In a new interview with The Prog Report, JETHRO TULL leader Ian Anderson was asked for his thoughts on social media and whether he pays much attention to what people write about him and his band online. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm as uninterested as I was back in 1968, '69, because I think there's a degree to which it's nice if someone gives you a little smile or asks for an autograph at the right time, but I don't depend on it and I certainly don't want to be smothered with affection or congratulatory communications from people. I'm embarrassed by it. And if people want to be negative and nasty, well, I haven't got much time for that either. So I've never — although we have a presence, obviously, on social media on a number of platforms, which, professionally speaking, we are rather obliged to do. But in terms of personal communication, I have absolutely no interest in reading people's Twitterings on whatever it's called these days, whatever 'battery man' calls it. X, isn't it? It's called X."

He continued: "It's all of these dependencies that people have, seemingly, on social media, particularly people who are blogging or in some way making their presence felt, they count the happiness of their days in how many followers they have gained and they fall into desperate senses of malaise and self-loathing because the number of followers is reduced. It can really play havoc with your life if you take too much notice of what people think of you. Just have the confidence in your own ability and your own sense of who you are and don't rely on other people to somehow bolster some insecurity or lack of confidence. It's not good for the soul.

"So, no, I don't personally do social media," Ian added. "There are other people who do it on my behalf in the sense of making sure people are aware of what's going on, but not to to and fro with conversations, whether they're upbeat and friendly or negative and destructive. I just haven't got really time or inclination for that kind of discourse. It's not that I'm old-fashioned, because I'm at the front, in terms of operating programs and software in terms of the things that I really do need to do, musically speaking, I'm using advanced stuff in terms of digital recording and when it comes to photography, for example. I mean, I'm up there with a state of the art in terms of what I do and delivering finished product to people. So, I think I'm not a person who lives in a sublime, dislocated period of either analog or old-fashioned values. I'm very much in touch with what's happening today, including what's happening in terms of news and current affairs and politics and religious strife and all the other things that beset our increasingly crowded planet."

JETHRO TULL's 24th studio album, "Curious Ruminant", is due on March 7, 2025.

"Curious Ruminant" consists of nine new tracks varying in length from two and half minutes to almost seventeen minutes. Among the musicians featured are former JETHRO TULL keyboardist Andrew Giddings and drummer James Duncan, along with the current bandmembers David Goodier, John O'Hara, Scott Hammond and, making his recording debut with JETHRO TULL, guitarist Jack Clark.

"Curious Ruminant" will be available on several different formats, including a limited deluxe ultra clear 180g 2LP + 2CD + Blu-ray artbook and limited deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray artbook. Both of these feature the main album, alternative stereo mixes and a Blu-ray containing Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound (once again undertaken by Bruce Soord of THE PINEAPPLE THIEF),as well as exclusive interview material. The limited deluxe vinyl artbook also includes two exclusive art-prints. The album will also be available as a special edition CD digipak, gatefold 180g LP + LP booklet and as digital album (in both stereo and Dolby Atmos).

Anderson had been saying for months following the release of "RökFlöte" that he would embark on a new project in late 2023. He waited only a few weeks before the first notions began to solidify into some drafted words of intent and in May 2024, some unfinished music recorded earlier with John O'Hara, David Goodier and James Duncan became the starting point for the new songs as they took shape.

Writing the lyrics and melodies for all the newly written material came very quickly once he began in earnest during June and just seemed to slot right in to the musical feel and styles of the earlier recordings.

Anderson's writing here is often on a more personal level of lyric content than we are used to hearing. Interspersed with his usual observational descriptions are the slightly more heart-on-sleeve moments of soul-baring — albeit not on the topics more often paraded by the usual I-me lyric merchants of pop and rock.

Some of the songs are developed from unfinished instrumental demos made some years ago although this does not result in a huge stylistic divide to jump out at the listener. Apart from the signature flute solos and melodies, accordion, mandolin, acoustic and tenor guitars feature on several tracks too, so the subtle backdrop of acoustic and folk rock serves to remind of the TULL heritage of the 1970s.

In a new interview with Jason Fraley of the Beyond The Fame podcast, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked what it was like to work on his first album with the band, the now-classic "Rust In Peace", which came out in 1990. Marty responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, if those fans are out there [who want to know about that stuff], they're really gonna enjoy [my recently released autobiography, 'Dreaming Japanese'] because I outlined all of that stuff, like almost on a day-to-day timetable. I've listed every little detail about what it felt like to do this and what it was like doing that. But to bring it up here, the short version is a lot of that stuff, at that time, was all written together with the four members in the band. When I first joined the band, maybe two or three songs had been roughly outlined and the rest of it had not even been written yet at all. So all of that stuff was written with four of us in the same room, same amount of time, working on things together. And I detailed that process in the book, and it's an interesting process. But we just all knew that what we were doing was gonna be cool. And when we started recording it, it became very obvious that we had something that was very lucky to have. None of us did the same thing. There were two guitar players in the band, but we sounded totally different, which can be good or bad. In our case, we were very lucky that they fit in together like springs in a watch or something. And we didn't repeat each other at all. And that worked out nicely. We knew that we had something, and then when we took it out on the road, people were just like — their jaws were dropping because it was not like the previous MEGADETH. It wasn't anything like the previous MEGADETH."

Asked if he thinks 1992's "Countdown To Extinction" album was some of his "best work" with MEGADETH or if he is more of a "Youthanasia" (1994) of "Cryptic Writings" (1997) kind of guy, Marty said: "It's all my best work, man. If I'm playing on it, it's the best I can do. So whatever year any one of those records was done, if it was done in one year, if I would have done the same thing a year later, it would have been one year better.

"When you're working on something, especially for people's consumption, you automatically put your best foot forward and you don't release it until you're a thousand percent happy with it," Marty explained. "And that goes for all those albums you listed, that goes for the album that I just released now, 'Drama', it goes for the next album that I'm gonna release. And then only with the benefit of hindsight can you look back and say, 'I would have done this differently' or 'I don't like this as much as I did at the time.' But I can assure you that at the time, not only myself but everyone involved thought it was the best thing that we could possibly do, or else we would have kept working on it. We would have kept going."

Friedman kicked off his "Live Drama 2025" U.S. tour on January 25 at Count's Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Friedman's latest solo album, "Drama", came out last May via Frontiers Music Srl.

Recorded in Italy, "Drama" showcases Marty's unique touch, for the first time using both vintage and modern guitars, delivering a pure delight for lovers of music everywhere. From the captivating first single "Illumination", to the album's breathtaking "Mirage" and 10 other emotionally charged mini-symphonies, Marty paints atmospheric elements with a modern and exotic flair, promising an unforgettable musical experience.

Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy "Hebimeta-san" ("Mr. Heavy Metal") and its spinoff, "Rock Fujiyama", which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan's mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon.

At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.

Friedman's autobiography, "Dreaming Japanese", arrived on December 3, 2024 via Permuted Press.

Three-time-Grammy-nominated hard rock heavyweights and platinum-selling band KILLSWITCH ENGAGE — Jesse Leach, vocals; Adam Dutkiewicz, guitar; Joel Stroetzel, guitar; Mike D'Antonio, bass; and Justin Foley, drums — released their new album, "This Consequence", on February 21 via Metal Blade. The official music video for the LP's latest single, "Collusion", can now be seen below.

"'Collusion' is about the struggle between people in power and the common people," explains Leach. "It speaks about the propaganda and divisiveness used to keep us in control. It's about the ruthlessness of the ruling class who use wealth to raise, manipulate, and destroy empires at their will."

He adds: "I wish for people to use discernment and intellect to read between the lines. My hope is to instill a desire for analyzation and critical thinking amidst the current rigged and corrupt forms of governments the world over."

In a recent interview with United Rock Nations, Jesse spoke about "This Consequence", which is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's ninth LP overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012. Asked what the biggest challenge was in making the new record, Jesse said: "I think for me wanting to be, and I use this word loosely, relevant, but relevant to me and my bandmembers. I wanted what I had to say to excite them, but I also needed it to be genuine. I needed it to be something that when I looked at those lyrics, I thought, 'Yes. That's exactly what I wanna say.'

"I went through — I don't know — seven, eight songs where I was kind of just throwing it out to see what would stick," he continued. "And those guys were, like, 'This doesn't feel like you're really giving us your best.' So having that sort of rejection from them initially was very hard. It sort of felt like I was becoming insecure. I was wondering if I had it in me. But that turned into a determination to rediscover myself as a writer, to go deeper, to tap into things that I never tapped in before, and to sort of look outside of myself. I mean, after everything we've been through, there's so much to draw from. There's so much to pull from. So I started pulling from things that I was seeing on mainstream media. I started pulling from stories that I heard from people that they've been through. I started pulling from extreme relationships of abuse and just kind of dialing them all into a story — obviously coming from me and the way that I saw and felt about those things, but it ended up becoming much more of a worldview as opposed to just me going, 'I, me, I.' It was more about us — 'This is about us.' Hence the title 'This Consequence'. It's about us — all of us. How do you respond to these situations? How do you modify your behavior? What lessons have you learned? And realizing that with everything that you do, there's going to be a reaction.

"So, the big picture to me is what I was focusing on and how to how to heal our PTSD from everything we've gone through and realizing that we're still all going through it," Leach added. "We may not realize it, but we are. And how do we allow the outside sources that are constantly manipulating us to control our minds and to continue to keep us divided? The challenge was how do I crack that code? How do I get that message through to people? And I did the best I could. And I think I did pretty damn well."

Asked if writing about all those topics was a form of therapy for him, Leach said: "Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, it is. And I think it's necessary. You can't avoid it. And I think I avoided it a lot during the pandemic. I wanted nothing to do with it, 'cause it was such a volatile time. I think we're all sort of coming down off that, and it's not so intense where people are actually open to discussions of, or maybe you weren't 100 percent accurate or correct in your belief. Maybe you have room to be wrong here, and if so, what did you learn from that? And how do you move forward without having that assumption being part of your vocabulary? I think all of that is very important. And as a writer, how do I write it in such a way where you as a listener can draw your own conclusion? So I'm not giving you the answer. I'm asking you to think about this thing. And then what do you think about that? You as the listener can sort of put the answer on that question. And that's really what I tried to do — writing with a broad enough brushstroke where the song can be yours. I penned the lyrics, but I very much want you to sort of take the torch and run with it."

In a separate interview with Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast, Leach stated about the "dark", "angry" and "aggressive" nature of "This Consequence": "Yeah, I think angry, dark and aggressive, for better or for worse, is kind of what the world needs right now, I think, therapeutically speaking. I think a lot of us can relate to frustration, anger, betrayal, all those things, and that's kind of what I highlighted lyrically with this album; I was really focusing on that stuff. But I will say this: if you really read into the lyrics, there's a positivity through a righteous anger, anger that wants to sort of wake people up and have people choose their own path instead of just the blind leading the blind, which is what we see so much in society and our governments and organized religion and all these things that control us as people. It's very much about breaking out of the matrix, if you will, and carving your own path. And there's a righteous anger underneath all of it, and that's where the positivity lies. But I think with metal music, the great thing about it is you can talk about dark stuff and it is therapeutic. That's why a lot of us get into this kind of music."

Jesse also talked about the lyrical inspiration for the first single from "This Consequence", a song called "Forever Aligned", which was made available in November. Speaking specifically about the line "now my tongue must confess", Jesse said: "Yeah, I'm always weaving in and out… I was raised by a minister, I was raised in a Christian home, so even though I don't subscribe to organized religion anymore, I like using biblical words here and there to sort of tie in the themes. I'm very much a believer in in God, if you will, in general. I know people roll their eyes when other people say that, but my journey has been such where I've just seen much deeper things that I don't think can be defined by a particular human organized religion. And 'Forever Aligned' is about that. It's about love. It's about, first and foremost, the song was inspired by the love I have for my wife and the relationship we were able to have during the pandemic, especially, where it was just the two of us, nobody else, and really learning what love and sacrifice is, and then weaving that into what I believe God is. God is love, to keep it really general for people to understand. We can try to tap into that as humans, that word 'love', but it's far beyond human comprehension. So that song is very much about being broken and in a dark place and finding salvation through love."

Elsewhere in the chat, Leach touched upon his growth as a vocalist since the release of 2019's "Atonement" LP, saying: "Truth be told, ['This Consequence'] was very difficult for me to write and sort of find my inspiration again. And even vocally, learning new techniques, like the vocal fry, and trying to add that into my old technique and still sound like me, it was a long, hard process.

"Especially after my vocal surgery in 2018, I relearned how to speak differently — I speak differently than I did," he explained. "I'm more measured; I make sure my voice is placed in the right place. And through that, it went into my vocals, my singing, especially. I was really focusing on my singing first and foremost to stay in key and not go flat or sharp. Then it was, like, my screams were — I was so paranoid. I was really worried about… We do three shows in a row. That fourth show, I'm, like, 'It's getting difficult. I can feel the swelling happening.' So I was really studying vocal fry, 'cause you can do a lot of cool stuff with fry, but me with my voice, it has such a signature sound to it, I guess, according to Adam [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer], at least, that if I just went into that new technique completely, the lows were missing something, my yelling. It different. So I was going into these demos just doing fry, saving my voice, especially thinking that, once I get to the studio, it's going to be fatiguing; we're doing four- or five-hour sessions. But I kept falling flat and the voice just didn't sound right. For some of the high stuff, it works, but for the lower, mid stuff and for the death metal growls, that's all old school… It's the old-school way, the way we all started doing it in the late '80s and early '90s. So I've learned, thankfully, through a lot of trial and error, and this album had a lot to do with it, to blend the styles. So I can do my old-school stuff, and then I can sort of blend in some of the vocal fry to hit those crazy, maniacal-sounding highs without it destroying my voice."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a headline tour in March 2025. It's their first tour of North America since late 2022. The trek will feature support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL, and will kick off on March 5 in Nashville and runs through April 12 in Portland, Maine.

In a new interview with Drew Stone of The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!, original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was asked to reflect on his time with the legendary thrash metal band. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I love it. I look back in retrospect and it's been amazing. How can you not? Shit happens, man. You have disagreements. Families argue. And so it is what it is. I'm happy to have been a part of such a legendary band, happy to have contributed to this genre that has loved me and supported me for my entire musical life."

He continued: "Like I said, shit happens, but it is what it is. I've been very fortunate that I've made a few friends along the way. And they've asked me to be in their bands. I've created several new bands or launched them, and still I feel there's so much more in me that I don't see it ending anytime soon. Until somebody pulls the plug, I'm still here, man. [Laughs]"

A year ago, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King was asked by Rolling Stone magazine if he had spoken to Lombardo, who has been out of SLAYER for more than a decade. He responded: "No. Lombardo is dead to me." Elaborating on why he feels that way, the now-60-year-old musician said: "[Dave] went on that tirade when we were on a flight to Australia, and he knew we couldn't retort for 14 hours, and he threw me under the bus. I was the only one keeping him in the band. Tom [Araya, SLAYER frontman] wanted him out before that, and Jeff [Hannemann, SLAYER guitarist] had just gotten the spider bite [causing him to contract a flesh-eating bacteria, forcing him off the road], so he wasn't playing with us much. I said, 'We need [Dave]. The fans won't get it if we replace him right now.' And then the Australia thing came up. He threw me under the bus, and I'm, like, 'I'm the guy that kept you here.' So I thought, 'Fuck that guy.'"

Regarding what happened to cause the split with Lombardo, King said: "He's super impressionable. He was listening to this woman that was his attorney at the time, and she thought we had METALLICA money, which we've never had fucking METALLICA money. So she's just blowing shit in his ear, and he thinks he should be getting more than he should be getting. It's like, talk to somebody that actually knows the situation and isn't just blowing sunshine up your ass to make money in your commission."

Lombardo, who has spent most of the recent years between EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, crossover pioneers SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, horror-punk icons MISFITS, hardcore supergroup DEAD CROSS and MR. BUNGLE, was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other bandmembers. He was later replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

Shortly after his dismissal, Lombardo said that he discovered that 90 percent of SLAYER's tour income was being deducted as expenses, including fees to management, costing the band millions and leaving them with about 10 percent to split four ways. While he and Tom Araya hired auditors to figure out what had happened, Lombardo said he was never allowed to see any of the information obtained.

Lombardo released a statement in February 2013 saying he "was denied access to detailed information and the necessary backup documents." He added: "I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a longform contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order."

Dave previously opened about his departure from SLAYER while taking questions from the audience in March 2014 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

"I did my best to try to keep it together, but I couldn't go on, man," Dave said. "I had to step out, because you can't be shackled like that; nobody can take advantage of another person like that anymore. I did it for too many years, and I held my breath. Red flags kept going on in my books. It's, like, 'Really? I'm supposed to make more money? Why am I on the same salary? I'm making the exact same thing I've been making the past two years. And this is back in 2004. So I knew something was up. And I tried my best to work it out with the guys. I brought Tom into the picture. I had Tom in a hotel room with me talking to my attorney, and my attorney was telling him everything their management company had been doing to them for the past 30 freakin' years. And we had an accountant, a forensic accountant, ready to go in there and look at the stuff."

He continued: "Tom got bought out. Management flipped him over a couple of hundred grand — who knows how much? — and Kerry as well, to keep quiet and go against Lombardo. So they turned their backs on me. And on the last day, when I'm at rehearsal with them — and I saved it all the way until the end — I said, 'Guys, we need a new business plan. You guys have been on the same business plan after 30 years. Now I'm an income participant. In other words, I 'm a percentage holder.' So if you're a percentage holder, you have the right, and you're contracted, as a percentage holder, you have the right to see where all the expenses are going. Because here you are getting paid off of net, and then out of 4.4 million dollars, the band gets 400 thousand dollars. Where's the four million? And that's just 2011. [The rest of the money went to] lawyers, accountant and the manager.

"For the past 30 years, they were doing that to the guys. And they took my information… I'll never forget the day…. I just said, 'Guys, look at this. This came from your accountant.' And it showed all the money. It wasn't showing where the money was going, it was just showing 'gross,' 'expenses,' 'net.' And out of that net, I made, on tour, in 2011, 67 thousand dollars. Kerry and Tom, that was about 114 thousand dollars they made on tour. So if you did about 60 shows, divide that up between 60 shows… Anybody have a calculator? No, not 60… Let's say about 90 shows per year: 30 in the spring, 30 in the summer and 30 shows in the winter, in the fall. So you break that up per show… Really? It's disgusting. I bust my ass up there playing drums. I mean, I am just sweating, I'm beat. And for the guy in the Hollywood Hills, for his facials, his manicures… No, I'm not gonna play for that. No."

In a November 2013 interview with Minneapolis City Pages, Araya stated about Lombardo: "Dave left the band originally in '91 or '92, After that, we brought in Jon Dette for two years and then we hooked up with Paul [Bostaph], who did four really great albums with us. Then he decided to move on. Our manager hooked us up with Dave again and when we were putting together [2006's] 'Christ Illusion', Dave offered to help out. We wanted to make things fair for him, so we offered him a contract with the band. Most recently, we were offered to tour Australia. When we were rehearsing, he seemed to do a 180 and said some things that kind of upset me and Kerry. Kerry just looked at him and said, 'If you feel that way, then why are we even rehearsing for this tour?' So we wrote him a letter and said, 'Listen, we need to know if you're going to do the shows in Australia. If you're not, we need to do something about that.' We didn't get a reply. We were put in a position where we had to do something, so we got Jon Dette to play with us again. After what happened with the Australia tour, we made the decision to move forward and make him aware that we no longer needed his services. He was really upset about that. He wrote a rant on Facebook. He said some things that he shouldn't have. It really upset us. And it upset me. I was fuming. I couldn't believe that he would throw that out in the court of public opinion. After that, Jeff [Hanneman, deceased SLAYER guitarist], me and Kerry all got on the phone and talked about it. And Paul's name came up. It was a sure thing with Paul. He'd been in the band for over 12 years. So we gave him a call to see if he was interested and he was more than happy to. It was a no-brainer. He's an amazing drummer."

A few years ago, King said that "when Dave was in [SLAYER] this last time, I figured I'd be on the stage with him until one of us fell off the stage, dead. Things change. He got some bad advice and listened to some bad advice, gave us an ultimatum ten days before we went to Australia [to do the Soundwave festival tour]. And I said, 'I can't have this over my head.' And I feel bad for Dave to this day; I really feel bad for him because he shot himself in the foot. Maybe he thought he had the upper hand, but you ain't gonna get me."

Loud And Proud Italy has uploaded video of NAPALM DEATH's February 22 concert at Hall in Padova (Padua),Italy during the "Campaign For Musical Destruction 2025 Tour" with CROWBAR, FULL OF HELL and BRAT. Check out the clips below.

In October 2023, NAPALM DEATH bassist Shane Embury told Mammoth Metal TV that the band would "probably" begin work on its next studio album in 2024. Asked about a possible timeline for the recording sessions for the follow-up to 2020's "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", Shane said: "The last record, we started it musically in two stages, and then Barney [vocalist Mark Greenway] took quite a few days to record his vocals, 'cause we were touring.

"I've got lots of ideas; [I just need] to piece it together," he added. "And hopefully go into the studio and just kind of experiment."

In February 2022, NAPALM DEATH released a new mini-album, "Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes", via Century Media Records.

"Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" is a partner recording to "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", concluding matters through vital, tumultuous grindcore and shockwave ambience.

The eight-song "Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" comes with a total playing time of 29 minutes and is available as a limited CD digipak, vinyl as well as in the digital album format.

"Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism" came out in September 2020 via Century Media Records. The band's 16th studio LP was recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.

Embury released his autobiography, "Life?… And Napalm Death", in October 2023 via Rocket 88, an imprint of the established British book production company Essential Works.

Largely misunderstood and widely mocked in their early days, NAPALM DEATH nonetheless became the benchmark for uncompromising extremity, as well as a political force for good. Dismissed by many as a ridiculous noise, NAPALM DEATH became the credible face of extreme art rock, beloved of John Peel, NME cover stars and indie music darlings. Embury's debut studio release with the band, 1988's "From Enslavement To Obliteration", remains a seminal work of raging sonic violence coupled with ultra-credible punk critiques of corrupt politics, capitalist opportunism and societal collapse. The record remains as revered today as it ever was.

During this year's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, SYMPHONY X bassist Mike LePond spoke to Metal Anthology about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2015's "Underworld" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[We've been working on new material for] many years. A bunch of years. We are working on a new album, and it's gonna have all the cool stuff you guys like. It's gonna have the big symphonic stuff, it's gonna have the heavy riffs, it's gonna have the classical [elements as well]. It's gonna have all that stuff in there."

He continued: "When we write, it just takes time, because [SYMPHONY X guitarist and main songwriter] Michael Romeo, his rule [is] there's no filler songs, no songs that are, like, 'Ah, it's not bad.' And it goes in the garbage. They've all gotta be where at least we think they're all great. They all have to be that.

"The fans are, like, 'Hey, it's been so long.' But we promise you it's coming," Mike added. "It's gonna be good."

Asked if there will be a longer song on the upcoming SYMPHONY X album, considering "Underworld" contained mostly "shorter, more straightforward" tracks, Mike said: "We're still thinking where we wanna go with that. There's gonna be something crazy epic on it. We just don't know how we're gonna present it yet. But with all the newer technology for the symphonic stuff, it's gonna be monstrous."

LePond added: "So, yeah, we're excited to finally do it again. When it's time to record the bass, I'll been sweating for days, but once it's done… I have this routine. Once I finish all my bass tracks and I'm just so tired and wiped out, I go to McDonald's [fast food restaurant chain]. That's the only time I go, and it's, like, 'Ah.' My comfort."

Regarding a possible release date for the new SYMPHONY X album, Mike said: "I'm gonna take a guess. I'm gonna think that by the end of the year, we'll be finished writing it. It's just a guess. And then in 2026, probably get it recorded and out."

As for SYMPHONY X's touring plans in support of the new CD, Mike said: "We're gonna tour everywhere we can and just get back out there and really try to say, 'Hey, SYMPHONY X is back.'"

Last October, Romeo told the "Coffee With Ola" podcast about the upcoming SYMPHONY X LP: "With us, it's not like, 'Oh, yeah, we're just gonna write one — how do you say? — single, and then just have a bunch of filler. It's, like, everything's gotta be as good as it can be. So, yeah, it gets harder and it takes longer. Then you throw in COVID and a bunch of other things, and then it's just, like, 'Oh, shit.' Now it's, like, I don't know — eight years or something. I lost track.

"What's different now than in the past is that we could take a bunch of time off. There would be some royalties from CDs back in the day coming in and kind of float on the downtime and really get the record done and then come back out [with a] new record, tour. So now it's, like, well, that money's gone. So we have to tour a little bit, keep things going, work on the record, go back out. So it's been like that for a while. And for me — I do most of the writing, so for me it's hard because you're sitting in the studio for whatever month, 'I got this idea,' and you're trying to put these things together, and it's, like, 'Oh, we've gotta go on tour now.' All right, cool. We do our thing. And then you come back, and it's, like, 'What the fuck was I working on again? Was this riff here?' And so you're trying to arrange all this stuff. And then you're, like, 'Oh, I've got all these new ideas.' So then you keep adding. And then after a long period of time, it's, like, 'Oh my god, there's so much stuff I can't even manage it now.' Plenty of material — like three hours of stuff — but now it's actually making sense."

Elaborating on when SYMPHONY X might be done composing the material for the next album, Michael said: "It's gonna take some time to organize everything. It's not like there's nothing there. It's [not], like, 'Oh, man, we have to start from scratch.' There's quite a bit. It's actually overwhelming. I never remember being this overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, 'cause over the last year and a half or whatever, every time there was a break, it's, like, 'Okay, I'll write something.' I didn't stop and [go], like, 'Well, let me finish this.' It was, like, boom, 'I got all these ideas,' and I just kept going. So now it's, like, all right, no more writing. Now more arranging."

SYMPHONY X completed an extensive tour behind "Underworld" in 2016, including a U.S. run of shows with OVERKILL and a pair of headlining performances in Australia.

In July 2017, SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen and his ADRENALINE MOB bandmates were involved in a crash that killed the latter group's bassist, David Zablidowsky.

In 2019, Allen — who has toured with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA since 2013 — was injured during the rehearsals for TSO's annual winter trek and was unable to make the tour.

Romeo released his latest solo album, "War Of The Worlds Pt. 2", in March 2022 via InsideOut Music. The record featured guest vocals by Dino Jelusick (WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

Peacock has released an official video of the February 14 performance of NIRVANA's surviving members — Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear — along with Post Malone — during "Saturday Night Live"'s 50th-anniversary concert. Grohl, Novoselic, Smear and Malone played the NIRVANA classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" after being introduced as "Post NIRVANA" by "Saturday Night Live" alum Adam Sandler.

Post Malone is a huge NIRVANA fan whose 2020 all-NIRVANA covers livestream (featuring BLINK-182 drummer Travis Barker) will make its vinyl debut in April for Record Store Day.

Five years ago, Grohl had praised Malone's passion for NIRVANA's music, calling his tribute "super cool."

The three-hour-plus "Saturday Night Live" 50th-anniversary concert, which was streamed live on Peacock, also featured PEARL JAM's Eddie Vedder and THE ROOTS covering the Tom Petty classic "The Waiting", David Byrne performing with both the ARCADE FIRE and Robyn, Miley Cyrus with ALABAMA SHAKES' Brittany Howard, Snoop Dogg and Jelly Roll, and a two-thirds FUGEES reunion with Lauryn Hill.

Grohl, Novoselic and Smear previously reunited onstage on January 30 during the FireAid benefit concert to perform several of NIRVANA's classic songs. Filling the lead vocal slot vacated by Kurt Cobain's death almost 31 years ago were guest singers St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon and Violet Grohl, Dave's 18-year-old daughter.

The unannounced performance at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles opened with St. Vincent singing the "Nevermind" classic "Breed", followed by Gordon on "School", a song from NIRVANA's debut album, "Bleach". Jett then took the stage to sing another "Nevermind" track, "Territorial Pissings", before Violet took over for "All Apologies" from NIRVANA's "In Utero" album.

St. Vincent, Jett and Gordon — along with Lorde — previously fronted a partial reunion of NIRVANA when the band was being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014.

Prior to FireAid, Grohl, Novoselic and Smear performed together in January 2020 at The Art Of Elysium charity's annual "Heaven" gala at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Grohl, Novoselic and Smear played a five-song set of NIRVANA's hits, with Beck, St. Vincent and Violet Grohl handling lead vocals. "Lithium" featured St. Vincent at the front, with Beck singing "In Bloom" and "Been A Son". Violet joined the group to perform "Heart-Shaped Box" before the set closed out with a performance of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World".

In a new interview with Briad Haddad of Chicago's Q101 radio station, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was asked about a possible collaboration with Kendrick Lamar following the rapper's performance at the Super Bowl earlier in the month. Draiman responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know what? It's something we've actually been thinking about pretty seriously. And Kendrick is way at the top of the list.

"We have this track. It's part of this new group of material, this new album that we have under our belt," Draiman revealed. "And it's basically like the modern-day 'Walk This Way' [RUN-DMC's collaboration with AEROSMITH] or 'Bring The Noise' [ANTHRAX's collaboration with hip-hop pioneers PUBLIC ENEMY]. It's very much like that. It's about unity. It's about all about bringing people together. And it needs a strong rapper, whomever that might be, and Kendrick would definitely be an amazing person to collaborate with. I would love to do that. We would love to do this.

"You heard it here first," David added. "Kendrick, if you're at all interested, let's go ahead and shock the world a little bit. Let's let everybody know that we have more in common than we do that separates us. And let's take our artistry to another level together. I would love to do that."

Haddad then mentioned that he saw Draiman first float the possibility of a DISTURBED-Kendrick Lamar collaboration in an Instagram post earlier in the month, and asked the singer if he has heard from Lamar since then. David replied: "Nah. Who knows if the guy even monitors his own Instagram account? With somebody that big with that many people following him, I'm sure he's got like a team of people that do all sorts of things for him. And I'm probably just a tiny little blip in a huge sea of noise. So I would imagine that didn't cut through. But now that we're talking about it, maybe it will.

"I would love for him to actually be aware of it and notice it," Draiman added. "And who knows? Maybe we can actually do something."

On Friday (February 21),DISTURBED released a new single "I Will Not Break", the band's first release on its own label, Mother Culture Records.

"I Will Not Break" was helmed by producer Drew Fulk, also known as WZRD BLD (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT),who previously worked with DISTURBED on 2022's "Divisive" album.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.

DISTURBED's 34-date "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" will kick off in Nampa, Idaho on February 25, 2025. Produced by Live Nation, the tour celebrates 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 will feature two sets of music, opening with DISTURBED playing the five times platinum "The Sickness" in full, followed by a full set of greatest hits. The first half of the tour will feature support from special guests THREE DAYS GRACE, featuring the return of original singer Adam Gontier, and opener SEVENDUST, and the second half will feature special guests DAUGHTRY with opener NOTHING MORE.

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

DISTURBED has become one of the most celebrated and commercially successful metal acts of all time. To date, DISTURBED has seen record-breaking success with sales of over 17 million units and 14 billion streams.

The two-time Grammy Award-nominated quartet have notched five consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 for "Believe", "Ten Thousand Fists", "Indestructible" and "Asylum", occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat.

"Divisive" featured DISTURBED's 17th No. 1 at Rock Radio, "Hey You", "Unstoppable" and more.

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THE ROCKETT MAFIA, the new band featuring POISON drummer Rikki Rockett alongside Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals, played its first official show last night (Friday, February 21) at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

THE ROCKETT MAFIA has several other shows scheduled for this year, including at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, Illinois on March 8, at Warner Vineyards in Paw Paw, Michigan on July 2 and at the Milwaukee Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 2.

Earlier this week, THE ROCKETT MAFIA released its first single, a cover of "I Think I Love You", a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family "The Partridge Family".

Regarding how THE ROCKETT MAFIA came together, Rikki stated during a February 19 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "I always had Brandon Gibbs in the back of my mind for any project that I do, which hasn't been many. I mean, I did DEVIL CITY ANGELS [with him]. When I played The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride [motorcycle charity event], which I am one of the city co-hosts for — that's a worldwide ride that takes place in 300-some cities across the world — they didn't have entertainment. And I said, 'It's time to have entertainment at this thing.' And they said, 'Well, any suggestions? Can you play?' And I went, 'Well, I don't have a band.' [Laughs] 'So I'll have to put one together.' I had done a couple of shows with CHEVY METAL — me and Kenny Aronoff had done a couple shows with them — so I reached out to those guys, and I just basically had them come and play the show… So after that, I just said, 'I need my own band.' First person I met was Bryan who was working at a salon that I was in, and we started talking. And this guy is from Maryland, and we have the same circle of friends, but didn't know each other. He's played all that tri-state area back there, the same places we played, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, all that. And so we got along great. And I said, 'Let's get together. I've gotta find a guitar player.' And he mentioned Mick Sweda. and I was like, 'Is he busy? Is he doing something? I mean, that guy's a monster. Is this something that would interest him?' And the first thing Mick said when I called him up, he said, 'Look, if you're just gonna have me for one or two gigs and then get rid of me, I'm not interested.' I said, 'Well, Mick, I don't know. I've never played with you, but I think we should at least get together and play.' And we did. And we were playing AEROSMITH songs, VAN HALEN, everything, and we're just sitting there going, 'Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We're cut from the same cloth.' And I was amazed at how good of a player this guy is. And then, of course, I brought Brandon into the thing. And I said the whole idea is something that Taylor Hawkins [late FOO FIGHTERS drummer] told me that I should have been doing a long time ago. And I always got super serious with a band, like, 'I've gotta, right away, write a record and do all-original material.' And he's, like, 'No, just go play for a while. Get used to everybody. Make sure you wanna have a good time. POISON's your baby, just like FOO FIGHTERS are mine.' So I took his advice, God rest his soul, and several years later, I'm actually doing this thing. It's been so much fun, just in the rehearsal phase."

As for what fans can expect to hear at THE ROCKETT MAFIA's live shows, Rikki said: "They're getting our original versions of cover songs for right now. Meaning we're taking songs that most rock bands typically don't do — some of 'em we do, but a lot of 'em most hard rock bands don't do — and we're reimagining them. And you'll see [when you hear 'I Think I Love You'] what I mean by that. And it's something that Mick dubbed, I think he called it 'satanic pop.' [Laughs] You'll see what I mean. So we're reimagining some of these songs that had great choruses and really catchy hooks, but were never meant to be necessarily hard rock songs. They were just crafted so well. And we're doing some regular FACES stuff and things like that as well. But we have decided now, and we started to fool around with our own stuff. So that is definitely forthcoming. But for this first little run, you're gonna be hearing a bunch of stuff that you went, 'Oh my God! That's that song. I know that song. I know that song.' That's what we're going for. And we keep adding [new songs] every day. I swear to God, we keep changing the set. We're, like, 'Hey, have you ever thought about doing this song?' 'Yeah, but how would we do that, do it THE ROCKETT MAFIA way?' So we're having a blast with it. It's just been really, really fun."

On the topic of how "I Think I Love You" was chosen to be one of the songs for THE ROCKETT MAFIA to cover, Rikki said: "I think I [suggested that one]. I always thought it was a great song. I had a crush on [actress] Susan Dey growing up, so, of course. But I always thought it was such a well-written song. It was written by Tony Romeo, who I don't know, but he's written other things. He passed away now. And I think David Cassidy was trying so hard at that time to make people realize that he was a really good player and he was a really good writer, and he couldn't extend past that idea of 'The Partridge Family' publicly. And I met him many years ago at an award show — he was super cool — and I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff that he really did reach out and do that he did in a more serious way. And I feel bad for him because he was never taken seriously. I think it made him an alcoholic maybe; I don't know. But I just thought it was a cool song. It was, like, 'This song needs a second spin.' The chord structures, everything is very hard rock, but the way they did it, it wasn't. So you'll see how we did it."

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May 2024 at the end of the aforementioned The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.



RockettMafia at Whiskey a go go

Posted by Kent Dodson on Friday, February 21, 2025



RockettMafia at Whiskey a go go 2

Posted by Kent Dodson on Saturday, February 22, 2025



The Rockett Mafia featuring Rikki Rockett of Poison, American Jetset, Circle the Earth, Kryolith, Dario Spark, Ghost of You, Later Daze Soldout Whisky A Go-Go Thank You Rikki Rockett Mick Sweda Brandon Gibbs Badass 100%

Posted by Ricky Gordon on Friday, February 21, 2025



The Rockett Mafia featuring Rikki Rockett of Poison, American Jetset, Circle the Earth, Kryolith, Dario Spark, Ghost of You, Later Daze Thank You Rikki Rockett Mick Sweda Brandon Gibbs Smooth Up In Yea It Was Badass Nothing But A Good Time Soldout Whisky A Go-Go ✌️💛🙏🏻 I Am Ricky Hollywood Acknowledge Me 🤙👍🤘🏻

Posted by Ricky Gordon on Saturday, February 22, 2025

Rikki Rockett great show and group!!! Thank you for keeping rock alive!! Thanks for the stix!!

Posted by Kent Dodson on Saturday, February 22, 2025

https://whiskyagogo.com/calendar/events/13926683/the-rockett-mafia-featuring-rikki-rockett-of-poison-american-jetset-kry...

Posted by Poison on Tuesday, February 4, 2025

During an appearance on the latest episode of the Basement Talk podcast, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu was asked what his relationship was like with his longtime bandmates in KORN. He responded: "I haven't talked to those guys since 2019. So it's like we're just kind of both…. They're truckin'. They're a machine. They're going. It's insane. It's dope that they can keep on going like that."

When one of the interviewers asked Fieldy if "it's all love between everybody", the bassist replied: "Yeah. It's cool to see them keep on going. I'm, like, I need to chill. I'm just kickin' it."

Despite Fieldy's claim that he hasn't spoken to the other members of KORN since 2019, he did join his bandmates for their global streaming event, "Korn: Monumental", in April 2021. Just two months later, in June 2021, Fieldy announced that he would sit out KORN's touring activities in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."

In October 2022, Fieldy posted a video on his social media accounts offering clarity on the "bad habits" that led to him taking leave from KORN more than a year earlier. He explained: "When I made the statement about my 'bad habits,' they weren't drugs. It's just, at the end of the day — I don't condone this — but when I'm done with all my responsibilities, I have a Bud Light, or as many as I want, to tell you the truth. I'm a grown man. But I know that I have to get up at five in the morning, because I'm responsible, and I got a job to do. And I've got people that love me and people that depend on me, so I'm gonna be there for them no matter what."

He added: "To clarify the habits, I've never tried cocaine, I've never tried heroin. I drink Bud Light, man."

Fieldy also stressed that he remained on good terms with his KORN bandmates, saying: "I love the guys in KORN. I've known them since seventh grade. We have no beef. I've got no problem with those guys. You guys should support them. They're ripping right now. They're killing it.

"I'm always gonna be Fieldy from KORN for the rest of my life, because that's part of my legacy. Those are my homies, those are my brothers. We're just in different places right now. We're not even mad at each other. We're all cool."

The bassist also wanted fans to know that he was in a good place, saying: "Things are great. I'm having a blast. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life."

For most of the last four years, Fieldy has been replaced on KORN's tours by former SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Roberto "Ra" Díaz. However, Fieldy did manage to lay down his bass tracks on the band's most recent album, "Requiem", which was released in February 2022.

Back in June 2022, KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch told Kerrang! Radio about Fieldy: "We've been in contact with him. I just e-mailed him the other day. So we're gonna get together and talk to him, see how he's doing, see where his head is at, after this tour. Me and Munk [KORN guitarist James 'Munky' Shaffer] were just talking about it. We love him, we've been in communication with him, and we'll see."

Earlier that same month month, KORN drummer Ray Luzier told Germany's MoreCore that Fieldy is "doing good. He's our brother. We love him. We support him 110 percent," he said. "Bands are like marriages. Sometimes you need to step away a little bit to look at the picture and see what's going on with your individual life, and I think that's where we're all at now with Reggie. He's such a great dude and he's one of my best buds, so we support him in everything he does. No one has a crystal ball — I don't know what's gonna happen in the future — but we definitely miss him out here."

Luzier went on to say that Díaz is "doing a great job. He's doing a hell of a job. But there's a sound about Fieldy that isKORN," he said. "There's that signature thing that not many bass players can say that. Just that sound — you pop a KORN album on, and you're, like, 'Woah.' That bass, you take that out and it wouldn't sound normal, because Munky and Head don't sound normal, and neither does Jon [singer Jonathan Davis]. But that bass, man, it's just leading a lot of those older records."

In February 2022, Welch told Spotlight Report that Fieldy was "just taking a little time to be with his family. He is a great dad," Welch said. "He has so many kids. He has adult kids, teenagers and young kids. He is just taking time, and we are giving him the time. We want everyone to be healthy and happy.

"I guess we will go and tour this record," Head continued, referencing "Requiem". "I don't know a lot more other than that. We love him very much and we hope to communicate with him during the year at some stage, to see where everyone is at."

Welch previously addressed Fieldy's position in KORN during a November 2021 interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine. At the time, he stated: "The best thing to do is stay at home, be with your family, and start processing. He's got to find that healing. I still struggle with it. I had a few slip-ups with my 'bad habits' three to four years ago, so I understand it, but I dealt with it by hitting it head-on and stopping it from becoming a problem. I'm not concerned because I know he's going to be okay."

Davis expressed a more worried outlook on Fieldy's predicament, saying: "I love him; he's my brother. But I watched somebody I care about die and I'm not going to fucking do that again. I refuse to. I will feel guilt for the rest of my fucking life because of that. I tried my hardest but perhaps if I'd been a little bit tougher there'd have been a different outcome. I pray that he can figure it out and get better and come back and be a huge part of this band again."

Also in November 2021, Shaffer told "Loudwire Nights" host Toni Gonzalez about Fieldy: "Right now he's just taking some time to kinda figure out what makes him happy and figure out his happiness and what he wants to do with his life, I guess is the best way to put it. And make sure his mental health is at its best, because if your mental health isn't good, or you're not clear, you're gonna make bad choices.

"I make an example," he continued. "I had my own challenges through the years, and once you get clarity, your life becomes a lot easier to manage. We're just giving him time to, like, no pressure, just figure out what you want to do because we can still work and we can still go out and tour. But we miss him. We love the guy, and we want him to just be healthy."

Regarding how KORN ended up recruiting Díaz to fill in for Fieldy, Welch told 97.9 GRD: "Well, there's COVID and everything, so when we started talking about it, it was a thing where we wanted to be careful still and whatnot. So we just started brainstorming and hitting up friends and whatnot. We need the slap — we need the slap bass, we need the finger playing, we need someone, 'cause Fieldy is unique — very unique. So it just kind of happened that way, man, where Ra, he was open because SUICIDAL [was] not going out [on tour] until [the following] year. So it just worked out, man. He came down, we jammed. He's a really humble guy, and just very talented. He can play anything — from jazz to slap to anything. He played all the songs with, like, three mistakes out of 10 songs or something — little mistakes. I mean, not even mistakes — it was just, like, 'I thought I heard it that way.' They weren't even mistakes. So we were, like, 'Okay. You got it down.'"

Less than four years, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from KORN's summer trek, writing in a social media update: "To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I've been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It's been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I'm going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.

"I'm thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.

"Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don't want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle."

A short time later, KORN's official social media shared Fieldy's statement, along with the following message: "We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first."

Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN's South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

Fieldy's STILLWELL side project released its fourth album, "Rock The House", in September 2022.

During an appearance on bestselling author Mark Manson's The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck podcast, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was asked if being in a band can be compared to a marriage where instead of having one significant other to keep happy, you're usually fully committed professionally, financially and personally to a whole group of passionate, creative and often strong-minded individuals. Randy responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Is it the hardest relationship possible? … I think that the intensity of probably people who serve in combat together is much more intense than our relationship. And they form these lifelong bonds because they've been through these horrific experiences together. But hopefully in most places that sort of relationship has its time and its place and its intensities. Ours is long-term.

"It's strange to me because there's very few bands that last as long as ours [has]," Randy continued. "And it's strange for me to say that. We're kind of moving into the legacy sort of era. It's very strange for me to say that, but most bands just don't last as long as ours do — because of the personality differences and so forth.

"I think with us, it's because, in so many ways, we have become better friends that we're still here," Blythe explained. "I mean, we've gotten in fistfights together. Me and my guitar player Mark [Morton] famously got in a drunken brawl in Scotland. I had adopted a Scottish accent. I was wearing a kilt. It was a nightmare. And we videoed it and put it out. And we do signings and people are, like, 'I can't believe you two are sitting next to each other after this fight,' 'cause it's this frozen-in-time moment. It happens in all bands. We were just stupid enough to put it out. We got a platinum DVD out of it. But Mark and I are extremely close friends — extremely. And we text and talk to each other very often, not just about band stuff, but about life. And I think we're very fortunate in that."

When Manson noted that it sounds like being in a band can be compared to being in "a synthetic family" that Blythe and his bandmates put together, and that "it comes with all the trappings of a family relationship," Randy concurred. "You're talking about this idealistic version you had of being in a band when you were younger," Blythe said. "People seem to think, to this day… I've been in this band almost 30 years. When I'm at home and I'll go to the grocery store or something, someone will be, like, 'Where's Mark? Where's Willie [Adler, LAMB OF GOD guitarist]?' I'm, like, 'At home with their wife. We aren't attached at the hip.' Even in Richmond, where I'm from, people are, like, at the grocery store, 'What are you doing here?' 'Buying produce, man. I'm a normal human being.' 'Shouldn't you be on tour?' 'No, I'm allowed to be at home.'

"Somehow we have learned how to function better now than we ever did when we were younger," Randy added. "[We were] very combative each other. And I think the only reason why we didn't break up is because nobody wanted to be the guy that broke the band up because that would be defeat. 'I quit.' It's, like, 'I hate you.' And you do spend so much time around these guys. You're, like, 'I hate the way this guy ties his shoes.' But you don't wanna be the guy to crack and, like, 'Well, the band could have done great, but it went down the tubes 'cause you wimped out.'"

Blythe's second book, "Just Beyond The Light: Making Peace With The Wars Inside Our Head", came out on February 18 via Grand Central Publishing (GCP).

"Just Beyond The Light" was described by Blythe as a "tight, concise roadmap of how I have attempted to maintain what I believe to be a proper perspective in life, even during difficult times."

In December, Blythe announced more spoken-word and question-and-answer events to promote "Just Beyond The Light". The special "evening with" event includes a spoken-word performance, an audience question-and-answer session, a copy of "Just Beyond The Light" and an opportunity to have the book signed.

In 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with manslaughter for allegedly pushing a 19-year-old fan offstage at a show two year prior and causing injuries that led to the fan's death. Blythe spent 37 days in a Prague prison before ultimately being found not guilty in 2013.

Blythe's prison experience inspired two songs on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album "VII: Sturm Und Drang": "512", one of his three prison cell numbers, and "Still Echoes", written while he was in Pankrac Prison, a dilapidated facility built in the 1880s that had been used for executions by the Nazis during World War II. It also led him to write his first book, "Dark Days", in which he shared his whole side of the story publicly for the first time.

In a new interview with Iron Madness, guitarist Chris Caffery and bassist Johnny Lee Middleton of reactivated American progressive metallers SAVATAGE spoke about the band's long-in-the-works new studio album. Regarding the progress of the LP songwriting and recording sessions, Johnny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, well, we got a record that's pretty much — I got it here on my hard drive. There's a lot of great songs on it. Jon [Oliva, SAVATAGE mastermind] did a lot of his vocals awhile back. We do have a lot of music. The problem is Jon keeps writing more. So, we don't know when an album will be released, but we know one will be released. It's just a matter of when the timing is right. And that's pretty much where we're sitting on it right now."

He continued: "We're just getting this band back out on tour. We're gonna see how this works. And then we'll make a decision on when we'll finish the record. Luckily, we own a recording studio, because right now you're basically t-shirt salesmen. We used to sell records. Now we sell t-shirts. And that's just the way the business went. If we had to basically pay two to three hundred thousand dollars to record a record, probably it wouldn't happen because times have changed. And as soon as your record's released, it's on Spotify and you get 0.0006 of one penny per spin. So, business-wise, it doesn't make sense. We do have a lot of great songs. Jon has come up with some incredible stuff. And he wants it to be the last record. So, when it is released, it will be the last one."

Chris chimed in: "But then I talked to [Jon], and he laughs, and he goes, 'Well, if we don't get everything on it, maybe we'll put something out later on.' [Laughs] So it's one of those things where it's the last — maybe. You never really know. We were sitting here a couple of years ago and not even knowing exactly what we would be doing now. If you were to ask me two years ago today if I would be sitting on my computer doing a Zoom interview with Johnny Lee about SAVATAGE shows coming up in Europe and South America, I probably would not have an answer of yes. So I always look at it that way.

"I know that the music is there, and I just think that the only thing that may change from what's going on right now is the title," he continued. "It might not wind up [the previously announced working title] 'Curtain Call'. We have so much recorded that it needs to be more than one release. And it might be like 'Curtain Call A'."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Johnny said: "It's the classic SAVATAGE stuff, classic SAVA sound. And Jon wrote some really good stuff for [vocalist] Zak [Stevens] and then the stuff Jon has for himself is real strong. So it's not like we don't have material. It's just a matter of when we're gonna put it out."

Added Chris: "Yeah, we're not gonna have anything that's not going to sound like SAVATAGE. There's not gonna be, I think, anything that's gonna be shocking to people. The thing about SAVATAGE records, if you listen to a record like 'Dead Winter Dead' or a record like 'Streets' or 'The Wake Of Magellan', there was so many different kinds of metal and so many different kinds of music in there. So we were already pushing different elements and levels with that, whether it was bringing in the piano and the orchestrations or the extra background vocals. So, it's kind of like just right there for us to even go do what it was that we did is a lot of different things. And I think that's what people can expect. And if something happens that's new and cool, then it'll just be something we've added into SAVATAGE.

"We never listened to anything and really tried to go, 'We need to do a song like this or that,'" Caffery explained. "We'd make a record and be, like, 'Okay, well, we don't have a fast song and we've got too many…' So we would try to fill spaces on the record with songs that you thought made a really complete record for people to listen to, but we never sat there and said, 'We need a song like somebody else's.' We were more or less trying to say, 'Oh, we don't have a song like 'Chance' on this record, so we would try to make sure we put what people expected out of SAVATAGE."

After more than two decades without a proper tour, SAVATAGE is preparing to return to the stage. The American metal band, known for its fusion of heavy, progressive, and power metal, has been largely inactive in the live scene since 2002, with their last full performance taking place at Wacken Open Air 2015. Now they are set for a series of concerts across South America in April and Europe in June. The return begins in Brazil, where SAVATAGE will perform at the Monsters Of Rock festival on April 19 at Allianz Parque, São Paulo. The event will also feature SCORPIONS, JUDAS PRIEST, EUROPE, OPETH, QUEENSRŸCHE and STRATOVARIUS. However, one key member will be missing: the aforementioned Jon Oliva, SAVATAGE's founding vocalist and keyboardist. In 2023, Oliva suffered a T7 vertebra fracture in three places, a severe injury that has left him relying on a wheelchair. Additionally, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Ménière's disease, conditions that have further complicated his health.

SAVATAGE's lineup for the 2025 dates will consist of Middleton, Caffery, Al Pitrelli on guitar, Jeff Plate on drums and Stevens on lead vocals.

Zak joined SAVATAGE in 1992 as the replacement for Jon Oliva. Zak sang on four albums with the band — "Edge Of Thorns" (1993),"Handful Of Rain" (1994),"Dead Winter Dead" (1995) and "The Wake Of Magellan" (1997) — before departing in 2000, allowing Jon to return. Both Jon and Zak took part in SAVATAGE's 2015 performance at Wacken Open Air, which marked the band's first, and only so far, appearance on stage since they went on hiatus back in 2002.

SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of guitarist Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.

In September 2021, Jon Oliva was arrested on the west central coast of Florida for driving under the influence as well as possession of a controlled substance. Police charged Oliva with possession of cocaine, which is a felony, and DUI, which is a misdemeanor. Oliva was reportedly arrested again in July 2023 on another cocaine possession charge.

In addition to his work with SAVATAGE, Oliva is well known for co-creating the classical music-meets-prog rock and pyro act TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA alongside the project's founder Paul O'Neill. Oliva has reportedly remained involved in TSO's activities even after O'Neill's April 2017 death of an accidental drug overdose.

Jon's brother Criss, who was one of the founding members of SAVATAGE, was killed in October 1993 by a drunk driver when he and his wife Dawn were en route to the Livestock festival in Zephyrhills, Florida. The driver of the other car was found to have a drunk driving record of seven prior DUIs and having a blood alcohol content of .294 percent.

Photo credit: Josh Ruzansky

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, EXODUS guitarist and main songwriter Gary Holt spoke about the various guitar-related injuries he has sustained over the course of playing the instrument for more than four decades. The 60-year-old San Francisco Bay Area-based musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "You get 60 years old, you're dealing with arthritis and your fingers hurt. And I had to go through personal therapy for my elbows. I had chronic tennis elbow in both arms. I had so many cortisone injections I can't count and I basically fried and shredded my tendons and I couldn't even play at all."

Asked when this happened, Holt said: "Well, it was during [my years of touring with] SLAYER, before the end. I just started developing some right-elbow pain, and then shortly after, the left elbow decided it wanted to join the party. And I got a cortisone injection. That was great for six months. And then, fast forward a couple of years of that, every six months getting a needle stuck in each elbow to keep it going, and then finally, it got so bad by the time I finished [recording EXODUS's latest album, 2021's] 'Persona Non Grata' and after tracking [the song] 'The Beatings Will Continue', that's when I kind of blew out the right one. And then I'd play and my elbows would lock up, like they'd almost get stuck. And I went and got MRIs. And I have a friend who's a San Francisco Giants team hand surgeon, and he looked at my MRIs and said I look like someone who's been throwing 99-miles-an-hour fastballs for fucking their whole life, like shredding. And it looked initially like I needed Tommy John surgery [which involves replacing the torn ligament with a tendon from elsewhere in the body or from the cadaver], where they fucking replace the cadaverous things in there. But then he sent them to their elbow guy, and he said, 'No, he can avoid surgery, but he needs never again cortisone shots and just physical therapy.' So I did a lot of work with one-pound weights and stuff. And I got back. Occasionally I'll get a little tender, but you put a bag of ice on it. Don't put a needle in it… I keep stretching. You've gotta do all this shit to stretch that fascia that runs through everything. And my fingers, my left knuckles sometimes really hurt. It's getting old. We've been repetitive motion injuries our whole lives, basically."

Holt went on to say that even guitarists who are considered the masters of downpicking — like METALLICA frontman James Hetfield — "cheat" at those parts. "We all cheat," he said. "We're fucking 60 years old. I also say James is the undisputed GOAT, he's the greatest of all time, and even he cheats live."

He explained: "James is still the best ever, but you watch that middle downpick section in '[Welcome Home] (Sanitarium)', which is just brutal, and they add some chunks in there, and those chunks give you all the break you need to keep going. It's a cheat. It doesn't mean he's not the best."

Holt previously discussed his picking-hand technique, in particular the downpicking technique that helped define thrash metal as a genre, during a July 2023 question-and-answer session at Diablo Guitars in Seattle. He said at the time: "Right-hand picking, it's an art form. It's more important to me than anything else, [more important than] soloing shit. If someone said, 'You can play rhythm for the rest of your life or leads and be really good at one and terrible at the other' — get rid of the solos. I don't care. It's all about the riffs."

He continued: "It's all about learning how to apply maximum velocity with technique still. And as I get older, things are harder for me to do. I've suffered through really horrific tennis elbow on both arms, like countless cortisone injections and arthritis and all that. So certain things are slow, but you learn to cheat."

Holt added: "Everybody cheats — even Hetfield cheats, and he's the best of all time. When you see a guy in the middle of a downpick, baddest riff ever, and he throws in one of these [slides down the fretboard], sometimes that's the reset. That's all you need. We all cheat. And he's the best that ever lived to do it. And he sings at the same time, which is fucking ridiculous. I can't sing and play at all. Not at all. I mean, I'd lose it. One of 'em's gotta go."

Circling back to his own "cheating" with downpicking, Holt said, "But my cheat is like a down-up-down-down… And that little up and down, also live, allows me to rock really hard when I do it. If I wanna really just all downpick a part, sometimes I've gotta, like, kind of not move too much. And I'd rather move."

Last month it was announced that EXODUS had parted ways with singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and had been rejoined by Rob Dukes.

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

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

EXODUS recently announced two very special "Bonded By Blood" 40th-anniversary shows, falling upon late original vocalist Paul Baloff's birthday weekend (April 25). Taking place in Berkeley, California on Friday, April 25 at UC Theatre and Anaheim, California on Saturday, April 26 at House of Blues, the shows will feature EXODUS performing "Bonded By Blood" in its entirety, plus more hits, and each show will feature direct support from DEATH ANGEL. BLIND ILLUSION and NUKEM will open the Berkeley date, and HIRAX and NUKEM will open the Anaheim date. Special-edition "Bonded By Blood" merchandise will also be available.

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

Hachette Books has set an April 1, 2025 release date for Holt's upcoming memoir, "A Fabulous Disaster: From The Garage To Madison Square Garden, The Hard Way". The foreword for the book was written by former EXODUS and current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett.

Holt joined EXODUS in 1981, shortly after the band's formation, and has been the group's main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal.

Holt began filling in for SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. Holt played on SLAYER's final album, "Repentless", which came out in 2015.