on the first record and listen to that rhythm section… That's us, me and Jerry slamming that shit.

"I think we all started to see this new thing happening. We all started pushing each other. We all became fans of each other. Everybody was going, 'Uh oh, we found something, guys.' And most of them would give KING'S X credit, but in the soup of everything, we were all kind of pushing each other's buttons, in many ways."

Pinnick previously spoke about the influence KING'S X had on the grunge scene in the early 1990s during an August 2022 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station. He said at the time: "There was thing called Drop D tuning we did in '88 when our first record came out. And almost the whole record was Drop D tuning.

"Someone told me one time, they said, 'The quickest way to get everybody to mimic you is to play something that any kid can play when they pick up a guitar immediately.' And Drop D tuning, when you pick up your guitar, you can play with one finger up and down the neck," he explained. "All of a sudden you've got HELMET and you've got — down the line, all these bands that were playing two-chord Drop D songs. And then ALICE IN CHAINS and PEARL JAM, they'll all tell you that we influenced them.

"I know Chris Cornell, and me and him were neck-and-neck sometimes writing songs. We'd talk about it. Somebody called me up one time and said, 'You heard the new SOUNDGARDEN tune?' And I go, 'Why?' And they said, 'It sounds like a KING'S X ripoff.' I go, 'What was it?' They said, ''Outshined'.' And I'm going, 'Yeah, it has that vibe.' Somebody said 'Spoonman' sounds like a song Ty wrote. And we were making those records at the same time.

"I remember talking to Chris when we were making the 'Dogman' record [and] they were making 'Superunknown', and we were laughing about how high we used to sing. And we made an agreement to sing lower on the record. And we got 'Black Hole Sun' and 'Flies And Blue Skies'. So I think that me and him, I'm sure, we influenced each other and pushed each other.

"I remember when [KING'S X's] 'Gretchen [Goes To Nebraska]' came out, we went on tour. And I remember coming home after seven months and turned on 'Headbangers Ball' and every band was drop-D-tuned and they were all new — except for BON JOVI. All the rest of them, because of this whole new thing that had happened. And I'm going, 'My goodness, they're doing kind of what we do.' And the screamers had disappeared, and those singers that sang real high to glam rock were gone. And people were grooving again and they were singing lower melodies. And that's kind of what we were doing when we first came out. So if that was an inspiration to people, yeah, I'll take that, 'cause we were just imitating people that we heard. [Laughs]"

Pinnick went on to say that he has known the ALICE IN CHAINS guys "since before they got signed." He recalled: "Layne [Staley, late ALICE IN CHAINS singer] did say to me, 'Keep putting out, writing songs so we can keep ripping you off.' He said that to Jerry, actually. But he told me that on 'Rooster', he said, 'I was just doing Doug.' And I gave him a big hug. And I love those guys. They were just young kids. I remember PEARL JAM, they didn't have a record deal. And Jeff [Ament] sent me a tape with TEMPLE OF THE DOG on the other side of it. And neither band was out. Back in the day, they looked up to us and they used to say, 'We can't wait till we can open for you guys and get record deals and stuff.' And we thought that was so cute. And then they all get record deals and just blow us out of the water. They all did — every one of them. And I smile and look at them and go, 'Man, I knew you guys when you were riding around in vans playing for nobody.'

"I remember KING'S X was on the road with AC/DC, opening, and some of the guys from PEARL JAM and ALICE IN CHAINS came to the show in Tacoma, Washington," Doug added. "And they were playing a little club. And they said, 'Would you guys come to the show?' And so after we got done playing, we went over to the bar, and ALICE IN CHAINS had MOOKIE BLAYLOCK, which was PEARL JAM, opening for them. There was probably, maybe 20 people in the place. And it was awesome. I remember watching Mike McCready and going, 'This kid plays like Jimi Hendrix.' He looked like he was 15. I loved them all.

"So, yeah, we all go way back. And yeah, we've all kind of inspired each other in some ways, I think."

KING'S X's 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", came out in September 2022.

Photo credit: Derek Soto

At this past weekend's Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom's Donington Park, bassist Jamie Mathias of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE was asked by Mike James Rock Show how the "creative process" is "going so far" for the follow-up to the band's latest, self-titled album, which came out in 2021. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it's good. We've got some pretty solid ideas knocking about. We've got, I think, about 12 demos knocking about. So I think the plan is to finish this European tour now and then just crack on, get in the studio and crack on with it."

Asked if he and his BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bandmates already have studio time booked and a producer selected, Jamie said: "Yeah, [we're] still in talks [about all] that, but I think the main thing is just to get the songs finished so we can get into the studio, knock it out, and then, obviously, next year, crack on [with more touring]."

Also at this year's Download, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck, whose band has spent the first half of 2025 celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut album, "The Poison", on tours of Europe and North America, spoke to James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound about BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's plans for the group's eighth album, tentatively due in 2026. Matt said: "We haven't had a lot of opportunity to get back and focus on it, 'cause since I [last] saw you, we just haven't stopped playing. It's been really intense, but a good intense."

He continued: "There's a lot of love around the world for the band, and we're just trying to kind of make the most of this opportunity, 'cause once [the 20th-anniversary celebration of 'The Poison'] is done, it's done forever. We're not gonna do it again. We're not gonna milk 25, 30, none of that shit.

"But, yeah, I listened to [the new ideas we have come up with so far] a lot when we were [touring] in the States [earlier this year], and, yeah, when I hear it, it still gives me the vibes," Tuck added. "And I think the beginning of August, we're gonna hit the studio for real. And we'll be there until it's done."

Released in 2005, "The Poison" propelled BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE to unimaginable heights. That year saw the Welsh metallers graduate from supporting FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND on their U.K. run in the summer, to ending the year headlining the very same venues just months later. Dropping in October 2005, "The Poison" hit number 21 in the U.K. album charts, becoming a late contender in end of year polls, placing at number seven on Kerrang!'s "Albums Of The Year" list, and since achieving gold status.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM were on the road together earlier this year to celebrate the joint 20th anniversaries of their respective albums "The Poison" and "Ascendancy".

Last month, TRIVIUM revealed that plans were scrapped to have the two bands hit other territories around the world as part of "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour. Details surrounding the cancelations were unclear, although TRIVIUM bassist Paolo Gregoletto said in a livestream that Tuck had pulled out of the tour early as he "didn't wanna do it." Gregoletto also claimed that Tuck made the move because he is "the sole decision maker of [BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE] and he has no respect for us or our crew."

The members of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE later shared a statement on social media saying that they were "grateful" to the fans who wanted to see them live but explained that they had decided to focus their efforts on making a new album instead.

"We're incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to look back at a pair of life-changing albums for us & TRIVIUM, who we have nothing but respect and admiration for," they said. "With that being said, the four of us collectively feel that the time is right for us to divert our full attention towards the next chapter of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE."

They added: "We can't wait to get back in the studio later this summer and finish what we promise you is our best album to date. To go along with this, we are already starting to make plans for the 2026 & 2027 touring cycles, hitting every corner. We are super excited to drop new music for you all. We value our fans above all else and are forever grateful for your support. We'll be back with all of you very soon."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE released the deluxe version of its latest, self-titled album in August 2022 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. This extended release featured four brand new tracks, plus "Stitches", a song previously only available as a Japanese exclusive. Following the CD and digital releases, a vinyl pressing launched in November 2022.

On May 3, GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan took part in a question-and-answer session and live performance — along with GN'R drummer Isaac Carpenter — at Japan's Fender Flagship Tokyo. A video recap of Duff's appearance — courtesy of Fender Music Japan— can be seen below.

Last month, Duff released a 19-minute video on his YouTube channel in which he answered a number of fan-submitted questions, including about Isaac. Asked how long he has known Isaac, who replaced Frank Ferrer in March, Duff said: "I have known Isaac since he was in his first band called LOUDERMILK. They were in high school. They're from Washington state, so not far from Seattle. And I'd heard about the band. They got signed to American Records — Def Jam, basically, Rick Rubin's label. And they made a record. And they were, like, 18 years old. I think I met Isaac when he was 19. And I loved his band LOUDERMILK. A bunch of years — a few years later, like nine years later, I needed a drummer for LOADED and Isaac's name came up. He was coming through somewhere I was at, and he came and we played together. And [I told him], 'I have this tour. Would you wanna do it?' And he was in. Then he and I made 'The Taking' record. He and I wrote a lot of the songs for that record together in his garage. And I wrote a lot of my book, believe it or not… He had this couch in his garage that was really old and it would hurt my back. And it's where I found I could write my darker sections of my book better 'cause I was in physical pain. So I'd actually come over to his house just to use his garage and that couch to write. So I've known him for a long time, I guess. Now that I think about it — 25 years. And it's great to have him in the band. It's fucking awesome."

Asked what Isaac brings to GUNS N' ROSES that might have been missing before, Duff said: "I'll tell you what Isaac brings to the band. No commentary on Frank, 'cause Frank's a lovely guy. Isaac has got this ability, though, to swing and groove that only a few drummers have. [Former GUNS N' ROSES drummer] Steven had it as well, Steven Adler, and [former GUNS N' ROSES drummer] Matt [Sorum] is a great, solid drummer with amazing fills — and Matt's amazing. They're both amazing drummers. And Isaac somehow blends both of those two guys and adds his own thing. So he adds a new sort of excitement to the songs. And the groove and swing of the songs right now with Isaac is super impressive and super fun."

GUNS N' ROSES kicked off its 2025 world tour on May 1 at Incheon, South Korea's Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. The concert marked the band's first live appearance with Carpenter.

Carpenter, born in Washington's Tri-Cities, is an accomplished American drummer and songwriter known for his dynamic contributions to alternative, hard rock, and beyond. He rose to prominence in 1995 by co-founding LOUDERMILK while in high school, only to be signed to Rick Rubin's label American. Carpenter's career spans an impressive roster of acts, including live and studio work with Duff McKagan's LOADED, AWOLNATION, Adam Lambert, the hardcore metal outfit BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA, A PERFECT CIRCLE, THE EXIES, OURS and BLACK LAB, in addition to his large session film and TV roster. Carpenter has made a name for himself by uniquely blending versatility and groove with crushing force and technical skill, cementing his reputation as a multifaceted drummer in the industry.

GUNS N' ROSES's "Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things" tour will hit Europe in late spring and early summer, concluding on July 31 in Germany.

Frank first joined GUNS N' ROSES during a show in June 2006, helping anchor the rhythm section during subsequent tours, including their recent outings featuring the reunited trio of singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and McKagan. Ferrer's last show with the band took place November 5, 2023 in Mexico.

Ferrer laid down drums tracks on five songs on GUNS N' ROSES' most recent studio album, 2008's "Chinese Democracy". He also appeared on the live portion of 2022's "Hard Skool" EP, with former drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia appearing on the studio tracks and GUNS' ROSES' 2023 singles "Perhaps" and "The General".

Punk rock legends THE OFFSPRING were the musical guests on last night's (Tuesday, June 17) episode of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The band played four songs: "Come Out And Play" (the only track which was televised),"You're Gonna Go Far, Kid", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "Lookin' Out For #1". Video of the entire four-song performance can be seen below.

THE OFFSPRING recently announced the North American leg of its "Supercharged Worldwide In '25" tour. The 34-date run, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on Friday, July 11 in West Palm Beach and will continue across the country to some of its most iconic venues, including New York's Northwell at Jones Beach Theater on August 3, Kia Forum in Los Angeles on August 29 and more. Joining on the tour on all dates will be two special guests: JIMMY EAT WORLD and NEW FOUND GLORY.

The tour will also offer a VIP package and experience for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. The package includes premium tickets, rideshare voucher, VIP exclusive tour poster, limited edition gift pack and more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

The tour celebrates an incredible year for THE OFFSPRING as they released their latest "Supercharged" album, reached historic milestones (with multiple songs joining the coveted Spotify Billions Chart),touring around the globe (joined by some pretty famous special guests) and their song "Make It All Right" hit No. 1 on not only the Alternative Rock chart but the Alternative Airplay chart, Active Rock chart and the Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. The band continued to cement their legacy as one of the most popular punk bands of all time as they performed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "CBS This Morning" and were featured in Men's Health, USA Today, Billboard, "Artist Friendly With Joel Madden", "Bertcast With Brett Kreischer" and more.

THE OFFSPRING is an American punk rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name MANIC SUBSIDAL, the band's lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Noodles, bassist Todd Morse, drummer Brandon Pertzborn and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy. Over the course of their longstanding career, they have released ten studio albums. THE OFFSPRING is often credited — alongside fellow California bands GREEN DAY and RANCID — for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the 1990s. They have sold over 40 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling rock bands in history.

Toronto's hardest‑working power trio DANKO JONES roars back with "Leo Rising", an eleven-track masterclass in sweat-soaked, no-nonsense rock 'n' roll. The album — produced to red‑hot perfection by long‑time collaborator Eric Ratz — lands on November 21, 2025 via Perception, a division of Reigning Phoenix Music and Sonic Unyon (for Canada).

Following the rabid reception to opening salvo "What You Need" and party‑starting anthem "Everyday Is Saturday Night", "Leo Rising" turns the dial past eleven with razor‑sharp riffs, thunderous rhythms and fist‑pumping hooks. Guitar legend Marty Friedman (MEGADETH, CACOPHONY) makes a blistering guest appearance on future single "Diamond In The Rough", while other standouts — from the priapic swagger of "Hot Fox" to the roof‑rattling "It's A Celebration" — prove DANKO JONES are keeping rock alive by doing it better than anyone else.

"I like the routine of recording, touring, writing, repeat — I can do that till I'm dead," DANKO JONES's namesake frontman states and adds "It may sound boring, but it's so hard for a band to achieve. I don't take this lightly. Also, it's a page out of the MOTÖRHEAD handbook so it works! 'Leo Rising' is another serving of peerless hard‑rock: bass, drums, guitar, vocals, no frills. Roll the windows down and crank it."

John Calabrese laid down bass tracks from Finland, Rich Knox flew to Toronto to record drums, and Danko worked with producer Eric Ratz in the same city to capture vocals and guitars. Despite recording separately once again, the band's chemistry is unmistakable. The result is pure DANKO JONES: tight, loud, and built for the stage. "Leo Rising" may be their most electrifying and uplifting record yet — a jolt of high-octane rock made for packed clubs, open highways, and everything in between.

"Leo Rising" track listing:

01. What You Need
02. Diamond In The Rough
03. Everyday Is Saturday Night
04. I Love It Louder
05. I'm Going Blind
06. Hot Fox
07. It's A Celebration
08. Pretty Stuff
09. Gotta Let It Go
10. I Can't Stop
11. Too Slick For Love

Formed in Toronto in 1996, DANKO JONES have seen and done just about everything over the last quarter of a century. Powered by a DIY punk rock spirit, and inspired by the good, great and grotesque of electrified rock 'n' roll, they have steadily built a colossal international fan base and become one of the most acclaimed live bands around, embraced by everyone from mainstream radio-rock fans to diehard metalheads. Along the way, they have released ten widely praised studio albums, generating a peerless repertoire of fists-in-the-air crowd-pleasers into the bargain. From the spiky blues of 2002's "Born A Lion" and the crazed power-pop of its follow-up "We Sweat Blood" (2003),to the priapic perfection of 2010's "Below The Belt", the band's knack for hitting rock’s sweet spot has never wavered.

Over the last decade, DANKO JONES have visibly moved up a few gears. Since frontman Danko and bassist John Calabrese joined forced with drummer Rich Knox, the band's creative fire has blazed more brightly than ever. A succession of all-killer, no-filler albums — "Fire Music", "Wild Cat", "A Rock Supreme", "Power Trio" — has led to even more gung-ho touring and unapologetic service to the rock cause. In 2023, Toronto's archbishops of amplification released their eleventh album, "Electric Sounds": proof that even a global pandemic couldn't stop DANKO JONES.

Photo credit: Ole Martin Wold

At this past weekend's Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom's Donington Park, Eicca Toppinen of Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA spoke to Alex Alicia about the band's plans for the coming months. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been really focused on touring [in support of 2024's 'Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2', the sequel to the Finnish band's legendary debut record]. In five months, we played 80 shows, in Europe and North America. So there was not so much energy to think about what happens next. And then I was busy in the spring. I scored one movie, a long feature. It's a really cool movie. So now when we started festival season, now we've started to talk, 'Okay, what could be the next thing?' Still we will tour with this METALLICA set till the end of next year at least. So I think we will do what we've been doing for a while already, that we will do singles, just individual collaborations with some people. And at the same time, we'll work towards something that's more wholesome, like an album kind of thing. But I think also we started to think about the album also from the perspective of what would be ultimately the greatest APOCALYPTICA show like, what all aspects it would include."

He continued: "Now it's great fun to play METALLICA, but this is so straightforward, like straight in your face all the time from the beginning to end. But APOCALYPTICA has so many more dimensions and I think, in a way, I don't know any other band that can go from so sensitive, so classical, so minimalistic into such a really powerful chaos and everything in between. So, we haven't done that kind of project. For example, a couple of years ago we did a tour in churches in Finland in the COVID times. And we made a special program for the church thing. I was, like, 'Okay, this is really cool to do as well,' and totally different thing than what we're doing now. And I think kind of a hybrid of those where there would be space for all kind of qualities that APOCALYPTICA has. So that's something what we are thinking… APOCALYPTICA can be this and that and that and that and then so many things. So it's exciting."

Also at this year's Download, APOCALYPTICA lead cellist Perttu Kivilaakso was asked by Daniel Steer of Mike James Rock Show if there are any musicians left on his "wish list" for possible collaborators on the band's future recordings. He responded: "We have worked with an incredible amount of amazing artists. And [METALLICA's] James Hetfield [who guested on APOCALYPTICA's cover of METALLICA's 'One' from 'Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2'], of course, has probably been the top of the list, kind of the dream that it would be unbelievable if he someday does something for us. But, of course, there are still so many fascinating artists. For example, I think that the charisma and incredible person of Nick Cave, for example, could be something really cool to make a dark, gloomy thing with the cello and his expression. Or whomever, like Pink or somebody with a really, really great attitude.

"The lovely thing about APOCALYPTICA is that we are very versatile with our music, that it could go from very beautiful classical elements to brutal thrash metal," he explained. "And even still I would love to work more with the greatest growers — Alissa White-Gluz [ARCH ENEMY] or whomever — great artists there are. So the good thing is that the ideas never kind of end. You only end up having the problem with too many ideas and somebody in a business saying that, 'Not all is possible, guys. Come on.'"

Kivilaakso went on to say that he and his APOCALYPTICA bandmates are grateful to still have a global audience with their unique fusion of classical cello music with hard metal elements. "So far, that has been really working," he said. "And I just somehow started to appreciate more and more the fact that we still can do this for a living and entertain people around the world. And it makes us feel, I guess, blessed in that sense. And that gives you the sparkle to still continue and try to figure out more cool things."

As previously reported, Hetfield attended APOCALYPTICA's March 3 concert at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado.

"Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2" continues the journey that began in 1996 when cellists from Helsinki's world-renowned Sibelius Academy played symphonic tribute to METALLICA. The "One" single saw Hetfield joining proceedings for a soul-stirring, spoken word of those inimitable, now-immortal lyrics.

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 METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo.

HATEBREED guitarist Wayne Lozinak has left the band's European tour after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Earlier today, the veteran Connecticut-based hardcore/metal act released the following message via social media: "Send Wayne Lozinak some love!

"On the night of June 14th, while at Download Festival, Wayne began experiencing mild symptoms that raised concerns of a possible stroke. Out of an abundance of caution, he sought medical attention the following day upon arriving in Lille, France. After undergoing a CT scan at the ER, doctors discovered a brain tumor, leading to his immediate admission for further testing.

"Following a thorough 24-hour evaluation, including an MRI, it was determined that the tumor is a benign meningioma—a slow-growing mass that has likely been present for years. We are immensely relieved that Wayne's diagnosis is the best possible outcome given the circumstances.

"Wayne will be returning to the U.S. to prepare for surgery and focus on rest and recovery. His strength and resilience remain unwavering, and he is determined to return to HATEBREED as soon as he is able. We appreciate all the love and support from fans, friends, and the music community during this time.

"Further updates will be shared as appropriate. Thank you for respecting Wayne's privacy as he begins this journey toward full health.

"@mattbachandmusic will be taking over touring guitar duties while bass will now be handled by Karl @firstbloodrules see you in the pit!"

This past April, HATEBREED announced it was resurrecting the beloved and annual "Summer Slaughter" tour for 2025, which kicks off July 8 in St. Petersburg, Florida and runs through July 28 in Grand Rapids. Support for this year's run will include FUGITIVE, GRIDIRON, MALEVOLENCE, INCITE, ESCUELA GRIND and SNUFFED ON SIGHT on select dates.

HATEBREED celebrated its 30th anniversary with a North American tour last fall. Support on the trek came from CARCASS, HARMS WAY and CRYPTA.

With dozens of pit-stirring anthems across their eight catalog albums, HATEBREED are celebrating three decades of ruthless breakdowns and consistently sold-out shows the world over. Over the course of their career, the band has gone from playing basements and backyards to being a featured, must-see attraction on countless festivals like Graspop Metal Meeting, Ozzfest, Warped and Download alongside massive high-profile tours.

Recently described by Forbes as "more relevant than ever in the metal and hardcore community," HATEBREED remains one of the most definitive live acts in music today and recently celebrated a milestone with their track "Looking Down The Barrel Of Today", which surpassed 75 million global streams on Spotify alone while generating over 600,000 global equivalents across all digital service providers, making it their single biggest career streaming track of the modern era. To date, HATEBREED has sold over 1.5 million albums in North America alone.

Press photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR

Send @waynelozinak some love! ❤️‍🩹

On the night of June 14th, while at Download Festival, Wayne began experiencing...

Posted by Hatebreed on Tuesday, June 17, 2025

In a new interview with The Delz Show, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke about the band's song "Mechanix", which was the original version of "The Four Horsemen", the METALLICA song that was co-written by now-MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine and included on METALLICA's debut album, 1983's "Kill 'Em All'. METALLICA wrote new lyrics and renamed the song "The Four Horsemen" after Dave was kicked out of the band. The track "Mechanix" later appeared on MEGADETH's debut album, 1985's "Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!". Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Dave wrote that song pre-METALLICA, as I understand it. He had 'Mechanix' done in its entirety and then he brought that into METALLICA. They kept certain riffs and parts of his songs and created their version of it. 'Cause if you listen to [METALLICA's] 'No Life 'Til Leather' demo. they play 'Mechanix' in its entirety the way MEGADETH did. The only real difference is Gar [Samuelson, then-MEGADETH drummer] played the shuffle beat rather than Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] played the guitar riff, basically, on the drums. So, both are great — I like both — but [those were] two different styles. So, 'Mechanix' was very much Dave's song, for sure. And he didn't look at like it was a METALLICA song; it was his song. As I understand — this is what Dave had told me — he brought that in to METALLICA. So when he left, he took it with him. It was his attitude. I think those other songs, I believe he collaborated, or if he brought them into the METALLICA band room, they worked on those together — 'Metal Militia', 'Phantom Lord', whatever else that he wrote, I got the impression that those were group compositions, whereas 'Mechanix' was entirely his song — lyrics and music — that he brought in to METALLICA."

Ellefson went on to say that it's "ironic" that there has been such a heated debate over two different versions of the same track. "I don't know, in the history of music, if there is ever a song — let's just take 'Mechanix' — that essentially 'Mechanix' is the song, [while] 'The Four Horseman' is a derivative of that song as they collaborated even while Dave was in the band to develop it into 'The Four Horsemen'," he said. "So there's essentially these two songs that are two different names, two different lyrics, musically the same, two different copyrights. And the melodies are the same. Obviously, James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] changed the lyrics to 'The Four Horsemen', wrote an entirely different [set of lyrics]… So I don't know in the history of recorded music if that's ever happened before… It's kind of strange, actually, now that we're talking about it, that it happened. Of course, that controversy continues to this day, as we've seen."

Ellefson went on to defend METALLICA for using some of Mustaine's music on "Kill 'Em All", explaining: "When you work for a company, like, for instance, when I worked for Peavey, we did a David Ellefson signature bass. But when I left, they took my name off of it and they keep the bass. It's Hartley Peavey's company, and I worked for him. I think in METALLICA it's the same way. It's Lars's and James's band. And so if you're there and you write some songs, what you did there stays there.

"I mean, look, again, this was all before I met Dave," Ellefson clarified. "I met Dave six weeks after he was out of METALLICA. And for me, 'No Life 'Til Leather' was my first introduction to them, and I loved what I heard… And it wasn't my argument to have with that, but I just looked at it and went, man, the fact that this band kicked you out — okay, bummer — but they used your songs, they put your name on the credit, and you got paid. It's, like, fuck, that's like a triple win, man.

"Look, when members got kicked out of MEGADETH, their songs weren't used and [they weren't] credited and paid," David revealed. "I mean, the song 'Soldier On!' on the last MEGADETH record [2022's 'The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!'], I brought the lyric and the melody in for that, and then me and Dave were working on that together. He changed the title of it to 'Soldier On!' and then when he kicked me out, he just took my words off and kept the whole song to himself and took all the credit. He didn't pay me or put my fucking name on it. So, as far as I'm concerned, Lars and James were pretty generous to him. I look at that and I'm just, like, yeah, that didn't happen to any of us in MEGADETH. But whatever. It's all part of the folklore and the legend of MEGADETH and METALLICA, I guess… Look at it like that: it was a severance package. METALLICA didn't have any money [at the time]. They were broke. They signed a [record] deal and they made their record. Who knew they'd make any money at all? The fact that it blew up like it did is just incredible. But it's the feud of our genre."

Mustaine, who was one of the early members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.

Back in 2011, Mustaine was asked by Revolver magazine what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group. Mustaine said, "I had always called us, as a group, 'The Four Horsemen.' Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, then-METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that's basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'."

"No Life 'Til Leather" was recorded on July 6, 1982 at Chateau East Studio in Tustin, California. All the songs on the tape later appeared on "Kill 'Em All", including "Hit The Lights", "Motorbreath", "Jump In The Fire", "Seek And Destroy", "Metal Militia", "Phantom Lord" and "The Mechanix".

Mustaine is credited as a co-writer on six METALLICA songs, four on "Kill Em All" ("The Four Horsemen", "Jump In The Fire", "Phantom Lord" and "Metal Militia") and two on "Ride The Lightning" ("Ride The Lightning" and "The Call Of Ktulu").

On December 10, 2011, as part of METALLICA's 30th-anniversary celebration at the Fillmore in San Francisco, Mustaine joined the band to play several songs, including "Phantom Lord" and "Jump In The Fire". This was the first time in 28 years that Mustaine played songs that he co-wrote live with METALLICA.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit in May 2021.

Photo credit: Maciej Pieloch (courtesy of Napalm Records)