Technical death metal architects REVOCATION will release their new full-length album, "New Gods, New Masters", on September 26 via Metal Blade Records.

REVOCATION creates extreme music for extreme times. On "New Gods, New Masters", their fifth record for Metal Blade, the quartet — spearheaded by founder/vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson — delivers nine potent and portentous songs of brutal lyrical and musical significance. While their critically lauded, 2022-released "Netherheaven" full-length set a high bar for the band, an even sharper musical and lyrical focus was achieved on "New Gods, New Masters". The Boston-bred Davidson credits newest members Harry Lannon (rhythm guitar and backing vocals since 2023) and bassist Alex Weber with a renewed energy and intensity both in the studio and onstage.

"It's been a pleasure ripping with those guys alongside Ash [Pearson], who always crushes it behind the kit," he notes. In terms of his own playing, writing, and singing he adds, "I'm always refining my craft and trying to get better."

Titling the album "New Gods, New Masters" reflects Davidson's belief about humans' need to worship various gods. "It seems as if that desire is encoded in our DNA. As science and our understanding of nature and the universe as a whole increases, the religions of the old gods start to become obsolete," he says. "However, I believe we've replaced our old gods with new ones, worshipping technology and creating a cult-like idolatry of innovators. I've been very fascinated with the development of artificial intelligence, and I'm deeply concerned where this could lead humanity whether it's the slow march towards a technological dystopia or the all-out annihilation of our species."

In advance of the record's release, today the band unveils first single "Cronenberged", featuring guest vocals by Jonny Davy of JOB FOR A COWBOY. The track centers itself on a science experiment gone wrong.

"I'm a massive sci-fi horror fan and love the body horror genre that David Cronenberg helped to create so this is my homage to that," notes Davidson. "Also, shout out to 'Rick And Morty' for inspiring the song title."

"The video for 'Cronenberged' features tons of gore and practical effects," he continues. "It was so fun to create a little mini sci-fi horror movie for this track. Getting to transform into a hideous tentacle monster was a real treat. I knew things were going well when the My Good Eye film crew were gagging at how gross it was off screen."

"New Gods, New Masters" was produced by Davidson and mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (THE HAUNTED, SPIRITBOX) with artwork by Paolo Girardi (BELL WITCH, MOTHER OF GRAVES, BLACK BREATH, CRYPTOPSY). In addition to Jonny Davy, the record includes guest appearances by Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION, Luc Lemay of GORGUTS, and jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman.

"New Gods, New Masters" will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl.

"New Gods, New Masters" track listing:

01. New Gods, New Masters
02. Sarcophagi Of The Soul
03. Confines Of Infinity (feat. Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION)
04. Dystopian Vermin
05. Despiritualized
06. The All Seeing (feat. Gilad Hekselman)
07. Data Corpse
08. Cronenberged (feat. Jonny Davy of JOB FOR A COWBOY)
09. Buried Epoch (feat. Luc Lemay of GORGUTS)

Following the release of "New Gods, New Masters", REVOCATION will kick off a month-long North American headlining tour. The journey begins on October 16 in Leesburg, Virginia and runs through November 15 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Support will be provided by JUDICIARY, INFERI and VOMIT FORTH (on select dates).

Artist, Bandsintown and Sheet Happens presales begin today, June 18 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Venue presales begin today at 1:00 p.m. ET. General on-sale date is Friday, June 20 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

REVOCATION with JUDICIARY, INFERI, VOMIT FORTH:

Oct. 16 - Tally Ho - Leesburg, VA
Oct. 17 - Brooklyn Monarch - New York, NY
Oct. 18 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
Oct. 19 - Foufones - Montreal, QC
Oct. 20 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
Oct. 21 - Sanctuary - Detroit, MI
Oct. 22 - Reggies - Chicago, IL *
Oct. 24 - HQ - Denver, CO
Oct. 25 - Ace's High - Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 26 - The Shredder - Boise, ID
Oct. 27 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
Oct. 28 - Rickshaw - Vancouver, BC
Oct. 29 - Dante's - Portland, OR
Oct. 31 - Neck Of The Woods - San Francisco, CA
Nov. 01 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 02 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
Nov. 04 - Rosetta Room - Mesa, AZ
Nov. 05 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM *
Nov. 07 - RBC - Dallas, TX *
Nov. 08 - Come And Take It Live - Austin, TX
Nov. 09 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX *
Nov. 11 - Orpheum - Tampa, FL
Nov. 12 - Respectable Street - West Palm Beach, FL
Nov. 13 - Conduit - Orlando FL
Nov. 14 - The Radio Room - Greenville, SC
Nov. 15 - Chapel Of Bones - Raleigh, NC

* No VOMIT FORTH

REVOCATION is:

Dave Davidson - vocals, guitar
Ash Pearson - drums
Harry Lannon - rhythm guitar
Alex Weber - bass

Photo by Alex Morgan

Fans can get even more excited for Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH's monumental farewell performance, as the trailer drops today for "Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow", the highly anticipated global livestream of the sold-out show you can't miss.

On July 5, music history will be made as Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince Of Darkness, will take to the stage for his final ever live performance, joined by the original BLACK SABBATH lineup for the first and last time in two decades, in the biggest metal event of all time.

Following an outpouring of fan demand from across the globe — and even a petition begging for a way to watch this once-in-a-lifetime event — prayers have now been answered with tickets for the livestream available at www.backtothebeginning.com.

Broadcast live from Birmingham, United Kingdom's Villa Park, those who missed out on being there can still experience this unforgettable moment, with access to the raw livestream from 3:00 p.m. on July 5, and the chance to rewatch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.

"Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow" will be captured, produced and distributed by Mercury Studios ("One To One: John & Yoko", "American Symphony", "Metallica Saved My Life"),who are pioneering the way for premium, music-driven storytelling across film, television, podcasts and immersive formats. Mercury has partnered with Kiswe — the global D2C streaming partner behind the record-breaking BTS concert livestream — to deliver this unforgettable moment of music history to fans across the globe.

Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said: "We had such an overwhelming demand from fans from around the globe, who couldn't get tickets to the show, and they took to social media, pleading with us to broadcast a livestream of the show. Being this is such a historic event, we just couldn't let them down."

Kelly Sweeney, managing director of Mercury Studios, said: "Mercury Studios are incredibly proud to be involved in capturing this monumental milestone at Villa Park. 'Back To The Beginning' will be an unforgettable experience, and our aim is to deliver this moment to fans worldwide, wherever they are, so they don't miss out on seeing music history being made."

The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, will be hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa, and feature a supergroup of musicians.

This past February, Sharon told The Sun that her husband is struggling to walk amid his battle with Parkinsons disease, but that his singing voice is "as good as ever". She said: "[Ozzy's] very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this.

"Parkinson's is a progressive disease. It's not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body and it's affected his legs. But his voice is as good as it's ever been."

Proceeds from the "Back To The Beginning" show will support Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice, a Children's Hospice supported by Aston Villa.

According to Sharon, Ozzy, who paused touring "for now" in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery and rescheduled his "No More Tours 2" shows from going ahead several times because of illness, the pandemic and logistical issues, will not play any more shows after the Villa Park event.

"Ozzy didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there's no been no full stop," she explained. "This is his full stop."

In addition, there will be a performance by a "supergroup of musicians" including Duff McKagan and Slash (GUNS 'N' ROSES),Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE),Wolfgang Van Halen (VAN HALEN, MAMMOTH WVH) and Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE).

"It's an endless amount of people," said Sharon. "They're going to be doing some SABBATH songs, some Ozzy songs, and they'll all mix together. Different little groups will be coming on, but they're all icons."

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH last performed in 2005. Since then, SABBATH has played in partial reunions but never in its original lineup.

"For Ozzy right now, it's definitely: 'I love you and good night'," Sharon told Reuters.

She added that Ozzy was doing well and excited about the gig. "It's stimulated him," she said. "He's very, very excited and very thankful that he can do it."

The legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman was diagnosed in 2003 with Parkin 2 — a very rare genetic form of Parkinson's. During a TV appearance in January 2020, the singer disclosed that he was 'stricken" with the disease which occurs when the nerve cells of the body degenerate and levels of dopamine are reduced. Dopamine is an essential chemical that is produced by these nerve cells which send signals to different parts of the brain to control movements of the body.

Ozzy's health issues, including suffering a nasty fall and dislodging metal rods placed in his spine following a quad-bike accident in 2003, as well as catching COVID-19 three years ago, forced him to cancel some of his previously announced tours.

While Osbourne's health issues forced him to scrap most of his live appearances, the musician said he would return if his condition improved.

Osbourne's previously announced European tour with guests JUDAS PRIEST, originally set for 2019 and then rescheduled three times, was officially canceled in early February 2023.

Despite his health problems, Osbourne has performed a couple of times in the last three years, including at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022 and at the NFL halftime show at the season opener Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills game in September 2022.

In a new interview with Brazil's Rádio Kiss FM 92.5, acclaimed hard rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, who sang on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, 1984's "Rising Force" and 1985's "Marching Out", was asked which lessons he learned during his time with the legendary Swedish guitarist that he still applies to the way he approaches his career today. Jeff responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, one of the biggest lessons I learned when I was with Yngwie is how to do things and how not to do things. And what I saw, not necessarily Yngwie, but the management, just the way things were run, I saw that's not the way I wanna do things with my own career, with my own future. So I learned a lot from there that I took into my own world and into the next steps of my career, and that's why I'm still doing this, I guess."

Jeff continued: "That's one [piece of] advice I always give to young musicians when they say, 'What advice do you have for new musicians?' I said, besides the fact that you have to stay with it — if you really want it, you have to stay with it because when you get 'no, no, no, no, no, no,' one day you're gonna get one 'yes,' and that means you're meant to be there. That's my first advice. But the second advice, and it's the most important advice — learn the business. There's so many ways you can get screwed. There's so many ways people can put the hat over your face, and you have no idea. You can sell one million albums and you're still driving an old beat-up car. So you just wanna learn the business and know what you're signing. When people are talking about the business — publishing copyright, mechanical royalties; there's so many different things to learn — and I tell every musician, make sure you know that stuff before you get into this."

Jeff added: "It's called the 'music business' for a reason. There's music and there's business. If you don't learn the business, you're screwed."

More than three years ago, Jeff claimed that Yngwie threatened to cancel his concert in May 2022 in Agoura Hills, California after finding out his former bandmate was in attendance. The following day, Malmsteen disputed Soto's account of what happened in Agoura Hills, writing on his Facebook page: "Kids, don't believe made up BS from people who are trying to stay relevant! He's not important for me to cancel my show to my fans. On the other hand I was told by my agent that he snuck in there without paying so the security threw him out. Certain people make up stories… turn up at my show, get kicked out by security because they snuck in the venue WITHOUT PAYING, then turn around make up a story to try and grab media attention… some people are sick. STOP stalking me and get help".

Eight years ago, Soto engaged in a war of words with Malmsteen over the fact that Yngwie claimed in an interview that he "always wrote everything," including the lyrics and melodies, and simply hired various vocalists to sing his material.

Back in 2017, Soto told the "US American Made Guitars" show that "it's false information" to suggest that he contributed nothing to Yngwie's early albums "because we co-wrote [some of] those songs together. I actually authored those songs," he said. "For him to say, 'I wrote every lyric, every melody,' it's absolute falsity. And he's speaking out of whatever anger or whatever throwaway conversation he might be having, but when it's put on text, it comes across as very crude and very arrogant. So, of course, I don't take that kind of stuff too personally."

The singer went on to say that faulty memory may be at least partly to blame for Yngwie's comments. "Yngwie's written so much of his own stuff, he's written so much on his own when it comes to lyrics and melodies through the years," he said. "Maybe the past eight albums… I don't even know how many albums he's put out, but for that many albums he's put out, clearly his memory is fogged on the albums that he wasn't doing all of that."

He continued: "Joe Lynn [Turner] was a very strong collaborator on the album ['Odyssey'] with he did with Yngwie, as was I, as were some of the other singers that were involved with him. Maybe later on that changed and the other guys were basically just used to sing his words. And I was as well on some songs. I mean, 'I Am A Viking', I didn't write one word or one melody on it. But the stuff that we did together, that's stuff that we did together. And there's some stuff I did on my own that's on there — he didn't add or remove one single thing from it. So, again, it's selective memory. It could be he doesn't wanna talk about me, he's got a bad taste in his mouth about me, so he's gonna do everything in his power to make sure that everybody knows how downplayed my role was in his life and his career."

In the days after Yngwie's original interview with Metal Wani was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, several of the guitarist's other former singers — including Joe Lynn Turner and Tim "Ripper" Owens — responded on social media, with Turner describing Malmsteen's statements as "the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity." This was followed by a retort from a member of Yngwie's management team, who wrote on Malmsteen's Facebook page that the three vocalists "came out enraged, spitting insults and profanities" at the guitarist because "Yngwie said something that they didn't like." The management representative added: " It's very unfortunate that these past hired vocalists must resort to mudslinging and insults to elicit any kind of media attention towards them. Such classless, puerile words are ungentlemanly at best and absolutely disgraceful at worst."

In a new interview with 95.5 KLOS radio legend Frazer Smith, Alice Cooper spoke about his reunion with the other surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band — guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — for an upcoming studio album, "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", which is due on July 25 via earMUSIC. This highly anticipated effort, dedicated to original ALICE COOPER guitarist Glen Buxton, who died in 1997, is heralded as the successor to their iconic records "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Love It to Death" and "Killer". The first single from the album, "Black Mamba", was made available in April, featuring the legendary Robby Krieger of THE DOORS.

Regarding how the reunion with the other original members of ALICE COOPER came about, Alice told 95.5 KLOS (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we parted, we didn't divorce; we just separated. There was no bad blood. There was no lawsuits or anything like that. And we stayed in touch with each other. And finally, at one point — they had worked on some of my albums — I said, 'Why don't we just do an album?' Ah we got [longtime producer] Bob Ezrin involved. And I was absolutely amazed. Everything went so smoothly. We wrote all these songs, and it sounded exactly like 1975."

Alice added: "Losing Glen was really tough for us 'cause he was our Keith Richards. We got Robby Krieger to play on 'Black Mamba', which was perfect for that song. And we found a guy named Gyasi [Hues] in Nashville that just fit in perfectly."

Asked if he and the other surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band just clicked right back in as friends too, Alice said: "Absolutely. It was never a beat even [that was missed]. It just felt like this was the album that should have come out after 'Billion Dollar Babies'. It had that feel to it."

The four surviving bandmates performed together in 1999 at the second Glen Buxton Memorial Weekend at CoopersTown in Phoenix. Another reunion concert took place in 2010 at Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding, followed by an appearance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in 2011. There was also a record store reunion concert captured in the documentary "Alice Cooper: Live From The Astroturf" as well as guest appearances on select tracks on Cooper's solo albums "Welcome 2 My Nightmare", "Paranormal" and "Detroit Stories".

"The Revenge of Alice Cooper" track listing:

01. Black Mamba
02. Wild Ones
03. Up All Night
04. Kill The Flies
05. One Night Stand
06. Blood On The Sun
07. Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams
08. Famous Face
09. Money Screams
10. What A Syd
11. Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues
12. What Happened To You
13. I Ain't Done Wrong
14. See You On The Other Side
15. Return of the Spiders 2025 (bonus track)
16. Titanic Overunderture (bonus track)

Formed in 1968, the original ALICE COOPER band forged a theatrical brand of hard rock that was destined to shock and had never been seen before. Within five years, they would release no fewer than seven studio albums, amongst them their international breakthrough "School's Out" (including the Top 10 hit of the same name) and the U.S. No. 1 "Billion Dollar Babies" (1973). By 1974, the band had risen to the upper echelon of rock stardom... and then it dissolved.

In October 2015, over 40 years later, record store owner and superfan Chris Penn convinced the original lineup to reunite for a very special performance at Good Records, his record store in Dallas, Texas. Alice, Michael, Dennis and Neal were joined on stage by Alice's current guitarist Ryan Roxie (standing in for Buxton).

Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for. With a schedule that includes six months each year on the road, Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where mainstream media can present real-life shocking images.

Photo by Jenny Risher

In a new interview with the Caught On The Mike podcast, HINDER drummer Cody Hanson and singer Marshal Dutton spoke about the band's seventh studio album, "Back To Life", which came out on May 23 via Evil Teen Records. Regarding how the HINDER creative processes has evolved over the last 10 years, Hanson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know that the process is any different. We don't really have a set process that we feel we use. It's always different, depending on the situation. I think the one thing that felt a little different about this one is that we were a little less concerned with what everybody else thinks that we are as a band. We had written a bunch of material over a pretty long period of time that we were able to go and kind of comb through and pull out and kind of rework, and I think that that definitely was beneficial for us on this record. There's a lot of material that had been written for a long time, and that was was pretty cool. But like I said, we didn't really go into it trying to be something, where I think certainly on the last record, with [2017's] 'The Reign', we were trying to make it a little more heavy, a little more dark and we were, I think, kind of worried about just being that rock band. Where now, on this album, I think we were just worried about the songs, writing and recording the best songs that we could do. And I think it paid off, man. I'm really happy with it. I'm very, very proud of it. And it seems like the reaction has been amazing."

When podcast host Michael Clark noted that the audience can see when a band is being authentic with its music, Hanson concurred. "Yeah, I think so," he said. "This record, to me, feels like where we are as a band right now. I've told this a million times in interviews lately, but we had actually written and recorded an entire record before this one. It was 2021, 2020… We had this idea that we were going to do a record that was really similar to the first album, that kind of had that vibe. And once we got it done, yeah, I guess it had that vibe, but it didn't feel like us; it didn't feel like who we are now. And so it didn't feel authentic to me."

Dutton chimed in: "It felt dated. It just made us sound like we had not progressed as a band. At least with the sound starting from when I kind of joined the band, it seemed like a regression instead of amoving forward. So we just shelved it."

HINDER's third album with Marshal on vocals, "Back To Life" was produced by Hanson and Dutton at BarCode Studios in Oklahoma City.

HINDER recently announced the "Back To Life Tour Part II" with support from Austin Meade and Kelsey Hickman. The trek will kick off July 11 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Earlier this spring, HINDER embarked on the first installment of the "Back To Life" tour, hitting Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, Louisville and more.

HINDER, which formed in Oklahoma City in 2001, has survived the loss of two lead vocalists, Austin John Winkler, who left the band in 2013, and Nolan Neal, who fronted the group in 2015.

The Oklahoma City-based quartet's story began nearly a quarter century ago when Hanson, Joe "Blower" Garvey (lead guitar) and Mike Rodden (bass) met and activated their musical chemistry. The 2005 hit "Lips Of An Angel" from the band's debut album "Extreme Behavior", since certified three times platinum, topped the charts and remains a radio mainstay. Powerful lead vocalist Dutton joined them in 2015. Throughout their discography, HINDER has embodied an ethos of defiance and tenacity through gutsy lyrics, rousing melodies, and soaring choruses. Each album in their musical journey has reflected a progression, from the grittier early days of "Take It To The Limit" to the more introspective and exploratory energy of 2017's "The Reign".

Photo by Doug Schwarz

Law360 is reporting that heavy-metal singer Conrad Lant insisted on Monday that he was the creator of designs associated with the band Venom, as he gave evidence in his dispute with former bandmate Anthony Bray and a music distributor over branded merchandise.

Lant (aka Cronos) told the High Court that he joined the band, which was originally called Guillotine, in late 1979. He came up with the Satanic-themed designs used in the band’s logo and album covers, which included goat heads, pentagrams and inverted crosses, Lant said.

Richard Colbey of 5 Pump Court Chambers, representing Bray and the music distributor, suggested to Lant that the band was already called Venom when he joined it.

Lant disputed that, saying it was only in the past 10 years that his former bandmates Bray and Jeffrey Dunn “had changed their stories.”

Colbey pressed, “You didn’t become involved in the band until after it had established itself as Venom.”

“That is not correct,” Lant replied.

Lant sued Bray and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd. in June 2024, accusing the distributor of selling merchandise with his copyrighted designs and Bray of approving the infringement through a licensing agreement.

Venom released albums in the early 1980s, including Welcome To Hell, Black Metal and At War With Satan, that incorporated Lant’s six original designs in the center label, album sleeve or packaging, the claim says.

Bray filed a counterclaim for infringement against Lant and Lant’s distributor, Razmataz.com Ltd., arguing that Bray was the real author of the works. The only exception, Bray said, was a single Venom logo that Lant produced, which was a copy of Bray’s original design.

Read the full report at Law360.

In late May, news arrived that legendary Venom drummer Anthony “Abaddon” Bray is about to unleash his new book, The View From The Metal Throne – The Story Of Abaddon & Venom.

Written by Antony Bray, with Andreas Andreou, the book begins with a forward by Brian Slagel (Founder and CEO of Metal Blade Records)

In Antony ‘Abaddon” Bray’s words, “This is my view on the mythical early years, the accomplishments, all the ups and downs of the band. The struggle, the passion, the vision, the hard work, the music, the shows, the adventure.”

In a new interview with Ramona Fernandez of Gym Rock Crew, SKID ROW drummer Rob Hammersmith was asked he has any "rules around alcohol and touring". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They're not hard, fast rules. Common sense. And I know that's a general answer. I certainly don't get away with what I used to. And that's normal. It's a good thing. I don't have any kind of crazy story for you. I mean, I have some stories about nights that got away from me, like we all do, but there wasn't one particular moment where I said, 'Okay, this is not right or not good.' I just got to a point where I really noticed it was taking its toll on me and 'I can't function. I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.'

"I'm certainly not here to tell other people what I think is right or wrong," he continued. "I know everybody has a different relationship with it, and it's a pretty serious topic, it's a pretty serious thing that everybody — it's not just musicians; it's not just us — but everybody has a different relationship with alcohol. I know for the most part what I can do to be able to enjoy myself occasionally and have a few drinks, but not let it affect my job.

"What's interesting about being a musician, without going too much in depth about all the different aspects of what we do, but to a degree, playing music is obviously the job, and that's the job description, but I don't think a lot of people realize how much of the job is personality management," Rob explained. "And when I say personality management, that doesn't just include everybody around you. That includes managing your own personality. And when you start taking things like sleep and diet and alcohol and all these things, if you take it to an extreme, whether you realize it or not, it affects your personality, it affects the way you respond to people around you, and as you get older and you screw that up a handful of times and continue to screw it up occasionally, you become more and more aware of how all of that stuff works

"So I don't have clear — I don't have a strict 'two-drink maximum' or I don't have a strict policy, I don't have strict numbers," Hammersmith added. "I just know that cutting back and being more conscious of why I am… If I'm gonna leave home and work and play drums, it's great. I love it, but I'm there to do a job and there's a purpose for me being there. And that's really a long-winded answer to say I don't have a clear program or I don't have a clear set of criteria for you. I've certainly cut back a lot, and it's just necessary, I think… As I said, with the personality management thing, I think you just become a better bandmate, and sure, you become a better musician, and that's important, but becoming a better bandmate and just being a more reliable person to be around or more of a positive person to be around, I think that that's equally as important."

Asked by Fernandez if he is a cigarette smoker, Hammersmith said: "I'm a former smoker. I'm proud to say it's been many, many, many years since I've smoked. But every once in a while, I still —I don't wanna say I miss it, but every once in a while, I feel that little twinge. But, yeah, I haven't smoked in so many years, and I'm grateful for that."

SKID ROW has yet to announce a replacement for singer Erik Grönwall, who left the band more than a year ago. Erik, who was SKID ROW's fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach's departure, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. As a result, he is immunocompromised, which made touring difficult.

In May and June 2024, SKID ROW played four shows with HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale as a guest singer.

Last July, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan said during a question-and-answer session at the Days Of The Dead horror and pop culture-themed convention in Indianapolis that he and his bandmates were "taking our time" finding a new singer "because we have time. And we've got a couple guys on the radar that we're gonna audition," he revealed. "And there's also a couple of our friends that wanna do what Lzzy Hale did and sit in for a few [SKID ROW] shows. And that's fun too. That was so much fun doing those shows [with Lzzy]."

In May 2024, SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo ruled out a reunion with SKID ROW's former singer Sebastian Bach telling The Hook Rocks podcast: "It's not gonna happen. And I say the same thing every time. I'm thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you're in… We've all collectively sat there and just said that we don't wanna do it. We just don't wanna do it. And we wish everybody all the best."

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February 2022 and was replaced by Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.

On June 12, LAST IN LINE singer Andrew Freeman played a full set of AC/DC classics with what he called "some of the best musicians in the AC/DC tribute scene" at The Composers Room in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Based in Las Vegas, Freeman is an American rock vocalist and guitarist who has played for a number of bands, most notably punk rock group THE OFFSPRING and hard rock guitarist George Lynch's LYNCH MOB. Freeman is currently the frontman for the hard rock band LAST IN LINE, which features some of the reunited original members of the band DIO.

Freeman joined punk band THE OFFSPRING as a touring guitarist and backup vocalist on their 2008 tour for the album "Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace". In 2010, Freeman joined HURRICANE as the lead vocalist, performing a few shows with the band before leaving in 2013. In 2012, Freeman joined the original members of DIO as lead vocalist to form the band LAST IN LINE. LAST IN LINE has released three albums so far: 2016's "Heavy Crown", 2019's "II" and 2023's "Jericho".

Freeman has performed on several tours as the lead vocalist with George Lynch, including a feature on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and a headline show at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California.

In 2018, Freeman started performing as the vocalist for LIES, DECEIT & TREACHERY with Jimmy D'Anda, Mick Sweda and Lonnie Vencent, all of whom are formerly of BULLETBOYS. He also formed a band called DEVIL'S HAND with guitarist Mike Slamer, and in December of the same year, they released a self-titled album.

In 2021, Freeman filled in for FIREHOUSE lead singer C.J. Snare on some tour dates while Snare recovered from abdominal surgery.

In May 2022, Freeman joined GREAT WHITE as the band's lead singer but lasted only five months before he was replaced by Brett Carlisle.

Thursday night I'll be playing a full set of AC/DC classics "all killer, no filler" with some of the best musicians in...

Posted by Andrew Freeman on Tuesday, June 10, 2025

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", Matt Montgomery (a.k.a. Piggy D.) was asked how he landed the gig as the bassist in Marilyn Manson's band. The 49-year-old musician, who had previously played with Rob Zombie, responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Referral. It's a small, small community. Yeah, the timing worked out. Things are meant to be. I guess that's the universe working the way it should.

"It's been really cool to be along for the ride for this rebirth," Matt added. "And the band is killer, and we have a great time, and the shows have been rad. And, yeah, I can't say or feel any better about it."

When MikeZ noted that it must be "great" working with a newly sober Manson, Montgomery concurred. "Yeah, he's amazing," he said. "His focus is sharp and he is an inspiration to people; he really is. And I'm proud to stand next to him, because I think he's representing hard. And as somebody that's been in and out of sobriety over the years, it's amazing to see somebody turn their life around. It's always an amazing story. It doesn't matter who they are. It's always an amazing story. The miracle is never lost on me. You put a microphone in front of it, you can do some good. And it's cool."

Matt also talked about another addition to Manson's band, guitarist Reba Meyers, who has previously played with the Grammy-nominated act CODE ORANGE. He said: "It's great to have a female voice doing the female vocal parts. It's really cool. And she adds so much color and texture to the songs. Yeah, she's awesome. She's a joy."

Asked if the Manson setlist pretty much "writes itself" nowadays, Matt said: "I wouldn't say it writes itself. There's a new [Manson] record [out, 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1'], and [Manson's cover of Phil Collins's seminal song] 'In The Air Tonight' just came out. So there's an agenda, obviously, 'cause there's a want to play this new material, but there's also songs you probably should play. And then there's been some interesting curveballs. On the last tour, we did 'Long Hard Road Out Of Hell' [from the soundtrack to the 1997 motion picture 'Spawn'], which was a nice addition. So it's cool. It's cool. There's a wealth of material to pull from, if you wanna get weird and do weird stuff. He knows what he's doing. And personally, what do I love? I love the hard stuff. But that's just because it makes me think it's 1996 again, which was a good time — nostalgic for different reasons. But I enjoy all of it, honestly. It's all very musical and fun stuff to play, and I'm honored to be able to play it."

Matt played his first show with Manson last August at the kick-off concert of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's summer 2024 arena tour.

Montgomery joined Rob Zombie in 2006 as the replacement for Rob "Blasko" Nicholson. Nicholson left Zombie in May 2006 in order to join Ozzy Osbourne's recording/touring band. Nicholson rejoined Zombie in 2024 following Montgomery's departure.

Montgomery's debut performance with Rob Zombie came on May 24, 2006 during an appearance on CBS's "Late Night Show With David Letterman".

Montgomery played bass on the Rob Zombie studio albums "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" (2010),"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" (2013),"The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" (2016) and "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy" (2021).

In addition to his work with Zombie and Manson, Montgomery has collaborated with Alice Cooper, John 5 and Wednesday 13. He's also released solo music and is a member of THE HAXANS alongside NEW YEARS DAY singer Ash Costello.

Fan-filmed video of FIREHOUSE performing the band's latest single, "Mighty Fine Lady", live on June 14 at the BenaFest in Bena, Minnesota can be seen below (video uploaded by the Christine Zemien-Martin channel on YouTube).

"Mighty Fine Lady" marks FIREHOUSE's first release with the band's new lead vocalist Nate Peck, 2023 "American Idol" golden ticket recipient from Season 21, who officially joined the group in 2024. He replaced late FIREHOUSE frontman C.J. Snare, who died on April 5, 2024 at the age of 64 following a lengthy battle with cancer.

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Peck stated about how "Mighty Fine Lady" came about:  "I hit up [FIREHOUSE guitarist] Bill Leverty one day [earlier this year], and I was, like, 'Hey, man, let's work on a song.' And he has all these all these riffs that he's put down into his computer. And he sent me over a riff, and I came up with the first verse and the song was written rather quickly. But we're really excited about the song. We're excited to play it live."

According to Peck, "Mighty Fine Lady" was written primarily "over the phone. I'd send a voice memo, on the iPhone," he explained. "I'd send [Bill] over kind of like the melody and everything, singing, and he would send a guitar track back through the phone, and [we] just kind of [put it together] over the Internet."

Asked if FIREHOUSE has been working on any other news songs since the completion of "Mighty Fine Lady", Nate said: "We would like to work on some more. I think we've got a couple more in the works, but [we're gonna] kind of let this one ride out a little bit and see what happens."

Last month, Leverty reflected on Snare's illness and Peck's eventual addition to the band, telling Anthony Bryant of The Hair Metal Guru: "It was about two and a half years before [his death that] C.J. was fine. Then he had some stomach pain. And we were playing at a gig in Milwaukee. And he walks over to me, kind of like when I'm starting the intro to 'Love Of A Lifetime' or something, and he's just, like, 'Man, I've never felt this bad.' And I'm going, 'You wanna stop and take a break?' And he said, 'No, I'll get through it.' Because he had the 'show must go on' vibe. Man, that guy was tough. So we finished the show and, and I'm, like, 'Man, maybe go get that looked at. And he said, 'Yeah, it'll probably go away.' We didn't know what it was. And then it didn't get any better. We had a little time off. So he went to the doctor — actually, he went to the emergency room. And they said, 'Yeah, you've got an obstruction, a bowel obstruction, so we've gotta remove that.' So [after] surgically removing it, he was back two weeks later singing. You'd never know that he had a scar from having that taken out — and he had gotten some really bad news with it, lab results and stuff like that. And he's, like, 'Look, I wanna keep this private. I don't wanna talk about it.' Let's not mention this. But it was very bad news. And biopsy lab results were not good at all. So that was his first surgery to have it removed. He had another major surgery that was a 12-hour procedure, and he was back singing in six weeks. And you would never know it. He had a scar [about 10 inches] long… And you would never know it with this guy. That's how tough he was. And then, that was about two years that he was doing great, and then he started getting sick again. And so he went in for a third surgery. And that's about the time when Robby Lochner [JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE] said, 'Yeah, I know you guys have a lot of shows on the books and you might need a substitute. And you've gotta check this guy out.' And I'd never heard of him. And I don't watch 'American Idol'. I shouldn't. I should now because… But I checked out Nate's Instagram and he's got all these songs that he sings from the greatest singers of all time, in my opinion. And he just knocks 'em outta the park. And he's just singing live. He got a camera here, and he's just singing into his microphone, and it's just awesome. And so I called him and I said, 'Hey, I'm Bill from FIREHOUSE. We've got a couple of shows coming up. Would you be interested in filling in for C.J.? C.J. should be back around July.' And he said, 'Oh, I would love to.' I sent him the song list. I said, 'Do you know any of our songs?' He says, 'No. I've heard 'Love Of A Lifetime' before, but I don't know any of the songs.' So I'm, like, 'Well, I'll send you the songs. And we'll be talking on the phone. And you can get ready by kind of practicing or whatnot.'"

Bill continued: "We didn't have any rehearsals with the guy. We had a long soundcheck that day of the New England Rock Fest, which was his first gig, and he just crushed it. I mean, he was really nervous, but he just nailed it. And I sent some video over to C.J., and I was talking to [C.J.] on the phone. He was, like, 'Man, that guy's good.' He goes, 'Bill, that's your guy.' And I was, like, 'Wow.' So the plan was for C.J. to come back in July. C.J. was feeling rough. He had lost a lot of weight. He was really weak. And we were, like, 'Look, man, when you're ready, come on out. We'll have Nate there too. And then you can get out, sing the first song or two, say 'Hey', introduce Nate and you guys sing a couple songs together. You go take a break, come back out, do an encore or whatever, and whatever you feel will do.' But unfortunately, C.J. had a sudden cardiac arrest. And I talked to him the day before. He said, 'Things are looking good, man. I'm, I'm gaining weight. Things are looking up,' is what he said. I said, 'Great.' And the next day he passed… I remember I got the phone call. We were in Texas, and we were connecting. And I said, 'Everybody, come on over here,' 'cause I had just gotten a phone call, and I told everybody that C.J. passed away last night. And we were just sitting in that airport going… We were not at all expecting that, ready for that. It was brutal. It really was."

According to Leverty, Snare gave FIREHOUSE his blessing to continue with Peck as the frontman. "The thing about him is he never wanted us to cancel a show," Bill said. "Even after he got sick, he didn't want us to cancel a show. Especially once we got Nate. Once we got Nate, he's, like, 'Okay, that guy can sound like FIREHOUSE. So, that's your guy.'

Asked if C.J. and Nate ever had a chance to speak to each other, Bill said: "Oh, yeah. All the time. They talked almost daily. C.J. gave him a lot of advice. And one of the things that he would tell Nate is that you're running a marathon, not a sprint. So keep that in mind. Don't come out and blow your voice out in the first song, 'cause you've gotta control yourself, hold it back a little bit, and take care of yourself. And Nate's followed his advice really well."

Regarding how "Mighty Fine Lady" came about, Bill said: "Well, Nate started it. He was, like, 'Send me a riff.' And I was, like, 'Well, okay.' So I'm down here [in my studio], and I dug up a riff or I came up with a riff that would be, I think, something cool that we could maybe do live and maybe turn into a song. And I sent it to him, and he sang on his little iPhone rig, and sent it back to me in a voice memo with the verse, what is the verse now. And I was, like, 'Man, that is so good and sounds so cool. Let me write some music that would be more fitting for a verse, because what you got is a melody and the lyrics are perfect.' So I sent him back something that was more like a verse. 'Cause he sang over the intro riff, and that intro riff on that song, that's the only time you hear that riff, which is kind of what started the song. The only time you hear it in that song is just right the intro. So I sent him back that verse, and he sang on that, and he's, like, 'Oh, yeah. I like that a lot better.' And I said, 'Okay. Now what you're singing about here is the hot chick. So we've gotta come up with something kind of a little classy to make it the hook or what the topic is about.' And we bounced a bunch of stuff back and forth and we came up with 'Mighty Fine Lady'. And we got a chorus together. And so then after the chorus, you kind of have a song, but you've gotta get little pieces to get from the verse to the chorus and little pieces to get from the chorus back to the second verse, and then a solo, and then a little bridge maybe, which we wrote. And he just came up with all these creative ideas and all these great melodies. So then I was, like, 'Well, the song's written,' and [drummer] Michael [Foster] lives an hour away, so he's coming over here playing drums as it's being done. He's putting in his cool stuff, that intro and everything. And so then, we're, like, 'Well, Nate, let's fly you here to Virginia to record it.' And I had him scheduled — he was gonna fly in on a Friday night. We were gonna record Saturday. He was gonna fly out Sunday. And Friday night we went to dinner and we're just hanging out. And I'm, like, 'All right, well, let's go back. You wanna just sing it through to get the rough idea together?' And he sang it through, and it was perfect. So I'm, like, 'Let's not mess with that.' The next day we went through it with kind of a fine-tooth comb and couldn't really find anything to nitpick about. We tried some other options on stuff and kind of fiddled with it a little bit. But it was done that first night, that first take he did. And the guy's just got all these really cool ideas and everything, and the natural way that he sings without even trying just has that bright tone that C.J. was kind of known for. And Nate's got it. To me, it's magic. And we're super fortunate to work with him."

Asked if there are plans for FIREHOUSE to write and record more new music, Bill said: "We would love to. And we're going to. We'll figure out what the next one is, and we'll crank it out. We won't let it out until it's done. It might take a little bit. But in the meantime, that's where you can get 'Mighty Fine Lady' is at firehousemusic.com. We don't have it on any of the streaming stuff as of right now. It'll eventually be up there. But, right now, if you support the band directly, there aren't a bunch of middlemen in there. And it's way better for us."

According to Leverty, completing "Mighty Fine Lady" "was a lot of work. But it was labor of love in putting it together," he said. "A lot of hours mixing it. I think I spent more time mixing it than I did recording everybody else put together, just because I'm not a mix engineer, but I want it to compete with our old stuff, I want it to compete with our third record too, which was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, the greatest mix engineer out there — one of the greatest. And you want it to compete with the stuff that's out there now and to sound not too far removed, but we also want it to sound like our classic kind of vibe. So there was a lot of experimentation and a lot of work to get it to sound the way it sounds, and we're real happy with the way it turned out."

Peck performed an outstanding audition for "American Idol" judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Richie praised Nate's performance, saying: "That was brilliant... The best rock singer EVER that we've had. You've got it!" Perry looked to the sky and said: "Actually, he's SO good!" High praises from all three judges got him unanimous consent to move onto the next level of the competition. Peck ultimately decided to leave the show to pursue his career in music his own way: playing live music in Nashville's booming rock scene and guest singing with national artists like JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.

Peck has been singing with FIREHOUSE since October of 2023.

Snare died was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in 2020 and took a hiatus from the band in 2023 to undergo abdominal surgery. However, his daughter is reported to have stated the official cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to TMZ.

In a statement on FIREHOUSE's social media, Snare's bandmates said he died "unexpectedly" despite his long illness.

They shared their "great sorrow" at losing their "brother… the rock and roll warrior.

"We are all in complete shock with CJ's untimely passing," they wrote.

"CJ was was arguably one of the best vocal talents of a generation, touring the world with FIREHOUSE non stop the past 34 years.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Snare family, Katherine Little, friends, and all our beloved fans all over the world."

FIREHOUSE hasn't released a studio album since 2011's "Full Circle", which featured re-recorded versions of some of the band's older songs. The group's last collection of new material, "Prime Time", came out in 2003.

FIREHOUSE reached stardom during the early '90s with hits like "Reach For The Sky", "Don't Treat Me Bad" and "All She Wrote", as well as its signature power ballads "I Live My Life For You", "Love Of A Lifetime" and "When I Look Into Your Eyes".

At the 1992 American Music Awards, FIREHOUSE won the award for "Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist". They were chosen over NIRVANA and ALICE IN CHAINS.

Formed nearly four decades ago, FIREHOUSE's classic lineup consisted of Snare, Leverty, Foster and bassist Perry Richardson. Richardson left in 2000 and was replaced by Allen McKenzie in 2003.

GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan has released a new 19-minute video on his YouTube channel in which he answers a number of fan-submitted questions, including about his participation in the upcoming "Back To The Beginning" charity event, which will take place on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The concert will mark the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH's last-ever performance and Ozzy Osbourne's final appearance as a solo artist. Asked what Ozzy means to him, Duff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, that's a pretty big question. Ozzy's been a constant — I mean, since I was, I'm gonna say, about six years old, because when I was a little kid, FM radio started and I had all these older siblings. And we had a stereo in the living room of our house, and they would play FM radio. And what FM radio did then was play a whole side of a record, and it was rock — rock and roll music. So it'd be [Jimi] Hendrix and whatever. And I remember hearing [BLACK SABBATH's] 'Iron Man' for the first time, whatever year that was, and however old I was — young — thinking 'Iron Man' was, 'Wow.' It was like a cartoon thing. And 'What is this song?' And was kind of accessible for me. And a few years later when I started playing guitar, I could figure that song out. And SABBATH and Ozzy just remained a constant."

Duff continued: "I love the 'Never Say Die!' record, which is '78. Some people kind of passed over that stuff. And SABBATH going with [Ronnie James] Dio was a really cool period. And Ozzy going on his own and doing his thing was… He became an icon, I think, when he went solo, whatever that means. But there's certain… Iggy [Pop], Lemmy, Ozzy, Prince — there was these constants in rock and roll, and Ozzy remains that."

More than five years ago, Duff helped write and record Ozzy's "Ordinary Man" album over a four-day period. The GUNS N' ROSES bassist collaborated with RED HOT CHILL PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith and guitarist-producer Andrew Watt on the songs, including "Straight To Hell", "Under The Graveyard" and the title track, a duet between Ozzy and Elton John.

"This guy Andrew Watt called," McKagan told the "Jonesy's Jukebox" radio show. "He said, 'Do you have some days this week in the daytime? I need to write an Ozzy record. We have four days to do it.' So we showed up at Andrew's studio. Everything was kind of set up — Chad's drum kit was set up — and it was basically one of those things: 'Who's got a riff?' It was really inspired. … The three of us — Andrew Watt and Chad and myself — we'd never written together, and you know that can go sideways in a hot second. But it didn't.

"Ozzy came, and Ozzy just loved it," McKagan added. "He just came in and started writing words and laid down the vocals. And it was kind of like that. There was definitely urgency to the whole situation. We had so much time to do it, which was only four days. … I think the record is really, really good."

After fans snapped up tickets to "Back To The Beginning" in just 16 minutes, it was announced that the event will be streamed worldwide. Fans will have access to the raw livestream from 3:00 p.m. on July 5, and will also have exclusive access to rewatch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.

For more information, visit www.backtothebeginning.com.

"Back To The Beginning" will be captured, produced and distributed by Mercury Studios ("One To One: John & Yoko", "American Symphony", "Metallica Saved My Life"),who are pioneering the way for premium, music-driven storytelling across film, television, podcasts and immersive formats. Mercury has partnered with Kiswe — the global D2C streaming partner behind the record-breaking BTS concert livestream — to deliver this moment of music history to fans across the globe.

The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, will be hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa, and feature a "supergroup of musicians", including McKagan and Slash (GUNS 'N' ROSES),Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE),Wolfgang Van Halen (VAN HALEN, MAMMOTH) and Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE).

"It's an endless amount of people," said Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon. "They're going to be doing some SABBATH songs, some Ozzy songs, and they'll all mix together. Different little groups will be coming on, but they're all icons."

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH last performed in 2005. Since then, SABBATH has played in partial reunions but never in its original lineup.

The legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman was diagnosed in 2003 with Parkin 2 — a very rare genetic form of Parkinson's. During a TV appearance in January 2020, the singer disclosed that he was 'stricken" with the disease which occurs when the nerve cells of the body degenerate and levels of dopamine are reduced. Dopamine is an essential chemical that is produced by these nerve cells which send signals to different parts of the brain to control movements of the body.

Ozzy's health issues, including suffering a nasty fall and dislodging metal rods placed in his spine following a quad-bike accident in 2003, as well as catching COVID-19 three years ago, forced him to cancel some of his previously announced tours.

While Osbourne's health issues forced him to scrap most of his live appearances, the musician said he would return if his condition improved.

Osbourne's previously announced European tour with guests JUDAS PRIEST, originally set for 2019 and then rescheduled three times, was officially canceled in early February 2023.

Despite his health problems, Osbourne has performed a couple of times in the last three years, including at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022 and at the NFL halftime show at the season opener Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills game in September 2022.

Video of DEEP PURPLE's June 15 performance at the Best Of Blues And Rock festival at Parque do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Highway Star
02. A Bit On The Side
03. Hard Lovin' Man
04. Into The Fire
05. Guitar Solo (Simon McBride)
06. Uncommon Man
07. Lazy Sod
08. Lazy
09. When A Blind Man Cries
10. Anya
11. Keyboard Solo (Don Airey)
12. Bleeding Obvious
13. Space Truckin'
14. Smoke On The Water

Encore:

15. Green Onions (BOOKER T. & THE MG'S cover)
16. Hush (Joe South cover)
17. Black Night

In a recent interview with São Paulo, Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock radio station, the members of DEEP PURPLE were asked how it feels to be "a  bridge between generations". Drummer Ian Paice responded: "Kids are still listening to rock roll. It doesn't matter what sort of rock and roll. It's all related to what we did and where we got it from, but it's still rock and roll. You can put different names to it. The music, obviously, evolves, it changes, but it's still very closely related. So I think that's the connection. And the generation we came from, where for kids music was the only thing — not the most important [thing]; it was the only thing… Nobody had money, nobody had a car, no computers, no phones. Money, it was nothing. Music was your everything. And I think over the last couple of generations, kids do more things — they have more wealth, they have more toys to play with. But those bands that are still here from that generation still can teach a lot of the younger musicians what's important. And I don't mean by sitting down and learning — just by listening and watching. And I think that's the connection for younger musicians. They see something which, for us, was natural and for them has to be sort of learned. And the only way you learn is by watching and listening. So that's the connection."

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "=1", came out in July 2024 via earMUSIC.

There simply aren't enough superlatives to properly acknowledge the contribution DEEP PURPLE has made to rock music. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, there's little wonder that the respected British radio station Planet Rock named the group the "Fifth Most Influential Band Ever". The band as also presented the "Legend Award" at the 2008 World Music Awards and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2016. DEEP PURPLE truly are "rock royalty".

With a body of work spanning seven decades, DEEP PURPLE has helped pioneer and define the hard rock genre while progressively moving into new areas, both keeping their sound fresh and attracting new fans to the legions who have remained loyal since the band's inception. The celebrated MKII line up of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore was responsible for creating many of the defining rock albums of the early 1970s, including "Made In Japan", universally accepted as one of the most important and influential live albums of all time.

Known as one of the hardest-working bands ever, DEEP PURPLE has continued to release No. 1 albums and tour globally since forming in 1968, with little rest. In 2007 (almost 40 years after being formed),the band performed 40 dates in France to an award-winning audience, and they continue to spend much of their year on the road selling out arenas across the globe.

DEEP PURPLE has stayed true to its musical roots taking from an eclectic mix of styles to create a distinctive sound that defines the band today, but which in turn, has created a legacy that very few bands could ever hope to replicate. The band has written and produced so many "classic," well-known songs, that its audience range widely in age and background — something the band has readily embraced.

DEEP PURPLE's recent studio album "Whoosh!" (2020),followed their worldwide chart-topping albums "Infinite" (2017) and "NOW What?!" (2013). 2024 saw the release of their brand-new album "=1". On all albums, DEEP PURPLE joined forces with producer Bob Ezrin, who has worked with the likes of KISS, PINK FLOYD, Lou Reed and Alice Cooper.

Furthering their collaboration with Ezrin, in 2021 and during the pandemic the band recorded a collection of cover songs from their own homes (normal for most bands nowadays, revolutionary for a band that records everything together in the studio),creating an eclectic and celebratory history of their roots in music, in the shape of "Turning To Crime".

In 2022 came the sad news of Steve Morse's departure due to personal circumstances. Moving forward, DEEP PURPLE sought out the masterful skills of guitarist Simon McBride and played the year out in style, exciting crowds with a new energy and excitement.

This Sunday 15th 🤘🤘🤘🤘

Best of Blues and Rock Deep Purple #bestofbluesandrock #deeppurple #simonmcbride

Posted by Simon McBride on Wednesday, June 11, 2025

In a recent interview with Empire Extreme conducted at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke about the legendary German/American heavy metal band's longevity, having celebrated the 45th anniversary of the release of ACCEPT's self-titled debut album in 2024. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It still blows my mind that people really… I mean, it almost feels like this stuff is for eternity, which is something that nobody could have expected. When I think back to all these years ago in Germany, when we were, basically, little kids in a garage trying to start a band and wrote our first songs, nobody could have thought that this stuff is gonna last. And so we had no idea that songs like that would have as much staying power, and then 40 years later, it means something to people and it doesn't seem to go away in a way. It's crazy. And it's a wonderful thing because what else in life is there, what else can you do in life that kind of has that?

"I'd been away from the music business for a number of years, and I kind of realized it there more than ever, no matter what other job you have, I don't think there's anything that has as much impact on other people like music and art in general," Wolf continued. "It's great. It's a privilege, man."

Speaking specifically about the enduring impact of ACCEPT's iconic song "Balls To The Wall", which was released as the lead single from the band's 1983 studio album of the same name, Wolf said: "I remember when I came up with the first parts of that song and I brought it to the guys, I thought, 'Oh, this is a very cool song. I think it's gonna do something for us.' But nobody had an idea that heavy metal would even last this long. Personally, I always thought it's gonna be like — I don't know — maybe like punk or something. It's gonna be a wave that comes and goes, but nobody could have anticipated that that heavy metal is really still around all these years later. And nobody thought of music — when we got into all this, we didn't think of it as a career. We just thought, 'Man, we're gonna do this as long as we can and we're gonna have a bit of fun. And then maybe one day it's all over.' That was kind of everybody's mindset back then, because there was nobody out in their forties or fifties even doing this kind of stuff. Everybody was young."

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Udo Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums.

In a recent interview with Mark Strigl, Hoffmann was asked if ACCEPT's longtime producer Andy Sneap will be involved with the band's upcoming 50th-anniversary album. Wolf said: "He will not be on this one, because he asked for a year off from us. I asked him, I begged him to produce his album, but then we found a good buddy of his. His name is Zeuss [Chris Harris]. He's producing it."

Hoffmann continued: "[Andy is] kind of part of the family now, but he's been touring so much with [JUDAS] PRIEST [as that band's touring guitarist], and he's been working so much in the studio last year. I think he did SAXON, he did PRIEST, he also did DREAM THEATER — he's done a bunch of stuff. So when I said, 'Hey, can we work this year again?' He said, 'Man, can I please have a year off?', which is understandable."

Regarding ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary tour, which is expected to launch at the end of the year, Wolf said: "It's gonna be a retrospective of the whole 50-year career and, of course, it's gonna feature a lot of the important stuff from the '80s and some deeper cuts. And we're gonna perform with guest singers and guest players, and it's gonna be super exciting, like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You only have one shot at a 50-year anniversary… I don't think we'll get a chance for another one."

Asked what continues to drive him creatively to keep making new music with ACCEPT, Wolf said: "Well, we're still hungry. I still have the energy and I still have the passion for it, so I don't ever feel like I'm at this point where I've kind of had enough or I wanna retire or anything like that. I'm still full force in it, man. And so is everybody in the band. And that is, I guess, what keeps us motivated and what keeps it going. And it's a lot of fun to create stuff that actually means something to the fans. It would be one thing if we were releasing albums and everybody said, 'You know what? Just play the old songs. We don't really need any new stuff.' But the opposite is true. People are really eating the stuff up, and they're really, really happy and they're respecting the fact that we are still working so hard. So the old songs and the new songs kind of live side by side when we perform live. I mean, at one point the classics are always gonna be the classics and they're gonna be featured on radio more and that sort of thing. But when it comes to live performances. I think the fans really appreciate the fact that we play new stuff."

Sneap produced ACCEPT's last six studio albums: "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),"Too Mean To Die" (2021) and "Humanoid" (2024).

Zeuss has previously worked with ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, QUEENSRŸCHE, SHADOWS FALL, DEMON HUNTER, OVERKILL and REVOCATION, among many others.

Four months ago, Hoffmann told Metal Talks about ACCEPT's 50th anniversary: "Yeah, it's a funny thing. I joined this band when I was 16 and just never left. And here I am all these all these years later, coming on a 50th anniversary, which is crazy. But yeah, it's definitely something that we're very proud of. And not every band is lucky enough to be around for this long and to still be in the business and to still be touring to still have fans.

"I think ACCEPT, we're very fortunate in the way that we achieved the impossible," he continued. "We had a change of lead singers 15 years ago with Mark Tornillo, and things are better than they've ever been for us. I mean, the last few albums have been phenomenal, the touring is going great, we have sold-out shows everywhere. So, I mean, we are really, really fortunate, and I'm fully aware of that. And yeah, to mark the occasion, we're gonna have a special tour. We're gonna release a new album with — we're gonna re-record some of the old classics and some of the deeper-cut songs from back then with guest people, guest singers, guest guitar players, and we're gonna bring this out on the road in '26. So we're working on that for the next year or so.

"This is a milestone that needs to be celebrated properly, and what better [way to do it]?" Hoffmann added. "I mean, we only have one chance for a 50th anniversary. I don't think I'll get another one. With all optimism, I don't think I'll be around 50 years from now, or the fans will be, so we might as well have this opportunity and make use of it. And it's gonna be fantastic. I know it. We're gonna play some songs we've never played before, and it's gonna be great."

Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE — Jesse Leach, vocals; Adam Dutkiewicz, guitar; Joel Stroetzel, guitar; Mike D'Antonio, bass; and Justin Foley, drums — released their latest album, "This Consequence", on February 21, via Metal Blade. The LP arrived alongside a hugely successful winter/spring 2025 tour, yielded a Top 10 single with "I Believe" and landed the band on the covers of Revolver and Outburn.

The album was another reminder of why KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, who have earned several gold and platinum certifications alongside three Grammy nominations, remain one of the most enduring bands of the modern metal scene.

Today, the band proudly shares the evocative video for "Aftermath". For this video, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE collaborated with some of the world's leading environmental groups to highlight damage being done to Earth and things we can all do to help stop it.

Watch the video, produced and directed by Good Eye: Music Visuals, below.

"'Aftermath' is a song about the realization of a tragic event or a war, and the strength it takes to rebuild and the hindsight of the loss, betrayal, and madness that transpired while going through it all," Leach explains. "I think we can all relate to this in one way or another. We see daily the tragedies of humanity as well as the destruction of a place we call home. We have taken so much from our planet and ripped the scales in the incorrect direction."

The singer continues: "This song is not just a desperate song with a sense of sadness and anger — it is a call to arms. I'm urging my fellow humans to rise above the helplessness and despair. I want people to see we need to put one foot in front of the other and start to rebuild our lives. Be it from an abusive relationship, a financial hardship, a death of a loved one, or mourning yet another disaster unleashed upon the natural world."

Leach finishes: "We all have power to create change. To me, this works perfectly with the various organizations we partnered with for this video. We all have a responsibility to the amazing place we call home. All of us can make a difference big or small by just contributing to righting the wrongs and repairing the damage we have inflicted on our planet. Our hope is to inspire others to help contribute to keeping our home safe and clean for future generations. It starts right here and right now with us."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will return to the road this week on the massive "Summer Of Loud" tour, co-headling alongside BEARTOOTH, I PREVAIL and PARKWAY DRIVE.

Fans got their first taste of "This Consequence" with pulverizing track "Forever Aligned", swiftly followed up with the instant classic "I Believe". More recently, the group shared a video for "Collusion".

"Making this record lit a fire under my ass and made me rethink everything," admitted Jesse. "It had to be next level. It had to be different enough for people to really recognize we're putting forth an effort-or what's the point of doing this? There was no repeating ourselves. It was very carefully planned out and passionately written. It sounds like KILLSWITCH, yet there's also a fresh spirit to it."

This time around, the group emphasized working together face-to-face in a Massachusetts rehearsal spot. The process enabled them to apply the pressure on every element. At the collective urging of his bandmates, Jesse poured over his words like never before.

"We pushed him to do more vocal demos and were super tough on him," recalls Adam. "He was so open to feedback though, and he definitely got the lyrics right. I love it when he and I are face-to-face, and ideas are flying around. We work especially well together when we're in the heat of the moment. All of the demoing made for a better record, and there was so much communication between all of the band members."

"It felt like everyone put a ton of effort into this," Mike adds. "It's the first time since 'Alive Or Just Breathing' that we really hashed everything out together in the same room. It was a combined effort, and there are even some things you've never heard from KILLSWITCH."

"I never considered myself to be a part of mainstream society," he goes on. "I've always been in the middle. To me, this record is about the consequences of our actions as humans as we engage in war, hatred, division, and falling in line with control. History repeats itself. We're going to have to answer for our actions-whether it's how we treat the earth or each other. There will be an uprising and a backlash from nature. Cause and effect is a driving theme. We will face a consequence."

In a new interview with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini of The Boom Boom Room, '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford spoke out about the infamous 2010 biopic on her former band, THE RUNAWAYS, which stars Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie and Scout Taylor Compton as Lita. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I felt that THE RUNAWAYS movie was all about Joan, and the stories that they told about Joan were just not accurate. They really made her to look larger than life. And I just didn't agree with any of it.

"I love Scout Taylor Compton," Lita clarified. "I thought she did a fantastic job playing Lita and that she's a really great person and great actress. And I love that they picked Scout for that role. And Scout had reached out to me multiple times, 'Lita, help me with this' and 'help me with that'. And then, of course, they had Kristen Stewart playing Joan Jett. And Kristen Stewart is not one of my favorite people, and neither is Joan Jett.

"The movie is just kind of, for me in my book, I glanced over it when it first came out and just thought, 'Okay, I've seen it. I'm done. I don't ever wanna see it again,'" Lita added.

"Yeah, I would've done it different. But maybe I will one day."

Before "The Runaways" was released 15 years ago, Scout praised Lita, saying: "Lita Ford is an icon of rock and has always been a personal hero of mine. I can't wait for her to see the film. I put my heart and soul into portraying her and to find out she is such an amazing person was truly a blessing for me. It's something I'll never forget."

The first true girl band of the 1970s, THE RUNAWAYS toured internationally and made a dent in the charts before calling it quits at the end of that decade.

In November 2018, Ford told the Daily Mail that a reunion of THE RUNAWAYS will probably never happen. She explained: "Joan Jett is very much in 'Joan Jett land,' I guess you could say. Will she ever come out of Joan Jett land? I don't think so. I think her manager controls that and it's really up to him and her. It seems to me like Joan Jett's manager just runs her life in every way, shape, or form. He's very controlling and he has a real problem with me. He has a real issue with me. He sees me as a threat, which is ridiculous, because she's like my sister and I love Joan. It's ridiculous, it's uncalled for, and it's caused a little bit of rivalry between her and I, which is totally uncalled for. It's his fault."

Ford claimed that Jett's manager has prevented her from even talking about a RUNAWAYS reunion with Jett.

"The hard part is just trying to communicate with Joan without her manager involved," she added.

"We had dinner a couple of years ago, what was supposed to be a girl's night out, and she brought her manager with her.

"So it's like, "Dude, answer the question. I'm trying to ask you a question. Are you interested in putting THE RUNAWAYS back together?' She never answered the question."

Ex-THE RUNAWAYS singer Cherie Currie told the "White Line Fever" podcast in 2016 that RUNAWAYS came close to reuniting three decades ago. "Lita had reached out to us to convince us, me and Joan, to do a RUNAWAYS reunion. And we did, with Kenny Laguna basically at the helm, he secured a tour and Lita, she just basically doesn't get along with Kenny and she just walked away from that."

In a 2015 interview with the WHMH (Rockin' 101) radio station, Lita explained that she decided against a possible RUNAWAYS reunion in the early 1990s because "NIRVANA was just kicking in, and it was really bad timing; it wouldn't have worked. People would have just turned their nose up at it."