In a new interview with Brutal Planet Media, former VIXEN singer Lorraine Lewis opened up about her 2024 exit from the band after a five-year run. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I didn't leave. I was fired. And so that's the truth of it. And I think when it all went down, I was really in shock, 'cause I had been in the band for over five years and I know that I did my job and I really believe I elevated the band. And people can say, 'Oh, she thinks she's all that,' just by that coming out of my mouth. But I really believe that. I think that I brought a new life to the band. And I come from the school of David Lee Roth, so I am in your face and I stick out my tongue a lot when I'm on stage 'cause it's like an exclamation mark when you're up there and it feels so damn good. And I just had the time of my life."

Lorraine continued: "I definitely miss the [VIXEN] girls. But at the same time, I think that everything really does happen for a reason. And I know that my path is my own and my own adventure to fulfill. And so I am happy with the time that I had with them. We did some amazing tours, amazing shows.

"It was never going to be my band," she added. "I knew it was not my band, but I really gave it my all and I think that we had a hell of a time, and again, elevated the brand, for sure, and really did everything I could to be that front person that I thought they wanted."

Regarding why she was fired from VIXEN, Lorraine said: "I still to this day do not know a reason; I was never given a reason. We were two weeks out of the summer [2024] tour, and I had new outfits and everything… I asked why. I asked why, but I was told that the reasons don't matter. And so that's really the truth."

Offering her theory for why she might have been fired from VIXEN, Lorraine said: "I'm just gonna say it: it's [drummer] Roxy [Petrucci] that runs the band. It's her band. And I've known Roxy for a very long time. I've known her for 30 years… I think maybe I've just always been a little bit too much for her, 'cause I just go for it. I'm not here to hurt anybody. I'm just here to have fun and live life to the fullest and just express myself. And rock and roll is rock and roll. You can't tame rock and roll. So I don't wanna be tamed in any way. [Laughs]

"So, that's what went down," Lewis continued. "And I spoke about this on Troy Patrick Farrell's ['This That And The Other'] podcast when it happened. It took me a couple of weeks to even talk about it. But it's been almost a year. It'll be a year in May. And I had just been in the studio recording with [original FOREIGNER singer] Lou Gramm, and then two days later I got this phone call from the manager. And it was, like, 'Whoa, what the hell just happened?' It was a wild ride."

Reflecting on how she felt after she got the news that she was no longer the singer of VIXEN, Lorraine said: "I will admit, the first few weeks I would wake up in the morning and it was like I was in a dream. It's like almost I couldn't get my footing, like even just walking, like getting out of bed and walking. It was just this whirlwind of, like, 'Did that really happen? Am I not in the band anymore?' It really took a while to sink in. And it was really challenging, emotionally, just to handle it, but at the same time, I'm a believer in fate and the universe and all good things are happening to me, and if I really believe that stuff I'm feeding myself or other people, I have to really believe it. If I say I know that things are always working out for me, then I know that part of the process is sometimes things fall away. And that's part of the universe pushing you to your path. And so I got my head around that… But little by little, here we are a year later and I can't even tell you how many amazing things are at my fingertips right now."

VIXEN's new singer Rosa Laricchiuta (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, HEADPINS) made her live debut with VIXEN on June 21, 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California alongside GREAT WHITE, SLAUGHTER and QUIET RIOT.

During an appearance on the Battleline Podcast, VIXEN guitarist Brittany Denaro (a.k.a. Britt Lightning) discussed the decision to part ways with Lewis. Asked what she would say to fans who are concerned that VIXEN bears little resemblance to the band that broke through in the late 1980s, with Petrucci as the sole remaining member from VIXEN's classic lineup, Britt said: "Yeah, well, I think Roxy is definitely dedicated to maintaining the musical integrity of the classic VIXEN. And she said that. And I think for whatever reason, she feels that this change is gonna be a positive one… So, I'm excited. I trust her. She's been doing this a long time, and she knows what feels right."

Britt continued: "Sometimes things run its course. And, again, I'm not involved in in this decision or at liberty to really speak about … the reasons in it. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, I guess. We're forging forward, we're forging ahead, and there will be new music. And I think it's gonna rock. So I'm very excited."

Britt went on to discuss the importance of getting along with VIXEN's new singer on a personal level, explaining: "At the end of the day, obviously you have to be talented, but just being a good person and being a cool person, 'cause we spend a lot of time together. I mean, that saying, musicians, we get paid to travel and then we play the gig, but what do we get paid for? The travel. I mean, I've flown to South America for one 30-minute show and then flown right back. So that's a lot of travel time and not a lot of playing. And that's a lot of time that you have to be with each other, and if you're with somebody that just drives you nuts, that's the worst thing ever. And then you can tell on stage too. So you know there's good chemistry when — you can feel it, is what I'm saying, on stage. And I think the audience can always feel it too."

When VIXEN announced Lewis's exit from the band on May 27, 2024, the group said in a statement: "First of all we want to extend a special thank you to Lorraine Lewis. We're grateful for her contributions to VIXEN and wish her all the best in her career moving forward."

Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Petrucci, bassist Share Ross and Lightning vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988),"Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest full-length release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

More than three years ago, Ross announced that she was "taking a hiatus" from VIXEN. Her replacement was Julia Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock group BARRA DE SAIA and wife of Richie Kotzen. Lage made her live debut with VIXEN on February 8, 2022 at the pre-Monsters Of Rock cruise concert at Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida.

VIXEN's "Red" single, featuring Lewis, on vocals, arrived in October 2023. The official music video for the track, which was written and produced by CINDERELLA drummer Fred Coury, was directed by Drew Johnston and Vicente Cordero and edited by Ryan Conion.

Reactivated Santa Barbara-based metal/punk rock hybrid SNOT played its second show with guitarist Doc Coyle (GOD FORBID, ex-BAD WOLVES) this past Saturday night (April 26) at The Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Video of the concert can be seen below, courtesy of joegames dot tv.

Coyle was recruited by SNOT after the band's recent split with guitarist Sonny Mayo.

The news of Mayo's departure was broken by SNOT guitarist Mikey Doling who stated in a video message:  "Sonny Mayo has decided to quit SNOT. SNOT doesn't fit into his life right now, and he just wants to focus on himself and his life. And SNOT's just too busy for him to be able to continue.

"So I'd like to wish Sonny Mayo the best of luck in his future, and I wanna thank him for all he's contributed to SNOT over the years. We love you, brother," Mikey continued.

"That being said, our very, very good friend from GOD FORBID, formerly BAD WOLVES, Doc Coyle, is going to be filling in on guitar for the upcoming shows. And we're excited to have him on board. And thank you very much, Doc Coyle."

Last month, SNOT announced a European tour for August 2025. The eight-date trek will mark the band's first shows on the continent with new singer Andy Knapp, who made his live debut with SNOT in January.

SNOT's first gig with Knapp took place on January 17 at the Parish room at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. The performance was also livestreamed via the band's Instagram. SNOT played a second show with Knapp, who also sings for fellow Southern California band STRONGER THAN MACHINES, on January 18 at Brick By Brick in San Diego, California.

In a recent interview with "The Garza Podcast", hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza, Doling and bassist John "Tumor" Fahnestock confirmed that there are plans for SNOT to write new music.

SNOT's current lineup also includes drummer Jamie Miller.

SNOT is scheduled to play two more club concerts this month, leading up to the band's appearance at the Welcome To Rockville festival in May in Daytona Beach, Florida. SNOT will also play at select European festivals, as well as at the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio, this summer.

SNOT disbanded in 1998 following original singer Lynn Strait's death, putting an end to a career that generated considerable promise but only one studio album, "Get Some". The band had been writing material for its sophomore CD and had completed 10 songs at the time of Strait's tragic passing. As a memorial to Strait, SNOT eventually decided to release those tracks, with lyrics and guest vocals provided by a host of stars from the alt-metal community. The resulting album, "Strait Up", was a fitting tribute from Strait's peers and friends, featuring members of LIMP BIZKIT, KORN, SLIPKNOT, SEVENDUST, (HED) P.E., COAL CHAMBER, SUGAR RAY, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SOULFLY, and more.

SNOT in 2014 recruited Carl Bensley (VITIATE, CONSUME THE FIRE) to sing for the band following the departure of Tommy "Vext" Cummings (ex-DIVINE HERESY, BAD WOLVES).

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lynn died in died in a car accident in December 1998 as he attempted to drive across Highway 101 in Mussel Shoals, California. The 30-year-old singer died instantly after his 1992 Ford Tempo was broadsided by a southbound full-size pickup truck about noon. Also killed was Strait's small bulldog, SNOT's mascot Dobbs, who adorned the cover of the band's debut album, the 1997 Geffen Records release "Get Some". Strait, a Santa Barbara resident, was crossing the highway after visiting his girlfriend in the community. Lynn apparently pulled into the path of the truck, which was going about 65 mph. The impact sent Strait's car spinning into the center divider where it stopped, a California Highway Patrol officer told the Los Angeles Times at the time.

Cummings fronted SNOT in 2008-2009 before he and Mayo exited the group amid "strained relationships."

Who’s ready to rock? @943kilo presents @snotband THIS Saturday, 4/26 w/ special guests @skinlabmusic @suicidecages & @getsomeband

🎟️ Grab your tickets soon! 👉 blacksheeprocks.com

Posted by The Black Sheep on Wednesday, April 23, 2025

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Sammy Hagar spoke about his relationship with his former VAN HALEN bandmate Alex Van Halen, who hasn't spoken with Hagar in 21 years, and refused to even mention Sammy by name in his recent memoir, "Brothers". Regarding why there has been no communication between the two in the last couple of decades, Sammy said: "I've had this conversation with a few people, including [former VAN HALEN manager] Irving Azoff. I've asked him, 'What's the problem?' And some people have said to me, 'Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, VAN HALEN, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn't want it anymore when it was losing money, and they gave it to you, and you turned it around and made hundreds of millions of dollars on it. And they're angry. Alex is angry about that.' To that I said, 'How the fuck could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.' And I'm going, 'I hope it's not that.'"

Referencing his 2011 autobiography "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock", in which Hagar slammed Alex's brother Eddie Van Halen, saying the guitarist was unkempt, hunched over, frighteningly skinny, drinking wine straight out of a bottle, missing part of his tongue (after a cancer scare) and several teeth, Sammy continued: "The book has been brought up. The book was honest. It was well documented that Eddie was a mess on that tour. But I don't want to drag Eddie through no coals now. That's just water under the bridge.

"I think Al's angry because I'm out doing it, and Mike [Anthony, former VAN HALEN bassist] and I are out doing it, and he can't," Hagar added. "He's not a singer. He's not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn't want to play drums or can't play drums anymore, and he can't go write a new record. Alex wasn't the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave [Lee Roth] and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn't do it anymore. But I'm the happiest guy out of all of them. That pisses people off in itself. Being too happy, people don't like that."

When interviewer Andy Greene noted that Alex has had real health issues and has reasons to feel bitter, Sammy said: "Yeah, I'd say so. And I'm okay with it. Al, you're fine. Just leave me alone. I'll leave you alone. Everything's good. I'm making you money, by the way, Al. I'm out there selling VAN HALEN records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive."

Last December, Alex Van Halen was asked by Bringing It Back To The Beatles why he made "the conscientious decision" to end his book, "Brothers", in 1984 and not cover any of the band's later years. He responded: "Because the original band was the band that was the driving force. That was the connection between the disparate parts of the musical world, if you will. And we were young. The first record going platinum — it's incredible. That's something you can really never expect to happen again. Later on, it was different — that's for another book — but the excitement and the confusion and the groping in the dark, if you will, and all the mistakes that we made, and all the B.S. we had to endure, and then to recognize at the very end, maybe we had one more record in us, it was very… You can't take it back, but those are the things that are in the back of your head. The old expression of, if you don't go over the edge, then you can't come back. You have to go too far to come back in. Does that make sense? Unfortunately, we're human and we made some bad choices. The US Festival, for instance, was just a clusterfuck. Nobody knew what the hell was going on. All we said was, 'You make sure you have enough power, and we'll play.' That's it."

When the interviewer noted that this attitude is "true rock and roll," Alex concurred. "Bingo. That's exactly right," he said. "You just hit the nail on the head. After that, that's why the book ends in 1984, because that was true rock and roll. After that, it became much more — I don't know; I can't explain it. But it's not to say that it was not any good. We always did our best at whatever we were doing, but it wasn't the same."

He added earlier in the interview: "I think I picked up where Ed [legendary VAN HALEN guitarist and Alex's brother Eddie Van Halen] left off in terms of saying… His example was that we were actually happier playing in clubs than we were when we hit the so-called big time, because in the clubs you weren't quite sure what you were doing, you could, at the drop of a hat, change directions, you can play anything you want and there's nobody that holds you accountable or they have expectations of any sort. You just go on and you play. And it's intimate. You're right there, two feet away. People are right there in front of your face. And that kind of goes away when you get to the place where you have five lines of security people. And we always kept it to a minimum, but nonetheless, that was the soup du jour."

Two months earlier, Alex gave a slightly different answer to USA Today when asked about his decision to end the book when VAN HALEN's original singer David Lee Roth first quit the band 41 years ago.

"For me, the spirit of the band ended in 1984," Alex said. "We did good work after that, but the primary spiritual aspect, the magic, the potential, the looking to the future together, all of that stuff, our mutually strange backgrounds — that's what made VAN HALEN. Ed and I were outsiders. Dave was an outsider. Those kinds of intangible things make the fabric of how we were tied together."

Asked about his current relationship with David, Alex said: "I think Dave is laying low right now. I don't know his mental state in terms of how he's dealing with all of this.

"I was taught early on that the music field isn't about the notes and things, it's about relationships and what we all had [in VAN HALEN] was deeply entangled.

"I don't hold [Roth leaving VAN HALEN] against him. We're not here to hold you prisoner. But it was very telling how the dynamic of certain entities got warped by the people around him.

"Dave was in the middle of [huge success] where he wasn't thinking clearly, and he would admit that now. That's the reason I called him first [after Ed died] — only to find out that 23 years changes people."

Asked if that means that the conversation didn't go as expected, Alex said: "He's the not the same guy. But if he called me right now, I would answer the phone. It's about human dignity and respect."

"Brothers" ignores Sammy Hagar's stint with VAN HALEN, as well as that of EXTREME vocalist Gary Cherone, and even VAN HALEN's reunion with Roth that started in 2007.

"What happened after Dave left is not the same band," Alex told Billboard. "I'm not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played. We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn't know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything."

Alex also explained his refusal to participate in this past summer's "The Best Of All Worlds" that focused largely on the music of VAN HALEN. The trek featured Hagar and former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, along with guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham.

The 2024 tour came more than two years after Satriani revealed that he was approached about participating in a VAN HALEN tribute show with Alex and David Lee Roth. That project never got off the ground, reportedly because Roth was "holding up" getting everything approved.

In the Billboard interview, Alex said about why he was not responsive when Hagar and Anthony reached out about him taking part in some way in "The Best Of All Worlds": "I'm not interested. They're not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That's not my business."

In a separate interview with Rolling Stone, Alex didn't even utter Hagar's name. "The heart and the soul and the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike and me," he said. In the book, his only acknowledgment of the "Van Hagar" era reportedly came in the line, "We had a lot of other singers over the years."

Hagar mended his relationship with Eddie Van Halen months prior to the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist's October 2020 passing.

Hagar replaced Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — "5150", "OU812", "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and "Balance" — all of which topped the U.S. chart.

Sammy, Eddie, Alex and Mike last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.

Sammy Hagar photo credit: Leah Steiger

In a new interview with Mane Campos of Chile's Heavyfonía, Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P., whose single "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)", landed at No. 9 on the PMRC's (Parents' Music Resource Center) "Filthy Fifteen" 40 years ago, spoke about the importance of free speech. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Quite honestly, I think censorship is worse now than it was in the '80s because with the Internet, you have people that are just afraid to speak.

"Censorship is an ugly thing because — the idea of freedom of speech, it's not to protect popular speech; it's designed to protect unpopular speech," he explained. "And I don't care what anyone has to say — they can come up with the craziest ideas they want. I have enough faith in my fellow man that they will determine what's bullshit and what's not. And you give the people the ability to decide, the majority of the time, they're going to come up with the right ideas. So, like I said, I don't think that trying to limit speech in any way has ever been a good idea."

Asked if he thinks social media isa democratic way for people to express themselves or a platform for "cancel culture" and polarized views, Blackie said: "Well, it's both. But from what I see… I don't spend a lot of time there, so I really don't know a lot about it, but from what I hear, the concept of being able to cancel people, that's a scary thought.

"If you have someone like me — I don't care what you say about me; I just don't care," Blackie insisted. "But the majority of the world is not like that; they're very sensitive to what other people think. And so someone like that would be easy to cancel. Someone like myself, you cannot cancel us because we don't care. You can only cancel someone if they care. If I believe in something that I'm doing, I don't care if somebody believes it or not. What's important is what I think. And I've spent my career telling our fans — the only thing that really matters is to think for yourself. Come up with your own ideas. Come up with your own opinions. Don't listen to what someone next to you is telling you. Yes, you can listen, but at the end of the day, you have to decide what is right for you, and that's really, really important. Like I said, I've spent my entire career talking about this one idea. So, the concept of censorship definitely fits into this."

Asked about his comment from a couple of decades ago where he expressed his interest in becoming a U.S. senator, Blackie said: "At the time, I was pretty passionate about that, but I think I can say more by making records for a longer period of time than I could have been if I would've went [sic] to Washington. So I made the right decision staying where I am, because my voice has spoken louder for a longer period of time than if I would've gone there and done that."

Asked if he is "disappointed" in politics today, Blackie said: "Yeah, because you know the old expression, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.' And there's a lot of truth to that. It's all about money and power — that's what politics is — and I'm the kind of person, I don't do well in environments where people are not allowed to speak truth. I just don't do well there. So I'm way better off doing what I'm doing now because I can say the things I wanna say without restriction. Because they say politics is the art of compromise, and I don't do well when it comes to compromise."

Pressed about whether he changed his mind a bit about rock and roll's ability to change the world, Blackie said: "No, not at all, because if you look back at the '60s and the '70s, rock and roll helped win the war. Any time you can get people to listen to ideas, that's a powerful thing. And that's one of the reasons that rock and roll has always scared people, because it's dangerous. Because it's dangerous, because of the ideas that it talks about. And that's what's made it so revolutionary. And I think that rock and roll is missing that today. I wish there was more of that because when it was truly revolutionary, it was something to fear, if you were someone that did not agree with it. And I miss that today."

Toward the end of the interview, Lawless was asked to describe U.S. president Donald Trump in one word. He responded: "A winner."

Last November, Blackie defended his decision to praise Donald Trump during the band's concert in New York City, saying the then-U.S. president-elect was "a patriot" who was "willing to die" for what he believed in.

Prior to launching into the closing song, "Blind In Texas", of W.A.S.P.'s November 16, 2024 show at Hammerstein Ballroom At Manhattan Center, the 68-year-old Lawless, whose real name is Steven Duren, addressed the crowd, saying: "We'll do something a little different tonight. We are in the appropriate city to do this. You know, it was Shakespeare that said, 'Some are born to greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them.' It was the Greek historian Herodotus who said that when it comes to tragedy and things like that, that we do not rule circumstances, circumstances rule us."

Reflecting on his experience with the PMRC (Parents' Music Resource Center) four decades ago, Lawless continued: "Now when I was a little kid, growing up across the bay over here in Staten Island, I never, I never ever imagined that my time would come where I would be thrust into a situation where I had no control over. Now, it will be 40 years next year, there was a situation that happened, and it was called the PMRC. And there were hearings, there were hearings done in Washington, D.C. And two days later, Frank Zappa and myself stood on a stage just around the corner here and we talked about the evils that would come about them. Because censorship is an ugly, ugly thing. And it ain't just in music. It happens in all forms of life.

"Now, down the street here in lower Manhattan, there's a chapel down there. It's called the St. Paul's Chapel. We now know it as the chapel from 9-11. But before that, when George Washington was elected the first president of the United States, after he was sworn in the federal building, he walked into that street and he walked down to that chapel and he consecrated the United States of America to God Almighty right there on that spot.

"The very first amendment of our constitution guarantees freedom of speech," Blackie added. "Our founding fathers were genius enough to know that if you can control speech, you can control thought. And these men knew this. These were great men. Fast forward a couple hundred years, 250 almost, now we have a situation in the last six, eight years, we find censorship again rearing its ugly, ugly head. Now, this time it's on the Internet, and it's affecting every single one of us."

Referencing the fact that Trump was making his return to Madison Square Garden that same night, visiting the New York City landmark arena for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, Blackie said: "Tonight, you may not be aware, but right next door to us over here in the Garden, there is a man who has undergone attempt after attempt, assassinations on his life, and this man has stood up for this country. He's right next door right now at the Garden.

"Now, I got two things that I'm passionate about the most. One of them is that freedom of speech," he added. "And the other one is about being a patriot. Because I'm here to tell you, I don't care if you're Republican, Democrat, Independent, you need to be a patriot of this country. I am willing to die for this country. I believe in it that much. And that man next door, he believes in it too.

"I only got one more thing to say before we go. 'Cause I'm blind in Texas."

W.A.S.P.'s performance of "Blind In Texas" in New York City featured Trump banners flanking the stage while the image of the then-president-elect with his fist raised after July 2024's assassination attempt near Butler, Pennsylvania was displayed behind the band.

Blackie was asked about his pro-Trump comments during a November 19, 2024 "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before W.A.S.P.'s concert in Cleveland, Ohio. He said: "When we did what we did Saturday night, it wasn't just about him. It was about America. And we knew before we did it, 'cause we weighed the idea back and forth for a week before we did it, what would we do if there was gonna be fallout? And I said, well, it doesn't matter if there's fallout, because when you see Big Tech censorship, it's the same thing we were going through 40 years ago; it's just that it's got a different name on it now — that's all. So, the first thing any government does when they seize power is they seize the airwaves, because we know that if you can censor speech, you can control thought eventually. We see it time after time. Or even if you don't control the thought to the degree you like, you cower people so they're like little rabbits hiding in the corner. They're afraid to speak out."

He continued: "So, that was the big reason behind it. But looking at someone who's willing to go through what the guy did, well, I mean… I heard somebody say yesterday, he said he's got big brass wings. And I thought, yep, that's very true, because Thomas Jefferson said, the tree of liberty must be replaced from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. And I see him as a patriot. And when I was saying what I was saying the other night — there's two things I was interested in, which was censorship and patriotism. So, if somebody's willing to die for what they believe in, I gotta stand there with them."

Back in the mid-'80s, the PMRC published a list called "The Filthy Fifteen" which consisted of the top fifteen songs they wanted banned due to objectionable lyrics suggesting violence, sex, drugs, alcohol or the occult. They petitioned for lyrics to be printed on the album jackets and no one was safe — heavy metal acts were right there alongside the pop stars. AC/DC, Madonna, MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, Prince, W.A.S.P., MERCYFUL FATE, Vanity, DEF LEPPARD, Cyndi Lauper and TWISTED SISTER all made "The Filthy Fifteen" list. In November 1985, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) agreed to put "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" labels on selected releases at their own discretion.

Lawless previously discussed the importance of free speech in an October 2023 interview with "Metalshop". Speaking about how he was affected by his experience with the PMRC, he said: "We were too young to really understand what it was all about, but they quickly put us in the eye of the hurricane, and then all kinds of bad things started happening — death threats and getting shot at and all of that. We became educated very, very quickly.

"I think I was in Indiana — I think it was Indianapolis — this girl came in to interview me," he continued. "And this was, like, '87. And she had worked for the PMRC at one point. And she, at this time I was talking to her, was a journalist. And she goes, she brought in a cassette tape and she goes, 'I've got something I need you to hear.' And she played this cassette tape for me. And on it were Susan Baker [co-founder of the PMRC] and a few of the others talking about what their real motivation was. And their motivation was not to get stickers on records. Their motivation was to get Al Gore a platform to then run for president of the United States. So they were trying to create a political profile for him — because what better way to get attention, if you're a political candidate, a southern caricature, which is what he was, what better way to get attention than to go after an attention getter? I mean, this is McCarthyism [political repression and persecution] — you know, it's no different. Richard Nixon did it. All these witch hunts that went on in D.C. for years. But they come to a generation who's not heard it. So this thing comes around once every 15 years. The generation hasn't heard it. They haven't heard the same old lies that come out of it. So it sounds pretty good to them because it sounds sincere and genuine."

Lawless, who has repeatedly stated in interviews that he has returned to the Christian faith and considers himself a born-again Christian, added: "Let me tell you something about free speech. I'm part Jewish, I'm part Native American Indian. You can stand on a soapbox and you can talk about how wonderful Nazism is and how you'd like to kill all the Indians out there. I don't care. Well, let me rephrase that. I do care, but I don't want to limit your ability to speak, because if I do that, then we start going down a dark road because you start playing umpire, and then who plays umpire tomorrow?

"This country was built as a republic and a republic, contrary to what a lot of people don't understand, is not a democracy. But what you have to do to create a republic, you have to have a certain amount of faith in the people. So, in other words, if you have a guy that's spewing a bunch of hatred on a street corner or in a soapbox, you have to have faith in your fellow Americans that this guy is a lunatic and the vast majority of people are gonna find him out and not follow him. But what happens is when you start limiting that speech, then, like I said, you take away the ability of the people to decide for themselves, number one, who's crazy and who isn't. But even more dangerous than that, you start appointing these umpires that tell you what you can and cannot say. And it's extremely dangerous. And you've heard it a million times but it bears repeating, our system is not set up for popular speech. It's set up for unpopular speech."

Lawless also discussed his experience with the PMRC during a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session in November 2022 before W.A.S.P.'s concert at The Paramount Theater in Huntington, New York. At the time, he said: "It changed my life, if that's what you mean. It made me more of a recluse. Yeah, a couple of thousand death threats and bomb scares and getting shot at a couple of times usually has a tendency to alter your outlook on life a little. But also, we were exposed to extreme fame very early, and fame is kind of like this — if this table is a smorgasbord, it's like an evil genie stands down at the end of the smorgasbord and [says], 'You can take anything you want, but if you take one thing, you take it all. You do not get to pick and choose. So all the good stuff that you like in the smorgasbord, that's wonderful, but you've gotta take the bad stuff too.' So it ends up being a life-altering experience, one I don't think you can ever really go back from — at least I haven't been able to."

In a 2004 interview with the Las Vegas Mercury, Lawless spoke about having his music slammed by the PMRC, saying: "As the story goes, [PMRC founding member] Tipper [Gore] was walking down the hall in her house and her 12-year-old son had [W.A.S.P.'s] 'Fuck Like A Beast' playing on his stereo, and she lost her mind," Lawless said. "I don't know if that's true, but that's the story I've been told.

"You wanna talk about sensationalism?" Blackie continued. "This was an organization that was seeking a platform that would help serve its own political interests. They didn't give a damn about censorship. I've spent the better part of my career trying to get people to understand that. This really is not what you think it is. They come to you like the wolf in sheep's clothing and then use you to create a frenzy — not unlike what McCarthy did with the communists and Bob Dole did with rap. This is nothing new.

"You don't have to be Nostradamus to see what's going on with young people these days," Lawless continued. "Parents just don't get involved with their kids as much as they used to. Are you going to tell me that these parents at Columbine didn't know that anything was going on with their kids? Hey, my mother knew what I was doing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But parents now, they don't want to take any responsibility for their children. They bring something into this world, and then when something goes wrong, they want to blame everybody else for it."

It is not clear what Lawless thinks about Trump's supposed commitment to free expression, seeing as Trump champions freedom of speech for himself and his allies while attacking it when it protects his critics and political opponents. Trump has regularly attacked individual journalists and the press in general for unfavorable news coverage. He called journalists the "enemy of the people" and removed ones he did not like from press events and rallies.

Fan-filmed video of AC/DC's entire April 26 concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen below.

Featured songs:

* Intro 0:00
* If You Want Blood (You've Got It) 1:08
* Brian Johnson welcomes Las Vegas 6:13
* Back In Black 6:37
* Demon Fire 10:58
* Shot Down In Flames 15:35
* Thunderstruck 19:50
* Have A Drink On Me 25:45
* Hells Bells 30:30
* Shot In The Dark 36:25
* Stiff Upper Lip 40:07
* Highway To Hell 44:44
* Shoot To Thrill 49:23
* Sin City 55:58
* Rock 'N' Roll Train 1:02:49
* Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 1:07:52
* High Voltage 1:13:30
* Riff Raff 1:21:02
* You Shook Me All Night Long 1:27:27
* Whole Lotta Rosie 1:31:40
* Let There Be Rock 1:38:32
* Angus Young 1st Solo (On The Riser) 1:48:35
* Angus Young 2nd Solo 1:52:16
* (End Of) Let There Be Rock 1:59:51

Encore:

* T.N.T. 2:02:28
* For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) 2:06:41

AC/DC kicked off its North American tour on April 10 at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

AC/DC — guitarist Angus Young, vocalist Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and bass player Chris Chaney — is performing in 13 stadiums coast to coast this spring. This run will conclude on May 28 in Cleveland, Ohio at Huntington Bank Field. Along the way, they will play some of the most iconic and historic stadiums in the world, including Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on May 24. Support on the trek is coming from THE PRETTY RECKLESS.

AC/DC played the 24th and final concert of its "Power Up" European tour on August 17, 2024 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.

The "Power Up" European tour marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup consisting of Johnson, Angus and Stevie Young, Laug and the latest addition to the group's touring lineup, Chaney.

The European tour was the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at last year's Power Trip festival in Indio, California.

AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office.

Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A., Matt became a sought-after studio drummer.

In 2001, Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour.

In its announcement about Laug's addition to the band's Power Trip lineup, AC/DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album, "Power Up", which came out in November 2020.

Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade, who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".

Rudd, who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, "Head Job". It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.

AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist." At the time, Johnson had been AC/DC's singer for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album.

To enable him to perform live with AC/DC again, the now-77-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrose, who said he could help resolve the singer's hearing problems.

Ambrose, who invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today, claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums. After three years of experimenting and "miniaturizing" the equipment, Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again.

Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE'S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band. Chaney was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDY, as well as being a prolific and versatile session musician, having played with artists including Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash and Avril Lavigne to Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, SHINEDOWN and Celine Dion. Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL).

Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC/DC's 2015-2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, which also saw Johnson leaving. However, Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in "Power Up". Both of them were also part of the AC/DC lineup that performed at Power Trip.

During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Cliff was asked if Johnson's departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring. Cliff responded: "It was before then. I spoke to Angus about it initially. I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the 'Rock Or Bust' tour — that I just felt, for me, it was time to hang it up. I knew that I didn't wanna keep doing these two-year tours, and I didn't wanna hold them back, so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round. It was a tough tour to finish. God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out, finish it up. He did a great job. And at the end of that, I was definitely — that was it for me. Done — just done. That compounded the whole thing."

According to Williams, he wanted to take part in the recording sessions for "Power Up" as a tribute to Angus's late brother, founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up".

"If 'Back In Black' has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it, for me, 'Power Up' has got Malcolm Young," Cliff said. "This is for him. And it's the band that we played together with for 40-plus years. And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that.

"We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up, and we had great rehearsals," he continued. "The band was playing really well. So [they asked me], 'Do you wanna do a few shows? 'Sure'. A few shows. We were planning on doing that. Everyone goes home to their respective homes, and bang, we've been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown]."

Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC/DC was only for "a few" dates in support of "Power Up".

"For both [my mental and physical] health," he said. "I definitely have some physical issues, which I won't bore you with the details of. But, yeah, it's tough. I'm very grateful for everything. It's been fantastic. But I just don't wanna do that anymore."

Williams previously revealed that a "terrible" bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement. He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group. "It was like the old band back together," he told Rolling Stone. "It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that's been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn't want to miss that."

The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust", "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust".

DOWN, the long-running heavy metal supergroup featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, has signed with Nuclear Blast Records. The band is currently in the final stages of recording its long-awaited new full-length album, slated for release in 2026.

Nuclear Blast comments: "Nuclear Blast is proud to be in the trenches with NOLA legends DOWN as their partner in their long overdue return to the metal world. In addition, we are excited to bring some of their key past catalog releases back into the spotlight, especially on the vinyl side. There are so many longtime DOWN fans at Nuclear Blast who are excited to be working with one of their all-time favorite bands. 2026 can't come soon enough!"

Anselmo states: "It's good to sign with Nuclear Blast Records. It's a good label home and we're ready to make some awesome recordings!"

Keenan says: "Having already been a part of the Nuclear Blast family with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, it is an honor and a privilege to be here as well with my brothers in DOWN. The team at Nuclear Blast is a well-oiled machine and you can definitely tell they love what they do. We are in the right place."

Bower adds: "Nuclear Blast is a great label that put out some excellent records. It's an honor to have them work our jams!"

Updates on new DOWN music will be unveiled in the months to come. In the meantime, don't miss DOWN when they headline night one of this year's edition of the Milwaukee Metal Fest. The show follows the band's recent Western U.S. tour with DANZIG.

In April 2024, Windstein, who is also the frontman of CROWBAR, told Concrete Spew about the musical direction of the new DOWN material: "It just sounds like DOWN. I mean, it sounds refreshing because we haven't done it in so long, gotten together with me and the guys and done it in — fuck — 12 years or something. So it sounds like DOWN, I think, to me, it sounds more old-school DOWN. And the reason I say that is I think we got to a point where… Like, the 'NOLA' record is so simple, and it just wrote itself; it was so simple. And that's how this is coming about, which is great."

He continued: "We're not overthinking it. We're not trying to make things too complex. Phillip's not trying to write so many lyrics and things. We just kind of got away — I hate to say 'got away', 'cause anything we do is DOWN, but, to me, we kind of got a little bit… We needed to go back and look at each other and just go, 'Let's just get in a room and do it like we did from the beginning.' And that's what it feels like to me. It's very magical. The ideas and the working together, just bounce off of one another, it's a natural thing."

DOWN played its rescheduled concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico on September 27, 2024. The band was originally supposed to perform at at Inn Of The Mountain Gods on June 20, 2024, but the show was called off due to a pair of rapidly growing wildfires which were converging on a village inside a tribal reservation in the state. As a result of the postponement, DOWN played two pop-up shows in Louisiana — on June 20, 2024 at Southport Hall in New Orleans and on June 21, 2024 at Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge.

Prior to Southport Hall, DOWN's last concert took place in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.

DOWN made a handful of rare live appearances in the spring and summer of 2022. The band launched a three-date U.S. run of shows in May 2022 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. After playing in Atlanta and Dallas immediately after Rockville, DOWN took a three-week break before regrouping for three European festival appearances in June. The aforementioned appearance at that year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival followed in September 2022.

In August 2021, DOWN took part in a very special in-person live and virtual experience. "NOLA Town Throwdown" was held at the Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana and featured fans attending the show in person as well as watching it in real time from the comfort of their living room.

In August 2020, DOWN celebrated the 25th anniversary of "NOLA" with a special livestreamed event. Dubbed "The Quarter Century Throwdown", the high-production, multi-camera event took place using cutting-edge streaming technology to create a one-of-a-kind virtual concert experience.

A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER),and HONKY.

Windstein announced his return to DOWN in 2019, with the band confirming a number of festival appearances for 2020 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "NOLA", all of which were later canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which swept the globe.

Prior to the August 2020 livestream, DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas.

The supergroup hasn't issued anything since the arrival of the "Down IV – Part Two" EP in May 2014.

"Down IV – Part Two" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2014 to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous EP, "Down IV Part I – The Purple EP", opened with around 12,000 units in September 2012 to land at No. 35.

"Down IV – Part Two" was recorded at Nodferatu's Lair — Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson. It was released via Down Records/ADA Music.

Photo by MetalDave Media

During a recent interview with Audacy Music, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about the fact that she will appear at the upcoming "Back To The Beginning" charity show on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The concert will mark the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH's last-ever performance and Ozzy Osbourne's final appearance as a solo artist. Asked if she will perform the Ozzy Osbourne/Lita Ford song "Close My Eyes Forever", which she recorded as a duet with DISTURBED frontman David Draiman for the self-titled debut album from Draiman's DEVICE project, at the event, Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "So, according to [RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's] Tom Morello [who is the musical director for the concert], that is in the works, but he said, 'You're gonna have to be patient with the confirmation for that.' Because of Ozzy's health and everything, we're gonna have to see pretty much on the day how much Ozzy's going to be singing and willing to do. But HALESTORM is doing a set. We're also doing a BLACK SABBATH cover. And I've been asked to sing in the supergroup with Tom Morello and everybody there."

Regarding how HALESTORM's participation in the concert came about, Lzzy said: "Dude, so we got this e-mail from [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon Osbourne. And I didn't answer it for two days. 'cause I'm, like, 'Is this real?' It's wild."

She continued: "I've been a BLACK SABBATH fan since I was 11. The first riff I ever learned a guitar was 'Heaven And Hell' by BLACK SABBATH. And then you opened for HEAVEN & HELL in 2009, with Ronnie James Dio, and that was Ronnie James Dio's last show before he passed away. So it's this incredible full-circle, unfathomable dream. If you had told me this when I was 13, I'd be, like, 'You're a liar. This will never happen to me.'"

Lzzy went on to say that "to be the only woman asked to be there is an honor as well." She added: "I was talking to my friends, uh, [THE PRETTY RECKLESS's] Taylor Momsen and [EVANESCENCE's] Amy Lee and [IN THIS MOMENT's] Maria Brink and all of my sisters in this genre, and they're all so proud of me. And I said, 'Hey, girls, I'm carrying you with me. You're gonna be there in spirit. I'm gonna make you girls so proud.' And so it's this beautiful event that everyone gets to look forward to. I'm so glad they're doing it."

Circling back to BLACK SABBATH's influence on her career, Lzzy said: "[SABBATH bassist] Geezer Butler ended up mentioning our band in his book because of us opening up for HEAVEN & HELL right before Ronnie passed. And I got some amazing words of advice from Ronnie James Dio at that gig that I carry with me every day.

"There's a difference between believing that you are capable of doing and being a part of great things, and then it actually happening," she explained. "'Cause you can believe all you want; it doesn't mean it's gonna happen. So, yeah, I'm very grateful for all the people that believe in us and believe in me, and I'm so happy that we're still a band. We haven't disbanded yet, and we didn't give up before the miracles started happening."

Lzzy said that Morello's task of curating the performers for the concert is not something that can be taken lightly. "Sounds like a shit show," she said. "I do not envy that job at all.

"They've been keeping us a little bit in the dark," she added. "I get bits and pieces from Tom. Every time Tom calls me, I'm, like, 'Uh-oh. Am I learning a new song? What's happening?' And so there's all these moving pieces.

"It's gotta be hard 'cause you have the legacy of BLACK SABBATH, and then you have everyone attached to BLACK SABBATH, all of the ex-bandmates, the family members, and then the rock royalty, like Wolfie Van Halen and Billy Corgan and all of these guys and TOOL and everybody that wants to be a part of it," Hale added.

Reflecting on the impact of the Ozzy-curated Ozzfest traveling festival in the 1990s and early 2000s, Lzzy said: "I could never afford to go when I was a kid. The only shows I could afford to go to were local shows in Pennsylvania. And all my friends would be going to Ozzfest. Like, 'Are you coming?' I'm, like, 'No. I can't.' And so it's kind of like I skipped a lot of important steps, and now I'm getting to open up for BLACK SABBATH and sharing a stage with them. But Ozzfest was fundamental in our upbringing, 'cause anybody that was worth their stuff in anything was at Ozzfest. And any new band — like DISTURBED broke through Ozzfest; so did the SYSTEM OF A DOWN. We probably wouldn't have these acts if it wasn't for Sharon being, like, 'Hey, get on Ozzfest.' So it's a big deal."

"Back To The Beginning" sold out in less than 10 minutes in February. The concert will mark the first time that the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — have played together in 20 years.

Also set to appear at the event are METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, TOOL, SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX and MASTODON.

In addition, there will be a performance by a "supergroup of musicians" including Duff McKagan and Slash (GUNS 'N' ROSES),Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE),Wolfgang Van Halen (VAN HALEN, MAMMOTH WVH),Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),David Ellefson (MEGADETH),Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR),Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE),David Draiman (DISTURBED),Frank Bello (ANTHRAX),Jonathan Davis (KORN),Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM),Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT),Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),Sleep Token II (SLEEP TOKEN) and Papa V Perpetua (GHOST).

Ozzy — who hasn't played a full show since late 2018 — announced his last-ever performance on February 5.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", Scooter Ward of alt-rock trailblazers COLD — who are currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of their second album, "13 Ways To Bleed On Stage", and 25th anniversary of their fourth LP, "A Different Kind Of Pain", on a spring 2025 U.S. tour — was asked about the possibility of a new album from him and his bandmates. The singer responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. Well, that's another reason why I wanted to do 'A Different Kind Of Pain' and '13 Ways To Bleed On Stage'. We're a few months away from the actual 'A Different Kind Of Pain' anniversary. So, I go, 'I know this anniversary thing with 'Year Of The Spider' was successful, the '13 Ways' thing is successful.' But I go, 'Why don't we just throw 'A Different Kind Of Pain' on there as well?' Take of all that at one point, so I don't have to go do another anniversary tour, because if I don't, then everybody's gonna be yelling at me about it: 'You're not gonna do [an anniversary tour for] 'A Different Kind Of Pain'?' I'm, like, 'Yes, we already did it.' And it was important for me to do that. So I think doing both those albums now gives us the levity to have time and just work on new music and put that out and move forward from those types of things."

Asked if that means COLD fans can expect to hear new music in 2026, Scooter replied: "Yes, a hundred percent. I'm writing right now, so I'm gonna say by next summer there will be a COLD album out."

At the turn of the century, COLD unveiled the seminal "13 Ways To Bleed On Stage", which went gold and yielded hits such as "Just Got Wicked", "No One" and "End Of The World". Their 2003 follow-up, "Year Of The Spider", marked their highest chart position, bowing at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, receiving a gold certification, and spawning the smash "Stupid Girl", accompanied by Rivers Cuomo of WEEZER. 2005's "A Different Kind Of Pain" illuminated melodic strides to the tune of 37,000-plus copies sold first-week and a Top 30 debut. Meanwhile, 2011's "Superfiction" continued this streak, crashing the Top 10 of the Top Rock Albums chart upon arrival and extending a growing legacy.

The past few years have been transcendent for COLD — peaking with the successful 2019 release of "The Things We Can't Stop", subsequent singles "Shine", "Without You", "The Devil We Know", "Run" and "Quiet Now" and a North American comeback tour boasting several sold-out shows.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer Greece's TV show TV War, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER frontman Udo Dirkschneider was asked what keeps him motivated to still record new albums and tour at the age of 73. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Let's say this: the most important thing is that I still have fun to do this. I mean, that's the most important thing. I also like to create a new album. Normally you can say, okay, I don't need to do a new album. I mean, we have so many stuff — you can change every year the setlist, if you want. No, it's still fun to do this.

"I always say, when people ask me, 'Oh, when do you wanna retire?' I say, 'I don't know. As long my voice is working, as long we can tour worldwide, why stop?'" he explained. "[So I can] sit home and drink coffee? No. For what? No. It makes no sense.

"I really like to do this," Udo added. "I have a really good band with me, especially now with [former ACCEPT bassist] Peter [Baltes]. And it's a lot of fun to do this. And as long everything works — I don't know — maybe [I can keep doing this for] another 10 years. I don't know. [Laughs]"

Udo, who recently released a reimagining of ACCEPT's iconic album "Balls To The Wall" to celebrate the LP's 40th anniversary, was also asked if he has had any thoughts of celebrating other ACCEPT albums, such as perhaps 1985's "Metal Heart". He responded: "Yeah. I know already that some people came up and said, 'Oh, maybe in five years [in 2030] you can do that with 45 years of 'Metal Heart'. I don't know. At the moment, we are so busy with DIRKSCHNEIDER 40-years-of-'Balls [To The Wall]' tour — it goes until the end of summer next year. And in between we have to work on the new U.D.O. album. And then after the summer next year, we wanna make a little break. And then I don't know when the U.D.O. album is coming out — maybe the end of '26 or maybe in the beginning of '27. And then touring again."

He continued:  "I don't know. Maybe [we can do something with] 'Metal Heart'. We will see. But I always say never say never. I mean, it was the same when I did [a] three-years-long [tour with DIRKSCHNEIDER]. We played only ACCEPT songs. I think I was a little bit too quick to say, 'No, I have enough of [playing] ACCEPT songs. I have enough of my own [U.D.O.] songs [to perform live].' But then it's a history, that people wanna hear that.

"I had, a long time ago, with Ronnie James Dio, a conversation, and he said to me, 'Udo, normally it makes no sense to make new albums. We always play the same stuff that they wanna hear. But we are entertaining people. And give the people what they want.' And that's also why we said, 'Okay, then we do DIRKSCHNEIDER again [playing only ACCEPT songs]."

DIRKSCHNEIDER, the band featuring former ACCEPT members Dirkschneider (vocals) and Baltes (bass),along with drummer Sven Dirkschneider and the talented guitar duo of Andrey Smirnov and Fabian "Dee" Dammers, celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Balls To The Wall", which was originally released in late 1983 and is the most commercially successful and best-known album by ACCEPT, by performing the LP in its entirety on recent tours of South America and Europe.

Ten years ago — in 2015 — Udo announced that he would embark on a special tour during which he would perform ACCEPT songs one last time under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner before closing that chapter for good. Since then, the former ACCEPT frontman has continued to play ACCEPT material at select shows, including at the September 18, 2020 U.D.O. concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray.

When he first announced the original DIRKSCHNEIDER tour in 2015, Udo said that he had "to make a clear break for myself — close the book and this is it. And I have the problem that people come to me and ask me to play more ACCEPT songs," he explained. "Other people ask me why I play ACCEPT songs at all, because there are [more than] fifteen U.D.O. records. I want to avoid such things and avoid the repeating questions concerning ACCEPT. I just can't stand that anymore. There is nothing more to be said. U.D.O. exists longer than ACCEPT. We have more records than ACCEPT."

While acknowledging that some ACCEPT fans want to hear the band's classic songs performed by the group's original singer, Dirkschneider explained that "you always have these comparisons [between how these songs are played by ACCEPT and U.D.O.]. I don't want this anymore either. [The current lineup of ACCEPT] also play 'Metal Heart', they play 'Balls To The Wall' and 'Princess Of The Dawn'. And then some people tell me, 'Oh, [current ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo] is doing it better than you.' And I go, 'That's fine. Enjoy yourself.' But I don't want this anymore. And to avoid all of this in the future, I said, 'We are doing this one more time.'"

Dirkschneider said that his vow to never play ACCEPT material again came with one caveat. "If the band ACCEPT dissolves one day in the near future and I am still around with U.D.O., then there is a chance that I put ACCEPT songs back in the setlist," he said. "But currently there is ACCEPT, so go see them [if you want to see those songs performed live]. They are playing these songs."

Udo previously said the original plan was for DIRKSCHNEIDER to only "a few shows," and "then [the tour] got bigger and bigger [due to demand]." But, he added, "I don't want to complain about that."

In a new interview with Colombia's Radioacktiva, SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine and guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs were asked if there are any plans for the band to work on the follow-up to 2022's "Rock Believer" album. Klaus responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're so busy with touring that you know you need a moment where it's time again for the band to join in the studio and we create some new music. But right now, this 60-years-of-SCORPIONS celebration will take us again one more time around the world so many places. So it's not the moment to create something new. But maybe a song or two, that might work, but not an album like 'Rock Believer'."

Added Rudolf: "Think about that we [would be] spending our time of 60 years of SCORPIONS in the studio. That would be terrible. We have to party like crazy. [Laughs] So that's the point. We want to enjoy, with all the people around the world, that rock is still living and we are still living and we are enjoying [performing] still, and we love you."

Two months ago, Meine told Scorpions Brazil that "there are many good reasons why we maybe should [create new music], because it's so much fun, and to write new songs and to give it a try. And we have such a great team working with us. And our co-producer, engineer, Hans-Martin Buff, just received a Grammy in L.A. last weekend for his working with Peter Gabriel on 3D sounds. He is very specialized on 3D productions now, and he is really, really good, and it's always fun to work with him in the studio, record vocals, record new songs. And we have such a great setup.

"So there are a million good reasons to go back into the studio sometime soon," he continued. "But, on the other side, these days, it's not the time anymore really to make albums. It might be good to record a few songs; that would be a good thing. But it's always a good option to go back and to wake up your creativity. That's always something great, and we enjoy this always. So I don't know. But let's see how it goes this year. And there's so many shows coming up, and, yeah, we've gotta bring it on first before we make plans for what might come up in '26."

"Rock Believer" was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

SCORPIONS' latest album marked their first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS' previous full-length collection of new recordings was "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

In January, SCORPIONS postponed their 2025 Las Vegas residency due to Dee's recovery from his recent hospitalization. Promoted by Live Nation and Caesars Entertainment, "Scorpions - Coming Home To Las Vegas 60th Anniversary Las Vegas Residency" was scheduled to kick off on February 27, 2025 at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. SCORPIONS.

The new dates are as follows: August 14, August 16, August 19, August 21 and August 23.

BUCKCHERRY will still provide support for the new SCORPIONS Las Vegas residency dates.

In celebration of SCORPIONS' 60th anniversary, the new show follows the band's two previous sold-out residencies at the venue — "Scorpions - Love at First Sting Las Vegas" in 2024 and "Sin City Nights" in 2022.

Earlier in January, Mikkey, who was previously a member of MOTÖRHEAD for 23 years, revealed that he was recovering after spending most of the holiday season battling a "very serious blood infection (Sepsis)."

FOREIGNER kicked off its spring 2025 Latin American tour Monday night (April 28) at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Handling lead vocals for most of the set was FOREIGNER guitarist Luis Maldonado, while original FOREIGNER vocalist Lou Gramm joined in for the last four songs.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Double Vision
02. Head Games
03. Cold As Ice
04. Waiting For A Girl Like You
05. That Was Yesterday
06. Dirty White Boy
07. Feels Like The First Time
08. Urgent
09. Keyboard Solo
10. Drum Solo
11. Juke Box Hero (with Lou Gramm)
12. Long, Long Way From Home (with Lou Gramm)
13. I Want To Know What Love Is (with Lou Gramm)
14. Hot Blooded (with Lou Gramm)

Last month, FOREIGNER singer Kelly Hansen released a statement regarding his absence from the band's Latin American and Canadian tours. The 63-year-old vocalist, who has fronted the legendary rockers for the past two decades, said: "We had a great start to our touring year with a sold-out run in Florida, and I am so looking forward to continuing my journey with this incredible band.

"However, some residency issues have forced me to limit appearances outside of the USA this year and this means that I will miss some international shows," he explained. "FOREIGNER's upcoming South American run will feature our incredible bandmate Luis Maldonado, who has been recording some of our hits in Spanish, and he will be handling most of the lead vocals along with Lou Gramm who will be guesting with FOREIGNER for those shows. I know they will smash it!

"FOREIGNER is touring Canada in the fall as a prelude to the launch of a production of 'Juke Box Hero', the musical featuring our songs, and I unfortunately will miss that one too. Luis Maldonado will handle the lead vocals but in order to focus attention on the musical, we have asked Canada's own Geordie Brown, who starred in the original workshop productions in Calgary and Edmonton and the sold-out run in Toronto at the Ed Mirvish Theater, to sing a few songs in our set. I know Luis and Geordie will do a great job on this leg, and I can't wait to hear how it goes!"

Prior to the Mexico City concert, Gramm most recently joined FOREIGNER's current lineup on stage at the end of the band's March 15 concert at the BayCare Sound in Clearwater, Florida to perform two of the legendary rock group's classic songs, "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Hot Blooded".

Gramm previously said he planned to retire at the end of 2024, but later revealed that he was in talks to make appearances at "select" tour dates with FOREIGNER's current lineup in 2025. Bassist Rick Wills and drummer Dennis Elliott are also expected to appear at some shows, including FOREIGNER's upcoming Las Vegas residency.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

The 74-year-old Gramm left FOREIGNER for good in 2002 and has battled health issues in recent years, including the removal of a non-cancerous tumor. He told the Democrat & Chronicle in 2018 that he was planning to retire, but still reunited with FOREIGNER for several shows that year.

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Hansen in 2005. Guitarist Mick Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. In February 2024, Jones revealed on social media that he was battling Parkinson's disease, which explained his absence from FOREIGNER's live shows since 2022.

FOREIGNER's 13-city Canadian tour will begin on October 21 in St. John's, Newfoundland and conclude on November 7 in Kelowna, British Columbia. The tour includes a stop in Brown's hometown at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre on October 24. Canadian rockers 54-40 will provide support.

The last time Brown joined FOREIGNER on stage was for a surprise appearance on the final night of the band's "Cold As Ice" tour in Halifax in March 2019. Brown has stayed in touch with the band in recent years and was in Cleveland this past fall when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

In a new interview with Alejandrosis, guitarist Aaron Aedy of British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST spoke about the status of the follow-up to their latest album, "Obsidian", which was released in May 2020 via Nuclear Blast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not fully mixed yet, but it's recorded." Asked if he could give fans some details about the musical direction of the new PARADISE LOST material, Aaron said: "No. It's like opening your presents before Christmas. No, I don't wanna go into the new album too much just yet, 'cause I'll wait to see what it's like when it's mixed. It's almost finished, but not quite."

Last month, PARADISE LOST guitarist Greg Mackintosh told Chile's PowerOfMetal.cl that the band's new LP would likely be released "September time." He added: "It's been the longest time we've ever had between albums. But that's kind of because of the pandemic as well… So shit happens. And, yeah, hopefully it'll come out September, October time this year."

As previously reported, PARADISE LOST will embark on "The Devil Embraced" North American tour in May 2025. The trek will kick off on May 16 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest and conclude on May 24 at Maryland Deathfest.

In a November 2023 interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, PARADISE LOST singer Nick Holmes spoke about how the band's songwriting process has evolved over the decades, Nick said: "The writing process is 100 percent different to how we used to write when we were younger. I mean, it's completely different now. We never meet up. We don't discuss things necessarily. Everything's through file sharing, e-mail and we don't write that way. It's equally as productive, I think, but it's just — maybe you're kind of more fussy. You can listen to things more than maybe you would do in the old days. Like I said, again, it goes back to the spontaneity thing. There isn't an element of that as much now, I don't think, but then you get there in the end anyway. There's a lot of ping-ponging ideas backwards and forwards, and you have more time to dwell on things and think, 'Well, is this right? Is this wrong?' Blah, blah. Whereas years and years ago, you think, 'Well, it's kind of shit, but we'll see. It might be all right.' There's benefits of both ways of writing, I think. Like I said, you can have too long and you can have too short. And some songs come together in no time. And then other songs can take months. We're just not the kind of band who can just kind of throw out a song and it's just brilliant. Well, people say they do that. I don't necessarily believe that's true, but I guess you can pretend that you're spontaneous and you just can throw out a genius song in about 10 minutes. I don't think that really happens with many people. But yeah, like I said, the songwriting, how we do it, has changed dramatically to where it was when we started."

When Botas noted that the different songwriting approach is something that was developed through experience, Holmes said: "When you start writing something, and if you spend a lot of time on it, you can spend a full day thinking, 'This is fantastic,' and then you can wake up in the morning and you think it's rubbish. You can get too locked into something. And then sometimes you have to take a step backwards, which is always really important, having a step backwards and maybe let someone else have a listen. I mean, we always get there, and when it comes together, it's great. That's the nice part. That's the rewarding part, I guess. It's like any kind of art. Once you've gone to the top of the hill and you're coming down, that's a nice feeling. It's not always easy getting there, but it's always fun when you go there."

Asked if he can still trust his instincts when writing music, Holmes said: "Yeah, absolutely. Gut reaction's pretty much… I mean, you could hear something that's not necessarily you think, 'Oh, hang on, this is strange.' And then you've gotta listen to it and then get into the… I don't instantly dismiss something — I would never do that — but I've gotta give it a few [listens]. And if I still feel the same way after a few listens, then I would trust my instinct on it, yeah. But I don't instantly dismiss things 'cause I don't think that's really a positive thing to do. But, yeah, definitely, you've gotta go with a gut reaction."

Asked if he can write a whole set of lyrics without music or if he needs the music to get some like melodies in his head, Nick said: "I prefer the music as a springboard to write lyrics to. And I always like how lyrics, how words sound on certain parts of songs. And that's always something I've admired about certain bands over the years. I'm not particularly interested in hearing stories in songs, although sometimes it's nice to hear that, but it's more about how, particularly metal, for me, it's more about how the songs sound at a certain time, how the lyrics sound at a certain time and the words. I mean, I can write without music, but I prefer to have something to kind of bounce off, really."

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their fourth album, "Icon", PARADISE LOST re-recorded the LP for a special new release. There was also "an extra special vinyl" version of the album, both of which were made available in December 2023.

"Icon 30" is a totally re-recorded version of "Icon", and PARADISE LOST once again worked with longtime collaborator and producer Jaime Gomez Arellano.

PARADISE LOST recorded the vocals and drums for "Icon 30" at Jaime's new studio Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. The rest of the album was completed at Mackintosh's Black Planet Studios. "Icon 30" also features brand new artwork created by Scott Robinson and new liner notes from Kerrang!'s Nick Ruskell.

"Icon" marked a departure from the death-doom sound of PARADISE LOST's early work and was the last album to feature Matthew Archer on drums.

In February 2018, "Icon" was inducted into the Decibel "Hall Of Fame", with the magazine naming it influential to the development of the gothic metal subgenre.

In March 2023, PARADISE LOST welcomed Guido Zima Montanarini as their official new drummer.

In September 2022, Finnish drummer Waltteri Väyrynen left PARADISE LOST to join OPETH. At the time, he issued a statement saying that his decision involved "absolutely no bad blood or drama whatsoever."

Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, PARADISE LOST were unlikely candidates for metal glory when they slithered from the shadows and infiltrated the U.K. underground. But not content with spawning an entire subgenre with early death/doom masterpiece "Gothic" nor with conquering the metal mainstream with the balls-out power of 1995's "Draconian Times", they have subsequently traversed multiple genre boundaries with skill and grace, evolving through the pitch-black alt-rock mastery of 1990s classics "One Second" and "Host" to the muscular but ornate grandeur of 2009's "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us" and "Tragic Idol" (2012),with the nonchalant finesse of grand masters. The band's "The Plague Within" (2015) and "Medusa" (2017) albums saw a much-celebrated return to brutal, old-school thinking, via two crushing monoliths to slow-motion death and spiritual defeat.

Christian rockers STRYPER are preparing to enter the studio to record their first-ever full-length Christmas album. The 10-song effort will include five original Christmas tracks and five traditional Christmas cuts, including remakes of "Reason For The Season" and "Winter Wonderland", both of which originally appeared on a 1985 single and were also made available on the 1986 re-release of STRYPER's debut EP, "The Yellow And Black Attack".

Earlier today (Tuesday, April 29),STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet took to his social media to write: "Hey everyone, I just wanted to give an update on everything that's going on.

"We are heading back to the studio tomorrow to record a full length Christmas album!

"We'll be turning it in by the beginning of July and finally, we’ll have a long overdue Christmas album!!

"There will be 5 original Christmas songs (including a remake of 'Reason For The Season') and 5 traditional Christmas songs (including a remake of 'Winter Wonderland').

"This Christmas will be a little more special for STRYPER fans, worldwide".

STRYPER's latest studio album, "When We Were Kings", came out in September 2024.

The band recently completed the U.S. leg of its 40th-anniversary tour, which was described as "a celebration of both classic hits and new-era fan favorites, including outfit changes and an exciting new show production."

In December 2023, Michael underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland. It is the most common surgery for thyroid cancer.

Formed 41 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".

In a recent interview with The Front Row Report With Reggie Edwards, Michael Sweet spoke about how his songwriting process has evolved over the four decades of STRYPER's existence. He said: "I personally think that that's my greatest gift in terms of the abilities God's given me. I'm a guitar player, I'm a singer, but I feel like I shine more at songwriting, and I get more excited about it.

"When I sit down to write, it's always a few weeks before we start recording," he continued. "I don't have any songs, and I sit down in my studio and I write a song a day. Once I have one song finished, I go down the next day, I write another song until there's 11 songs or 12 songs. And then we go in a studio, I teach the songs to the guys and we record them. And it's been that way really from the beginning, starting with [the 1984 EP] 'The Yellow And Black Attack', but the difference between now and then is we spent more time working out songs [back then]. Now it's a lot faster process, and it's not because it's rushed [or] because we have to; it's just because that's the way it is. That's the way it works.

"But I love writing," Sweet added. "Everyone has this perception that we've always written songs as a band. That's just not true. It's never been that way. I've always been open and honest about that. And sometimes people think I'm a dictator and I hold a gun to the guys' heads and I don't let 'em write and whatnot, and it's just not true. I give music to my brother all the time and say, 'Hey, why don't you write the lyrics?' Because Robert's [Sweet, STRYPER drummer] a good lyricist. I say, 'Why don't you write the lyrics for the song?' And three months later, when it's time for me to sing the song, the lyrics aren't done. So I wind up doing it myself. And it's perceived often as I don't let the guys do anything, and it couldn't be further from the truth. And I'm letting you know that, I'm going off on that a bit of tangent, because I see this online every day. I just saw something at breakfast an hour ago, someone saying that very same thing."

Michael also addressed his reputation as one of the most outspoken musicians in metal when it comes to his beliefs and thoughts. He said: "The thing is, I'm a very open book. So when I do interviews, I speak my heart. The other guys don't. And what I mean by that is when my brother does interviews, he's much more reserved and cautious about what he says. Now, behind the scenes, he'll say what's on his heart, and I hear it all. I hear it all, 'cause I travel with him. Same with Oz [Fox, STRYPER guitarist]. Same with Perry [Richardson, STRYPER bassist]. I hear everything that you hear me saying in interviews and then some. But see, people's perception is they don't say anything bad, I say everything bad. I'm the dictator, I'm the tyrant, I'm this, I'm that. And then when I talk about it, like I'm doing now, I'm a crybaby. I'm going off and I'm getting upset about it. And I guess the point I'm trying to make — as much as I love these guys, the public perception of this band isn't at all true. It's always been that way. When I left the band, people hated me. I still have people come up to me to this day and say, 'I hated you. I was so mad at you because you left the band, you left the other three guys. You betrayed them. You abandoned them.' And I'm, like, wow. I left this band to save my marriage. I had to. I had to. And I wanted my marriage to survive. I wanted to be a father to my children. And the perception is I was an asshole."

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give an update on everything that’s going on.

We are heading back to the studio...

Posted by Michael Sweet on Tuesday, April 29, 2025

After DEADGUY pulled a Lazarus, the infamous metalcore pioneers reunited on stage to prove that a few decades of dust couldn't keep them from tearing into audiences like old times. But there's a big difference between playing the classics for nostalgic fans and risking your legacy with a new album. The band innately understood how heavy and deranged a follow-up would need to be, and that's exactly what they bring with their new LP — "Near-Death Travel Services" — due on June 27 via Relapse Records.

First, a brief history of DEADGUY: the New Jersey quartet of Crispy, Dave Rosenberg, Tim "Pops" Naumann and Tim Singer released an odd, sardonic, absolutely singular seven-inch called "White Meat" in 1994. That same year they enlisted guitar player Keith Huckins of groundbreaking New Jersey band RORSCHACH and unleashed a refined, even more vicious sound with their seven-inch "Work Ethic". With only these six songs the band was already understood to be a menacing force in the emerging metalcore scene, both live and recorded, but it couldn't have prepared anyone for what came next.

Their 1995 debut LP "Fixation On A Coworker" inspired a generation of bands and was inducted into Decibel's Hall Of Fame in 2006. Of course, something this destructive can't last long. After an ill-fated tour of the U.S., the band fractured in half with Singer and Huckins off to Seattle to form KISS IT GOODBYE while Dave, Pops and Crispy enlisted Jim Baglino and Tom Yak, released one more EP and called it a day, making their entire storied existence only three years long.

A 2021 documentary, "Killing Music", led to the reconciliation and live shows, but there was more that needed to be done. Geographical hurdles, families and adult life are enough to stifle anyone's creative output, but over the next few years the band was able to create something, according to drummer Dave Rosenberg, "out of sheer force of will."

Rosenberg led the charge, learning guitar and writing a mountain of riffs in that time. While he cites influences that range from KING CRIMSON to TESTAMENT, Rosenberg admits that there is something that happens when these riffs reach the rest of the band. "What Crispy (guitar) has always said is that this is just what it sounds like when we play together," he says.

Even though the band's high standards led to a culling that left them with only the best tracks, they decided to get the opinion of a former co-conspirator. Enter Steve Evetts, the man behind the board during "Fixation". Evetts knows what DEADGUY should sound like, and by asking him to produce this new one they felt confident he'd keep the band from softening up or veering too far from what makes them so distinct.

Recorded in fits and starts over a matter of months, 11 songs made the cut to be mixed, mastered and aimed indiscriminately at an unsuspecting public under the banner of "Near-Death Travel Services". Members, at once skeptical, were finally able to take in the whole thing and had the same opinion after digesting their creation: "We made a fucking DEADGUY record."

From the first enraged scream that ignites first single/album opener "Kill Fee", this is the kind of merciless chaos that's been gone far too long. The record is overflowing with angular riffs, clashing guitars, fractured rhythms and gutter bass that no one does better, but with even more red meat and gristle. Instead of moving away from their sound they've dug in deeper, expanding their songs and giving Tim Singer more room to again show why he's been one of the best vocalists in extreme music since the first Bush administration.

"Near-Death Travel Services" is an inside joke, the band reflecting on touring and playing this music when they're ostensibly past their prime. But there are no signs of this being a swansong; no winding down, no taking it easy or resting on their laurels. The band DEADGUY was 30 years ago went into hibernation and came back as if no time had passed. How did it happen? How were they able to pull it off? Maybe some egghead professor of musicology can figure that out, but for the rest of us it's best to just gratefully sit back and enjoy the massacre.

Upcoming DEADGUY live shows:

Jun. 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Monarch (Rich Hall Memorial Show)
Jul. 12 - Garwood, NJ - Crossroads (record-release show )

"Near-Death Travel Services" track listing:

01. Kill Fee
02. Barn Burner
03. New Best Friend
04. Cheap Trick
05. The Forever People
06. War With Strangers
07. Knife Sharpener
08. The Alarmist
09. The Long Search For Perfect Timing
10. All Stick & No Carrot
11. Wax Princess

Photo by Nathaniel Shannon

In a new interview with 95.9 The Rat's Carl Craft, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons discussed the "Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day" experience he is offering to his fans during his upcoming 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 (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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 recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his forthcoming solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026. Gene is now expected to launch the trek on May 2 in Peachtree City, Georgia, with dates scheduled through August 3 in Sturgis, South Dakota.

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."

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans DEATH ANGEL will celebrate the 35th anniversary of their "Act III" album by performing it in its entirety at their tenth annual Christmas show on December 18 at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

DEATH ANGEL says: One night only and no livestream this year — grab your tickets early!"

The artist presale is going on now at Ticketmaster.com (Passcode: BRINGFIRE).

In a 2020 interview with Now Hear This, Inc., DEATH ANGEL vocalist Mark Osegueda and guitarist Rob Cavestany described the making of their third album, 1990's "Act III". The LP was the band's first on major label Geffen, and featured more melodic and straightforward compositions compared to DEATH ANGEL's debut, "The Ultraviolence", and follow-up effort, "Frolic Through The Park". This rapid development was particularly noteworthy considering the members of DEATH ANGEL were much younger than some of their thrash metal contemporaries. Their time on a major label was short-lived — the band dissolved after a horrific 1991 bus crash that left then-drummer Andy Galeon seriously injured with a head injury and other damages that would require reconstructive surgery.

"We've pretty much sampled every possibility of what you can do right and what you can do wrong, especially what you can do wrong, but, luckily, we had a few moments of what you can do right, hence why we are still here and nominated for a Grammy," Rob said. "What you can do right is to work extremely hard. Every step of the way, we put our whole life into everything we were doing, even making a flyer for a show, just everything done as best and as hard as you can because you're that into it and you're proud of what you're trying to do and what you're going to put out there to people. And, that was emphasized along the way as we started to work with more professional-caliber people, better producers, better engineers, just dealing with people that showed you that how hard you thought you were working, that was a joke compared to how hard you really need to be working. We learned a lot. For instance, during our first two records, we thought we were working hard. We were writing our asses off, touring and playing as many shows as we possibly could. Again, we were young. We're still teenagers; we're not even 18 at this point in time. We don't really have the drive and any kind of life experience to know what we were supposed to do. We were doing it because we were so into it."

He continued: "One thing is, when we did sign to the major label and we went in to write and record our record 'Act III', it was a major lesson. We worked with a producer named Max Norman, and we were extremely excited to work with him being that he had produced two of our favorite records, 'Blizzard Of Ozz' and 'Diary Of A Madman' by Ozzy Osbourne, Ozzy's first two solo records, and the two albums that feature Randy Rhoads on guitar, who is an absolute hero of mine and everyone. He is very well respected and a big influence on many people, including us. We knew we had a chance to work with Max Norman on our record. That alone freaked us out because we realized we were about to work with this legendary guy. He and the label, they basically made us write. We were writing, I don't know, for six months straight or eight months nonstop. Easily. Maybe up to a year. We were used to, at this point, 'Okay, so the album will have ten songs. Here's ten songs. Let's go!' So, we wrote ten songs, had our demos, sent them to the label, sent them to the powers-that-be, then all of a sudden, we were told, 'Okay. That sounds pretty good. Let's hear some more.' We were like, 'Is that not enough?' They were like 'You guys are getting started.' We were like, 'All right.' We went back and wrote four more and gave them another four-song demo. We're like, 'Here's four more songs.' They're like, 'Okay. Getting warmer.' 'Getting warmer? What's wrong? What do you mean? That's more than enough.' They're like, 'You guys are just getting started.' Basically, we ended up writing 30 songs for that album. But, at the time, we were hating it. By that point, we were just, like, 'Screw all of you!' We were so pissed. We couldn't understand why we were being made to keep going back to the drawing board, searching, searching for what? 'Keep going!' Sure enough, at the end of the day, some of the better songs, I think, on that album, came in the fourth quarter of the writing."

"I guess we realized that the people that were telling us to do this, they knew what they were talking about," he added. "They were the pros. They were the label management, they were the management, they were the older people that had experience and just like your teachers in school or parents or whatever, you reluctantly give in, and say, 'Okay. I'll do my homework.' We were taking the word of the authority and going with it, and probably some slight sense of understanding of what they were talking about. We just didn't have the experience to push through it ourselves. We learned from it. We ended up making a really killer album and going through the experience. From that point on, that was major to me because I never needed that kind of whip-cracking again. After that, I realized, we realized, that's what you need to be working as hard as that."

According to Mark, "Act III" was "technically" the first album DEATH ANGEL "ever did pre-production on." He explained: "We never even heard what pre-production is. Once the songs were sorted out, then Max Norman flew up to San Francisco and started going through the songs with us and started weeding them out. We got to the ones that were going to be on the record, and we got down to those, then we started dissecting those songs. Then it became a whole other thing, re-arranging and dissecting: 'Maybe try this for four measures. Try this.' We always did want to be good songwriters, even though it's writing thrash metal. We still wanted to have good song structures. Max is one of the first people that really kind of roped our excitement in from being musicians and roped it into being palatable. Sometimes, you're a young musician, you're learning your instrument better and better. You want to flaunt that you've improved and that doesn't necessarily make for a better song because you're just flaunting, 'We can do this now!' I think we were a victim of that on our second record. When Max got involved for 'Act III', all of a sudden, our songwriting got a lot more structure and a lot more viable. It also left an impression on us, to a certain degree, there is a science to this. Don't get me wrong, it's the most soulful science in the world, but there is some science to it."

DEATH ANGEL was nominated for a Grammy Award for the title track of its latest studio album, "Humanicide". Released in May 2019 via Nuclear Blast, the disc saw DEATH ANGEL returning to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.

The 10th Annual Another Death Angel Xmas Show - December 18th @ The Fillmore, San Francisco. Celebrating 10 years of our...

Posted by Death Angel on Monday, April 28, 2025

HALESTORM, the Grammy-winning band initially formed by siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale with guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, has announced "Everest", its sixth studio album, due out August 8 on Atlantic Records. Today the band also announced "nEVEREST", a U.S .tour this fall with Lindsey Stirling and APOCALYPTICA. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 2 at 10 a.m. local time.

Last week, the band offered a glimpse of "Everest" with "Darkness Always Wins", the first song to be revealed from the upcoming collection. The song teases an album, produced by Grammy winner Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell),that dives deeply, both lyrically and sonically, into the band's mountainous climb over the last couple decades.

"Our album 'Everest' is a story of our journey as a band, full of beautiful endings and new beginnings," says Lzzy. "We weave a tangled web of melancholy, frustration, anger and the vast purgatory of love and love lost. It is a rollercoaster of epic musical detours, great songwriting and completely unhinged twists and turns. 'Everest' is an auditory representation of the four pillars of HALESTORM. Let us reintroduce ourselves and invite you into our world…if you dare."

Rolling Stone said of "Darkness Always Wins", "What the song has going for is its catchy, brooding, and dramatic in all the ways we love HALESTORM songs to be," and Revolver noted "The arrangement remains lean even as the amps begin to crank into the red, though 'Darkness Always Wins' still sports some exquisite minor-key melodicism, a metal-chunked bridge, loud-as-hell requiem bells and a classically rippin' rock guitar solo."

"Darkness Always Wins" impacts at Active Rock radio this week, but already debuted as the "Greatest Gainer" at the format with early airplay last week.

"Everest" track listing:

01. Fallen Star
02. Everest
03. Shiver
04. Like A Woman Can
05. Rain Your Blood On Me
06. Darkness Always Wins
07. Gather The Lambs
08. WATCH OUT!
09. Broken Doll
10. K-I-L-L-I-N-G
11. I Gave You Everything
12. How Will You Remember Me?

The newly announced "nEVEREST" tour follows an epic run first supporting IRON MAIDEN in Europe and dates with VOLBEAT in the U.S. with a one night-only-performance at BLACK SABBATH's final show in Birmingham, England.

HALESTORM tour dates with Lindsey Stirling and APOCALYPTICA:

Sep. 11 - Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center
Sep. 12 - Cherokee, NC - Harrah's Cherokee
Sep. 14 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Sep. 16 - Syracuse, NY - Upstate Medical University Arena at the Oncenter
Sep. 18 - Laval, QC - Place Bell
Sep. 19 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
Sep. 21 - Madison, WI - Breese Stevens Field
Sep. 23 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Sep. 24 - Cedar Rapids, IA - Alliant Energy PowerHouse
Sep. 26 - Welch, MN - Treasure Island Amphitheater
Sep. 27 - Duluth, MN - AMSOIL Arena
Sep. 29 - Bonner Springs, KS - Azura Amphitheater
Oct. 01 - Sioux City, IA - Tyson Events Center
Oct. 02 - Grand Forks, ND - Alerus Center
Oct. 04 - Winnipeg, MB - Canada Life Centre
Oct. 05 - Saskatoon, SK - SaskTel Centre
Oct. 07 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
Oct. 08 - Penticton, BC - South Okanagan Events Centre
Oct. 10 - Vancouver, BC - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
Oct. 11 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena

HALESTORM tour dates with BLOODYWOOD:

Oct. 22 - Wiesbaden, DE - Schlachthof
Oct. 23 - Oberhausen, DE - Turbinehalle 2
Oct. 25 - Hamburg, DE - Inselpark Arena
Oct. 27 - Stockholm SE - Fållan
Oct. 28 - Copenhagen, DK - The Grey Hall
Oct. 30 - Warsaw, PL - COS Torwar
Nov. 01 - Berlin, DE - Columbiahalle
Nov. 03 - Prague, CZ - Lucerna Velkỳ Sàl
Nov. 05 - Vienna, AT - Gasometer
Nov. 06 - Budapest, HU - Barba Negra
Nov. 08 - Munich, DE - Zenith
Nov. 09 - Zurich, CH - Komplex457
Nov. 11 - Milan, IT - Alcatraz
Nov. 12 - Barcelona, ES - Razzmatazz 1
Nov. 14 - Pamplona, ES - Totem
Nov. 15 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera
Nov. 17 - Paris, FR - Olympia
Nov. 18 - Amsterdam, NL - AFAS Live

HALESTORM tour dates with BLOODYWOOD, KELSY KARTER & THE HEROINES:

Nov. 20 - Cardiff, UK - Utilita Arena
Nov. 21 - Glasgow, UK - OVO Hydro
Nov. 23 - Birmingham, UK - bp pulse LIVE
Nov. 24 - Manchester, UK - AO Arena
Nov. 26 - London, UK - O2 Arena

In a recent interview with Cutter's Rockcast, Lzzy spoke about HALESTORM's songwriting and recording sessions with Cobb, known for his previous collaborations with the likes of Sammy Hagar, Slash, GRETA VAN FLEET and RIVAL SONS. Regarding the musical direction of the band's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead", Lzzy said: "It's really hard to describe this one. We did the record with Dave Cobb, which is a new producer for us. His ADHD mixed very well with our ADHD. But we didn't do it traditionally the way we always do these albums. First day, we walked in and I always have, like, whatever, a ton of half-written songs or full-written songs, or, 'Here's a riff or whatever' — you come in with your bag of tricks. And Dave Cobb says, 'Oh, we're not gonna do any of that.' And I'm, like, 'What do you mean?' He's, like, 'We're not doing demos. I hate demos. What we're gonna do is we're gonna start and we're gonna write, and as we're writing, we're recording at the same time.' So that's what we did. The first day we actually ended up writing our first single that'll be coming out soon. But, yeah, we started, like, 'Okay, who's got a line?' 'Oh, I have this that I thought of yesterday.' 'Cool. That'll work. Let's go.' Set up the drums, set up the guitar, here's the vocals. And so we would be recording while we were writing it, and then we would get done and we would move on to the next day. And so there are songs that don't even have a click track to them or a guide because we forgot."

Lzzy continued: "There's so many different elements of songs that we used to write when we were kids, but, obviously, as adults — a lot of that feeling. It was kind of an emotional rollercoaster. There's also, I think, some of the heaviest songs we've ever written on there, some really beautiful mid-tempos. A lot of personalities that I've always wanted to kind of put on a record, but I never really had the freedom or time to, because usually when we do a HALESTORM record, it's, like, 'Okay, we have to have all the songs picked. We have to have them rehearsed.' We go in and kind of do it like an assembly line. Like, 'Okay, you do the bass, do the drums, do the guitar, do the vocals, and we're good.' So there's no time to really like sit with things before they're, like, 'Okay, we've already decided we're gonna do that.' And so the freedom and kind of the nerve-racking kind of element of the fact that there wasn't really a plan ended up being the special sauce on this album, because we were just chasing everything that got us excited. And if it wasn't a 'hell yeah', it was a 'hell no'. So there's nothing on there on this album that we don't feel complete ownership over. There's nothing on this album that anybody forced us to do. There's nothing on this album that isn't part of our personalities."

Elaborating on why the new HALESTORM album feels like it is a return to the band's roots in a way, Lzzy said: "My bass player said it yesterday. He's, like, 'It's kind of like this long road to the beginning,' 'cause all of the guys at one point in time said this really feels like we're back in our parents' basement again and we're hustling and we're trying to figure out how to write songs on the radio. But we have all this knowledge now. So everything ended up coming together so incredibly well. But it was almost like the reverse, that the music was telling us what to do and not us trying to like shoehorn anything in.

"I'm telling you, man, — it is the most HALESTORM record we've ever done," Lzzy added. "It is the first time in the 20 years we've been on Atlantic Records that we have not felt lorded over in regarding to making records, because usually it's time crunch. Somebody's always there being, like, 'Oh, we can't do that.' 'Oh, you probably shouldn't say that.' 'What about this thing?' And that kind of thing. So it usually becomes like a project, like a group project.

"We didn't do it in Nashville — we did it in Savannah, Georgia, locked in a house in the middle of nowhere, next to a river," Hale revealed. "The guys and I would wake up like around 11:30 a.m., we would start recording and we wouldn't stop until 4:00 a.m. And then we would annoy the hell out of the engineer who was trying to sleep with playing on the proper keyboard and coming up with weird stuff. But we were unsupervised in the best way, and it was all about, who are we now? Who were we then? This is our story. For me, when I listen to this album, it's my personal opus — all the things that I've gone through in my life, both dark and not. There's more questions than answers. It's not just me giving myself a pep talk, like 'I'm the fire', 'I'm back from the dead.' It's like I'm dealing with a lot of my reality and a lot of the reality of the world in my own way. And then it's also our story as a band, and you can really hear it in the music and in the lyrics. So I'm so excited for people to hear it. And it's to the point where it's, like, I don't even really care if anybody likes it because all four of us are, like, 'This is our favorite album we've ever done.'"

Fronted by Lzzy with Arejay, Joe and Josh, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine

Former NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon will celebrate the two albums she recorded with the band — "Dark Passion Play" (2007) and "Imaginaerum" (2011) — on a special tour of Brazil in September. The seven-date trek will mark the first time Anette will perform live, as a solo artist, the iconic songs from her era of NIGHTWISH.

Anette said: "Hello Brasil!! I've finally decided to tour Brasil and with NIGHTWISH songs so I hope I'll see you there in September".

The Swedish-born singer originally joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 and recorded two studio LPs with the band before being dismissed in 2012 in the middle of the group's North American tour. She was replaced by former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman Floor Jansen.

Olzon reflected on her time with NIGHTWISH in a 2021 interview with Finland's Chaoszine. Asked how she looks back on the entire five-year experience, she said: "Well, it's mixed emotions. It was a hell of a ride. You know how it was with the media in Finland. And for me, I didn't understand what was happening because I didn't know how big the band was, since I don't live in Finland. So it was really fun the first years with everything and also crazy. I wasn't home a lot. They did their heaviest touring when I joined. All of a sudden, they wanted to do so many long weeks [on the road]. I remember just that I had a five-year-old son [and] I came home after five weeks. I was home one week. I didn't almost have time to unpack my bags before I went off again for four weeks. So I don't remember everything, to be honest. There are so many things that I don't remember. And also, of course, the last years where it wasn't such a nice atmosphere between us. And I had my third child, and things happened.

"So I remember it both with really happy, happy feelings, but also with very, very negative and sad feelings," she explained. "But, of course, it was an amazing experience, and it was my dream that came true to be a full-time singer in an amazing big band. And they are a super-good band. So I bless the albums that we did and will always cherish that time, of course."

Not long after Olzon was fired from NIGHTWISH 13 years ago, she claimed that an argument arose between her and NIGHTWISH when she asked for an Australian tour to be postponed during her pregnancy. Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen suggested that Jansen should front the band on a temporary basis, but Olzon said no.

Anette explained in a 2014 interview: "I would have been too pregnant to go to Australia, so I wanted to push the dates back, but Tuomas didn't want that. Discussions about a substitute came up, and at first, I was, like, 'Yeah, well, okay.' But when they mentioned Floor, it was an automatic 'no' from me. I didn't think it was a good idea, because I knew what would happen — I knew the fans would love Floor, because she's a metal singer and I'm a pop singer, and I wanted to keep my job."

A year after NIGHTWISH fired Olzon, the band released a statement denying that she was dismissed because of pregnancy or illness. "We discovered her personality didn't fit this work community, and was even detrimental to it," the group said. NIGHTWISH went on to say that Anette was initially receptive to the idea of hiring a temporary replacement if she couldn't "manage everything," but that she later "took back her decision, and the difficulties really started. Fear of losing money and position seemed obvious." The band also insisted that "Anette and her company" were "paid a fifth of everything that was done during her time" with NIGHTWISH.

Since the end of her stint with NIGHTWISH, Olzon also formed THE DARK ELEMENT with former SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Jani Liimatainen. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2017; a follow-up, "Songs The Night Sings", came out in 2019.

Olzon and noted progressive metal vocalist Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB) released a collaborative album titled "Worlds Apart" in March 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl. The project was issued under the moniker ALLEN/OLZON. A follow-up album, "Army Of Dreamers", arrived in 2022.

Anette's third solo album, "Rapture", came out last year.

Hello Brasil!! I’ve finally decided to tour Brasil and with Nightwish songs so I hope I’ll see you there in September❤️❤️

Posted by Anette Olzon on Monday, April 28, 2025

METALLICA has announced the definitive re-release of the band's five-times-platinum sixth studio album "Load", due out June 13 via the band's own Blackened Recordings.

Remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering with Greg Fidelman overseeing, the "Load" remastered limited-edition deluxe box set is available now for pre-order at Metallica.com, where full package details and track listings can be viewed. Pre-orders of the deluxe box will receive instant grat tracks "Until It Sleeps (Remastered)", "Until It Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix)", "F.O.B.D. ('Until It Sleeps' Rough Chorus Vocal Idea Mix)" and "Until It Sleeps (Live at Slim's, San Francisco, CA - June 10th, 1996)".

"Load (Remastered)" will be released in formats, including standard 180g 2LP, CD, cassette and digital (including a Spatial Audio mix using Atmos). Standard pre-orders receive "Until It Sleeps (Remastered)" IG, expanded edition pre-orders receive "Until It Sleeps (Remastered)" and "F.O.B.D. ('Until It Sleeps' Rough Chorus Vocal Idea Mix)" IGs. The 2LP, 3CD expanded and deluxe digital versions for the first time ever feature the extended version of "The Outlaw Torn", originally edited for release due to time constraints of the CD format.

The "Load" remastered limited edition deluxe box set is an ambitious and comprehensive time capsule of 1995-97 era METALLICA, jam-packed with exclusives including previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, live performances, on-air and television appearances, and much more. The one-time pressing will include the remastered "Load" album on 180g double vinyl, a "Mama Said" picture disc, and "Loadapalooza '96", a 140g triple album recorded live during METALLICA's Lollapalooza headlining run at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on August 4, 1996. The set's 15 CDs range from the remastered "Load" album to never-before-released collected riffs, demos and rough mixes, B-Sides and rarities, and a wealth of live material, while its four DVDs offer a plethora of behind the scenes, in-studio and live footage, on-air and television appearances, the band's Polar Beach Party visit to Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, and more. Rounding out the box's content are memorabilia including a pack of 14 Rorschach Test cards, a Pushead patch, an 11x17 Lollapalooza poster, a Rolling Stone cover reproduction, a five-pack of guitar/bass picks, lyric sheets, two laminated tour passes and a deluxe 128-page book.

Originally released June 4, 1996, "Load" was the second METALLICA album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it would remain for four straight weeks. The 1995 sessions at The Plant in Sausalito, California that resulted in "Load" (as well as 1997's "Reload") would find guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Jason Newsted creating yet another landmark of the METALLICA catalog. Currently, two of "Load"'s four singles — "Until It Sleeps" and "King Nothing" — have been lighting up crowds the world over in regular rotation on the setlists of the band's "M72" world tour.

Released in 1996, "Load" marked a new direction for METALLICA, featuring what one critic has described as "a fresh take on LYNYRD SKYNYRD-tinged boogie rock for the 1990s."

Although "Load" and 1997's "Reload" were warmly received by critics at the time, they've since taken their place among the most reviled work of METALLICA's career.

In a 2013 interview with Revolver magazine, Ulrich said that "Load" and "Reload" are "great records" that "are creatively on par with every other record we've made. Obviously, they're bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after," he said. "And I understand that there are people who couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that's fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — 'Load' and 'Reload' were intended as one double-record — it's a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we've done creatively."

Hetfield has repeatedly expressed his dislike of the "Load" album cover and its inspiration, telling Classic Rock magazine in a 2009 interview: "Lars and Kirk [Hammett, guitar] were very into abstract art, pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of 'Load' was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid shit that they felt they needed to do."

In a 2017 interview with Clash, Hetfield was asked if the band had to make certain compromises along the way in order to be accepted by the mainstream. He responded in part: "As far as doing something that doesn't feel right, I'm sure there's been a few times that it's happened — the 'Load' and 'Reload' era, for me, was one of those; the way that was looking, I wasn't 100 percent on with it, but I would say that that was a compromise. I said, 'I'm going with Lars's and Kirk's vision on this. You guys are extremely passionate about this, so I'll jump on board, because if the four of us are into it, it's going to be better.' So I did my best with it, and it didn't pan out as good as I was hoping, but, again, there's no regrets, because at the time it felt like the right thing to do."

Following the "Load"/"Reload" albums and tour, METALLICA went into a tailspin that resulted in Newsted's exit of, Hetfield spending the better part of a year in rehab and the band nearly splitting up.

In a 2016 interview with TeamRock, Hetfield was asked what he thought late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton might have felt about the drastic changes in METALLICA's look and sound that the band made through the 1990s and early 2000s with albums like "Load", "Reload" and "St. Anger". Hetfield replied: "Well, I certainly would have thought there would have been some resistance, for sure. I think the 'Black Album' was a great album and I appreciate the fact that we did have the balls to do that… I would certainly think that the 'Load' and 'Reload' [era], I would have had an ally that was very against it all — the reinvention or the U2 version of METALLICA."

In a new interview with Fox San Antonio, RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson reflected on the making of "Moving Pictures", the band's eighth studio album, which was originally released on February 12, 1981. The LP was recorded in October and November 1980 at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, Canada, which was ultimately nicknamed the trio's own personal Abbey Road recording studio. Lifeson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We did a lot of records at Le Studio. 'Moving Pictures' was the most fun record we ever made. It was such a great energy and a great vibe. It was winter — it was a very cold winter as well. When I say 'very cold', I mean minus 30, minus 40. You'd have a week of that kind of weather. But it was still a lot of fun to work there. We would snowshoe or cross country ski to the studio. I generally drove over [laughs], but it was part of that whole Canadian experience, the Great North.

"When we started working on 'Moving Pictures', everything came along just so effortlessly," he continued. "We were well prepared, we'd written all the material, we knew what we were doing. We went in, we got sounds. We did things a little differently. We actually mixed it down on digital, which was one of the first Sony digital machines. Compared to modern digital, that thing was a 'Model T'. But the record sounds great. So, so long as you get the results.

"Yeah, that was really, really a lot of fun to do," Alex added. "We made a couple of videos there that were fun. I remember when we did 'Witch Hunt', we were down in the parking area. They set up mics and we were the mob crowd in the background in 'Witch Hunt' in the opening. And if you listen carefully, you can hear us laughing because we'd had a few drinks and we were screaming and yelling about the most ridiculous things as a mob. But some of the things that we were saying are totally unrelated to anything. But it was such a feel-good record, making 'Moving Pictures'."

In April 2022, UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups released an expanded 40th-anniversary edition of "Moving Pictures". "Moving Pictures - 40th Anniversary" was made available to fans in six distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition, (2) three-CD Deluxe Edition, (3) five-LP Deluxe Edition, (4) one-LP Edition, (5),Digital Deluxe Edition, and (6) Dolby Atmos Digital Edition.

"Moving Pictures"' adventurous-yet-accessible music catapulted the forward-thinking Canadian band to even newer heights as it began navigating the demands of a new decade. The album's seven songs expertly blended RUSH's intrinsic prowess for channeling its progressive roots into radio-friendly arrangements, a template the band had mastered to a T all throughout its previous album, 1980's deservedly lauded "Permanent Waves".

The album's lead-off track, "Tom Sawyer", became one of RUSH's most cherished FM favorites in addition to taking its rightful place as a perpetual concert staple for decades to come. Next, the band shifts into the multi-generational dreamscape of "Red Barchetta", which chronicles the thrills and chills of a high-stakes backroads car race. The instrumental barnburner "YYZ", lovingly named after the airport identification code for Toronto's Pearson International Airport, runs the gamut of the band's forever impressive progressive chops in under four minutes flat. Side A closes out with the observational luminescence of "Limelight", a timeless, if not prescient look at how introverted artists grapple with public demands while trying to maintain a personal level of earned privacy.

Side B commences with the expansive palette of "The Camera Eye", a multi-layered, ten-minute-long travelogue that takes a bird's eye view of the inherent hustle and bustle of New York City counterbalanced with the intense energy and deep-rooted history of London. "Witch Hunt" (subtitled as being "Part III of Fear") offers a grim view of prejudice and mob mentality, while the album wraps up with the angular, cutting-edge "Vital Signs", a propulsive track that clearly foreshadows a number of the more adventurous musical directions RUSH would undertake as the ever-shifting 1980s continued to unfold.

RUSH — bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist/vocalist Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart — maintains a large and uniquely passionate worldwide fanbase that acknowledges and respects the band's singular, bold, and perpetually exploratory songcraft that combines sterling musicianship, complex compositions, and distinctive lyrical flair.

RUSH has sold more than 25 million albums in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales estimated at 45 million (and counting),and has been awarded 24 gold, 14 platinum, and three multi-platinum album distinctions.

RUSH has received seven Grammy nominations, and the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 1994 and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.