In a new interview with Metal Pilgrim, guitarist Chris Caffery, drummer Jeff Plate and vocalist Zak Stevens of reactivated American progressive metallers SAVATAGE spoke about the band's upcoming 2025 live shows and long-in-the-works new studio album. Regarding the progress of the LP songwriting and recording sessions, Caffery said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, the music is being written and it keeps being written. As far as when it's going to be finished, there is not a date. Let's just put it this way that when we can, we will get music done. And the stuff that is written is very good. And when we get together and start playing, I have a feeling there's gonna be new stuff that gets written too. I mean, in a perfect world, we get these shows done, we make a plan that's actually going to stay straight and we can have an answer for this for an actual date."

He continued: "I think it would be great to have some music, but for right now, I think the most important thing is that we're going. And now that the SAVATAGE machine is moving, we'll be able to answer these questions better, I think, now that it's solidified that it's no longer the rumor that SAVATAGE is playing. So we'll have these answers more as we get together."

Added Stevens: "And we have been working on music. We've been recording stuff for a while now. I mean, I've got about probably eight or nine songs that I've been working on with [SAVATAGE mastermind] Jon [Oliva]. And he keeps writing more, like Chris said. So it's just an ongoing process. Stuff is continuing to beat the old stuff. So Jon goes, 'Oh, you like that? Well, here.' And then something winds up beating something else, and then what you thought was gonna be the 10 songs on the record, now half of them have already gone to a new level. So we've got a lot of music. So it's just gonna be a matter of time to when we can record it."

Caffery and Plate also talked about Jon's absence from SAVATAGE's upcoming appearances, with Chris explaining that there is a chance that Jon will do something similar to what Glenn Tipton is doing with JUDAS PRIEST in that he might go up on stage and play a song or two with SAVATAGE when he is able to. "That's the idea," Caffery said. "For us, really, it's gonna be up to Jon, when Jon is able to do what Jon is able to do. I know personally, I'm gonna see Jon tomorrow. He's coming out to see us with TSO [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA]. And when he's there, we'll be speaking about the setlist for SAVATAGE and what we're gonna do. And I'll know more of how he feels and what he has going on. And every time I speak to him, I find out more about how he is and where that's going. So, as far as where Jon is, that's gonna be up to Jon. He wants to be there.

"I've gotta be honest with you. I think us going and playing is gonna really push him to get this, whatever the physical therapy is and make things happen that gets him there, because I know the Mountain King and he wants to be there," Chris continued. "He doesn't not wanna be there. So it's gonna be one of these things. And we're gonna do whatever we can to make sure that we incorporate him into the show. I mean, technology has a lot of a lot of things… So there's ways to get Jon Oliva to these shows. So we'll figure it out."

Added Plate: "It's very honorable of Jon to allow us to do this. SAVATAGE is his baby. He started this thing back in the '80s. And the fact that he's, like, 'Let's let these guys get out there and play and get this thing rolling.' He's got some health things he's really got to straighten out. And they are serious, they are unforeseen and all of a sudden these things just happen. But Jon, I give that man a lot of credit for saying, 'Okay, guys.'

"We've all collectively — what do we figure, Chris? 160 years or [1]70 years or something like that we've collectively been working for Jon Oliva, and he trusts us," Jeff said. "So, this band going out there and getting this ball rolling is… I think Chris kind of nailed it on the head. This is gonna be inspiration for Jon too. And we're all just hoping for him to get healthy and get back on the horse and back out here with us."

Caffery continued: "I looked at him the last time I saw him and I said to him that 'I've never done a SAVATAGE show without you.' We had a really close talk about this stuff and got into that in particular, and he looked to me, and he just says, 'Would you go fucking play?' So any fans that tell me that this ain't SAVATAGE and it ain't Jon, it's, like, talk to him. It's, like, keep your opinions to yourself.

"I know who Jon is and I know what SAVATAGE is. And when the Mountain King yells at you and tells you to go do that, I'm gonna go do it. That's basically where I'm at."

Plate stated: "Hey, I'm still one of the new guys and I've been here for 30 years. [Laughs] I think we got this covered."

SAVATAGE's lineup for the 2025 dates will consist of Caffery, Plate and Stevens, along with Johnny Lee Middleton on bass and Al Pitrelli on guitar.

When some of SAVATAGE's 2025 European headlining concerts were first announced earlier in the month, Stevens said in a statement: "As you can imagine, there are so many special things about these shows that are racing through my mind. We get to play a series of headline shows for the first time in over 20 years that will put us right back in front of all of the unbelievable fans who have given us so many unforgettable memories over the last three decades. Here's our chance to directly give back to everyone who’s been there supporting us all these years."

He added: "All the great festival shows are going to be off-the-charts amazing. It's even hard to imagine the scale of excitement that's going to take place with those shows."

Jon expressed his disappointment at not being able to join his bandmates but shared his deep elation for the upcoming concerts, stating: "I am very excited for the guys to be doing some shows. Unfortunately, due to health issues, I will not be able to join the guys for this run. Hopefully, this is just temporary. I will continue working in the studio on new music for the future. These shows will be awesome and I will be working with them to get it all ready for you. I know everyone is going to love it!!! Me and the guys are very excited and ready to kick ass! So from me, thank you all for the support for all these years and we can't wait to rock you!"

SAVATAGE 2025 South American dates:

April 19 - São Paulo, Brazil - Monsters Of Rock
April 23 – Santiago, Chile - Masters Of Rock

SAVATAGE 2025 European headlining shows:

June 14 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
June 16 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire
June 18 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex 457
June 19 - Munich, Germany - Tonhalle
June 24 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz

SAVATAGE 2025 European festival appearances:

June 13 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Into The Grave
June 22 - Dessel, Belgium - Grapop Metal Meeting
June 26 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Fest
June 28 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Rockwave

In late October, Jon explained in more detail his absence from the band's upcoming appearances, writing in a social media post: "Hello SAVATAGE fans, this is Jon Oliva. I want to set a few things straight for everyone. First of all, I am very excited for Johnny, Chris, Zak, Jeff & Al to play again. I feel it's important for the fans to enjoy our music live, and believe me these guys will kick ass.

"As far as I go, I was going to do these shows but unfortunately, I've run into more health issues. I want you all to know that if there was any way I could do these shows I would, but my health issues are more serious than I originally thought.

"As most of you know I fractured my spine in 3 places and have recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis as well as Ménière's disease. My doctors are working with me to get healthy again.

"I am working closely with the guys and will be involved in every other aspect of the show. I am 100 percent behind the guys doing this and I promise I will return [as soon as possible]. In the meantime, I am working in the studio on new material.

"I love you all and thank you for understanding my situation, I know my brothers will deliver the goods."

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Ménière’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe dizziness (vertigo),ringing in the ears (tinnitus),hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear. Ménière’s disease usually affects only one ear, but in 15% to 25% of people with the disorder, both ears may be affected.

A year and a half ago, Jon told Sakis Fragos of Greece's Rock Hard that he had "enough material" for three SAVATAGE albums, but he wanted to take his time making the best LP possible. "I'm not rushing this," he said. "No fucking way. 'Cause this will probably be the last album we ever do. And I'm gonna make sure that it's a 10 out of a 10."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Jon said: "Some of this shit is really strong. I'm even looking at myself going, 'Holy shit. This is really strong.' And the fact that you're gonna have me and Zak sharing the vocals and doing songs together in like a duet thing, is even more… it blows me away. I purposely wrote five or six songs specifically for Zak to sing. And then I worked [on] a lot of songs with Al Pitrelli that are definitely, 'These are Oliva songs.' And then we have a couple of big epic songs.

"This is gonna be the best album I ever made," Oliva promised. "Unless I kill myself. All I know is that the SAVA fans are gonna be fucking blown away when they hear this. They're gonna be blown away. I wasn't gonna do the SAVATAGE thing and just do a half-assed album. If I'm doing this album, it's gonna be the best album I've ever done. 'Cause when I go out, I wanna go out on top."

Jon went on to say that a new SAVATAGE song called "For The Man Who Would Be King" is one that he sometimes refers to as "the new 'Morphine Child'," a nod to the track on SAVATAGE's 2001 album "Poets And Madmen". "And that's one that me and Zak are gonna do together," he explained. "And then it's got this big middle section that's all these QUEEN, operatic[-style vocals]. I'm, like, 'Wow, this is gonna be epic.'"

Regarding which other musicians will be involved in the recording process for the new SAVATAGE album, Jon said: "I'm gonna have [former SAVATAGE drummer Steve] Wacholz come in and play on a couple of songs. But Jeff Plate, Johnny, Al Pitrelli, Chris Caffery, Zak, me, and on a couple of things I'm gonna have Jane Mangini [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA keyboardist] come in and play."

He continued: "I'm getting everybody involved from the beginning. I want it to be a full-band album, all of us working together. And it's gonna be great."

Asked about a possible title for the new SAVATAGE album, Jon said: "The working title is 'Curtain Call', but I don't know if that's gonna be it. 'Cause the very last song that's gonna be on the album is this song called 'Curtain Call', and it's just me with a piano, and it's very deep. It's basically me singing to the fans, telling them all goodbye and thank you. Every time I hear it, I cry. Everybody I played it for cries. It's just very deep. But it's my way of saying goodbye to everybody. 'Thank you. I love you all. And this is my final goodbye. Thank you. Have a good life. And do whatever.' So I think I'm gonna call it 'Curtain Call', but it's not in stone yet."

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.

Back in 2016, Jon announced on social media that he suffered a stroke in April of that year. At the time, he said: "It was not as serious as it could have been, but it did leave me with some physical recovery challenges often associated with strokes."

Despite his health issues, Jon said that he didn't regret the way he had lived his life. He wrote: "I lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle since I was 18. It's all I knew and I enjoyed the ride very much. But there comes a time in everyone's life where you have to step back and make some life-changing decisions... which I have."

Shortly after SAVATAGE's reunion performance at the 2015 Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Oliva claimed that he felt better than he had in 20 years because he had "stopped drinking and eating" in preparation for the concert. He explained: "It's my voice that's freaking me out, because, even when I was in my late 20s, early 30s, doing songs like '24 Hours Ago' were always really hard to do. And, of course, I didn't realize that it was all the drugs and alcohol I was doing. But, after doing that, getting my act together and stuff, singing '24 Hours Ago', it's actually easy now. [Laughs]"

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 recent interview with "Paltrocast" host Darren Paltrowitz, SYSTEM OF A DOWN's John Dolmayan was asked if VAN HALEN was among the bands that made him want to start playing drums in the first place. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wanted to play drums before I knew who VAN HALEN was. But VAN HALEN introduced a different style, 'cause I guess you could say some of the drumming was derivative of [LED ZEPPELIN's] John Bonham, but that's really only because everybody's drumming is derivative of John Bonham after John Bonham; you're always gonna have a flavor of it. But VAN HALEN did it differently. It was more straightforward. It was heavy. It was kind of like a merging of AC/DC and LED ZEPPELIN, and [it had] exceptional musicianship, which you had quite a bit of at that time, but not many people played as melodically as VAN HALEN did. And I feel like everybody in VAN HALEN had something unique and interesting to bring to the table, irrespective of how they were perceived."]]

As previously reported, SYSTEM OF A DOWN will play a a string of stadium shows in South America next spring. The "Wake Up!" run begins on April 24 in Bogota, Colombia and concludes on May 10 in São Paulo, Brazil.

Earlier in the month, SYSTEM OF A DOWN added second shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium on August 27 with KORN; Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field on September 1 with AVENGED SEVENFOLD; and Toronto, Ontario at Rogers Stadium on September 5 with DEFTONES, as part of their one-of-a-kind massive stadium events next year. Their performances in Toronto mark the first hard rock act to play two nights at the brand new Rogers Stadium. Special guests POLYPHIA and WISP will open for all shows.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 19 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.

In a recent interview with Francisco Zamudio of KNAC.COM, drummer Steve Asheim of Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE was asked about his early musical inspirations around the band's formation in the late 1980s. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, there were some definitely heavy bands around when I started, and that's how I got into it myself. [Dave Lombardo of] SLAYER and [Gene Hoglan of] DARK ANGEL, from a drumming standpoint, right when I was getting into being an extreme drummer, those were the guys to look up to, and still are. Incredible players, great ideas and execution, and just everything about their playing was great and I liked and still like. And I still try to push myself along those lines like they did. I still enjoy listening to those guys today 'cause they do the same thing — pushing themselves still to this day. It's just nice to be a part of something as crazy as extreme metal is. It's an elite club.

"When we started, there weren't a whole lot of bands like this out," he continued. "Now there are hundreds. And that's cool, because everything grows with time. But it's nice to kind of get in early and see how much it grew and evolved and everything that happened with it. It's an interesting thing to have seen. It's a good thing to be a part of."

Asked how he has managed to perform at such high intensity for nearly four decades, Steve said: "Relatively clean living. Just trying to stay relatively healthy. Not that I'm straight edge or anything, but through the years I've certainly managed to maintain a good physical approach to it and not let anything tear me down physically that would inhibit me from playing at that level. So, definitely just stay strong mentally and physically and keep your head clear so you can perform well."

Asked if there was ever a time in his drumming career and his time with DEICIDE when he hit a roadblock or was struggling with something in his playing, Steve said: "Back [in] our first 10 years or so, we were kind of innovative in our approach, and then as — we were considered fast, but then other bands started coming out that were even faster. And so around that time, I was, like, 'Wow, it's time to try to, like they say, go woodshedding. Time to keep up.' So I was, like, increasing my speed up to what these other guys were doing. They were breaking out BPM-counting drum pads, gauging how fast their single strokes were. So, that was a challenge, and I think I was able to catch up pretty good. And then another 10 years goes by and everyone is gravity blasting, and that's a new thing. And that one, this is where I'm, like, 'You guys keep going with that. I'm gonna hang back here with the old-school blasting. And good luck, man. I'll see you guys down the road.'"

He continued: "When it gets so fast and you have to listen so hard to what's happening, it's a bit of a chore, [whereas with old-school blasting] it's kind of easy to distinguish what's happening without working too hard. It's an easy listen; it's not a chore to listen to."

As for his own personal approach to his drumming, Steve said: "I try to just have the drums not take over the song, but just complement it, but definitely guide it and enhance it, but not take it over."

DEICIDE's latest album, "Banished By Sin", was released in April via Reigning Phoenix Music.

This past February, DEICIDE released the second single from "Banished By Sin", a song called "Sever The Tongue". The track was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, while the mixing and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for "Sever The Tongue" that complements the track's blasphemous undertones.

To close out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with another blasphemous song called "Bury The Cross...With Your Christ".

In a recent interview with Highway 81 Revisited, Asheim was asked what he does to keep up his endurance while playing so fast night after night on tour. He responded: "I used to work out with weights a lot. I don't really do that anymore. [I'm] getting a bit old for that. Playing the way I do has given me tendinosis. Like if someone was working a jackhammer for 20 years, it has an effect on your tendons. I tore my bicep, I blew my calf out, and it's always on the left side for some reason. Just recently even, I stopped drumming because it was affecting my pulmonary and cardio health. At practice, once we get going, I feel like I'm about to have a fucking heart attack. [Laughs] Also my asthma was getting worse.

"I started drumming about January 1 this year [after a break] and noticed all of that stuff was kind of getting a little better," he continued. "My heart felt a little stronger. I haven't needed my inhaler for a few months. In that sense, I need to maintain a certain lifestyle without literally having a fucking heart attack during a gig, because people have done that. Nick Menza [late MEGADETH drummer] playing in a hot club stroked out. That's not happening to me [laughs], I'm tellin' ya. At least I don't want it to happen. I like my weed, and booze was my thing. Now not so much the booze, at least for now. As long as I have to play at this level worldwide, I can't do that crazy shit."

According to an article in the National Library Of Medicine, tendinosis is a degeneration of the tendon's collagen in response to chronic overuse; when overuse is continued without giving the tendon time to heal and rest, such as with repetitive strain injury, tendinosis results. Even tiny movements, such as clicking a mouse, can cause tendinosis, when done repeatedly.

DEICIDE played its first show with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Previous DEICIDE guitarist Chris Cannella amicably left the band in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Photo credit: Gene Smirnov

In a new interview with Real Talk With Zuby, John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band SKILLET, spoke about the "backlash" he has faced for speaking about his faith in secular spaces and voicing his opinions on hot-button social and political issues. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're, thank God, a successful band. But, man, the intense backlash about standing up for what you believe, if you're on the conservative side, or even just the libertarian side, or … they don't even like [prominent former Democrats] Elon Musk anymore. They don't like Tulsi Gabbard anymore. They hate RFK [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] with a passion now. I mean, it's really insane. And I think that part of the not having the conversation thing is to do with this fake tolerance because they really believe if I even have a conversation with you, I'm legitimizing a Nazi.

"I was trying to convince someone in the industry recently who… SKILLET's been canceled multiple times because of these things," Cooper continued. "And I was saying, I was, like, 'I don't think you understand. I might be the most actual inclusive, tolerant person in the music industry. Okay?' And they're, like, 'Well, no, you're not because you're against abortion.' And I'm, like, 'No, no, no. I've spent my career touring with people who are my friends.' My kids are always on the road, so they are friends to my kids. We eat dinner together. We have fun together. We hang out together every single day. Most all of them don't agree with me on religion, on politics, on abortion, on the border, on whatever. And it has never come between our friendship — ever. It wouldn't even cross my mind, because it's so against my faith as well. And so I'm actually far more inclusive than you guys because you want you can't even hear it."

Cooper went on to say that he is "optimistic" about President-elect Donald Trump's second term, particularly as it relates to upholding the First Amendment and ensuring that the government doesn't censor people and businesses.

"Am I crazy to be as optimistic as I am?" Cooper said. "Something feels like it's shifting. And I am not some Trump sycophant or something like that. I'm absolutely not. I don't think Trump's a prophet of God or any of the weird things people say, I think, online. I believe that politics cannot save us. I think only God can save us. I love politics. I think it matters. I am feeling extremely optimistic, and I don't know if I'm crazy to feel that.

"Not to get too preachy, but the Bible says that if you seek for the truth, you'll find it," he continued. "If you seek the truth, you'll find it. And I am seeing… I don't know. I'm just so optimistic because all of a sudden, it just feels like in the last six months, I'm, like, 'Wait a minute. Another person that I know is speaking the truth.' That was never the case for the last several [years]… To me, every day, it's getting a little brighter and brighter and brighter. And I'm starting to be, like, 'Okay, okay.' And again, I think it's really great when it's people that don't agree with me about everything, but it's, like, 'Oh, it's totally fine to have this conversation.' And that's just better for everybody. That takes me back to what it was like when I was growing up. It was never like this when I was growing up. I never lost friends 'cause you voted for George Bush. It's, like, who cares? It was never like that."

John added: "I remember I got in a lot of trouble in 2021 because I was, I think rightly, making fun of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. 'Cause RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's anti-government and they were doing these, like, vax-only shows. And I just was, like, 'Well, it's just crazy that me, the Christian rock star, that I'm the punk rock revolutionary now.'" (Editor's note: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello has vehemently denied that COVID-19 mask and vaccine requirements were enforced at any of the band's shows. "While I am a big supporter of science, hear my words: NO RAGE fan was EVER required to present anything other than a ticket to see the band", he wrote in a social media post earlier this year.)

Cooper originally brought up RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE in a 2021 interview with Apologia Radio. While insisting that COVID-19 that vaccines were a tool of government control "more about tyranny than they are actually keeping people safe", he said: "A lot the bands, they just don't know what to do … You're in an entertainment industry that's largely driven by social media and media at large. You're not allowed to speak anything against… I mean, you've got RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE telling people that if they don't get a vaccine… RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has become the machine. It's crazy. I'm, like, wait a minute – I'm the revolutionary here? I'm the revolutionary and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is just 'government rock' now."

It is not clear what Cooper thinks about Trump's supposed commitment to free expression, seeing as Trump champions freedom of speech for himself and his allies while attacking it when it protects his critics and political opponents. Trump has regularly attacked individual journalists and the press in general for unfavorable news coverage. He called journalists the "enemy of the people" and removed ones he did not like from press events and rallies. More recently, Trump has pledged to toss reporters in jail and strip major television networks of their broadcast licenses as retribution for coverage he didn't like, according to NPR.

This past January, Cooper blasted Demi Lovato's pro-choice song "Swine", calling it "pure evil' and accusing Americans of "cheer[ing] on baby murder" by aborting "eight hundred thousand babies a year."

John has written in depth about his views in the two books he has released so far, "Awake & Alive to Truth", which came out in December 2020, and "Wimpy, Weak, And Woke", which became available in late 2023.

Cooper told Baptist Press about how his faith directs him to speak out on cultural issues: "If Jesus is the truth, then that means He has something to say about culture, politics, abortion and sexuality. The Bible has something to say about these things."

In various interviews over the years, John has said that he "always had faith in God" and that his mother was a "Jesus fanatic." He also claimed that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ.

SKILLET's latest album, "Revolution", arrived in November via the band's Hear It Loud imprint.

UK-based electronic metal band, Season Of Ghosts, have been quiet since the November 2022 release of their single, "In Hubris". They have announced the release of a new song, "Lifeline", slated for January 27th. It will be available as a digital single anywhere you get your music.





Season Of Ghosts guitarist / composer Zombie Sam also has a horror project, PhantasmaGore. It is based on a core value: Music Meets Art. Each release is connected to artwork, and each piece of artwork is connected to a horror story. PhantasmaGore's new single, "Post Mortem", can be streamned below and is available via Spotify.

Video producer Antti Kangasaho has shared drumcam video of Nightwish drummer Kai Hahto performing the band's "Ghost Love Score" in Vaasa, Finland on June 17th, 2023


Antti: "I have waited for quite a while to do a new version with Kai of this epic Nightwish song, the previous being from the early times of my drumcam-making journey (2015). Hopefully you enjoy as much watching as I really thoroughly loved making this one!" 







Nightwish recently announced that their new album, Yesterwynde, will receive it's symphonic world premiere by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. A third performance has been added on Saturday, August 30, 2025.


The band recently revealed: "Due to high demand, we’ve just released a third Nightwish Yesterwynde Orchestral concert for Saturday, August 30, 2025. Ticket sales start tomorrow on Friday, December 20, at 9 AM (Finnish time). Grab your tickets quickly before they’re gone (with the wynde)! Nightwish’s Yesterwynde album will have its orchestral world premiere at Tampere Hall, Finland in August 2025. The music will be performed by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tampere Opera Choir, and a children's choir."


Consult the post below for ticket details:





Yesterwynde is available in a number of different vinyl variants, as a jewelcase, digipak, earbook and as part of a deluxe vinyl box set. Order the album here.





Yesterwynde tracklisting:


"Yesterwynde"
"An Ocean Of Strange Islands"
"The Antikythera Mechanism"
"The Day Of..."
"Perfume Of The Timeless"
"Sway"
"The Children Of 'Ata"
"Something Whispered Follow Me"
"Spider Silk"
"Hiraeth"
"The Weave"
"Lanternlight"


"Lanternlight" video:





"An Ocean Of Strange Islands" lyric video:

This past August, it was announced that the original 1991 lineup of Swedish death metal pioneers GRAVE — Ola Lindgren (guitar, vocals),Jörgen Sandström (vocals, guitar),Jens "Jensa" Paulsson (drums) and Jonas Torndal (bass) — will reunite for a series of concerts in 2025 during which they will perform "an exclusive old-school set" consisting of material from the first three classic GRAVE albums: 1991's "Into The Grave", 1992's "You'll Never See..." and 1994's "Soulless". The first show will take place on April 5, 2025 at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden. Several additional performances have been confirmed, including appearances at Germany's Party.San Metal Open Air, Czech Republic's Brutal Assault, Switzerland's Metal Storm Over Luzern and The Netherlands' Graveland Festival.

A few days after the reunion of the 1991 lineup of GRAVE was announced, Lindgren took to the band's social media to offer "some clarity" to what the upcoming shows will entail. He wrote: "Many thanks to all of you who commented on last weeks announcement and who are as excited about this as we are. Lets bring some clarity to what this 'reunion' is about.

"So early this year I was approached by the other 3 original members for a meeting. It resulted in the plan to do a couple of rehearsals for fun to see if we were first of all capable and also of course if we enjoyed jamming again.

"I would say that playing together after all these decades went far beyond anyone's expectations so we decided to try get some shows booked and here we are.

"This is initially a plan for festival shows during 2025. At the moment there are no plans to do any touring or recording new material with this lineup but who knows where this might lead us...

"The GRAVE that imploded last year is not dead and buried, it is simply put on ice.

"Tomas [Lagrén, drums] is definitely not fired from the band and it will be his decision if he wants to be a part of any future GRAVE endevours when that time comes."

One of the very first Swedish death metal bands alongside NIHILIST, MORBID and TREBLINKA, GRAVE released its first demo in 1986 under the band name CORPSE, before they switched to GRAVE in 1988. GRAVE's debut album, "Into The Grave", arrived in August 1991 through the then-young record label Century Media.

Lindgren told the "Swedish Death Metal" book by Daniel Ekeroth about how GRAVE landed its record deal: "We sent our third demo to just every label there was. A lot of them kept in touch, such as Earache and Peaceville. But Century Media was working faster than any of them, so we just went with them without thinking too much about it. Century Media invited us down to Germany to record that single ('Tremendous Pain'),and it was only after that we started to discuss a deal. It felt amazing for us to go abroad, so in a way they lured us into their roster! But it turned out well."

After Century Media and GRAVE parted ways after seven albums with the release of 2006's "As Rapture Comes", the band launched two highly acclaimed albums, "Dominium VIII" (2008) and "Burial Ground" (2010) through Regain, before reuniting with Century Media for 2012's "Endless Procession Of Souls" and 2015's "Out Of Respect For The Dead".

In 2019, GRAVE teamed up with Century Media Records to bring back the albums "Dominion VIII" and "Burial Ground" as classy, limited colored and black vinyl editions, hand-numbered digipak CDs limited to 3,000 copies each, and digitally. Remastered in 2019 by Lindgren and mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel of Temple Of Disharmony, these records offer crushing and savage GRAVE tracks that fully live up to the group's morbid legacy.

This past January, GRAVE parted ways with bassist Tobias Cristiansson and guitarist Mika Lagrén.

The premiere show with the original lineup!
Stockholm April 5 2025 @ Kulturhuset

Tickets: https://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/konserter/grave

Posted by Grave on Thursday, December 26, 2024

Sarah Jezebel Deva returned to the Scars And Guitars Podcast to discuss her experiences with the reformed Covenant and reflect on the band's reunion. She also discusses the development of her philosophies since her Cradle Of Filth days, strategies for managing her music career alongside family responsibilities, her view on her legacy in extreme music, and balancing personal and band commitments. The conversation extends to what the future might hold. 


Sarah: "I had no real intention of doing anything live again. My son comes first, your family comes first, and I was afraid of being away from him and how he would deal with everything. There was a lot of anxiety. I had many conversations with the guys, and when all these conversations were happening (over the years), it was the fantasy thing. I really, really wanted to do it, and then when it started happening I shit myself. Speaking to (booking agent) Håkon  (Grav), he said 'You have a life, too. You're not just Mom, you're Sarah, you deserve a life.' So I decided to do it, and the first show comes through (Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2024), and at one point I thought about backing out. Then I went over (to Norway) for rehearsals - and you have to bear in mind that we haven't seen each other  in so long - and by the end of those rehearsals I was well up for it. They went so well."







On December 14, The Kovenant - featuring Nagash, Steinar Sverd Johnsen, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Astennu and Hellhammer - reunited for the first of several scheduled reunion shows at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2024. Fan-filmed video of the entire comeback show can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"The Sulphur Feast"
"Bizarre Cosmic Industries"
"Planetarium"
"The Last of Dragons"

In a recent interview with Jai That Aussie Metal Guy, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy was asked how he has managed to keep his voice in "top shape" after touring extensively for nearly 40 years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Routine. I'd say it's routine. When I took my vocal training and coaching before I got into the band, I still use that same warmup tape that I received 40 years ago. And it's a mental thing for me now. I warm up with this tape for 90 minutes. Every time before any performance, I've gotta [warm up]. And if I don't do that, my head would say, 'You're not ready to sing. You're not ready. You didn't warm up.' So it's mental.

"I choose to do things different on tour," he explained. "I don't drink and get drunk every night. I get my rest. I chose in the last — I don't know — maybe four years, five years, I quit smoking weed before I go on tour and on tour, which has really helped increase the stamina. So I'm always trying to stay away from people who are getting sick. So I'm always just constantly, when I'm on tour, trying to be a hundred percent and watching what I do. And, really, before tour a lot of practicing or I ride a Peloton bike or I just do things like that, try to build up my lungs so I'm fit mentally and try to get physically focused on being a hundred percent. And it's been paying off. It's like anything you do — if you go to the gym for 30 years, you're probably gonna be a pretty strong guy, going through muscle memory and everything. It's kind of the same thing vocally. Over the years I've known my limits, stretched my limits, and now I try to use all my limits. And that's kind of where I'm at."

TESTAMENT is putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to 2020's "Titans Of Creation" album for a tentative mid-2025 release.

Last month, Billy told Australia's The Rockpit, about TESTAMENT's upcoming LP: "Well, this [album is] gonna be very special. I think I'm more excited about this one, just because of the fact — the timing of everything. I'm a big person believer in things happen for reasons. And [new TESTAMENT drummer] Chris Dovas jamming with us and having a lot of time to come up and spend with Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] at Eric's place, just jamming, coming up a lot of music and working on it hard and tracking it at home and doing demos. And I could tell, when I first started getting the songs and the riffs sent, that it was something different. It's still Eric and I recognize it, but he was being pushed and inspired 'cause Chris is a very fast, aggressive drummer, and I can tell that it just inspired Eric just to be Eric and play guitar instead of trying to think about building a song or making a song — 'Let's just jam.' And that's the kind of way they approached it. And next thing you know, they had 10, 11, 12 jams that were sounding pretty strong, but individually identified just different vibes. And I was, like, 'Okay, this is what it is.' And then, as it just built vocally and everything, that's when we were kind of, 'Wow. It just feels fresh and new and challenging again. Vocally, for me, I've got a wide range of tones on this one — I'm screaming again, which I haven't done that a lot on a lot of records in the past, but a lot on this one. And we are still writing for ourselves, but we're still excited that when we write a song, how it hits live, and that's always been the payoff, is do these songs we write in the studio hit live like we want 'em to? And that's the fun part."

In June, Chuck told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone about the lyrical themes covered in the new TESTAMENT songs: "[It's] not as focused [on], like, the aliens, creating mankind and that kind of stuff, but there is some of that. There's a lot. Each song definitely has its own identity lyrically. And again, we're writing stuff that is real, that happens with the environment; we're singing about that again. A.I., we're singing stuff about that. That's a big thing. So, there's always an inspiration for songs. I think it's a little easier. There's so much going on in our world to write about now. It's a crazy world today, so there's a lot of stuff to talk about. And I like singing about what's real and what's going on instead of some fantasy lyrics, because, for me, I think when I sing 'em, I have more conviction, I believe in 'em a little more. And maybe it's easier for me to remember the lyrics live. [Laughs]"

Naming specific tracks, Chuck said: "There's a song, 'Havana Syndrome', which is about the Havana Syndrome. People, look that up. There's 'Infanticide A.I.', which is another song going A.I. direction. And there's actually a slower song. We haven't done a slower song. I'm not gonna say 'ballad', but I'm gonna say a slower song that has a lot of groove and soul, called 'Meant To Be'. And it's like a classic TESTAMENT-type ballad, I guess, if you wanna use that word. But we've got a little bit of everything, but, again, I think it's really sticking to TESTAMENT, having to have some melodic stuff, even though there's some really brutal lyrics and real brutal, more of a death voice. I still put the hook in with more of a melodic hook or something. It's still classic TESTAMENT. If you listen to it, you'll go, 'That's TESTAMENT, but a little more octane to it.'"

e One I'm Most Proud Of" (Video) ">
Rock Kommander recently caught up with Annihilator founder / guitar legend Jeff Waters for an exclusive Q&A session. Check it out below:


"In this special Q&A session, legendary guitarist Jeff Waters (of Annihilator and American Kaos) responds directly to fan questions. He reflects on his past projects, shares insights on his upcoming trilogy album, and teases what’s next. Plus, hear how he’s bringing

In a new interview with Michael Franzese, Gene Simmons was asked how he got the "KISS phenomenon" started more than five decades ago. He responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Scientists talk about this kind of a thing. And there is such a thing as singularity. Things just happen, and that means that it doesn't happen often, just every once in a while, that could be a millennia, or something just happens when the planets align; you have the right thing at the right place at the right time.

"The first right thing at the right place at the right time was when I met [KISS frontman] Paul Stanley, my partner, who knew stuff I didn't know, and hopefully, at least he told me, I knew stuff he didn't know. And then one plus one equals three. And then we decided to put together the band we never saw on stage. And it's worth noting, we looked at it visually. We wanted to get the songs and everything, but we noticed that the bands we liked, THE WHO and Jimi Hendrix and THE BEATLES, had unique visuals so that if you closed your eyes, you saw it. And there were lots of hits on the radio where if you closed your eyes, you couldn't tell… FOREIGNER was a very good band that had a lot of hits. You close your eyes, you have no idea who's in the band and you don't care. And predominantly that's the thing. And so we wanted the visuals to be part of it. And we didn't know that it would become a multi-billion dollar industry. I mean, KISS continues to be — everything from KISS caskets and KISS condoms; we'll get you cumming and we'll get you going.

"So, once we got Ace [Frehley, KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, KISS drummer], the two original guys, and it's worth noting Paul and I went to see Peter play in a gentleman's club, very small, but where they went, and they played in a trio and the drummer wore — Peter Criss — had scarves on and he was singing Wilson Pickett, you know, R&B songs And he had the right voice and the vibe. The rest of the guys on stage could have been the guys that would wait for you outside to pick up a few bucks. They didn't look like musicians, but this guy had the voice and the attitude. So the band started, but not everybody has the genes, not everybody can run a marathon. There are some people whose genes, whose DNA, are more akin to running a short race, which is why very few bands last a long time. THE BEATLES lasted seven years — shockingly. We've been around 52 years, with different members and all that, because not everybody lasts. And one day, and I've talked about this before, and every time I talk about it, I get the imagery again. We're sitting around in our rat-infested loft, 10 East 23rd Street [in Manhattan], and we'd been rehearsing. It's a rat trap and a fire trap. No windows, nothing. And after the rehearsal, one of us — I don't know who — said, 'Hey, let's go down to Woolworth's,' which was a local store. You could buy anything. Before there were malls, you'd stick everything into Woolworth's — aspirin, anything, clothing. And there were also gimmicky things… And so we somehow veered towards the Halloween area, and there was clown makeup. Stein's clown white, a jar, and Stein's black lipstick. For some reason, Paul Stanley went to the red lipstick thing — I don't know why — and we just bought the stuff and we bought two mirrors that were four and a half feet tall, about this wide, 15 bucks all in, and brought it up to the loft. And nobody said, 'I have an idea. Let's sit down. We'll do this.' Like, if you'd look at it, you'd say, 'Okay, who's telling you what to do?' No, it's just happening. We're looking in the mirror, putting on makeup and looking at each other and stuff like that, and just talking. Well, it's kind of weird, it's kind of sticky talking about the feeling of it. And then we started drawing designs around the eyes and looking at each other and stuff and getting off on it, kind of, as it was happening. And Peter Criss liked cats, so he was doing that. I was always fascinated by horror movies and sci-fi, that imagery. And Ace always talked about that he's from another planet and stuff. His equilibrium was not all that good, so he would often fall or whatever. So he thought of himself as a spaceman. And Paul Stanley, originally the makeup was a round circle, or black, around his eye. And we looked around, and we go, 'What the hell is that?' And he says, 'It's like Pete, the dog from 'The Little Rascals'.' There was a dog in an old black-and-white half-hour thing that went back to Mack Sennett comedies. The beginning of movies, they'd have these short about kids in poor areas. And by the way, it was not segregated. They had black kids and white kids hanging out together like friends. Yeah, but in regular civilization, well, no, black and white is supposed to be separate. Not with our gang; they were just black and white friends. Buckwheat and Stymie, yeah. Great names. And the dog was part of it, and he'd have a black circle. And we went, 'No, nobody's gonna know that. If they're younger, they're not gonna…' So he decided to do, and I think it might have been Ace who said, 'You always wanted to be a rock and roll star, instead of a pudgy Jewish kid. Why don't you put stars over your eyes?' So he did. So he did two stars over his eyes, but they didn't align. It's difficult to do that freehand. So he decided just to use one. And that's where his makeup came from. Just one star over the eye, and that was it. And between that first application of the makeup to about three weeks later, I called up a local — I was acting like a manager, I always do — called up a local club, the Coventry, and convinced them to book us sight unseen or anything else for 35 bucks. 35 bucks! Wow. And I remember there may have been 10 or 15 people there. My girlfriend at the time, a girl named Jan, her brother's girlfriend, Lydia, the drummer's wife, and a few others. And that was it. But we were on stage in makeup, like, getting off. There was something going on. And within a year and a half of the band forming, end of 1973, we were headlining Anaheim Stadium before MTV, before digital. We didn't even have hit records. Something happened. It just pervaded culture. All of a sudden, young kids started talking about this. And in those days you could make a career from magazines because that's how things spread before."

Simmons continued: "We had no manager. Paul and I had a record contract from before with Epic for a band called WICKED LESTER. And we finished the album, we got 40, 50 grand, whatever. And for us, that was a lot of money. And for some strange reason, we didn't believe it. It sounded like THREE DOG NIGHT and DOOBIE BROTHERS. It was okay, but nothing special. And hindsight's 20/20. We must have been out of our minds to look a gift horse in the mouth. 'This is not it, is it? No, it's really not.' And we literally fired the other three guys and went back to square one and decided to get new guys and write different kinds of songs, more English, more HUMBLE PIE, [THE ROLLING] STONES, that kind of thing, instead of American pop. And right away it clicked.

"In a very strange way, KISS became a very big band without hit songs," Gene added. "It was about the live shows. And if people are curious, if you go to YouTube, we would literally blow away any act that dared put us on stage. We'd just blow them off the stage. Some of it was smart. We had a KISS logo that was about six or seven feet tall — these bright lights that spelled out KISS. And nobody hung their name, the band's name above them like a Las Vegas show. That was not considered cool, but we thought it was cool. So that when the next band came on after we were off, a half hour later, if you closed your eyes, you could still see KISS in your eyelids, if you know what I mean. They didn't have enough time to clear the stage. So while they were on, the KISS logo was still on stage. And those kinds of tricks. And very quickly, we ran out of bands to open up for."

Asked if he thinks KISS would have had the same impact musically and iconically if not for the makeup, Gene said: "Maybe not, but there is such a thing… I keep going back to the right thing at the right place at the right time. If you take any one of those away, your chances diminish. In the quote[-unquote] golden age of rock and roll... In that, if you put KISS or Jimi Hendrix or somebody like that then, it wouldn't work because the ears of the masses weren't tuned to that. Likewise, if you take the great bands of that era and stick 'em today… What are you doing? So, there's that thing. But certainly, I think, it's a big puzzle, and it helps, certainly helps, not diminishes, if you have most of those pieces on the puzzle, so that the picture is clearer. It helps. Visuals help. Little Richard sticking his legs up on the piano and playing piano like a wild man, which has nothing to do with the songs, but does it help stagecraft? Yeah. Chuck Berry doing the duck walk. What does that have to do with the song? Nothing. But when you see him live, it really helps."

KISS completed its "End Of The Road" farewell tour in December 2023.

The band's most recent lineup consisted of original members Simmons and Stanley, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

KISS recently sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind "ABBA Voyage". While terms of the deal were not officially announced, Bloomberg and Associated Press said it was worth upwards of $300 million.

Pophouse is now working on a KISS avatar show, which will allow the band to stay "on the road" in retirement.

The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by Pophouse.

Using cutting-edge technology, Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, will create digital versions of KISS. The project was previewed at the final KISS concert in New York in December 2023.

In a new interview with Australia's Hear 2 Zen, former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, who recorded two albums with Yngwie Malmsteen — 2008's "Perpetual Flame" and 2010's "Relentless" — was asked what the "biggest misconception" is about the legendary Swedish guitarist. Tim responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, [Yngwie] does treat people really bad — I mean, as a whole. But… he's never treated me bad. I got along with him very well. I got along with Yngwie great. He would joke, and [he was] one of the easiest guys I've ever worked with in the studio. I think he has his moments. He doesn't like… Please don't ever put a white light on during a show or he'll stop it and yell at the light man or attack the keyboard player during the night if he did something wrong. But I'll tell you my experience with him and I… That was the only time I saw him go at somebody. But, yeah, I got along [with him] great.

"I don't think there is any misconceptions about him," Owens continued. "I think what people think about him is probably the truth. But that doesn't mean he's like that to everybody. I had a great experience with him. He was sober when I was in the band. [That said], sometimes the band wasn't allowed to even be in the dressing room; we'd have to be sitting in a closet.

"Obviously, he's kind of thrown all of the singers under the bus since I left the band, which was odd," Tim added. "I quit the band and I didn't even announce that I quit the band. I didn't even announce it. I just quit and stepped away, because I was getting busy doing solo shows and I felt like he needed to find another singer. But I don't talk bad about him. My experience was good… He could be a very, very pleasant guy and funny.

"I was just telling a story the other day — yesterday I was doing interviews — about singing in a studio [with Yngwie], and I'd be, like, 'Let me do it again.' … I would do a take, and I'd go, 'What do I you think?' I'd say, 'I think I could do it again. Let me do it better.' He goes, 'No, that's good. That's good. We don't wanna do it too many times. I think you got it. That was good enough.' … He was so easy in the studio. And it's funny [coming] from the guy that [famously] says [his philosophy about music is] 'more is more'. But it wasn't with me. He's just, like, 'Yeah, you got it. You nailed it. Let's just move on.'"

When the interviewer recounted a recent pleasant encounter with Yngwie in Australia after initially being told by the guitarist's tour manager that he couldn't talk to Malmsteen, Tim said: "There's times you might not wanna talk to people. I'm not the most talkative before [a show], but I would never in my life ever have somebody tell somebody, 'You can't talk to him.' … And I think it's 'cause there's times where Yngwie's gonna be in a zone or might not wanna talk to somebody.

"Listen, he's not a Ronnie James Dio with the fans," Owens added. "He's not gonna come out of the bus to sign something. He might not even sign it if they send it onto the bus. But that's all right."

Back in 2015, Owens told "The Jasta Show" that he quit Malmsteen's band because "he kept asking me to do shows, and I was already booked to do a solo show. I just didn't have the time to do it," Tim explained. "I thought he could get some young kid that could blow me away, pay the kid five hundred bucks a week on a tour and be happy with it and make the show better."

Tim also didn't rule out working with Yngwie again, saying: "I'd maybe do a record with him again, and maybe a quick tour, but I just couldn't fit it in."

According to Owens, he was treated well by Yngwie during his time with the guitarist. "Every time I got off stage, if I didn't have a good night, he'd be, like, 'Man, you fucking were great,'" Tim said. "I actually enjoyed my time being around him."

In 2019, Yngwie told Rock Hard that he prefers to handle the lead vocals on his albums himself nowadays because his previous "singers would always cause trouble; they would always be acting like they were special and they had something different to say or whatever… The singers always think that they're better than the keyboard player or they're better than the drummer."

In 2017, Jeff Scott Soto, who sang on Yngwie's first two albums, 1984's "Rising Force" and 1985's "Marching Out", engaged in a war of words with the Swedish guitarist over the fact that Malmsteen claimed in an interview that he "always wrote everything," including the lyrics and melodies, and simply hired various vocalists to sing his material.

In the days after Yngwie's original interview with Metal Wani was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, several of the guitarist's former singers — including Soto, Owens and Joe Lynn Turner — responded on social media, with Turner describing Malmsteen's statements as "the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity." This was followed by a retort from a member of Yngwie's management team, who wrote on Malmsteen's Facebook page that the three vocalists "came out enraged, spitting insults and profanities" at the guitarist because "Yngwie said something that they didn't like." The management representative added: "It's very unfortunate that these past hired vocalists must resort to mudslinging and insults to elicit any kind of media attention towards them. Such classless, puerile words are ungentlemanly at best and absolutely disgraceful at worst."

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER played their cover of the holiday classic "O Holy Night" during their December 22 concert at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. According to Setlist.fm, this marked DREAM THEATER's first performance of the track since 1998. Fan-filmed video of the Santiago show can be seen below.

In 2021, DREAM THEATER's official YouTube channel uploaded the band's cover of "O Holy Night". The track was recorded during a soundcheck at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon on June 9, 1993 and was released three years later on a very rare fan-club-only Christmas CD.

In 2020, DREAM THEATER released a medley of holiday classics called "The Holiday Spirit Carries On". The proceeds of the song, which was made available via Bandcamp, went to support the band's road crew which was unable to work that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

DREAM THEATER recently completed the European leg of the band's 40th-anniversary tour. The trek — presented as "An Evening With Dream Theater" — kicked off on October 20 at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, marking the progressive metal legends' first concert with drummer Mike Portnoy in 14 years, and ran through November 24 in Amsterdam, hitting cities in numerous countries along the way.

In a video message, DREAM THEATER guitarist  John Petrucci stated about the trek: "It's been going incredibly. We started out in Europe. First show was the O2 in London, and that really set the tone. It's been absolutely amazing. The fans are, like, losing their minds. I look out every night and I see these packed, sold-out venues of people with smiles on their faces.

"It's been so cool having Mike Portnoy rejoin the band," he continued. "I mean, obviously, we started the band together. We met when we were 18 years old, so when I look back and I see him playing drums, it's just like having my old buddy back in. And so there's a great feeling on stage."

Petrucci also touched upon DREAM THEATER's upcoming sixteenth studio album, "Parasomnia", which will arrive on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marks the band's first release with Portnoy since 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings". The LP's first single, "Night Terror", came out in October and was described in a press release as "a musical thrill ride captured in the just shy of ten minutes listening experience."

"'Night Terror' has been really cool to play live," John said. "It's one of these songs — we open the second set with it and it just starts out so epic and so dramatic. And what I love is this setlist has a lot of nostalgic tracks on it. And when we play a brand new track next to a song that, that was released on our second album, whatever, the audience response is just as amazing. So I love that. I love seeing just such a great response to new music.

"'Night Terror' is one of the tracks on the album 'Parasomnia'," he added. "'Parasomnia' is the perfect title for a band called DREAM THEATER because parasomnia is a general term for sleep disorders. And it could mean night terrors, sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, all these kind of weird things that happen. So the album has everything to do with that, and it comes out on February 7th. We're really excited about it."

Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being replaced by Mike Mangini, who played with DREAM THEATER across five studio albums and accompanying world tours.

"Parasomnia" was produced by Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

In a recent interview with "Coffee With Ola", Portnoy was asked how it feels to be back in DREAM THEATER after a 13-year absence. He responded: "It feels great. I mean, it's funny because for the whole world, they're just starting to see the reunion now, but we've been together for a year behind the scenes. So it's been over a year for us behind the scenes and making the new record, but it's only now in the past couple weeks since the [40th-anniversary European] tour began and since the first music video [from the upcoming DREAM THEATER album] came out that people are actually seeing us back together again. But for us, it's, like, it's old news… It is exciting, though. And you could feel the excitement and the love and the emotions at every show. And every night [DREAM THEATER singer] James [LaBrie] welcomes me back on from stage. And it's been overwhelming, the amount of love and everybody being so welcoming back and everything."

During the same chat, Petrucci talked about "Night Terror", saying: "There was some back and forth as to what single we should lead with, and 'Night Terror' is the first song that we wrote together. When we got together, that's what came out of us. And so, for us, yeah, maybe there are songs that are a little bit more immediate to the general fanbase, but for us, we felt it was important that the first thing that people heard is, 'Listen, this is what DREAM THEATER is. This is the first thing we wrote. This identifies all the stuff that everybody loves about the band and showcases Mike.' I always said that opening fill before the guitar riff that Mike does, that fill is like, 'I'm back.' [Laughs] 'In case you missed me.' And I think he did that in one take. It was, like, 'Yeah, that's it. That's the signature.'"

Regarding what it felt like to be writing and recording with DREAM THEATER again, Portnoy said: "To be back with these guys, it feels really special. It feels like family, really, honestly. John and me and DREAM THEATER bassist] John Myung have been playing together almost 40 years at this point. We formed the band when we were teenagers and met at college, the first month of college. So, for us, it's deeper than just being in a band together. We've been through life together. We met our wives together, our wives played in a band together, we ad our families at the same time, we've been to the funerals of each other's parents and siblings and things like that. So, we've been through all these life experiences together. It goes beyond just the music for us. All that being said, it also, at least to me, felt like no time had passed. It did not feel like 13 years. Once we started writing together, it felt so natural and so fresh. 'Night Terror' was the first thing we worked on, and it just came out so naturally. There wasn't much thought needed to go into it. It was, like, 'Okay, here we are where we just left off.'"

John chimed in: "It's tough to explain. For anybody out there who has been in bands with their friends, you almost have like an unspoken language, like somebody plays something, I know what he means when he plays it and I respond and vice versa. So it's, like, immediately the songs just developed and grew in such a natural and organic way. It was so cool."

On the topic of "Parasomnia", which DREAM THEATER previously said had a conceptual theme but not a concept album, John said: "Without giving too much of a way, because we always like to keep the mystery, but I think this has been said before, the album's called 'Parasomnia', and for those people that don't know what that is, it kind of encompasses a broad range of sleep disturbances, and that could range from snoring to some scarier things, like sleepwalking and night terrors, false awakenings and things like that that are actually really very frightening for the people that it happens to. So, much in the way that [2002's] 'Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence' had a lyrical theme to it where there were different case studies having to do with challenges of mental illness and stuff like that, 'Parasomnia' is sort of the sleep disturbance version of that, but in an entire record, as opposed to just a song."

#34; Rehearsal Video Clip - "Three Kick Tones"">
Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini has shared a new rehearsal video along with the explanation below:


"This 2 1/2  minute clip ending with a mistake + yelling, details the use of 3 kick drum tones using 4 bass drums: 18" 22" 22" 26". You'll probably need headphones. This is my first take of the song after learning / practicing it in pieces. The sound is from the one camera in the room. Full Play through is on my Vimeo service."

ANNIHILATOR guitarist Jeff Waters recently answered a number of fan-submitted questions for a Q&A video series for the Rock Kommander YouTube channel. He reflected on his past projects, shared insights on his upcoming trilogy album and teased what's next. Plus, hear how he's bringing his music into the gaming world, starring as a playable character with his own game mode in "Rock Kommander".

Asked if he thinks ANNIHILATOR's debut album, 1989's "Alice In Hell", influenced MEGADETH's classic fourth LP, "Rust In Peace", which came out a year later, Waters said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Okay, so Dave Ellefson and Dave Mustaine, the MEGADETH guys, not all of 'em but some of 'em, have been my friends for a while. And I talked to Dave Mustaine ever since 1989. He asked me to join the band in '89. I didn't. And they went on to do the amazing 'Rust In Peace' with Marty Friedman, and we continued touring with TESTAMENT and doing our first record. But, yeah, you're saying you hear some 'Alice In Hell' in the 'Rust In Peace' album the year later. So there is absolute truth to that, believe it or not."

He continued: "A lot of MEGADETH fans don't realize it, is that David Ellefson had told, I guess Blabbermouth, the online metal news place, years ago, maybe 10 years, 15 years ago, I'm not sure when, that while MEGADETH was driving to the rehearsals and the writing and recording for the 'Rust In Peace' MEGADETH album, they would listen to ANNIHILATOR's 'Alice In Hell' and sing it and drive to the studio every day listening to that record.

"So I had always heard the 'Rust In Peace' album and thought it was awesome and Marty Friedman was doing these amazing guitar solos, but I always thought there's some parts of Marty Friedman where you hear a blues style, 'cause he's not a blues guitarist; he has blues and many other styles. But he had a little blues stuff in his solos. And I always thought that maybe he and I had the same influences. And David Ellefson and Nick Menza said that, 'No, no, no. We listened to your stuff for a whole year on the way to those sessions.' So I was, like, 'Hang on, I was like a 20-year-old kid, and I had a little influence on your best album.'

"So, that I can say now is true," Jeff added. "You can ask Dave Ellefson or any of those guys. So I will take some credit in the sense that I'm honored that they would be listening and singing my music on the way to record their music and write their music. Fuckin' awesome. Yeah, that'll go down as my top-ten thing in my life that was really cool."

In 2008, Ellefson said that he had been a "hugeANNIHILATOR fan over the years" and added that "Nick and I used to drive to 'Rust In Peace' rehearsals in the early '90s thrashing out to the 'Alice In Hell' and 'Never, Neverland' albums."

In October 2005, Waters shared a video of him playing the solo to the MEGADETH track "Symphony of Destruction". In a post on ANNIHILATOR's official web site, Jeff described the circumstances that led him to make the video and talked in greater detail about his friendship with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. He wrote: "Well, since I'm still getting hounded by these really old MEGADETH questions and rumors, I shall gladly oblige and set the records straight!

"I was a MEGADETH fan right from the start. 'Killing…', 'Peace Sells…', 'Rust…' and 'Countdown…' rule. So does Dave.

"Back in 1989, when ANNIHILATOR's first CD, 'Alice In Hell', was out, we were touring with TESTAMENT throughout the USA/Canada. Chuck (Billy, TESTAMENT frontman) walked through the door of my hotel room one night and told me 'Mustaine is on the phone for you.' I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. I remember Dave asking me to learn the b-side of 'Peace Sells…' and that he would consider letting MEGADETH re-record the song 'Crystal Ann' (a little classical guitar piece of mine that opened the 'Alice' record). I told him that it was an honor to be asked my him to audition but that I had my own things happening. (my first record, good deal with Roadrunner Records, I was in the middle of touring, etc...). Besides, he obviously made the best choice for MEGADETH in Marty Friedman.

"Never spoke with Dave again for 14 years.

"Back when Dave was recording his [then-]most recent CD ['The System Has Failed'], I'd sent Dave a note that I had used his ESP guitars (killer V guitars they make!) to record my most-recent ANNIHILATOR CD. Dave and I e-mailed a few times and he later mentioned that he was looking for a touring guitarist. After some good talks with Dave, we talked about me joining MEGADETH.

"I think things happen for a reason anyway; ANNIHILATOR's sales and popularity have been climbing in recent years and things are going really well for me and the band. So being a hired touring guitarist is cool but when you have your own, well-established band, it would not be a simple matter to just drop it, to be a hired gun.

"So again the right guy for Dave got the job! And again, on my new CD, 'Schizo Deluxe', I use an all-Mustaine/ESP V guitar line-up.

"Some have asked me why no 'Jeff Waters' model when I have an endorsement? I reply 'no need and no reason; I am happy with the ones I have!' I have a pretty good guitar collection from over the years but I would much rather have a 'KK Downing ESP V' than a Waters one!!

"The video going around with me playing the 'Symphony of Destruction' solo was posted by a friend of mine (who is a Annia-mega-freak); not exactly with my permission, but it's out now and he meant no harm (gotta love the Internet!). It was something I sent old Dave Mustaine when he was wondering if I could 'handle' the Marty stuff; not as great, of course, as the man himself's version on the record, but darn close and a lot of fun to learn (hey, I learned and played this in barely an hour and a half!).

"Friedman is a great player and the 'Symphony of Destruction' solo was one of those rare moments where lead guitar speed, technique and melody meet all in one perfect solo.

"As to the Gigantour rumors, yes, Dave asked me if ANNIHILATOR would come along but I had a commitment to my label to finish my CD and my band was not ready.

"So Dave and I have kept in touch each month or so and have talked about about putting something together, someday; this would surely be some real ass-kickin' heavy metal."