After releasing “Hammerschlag” as a first glimpse of what power metal up-and-comers Hammer King have to offer on their new album Hammer King (out June 11 via Napalm Records), today they reveal their anthem “Atlantis" (Epilogue). On “Atlantis" (Epilogue), Hammer King reveal their melodic side as singer and guitarist Titan Fox V shows off his incredible vocal range. Dynamic songwriting meets multi-faceted, virtuoso guitar solos.

Singer/guitarist Titan Fox V about the new single: “With great pride we are to announce the release of the second video single off our upcoming album Hammer King: ‘Atlantis' (Epilogue). Atlantis has been on everyone's list. It's an epic song actually written on the Lake Zürich. Its lyrics go back to some of the earliest hours in human history or mythology. It also serves as an epilogue to our nautical trilogy off the Poseidon Will Carry Us Home album. Some of our finest lead guitars meet big vocals and counterpoint singing. Carry us back home!”

Hammer King keeps it heavy with speedy riffs, energic grooves and fist-pumping choruses, devoting their existence to the one and only myth of the godly Hammer King. The new self-titled album starts off with blasting drums and brisk guitars on “Awaken The Thunder”, with frontman and guitarist Titan Fox V showing off his incredible vocal range, whereas tracks like “Atlantis” prove Hammer King’s ability to write catchy and memorable choruses. Hammer King tells the lore of the Hammer King himself, a wrathful and mighty war god, who is praised in tracks like anthemic “Baptized By The Hammer”, energetic and double-bass driven “In The Name Of The Hammer” and the hard-hitting “Hammerschlag”. Kneel before the king of kings, the Hammer King!

Hammer King will be available in the following formats:

- 1-CD Digipak
- 1-LP Gatefold Vinyl BLACK
- 1-LP Gatefold Vinyl RED TRANSPARENT (strictly limited to 100 copies)
- Deluxe Box (Flag, 4x Signed Cards, Keychain/Bottle Opener)
- 1-CD Digipak + Shirt Bundle
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

Hammer King tracklisting:

"Awaken The Thunder"
"Baptized By The Hammer"
"Onward To Victory"
"Hammerschlag"
"Atlantis" (Epilogue)
"We Are The Kingdom"
"Into The Storm"
"Ashes To Ashes"
"In The Name Of The Hammer"
"Kings Of Kings"
"Holy" (Outro)
"Hammerschlag" (HK Version) Bonus Track (physical only)

"Hammerschlag" lyric video:

Hammer King are:

Titan Fox V - vocals/guitar
Gino Wilde - guitar
Gladius Thundersword - bass
Dolph Aidan Macallan - drums

(Photo - Thommy S. Mardo)




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Finnish Oulu-based female fronted hard rock band Lost Division is set to release their debut album Cuts And Scars on May 28th via Inverse Records. New single "No God" from the album is released today. Check out the official lyric video below.

The band comments:

"The third single from Cuts & Scars, 'No God', serves up proper rattling, rhythmic rock'n'roll. This is the most aggressive song of the album. You will want to listen to this to-the-point bulldozer of a song again and again. The heavy riffs, catchy chorus and a striking guitar solo definitely make 'No God' one of the stars of Cuts & Scars. The lyrics paint a dark version of what will wait for us all when our life ends on earth."

 

Lost Division was founded in Oulu, Finland back in 2015. Their first single release "Wish You Were Dead" was released in 2018 by Inverse Records. In 2019 they changed singers and started to compose material for the upcoming debut album, which was recorded in 2020. The album was recorded at Liiteri Sudios and mixed by Mika Lammassaari at Demolition Center Studios. Mastering was handled by Stefan Pommerin at Illusia Productions.

Tracklist:

"In Memoriam 2.0"
"Trapped"
"Stay"
"I'd Rather Die"
"No God"
"The Queen"
"The Killer"
"Lovely Day"
"Insanity"
"Mayhem"

Line-up:

Maija Väisänen - Vocals
Antti Ovaska - Rhythm  Guitar
Jaakko Korpi - Lead Guitar
Mikael Luukela - Bass
Juha-Matti Sipola - Drums




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Ljubljana’s underground legends Noctiferia have released their new single, "Tanz Mit Laibach" featuring black metal icon Attila Csihar of Mayhem. The song is taken from the band's upcoming album Reforma, set to be released on May 28th on Blood Blast Distribution / Nika Records

The single and lyric video originally premiered via Metal Shock Finland last Friday. Watch the official lyric video for '"Tanz Mit Laibach" below.

The band comments: "One of the biggest Laibach songs, 'Tanz Mit Laibach', with its military beat and eerie atmosphere is a masterpiece in itself, but when we added downtuned guitars and the legendary voice of Black Metal icon Attila Csihar of The True Mayhem it became a whole new beast! It was probably one of the hardest songs to remake on the album but the great guest performance and excellent final result made it pay off. Now we invite you to Tanz with Noctiferia and Attila!"

Tracklist:

"Barbarians Are Coming"
"Now You Will Pay" (feat. David Vincent)
"No History"  
"Tanz Mit Laibach" (feat. Attila Csihar) 
"Eurovision"
"Smrt Za Smrt"
"Das Spiel Ist Aus"  
"Slovenska Akropola" (feat. Jørgen Munkeby)

Reforma is new studio album by Noctiferia, a tribute to the legendary and world-renowned avant-garde band Laibach featuring three big and legendary names of metal scene; David Vincent - ex-Morbid Angel, Vltimas, Attila Csihar - Mayhem, and Jørgen Munkeby - Shining. It was mixed and mastered by the award-winning producer Henrik Udd (Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, At The Gates, etc.). The artwork concept and design is the work of Jean-Emmanuel "Valnoir" Simoulin from French design studio Metastazis, known for their work with Ghost, Behemoth, At the Gates and Amorphis. The album can be described as a "crushing sounding mix of extreme metal and avant-garde music," with some very special and legendary guests!

"Now You Will Pay" (feat. David Vincent)




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Cyhra / Red Wolf guitarist Euge Valovirta is gearing up to release his second solo album. Details will be revealed soon, but in the meantime the first single, "The Bad Boy", can be pre-saved via DistroKid here. Official release date for the single is May 19th.

Cyhra recently checked in with the following update:

"We are extremely happy and excited to announce that we are joining forces with our friends in Twilight Force touring Europe and the UK! Sadly, our 2020 No Halos In Hell Tour abruptly ended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To finally announce that we are going back on the road again, feels almost  somewhat surreal.

Honestly, the happiness we are feeling about this upcoming tour is overwhelming! We can't wait to meet all the fans that have been away from live music just as long as us! Hope to see you all then!"

Loaded with melodic vocal hooks and heavy yet dynamic guitars that stay nailed to the brain for days, Cyhra's No Halos In Hell album proves Jake E (ex-Amaranthe), Jesper Strömblad (ex-In Flames), Euge Valovirta (ex-Shining) and Alex Landenburg (Kamelot) are a band ready to take the world by storm.

No Halos In Hell is available as 2 CD digipak, black vinyl or download. The bonus CD included in the limited digipak includes six additional songs, three of them being exclusive acoustic versions. You can order the format of your choice here.

Tracklisting:

"Out Of My Life"
"No Halos In Hell"
"Battle From Within"
"I Am The One"
"Bye Bye Forever"
"Dreams Gone Wrong"
"Lost In Time"
"Kings Tonight"
"I Had Your Back"
"Blood Brothers"
"Hit Me"
"Man Of Eternal Rain"

"Dreams Gone Wrong" video:

"Out Of My Life" video:

"Battle From Within" lyric video:




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On April 16th, German rockers Hartmann - featuring Avantasia guitarist Oliver Hartmann - performed a livestream show at the Colos-Saal in Aschaffenburg, Germany. They have shared another clip from the evening below.

Oliver: "One more Hartmann acoustic version of this 80's pop classic (by Jermaine Jackson & Pia Zadora) from our actual line up for the 15th (+1) Anniversary Acoustic Tour 2021 feat. Ina Morgan on vocals/guitar. And with all the little mistakes, the interaction, the synergy and everything else that makes true live music so unique and wonderful. We're looking forward to announcing new tour dates for late summer!"

Check out "Don't Want Back Down" and "Simple Man" from the livestream below, taken from Hartmann's Hands On The Wheel album, released in 2018.




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Lyria vocalist Aline Happ has released a classical crossover version of Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson's solo single "Tears Of The Dragon". Check it out below.

"Tears Of The Dragon" is taken from Dickinson's 1994 solo album, Balls To Picasso. It was his second solo record, and the first album in Dickinson's solo career that was released after he had officially left Iron Maiden.




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On May 4th, The Pretty Reckless appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Their segment featured a performance of "Rock And Roll Heaven" from the record-breaking album, Death By Rock And Roll.

Even with six #1 singles under her belt, Taylor Momsen still finds time to learn something new. During an interview with Kelly Clarkson, The Pretty Reckless frontwoman shares that she just discovered YouTube reaction videos of people hearing songs for the first time, stating that she finds it "very enjoyable" during the pandemic. She also opens up about the difficult but therapeutic process that gave birth to her #1 album, Death By Rock And Roll.

The Pretty Reckless are #1... again! The band's latest single, "And So It Went", landed at #1 on the rock radio charts. It's the second consecutive #1 single from the new album, Death By Rock And Roll, and is the band's sixth overall #1 single at the format.

Death By Rock And Roll arrived in February and topped multiple sales charts - including Billboard's Top Albums, Rock, Hard Music, and Digital Charts.

The Pretty Reckless have also been nominated for two iHeart Radio Music Awards. They have been nominated for "Rock Artist Of The Year", while the title track of Death By Rock And Roll is nominated for "Rock Song Of The Year". The iHeart Radio Music Awards are set to air on Fox on Thursday, May 27 at 8 PM, ET.

Those waiting to see The Pretty Reckless in concert will have to wait a little - actually quite a bit - longer. Vocalist Taylor Momsen has issued the following update:

"After much thought and very careful consideration to the ongoing Covid epidemic, we have made the difficult decision to postpone all touring until 2022. We absolutely cannot wait to come back and see you around the world in 2022… stay tuned for announcements coming this week!"

The Pretty Reckless released their fourth studio album, Death By Rock And Roll, in February 2021.

Tracklisting:

"Death By Rock And Roll"
"Only Love Can Save Me Now" (featuring Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil)
"And So It Went" (featuring Tom Morello)
"25"
"My Bones"
"Got So High"
"Broomsticks"
"Witches Burn"
"Standing At The Wall"
"Turning Gold"
"Rock And Roll Heaven"
"Harley Darling"

"25" video:

"Death By Rock And Roll" lyric video:

  




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Lansing, Michigan's alt-metal mainstays Heartsick have announced they will release their new EP, Cinco, via Godsize Records on June 25, 2021. The band will also be heading out on tour supporting A Killer's Confession starting Saturday May 8 at Ground Zero in Spartanburg, SC.

The follow-up to 2019's Sleep Cycles, again produced by Josh Schroeder (King810, Tallah, The Color Morale) features six new songs.

Tracklisting:

“Animal Instinct”
“Thrill Of The Hunt”
“9K Diamond”
“Where The Trees Touch The Sun”
“Indigo”
“Connection”

Dates with A Killer’s Confession”

May
8 – Spartanburg, SC – Ground Zero
9 – Jacksonville, NC – Hooligan’s
12 – Fort Wayne, IN – Piere’s
13 – Indianapolis, IN – The Emerson Theater
14 – West Chicago, IL – The WC Social Club
15 – Janesville, WI – The Back Bar
16 – Pekin, IL – The Twisted Spoke Saloon 




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AIW Management artist King 810 has released their official music video for single "I Am The Enemy". 

The band has also announced tour dates that begin on August 26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Crafthouse.

Dates:

August
26 – Pittsburgh, PA – Crafthouse
27 – Pipestream, WV – Metal In The Mountains Festival
28 – Louisville, KY – Diamonds Pub Concert Hall
31 – Joliet, IL – The Apollo Theatre

September
1 – Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s
2 – Des Moines, IA – Lefty’s
3 – Sioux Falls, SD – Bigs Bar
4 – Lincoln, NE – The Royal Grove 




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Cult Polish grindcore act Schismopathic is back on the map with their first full-length since its inception in 1988. With 12 new songs recorded with two original members, The Human Legacy is old-school grindcore frenzy at its best. Selfmadegod will issue The Human Legacy in late May, today issuing an official video for the track “Time Of History.”

Founded in 1987 under the name Schismopathic Torment, in 1988 the band changed its name to Schismopathic under the lineup of bassist Jacek B., guitarist Robert F., and vocalist/drummer Robert G. A year later, they released their debut demo, Kharkharamapathic Regurgitator, resulting in a plethora of shows throughout Poland with bands from the top tier of their country’s underground. In 1991, Schismopathic recorded their debut album, D.E.M.O.C.R.A.C.Y., which, due to the band's suspension, was released with the first demo and live recordings in 2013 on CD, and then a few years later on LP via Selfmadegod Records.

The band’s reactivation in 2020 was preceded by a split 7” EP with Antigama, also released through Selfmadegod. The band reactivated in the original lineup but without Robert G., who was replaced on drums by Janek (ex-Psychoneurosis, ex-Bottom) and new vocalist Adrian. With this lineup, Schismopathic composed and recorded material for the full album, The Human Legacy, which will now see release through Selfmadegod Records in May of 2021.

The Human Legacy was recorded and mixed at 125 Studio between May 2020 and March 2021, produced by Michal “Maly” Kwiecień. The record’s intro features Kwiecień and Artur “Janek” Jasiński, and the outro features Sebastian “Stecyk” Steć. The cover art and layout were handled by Jasiński and DIY Zrup Leprzy Prod. The track “Proof Of Ignorance” is a new version of the 1989 track “Construction Of Ignorance,” here re-recorded in a new arrangement with new lyrics.

Selfmadegod Records will release The Human Legacy on CD and digital formats on May 28. Find preorders at the Selfmadegod webshop.

Tracklisting:

“Intro – The Beginning Of The End”
“Faithful Slaves Of The System”
“Vote For Me”
“What Can You Say Then?”
“Technological Addiction”
“Deviated And Devoted”
“Proof Of Ignorance”
“Single-Use Existence”
“Landfill Site For Human Trash”
“Cut Their Ropes”
“Time Of History”
“Outro – The Human Legacy”

“Time Of History” video:




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Slovenian heavy metal prodigy, SkyEye, will release their second studio album, Soldiers Of Light, on June 25 via Reaper Entertainment. The first album trailer has been issued for the record; watch below:

Unique and powerful vocals combined with raw and melodic guitar riffs give the band its signature heavy metal sound, reminiscent of other major representatives of the genre, like Iron Maiden, Saxon or Judas Priest.

The album was produced in summer 2020 by producer Grega Smola Crnkovič and was mastered by Boban Milunović who is known in the hard & heavy scene for his work with Graveworm, Belphegor, Jack Frost and many more.

Album artwork by Aleksandar Živanov:

Tracklisting:

“The Arrival”
“King Of The Skies”
“Soldiers Of Light”
“Constellation”
“Brothers Under The Same Sun”
“In Saecula Saeculorum”
“Son Of God”
“Detonate”
“Eternal Starlight”
“Chernobyl”

"Constellation":




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Tortured blackened death metal machine Withered have premiered their brand new single, "Casting In Wait”. The track is taken from the band's upcoming full-length, Verloten, which is due on June 25 through Season Of Mist Underground Activists. Preorder at the Season Of Mist webshop.

Speaking of the song, the band comments, "Humanity’s obsession with glorifying the ego beyond death through legacy is one of the biggest exercises in futility. It’s perhaps the most elegant and noble way to waste one’s existence here. No matter the effort put forth, the earth will rise in tide, open up in darkness, and puke ash into the atmosphere erasing all traces. There is nothing immortal except what we all become. Worm shit that fuels earth’s inevitable return to harmony & humility.”

Tracklisting:

“By Tooth In Tongue”
“The Predation”
“Dissolve”
“Casting In Wait”
“Passing Through…”
“…The Long Hurt”
“Verloren”
“From Ashen Shores”

“Casting In Wait” lyric video:




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Melodic death metal band, Rival Order, has revealed “Next In Line”, the first single from their second EP, Beyond The Ashes, slated for release on August 27. Watch the clip below, and download or stream the single via Spotify and Apple Music.

“‘Next In Line’ was largely inspired by my own struggles as an artist,” says guitarist Joey Rival. “We face so many obstacles by not only our own design, be it self-doubt or fear of failure, but sometimes from our loved ones who may be unable to see the end result. I have always found music to be my safe space and the one and only way I can truly express myself. My hope is that through my art I can inspire others to continue to pursue their passions.”

In 2019 Joey Rival, the songwriter and mastermind behind Rival Order, set out to bring together a group of musicians to bring life to his songs. He began assembling a team of musicians starting with lead vocalist Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within), whose range includes melodic singing to guttural death growls. Lead guitarist and solo artist Pat Reilly (Tengger Cavalry, Fellahin Fall) was then chosen after hearing his expressive playing and session work. To fill out the rhythm section, drummer Kurt Holz and bassist Lou Hannoe were recruited. The group released the the-song Beginnings EP last March and had begun tracking a second EP when Holtz quit the band, leaving the new record in limbo. As luck would have it drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth) was available to lend his talents to the new record.

With its musicians residing in California, New York and England, the members of Rival Order have work through a process of collaborate over the internet and recording in their own studios, sharing audio stems using cloud storage services during the songwriting process.  

“Putting together such an elaborate vision that I had for these tracks definitely presented its challenges,” Rival says. “Not having the ability to have everyone in the same room to hash things out as we went or discuss parts or changes definitely added more time to the process. That being said, working with the very talented people involved it helped make the process that much easier and truly brought my vision for this release to life, I couldn't be more proud of what we accomplished together and ‘Next In Line’ truly covers my feelings and thought process for Rival Order.”

Rival Order is:

Lou Hannoe - Bass
Joey Rival - Guitars & Song Writer
Featuring - Chris Clancy - Vocals
Pat Reilly - Lead Guitar

Featuring:

Dirk Verbeuren - Drums




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German epic death metal brigade, Kambrium, will release of their fifth studio album, Synthetic ERA, on July 9 via Reaper Entertainment. Today, the band presents the first album trailer. Find out more about the concept of first songs of the album below:

Kambrium are not bound by stereotypes within the metal genre; they prefer instead to tread between these expectations and find themselves equally and comfortably at home within each of the styles that they have chosen to embrace. The result is a sound, crafted with elements of death, melodic and symphonic metal - everything the heart of a metal fan desires.

The album was produced in 2020 by the band, recorded at the Kohlekeller Studio in Germany and was mastered by Tom Porcell. Pre-order the new album here.

Tracklist:

"Neon Death" (Intro)
"Cybernetic Overload"
"Shadow Construct"
"Creator Of Dreams"
"Nature, Error: 404"
"Ghost Of The Machine"
"To The Core"
"Holographic Satisfaction"
"Synthetic ERA"
"Nightly Beast Mode"
"Transcendence"
"After It All"

"Cybernetic Overload" video:




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NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen says that Marco Hietala's decision to leave the band "came as a bit of a surprise."

The bassist/vocalist announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January, explaining in a statement that he hadn't "been able to feel validated by this life for a quite a few years now."

Holopainen spoke about Hietala's exit from NIGHTWISH in a new interview with Finland's Kaaos TV. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Marco informed us in December last year [that he was leaving the band]. And even though he has been very open about his state and problems during the past years, it still came as a bit of a surprise for us. So it was a really tough pill to swallow. And for a few days, I was actually quite confident that there's no coming back, that this is it. I remember talking to Emppu [Vuorinen], the guitar player, and we were, like, 'You think this is it?' 'Yeah, I think this is it.' I mean, enough is enough. So much has happened in the past. Something that broke the camel's back, as they say. Then, after some time had passed — a few days — we started to think that it's been such a ride of 25 years, with so many ups also, that this is not the way to end it."

Tuomas elaborated on NIGHTWISH's reasons for carrying on, saying: "I think we still have something to give, and that's the main point. The music is still there. We felt that there's still so much music that needs to come out from this band that, 'Okay, let's give it one more shot.' And then finding the new bass player was really easy."

He added: "It's not like we do this just because we need to do it and there's nothing else to do. On a personal level, I feel that there's still so many stories and melodies that I want to share with the world with one lineup or another, so that's why you want to continue and keep on going.

"I've said this a million times, that a lineup change is the ultimate energy vampire, and that's how it really felt and still feels."

Holopainen also confirmed that NIGHTWISH's future setlists will likely also be affected by Hietala's absence from the group. "There are some songs that are so profilic [sic] to Marco that we cannot do them, I think, ever again," he said. "I'm not absolutely certain, but, for example, 'The Islander', 'While Your Lips Are Still Red' and definitely 'Endlessness' from the new album is something that cannot be performed without Marco. But then, after spending five days in the rehearsal room, there are some songs that actually work surprisingly well without Marco, that Floor [Jansen] or Troy [Donockley] is doing [Marco's] parts. And I was a bit suspicious about that, but then when I heard the new arrangement for those parts, I was, like, 'Yeah, I think this actually might work.'"

Last month, Holopainen said that the name of Hietala's replacement will not be revealed until "a few hours" before the first of the band's two interactive "An Evening with Nightwish In a Virtual World" concert experiences that will kick off the "Human. :II: Nature." world tour.

NIGHTWISH will perform in a tavern called "The Islanders Arms" built in a virtual world for two nights — Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29, 2021. On both nights, the fans will experience an unforgettable one-and-a-half-hour performance, hearing songs live off the latest album, "Human. :II: Nature.", for the first time ever. These two nights will have their own, slightly different setlists.

In December, Hietala was crowned the winner of the fall 2020 season of "Masked Singer Suomi" — the Finnish edition of the popular masked singing contest. He was disguised as Tohtori — the Doctor.

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", "Human. :II: Nature." is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

Founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing spoke to Clovis Roman of Brazil's Acesso Music about his autobiography "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", which was released in September 2018 via Da Capo Press. Addressing his reasons for telling his life story in book form, Downing said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "With the book, I wanted people to get to know me a little bit better. I wanted to try and answer some of their questions — unanswered questions maybe — and I just thought it would be good for me to leave my recollections and memoirs for future people. When they see the videos long after I'm gone, and they hear the songs, they might be interested to know how heavy metal began. Because I was definitely there at the very, very beginning, and I feel very proud and honored to have been a part of the whole thing. And I feel very fortunate to have had the success, but even now still, I feel as though that success is still there and I'm still able to write incredible music and to play really, really well. So I'm really looking forward to everyone experiencing [my new] band [KK'S PRIEST] and giving the fans exactly what the fans want and what the fans deserve, and that is a full-on metal PRIEST. And that's what I am. I was there in the very beginning, and it's unfortunate the way things have turned out. But it's tough to be in a relationship of 40 years or more, but I feel very confident that the true PRIEST is within me."

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

The 69-year-old Downing recently said that he had "a change of mind" about leaving the band before his exit was officially announced a decade ago.

In recent years, Downing has made it very clear that he wanted to return to JUDAS PRIEST, particularly in early 2018 when guitarist Glenn Tipton announced his decision to retire from touring.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in February 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". He was replaced by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT. Tipton occasionally joins PRIEST onstage for its encores, performing "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

Last year, Downing announced the formation of KK'S PRIEST, in which he is joined by fellow former PRIEST members Les Binks (drums) and Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals). The band, which pays homage to Downing's past, is rounded out by guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE) and bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX).

In 2019, singer Rob Halford didn't rule out Downing's reunion with PRIEST, saying "what will happen will happen." But bassist Ian Hill has said that there are no plans for PRIEST to invite Downing to return to the band. "Richie took over from Ken," Hill told Riff Magazine. "He's done an absolutely tremendous job, he really has. And he's made Ken's parts his own now. He's got his own angle on the lead breaks. Ken's part's been taken, and there's no plans to have Ken back, really. Hey, listen, never say never. But at the moment, we're going along quite well without Ken, so it could stay like that, I think, at least for the foreseeable future."

Photo courtesy of K.K. Downing's Steel Mill

In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian touched upon his band's inability to record a full-length follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs, which came out in 2005.

The Los Angeles-based outfit has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 16 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released last November, the tracks were motivated by the recently erupted 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 have raised over $600,000.

Asked if the aforementioned two songs have led to further discussions about more new music from SYSTEM in the future, Serj said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The subject has not been raised. We have not talked about it since we put out the two songs. After not having written music together for — I don't know — 15 [or] 16 years, we put put those songs within weeks, which is pretty incredible. It wasn't about our artistic journey, it wasn't about our collaboration, whether we get along on this subject or not, whether we love this arrangement of a song — it was more about, 'We need ammunition. We need a musical weapon. And here it is. And let's make this happen. And let's put it out.' And I'm really proud of SYSTEM OF A DOWN for being able to accomplish that."

He added: "The future is open. I don't know what we're gonna do. Time will tell. That's all I can say."

In 2018, SYSTEM guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian publicly accused Tankian of not wanting to record, with Tankian responding that creative and financial issues with Malakian led to the stalemate. In a message on Facebook, Tankian wrote that Malakian wanted to control SYSTEM's creative process, take more of the publishing money and be the only band member to speak to the press.

Last month, Tankian released the "Elasticity" EP, the SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer's first solo release since 2013's "Orca".

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Malakian was asked about the chances of more new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN in the near future. He responded: "I never say never, but at the same time, I'm not expecting to do any more with SYSTEM OF A DOWN right away or immediately after [these two songs]. It really does seem like our fans like these new songs. That's important to me.

"We've added two new songs to the SYSTEM catalog that are on the level with everything else that we've put out and our fans have accepted it that way, which means a lot to me. That's kinda where we're gonna leave it for now. If more happens later on, then we'll talk about that, but for now I will continue doing what I'm doing and everyone else will just continue what they're doing. It's all cool though, I'm really pleased with the response we got."

SLIPKNOT's M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan says that he will "definitely" get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The 51-year-old percussionist weighed in on his possible inoculation while interviewing BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski for the latest episode of his Internet show, "The Electric Theater With Clown".

Crahan, who lives in Iowa, which has had more than two million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I haven't had a flu shot in 20 years, and I haven't had the flu in 20 years. But let me take it a step further. Do I agree with the vaccine? I don't know what I agree with. I know I don't wanna be told to do anything. I've never been told I had to get the flu shot, but I'm being told — and this could have changed… I don't like talking about things unless I know they're facts, but I have heard this from a reliable source, that Canada is gonna make it mandatory, to be able to come into Canada, you're gonna have to have proof of the vaccine. So, I've never had to get a flu shot to go anywhere, but now to do my living, I'm gonna have to have a vaccine — proof of it — to go to Canada. So, normality for me is that now I just need Japan to say that, I need North America to say that, I need South America to say that, Australia, New Zealand… Once everybody jumps on, then I know we're in it together. I don't think we're not in it together now. I think the right people were offered the shot first, and then it opens up as it's created knowledge.

"Am I gonna get it? Well, no one can even prove I'm the real Clown anyway," he continued. "So if I don't want it, I can continue that and just play it off and just disappear — like maybe I have already. I mean, this [conversation] could be a simulation. But I believe in it, and I wanna tour. And most importantly, as long as my family gets it and wants me to get it, then I'll get it, because I wanna be able to hug my fans again; I wanna be able to embrace the people that have needed me and that I've needed. And the way that I've been explained by the doctors I go to, they basically say, 'Hey, get the vaccine,' because what we do, we're gonna be around a lot of people that aren't gonna take it, and they're gonna be sick. There's gonna be a lot of healthy people, but there's also gonna be a lot of people that are naysayers that aren't going to [take the vaccine].

"You and I are around great amounts of people very day — tremendous amounts of people," Crahan added. "Meet-and-greets, handshakes, people coughing in our face, blah blah blah. So, I believe in it, and I believe what the doctors say. It's, like, look, the idea is to keep me out of the hospital, and if I'm gonna be around people that choose to make it a conspiracy or they don't believe in it or they just are out, whatever, I risk being in a different country and getting a different strand [of the virus] that I might never leave that country again and not see my family.

"So, I'm definitely gonna get it, but we're waiting for everyone to get it. I'm healthy. I feel like those that really need it here in our location should get it. They're already trying to make me get it. One of the guys that's here is, like, 'Oh, I had you signed up.' And I'm, like, 'You didn't even ask me.' But I know that I might not be able to get in anywhere, and I should just do it now."

As of this morning, the Iowa Department Of Public Health reported 390,594 total positive tests, 342,409 total recoveries and 5,893 total deaths since the start of the pandemic.

So far, roughly 40.1% of the population has gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And about 26% of the population is fully vaccinated, that data shows.

At least 568,532 people have already died from COVID-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

A recent NPR/Marist poll found that one in four Americans said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if offered. Another 5% are "undecided" about whether they would get the shot. 49% of Republican men said they would not take the vaccine when it's available to them.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine was produced quickly because of the urgency of the health crisis and the number of clinical trial volunteers, scientists say the vaccine was not rushed, and it relies on years of research.

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America's two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which became available in the United States last month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.

WARRANT guitarist Joey Allen spoke to "The Chuck Shute Podcast"about playing with Lars Ulrich in a pre-METALLICA band in Southern California in 1980. "It was actually a five-piece," Joey recalled (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It was right when he moved from Denmark to Newport Beach. He lived in a tennis community called Park Newport. He put an ad out in [a local paper called] the Recycler, and we answered the ad. He had a guitar player — a guy named Lloyd Grant, who actually played on, I think, 'Hit The Lights' on that 'Metal Massacre' [compilation] record. So it was me on rhythm guitar, Lloyd on lead guitar, a friend of mine, Jeff Brooks, on bass, and another friend of mine that I grew up with tried to sing at the time. We were all so young. Lars was too. But he was the one that turned me on to a lot of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and some of the bands like TYGERS OF PAN TANG and DIAMOND HEAD — stuff like that. And then when he went back to Denmark for a little stint, at that time I asked Lloyd if he wanted to get another drummer. And he said, 'No. I'm gonna stick with Lars.' And I said, 'Okay.' And that was it. And then look at Lars now. He's got a bigger pool than I do."

METALLICA was formed when Ulrich placed an ad in the Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.

METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".

Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.

METALLICA's first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall says that he "can't envision" a scenario where he will play with the band's original lead singer, Jack Russell, ever again.

Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

In a new chat with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn, Kendall stated about Russell (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were really good friends, and it was really the addiction that took him out of the game. He could no longer perform, I don't think, close to even his standards, much less ours.

"I've dealt with so many different level of addicts," he continued. "Like, one guy can get a DUI and not ever drink again; he's so upset by his DUI. Then you've got a guy that loses his house, job, wife, family, money — he [has] nothing. He [lives] in his car, he's on Skid Row, and he still doesn't stop. So there's two different levels of addicts. I wouldn't put Jack all the way to the end, but he definitely had his struggles, he had his demons.

"I've never taken anybody's addiction personally," Mark added. "It's just a very tough road. I don't have any answers. I know that it took me a while to get comfortable in my own skin sober, because it was always a vehicle for me to escape fear and not feel uncomfortable in a certain situation; a couple of beers and I'm fine. So it was a vehicle for confidence almost. To just stop that, it's very difficult — you feel naked and you don't know what to do with yourself, and it's very difficult. So I had to work through all my fears and do a lot of work on my character defects. It was a lot more than just removing alcohol. It was a lot of self-work, working with other people and trying to get comfortable in my own skin. And I don't know that Jack has reached that or what he's up to.

"Just because we're not working together don't mean I don't have love for the guy. I want him to do good," he clarified.

Asked if he would be open to working with Russell again if the singer got himself cleaned up, Mark said: "I just can't envision that presenting itself. I'm not sure he's ready, from what I've seen [online of his] performances and stuff. It sounds like his voice is kind of there. But I don't know, man. There's a lot of damage. I'd rather just remember us together, with him flying around on the stage and just blowing minds. That's the picture I want. It's almost like when you lose a family member — you don't wanna think about that; you wanna think about all the great times and the wonderful times you had [together]. You celebrate their life, in other words. I'd rather celebrate Jack in our heyday — keep that picture."

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

Nearly three years ago, GREAT WHITE announced the addition of new singer Mitch Malloy to the group's ranks. He replaced Terry Ilous, who was fired from the band in July 2018.

This past January, Russell told "Rocking With Jam Man" that his split with GREAT WHITE "was very emotional. It still hurts a lot," he said. "Maybe it's like a divorce, 'cause you get to be brothers when you're playing in a band together, especially for many, many years. And then when that ends, it can be very traumatic on your spirit. That's what it was like when I split up with my old guys. That was really, really difficult. But what are you gonna do? You've gotta kind of go with the flow and just move on."

KISS frontman Paul Stanley says it is "insanity" that IRON MAIDEN has yet to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal groups like MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that band's first year of eligibility.

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET published an article earlier today noting that MAIDEN is continuing to trail Tina Turner, Nigerian Afro beat pioneer Fela Kuti and THE GO-GO'S in the fan vote for this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction class, Stanley took to his Twitter to share the story and he included the following comment: "Regardless of whether it matters to them, MAIDEN not being in the @rockhall of Fame is INSANITY. Regardless of who is writing in or not, the Committee must induct them. They have helped spawn an entire genre of music. What else do you need to do?? @IronMaiden"

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

Just two weeks after KISS's induction, Stanley once again slammed the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, saying that the organization "hates" the band and that the Hall Of Fame had "no choice" but to induct KISS after the group's fans demanded it.

Immediately following the event, Stanley's feud against the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame turned personal against the Hall's co-founder, Rolling Stone owner and publisher, Jann Wenner. Most KISS fans were expecting that with the honorable way all four co-founding members acted towards each other during the band's induction, that the controversy between Stanley — who rejected the Hall's insistence that only the four original co-founders be inducted — was put to rest.

During his brief acceptance speech, Stanley couldn't help but take a few shots at the Hall and its voting committee, who had passed over inducting KISS every year since 2000, saying: "Here we are, basically inducted for the same things that we were kept out for. The people are speaking to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and what they're saying is that they want more. They don't want to be spoon-fed with a handful of choices. The people buy tickets, the people buy albums, the people who nominate do not. Let's not forget that these are the people who make it all possible. We just benefit from it. I am here tonight because of the people who inspired me, but I am also here because of the people I inspired. So God bless you all. It's a wonderful night."

Stanley's two tweets from two days after the induction took a decidedly unforgiving and personal twist, first saying: "Our treatment at the RRHOF confirmed my worst suspicions. Wenner and the rest are spineless weasels."

He went on to post: "Jann Wenner & his RRHOF made sure to treat us as uninvited guests. No passes. No schedule and on. We were great and he remains a small man."

Paul told The Pulse Of Radio that ultimately what the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and what KISS choose to celebrate are two very different things. "I certainly want to celebrate what we continue to do and what we have developed. What the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame decides they want to celebrate is purely up to them. But it doesn't dictate how I picture this, 'cause as far as I'm concerned, we've always been in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Not a private club, not a place with a self-appointed board, we've been in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because of the millions of fans who believe that's where we belong."

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

PRIEST was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction last year, but failed to receive enough votes to make the class of 2020.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was previously on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.




Regardless of whether it matters to them, Maiden not being in the @rockhall of Fame is INSANITY. Regardless of who is writing in or not, the Committee must induct them. They have helped spawn an entire genre of music. What else do you need to do?? @IronMaiden https://t.co/gGKmYYpbWE

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) April 22, 2021








Spot on @PaulStanleyLive! Well said! https://t.co/67wjjVH4LD

— Dee Snider?? (@deesnider) April 22, 2021

TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy says that even healthy people with no pre-existing conditions can get very sick with COVID-19.

Heafy made the comment in order to push back against the belief that the novel coronavirus only affects the elderly and people with underlying conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

On Thursday (April 22), Matt took to his Instagram to write: "One of my family members has recently been sick for 11+ days from Covid and now has been admitted into the hospital with fluid in the lungs and Covid-pneumonia. They have no pre-existing conditions, is intensely strong physically and mentally, resilient; and was not taking risks.

"This is very real," he continued. "Whoever tells you otherwise doesn't want 'normal' life or fun to ever return.

"Take care of yourself, and let's get everything back to being able to be enjoyed together.

"Send whatever positive thing you can to whoever you may know who is afflicted," he concluded his post.

A new, more contagious coronavirus strain has reportedly been hitting young people in the U.S. particularly hard, with many of them suffering COVID-19 complications they didn't expect.

According to NBC News, the number of children hospitalized with severe COVID-19 symptoms in Michigan hit a high of 70 this week — twice as many as were hospitalized during the worst days of the wave that swept the state in November.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate that as many as 130 million Americans could have a pre-existing condition — which is roughly half of all non-elderly adults in the United States.
























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Heavy metal icons METALLICA have joined forces with Pull The Plug Patches to bring you a series of exclusive woven patches, backpatches, and enamel pins arriving this May.

New patch designs will continue to be released throughout 2021 and 2022, beginning this week with "Ride The Lightning" and "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" patches, as well as "Kill 'Em All" backpatches. "Damage Inc." and "One" pins are also scheduled for a May release.

Founded in 2018 in Newcastle, Australia, Pull The Plug Patches has taken battle vest culture by storm. By introducing unique shapes and colorways into the global patch community, Pull The Plug Patches have given battle vests in every nook and cranny of the planet a shot of adrenaline. With sales extending to all of the world's inhabited continents, a worldwide community of metalheads have been called to arms.

Dedicated to bringing the highest-quality and most unique woven patches to market, over 300 artists have joined the Pull The Plug Patches roster to date, including ANTHRAX, ARCH ENEMY, CRADLE OF FILTH, DEVILDRIVER, DISMEMBER, ENSLAVED, EXODUS, IRON MAIDEN, MEGADETH, MESHUGGAH, MOTORHEAD, NAPALM DEATH, NEVERMORE, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, RINGS OF SATURN, SEPULTURA, SLAYER, SUFFOCATION, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and many, many more.

Pull The Plug Patches is featured prominently in Banger TV's series "The Fabric Of Metal", which takes viewers on a cultural tour of the mainstays of metal style — from battle vests to bullet belts.

For more information, visit the Pull The Plug Patches web site at www.pulltheplugpatches.com.

RosettaBooks has set a September 21, 2021 release date for "Twisted Business: Lessons From My Life In Rock 'N' Roll", the new book from TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French.

In addition to founding TWISTED SISTER, a world-famous heavy metal band that has sold more than 20 million records worldwide, French is one of the top entrepreneurs in entertainment. After taking over as manager in the 1970s, French developed TWISTED SISTER into the most heavily licensed heavy metal band in history, leading the group to perform more than 9,000 shows in forty countries.

Part business book, part memoir, "Twisted Business" is an unexpected, inspiring, whirlwind story of transformation and redemption. "Twisted Business" follows French's adventure-filled life — from growing up in New York City in the sixties, to working as a drug dealer and struggling as an addict before quitting cold-turkey, and finally, to creating and cultivating TWISTED SISTER and turning it into one of the most successful brands in the world.

Together with his mentor, Steve Farber, a best-selling author and one of the world's top leadership and management experts, French offers unique, hard-earned tips and advice from his nearly 50 years as a musician, music business manager, and entrepreneur. French shows how, through tenacity, grit, and dedication, anyone can create their own brand, grow a successful business, re-invent themselves, or simply find success in what they love to do. Entertaining, provocative, funny, and informative, this book is the trip of a lifetime and a treasured guide for entrepreneurs, business people, and music fans alike.

French's two biggest hits with TWISTED SISTER, the rock anthems "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", have become two of the most licensed songs in the history of heavy metal, appearing in hundreds of TV, radio and internet commercials, movies and TV shows. French currently oversees all music licensing and all business regarding TWISTED SISTER.

In addition to his career as a musician, manager, producer and executive producer, French is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, as well contributing writer for business magazine Inc.com, pens a BEATLES column for Goldmine called "Now, We're Sixty Four" and writes a an audio column for Copper, an online music and high end audio magazine published through PS Audio.

In a new interview with The Sessions, former GUNS N' ROSES and current SONS OF APOLLO guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal discussed the business skills he acquired through being involved in the music industry for more than three decades, both as a solo artist and a hired musician in one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

"The music business, 99 percent of it are people that are just full of crap," Thal said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I'm telling you straight up. Let me stare into this camera: 99 percent is B.S. … The music business is full of people that are just these manipulative survivalists that prey on passionate people, and there's a whole lot of that. So you learn by getting screwed. [It's] the best education you can get. You can take four or eight years of college, but until you're getting screwed by the music business, by some nonsense record label, by a manager, some producers that aren't really producers — they just get paid to sit on the couch while you're doing all the engineering and they just sit back, eating on someone else's dime, saying, 'Do it again.' 'Well, what should we do different?' 'Just do it again'; you know, without a creative bone in their body — you learn what not to do. And it's important — it's very important.

"You should understand what every job, what every task entails so that you know when someone's not doing their job," he continued. "You should know how to manage; you should know how to book; you should know how to be a tour manager; you should know how to be a publicist; you should understand publishing and song placement and pushing that — you should understand all of it, and you should have some experience in it so that you know when someone is not doing their job. Because what you really want, what you hope for is to be the dumbest person in the room, surrounded by people that are experts and so much more qualified than you in all the tasks that you've delegated to them. At the same time, you have to be very careful — do not hand them the keys to your kingdom, because they will take advantage, and they will steal."

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and appeared on the band's much-maligned 2008 album "Chinese Democracy", an effort which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. The disc took 13 years to make and was only a modest seller, moving just around half a million copies.

Thal never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Thal is currently a member of SONS OF APOLLO, which also features drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20), in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, THE WHO guitarist Pete Townshend was asked about recent reports that he was working on material for the band's next album. He responded: "I'm not working on the next WHO record. I think what happened is that when I did an interview for Uncut about 'The Who Sell Out', I was asked whether or not I was preparing any material or writing anything. I said, at the time, which is where I was since I did this interview before Christmas, that I had an idea for a series of songs. I'd written a series of essays and I was working on it. And subsequently, I had a conversation with Roger [Daltrey, vocals] and flew the idea past him, and he half-liked it, and said it would be interesting to hear when the music comes. And then I started to read things that he was saying in the press, which were very much at odds with the conversation that we had face-to-face. I think we really need to have another proper conversation. Until we have that conversation, I don't think there's any real prospect of a Who album developing because it's all in my hands and I tend to do it, and then Roger comes along and sings the songs.

"I need to know that I'm … what's the word? I don't want to use the word 'servicing.' But I need to know that I'm facilitating Roger's needs as a singer," the 75-year-old continued. "There's only two of us now. And these days, he insists on having music to sing, which he believes in, completely and utterly, that he can get inside. Unless he can inhabit the story of the song, he can't do a good job. And so it means that I have to, in a sense, work as as tailor. I'm not really that free to write whatever comes off the end of my tape machine.

"And so that's where I am at the moment. I do a have a number of ideas. For the last year, I've been working on a variety of things. I did some work with some other artists. I've been working on my own piece for 'The Age Of Anxiety' based on the novel. I don't know whether there will be another WHO album. It needs Roger to be on it. And I think he was even complaining that he didn't make any money out of it. I was, like, 'Who does make money out of fuckin' records anymore?' I don't know who does. Maybe two or three people, but not many."

Last October, THE WHO released a new version of the 2019 album "Who" featuring an updated version of "Beads On One String" newly remixed by Pete Townshend and acoustic tracks from the band's only live shows of 2020.

The songs on the deluxe version of "Who" were recorded in Kingston on Valentine's Day this year exactly 50 years to the day since THE WHO's seminal show at Leeds which became the infamous live album "Live At Leeds".

In December 2019, "Who" entered the U.K. chart at position No. 3, becoming the band's highest-charting U.K. LP in 38 years.

"Who" was THE WHO's first set of new material since 2006's "Endless Wire", which debuted at No. 9 in November of that y

In a new interview with Ireland's Overdrive, drummer Mario Duplantier of French progressive metallers GOJIRA reflected on the band's growing popularity, with each album bringing him and his bandmates closes to their goal of eventually headlining arenas around the world.

"We can see how our popularity has really begun to grow, especially in the last five years," he said. "But also, people have to remember we've been a band for the last 25 years, so it's not like some bands who get huge exposure from their first album in some other genres. We are all 40 years old now and we understand the world a lot more than we did when we started out back all those years ago.

"We know we're not Michael Jackson or METALLICA," he continued. "You're talking about millions of albums sales there, and METALLICA, they sell out stadiums. We know it was a very different industry back then, but we have learned a lot on our journey and we're still learning. We have played so many little clubs and then slightly bigger venues over the years. It's taken a lot of hard work, and we're still not done.

"Our success to date is not a huge surprise, but we've learned to take distance from it but also it's justifiably as we've been working so hard playing all over the world in venues small, medium and then slightly bigger. We just keep our heads down and keep working."

Duplantier also talked about the challenges of being an artist in the digital age, at a time when technology and social media are so prevalent. He said: "I can see how it's very tough these days. If you have a talent it's easy to be lost in the massive amount of noise that is on social media these days.

"It's all very unbalanced these days. There is a lot of injustice, with loads of amazing bands that never get their music heard, and then, on the other hand, there are bands with not so much great talent, or they just sound like so many other bands, and for some reason they have a big following on their social media.

"We started out when there was no social media and we did things the old-school way. We were judged on the quality of our shows and our records, et cetera. Today it's all so different. People are judging other bands within seconds of a video or an album being released, and it's just not right."

Read the entire interview at Overdrive.

GOJIRA's new album, "Fortitude", will be released on April 30 via Roadrunner Records. The disc was recorded and produced by guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE).

The band initially laid the foundation for "Fortitude" last year with the surprise release of the 2020 single "Another World".

GOJIRA's widely anticipated tour dates supporting DEFTONES have been rescheduled for 2021.

Photo credit: Gabrielle Duplantier

Florida death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE will release their 15th studio album, "Violence Unimagined", on April 16 via Metal Blade Records. Erik Rutan, one of the death metal's most acclaimed guitarists who is known for his time as part of MORBID ANGEL throughout the '90s and early 2000s, as well as handling vocals/guitars for HATE ETERNAL, lent his guitar as well as production skills to the effort, which was recorded at his Mana Recording in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rutan previously produced four CANNIBAL CORPSE albums (in addition to "Violence Unimagined"), alongside the likes of GOATWHORE, SOILENT GREEN and BELPHEGOR. Filling in live on guitar since 2019, in 2020 he became a full member, contributing to the writing process.

Speaking about how CANNIBAL CORPSE's lineup changes over the years have affected the band's sound, bassist Alex Webster told Australia's Heavy (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "First of all, we have an idea, and we had an idea from the very beginning, really, what we wanted the band to be. And the general idea of the band was we wanna be fast, aggressive, fairly kind of dark sounding — which is kind of a redundant thing to say about death metal, because that's a requirement for all death metal, really, is that it has kind of a bit of a gloomy feeling in addition to the aggression. We want that to be in there, and we had that idea from the beginning, really. And also that the lyrics were gonna be horror. And, of course, they leaned more gore in the early days, although there's still tons of gore, but we've kind of expanded and kept the horror thing going. So we had an idea of what we wanted the band to be, and we've stuck with that throughout the lineup changes. And anyone who joins kind of has to know that that's what we do. And we try to pick people for the band that we think are going to be on the same page.

"There's a bunch of great musicians that we know, and when there's been a lineup change looming and we have to find somebody, we'll think about some people, and we'll think, 'Well, this guy's a cool guy and he's an awesome musician, but he wouldn't really love what we're doing,'" he explained. "So that has to be a requirement too — it's not just how good the person can play; they have to understand what our music is about.

"For example, Erik fits that description completely. The guy has 30-years-plus of experience in death metal, just like we do, and on top of it, he's produced four of our albums in the past. And then, before joining as a full member, he had already toured with us for a year. So he had this very deep understanding of what CANNIBAL CORPSE's music was supposed to be. And that's actually particularly important for Erik, because his own style of death metal that he's done for years is fairly distinct. I think you can hear his lead playing in the things he's done with MORBID ANGEL, HATE ETERNAL and RIPPING CORPSE, of course; you can hear when it's him playing, and you can kind of tell his writing style too. So it was important that someone with such a distinct style also knew a lot about our style and how to integrate, and he did — he did so well. And that's how it's been throughout. Like when Pat joined back in the late '90s, he fit right in. We'd heard his previous band, CEREMONY, and we knew that, 'This is not the same, but he'll fit.' And he did — he fit great. And then Rob [Barrett, guitar] coming back in in 2005, that was the last lineup change before this one. That was a real energizing moment. Of course, Rob already had written a bunch of great stuff with us in the '90s, on 'The Bleeding' and 'Vile', and then he left for a while, but he came back. And that really ushered in a very great period of time for our band. The past five albums, we were really happy with that lineup. So having this change now, we're hoping that this will be another — we'll see about five albums, but we'll do a whole bunch of albums with this lineup. We're very excited about it. Erik is a highly skilled guy, very energetic and a great friend of ours, and he brings a lot of new energy to the table. And it feels like another sort of new chapter starting, the same way it was when Rob, for example, rejoined in 2005."

O'Brien was arrested in Florida more than two years ago on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault. Deputies said he burglarized a house and charged at a deputy with a knife.

O'Brien, who was born in Northern Kentucky, allegedly broke into a Northdale, Florida home and shouted that "the rapture is coming" before pushing a woman to the ground. He ran toward a responding deputy with a knife and was subdued with a stun gun.

Photo credit: Alex Morgan

Ex-TNT singer Tony Harnell, who has been in and out of the group several times throughout its four-decade existence, has told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he doesn't rule out a renewed collaboration with his former bandmates.

"[Guitarist] Ronni [Le Tekrø] and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "Ronni's not a big technology guy, but he really loves FaceTime video. And it's kind of annoying, because I love him, but he'll call me early in the morning, 'cause he's overseas, so he'll call me early in the morning [for a] video chat, and I'm, like, in bed. But I love the guy. Whatever happens, we'll be on a beach someplace when we're in our 70s, laughing and hanging out.

"Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related," he continued. "I'll just leave it at that.

"'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his latest collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

In a 2019 interview with "80's Glam Metalcast", Le Tekrø said that he was still on good terms with Harnell. "Definitely," he said. "We talk regularly and we're even discussing making a kind of Page/Plant album, a Harnell/Le Tekrø album, which could maybe lead into something in the future. But I think me and Tony Harnell — I'm speaking not on behalf of him, but on behalf of myself — we need a different playground to do more extensive hard rock with other ideas, whereas TNT is more limited to a [specific] sound. You see what I mean? So, we're definitely buddies, and that will last forever. We don't hate each other, and we never did. That was never the [case]."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature new vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.