In a new interview with Tim Louie of The Aquarian, SIXX:A.M. singer James Michael was asked why there are seemingly no plans for the band to record more new music or play live shows. He responded: "You know, it's a good question. When SIXX:A.M. formed, we never really had the intention of being a band. We were three guys that were pals and loved creating together, and, really, the first music that we created for SIXX:A.M. was so outside of the bounds of what was going on in music at the time. We enjoyed that. That's kind of like a guilty pleasure. We loved the fact that we could just break the rules of what was going on in music at the time, so we carried that through pretty much our entire career, but we reached a point where we admitted to ourselves that we were a band that had to go out and keep being a touring band and do all of that stuff that bands do. We always said to ourselves, 'Hey, let's keep doing this as long as it's fun,' and it's not that it ever stopped being fun, but we did reach a point where we all looked at each other and said, 'I think it's time for us to put a period at the end of this sentence. I think it's time for each of us to go on and do other things.' At least for me, there was… I don't want to call it a fear, but there was this concern that we were going to reach the point of diminishing returns, you know? I didn't want to have albums that I looked back on with regret. A couple of songs that we did towards the end, to be quite honest with you, I was not as excited about. I'm not ashamed of them, but I feel like had we kept going, there would have been a larger handful of those types of moments and of those types of songs."

He continued: "Listen, we never did SIXX:A.M. for the money. We never did it to put money in our bank accounts. So we thought, 'Why are we doing this if we are not feeling the same way that we used to feel about what we are doing?' When we did 'Prayers For The Damned' and 'Prayers For The Blessed', I think all three of us knew at that time that it would likely be the end of our album making."

James went on to say that he is still in contact with both his SIXX:A.M. bandmates, bassist Nikki Sixx (also of MÖTLEY CRÜE) and guitarist Darren James "D.J." Ashba (formerly of GUNS N' ROSES). "We still get along great," Michael revealed. "You know, every time I sit down and decide to put on one of our records just to kind of relive old memories, there is such an electricity about it. I have to admit, a part of me kind of goes, 'What if we just tried something else? What if we just tried something new?' I will bet you that both Nikki and D.J. have those same moments."

James added: "We don't have anything planned, and I'm okay with that, because I feel like we wrapped things up very earnestly and very respectfully. But, yeah, every once in a while when I go back and listen to things, I'm, like, 'I know we could make some more cool stuff.' I know we could. Especially with where we all have grown as human being, so the idea of that… I mean, let's put it this way: I am very sincerely retired, and I'm enjoying that, right? But SIXX:A.M. was a magical thing, and there's always going to be a part of me that thinks there's something cool right around the corner."

During a May 28 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ashba was asked about any possible future activities for SIXX:A.M. and whether he is still in contact with Sixx and Michael. Ashba said: "Yeah, I talked to Sixx, like, two weeks ago. We talked for quite a while just to catch up. We're still all great friends. Me and James talk, but James lives in Ireland now. He's pretty much just at a point in his life where he's kind of… I mean, I read it on the Internet like you guys do. He's putting out videos where he's retired. And I have nothing but mad respect for James and Nikki. There has been talk, 'Hey, let's get together and create some new shit.' But if it never happens, it never…

"SIXX:A.M.'s been weird," D.J. explained. "It's a labor of love. We've never looked at it like a band. I know the world and the label, when 'Life Is Beautiful' hit, they're, like, 'You guys are now a band,' and we're, like, 'No. We're just three producers, three best friends that love to create songs together.' So we've never truly looked at SIXX:A.M. like a band. We still, to this day, don't have a drummer. Every time we tour, we have to get a drummer. But it's one of those weird, weird projects that the radio loves us. Every time we release a song, it seems to get a lot of love there. The fans have been incredibly supportive. And listen, I'm open to doing… That would be the only way I would come back and do a band thing would be if Nikki and James wanted to do another tour. I'd absolutely be down for that. But outside of that, I have no interest of joining a new band or doing anything band-wise. But that would be the one exception, for sure. But I would say, I don't know, honestly. I think we're all pretty open to the possibility of us doing something else in the future. We've never really closed the book on it. I'm down. I know Sixx is busy doing his thing, and James is doing whatever he's doing. So I think if the timing was right, I think we'd all be probably down to do something in the future.

"We've just never seen ourselves like a band," Ashba repeated. "And we just love writing songs. It's a lot of fun. It's therapeutic. It's effortless for us. When we get in a room, we can't write songs fast enough. It's just this weird chemistry the three of us have, and we laugh our way through every record we've ever made. We'll sit on the floor in hotel rooms and order pizza and just laugh our way through the lyrics. And we just always have had such a fun time. And I think it's because the lyrics to our songs cut pretty deep in all three of us. We all dig pretty deep into those wounds. So I think laughing our way through it is kind of a weird — it's very therapeutic, I think, for the three of us. It's our therapy session. [Laughs]"

When host Eddie Trunk suggested that "the likelihood of another" SIXX:A.M. record or a single is "maybe a little higher than actually going out and playing shows," Ashba said: "Yeah. I have no idea. I know if we three were to walk into a room, we'd have four songs written easily before we left the room. That's just how we've always been. I can't explain it. Something magical happens when we get in a room together, and it'd be hard for us to be in the same room without writing a song. So, who knows? I don't know what the future holds."

Regarding how SIXX:A.M.'s hiatus came about, Ashba said: "I do know at the time, I had been touring with GN'R around the world, like, six times or something crazy. We would tour for, like, eight months out of the year, and then as soon as I'd get off tour with GN'R, SIXX:A.M. would book me to go out on another tour. So for six, seven years, I really didn't get much of a break. And I know Nikki was kind of doing the same thing with MÖTLEY. So me and him were burning hard at both ends of the candle. So I think everybody just needed a break. We were just so burnt. And I think it was much, much needed at that point."

SIXX:A.M. released "Prayers For The Damned & Blessed Deluxe Edition" on June 6 via Endurance Music Group. The new album is available as a special limited-edition smoke-colored three-LP set as well as on all streaming platforms.

Nearly a decade after the release of SIXX:A.M.'s 2016 albums "Prayers For The Damned" and "Prayers For The Blessed", this deluxe edition set features both albums together with brand-new renditions of "Maybe It's Time" (Piano Version),"Prayers For The Damned" (Piano Version),and an alternative mix of "We Will Not Go Quietly".

Originally formed in 2007, SIXX:A.M. — whose name is a combination of all of the members' last names (Sixx, Ashba, Michael) — emerged as a passion project for Sixx, initially coming together to record a companion soundtrack for his The New York Times best-selling memoir "The Heroin Diaries". Over the years, the trio toured the globe and released six studio albums, a live album, multiple hit singles, including "Life Is Beautiful", "Stars", "Lies Of The Beautiful People", and — from "Prayers For The Blessed" — "Maybe It's Time". SIXX:A.M. announced their hiatus in 2021, marking the end of an era for the band.

With over 500 million streams across digital platforms, SIXX:A.M.'s music continues to resonate with fans worldwide. As the first time both original albums have been available on vinyl in years, this is a must-have for collectors of rock history and fans alike.

"Hits" was released in October 2021 via Better Noise Music. The album was a retrospective celebration of SIXX:A.M.'s biggest hits and fan-favorite songs that also included five previously unheard tracks and mixes, marking the band's first official album with new material since 2016.

Inspired by the release of Sixx's "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx", SIXX:A.M. members Michael, Ashba and Sixx made "Hits" available as a companion piece to the book.

To date, SIXX:A.M. has three U.S. Billboard top 20 albums and a string of hit singles, with its full catalog consisting of five studio albums — "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" (2007),"This Is Gonna Hurt" (2011),"Modern Vintage" (2014),"Prayers For The Damned" and "Prayers For The Blessed" (2016) — and three EPs, "X-Mas In Hell" (2008); "Live Is Beautiful" (2008) and "7" (2011).

Legendary guitarist George Lynch has announced the first two shows for his new project dubbed GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB. The dates are as follows:

July 25 - Angel City Music Hall - Manchester, NH
July 26 - Jam At The Dam - Monroe, CT

Joining Lynch on stage at these shows will be vocalist Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE),drummer Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER, OZZY OSBOURNE) and bassist Jaron Gulino.

Tichy was previously a touring member of George's long-running band LYNCH MOB in 2010, 2012–2013, 2015, 2020 and 2025; Gulino was in LYNCH MOB from 2022 to 2025; and Freeman played with LYNCH MOB in 2003, 2010 and 2019.

In a recent interview with Talking With Cars, legendary guitarist Lynch spoke about his upcoming touring activities following the completion of LYNCH MOB's "The Final Ride" farewell tour celebrating the band's 35-year legacy. He said: "Well, LYNCH MOB did its last show March 22nd, earlier this year. And so that's it for touring for LYNCH MOB. So I have another entity partially put together, which will probably be a revolving door of different people. But right now I'm just tentatively calling it GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB, so people can identify with my name and the fact that there's still the LYNCH MOB aspect to that name without the bad connotations."

Asked if GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB will feature a "rotating" lineup of musicians, George said: "Most likely, yeah. Because we aren't gonna be touring solidly enough to really keep a band together. So it'll just be probably a basket of different people that'll rotate in and out on a need-to basis or whenever they're available."

He continued: "The interesting thing is I've played with so many people in LYNCH MOB that a lot of those people are still friends of mine. They're familiar with me and the material and what people wanna hear. So it's easy. So we've got a couple shows coming up in the summer here. And it is Jaron [Gulino] still on bass from LYNCH MOB. And, we've got Brian Tichy on drums for the next couple shows, and then a vocalist to be determined. We don't know who yet. But we do have a LYNCH MOB record coming out. So, it's being mixed right now. It's all done. It's been done for a second, and it's gonna be a double album — it's gonna be, well, actually two albums. Two separate albums but packaged together. So it's a live album — full live show — and then also a studio album. And that's it. It's mixed right now. So, [it will be out] later in the year."

LYNCH MOB, the band formed by George in 1989 after his exit from DOKKEN, played its "final" concert on March 22 at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, Minnesota.

In February, George was asked by the Iron City Rocks podcast how he felt about completing one final trek with LYNCH MOB. George said: "Well, it's a mixed bag. I thought that it would make sense to go out with a band that, or a version of the band, which this is, that has remained intact for a while. LYNCH MOB has a history of having a revolving door, so that's been frustrating for me because when I first put the band together in '89, I was hoping for the exact opposite… And, of course, that did not happen. But we have a great time, and when we spend time together and tour, it's just really a dream, fun band. We joke around a lot. We work hard and the band — we bring it when we get on stage and we get in the studio. I thought, 'Well, that's the way to go out.' And also, on the other side of the coin, I'm not getting any younger. I didn't want to be that guy up there on crutches, having to sit down. I wanted people to remember it with some sense of vitality. Yeah, so I think we're kind of ending on a positive note, I would say. And we gave ourselves quite a long window. We decided this last year, and it gave us an eight-month, nine-month window. So it's a long, slow kind of fade into the sunset… And we've got, actually, two records [in the works] — we've got a live album and a live DVD and a studio record."

Asked if he was planning on getting involved in more recording projects in the future once the LYNCH MOB tour was done, George said: "Well, I love being in the studio, and I have a pretty nice studio situation, both in California, where I have my own studio, and in New Mexico, where I have found a home out there and a really wonderful venue, where I'm working now, actually. So, as long as I have something to say, I'll try to say it musically. But I will say that I've sort of spent my — I've done a lot of recording, I've written a lot of songs in the last group of years, since COVID and so forth, so I find myself kind of treading over old ground and saying the same thing, and I don't like that. And I think on occasion I've gotta slow down in my output a little bit. So, as I mentioned, we are working on a LYNCH MOB 'Final Ride' studio record. And beyond that, I've got other records in the pipeline that I am obligated — well, I can do, let's say; I don't know how obligated I am. If I don't wanna do 'em, I don't have to do 'em. One is a fourth THE END MACHINE record for Frontiers. And the other one is a third 'Heavy Hitters' album, which is a series of records that [ex-DOKKEN bassist] Jeff Pilson and I have been doing for Cleopatra Records, which are covers, and that's always really fun to do. I enjoy working with Jeff. I'll be working with Jeff Pilson on both those records. So that might be something that I decide to finish up. But, having said that, those are obligations consistent with my past work, doing THE END MACHINE records and 'Heavy Hitters' records and LYNCH MOB records and various other projects, with KXM and so forth, that I have been doing. But what I'm thinking is I would really like to — not to be super self-indulgent, but do something different. And that requires kind of banking a bunch of experiences and exposure, different kinds of music and styles and saying something unique. Or doing a master guitar record, what I consider would be my magnum opus guitar record. That's easier said than done, but maybe I need [to do something like that]. I don't know. I'm not sure what I wanna do yet. But I'm gonna let this touring schedule ride out and then I'm gonna sort of collect my thoughts [about what my next step will be]."

LYNCH MOB was formed in 1989 after Lynch parted ways with his former band DOKKEN. Their debut release, "Wicked Sensation", was met with critical and fan acclaim and went on to be certified gold in sales by the RIAA. The band would continue on through the years with a cast of talented players joining Lynch throughout their musical journey over the course of six more studio albums.

LYNCH MOB's eighth studio album, "Babylon", came out in October 2023. Joining revered guitarist and band founder for the LP were vocalist Gabriel Colón, bassist Jaron Gulino (TANTRIC, HEAVENS EDGE) and drummer Jimmy D'Anda (ex-BULLETBOYS).

In August 2020, Lynch announced that he was ending LYNCH MOB due to the racial insensitivity of the moniker, saying he would no longer record or perform under that name. Two years later, George had a change of heart, explaining that he had to "live with the fact that [the name LYNCH MOB] has some negative connotations that I probably have to continue explaining for the rest of my life, and I don't mind doing that. But it is a brand that I built, and I'm just gonna stick with it. As far as a marketing thing and a brand thing and a business thing and a working thing, and it keeps my band guys working and it keeps the fans happy, it makes sense."

George Lynch image credit: Jordan's Rock Vault

Twenty-five years since the live collaboration that shook Los Angeles's Greek Theatre to its foundations, a brand-new short film brings together Jimmy Page and THE BLACK CROWES to revisit the making of their iconic live album, "Live At The Greek", on its 25th anniversary.

Titled "The Making Of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live At The Greek", the short film is a definitive behind-the-scenes journey into a landmark moment in rock history — a celebration of raw rock n' roll energy, creativity and collaboration. With new and exclusive interviews, never-before-seen footage and candid reflections, the video captures the spirit and friendship that made the iconic 1999 performance a reality. The film was directed by Barbara McDonough and edited by Rick Ballard.

The short film continues the 25th anniversary celebrations of one of rock music's most legendary live collaborations, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees THE BLACK CROWES and global rock icon Jimmy Page have released the definitive version of "Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live At The Greek". Recorded during unforgettable nights of rock and roll in October 1999 at Los Angeles's Greek Theatre and Jones Beach in August 1999, the newly presented album features powerful renditions of LED ZEPPELIN classics and THE BLACK CROWES' staple blues-rock jams. The 36-track anniversary album is produced, mixed, and remastered by Kevin Shirley and includes 16 previously unreleased tracks, exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, video, and more.

A deep dive into the legacy of one of the great live LPs, standing shoulder to shoulder with THE WHO's "Live At Leeds", NIRVANA's "Unplugged In New York" and "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison", the release has been described as "enormous fun" by Mojo, "an ideal match" by Classic Rock magazine, and "highlighting Page and THE BLACK CROWES' musical chemistry" by the NME. Uncut magazine praised the 6LP box set "illustrates just how good a tour that was", whilst the Daily Mirror applauded, "they roar through LED ZEP classics and swaggering CROWES gems".

In October 1999, Page teamed up with THE BLACK CROWES for a two-night performance of material from the LED ZEPPELIN catalog and old blues and rock standards. A live album, "Live At The Greek", was recorded during these shows and released in February 2000. The set was dominated by LED ZEPPELIN tunes, along with a mix of classic blues nuggets and covers of FLEETWOOD MAC and Page's first group, THE YARDBIRDS. (Due to contractual obligations, no CROWES songs were included.)

When the 25th-anniversary edition of "Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live At The Greek" was first announced in February, Page said in a statement: "I'm really looking forward to the soon-to-be-available release of Jimmy Page and THE BLACK CROWES material from concerts in 1999. The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments."

THE BLACK CROWES singer Chris Robinson added: "The new 'Live At The Greek' box set brings the whole experience of our work with Jimmy into a vibrant, electric, mystical, and powerful perspective. Hail, hail rock 'n' roll!"

THE BLACK CROWES guitarist Rich Robinson said: "Going through the shows and putting together the new box set has been such an incredible dive back to that time in our history. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to play these amazing iconic songs with the man who composed them. The sound of the new mixes and extra songs blew me away when I first heard them."

"Live At The Greek" track listing

01. Celebration Day
02. Custard Pie
03. Sick Again
04. No Speak No Slave
05. Hard To Handle
06. The Wanton Song
07. Misty Mountain Hop
08. Hots On For Nowhere
09. What Is And What Should Never Be
10. Wiser Time
11. Mellow Down Easy
12. Woke Up This Morning (My Baby She Was Gone)
13. Ten Years Gone
14. In My Time Of Dying
15. Your Time Is Gonna Come
16. Remedy
17. The Lemon Song
18. In The Light
19. Shake Your Moneymaker
20. Sloppy Drunk Blues
21. Shape Of Things
22. Nobody's Fault But Mine
23. Heartbreaker
24. Bring It On Home
25. She Talks To Angels
26. Oh Well
27. Band Intros
28. Hey, Hey, What Can I Do
29. You Shook Me
30. Out On The Tiles
31. Whole Lotta Love
32. Custard Pie (soundcheck)
33. You Shook Me (soundcheck)
34. The Lemon Song (soundcheck)
35. Ten Years Gone (soundcheck)
36. Jam (soundcheck)

Five years ago, Rich Robinson refuted former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman's claim that the guitarist turned down an offer to write music with Jimmy Page.

In his book "Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes", Gorman said that he learned from Page that the legendary LED ZEPPELIN guitarist wanted to write songs with the Robinson brothers for what at the time was supposed to be THE BLACK CROWES' next record, but that Rich blew him off with a "No thanks! … We don't need more songs." "I was insulted," Page allegedly said to the drummer, who furiously called THE CROWES' manager and told him, "I'm driving to Connecticut, and I'm going to kill Rich in his home."

Speaking to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Robinson said that there was no validity to Gorman's account. "Absolutely not true," Rich said. "I remember having conversations with Jimmy, telling him: 'Hey, if you ever wanted to make a record or do anything, I would love to help in any way I can.' Jimmy's a brilliant musician, a brilliant person. I loved playing with him."

He continued: "Jimmy Page wants to write songs for me, and I'm gonna say: 'You know what, Jimmy? LED ZEPPELIN was all right, but I'm not gonna do it'? It's the most absurd thing I've heard in my life."

Gorman is not involved in THE BLACK CROWES' reunion, which officially launched in 2021 — delayed by the pandemic — after being announced two years earlier.

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's forthcoming horror trilogy, part one of which is titled "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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."

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 recent 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 by Jeremy Saffer

In a new interview with Germany's Rock Hard magazine, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt opened up about the recent departure of singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and the decision to bring Rob Dukes back. Asked why Zetro "had to leave", Gary said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  'Without going into details, I tell people like this: being in a band is like being married. And you might see that husband and wife out in public and they're really nice and charming, but you don't know what's happening in their house. Like, maybe she's throwing fucking dishes and knives at his head. Maybe he's smacking her around. You don't know what's happening. And there was a lot of unhappiness in the band, and I wish him no ill will. We had a good time until just kind of the four of us were trying to enjoy this as much as we can. I'm 61 years old. I want to end my career smiling all the time."

Asked if bringing Rob back was "the only option" or if he talked to other singers as well before deciding to reunite with Dukes, Gary said: "No, we talked to nobody else. Rob's still one of our best friends. And I don't like change. That's the thing — people think, 'Oh, well, they did this.' I had some guy on Instagram say, 'You just did this for money.' And when has it ever been financially beneficial to part ways with your singer? It's usually the opposite. But, once again, we're all in our sixties now. We wanna have fun with friends. We wanna enjoy ourselves doing this. And I could have brought in some young guy who's 30 years old, who still has abs, isn't fat like the rest of us, and can jump off the top of drum risers and stuff. But no — we'll stick with guys our own age."

Holt went on to praise Dukes's vocal performance on EXODUS's upcoming LP, saying: "Wait till you you hear the new album. It's insane. He does things vocally you've never heard him do or anybody in EXODUS. It's insane."

According to Gary, EXODUS recorded two albums' worth of material this time around. "We just decided we were gonna work ourselves as hard as we could and try to accomplish this," he explained. "And the second one's 80 percent recorded, 'cause we did 18 songs. And so when it's time for the next album, we go in and record two more [songs], not 10 more. And then I can go on vacation. I've never had a vacation in my life… We worked hard. We were in the studio for seven weeks, and one day after we stopped recording, we were on tour. So since March 2nd, I've been home for two and a half weeks."

Regarding a possible release date for the first new EXODUS album, Gary said: "Yeah, early next year. I think February. [As for when the second new album will arrive], we'll figure that out. But I have a lot less work to do when it's time. All of us, we can go on vacation. I've never had a vacation."

Holt said that fellow EXODUS guitarist Lee Altus, who has been in the band for two decades, "really stepped up" this time around "and contributed six [songs]. Lee — usually he contributes a couple of songs. He wrote six songs. Lee wrote the longest song. I'm the guy who writes the long songs, and most of mine are five minutes long."

Gary added: "But the album's spectacular. We couldn't be more proud. It's beautiful. It's crushing. It's catchy — hits, punishing hits. It's spectacular. There's some stuff that is so different for us, but it's 100 percent EXODUS. You'll go, 'Holy shit.'"

Holt previously talked about EXODUS's plans to release two new albums earlier this month in an interview with The Dan Chan Show. He said at the time: "[We are tracking] 19 songs. And they're all killer. I mean, in the past, you read about this band, 'Yeah, we went in the studio. We had 39 songs,' and I'm, like, 'How do you have 39 great songs?' To me, you usually have maybe 20 and some ideas. But I realized that it is possible — at least 19. 'Cause Lee was really active as a songwriter on this album, and he contributed, like, six songs — something like that. And we had 19 songs, and they're all awesome. The hard part is figuring out what to put on the record. And so we figured we can tour for the next album and then take a break in between releases and have it already in the can."

Asked if EXODUS is currently "in post-production" for the two new albums, Holt said: "We still have some vocals left to do. We ran out a little bit of time. Not a whole lot. A couple of songs. A couple of things we have left to do are on songs that we know we're gonna put on the next album, so we could sit on that. And I'm sure by the time we get to thinking about releasing the second one, I'll have something new I wanna record. And Lee will have something. We're, like, 'Damn, well, I got something way sicker.' But then we go in the studio for two weeks and not two months."

Regarding how he and his EXODUS bandmates will go about choosing which songs to put on the first album and which to save for the follow-up, Gary said: "We're still working on it. [Laughs] We're letting vocals dictate a lot of it, and there's a couple of songs that still don't have vocals on it. And sometimes, once you put the vocal melody on it, a song comes alive. So some of 'em we know we want on this record. Like I wrote two epics, longer ones, so we'll put one on this and one on the other. I fluctuate back and forth over which one all the time. But, yeah, everybody else wants to put this one. So I said, 'Cool. We'll save the other.' There's a big variety of music on it. Some of the shit's so lightning fast and some of it's almost doom — like, slow, slow, slow, [but] über fucking sinister."

Holt also talked about his creative process, explaining: "I'm always writing a riff when I have a guitar, but as far as songwriting, I keep telling myself I wanna do more of it all the time, not just when I have to. 'Cause you get 61 years old and you start thinking about stupid shit, like, if anything happens to me, I'd like to be like Prince and have a vault of material to release. His final works. So you literally start thinking about shit like that.

"I get in the writing mode," he continued. "When we record, we leave the drums set up the entire time. We don't go in and do drums and then they go away. We're prepared to record a new song at any day. And the fastest fucking one on the album — it's just ridiculous — I wrote it in the last two weeks of recording. I sent it to Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer], and he had a panic attack when he heard how fast it was. And then when we [recorded it], he realized it was fine. [Laughs]"

Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza's departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.

Dukes previously joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

EXODUS played its first concert with Dukes in nearly 11 years on April 5 at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned "Bonded By Blood" LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

Former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura has announced her decision to "step away" from the music industry, at least temporarily, so that she can focus on doing "healthier and better things" with her life.

Earlier today (Tuesday, June 10),Majura took to her social media to write: "Dear friends, I'm gonna make this as brief as I can: After careful consideration, observing what's going on in the music industry, AI related developments and change in society I've come to the conclusion to step away.

"Some of you have heard me talk about this quite a while ago. Instead of wasting another year of my life constantly hoping for new energy, drive and creativity, I've reached a point in my life where I can confidentially lean back in peace. While time allowed me, I was able to collect an amazing amount of beautiful experiences, tours, shows, travels and moments! I am grateful for every bit of that, but the world has changed. I can confidently make up my mind to stop.

"I am not saying that I will never create any music again, whether recorded or live — but for now I feel there are healthier and better things to fill my life with good vibes and not deal with the overwhelming amount of ridiculousness that comes with the music industry nowadays. I just can't identify with today's attitude and values anymore.

"I wholeheartedly want to wish all the ambitious and remaining 'creators', young and old, all the best. With time, the meaning will become clearer.

"To you, the fans, I wanna give you a giant virtual hug and say THANK YOU for all your support, love and faith throughout these years of me being an active touring musician, I am grateful. As a final musical endeavor I wanna share 4 tracks with you. Songs that were written over a decade ago together with the great guitarist Dennis Hormes. I found these old demo recordings while cleaning out stuff from my computer and thought they are too good to not be shared. So if you made it this far and read the whole post, I assume you actually ARE someone that truly cares and these 4 singles are for you!"

The now-41-year-old guitarist's departure from EVANESCENCE was announced in May 2022 via social media.

"It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it's time to go our separate ways," EVANESCENCE said in a statement at the time. "We will always love her and support her, and can't wait to see what she does next! We are so grateful for the good times and great music we made all around the world together."

Jen spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE during a December 2022 interview with IbagensCast. Asked what the first seven months after her exit had been like for her, Majura said: "I'm tired. I am very, very tired because there are many opinions and there's a lot of judgment out there. It got to a point where no matter what I posted, people had opinions about that. And it seems ridiculous to me, but if I would say honestly how I feel — I'm hurt; it's hard; of course I'm not feeling great — people would go, like, 'Oh, you're playing the victim.' So, I'm, like, 'Okay. All right then.' So I said, 'Actually, I'm doing okay. I'm all right.' And then, of course, people would go, like, 'She never gave a shit about the band.' And it got to a point where I'm, like, 'You know what? I could post about my blueberry yogurt, and you would still find a way to connect this to what happened.

"I must say I turned very quiet on social media, because I just wanted to avoid all that white noise, all that blabbering, all these opinions — I was just tired of that," Jen continued. "And also, at the same time, when you break up with an ex-partner — that's the easiest example; you break up with your partner — the last thing on planet earth is that you wanna see that ex-partner on social media moving on. It's, like, 'No. I don't wanna see that.' I needed time to digest the whole thing. And like I said, I think the first few months I was just very busy with convincing everybody that I was doing okay when I honestly wasn't; I was not okay. And when everything you say in public is being judged… And honestly, I can only imagine how [Prince] Harry and Meghan [Markle] feel [laughs] — people with real problems, in terms of paparazzi. Who am I? I'm just a little nobody. Why do people talk about me? I think there's way more important things that the humankind should talk about, like climate change and what's going on in this nonsense war [in Ukraine] — real issues that people should discuss and find solutions for — instead of me. So I just realized that apparently this is a topic and people like to talk about it, but I don't necessarily need to be a part of that. So I turned very quiet on social media. And the more I distanced myself from that whole thing, the more I'm, like… I'm gonna say this right now, 'cause it's horrible, but I'm gonna say it anyway… The more I felt grossed out by the humankind.

"So altogether, I have not been good," Majura added. "I'm okay, but I'm far away from being good… When life throws shit at you, honestly… I mean, take a look at the whole scenario. In the beginning of 2020, I lost my dear-hearted relationship. That was followed by two years of isolation and lockdowns and the whole pandemic situation. Great! And then finally things get back to kind of 'normal-ish', and then May happens. So I can't really say that my past few, couple of years have been great."

Jen previously spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE in June 2022 during an appearance on THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube show "Coffee With Ola". At the time, she said that she was still "hurt" by the move and compared the situation to a divorce.

"I believe, honestly, it's three weeks now since I got the news, and I'm still in this blurry, oblivious momentum," she said. "I guess I'm still in shock, kind of, because after being married six years, all of a sudden you're divorced.

"You know me, I always try to find the positive in a situation, so every day, step by step — I'm not doing great yet — but every day I find little tiny things that I'm, like, 'Oh, actually, this is good.'"

Asked how she found out that her services were no longer needed in EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Honestly, I was cleaning my apartment, and I got the phone call. And first of all, I was, like, 'Is this a bad joke?' And I remember, after I got the news, I hung up, and I have this hallway in between my studio and my living room, and I just lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, wondering what that was, and literally looking over to my suitcase that I had already started packing, because I was two weeks from going out on the road until pretty much the end of the year."

Majura, a self-described "half-Asian living in Germany," joined EVANESCENCE in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo.

Shortly after she landed the gig, Majura spoke to EMP Rock Invasion about how she came to connect with EVANESCENCE. She said: "My name was somehow recommended by a sweet friend of mine, Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT, and Dave Eggar — he's also known as a very good cellist, and he's a musician working in New York. And all of a sudden, there was this e-mail popping up: 'Are you interested in joining…?' And I was, like, 'What the fuck?' So I stopped breathing until my face turned kind of blue. And then afterwards, I was, like, 'Okay, I've gotta read it again.' Three days later, I found myself suddenly on an airplane, flying over to New York to meet Amy Lee. And we had some very, very cool talks. She's an awesome person. She's a very, very great musician. And so I found myself suddenly inside of his empire called EVANESCENCE."

Regarding the fact that she didn't even have to "audition" for EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Yeah. To be honest, I was kind of concerned. I told [Amy], 'Do you want me to bring my guitar?' And, 'Would you like me to audition?' And she was totally, like: 'Nah, I know you can play. I've seen plenty of videos of you. And I know your live experience and you're touring the world, so… No, just come over and let's have some food and talk.' Yeah, and that's it. So, actually, what I was surprised by very, very much was that she actually had another guitar player on her list, and that was the guitar player of Alice Cooper [Nita Strauss]. And she's now with Alice Cooper and I'm now with EVANESCENCE. This is, like… I still can't believe it."

In 2019, Lee said she was happy to have Majura in the band. "She has added a lot to our live shows because she's a singer," Amy explained. "It has been a really awesome thing to have live background vocals for the first time. I am such a fan of layered vocals, and to have that better represented at our show has been a cool breakthrough for me. And also, she's just rad energy. She's got a great attitude, fun personality, very engaging, killer onstage, so she has been a fun addition to our family. And of course, it's awesome having another girl in the band for the first time."

Majura has released two solo albums thus far, 2014's "Jen Majura" and 2017's "InZENity".

EVANESCENCE's current lineup, featuring Emma Anzai of SICK PUPPIES on bass and EVANESCENCE's longtime bassist Tim McCord on guitar, made its live debut in June 2022 in Athens, Greece.

Photo credit: P.R. Brown

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British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST launched the "Shield Of Pain" tour Thursday night (June 12) at Rockfest in Turku, Finland.

The band's 19-song setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

In addition to performing the "Painkiller" title track, PRIEST also played "All Guns Blazing", "Hell Patrol", "A Touch Of Evil", "Night Crawler", "One Shot At Glory" and "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" from the same LP.

When PRIEST first announced the "Shield Of Pain" tour last fall, the band promised a "rare" and "unique set" which would include "beloved classics" and would "be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe".

The setlist for the Rockfest concert was as follows:

01. All Guns Blazing (performed for first time since 2019; first time as an opener)
02. Hell Patrol
03. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
04. Freewheel Burning
05. Breaking The Law
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Night Crawler (first time since 2012)
08. Firepower
09. Solar Angels (first time since 2005)
10. Gates Of Hell
11. Metal Gods
12. The Serpent And The King (live debut)
13. One Shot At Glory
14. Between The Hammer And The Anvil
15. Judas Rising
16. Giants In The Sky (live debut)
17. Painkiller
18. Hell Bent For Leather
19. Living After Midnight

Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

PRIEST's 2025 European tour will next hit Hamar, Norway on Saturday, June 14 and will conclude at the O2 in London, United Kingdom on July 25.

Last December, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford told Heavy Consequence about the setlist for the "Shield Of Pain" tour: "It's still in the works, but we're gonna go and show ['Painkiller'] off. Not in its entirety. I haven't figured out yet whether we're just gonna do a clump of 'Painkiller' songs — this is the 'Painkiller' section — or we're gonna go, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others. It's all in theory in my mind at the moment, but, however, I think it's gonna be a real thrill and a treat. And, again, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the band. You'll only see the show once. You'll only see the 'Shield Of Pain' show once. So, we hope our fans will be on the rail and banging their heads to it."

Rob also reflected on PRIEST's mindset while going into the recording process for "Painkiller". He said: "The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, 'We really need to show off what this band's true heart and soul and spirit is about.' And I'm using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, 'We're gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we've ever done,' and we did that — we achieved it. It's full-on. It only pulls back a little bit for 'A Touch Of Evil'. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop. We did it in Miraval Studios in the south of France. It was very isolated, so, unlike Ibiza [where 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Defenders Of The Faith', among others, were recorded], where we were going into the clubs every night, it was very, very isolated, so we really got into the work in a very, very strong way with no interference. And so the exercise of achieving all of the components to make that album as strong as we wanted it to be was a success. And, again, a band will tell you we've done everything we can. Let's see what happens. The world embraced that album."

He continued: "It's a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, 'If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on 'Painkiller'.' And that's pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, 'Painkiller''s still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years [in 2025]."

PRIEST's 12th album, "Painkiller" was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature drummer Scott Travis following the departure of Dave Holland.

In a 2023 interview with "The Jeremy White Show", founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing spoke about how the addition of then-new drummer Travis affected PRIEST's sound and songwriting on "Painkiller". He said: "I think with the addition of Scott, because we knew his capabilities from his former band, RACER X, which were a great band… After so many years, having Scott in the band with those double kicks again, it just opened doors for myself and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] to write rhythmically and musically. And we knew that Scott could play anything that we could — as fast as we could play on guitar, we knew he could match us on the kit, which helped a lot, really, because it meant we could expand writing after so many years, really, in respect of the faster side of metal, if you like."

In 2022, Travis spoke to "Drumtalk", the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, about the fact that the intro to the title track of "Painkiller" has become one of the most iconic drum intros of all time. He said: "Me personally, I always loved the drum intro of certain songs. We all know 'Rock And Roll' by LED ZEPPELIN and 'Walk This Way' by AEROSMITH, and, of course, 'Hot For Teacher', which is VAN HALEN. So, anyways, I grew up like that, always understanding that, 'Man, if ever I could come up with a signature drum intro — no guitars; just drums — and make it really impactful.' And sometimes I get emotional, now that I've been playing for so long, that I was able to come up with something."

He continued: "[I recently saw a video featuring] 'Top 15 drum intros'. And, of course, it's subjective. I don't know who made the list; I think it was some rock magazine. So, naturally, I watch it, and it had 'Where Eagles Dare' [by IRON MAIDEN], it had 'Rock And Roll', and number two was 'Painkiller'. And I was, like, 'Oh my God. Thank you so much.' And number one, which I'm happy to take a backseat, was 'Hot For Teacher' — Sir Alex Van Halen. If I'm second place to old Alex, then, man, that's fantastic. Again, that's one opinion and one little something someone made up. But nonetheless, I didn't make it, so I'm happy that people appreciate 'Painkiller' and it has become a signature JUDAS PRIEST song, which I never in a million years would have imagined that."

Back in 2020, Travis told Invisible Oranges that he wrote the "Painkiller" intro at Miraval Studios in early 1990 as producer Chris Tsangarides and engineer Patrice Roullion were testing microphone placements.

"We were set up at the studio… Studio Miraval in Nice, France," Travis recalled. "The drums are all set up and they're in a big room and then, of course, the control room is at the other end of the studio. I used to just go and warm up first thing in the morning and just work on the next song we were gonna do the next day, and just start playing it with my own headphones on. It was just a cool place — very comfortable to just go and play whatever you wanted. I knew we were gonna be working on the 'Painkiller' song and it was meant to be a fast-paced upbeat song. And I was just messing around doing the intro type stuff."

He continued: "I don't know what those notes I play with my feet [are called]… between my feet and my hands. Technically, it's four with the feet, one with the hand. So it's not a quad but I don't know, septuplet, quintuplet... Shows you how educated I am on drumming, right? [I was] just out there messing around, doing a flurry of things like that, exercises and whatnot. I had the 'Painkiller' idea in my head and they really liked what I was doing and they said, 'Hey, just do some more of that, some stuff like that.' And I just kind of whipped it up…

"As a young drummer or just as a drummer, period, I always… I don't wanna say dreamt because that sounds corny, but I always was hoping that I could come up with a signature drum intro, and I think every drummer wants that. Rarely does a drummer get to do an intro and especially one that really sticks. Given the fact that it exists now, I'm kind of blown away. It's cool."

THURSDAY 12TH JUNE 2025 - ROCKFEST/TURKU, FINLAND

Photos by Reuter Music Photography for Sweden Rock Magazine
Stage Clothes: Ray Brown Fashion

Posted by Judas Priest on Thursday, June 12, 2025

In a new interview with Justin Richmond of the Broken Record podcast, Paul Stanley spoke about KISS's upcoming appearance without makeup at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as part of the three-day "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, which runs from November 14 to November 16.

"KISS Army Storms Vegas" celebrates the KISS fan club's 50th anniversary and will be the band's first appearance since Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their "End Of The Road" farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.

Stanley told Broken Record about the Vegas event (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " It started off as something, honestly, that Gene and I kind of took a back seat in, and, honestly, we reached a point not too far in the past where we both said, 'You know what? This isn't the way we want it.' And it's going to go through some major changes to be what we think it should be.

"We spent 12 years nurturing a KISS cruise and what that means and what goes into it and what you get to participate in and the social aspects between fans from 33 countries," Paul explained. "So, this virtually will become a KISS cruise in Vegas. [It] doesn't need a ship. It will have all the familiar touchstones that people love about a KISS cruise, whether it's bands playing, Q&As, contests, food available, good drinks, social aspects to it.

"So, it started in a way that we kind of took a step back to see what some other people might do. And then we recently found ourselves going, 'No. This isn't what we want to do or the way we wanna do it.' So there'll be some announcements forthcoming and a lot of stuff where people are gonna be very happy, as I am, that.

"A KISS cruise — there was no ships available, but a KISS cruise can take place anyway," Stanley added. "And to do it in Vegas at the Virgin Hotel, it's gonna be everything that people want and have been hoping for."

When Richmond noted that a KISS event in Vegas sounds just as good as, or better than, a cruise, Paul concurred. "It will be great, and it'll be a great, fantastic weekend of all the things that we've loved and that people loved," he said. "So whether you're KISS Army, Navy, cruiser, whatever you are, this is about to become much more. We're really excited. So I think people should just stay tuned."

Asked if he and Gene will perform at all at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Paul said: "We're going to do a no-makeup set. We'll play 15 songs, whatever. And Tommy — we're all geared up to do it. We really look forward to it."

After Richmond asked if the performance will be "acoustic", Stanley clarified: "No. That'll be electric… So it's gonna be great. And the other bands that are gonna be announced, it's gonna be everything that everybody loves on the KISS cruises. I think that was missing from what was being planned. And we needed to put our big hands into this and we needed to steer the ship."

Last month, Stanley was asked by The 500 With Josh Adam Meyers podcast who created the KISS Army and when. Stanley responded: "The KISS Army, like the best armies, was volunteer. KISS Army started in Terre Haute, Indiana when Bill Starkey, a resident, and his friends weren't getting any KISS music on their radio station and they called the radio station as the KISS Army and said, 'If you don't start playing KISS music by a certain time, we'll surround the building.' And, of course, everybody chuckled, until they surrounded the building. So that was the start of the KISS Army. KISS Army started as not a calculated fan club, but as an uprising of the army."

Earlier last month, Simmons told Greg Schmitt of Noize In The Attic about the "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event: "People misunderstand what that is. The Virgin event in November is really the fans, the KISS Army — they're taking over the hotel. This ain't a concert. No [makeup]. Certainly not. We promised we would never do that again. No touring. We'll get up and jam. In fact, I'm not even sure how many of us are gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there. I think Tommy's gonna come, but [former KISS guitarist] Bruce Kulick might pop in. It's very informal."

Asked if original KISS members Ace Frehley (guitar) and Peter Criss are "welcome" to appear at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Gene said: "Of course."

After Schmitt noted that KISS is one of the last bands of his generation that have all living members and that "it'd be great if somebody could really utilize that still," Simmons said: "I like the way you think, but it's dreamland, my friend. That's not how life works. You can lead a horse to water, but that's all you can do. We invited — I personally invited Ace and Peter to jump up on stage with us at Madison Square Garden [for the final KISS concert]. 'Hey, why don't you invite him on the show?' I did, but they said no. 'I want this and I want that.' 'Well, you can't have that, but join us to celebrate the beginning.'"

Simmons previously discussed "KISS Army Storms Vegas" in a separate interview with the "Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show" on New York City's Q104.3 radio station. Simmons said at the time: "Well, this is not a KISS concert. We promised when we sold the IP [KISS intellectual property rights] to Pophouse, an amazing company — they're futurists — about a year and a half ago when we finished touring at Madison Square Garden. There's gonna be a film and there's a lot of stuff coming up. We promised we would never tour again, because, as you noticed, I'm stunning in real life and that's when you want it… While you're on top, get out of the ring. Don't wait for some chump to knock you out. We've all seen boxers and rockers and everything that stayed around too long. 50 years, half a century is plenty of time."

Simmons went on to say that he and his KISS bandmates still want to honor the group's fans. "So that's what we're doing," he explained. "We are showing up for a fan-run event. Three days in November at the Virgin Hotel. Be there or be square. And it's really for the fans. There'll be lots of questions — if they want a back rub or anything. But it's not a KISS concert. We will jump up [and] jam, but certainly we are not bringing the flying rigs and 60 people on the crew and the jets and all that stuff… Other bands will pop up on stage and stuff, but it's really a chance to be more intimate with the fans — actually, to be cornball about it, to our bosses. Because without the fans, I would surely have been asking the next person in line, 'Would you like some fries with that?'"

50 years ago in Terre Haute, Indiana, a small group of fans lit the spark that would become the loudest and proudest fan movement in rock history: the KISS Army. Now, five decades later — and 30 years since the first official KISS convention — KISS is cranking it up to 11 in Las Vegas for the ultimate celebration.

Gene said: "Strange story. There was a guy in Terre Haute, Indiana, as a matter of fact, and in the early days, radio didn't play KISS 'cause we didn't do John Denver kind of namby-pamby stuff… But we just didn't do the la-di-da kinds of songs. We liked to turn the guitars up and have fun, and radio wouldn't play us. So this one guy, [Bill] Starkey, his name was, called the radio station, which was a small building outside of town. 'Play KISS.' 'I'm sorry, kid. We don't play that song.' And he threatened them. He said, 'If you don't play KISS by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, the KISS Army will surround your building and everything.' Of course they did not. So what happened? The cover of the [local] newspaper [ran the headline] 'Kiss Army Invades WXYZ', whatever it's called, and that's where the name came from. And by the way, afterwards, they played KISS. Because they knew that we knew what their home address was, and when they weren't home, we might set their pets on fire. There's that."

In a separate interview with Rob Rush, the evening host on Long Island, New York's 94.3 The Shark radio station, Gene stated about KISS's upcoming Vegas appearance: "This is much more a fan gathering. The Kiss Army … are taking over the Virgin Hotel and we will show up, but I don't even know if the entire band's gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there, and Tommy. Bruce Kulick probably will show up, and we'll jam, answer questions and stuff. It ain't a concert — we're gonna do none of that stuff. I may even bring my solo band up there just for [shits] and giggles. So this is more a fan event, like a fan gathering that we're gonna be guests at."

This past March, Gene told Las Vegas Review-Journal that he and his KISS bandmates "will not do the makeup" at "KISS Army Storms Vegas". "We will hold true to the promise [of never playing another KISS show in makeup]," he explained. "There's no stage show. There's no crew. We won't have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A."

Regarding what else fans can expect from "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Simmons said: "There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it's much more personal. And of course, we can't get by without playing, so we'll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don't know."

When KISS officially announced "KISS Army Storms Vegas", the band said that Stanley and Simmons — along with "special guests" — would play at least one show "unmasked," meaning without their iconic makeup. It was later revealed that Thayer would also appear at the event, along with Thayer's former band BLACK 'N BLUE, as well as former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach and the tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS NATION: THE KISS TRIBUTE SHOW.

KISS's official "KISS Army Storms Vegas" announcement made no mention of Singer, making it unclear if he will be part of the event.

There will also be question-and-answer sessions with Stanley and Simmons, as well as KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee, where they will share stories, behind-the-scenes moments and answer fans' most burning questions.

Fans can also expect guest performances, including from Kulick, as well as surprise appearances, guest sets and tribute bands.

KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.

For more information, visit kissarmystormsvegas.com.

Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."

Kulick was a member of KISS from 1984 until 1996.

According to Billboard, Kulick is one of only two musicians to have not worn makeup while a member of KISS, the other being Mark St. John.

Kulick had performed with the band again at their Kiss Kruise events in 2018 and 2021.

Image credit: Gibson