In a new interview with Rock 100.5 The KATT FM's Cameron Buchholtz, original SALIVA singer Josey Scott reflected on his one-off appearance with his former band in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Scott performed three songs with the group at the event, which also saw SALIVA play with its singer of the past decade and a half, Bobby Amaru. Scott, whose real name is Joseph Sappington, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. That was a really, really special moment. I had no idea how special it was going to be. I thought there would be many more shows like that that we would get to do together. You never know when somebody is gonna leave this world. None of us know when our card is gonna get checked. So, I was proud to get to have that moment with [founding SALIVA guitarist] Wayne Swinny [who died six months later at the age of 59], that last, intimate moment. 'Cause it's very intimate, playing music on stage with a guy. And to do the things that we've done together over the years and to see the things that we've seen and to share the things that we've shared has just been a magical, positive, beautiful journey. And to pay homage to that with Wayne Swinny was just such a blessing and such a treat. And I will hold it close in my heart until my last day on this earth. And to get to, again, pay homage to that every night with these new guys [in my current solo band] is a blessing as well."

Asked what his relationship with Bobby is like at this point, Josey said: "I haven't spoken to him since the life celebration for Wayne Swinny [referencing the 'A Celebration In Loving Memory Of Wayne Swinny' event, which was held in April 2023 at Lafayette's Music Room Memphis, Tennessee]. I really kind of don't really think about it much."

When Buchholtz noted that it is "a weird situation" to see Scott performing SALIVA songs under his name and the current version of SALIVA continuing to record and tour without any original members, Josey concurred. "Yeah. It's my name. It's a name that I came up with," he said. "It'd be different if another bandmember came up with it back in the day and we were, like, 'Oh, yeah. That's a cool name. We should go with your name.' That's my baby from back in the day. So, it's a little more personal. It's sort of no different than a song I've written or something of that nature. It's just really close to my heart, and it's the brand. And it's just kind of sad to me that the brand is being used in a different way than I would like it to be used. But hey, everybody's got their own path and their own way that they do things. And that's why we pay lawyers."

Last October, Amaru and SALIVA bassist Brad Stewart were asked by Joshua Toomey of Talk Toomey if there had been any "confusion in the marketplace" over the fact that Josey had been performing with his solo band in the last couple of years under various names, including JOSEY SCOTT – THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF SALIVA and JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA. Brad replied: "There is, actually." Bobby concurred, saying: "Yeah, I think he's just kind of made it confusing. Josey's just being Josey, what he always was. He always thought he was like a one-man thing, and he's doing what he's gonna do. I think for us, though, we spent a lot of time, I spent a lot of time, too, when I got in the band just hearing a lot of 'noes' from radio stations and from managers and a lot of damage control, and that stuff that just kind of really… I'm not talking shit; I'm just being real. This is what it was. I got in the band, and there was a lot of roadblocks — a lot of roadblocks — and everything always led back to one person causing those roadblocks. I think it's just another roadblock.

Continued Brad: "And bridges burned into the ground that you're trying to sort of rebuild, in a lot of ways, at radio and places that there was a lot of self-sabotage that was going on there that was unfortunate. And for a lot of the times that [Bobby] spent in the band before I joined in 2015, it was all about sort of rebuilding bridges, man. And, 'Hey, this is not the SALIVA, though, that did or whatever happened with you guys at the station or somewhere else. We're sorry, but this is not the same band, and we're here now to rock and we're ready to do it. And then we're gonna kick some ass.' And so it was a lot of that — it still is, even in some places."

Added Bobby: "Even for someone like [Josey], you go away for so long and you come back, he's gotta be humbled at this point with some of the shows he's doing. 'Cause we hear about it and stuff. We're just kind of, like, whatever, let him do what he wants to do. But you're not gonna use the [SALIVA] name — don't use the name — because then all it does is it just steps on everything that I and we've worked hard for the last 13 years."

In May 2024, Scott was asked by Tulsa Music Stream if it was his hope and desire that he and the members of his new band — including his stepson Dylan Edney on guitar — could eventually perform under the SALIVA name. He responded: "Of course that's my hope, because I've always wanted the name to sort of go full circle and come back home. Whether that happens remains to be seen. I think there's things that I think are fair and things that the other camp thinks are fair. And we'll see. We'll see how it all shakes out."

Asked if he was in communication with the band which is continuing to perform under the SALIVA name, including Amaru and Stewart, about coming to a resolution on the usage of the SALIVA name, Josey said: "Uh, yes," before adding, "Basically, all I've been trying to do this whole time is appease the other side. I'll leave it at that."

He continued: "At the end of the day, as I've always said, this business is not about band names and it's not about personalities, it's not about Josey Scott and it's not about Bobby Amaru. It's about songs, songs, songs, songs. At the end of the day, when we all put our head on the pillow at night, it's always going to be all about songs."

Josey's new band plays all of SALIVA's hits — "the ones that people, of course, expect to hear," he told LehighValleyNews.com.

In September 2023, Stewart and Amaru spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the fact that Scott embarked on a tour under the JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA banner which saw him performing a lot of the band's classic songs without any of the other original SALIVA members. Brad said: "It's an interesting thing because we've been doing this version of the band [with Bobby on vocals] since Josey originally left 11, 12 years ago. So we've kind of kept the fires burning and put out new records and new music and stuff. So it's an interesting situation that we're in now, to be quite honest, so we're just trying to figure out how to make it work for both parts of it — both versions of it, I should say."

Bobby commented: "I think it's good that [Josey's] trying to connect with fans and tour and play music. I think it's an awesome thing. He should have been doing it long ago."

Referencing Swinny, who died while on tour with the group, Amaru added: "I think what we're doing here [with the current SALIVA touring lineup] is we're just trying to do what Wayne would have wanted and we're honoring Wayne."

In May 2023, Josey weighed in on the announcement that SALIVA's surviving members would carry on following the death of the group's last remaining original member, the aforementioned Swinny. Josey told Rock 100.5 The KATT: "I'm very close with Bobby and I know in my heart and in my soul that Bobby will do the honorable thing. He never hasn't done the honorable thing. And I just trust in his steering the ship at this point, and I know he's gonna do the right thing. And I know it's all gonna work out; it's all gonna be great."

Earlier this year, Josey headlined the 2025 installment of the "Nu Metal Revival Tour".

In a new interview with the Hear 2 Zen podcast, vocalist Mike Muir of crossover thrash veterans SUICIDAL TENDENCIES spoke about the band's recently released single "Adrenaline Addict", which came out in April. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' first new song in seven years features Muir alongside longtime guitarist Dean Pleasants, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Tye Trujillo (son of METALLICA's Robert Trujillo) and former SLIPKNOT drummer Jay Weinberg. The track also includes guest vocals from singer Nisha Star.

Asked if the arrival of "Adrenaline Addict" means that "this is the beginning of a run of new singles" from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, Muir said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's kind of long and convoluted, [like] everything with SUICIDAL is. This song originally is doing this thing with Josh Paul, who was our old bass player, and with Nisha. And so lyrically it's actually very SUICIDAL, and we played it for some people they thought it was SUICIDAL. And then I did it and tried to sing like on Nisha's part and it just did not sound right and it did not have the same lyrical kind of meaning and stuff too. And so we were able to put that out for the [SUICIDAL TENDENCIES] tour, and it's gonna be on a CYCO MIKO record," he added, referencing the moniker under which he releases solo albums.

Elaborating on what fans can expect to hear on the upcoming CYCO MIKO LP, Mike said: "The CYCO MIKO record's gonna have some new SUICIDAL, new INFECTIOUS GROOVES, different projects and different things that I've done, all these different songs in different ways for a song, like I'm singing in Spanish, and also with Robert Trujillo of METALLICA helping me sing on that and putting me to shame. But all kinds of different things. And it's kind of a rollercoaster that probably should have been condemned, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to ride, if you're not scared of falling off. And so it's fun. So that'll be out the beginning of next year. And then SUICIDAL, the actual SUICIDAL record will be out after that. And there'll be a couple of SUICIDAL tracks on the CYCO MIKO."

Under the CYCO MIKO moniker, Muir has released three albums so far, 1995's "Lost My Brain! (Once Again)", 2011's "The Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour (Part One)" and 1999's "Schizophrenic Born Again Problem Child", which was a split record that also included tracks from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, NO MERCY and INFECTIOUS GROOVES.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES supported METALLICA on the 2025 North American leg of the latter band's "M72" world tour.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' latest album, "Still Cyco Punk After All These Years", was released in 2018 via Suicidal Records. A reworking of Muir's 1996 solo outing "Lost My Brain! (Once Again)", "Still Cyco Punk" featured founding SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo.

In 2023, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES celebrated the 40th anniversary of their debut album on a number of shows in the fall, including in New York City; Silver Spring, Maryland; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Berkeley, California. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the LP on a tour of Australia.

German hard rock legends VICTORY, helmed by guitarist and songwriter Herman Frank, have signed with SPV/Steamhammer. A new studio album is scheduled for release in autumn 2026, preceded by three lead singles, including videos.

The quintet — consisting of Herman Frank, Gianni Pontillo (vocals),Mike Pesin (rhythm guitar),Malte Frederik Burkert (bass) and Michael Stein (drums) — is currently on a major festival tour, performing at the Wacken Open Air, the Rock Hard Festival in Gelsenkirchen and the Brienzersee Rockfestival in Switzerland, among others. Those lucky enough to have been at those shows refer to one of the best lineups in VICTORY's career to date. So it comes as no surprise that the new concert dates have already been set well into 2026.

VICTORY is in the preparatory stage of its upcoming studio recordings, and the first track, "God Kissed Me Twice", has already been finalized.

"The song title is a little autobiographical," smiles Frank, "because I really do feel like I've been kissed by God twice!"

The band's signing of the contract with SPV/Steamhammer, which the VICTORY mastermind feels is a little like winning the jackpot, supports this sentiment.

"To me, Steamhammer with their many years of experience in the rock and metal genres, are the go-to record company in Germany," he says. As a resident of my chosen city, Hanover, the new contract feels like coming home!"

SPV/Steamhammer label manager Olly Hahn is also delighted with this successful coup.

"VICTORY's classic album 'Don't Get Mad ... Get Even' is one of the best hard rock records of all time as far as I am concerned," Hahn says. "So naturally it's a great pleasure to welcome this band to our label. What Herman Frank has achieved with VICTORY in recent years is truly outstanding, and I'm sure that together we'll be able to build on that even further."

VICTORY's latest album, "Gods Of Tomorrow", came out in November 2021 via AFM Records. The LP arrived ten years after its predecessor, "Don't Talk Science".

Formed in 1984, VICTORY is one of the most distinctive acts of its genre. VICTORY ranked alongside SCORPIONS, ACCEPT and HELLOWEEN as one of the most successful German bands, played countless arena and festival shows all over the world and released 10 records to date. After several lineup changes and years on hiatus, in 2003 the band announced its reunion. "Don't Talk Science", released in 2011, was the last record of the original lineup. But Frank, who was also a longtime member of ACCEPT, never gave up on VICTORY and decided to continue the band.

From left to right in photo below: Frank Uhle (Managing Director, SPV),Olly Hahn (Label Manager, Steamhammer),Herman Frank (VICTORY),Björn von Oettingen (Head of Promotion, Steamhammer)

In a new interview with Keen Eye 4 Concerts, ADEMA guitarist/vocalist Tim Fluckey offered an update on the recording sessions for the band's upcoming studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're pretty close to getting it done. We recorded almost all the instruments. There's like a few maybe guitars left. I've gotta do the vocals. I mean, they're all written and it's all been demoed out, of course, but I just have to go… I think I'm going in maybe Saturday to start on some vocals. It's a couple days from now, so I'm excited about that. We signed a record deal with Cleopatra maybe a year ago, and so we'll be getting it done here pretty soon."

Asked if he and his ADEMA bandmates mind still being labeled a "nu metal" band after all these years, Tim said: "I think it mattered for a little while. Every band gets labeled something, and it's always about the time, the era rather that you're in. And so I think every nu metal band, after new metal was not in vogue, everybody was, like, 'Oh, we're not nu metal.'

"I'm a fan of music," he explained. "I don't really take offense to it. It's the genre we're in, the world we're in. I've talked to a lot of nu metal bands. I don't think they care anymore. I think most nu metal bands are… Personally, I won't speak for them, but I'm, like, well, we're in an era. People liked our music. We're still doing it now. I mean, it's kind of, like, it doesn't really matter. 10 years ago, 12 years ago, nobody would ever agree to play [a tour called] the 'Nu Metal Revolution'. You know what I mean? [Laughs] They would've asked to change it to a different name. I think it's kind of one of those things where you kind of wear it a little more proudly the longer you've been around. I mean, we've called ourselves a rock band, but I can see why people would call us a nu metal band."

Earlier this month, Tim spoke about the fact that he is now handling vocals for ADEMA after the 2024 departure of Ryan Shuck, who joined the group in 2019. Asked if he always wanted to be the singer in ADEMA or if that's just how it worked out, Fluckey told Australia's Heavy: " No. I did not always wanna do that. I didn't mind doing backup vocals. That was cool. I liked just being over in my guitar world, and doing that and being able to jump around and move around and interact with the crowd that way. And then it just came by necessity. One tour, our singer, we had already… we couldn't find him for days. We already missed a couple of shows and we were, like, 'Are are we gonna get sued?' And so they were, like, 'Can you do it?' I go, 'I'll try.' So literally on the way out to the first show — we never rehearsed with me singing. I was just sitting there playing my guitar and trying to sing along to this stuff. And we went out there… We were, like, 'Let's play three songs without saying a word and see what happens. We'll see how the crowd reacts.' And the first song people were like confused. And the second song they were kind of, like, 'Eh, it's okay.' And then the third song, they were, like, 'Oh, this is fine. This works.' And so never once did anybody say they wanted their money back or said it sucked it our faces. And so it just kind of grew from that. And then Marky [Chavez, ADEMA's original singer] did come back for a little while, but then he kind of essentially retired. And then we got offered a tour in 2019 and I was, like, 'Well, let's bring somebody in from our genre.' And then Ryan came in from ORGY and JULIEN-K. But he had another band, so it was always gonna be temporary. So then when it came down to making a decision about moving on, and we were getting offered record deals at the time, so they were, like, 'Do you wanna sing again?' I go, 'Yeah, let's do it. We don't need to bring anybody else in here.'"

Tim continued: "The four of us have been around each other for 25 years, so we can deal with each other. I'm sure it's hard for somebody new to come into that situation. We're not normal dudes. Our band would be boring if it was. I know it's probably hard for people to come in and join that and just be around guys who've been around each other for 25 years."

Asked if he is "fully settled into" the ADEMA frontman role by now, Tim said: "I think so. I think the difference between me back then and me doing it now is I'm a little more confident with the crowd. I just pretty much went to the James Hetfield school of the crowd, and not copying him, but just being like… Some singers get the tendency of saying the same thing in the same spots every night and then kind of maybe homogenizing it a little bit, but I one day just said, 'I'm just gonna say whatever the hell comes to my mind. Who cares what the repercussions are.' I feel a lot more comfortable on stage doing that, and I think people react to that. I think when you're just who you are, people react to that. They don't have to agree with what you're saying, and I'm not political, but I'm just saying that they don't have to like or agree with it, but they can appreciate that you're being yourself."

Fluckey also talked in more detail about the new ADEMA music, saying: "This new stuff, it sounds like ADEMA. It's the original band. It's everybody from the band. And so just through kind of, I'm sure, osmosis, there's gonna be parts where I sound like Marky, our original singer, and then I have my own thing too. But it just sounds like ADEMA now. And so I'm excited about it. The songs are cool, and, like I said, I have a little more confidence probably with what my sound is and what kind of singer I wanna be."

Asked if the new ADEMA material is musically what the band's fans expect at this point or if it's going off in new directions, Tim said: "Yeah. I think it is [what the fans expect]. Obviously it's gonna evolve a little bit, but it's not far from our first two or three records. So, I think ADEMA fans will be into it. Everybody kind of brings their own kind of special thing to the band that made it sound like ADEMA back then, and I think that's back in the band now. I had to change the way I kind of wrote music when Mikey [Ransom, ADEMA guitarist] was out of the band. And so now to go back to how I originally wanted to do it and how I'm doing it now, knowing that when I write a part, I can think about, 'Okay, what's he gonna do over it?' 'What's Dave [DeRoo] gonna do on bass?' That stuff. 'What's Kris [Kohls] gonna do on drums?' So, that's exciting for us, and hopefully it's exciting for our fans."

In June 2024, Fluckey was asked by Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", what happened to cause the "divorce" between ADEMA and Shuck. Tim said: "I don't know if I would characterize it as a divorce. And Ryan — I'll start by saying we wish Ryan and Amir [Derakh, Ryan's bandmate in JULIEN-K] the best, for sure. It's nothing like that. And there's maybe a kind of a divergence of — and he can say what he wants to say — just kind of things like… We knew from the beginning, let's say, that he was in another band and that he was helping us out, and that we needed somebody in the band, including Amir, to be around. And for people don't know Amir was in ORGY with Ryan and they've been partners for years. And they don't just do music together; it's kind of definitely a package thing. But it just came to a point where, and even in his own words, he knew that it was somehow temporary. We just didn't know how temporary. And so it just came down to our band was heading in one direction as far as how we wanted to do what we're gonna do — like massive amounts of touring, get these new songs out and take advantage of what our band's about. And then his band was doing his thing. And it really was one of those things, we just [went], 'Do we do this now or do we do it six months from now? Do we do it two years from now? And so it was just pretty much, 'We're doing it now.'"

In February 2024, ADEMA "abruptly" parted ways with Shuck. A short time later, the remaining members of ADEMA — Fluckey, DeRoo, Kohls and Ransom — posted a message on social media in which they said: "ADEMA has made the decision to move forward without Ryan Shuck. Our plan is to continue on indefinitely as a four-piece, and we sincerely wish Ryan all the best in the future."

In June 2022, ADEMA released a new song, "Violent Principles". It was the follow-up to ADEMA's first single in nearly a decade, "Ready To Die", which came out in August 2021. Both tracks were planned for inclusion on ADEMA's upcoming album, which was tentatively titled "360 Degrees Of Separation".

Original ADEMA frontman Marky Chavez first
left ADEMA in 2004 due to "creative differences" after two successful albums, "Adema" and "Unstable". The singer — who is the half brother of KORN frontman Jonathan Davis — quit ADEMA again in January 2011 in order to pursue his "solo project." He rejoined the group again six years later and played his first comeback show with ADEMA in May 2017 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

After Chavez's original exit from ADEMA, the other members of the band found their way with new lead singers Luke Caraccioli and later Bobby Reeves, while Mark founded MIDNIGHT PANIC with his cousin Peter Shubert. He also produced fellow artists.

ADEMA's last official release was 2013's "Topple The Giants" EP. The group's first CD since 2007's "Kill The Headlights" contained brand new tracks plus re-worked versions of ADEMA's chart-topping hits "Giving In" and "Unstable". A three-song EP, "The Cerberus", was sold exclusively on ADEMA's 2023 "Nu Metal Madness 2" tour.

Photo courtesy of ADEMA

SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian joined the SOAD tribute band PEEPHOLE: TRIBUTE TO SYSTEM OF A DOWN on stage last night (Saturday, August 30) at Cubby Bear in Chicago, Illinois to perform the SOAD song "Cigaro".

Earlier today, Daron shared video of his appearance and he included the following message: "Let me start by saying none of this was planned. We had a day off before our show in Chicago and I went out to dinner and after I decided to go take some pictures around town with @gregwatermann. We didn't plan on going to Wrigley Field, but we ended up there. While we were taking photos in front of the stadium I heard the intro to 'Needles' from a bar across the street. My cousin who was with me said that he thought it was karaoke. I decided to walk across the street and go into the bar and found that it was a @systemofadown cover band called @peepholesoad. I walked right to the front of the stage and surprised the band and the audience."

He continued: "This was all so spontaneous. The look on everyone's faces was priceless. To be honest, I was just as surprised as anyone else was that this was happening. I joined the band and sang 'Cigaro', shook their hands, took some pictures with the fans in the audience, and walked out of the place. I can only imagine what a shock it was for everyone there after I left. It all happened so fast. The odds of this happening were so slim. Probably had a better chance of getting struck by lightning. So many stars had to align for me to end up at the right place and right time. One of the coolest moments I've ever had!!!

"I'll always remember this night, and I'm sure everyone that was there will never forget it either!!!!!!"

SYSTEM OF A DOWN kicked off a limited-edition stadium run — three cities, two stops each, one top-line rock act preceding each show — Wednesday night (August 2t) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The band will now play at Chicago's Soldier Field on August 31 and September 1, with AVENGED SEVENFOLD as the support act. The mini-tour will make a final stop at Rogers Stadium in Toronto on September 3 and September 5 with DEFTONES.

This past spring, SYSTEM OF A DOWN completed a nine-show "Wake Up!" South American stadium tour. The trek kicked off on April 24 in Bogota, Colombia at the Estadio Nemésio Camacho El Campin, followed by a show in Cercado De Lima, Peru at the Estadio Nacional. The tour moved on to Chile, Argentina and Brazil, wrapping up with a run of five shows in Curitiba, Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo. The concerts were SOAD's first trip to South America since 2015.

In a recent interview with the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, hosted by FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, Daron talked about SYSTEM OF A DOWN's enduring popularity, saying: "What's crazy to me is people still give a shit. We just came from South America, and we sold out every football stadium that was there. I don't know if you've seen any of the footage from that, but it was fucking nuts. It was nuts. I'd been doing this a while and I never experienced anything like that before. And we're about to do East Coast shows, and the band's playing stadiums and we haven't released a record in 20-plus years.

"When I did [legendary producer] Rick's [Rubin] podcast, we talked about how we're playing in front of the 60,000 people, and he was, like, 'I've never seen anything like it, where a band that doesn't regularly put out records is still [able to play in front of so many people].'"

Elaborating on why SYSTEM OF A DOWN is able to play such big shows more than 30 years into the band's career, Daron said: "I think part of it is we left off on a peak. We've had, 'Are they gonna ever play? Are they not gonna play?' And it's all this kind of thing that happens. And then when we do play, people feel like, 'Oh, this might be the last time they're gonna play.' And none of that has been done on purpose. That's just the natural way things have gone. I also think it's the songs. The songs have lived with people, and it's become some of the fabric of their lives in some cases. So many years have gone by. 'Cause when we're playing in front of these audiences, I don't see 50-year-olds in there. I see 18-year-olds. I see 25-year-olds — kids that probably were born maybe even after we released 'Mezmerize' and 'Hypnotize'. But they're there, and they're passionate, and they're into it, and it's new to them. And once again, man, I'm very, very blessed."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has only managed to record two songs in the last 20 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.

In June, DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY released a new song and music video, "Killing Spree". The track is taken from the third full-length SCARS ON BROADWAY album, "Addicted To The Violence", which arrived on July 18.

‼️Ok Chicago!‼️ This is the big week. We NEED all of you to come out for this one. We’re playing a very special, unique...

Posted by Peephole: Tribute to System of a Down on Monday, August 25, 2025

In a new interview with Paul Salfen of AMFM Magazine, IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson was asked what he does to take care of his singing voice. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Nothing, honestly, nothing special other than kind of common sense, really. Don't go to football matches and yell and scream yourself stupid the day before and then expect to be able to sing. You have to have a little bit of living like a monk, because the voices, they need sleep, rest, sleep. And they like that. Be nice to your voice. Rest. Actually, be nice to your body. If you respect your body, the voice is just a projection of that, really. And yes, there's a few bits and bobs. And I'm lucky in that I've always given my puny little vocal cords a chance by having lungs and diaphragms and stuff like that, that make a loud enough… I have enough wind. I'm an old windbag, so I generate enough wind to support my voice. But, yeah, effectively, I try and sing with as much technique as I need to keep my voice on the rails when I'm touring."

Dickinson, a true polymath whose accomplishments include pilot and airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and Sunday Times best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor, sports commentator and international fencer, was also asked what he keeps in mind that keeps him "on the right path" to excel in a wide variety of pursuits away from his main job. He said: "What story are we telling today? It dawned on me when people were saying, 'What is it about being a singer that you like? What is it about being in a rock and roll band that you like?', all this stuff. And I went, 'Well, hang on. What is it that I like?' It's not the things that people think. What is it? And it's the storytelling. Because when I'm in a song, I'm in that song. I'm telling the story of that song, I'm acting it out in my head, and often my arms are waving around and I'm in that world. And I realized that that's basically all I've been doing. When I was a kid at school, I was forever telling stories and I was forever distracting people and tried to do anything to get out of the maths class. And I realized it's what I was doing, was I wanted to create a story that people would buy in to. So when I've been writing, not just music, but the comic book, like 'The Mandrake Project', and any novels I've written and even my autobiography, I approached it as a narrative tale, as a story, not as a, 'Okay, let me tell you all about the time when I was this and that and that,' and all that stuff that people go, 'Oh, where's the salacious dirt?' I'm, like, that's not really a story. That's just kind of embarrassing. So what we want here is a story that people can follow that tells a tale. And you can pop bits in that people go, 'Oh, that must have hurt.' No matter how dark — and I have lots of dark stories in my catalog — no matter how dark a place gets, there is always, in my world, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, even though it might be an oncoming train."

Dickinson kicked off "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour on August 22 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years in support of his current studio album, "The Mandrake Project", is once again his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.

Prior to the April 12, 2024 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1, 2024 via BMG.

Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Dickinson's reworked version of his classic 1994 album "Balls To Picasso", now titled "More Balls To Picasso", arrived on July 25.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

In a new interview with Colombia's Savage Noise Media, vocalist/bassist Stian "Nagash" Arnesen of THE KOVENANT confirmed that the band is working on material for its first studio album in more than 20 years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we already have several songs written. With me, I hate to do the same album twice. I don't play in AC/DC, so you're not going to get the same album for 40 years. So, the new album, it's different from all the others, but it is more metal. It's a bit darker, but it's a mix between all the albums, plus new stuff, of course, 'cause it's been such a long time and everyone has evolved as musicians and stuff. But it sounds very KOVENANT. The people I've played the demo tracks to so far, they all say, like, 'Holy shit, this sounds like KOVENANT.' So it's not like we're going back either with this new one, like, 'Oh, we're gonna do 'Nexus Polaris' part two' or something. But there are some elements from 'Nexus' that we have on the new album, like all this whole symphonic, a little bit technical, weird riffs and stuff."

Regarding THE KOVENANT plans for the coming months, Nagash said: "We have a lot more shows to do, including the South American stuff [in September 2025]. Also today it was announced, we're playing Inferno Festival in Norway. It's been like 20 years or something since we did it last time. We have a few more festivals, but then we're gonna focus on the new album, to get that released. So, basically, it's me and [Steinar] Sverd [Johnsen, keyboards] who are writing at the moment, most of it. But then we also have the new guitarists, both of them, Ghul [Charles Hedger] from MAYHEM also joined, and Knut [Magne Valle] from ARCTURUS, and they both have very interesting approaches to music. And we're gonna include all of that. So we're gonna focus on the new album, for sure. Not just one, but more."

On the topic of which record label THE KOVENANT is working with at the moment, Nagash said: "We have interest from a lot of labels. We have a really great management who also does EMPEROR and SAMAEL and bands like this. And he's very respected in the whole industry, so we are relying a lot on him to help us with the deals, 'cause we have lots of interest from big labels, medium labels, even smaller labels. So we'll see what we're gonna do."

In a separate interview with Colombia's iRock, Nagash was asked if he believes THE KOVENANT, after having gone through several lineup changes, is tied to specific members or it's more of a conceptual project that can survive beyond who is in the band at any given time. He responded: "Um, [that's a] hard question, actually. So even if the band — take CRADLE OF FILTH or DIMMU BORGIR as an example, even if they change members, it still kind of stays the same. A little bit changes, small differences here and there, but with KOVENANT it's very different because the only thing we're not trying to do is to recreate the same album twice. That's the only thing I refuse to do, 'cause I don't play in fucking AC/DC or KISS, so I don't want to do the same album for 40 years, like 'Nexus Polaris' one, two, three, four, five, six and stuff. I also like to experiment with things. If I hear something cool and I want to try it in music, I will, because I don't give a shit what other people think. So in that regard, I think KOVENANT is very different from a lot of bands when it comes to that. The members influence the music, of course, but I think the main essence of the band has always been myself and the guy [Amund Svensson] I also started KOVENANT with, Blackheart or Psy Coma, as he is also known, even though he is not with us anymore in the band. It's just how I am as a person. So I can't release the same album again and again and again. It's fucking boring. And you could probably make a lot of money from it and stuff, but I'm not in this for the money. I do this because I like to create music. I like to talk to people. I like to have a message and stuff like this."

THE KOVENANT returned to the live stage last December at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting festival in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

At its recent shows, THE KOVENANT, which won a Norwegian Grammy equivalent, called Spellemannsprisen, in 1999 in the category of "Best Hard Rock Album" for the "Nexus Polaris" LP, performed that effort in its entirety, along with tracks from "Animatronic", plus classics from THE KOVENANT's debut album, "In Times Before The Light".

While the band faces challenges with the absence of founding member Psy Coma due to health issues, the aforementioned Knut Magne Valle from the legendary band ARCTURUS has stepped in to ensure that the magic continues to flow seamlessly.

THE KOVENANT was formed in 1993 under the name COVENANT by two black metal artists known as Nagash (Stian Arnesen) and Blackheart (Amund Svensson),who released the debut album, "In Times Before The Light" (1997). The band signed with the German record company Nuclear Blast in 1998 and recruited four other members to form an actual band: Astennu (of DIMMU BORGIR, CARPE TENEBRUM),Sverd (of ARCTURUS),Sarah Jezebel Deva (of CRADLE OF FILTH and others) and Hellhammer (of MAYHEM and others). With these new recruits, they released their second album, "Nexus Polaris", which was hugely successful and is largely considered their best album to date by fans.

Following a dispute with a Swedish electronic band of the same name, in 1999 COVENANT changed its name to THE KOVENANT. The name change also signaled a musical shift into an industrial metal-influenced sound.

In the beginning THE KOVENANT had a sound much similar to DIMMU BORGIR. Indeed, Nagash has played in the band and is a longtime friend to the lead vocalist Shagrath. On the "Nexus Polaris" album, the band developed a more industrial sound but still with a strong symphonic black metal influence. A re-release of "Nexus Polaris" was made in 2002. The original tracks were left untouched but two versions of "New World Order", a song from their 1999 album "Animatronic", were included as a bonus.

In a new interview with Metalshop TV, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares spoke about what it has been like working with the group's latest addition, Italian-born vocalist Milo Silvestro, who replaced FEAR FACTORY's original singer Burton C. Bell more than two years ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's been almost three years that we've been working with Milo Silvestro. And yeah, definitely he brings a new element to the band. He is reminiscent of what Burton sounded like back in '95, '96, maybe even '98, '99. People wanna hear those songs sang properly live, and Milo definitely delivers every night."

Regarding the progress of the recording sessions for FEAR FACTORY's first album with Silvestro and a possible release date, Dino said: "That seems to be the big question. Since there's kind of been a resurgence of FEAR FACTORY, we've been constantly touring for the past two and a half years. This is probably our fourth time coming to Europe. And that's a lot; that's like two times a year. And the same thing in the States and across the world. We've already been to South America two times. We've been to Australia twice. And we're just nonstop, going to China and Indonesia and places like that. So between all that time, we've been working on a new record and we are in the mixing stages now of the new record. And we wanna get a single out by the end of the year and then have a new record out by next year."

Earlier this month, Dino talked to Neil Jones of TotalRock about the fans' reaction to Milo's addition to FEAR FACTORY, saying the Italian-born vocalist was "100%" well received by the band's longtime followers. "We took him through rigorous training 'cause he was pretty much fresh off the boat," Cazares explained. "And so, everything from how he performs live on stage, how to handle the media, how to handle the criticism online. I pretty much taught him everything I knew to get through all this and to be prepared for what's to come."

Asked when he knew that he definitely made the right choice by picking Milo to front FEAR FACTORY after a split with Bell, Dino said: "Right in the rehearsal room. He was the only guy that showed up that didn't have to look at his phone for the lyrics, what he sang. I had a P.A. I played instrumentals through the P.A. And whoever was auditioning, I gave him the mic. Everybody was, like, 'Oh…' Milo was prepared. And then he was so prepared, he was saying, 'What about this song? I'm, like, 'Oh, okay.' Put another song. And then through the course of three days, he did 15 songs. And he didn't have to look at the fucking lyrics."

In a separate interview with the Mike James Rock ShowMilo spoke about what it has been like spending most of the last two and a half years on the road with such an internationally acclaimed metal act as FEAR FACTORY. He responded: "Yeah. I'm really thankful for all the fans that are accepting with open arms this new lineup of FEAR FACTORY because it's really not an easy thing… It's a really big legacy and we're trying to honor it as much as we can."

He continued: "I'm a really meticulous, picky individual when it comes to replicating something. We're playing 'Demanufacture' in its entirety [on the current tour], so I went back to the stems of the record and even listened to vocals closely and just tried to replicate every nuance that Burt did. So, yeah, we try to make it right and we appreciate that the fans are supporting this."

Elaborating on the way he approaches singing the parts which were originally written and recorded by Bell, the Italian-born Silvestro said: "I try to sneak in some bits of my vocal personality, but not too much to change it completely. I try to sound like the original singer, because his vocal legacy of the band is such an iconic vocal sound, and you wanna nail that style. I'm still working on playing a cappella and try to nail the sound more and more and more because I think this band deserves it."

Asked if he ever has to "take stock" and realize that he is now actually the vocalist of FEAR FACTORY, a band that he had been listening to for so many years, Milo said: "All the time. I've always been a hardcore FEAR FACTORY fan, and for me, this is beyond crazy. When people are, like, 'This is a dream come true,' I go, like, 'This wasn't even supposed to be a dream.' My dreams were right here [raises his hand to his nose level] — maybe having some kind of success with my own bands. But this is just right here [raises his hand way above his head] or maybe even higher. It's so crazy to the point of fucking with your brain… [It's] so surreal that it's kind of like a drug for my brain. Like, what's going on? I mean, I love it. Also, it wasn't like most of the bands, like Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY's founding guitarist], all these artists, they progressively went higher and higher when they were young. In my case, I spent most of my life, up until I was 32, 33, as a local musician in Rome [Italy], and then all of a sudden — boom — big stages and festivals, interviews, being known. And I'm, like, what's going on? But it's cool — don't get me wrong — but sometimes it's just, like, 'Whoa.'"

Also in early August, Cazares told Slovakia's Tomketoviny about Silvestro and Webber: "The fans are reacting great [to the new lineup]. It's been all positive reaction. Milo, obviously, he auditioned 'cause we were looking for a vocalist. We got more than 300 submissions of a videotape of… This was during COVID, so a lot of people couldn't get on a plane and come see me. So a lot of it was just done online. And so we had a lot of submissions, and it was a lot of stuff to go through. But one stood out, and that was Milo. And that was pretty much how he got the gig. When the travel ban was lifted, he was able to fly into L.A. and physically auditioned. So that worked out. And Pete — we had another drummer at the time [Mike Heller], but our drummer had some prior commitments and he couldn't make it. And then Pete filled in and we decided to keep Pete. We liked his attitude, we liked the way he played, and that's really important."

FEAR FACTORY kicked off a European tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Demanufacture" on July 18 at Turock in Essen, Germany.

FEAR FACTORY's current lineup features Cazares, Silvestro, Webber and Tony Campos on bass.

Ricky Bonazza (BUTCHER BABIES) played bass for FEAR FACTORY on the road in Europe while Campos was busy touring with STATIC-X.

Silvestro's addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in February 2023.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and Webber on May 5, 2023 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

In the fall of 2023, Dino told Nyva Zarbano that Milo "brings, obviously, a freshness that FEAR FACTORY needed. The last singer that we had, obviously he had a lot of vocal issues and he really couldn't sing or do any of this kind of heavy touring," he explained. "It just was a big setback for us. So bringing Milo into the band, obviously he's got a great voice, he's very talented, he's a multi-instrumentalist. He could play more than one instrument. The kid's very talented. Of course, the story is I found him on the Internet. He was releasing videos of him doing FEAR FACTORY covers and he was posting them on all the FEAR FACTORY fan sites. And I saw him there, and I was, like, 'Okay, that's really got my attention.' But we had many people audition, but he was the one that really stood out. And he's a huge fan of FEAR FACTORY. And he pretty much learned from listening to our older vocalist. So he learned a lot of his stuff. And so, I mean, if you close your eyes, you think it's the original singer."

In early 2023, FEAR FACTORY completed the "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour as the support act for STATIC-X. It marked the Cazares-led outfit's first run of shows with Silvestro and Webber.

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, featured Cazares, Heller and Bell.

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect, apparently referring to Cazares.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY had been a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it."

Sweetwater recently put together Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WHINERY DOGS) and Phil Demmel (KERRY KING, CATEGORY 7, VIO-LENCE, MACHINE HEAD) to team up with four pro drummers — Tommy Aldridge, Calvin Rodgers, Art Cruz and Nic Collins — to a songwriting challenge with unique riffs and feels for each player. The results may shock you, so watch the video below to see how each drummer did.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: Meet the Players!
00:34 - Tommy Aldridge of OZZY OSBOURNE and WHITESNAKE
01:47 - Phil Demmel's Reaction
02:00 - I Haven't Played Gospel
02:46 - Calvin Rodgers Drum Solo
03:55 - Art Cruz of LAMB OF GOD
05:31 - Guitar Solo by Phil Demmel
05:52 - Billy Sheehan Bass Solo
06:33 - Nic Collins
08:00 - Phil Loves the Breakdown
08:25 - Songwriting Advice from Nic
09:30 - Reactions from Each Player

Sheehan has played with David Lee Roth, MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS, TALAS and SONS OF APOLLO. He's also won Guitar Player magazine's "Best Bass Player" poll several times and is in-demand at clinics and as a session player.

Sheehan has played bass on dozens of records and toured all over the world for many decades, with a unique and original style of playing that has been widely celebrated and documented. Starting in his former hometown of Buffalo, New York with the now legendary hard rock trio TALAS, he went on to join former VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth in 1985, along with guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Gregg Bissonette. In 1987, Billy left to start his own band, MR. BIG, and in 2002, he founded NIACIN, a fusion/blues trio that featured drummer Dennis Chambers. More recently, Billy joined DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist Richie Kotzen to form THE WINERY DOGS.

Born and raised in the San Francisco East Bay, Phil grew up watching local legends Y&T and METALLICA work their way through the clubs and achieve international success. Forming the legendary thrash band VIOLENCE (later VIO-LENCE) in high school, he would start his own journey into the music industry and worldwide acclaim writing songs and performing in some of the biggest metal acts on the planet.

Demmel has over 40 years of live, writing and recording experience, featuring a 16-year run (including a Grammy nomination) with MACHINE HEAD, immediately followed by fill-in spots with SLAYER (on their farewell tour),indie-rock stalwarts NONPOINT, thrash legends OVERKILL, several spots serving as LAMB OF GOD's man out of the bullpen (even playing bass with them in certain situations) and most recently jumping in at the 11th hour for Alex Skolnick in TESTAMENT. There have been multiple "jam" occasions with him playing alongside the largest names in the biz and his cover band called THE MERKINS, made up of some local rockers and his high school buddies. There was a BPMD release of covers songs with Bobby Blitz, Mike Portnoy and Mark Menghi and a new VIO-LENCE EP with his old band. He is currently holding down stage right for the KERRY KING band and played lead guitar on King's debut solo record. He also released an album with his band CATEGORY 7 with John Bush, Mike Orlando, Jason Bittner and Jack Gibson.

In a recent interview with David Frangioni of Modern Drummer, DISTURBED's Mike Wengren reflected on the band's rise from Chicago clubs to global stages. ‬He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "August of '96 is when we basically formed DISTURBED. Myself and Dan Donegan, the guitar player, had been together since '92 with different versions, with different lineups, other guys, just trying to figure out how to make it work. And we had put an ad out in the paper, which was called Illinois Entertainer at the time, in Chicago. And we went through literally 50 to 60 different auditions of guys. We had a bass player at the time. And then one day in walks David — David Draiman, our DISTURBED singer now. And we had kind of gotten used to the routine of, 'Okay, Mr. Singer Guy, what covers do you know?' So David walks in and we're, like, 'All right, what covers do you know?' And he's, like, 'Well, do you guys have any originals?' We're, like, 'Yeah, of course we do.' He's, like, 'Well, just do that.' We're, like, 'Well, what are you gonna do? It's original. You don't know our song. You never heard it before.' He goes, 'Just play it and I'll figure something out.' So we went into a song, and he just started to scat a rhythmic type of melody, vocal line. And we were just looking around at each other, like, 'This is great.' Somebody who shows initiative, someone who has identity. It was exciting. And from that moment, we knew he was the guy."

Regarding how DISTURBED ended up getting noticed by Giant Records and signing a record deal in 1999, the drummer said: "Back in Chicago, back in those days, there was this sort of alterna[tive] pop-rock scene with bands like SMASHING PUMPKINS, VERUCA SALT, LOCAL H. We weren't part of that. We weren't part of the Cool Kids club. We were considered too heavy. So as far as like getting noticed in the Chicago area, like the Metro, we couldn't get a gig there to save our lives. So we had to go out to the suburbs, the South Side dive bars and just try to make our own scene. So there was a bunch of buddies of ours in other bands, and we just kind of created our own scene. We'd play these local bars. They weren't even clubs. And eventually we just started packing. So while we were doing that, we would also… We were a self-promotion machine. Whatever little money we'd save up from playing a gig, we'd eventually go and record a demo, a demo cassette. We would mass-produce these three-song cassette demos, and whether there was a local show or a national show in our genre, we would go out as many nights a week as we could and just promote. We'd stand outside when the show let out and just hand out cassettes, just to try and get the name out there. People started to take notice, not just because of the music but because we made sure to be out there, to be seen, to network. There was no social media, so we socially engaged with as many people as we could. If there was multiple shows going on that night, we would just divide and conquer. We'd split up. It was all about branding, all about getting the name out there. We just became a self-promotion machine. Eventually other bands started to take notice of what we were doing. There was this band called LUNGBRUSH, and they had a way in at the Metro, so they gave us an opening [slot]. So we did really well. We promoted [the show] to our South Side fans. They showed up in droves to see us play. And from that moment on [we were on our way to getting a record deal]."

DISTURBED kicked off the U.S. leg of "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" on February 25 at Ford Idaho Center Arena in Nampa, Idaho. The trek celebrated 25 years of DISTURBED's seminal debut album which launched the band into public consciousness and is one of the most important and influential heavy metal albums of all time. Each night featured two sets of music, opening with DISTURBED playing the five-times-platinum "The Sickness" in full, followed by a full set of greatest hits. Openers on the U.S. shows included THREE DAYS GRACE, SEVENDUST, DAUGHTRY and NOTHING MORE, depending on the date.

This past February, DISTURBED announced the European leg of "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" with support from MEGADETH. The trek will kick off on September 28 in Copenhagen, Denmark and conclude on October 28 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Since "The Sickness" was released in 2000, the album was certified five times platinum by the RIAA, spent a total of 106 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart, and Revolver named it one of "Top 25 Debut Hard Rock Albums." Billboard said of the title track upon release: "'Down With The Sickness' is, of course, the quintessential DISTURBED song, harnessing all the band's seethe and its now-famous tribal beat and guitar chug into three and a half minutes of alt-metal mayhem. It's menacing, it's rhythmic, it's rebellious."

DISTURBED recently released the 25th-anniversary edition of "The Sickness". To commemorate the anniversary, the band reissued the five-times-platinum-certified LP on March 7, exactly 25 years to the date of their original release.

On February 21, DISTURBED released a new single, "I Will Not Break", via the band's own label, Mother Culture Records.