On Monday, May 5, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and his solo band, GENE SIMMONS BAND, performed at Count Basie Center For The Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey.

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

01. Deuce (KISS cover)
02. Shout It Out Loud (KISS song)
03. Are You Ready (Gene Simmons song)
04. War Machine (KISS song)
05. I Love It Loud (KISS song)
06. House Of Pain (VAN HALEN cover)
07. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD cover)
08. Band Intro Jam
09. Parasite (KISS song)
10. Cold Gin (KISS song)
11. Bad Reputation (THIN LIZZY cover)
12. Charisma (KISS song)
13. Spit / Whole Lotta Love
14. And Your Bird Can Sing (THE BEATLES cover)
15. Calling Dr. Love (KISS song)
16. Rock And Roll All Nite

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

The GENE SIMMONS BAND kicked off its 2025 tour Friday night (May 2) at Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater in Peachtree City, Georgia. The band — consisting of Gene on bass and vocals, Jason Walker on guitar and vocals, Brian Tichy on drums and vocals and Brent Woods on guitar — reportedly played only six songs before the rest of the gig was scrapped due to bad weather. A second show followed Saturday night (May 3) at Beaver Dam Amphitheater in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.

Simmons recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026. Gene currently has dates scheduled through August 3 in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In an interview with 95.9 The Rat's Carl Craft, Gene discussed the "Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day" experience he is offering to his fans during his tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND. The experience in question, called "The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience", offers fans the opportunity to not only meet Simmons and his band but to assist him with load-in at the venue and setting up the stage, attend soundcheck and spend time backstage. The roadie will also join Simmons for a meal, and the 75-year-old rock legend will introduce the fan during the gig. The experience costs $12,495 — plus the original ticket price and comes with a bass guitar Gene previously used — and is only available to one fan per venue.

Asked how he came up with the price tag of $12,495 for the experience, Simmons said: "Here's the deal: when I was a kid and I went to see [Jimi] Hendrix or somebody, of course I enjoyed the show and really got off on it — we talked about it forever and stuff — but I didn't know what it was like. What's the beginning of the day like? What's it like to sit and have breakfast or lunch with my favorite rock stars, and then get in the limo, go to the gig, set up the drums, do soundcheck and then be on stage with your video, 'cause nowadays everything's on video. You can't take a poop without a camera coming in under the stall. And then you get pulled up on stage to sing along with them. Now, having said that, we only do one roadie for a day per show. And I'll tell you why — because nowadays everything is so litigious. That's a big word, like gymnasium. That means everybody sues everybody for no reason. So if you get a paper cut, somebody gets sued. And that's just the way life is here in America — much more in California, by the way. It's crazy out here. So, I can't even, if I wanted to, bring out do roadie for a day with 10, 20, 30, as many people [as we would like]. So we do one, because the insurance costs for that are astronomical. And so this ain't cheap. It's not for everybody. And for that one person, you do have to pay premium numbers. That's just life."

Gene went on to say that the $12,495 price tag doesn't "just" include "the classic stuff. It's also exposure, financial and legal exposure," he explained. "Somebody has a bad experience and they sue you and it costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars. You need insurance for everything. Do you have a car? You've got insurance. Everything in life, apparently… In fact, you buy anything — a tool — they give you insurance. Would you like the one-year or three-year? Everything's insured."

Simmons is offering another package called the "Gene Simmons Bass Experience", which gives one fan and three guests the chance to meet the KISS icon backstage. With this package, the fan will be able to take home one of Simmons's bass guitars, which can be signed and personalized for $6,500 for a "non-stage-played" instrument, and $12,500 for one that Simmons previously played at a show in addition to the ticket cost.

Simmons's $12,495 "Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day" experience is limited to one per show and includes the following perks:

* You will meet up with Gene and GENE SIMMONS BAND members early in the day (either at his hotel or designated location) to go over the band's show day schedule.
* You will be on the GENE SIMMONS BAND team crew for the entire day!
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member shirt and hat
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member VIP laminate
* You will have a meal with Gene Simmons (at the hotel or backstage at the show)
* You will arrive and load in to the venue with the band
* You will help the band set up for the show
* You will hang out backstage
* You will sit in on soundcheck
* Gene Simmons will bring you on stage during the show and introduce you
* You will get a setlist signed by Gene Simmons
* You can take photos throughout your entire experience
* You may bring one guest
* You may bring four items for Gene to sign (no instruments, parts, etc.)
* And… you get a Gene Simmons (KISS-rehearsal-used) bass signed by Gene Simmons

For more information, visit GeneSimmonsAxe.com.

During an appearance on a December 2024 episode of Billboard's "Behind The Setlist" podcast, Gene spoke about how he now tours and performs with his solo band. He responded: "I thought I could stay away from the stage [after the completion of KISS's 'End Of The Road' farewell tour]. It bears noting that there's a magic that happens up there that words don't really sort of describe. It's a feeling, and it's tough to talk about feelings. It's probably closer to… There used to be a guy named Dr. [Arthur] Janov and he had a kind of a strange hippie point of view about people having their stuff pent up. So you put people in a padded room. And it was called scream therapy. You go in there and you just let loose and reportedly — I was never part of that, but reportedly — people would come out drenched in sweat and relieved and tired and you expel all this stuff. And going through life, there are rules. You can't compliment women too much. There's no more hugging. There's all these rules. You can't do trans jokes, gay jokes, Jew jokes, black — you can't do any of that stuff because we're very sort of… There are subtle rules that we all have to be aware of. Not on stage. You are free. You just expel all this energy, and it's this celebration of life with the fans and you, and you get to this kind of joyous place. So the GENE SIMMONS BAND is a chance for me, with some friends who are monsters on their instruments, to go out there and just have a great time. It bears noting we don't have managers, road crew, nothing. No trucks, nothing. The local promoters provide the backline, and we just get up there and play. And there are no set-in-stone setlists. Fans can yell, 'Hey, why don't you do 'Almost Human' from 1804?' You betcha. And you break into it. Or, 'Do you guys know 'Whole Lotta Love'?' 'Yeah, I think so.' And you break into it. Or you jam. And at every show we bring fans up on stage. 'Can you sing?' 'Can you play? Let's have a party.'"

When asked how the idea for touring without managers and a road crew came about, Simmons replied: "Actually, it was done by black musicians when they played the Chitlin' Circuit, what used to be the black clubs, 'cause they couldn't play white clubs. So Chuck Berry, as an example, famously would show up with his guitar, and there was a local band. Now, I don't do that — I take my band with me — but Berry would show up, and he'd tell the guys, 'Study the records, learn these songs, I'm gonna show up,' and no rehearsal, nothing. Just let it happen. And you can be as tight as THE [ROLLING] STONES. I don't know if you've ever seen THE STONES live. No matter how much they rehearse, there's this kind of sloppy, greasy way of doing it. And you never quite know where the end of the song is — it never quite ends — because there is no end; you just kind of feel it. So it's very easy. We have a lot of fun. The fans are, as they say on the street, digging it. And then you die. That's all there is."

Regarding what the difference is to him financially when he plays shows with his solo band compared to how it was with KISS, Gene said: "I make more [with my solo band]. Yeah, there's no managers, no private jets, no 20 tractor trailers, no 60-man crew, no huge shows. And the pyro alone for every [KISS] show was 10 grand, sometimes 50, depending if you go outdoors — enormous, enormous costs for doing that — but proud to have done that with [fellow KISS founder] Paul [Stanley] and the rest of the guys in the band. But this is a decidedly different thing. It's almost as if you decided to rent some amps in a garage and plug in and then everybody from the neighborhood comes in and you have a much different relationship. There's none of that sort of prepared thing. It's very informal and an awful lot of fun."

In addition to Simmons, the GENE SIMMONS BAND members include guitarists Brent Woods (WILDSIDE, SEBASTIAN BACH, VINCE NEIL) and Zach Throne (COREY TAYLOR) alongside drummer Brian Tichy (LYNCH MOB, THE DEAD DAISIES, WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, PRIDE & GLORY, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT).

Back in 2017 and 2018, the GENE SIMMONS BAND played a number of shows with a lineup that consisted of Simmons alongside guitarist/bassist Jeremy Asbrock, guitarist Ryan Cook, guitarist Phil Shouse and drummer Brent Fitz.

Six years ago, Simmons stated about his solo shows: "Doing these smaller concert halls, which hold a thousand to three thousand people, means they get filled up by real diehard fans. They don't want to hear the 'same old, same old.' They want to hear nuggets, as they say. It's a hoot for me because I've never really had a chance to do this stuff live. It's been a lot of fun." Gene told the Chicago Sun-Times: "By the end, I get the chance to bring as many people from the audience as we can fit on the stage to sing with me."

Regarding how the idea for a solo tour came about, Simmons told Australia's Advertiser in a 2018 interview: "The GENE SIMMONS BAND was not a plan or anything. About a year ago, a corporate event asked me to be keynote speaker … then they said, 'Won't you get up and sing a few tunes?' I explained that you can't just do that, you've got to have a band and rehearse and all that. They said, 'Well, we'll pay you X dollars more,' and I said, 'I like you!' "So I put together a band from Nashville — these guys back up Kid Rock and lots of other people — and without a single rehearsal, I just told them which songs I wanted to do and they learned them. It just sounded natural — there is such a thing called chemistry. They don't teach that anywhere — I mean, they do teach 'chemistry' but not the kind I'm talking about. It felt right and as soon as the videos went on YouTube and such, people were calling. This little GENE SIMMONS BAND never tried to be KISS… It was just a little bit of fun and stuff. Now all of a sudden, we're headlining festivals in the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany… It's crazy."

In a new interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility, RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed that he recently met up with a couple of the members of METALLICA. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "The guys from METALLICA were in [Toronto] last week. And I got together with Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] and Rob [Robert Trujillo, METALLICA bassist]. We went out for dinner and then we got together and jammed afterwards — actually, right here [at my house]. They came over after dinner and we played for a few hours, and it was great.

"Often in the past, if you jam with a a bunch of people, we'd play a 12-bar bluesy thing; everybody can play that: 'Let's do that.' But when you play with great musicians like those guys are, places you go is, it's just unbelievable," Alex explained. "It's so remarkable. And God, I loved every second that we did that. The three of us just were oozing with enthusiasm, that whole thing. And that's pretty cool."

Less than two years ago, Trujillo spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about his participation in Geddy Lee's four-part TV documentary series "Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?" The Paramount+ series featured the RUSH legend digging into the lives of Trujillo, former NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic, PRIMUS bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, and former HOLE/SMASHING PUMPKINS bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur. Robert said that it was surreal for him to be spending time with his musical idol whose playing had influenced him from his teenage years. "I played in backyard party bands at age 16 and we played [RUSH's] 'La Villa Strangiato', we played 'YYZ', we played all those classic songs," Robert said. "The harder, the better back then. And we probably butchered them, but we would play these backyard parties and play RUSH songs in the same way that we also played Ozzy [Osbourne] songs and we played BLACK SABBATH songs and VAN HALEN and all these different bands. So you can imagine hanging out with one of your heroes and just trying to stay grounded. At the end of the day, everybody's a human being and you always wanna treat people with respect and, again, stay grounded. But at the same time, you're going, 'Damn, that's Geddy Lee.'"

Trujillo and Hammett played a rendition of RUSH's "La Villa Strangiato" during METALLICA's April 26 concert at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Lifeson made his mark on the music industry over 50 years ago, redefining the boundaries of progressive rock guitar. His signature riffing, copious use of effects processing and unorthodox chord structures befitted him the title by his RUSH bandmates as "The Musical Scientist." While the bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with RUSH, he has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as a guitarist, producer and with the release of his 1996 solo album "Victor". Lifeson ranks third overall in the Guitar World readers' poll of "100 Greatest Guitarists" and is also included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."

ENVY OF NONE, the band featuring Lifeson, Andy Curran (CONEY HATCH),Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne, released its second album, "Stygian Wavz", on March 14 via Kscope.

German dark heavy rock force, Wolfskull, presents a first song taken off their much-awaited, sophomore studio album entitled Midnite Masters. The album will be released on July 25 via Metalapolis Records (SPV). Available on CD, vinyl and in digital formats, the pre-sale has just started at this location.

Midnite Masters will see Wolfskull put a bold exclamation mark on their band history and simultaneously ignite a new level: ten songs brimming with enthusiasm, power, and catchy melodies, while exuding the raw charm of classic heavy rock. Today, the Essen-based band is premiering a video clip for their first single, “Jaguarette”; a song that captures the thrill of freedom, raw energy, and untamed adventure.

Tracklist:

“Midnite Masters”
“Son Of Light”
“Holler In The Hollow”
“Destyna”
“Jaguarette”
“Call Of The Wayward Ones”
“Mustang Baby”
“Netherworld In Flames”
“(I Wish It Could Be) Night All Day”
“Tyger Of Fate”

John Petrucci has opened up on just how much he and the rest of Dream Theater were affected by Mike Portnoy’s departure from the band’s lineup in 2010.

Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:

Portnoy wasn’t just another drummer in a metal band but an integral part of their creative process. Since their inception, Petrucci and Portnoy have made all the important decisions in Dream Theater. Losing one half of this duo was stressful for the band’s loyal following, and you could only imagine how John felt at that moment. Of course, Mike Mangini was a worthy fill-in, but nothing could fully replace Portnoy’s unique groove and creative mind.

When we recently caught up with John Petrucci for an interview, the guitarist reflected on the tumultuous period right after Portnoy left, but also added that they managed to get back on track with Mangini’s help.

“That was a big change for us,” John recalled. “It was very upsetting for us. This is somebody who we’re all best friends and built this band together, and it was a shock that he had decided to move on. So, it was something where we all had to kind of learn what our strengths were, and to carry the band on without him.”

DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG (DATOG),the project featuring former ACCEPT members Udo Dirkschneider (vocals),Peter Baltes (bass) and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar),along with Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider (drums),Manuela Bibert (vocals) and Mathias Dieth (guitar),has released a new single, "Time To Listen". The track, like "It Takes Two To Tango", which came out a month ago, will appear on DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG's new album, "Babylon", due in October 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM).

DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG comments: "'Time To Listen' is an up-tempo song that once again shines with DATOG's typically diversified lead vocals. A soaring guitar riff paves the way for a powerful Udo performance, accompanied by Peter's harmony vocals and continues with Manuela's sustained two-part vocals. The chorus, with its convincing power casts a spell over everyone. Here also, Mathias's guitar solo is a marvel of ingenuity that ignores all convention and whips through the musical realms in an unconventional manner. The compact and powerful ending is just as uncompromising as the beginning of the song."

A one-off charity campaign during the pandemic grew into an all-star heavy metal project: DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG — DATOG for short — united six seasoned musicians, many of whom have helped shape the metal genre's legacy over the past four decades.

At the core: iconic vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, founder and longtime frontman of ACCEPT, and leader of U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. He's joined by Peter Baltes (bass, vocals; ACCEPT, DIRKSCHNEIDER),Stefan Kaufmann (guitar; ACCEPT, U.D.O.),Mathias "Don" Dieth (guitar; SINNER, U.D.O.),Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider (drums, U.D.O., DIRKSCHNEIDER),and powerhouse vocalist Manuela "Ella" Bibert, whose standout performances on the U.D.O. orchestra album "We Are One" (2019) solidified her place in the lineup.

Together, they released three singles between 2020 and 2021 — "Where The Angels Fly", "Face Of A Stranger" and "Every Heart Is Burning" — followed up by a special charity EP, called "Arising", to help support artists, crews and musicians affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The immense success of their recordings and music videos surpassed every expectation, with more than 23 million streams and views in total to date.

"The whole thing developed a momentum of its own that we hadn't expected," recalls Kaufmann. "Fans and labels immediately wanted to know: is there more to come?"

The answer arrived in April 2025 with the release of "It Takes Two To Tango", a powerful new single and the first taste of "Babylon", released via Reigning Phoenix Music — a trusted partner of both U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. The track kicked off the next chapter in DATOG's journey, proving that the chemistry, passion, and fire between these six musicians is as strong as ever.

DATOG commented: "We're very happy about being part of the RPM family and continuing our work with Jochen Richert. We secretly started this joint campaign a while ago, and our mutual experiences behind the scenes have so far shown us that we are all definitely on the same page and driven by the same musical mutual factors: passion, loyalty, and the love for heavy music."

Managing director Jochen Richert (Reigning Phoenix Music) added: "Grabbing the chance of releasing DATOG's much-anticipated debut album was a no-brainer, of course. After their first steps exceeded, by far, several hopes and dreams, their new material is nothing short of a continuation, if not now on a higher level. Thank you to the whole GANG for your trust, let's rock this together!"

Musically, "It Takes Two to Tango" put the pedal to the metal, supported by a lyric underlining the aforementioned idea behind DATOG: the common joy of playing music! A virtue that surely will also infect all the viewers of the supporting music video, which was filmed by RCN TV at the legendary Dierks Studios (Stommeln, Germany),where actually the full record was tracked. The concluding mastering was handled by guitarist Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany).

"'It Takes Two To Tango' is strictly speaking only half of the song title, as the lyrics go on to say '(But) It Takes Six To Rock'. "This motto says it all", the group states and adds: "An absolute joint effort!"

DATOG is:

Udo Dirkschneider - lead vocals
Peter Baltes - bass, lead & backing vocals
Manuela "Ella" Bibert - lead & backing vocals, key instruments
Stefan Kaufmann - guitars, backing vocals
Mathias "Don" Dieth - guitars, backing vocals
Sven Dirkschneider - drums, backing vocals

Photo credit: Eddi Bachmann

Danish metal label Mighty Music proudly announces the signing of British hard rock and heavy metal band Fury. Known for their explosive live performances and a fiercely authentic sound, Fury are set to enter a bold new chapter in their career, with their fifth studio album scheduled for release in Autumn 2025.

Hailing from Birmingham, UK – the birthplace of heavy metal – Fury have built a reputation as one of the most passionate and dynamic acts in the UK and European live scene. Their blend of classic influences, ranging from Iron Maiden to Metallica, is elevated by the rich and soulful vocals of Julian Jenkins, transporting listeners to other worlds with powerful songwriting and vivid storytelling.

The band’s current lineup features an impressive roster of talent, including Becky Baldwin (Mercyful Fate, Hands Off Gretel) on bass, Tom Fenn (Torous, Brassick) on drums, Tom Atkinson (Vice) on guitar, and Nyah Ifill sharing co-lead vocals. Together, they form a high-voltage unit ready to take the next step on the international stage.



The collaboration with Mighty Music marks a significant milestone in the band’s journey:

“Fury have been fiercely independent for many years, powered by the belief that authenticity in music will always shine through. It is very exciting to work with a team who share in these beliefs and see the potential in our professional collaboration. I have very high hopes for this new era of Fury, working with our new Danish friends in Mighty Music!” — Becky Baldwin (bassist)

“For years we have worked extremely hard to take Fury as far as we can as an independent band, and I’m incredibly proud of everything we have achieved! But we have now reached the point where we need help in taking Fury onward. And so I am extremely pleased that Mighty Music get what we’re about and want to work with us to take Fury into the next era! These are incredibly exciting times for Fury, our upcoming album will be released under Mighty Music and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together!” — Julien Jenkins (vocalist / guitarist)

“When first getting approached by Fury, I was like… wow, why is this band not signed to one of the biggest labels in the world of rock and metal? After talking back and forth on e-mail, I met up with Becky in person in Copenhagen at Zeppelin Rock Bar and talked things through and shortly after this contract was signed. Fury is the first new artist signing to Mighty Music in 1 ½ years after taking a longer break and focusing on the artists we already have signed to the label. So obviously I am very excited by this, and the Danish-British connection with Becky, just makes this feel even more natural. Needless to say Fury is a high priority artist for Mighty Music and at the same time this also triggered me and Mighty Music to open our doors for more new rock and metal bands, so if anyone is listening out there, do get in touch.” — Mighty Music CEO, Michael Hvolgaard Andersen

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil spoke about the status of the recordings made before vocalist Chris Cornell's death in May of 2017. Asked if he thinks the SOUNDGARDEN record that Chris was working on with the other members of the band when he passed away will ever be released, Kim said: "I think so. Our objective and goal was always to complete that. I probably have OCD enough to not want to leave something unfinished or incomplete like that, so I think the more we can attend to our body of work and our catalog…I think everyone in the band feels that way. I don't just to attend to my work, but the collective work, and in this case specifically, the work of Chris."

Thayil continued: "I have pride for what I did and I want to see that come out. It doesn't exist in the vacuum. It exists as a collaboration with Matt [Cameron, drums] and Ben [Shepherd, bass] and Chris, but it takes on an entirely different weight when you think about what it is you're honoring, and the work that you're paying tribute to. It is us collectively. We want to do it proud. And that part of us is certainly one of the most intimate components of what SOUNDGARDEN has been since 1984."

He added: "It would be a great gift to the fans. And I do think about this, and I don't know how strange this sounds, but I feel like it's a gift to Chris too."

Back in April 2023, SOUNDGARDEN and Vicky Cornell, the widow and personal representative of Chris's estate, announced that they had reached "an amicable out-of-court resolution" regarding the release of recordings made before the singer's death.

The resolution came less than two years after SOUNDGARDEN and Vicky came to a temporary agreement that would transfer the SOUNDGARDEN social media accounts and web site to the band's remaining members, Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd and their managers, Red Light Management. This included SOUNDGARDEN's web site, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In March 2021, Thayil, Cameron, Shepherd and their business manager Rit Venerus filed papers in Washington state U.S. District Court claiming that Vicky Cornell had locked them out of their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, Top Spin and Pinterest accounts, as well as SOUNDGARDEN's official web site, and changing all the passwords.

Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd claimed their socials were previously managed by their then-management company Patriot Management. They said they later learned that Patriot had handed over all the login information to Vicky after Patriot was terminated in October 2019.

The band asked a judge to order Vicky Cornell to hand over the passwords or include a final posting stating, "SOUNDGARDEN has temporarily suspended its official social media accounts due to pending litigation."

Cornell was found hanged in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017, following a SOUNDGARDEN show at the city's Fox Theatre. His body was found soon after he had spoken with a "slurred" voice to his wife by phone. The death was ruled a suicide.

In December 2019, Vicky filed a lawsuit against the surviving SOUNDGARDEN members, alleging the group owed Cornell's estate hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties and the rights to seven unreleased recordings made before the singer's death. Cornell is credited as a writer on all seven songs, receiving sole credit on two, "Cancer" and "Stone Age Mind". He wrote "Road Less Traveled", "Orphans" and "At Ophians Door" with Matt Cameron; "Ahead Of The Dog" with Kim Thayil; and "Merrmas" with Ben Shepherd.

At the time, Vicky claimed that Chris made seven recordings at his personal studio in Florida in 2017, adding that there was no explicit agreement as to whether the recordings were meant for SOUNDGARDEN, which made Chris the exclusive owner. However, the surviving SOUNDGARDEN members responded by saying that the unreleased recordings were the result of writing and recording sessions going as far back as 2015. They also pointed to public interviews with Chris and Thayil that suggested that SOUNDGARDEN had been working on the material since 2015, and detailed recording sessions up until April 2017, just one month before Chris's death. SOUNDGARDEN also included several text exchanges from Vicky, in which she referred to the unreleased recordings as the "SG files". They also provided a March 2017 e-mail from Vicky which said that Chris was travelling for the "SG record". The band went on to refute Vicky's claim that Chris's recordings took place in his personal studio in Florida in 2017, insisting that most of the actual sound files "significantly predate 2017" and that the recording sessions took place in Seattle and New York while the band was touring.

Responding to Vicky's lawsuit, Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron claimed that they "don't have possession" of their "own creative work," and alleged that "Vicky Cornell has possession of the only existing multi-track recordings of the last SOUNDGARDEN tracks that include Chris Cornell's instrumental parts and vocals. All of the band members jointly worked on these final tracks, Vicky now claims ownership of the final SOUNDGARDEN album."

Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron initially accused Vicky Cornell of misusing funds from the January 2019 "I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell" concert. After being challenged by Cornell's attorneys with the threat of sanctions, SOUNDGARDEN withdrew that portion of its countersuit, while its lawyers wrote at the time that the band believes the claims "remain well-founded."

In February, Vicky Cornell sued the surviving members of SOUNDGARDEN over the buyout price for her stake in the band. In the lawsuit, Vicky Cornell said Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd offered her just $300,000 for Chris's share. This amount, she said, is far lower than the real value of the Chris Cornell estate's interests in SOUNDGARDEN, especially considering the fact that the band got an offer of $16 million from an outside investor for SOUNDGARDEN's masters.

As previously reported, SOUNDGARDEN will join the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame class of 2025 in the Performer category. The Seattle grunge legends were first nominated for the Rock Hall in 2020, and were on the ballot again in 2023 before finally being chosen for induction this year.

Thayil, Cameron, Cornell and Shepherd are being included in the induction, as is original bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who was with SOUNDGARDEN from 1984 to 1989 and played on the band's first two EPs and first two albums.

In a recent interview with Drumtalk, the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA drummer Igor "Iggor" Cavalera was asked how he measures success. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have to say success, in my measurement, it's being able to do something that you love for a long time. Succeed to an extent that you are comfortable with what you do and you don't sacrifice your integrity as a musician, as a drummer just for the sake of making money. So that's success for me. It's not having a golden Ferrari, it's not having — whatever — limousines and all that stuff. It's doing something that you love and maintaining that for quite a few years, and that's what I try to show to my kids. It's like no matter what camp you are working — it could be anything from coding computers — but if you have that passion and if you enjoy what you do and for a long time, you're successful. It doesn't mean that you're rich. It doesn't mean that you're a millionaire. It just means that you are successful within yourself. And that's the way I measure things."

This past February, Igor launched a solo tour of the United Kingdom during which he performed electronic music from the repertoire of his solo discography inspired by the varied sub genres of avant-garde, drone, industrial and harsh noise.

Along with older brother Max Cavalera, Igor is a founding member of the Brazilian thrash metal band SEPULTURA. Igor is now the drummer for CAVALERA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SOULWAX, PETBRICK and other projects. Cavalera is one half of the DJ duo MIXHELL, an electronic music project he founded with his wife, Laima Leyton, in 2006. With MIXHELL, he has toured the globe, performing in festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival and Reading.

In 2013, Igor moved to London with his family and in 2016 joined the Belgian band SOULWAX, recording drums for their album "From Deewee" and touring as part of "Transient Program For Drums And Machinery". Soon after, he founded PETBRICK with Wayne Adams — a project that involved melting noise and crushing electronics over grinding drumming.

Igor has been performing live with analog modular gear, drum pads and visuals for intimate crowds at experimental festivals such as Dio Drone (Florence) and clubs such as Cafe Oto and Iklectik (London). His latest releases include "Aural Manifestations" on Damian Records in America and Deepthroat Records in Europe and "Alucinações Sônicas" on Hospital Productions.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).

In 1996, Max Cavalera exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.