British heavy metal legends SAXON have released the official Paul M. Green-directed music video for the song "Fire And Steel". The track is taken from the band's critically acclaimed 24th studio album, "Hell, Fire And Damnation", which came out in January via Silver Lining Music.

SAXON frontman Biff Byford stated about "Fire And Steel": "The original title was 'Fire And Steam' and the song itself is more thrash than classic metal. I was going to do it about something else, and then I had a bit of an epiphany and I thought 'Fire And Steel' was better. 'Let's do it about Sheffield.'

"If people were eating with a knife and fork back, say, a hundred years ago, that was something that sometimes was made in Sheffield. They invented stainless steel there, and there's still a lot of steel in Sheffield but nothing like it used to be.

"Sheffield was one of my big stomping grounds when I was a teenager. We used to go to Sheffield and see all the bands at Sheffield City Hall, and the clubs and pubs there that had bands on."

SAXON recently announced the "Hell, Fire And Steel" European tour which will not only see the band performing songs from "Hell, Fire And Damnation" but will also the whole of SAXON's classic sophomore album "Wheels Of Steel" (released 45 years ago next year) as well as other fan favorites and hits from across the group's career.

The "Hell, Fire And Steel" tour kicks off in Bremen, Germany on February 4 and concludes on March 5 in Leipzig, Germany.

"Hell, Fire And Damnation" is an album which sees SAXON investigate all areas of history and mystery amidst ten of their most confident and thunderously powerful songs yet.

On "Hell, Fire And Damnation", singer Biff Byford delivers his richest vocals in years, Nigel Glockler and Nibbs Carter on drums and bass, respectively, lay down the rhythmic law with bombastic power, and the guitars of Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler are fresh and fiery, a perfect complement to each other, carrying an overall energy and fury which will have fans salivating. Musically, SAXON bring it all to the table. There's a furious tribute to actual heavy metal in the denim-and-leather-coated super-sprint "Fire And Steel", a wonderful nod to the NWOBHM's birth in the electric mid-pace "Pirates Of The Airwaves", but maybe the true treasure amidst the jewels is "There's Something In Roswell", with the sort of expansive groove and embrace which deserves arenas.

Produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) and Byford, with Sneap mixing and mastering, "Hell, Fire And Damnation" strides the perfect line between confident, current power, and gloriously irreverent flexing of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal muscle which SAXON co-created.

"I think this album's one of the best he's done sound-wise, and he's done a lot of albums," Biff declared. "It has a really raw, vibrant sound... if you compress the total time making this album, it was four weeks tops… you can hear everything brilliantly, nothing's overcomplicated, nothing's over compressed. The guitar sounds are fucking immense, they're just great, raw guitar sounds. And we haven't done a lot of overdubbing on there, it's just playing. I really, really like it."

Early last year, SAXON guitarist Paul Quinn announced that he was stepping back from touring with the band. As a result of his decision, SAXON canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Quinn has since been replaced on the road by DIAMOND HEAD's Brian Tatler.

Brian has already joined fellow guitarist Doug Scarratt, drummer Nigel Glockler, bassist Tim "Nibbs" Carter and Byford for a number of shows in 2023 and 2024, but will continue to be a member of DIAMOND HEAD.

Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

Drumeo has sharted a new video featuring Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Check it out below.


Drumeo: "'Nightmare' by Avenged Sevenfold is a defining track in the band's catalog, and Mike Portnoy is here to break down how he recorded the drum parts, originally crafted by the late, great Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan.


When Portnoy joined the band, he was given a demo of The Rev's drum part recorded on an electronic drum kit, allowing him the creative space to build on that foundation. The result is the dynamic, hard-hitting performance you hear in the final track. Tune in as Mike Portnoy takes you through the fills, transitions, and emotion that shaped this iconic Avenged Sevenfold track."







Portnoy recently shared the photo below along with the following message:


"My view at the office. Rehearsals have been sounding and feeling GREAT! Incredible how quick and seamless we have jumped right back into these songs together again after all these years; in some song's cases, it been DECADES since playing them together! I don’t want to be overconfident, but I have to say it’s already sounding and feeling so comfortable and natural, like no time has passed. A little over 3 weeks away from kickoff! Can’t wait…"





With the worldwide excitement around the recently announced European tour, Grammy-winning, progressive music titans, Dream Theater, recently announced their 40th Anniversary Tour 2024-2025 leg for North America.


The tour will be An Evening With Dream Theater and will be the first tour of North America since drummer Mike Portnoy’s return to the lineup joining vocalist James LaBrie, bassist John Myung, guitarist John Petrucci, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess.


The tour is scheduled for 30 cities across the United States and Canada and kicks off on February 7 in Philadelphia, PA and runs through March 22 for the band’s hometown show in New York City. The tour will make stops in Nashville, Los Angeles, Toronto and Boston among others.


Dream Theater will be performing classics and fan favorites from their catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music. More information on all tickets and VIP packages can be found here.


“The excitement we have felt from the fans since the first tour was announced has been overwhelming! Now we get to bring the show to our home country and play a bunch of cities that we haven’t been together in for more than a decade. We can’t wait to continue this historic celebration of 40 years together with everyone in North America next year. We still have plenty of more exciting Dream Theater news to share in the coming weeks,” explains Dream Theater.





An Evening With Dream Theater 40th Anniversary Tour 2024-2025 (North American Dates):


February
7 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met
8 - Raleigh, NC - Martin Marietta Center
10 - Nashville, TN - Opry House
11 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy
12 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Café
14 - Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall
15 - Dallas, TX - Texas Trust CU
16 - San Antonio, TX - Majestic
18 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Center
19 - Highland, CA - Yaamava Theater
21 - Las Vegas, NV - The Chelsea  
22 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater
24 - San Jose, CA - San Jose Civic
25 - Sacramento, CA - Safe Credit Union Performing
27 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theater
28 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium


March
2 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center
6 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom
8 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
9 - Cleveland, OH - MGM Northfield Park
11 - Toronto, ON - Coca-Cola Coliseum
12 - Montreal, QC - Place des Arts
14 - Wallingford, CT - Oakdale Theater
15 - Boston. MA - Boch Center
17 - Rochester, NY - Kodak
18 - Wheeling, WV - Capitol Theater
19 - Cincinnati, OH - Brady Music Center
21 - Washington, DC - The Anthem
22 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall


The European leg of the 40th Anniversary Tour 2024 - 2025 consists of stops in 23 cities and kicks off on October 20 and runs through November 24. Some dates are already sold out with other

German guitar hero, Axel Rudi Pell, performed at this year's Wacken Open Air. Check out pro-shot live video of  "Strong As A Rock", "Fool Fool" and "Rock The Nation" below.





Axel Rudi Pell recently shared "Darkest Hour", the new digital single from his latest album, Risen Symbol. The single is accompanied by an official music video, streaming below:







On his 22nd studio album Risen Symbol, Bochum-based guitarist and songwriter Axel Rudi Pell continues to fly the melodic hard rock flag without watering down his style with pseudo-modern stylistic variations or expendable studio gimmicks. At the same time, he is constantly looking for new influences, exciting inspirations, and catchy hooks.


One of the best things about ARP’s anthems is that they are perfectly tailored to the charismatic voice of frontman Johnny Gioeli. The American vocalist is one of the most eminent rock singers worldwide and, together with Pell, former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli, and the two longstanding ARP members Ferdy Doernberg (keyboards) and Volker Krawczak (bass), has been an integral part of a perfectly oiled machine for more than ten years, wowing fans and media alike.


Risen Symbol was released via Steamhammer/SPV on June 14.





Risen Symbol will be available in the following formats:


- CD DigiPak incl. poster
- 2LP Gatefold, 140 g, neon orange vinyl, printed inner sleeves
- Download / Streaming (pre-order here)
- Exclusive CD/LP Bundles with a shirt and exclusive vinyls only at the Steamhammer shop (pre-order

Never Obey Again has released "Trust", third single taken from the eponymous new album to be released on October 18 by Scarlet Records.


"Trust" is a soul relieving track. Strong and emotional lyrics alongside with a powerful chorus make this track easy to be remembered and played loud whenever is needed to let it all out. Adulthood brings consciousness and awareness of who we are and what we are capable of. On the other hand, dealing with our limits and accepting them it’s a struggle for many of us. Many rely on faith, others on trust in themselves and live life at its fullest.


Trust will be released in the following formats:
- digipack CD
- digital




Preorder here.


Never Obey Again is a female fronted alternative unit that blends heavy sounds and modern electronic elements to create captivating, emotional sound scenarios. They did it effortlessly on the 2023 debut album The End Of An Era; they did it better and with an even stronger personal touch on their brand new record, where extraordinary singer Carol shines throughout the entire work.


On one hand, Trust has been conceived as 'music for everyone' regardless of gender or age as its lyrics and vocals could resonate with anyone; words and melodies that allow the listener to feel like home, protected and safe in sharing feelings.


On the other hand, it represents the band's decision to go heavier and dress those lyrics with their own sound avoiding any compromise; it sounds deeper, rough and straight to the point. It sounds like Never Obey Again an

The Finnish horror squad As I May is back with a killer new single "Never Stop Dreaming". The song is inspired by the Nightmare On Elm Street movie series and combines modern low riffs with a little taste of deathcore synths to bring horror chills and atmosphere to haunt your listening experience. If ‘80s- horror movies, down-tuned riffs, and big choruses are something that you're looking for, this is for you.


The band comments on the track:


"We all are big fans of Nightmare On Elm Street movies. Those were the first real horror movies when we were kids. I think maybe a couple of us were too young to watch those movies and also got nightmares from them, so Freddy has stayed with us all this time."




"Never Stop Dreaming" was mixed and mastered by Christoph Wieczorek (Sawdust Recordings).


In additional news, As I May had a line change-up in early 2024 when Jani Valhola stepped out from the ranks and was replaced with Jere Koponen.

In a new interview with Germany's Rock Antenne, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about the relationship he has with his bandmates, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, man. I've got to tell you, it's a brotherhood. It's a family. We've been doing this since we were teenagers, since we were kids, and this bond that we built together is something that just — honestly, I don't know what could break this bond.'

He continued: "I'm into commitment. This band is a testament to that. My marriage to my wife Kelly is a testament to that. I've been with my band just as long as I've been with my wife. It's this thing that's just constant in my life, and I'm so grateful for it. Not a lot of people get to do what we do, and so I approach it with gratitude. And even when I'm exhausted — say I'm out on the road and I'm 18 months into a tour and I'm exhausted and I just feel, like, 'Oh, I can't even go on. I can't do it.' And then I get on that stage and I there's this connection and this thing that happens again. And it's just that reminder."

Jacoby added: "Yeah, man, we love what we do. And fuck, I have no other skills — really. This is it… I mean, I could be a gardener. I could be a landscaper. But it's just my life, man. And I just choose to do it with a sense of purpose. And I will continue to do that because we've spent so much time in building this story and this legacy of this band that it's, like, I don't wanna shit on this thing. I wanna honor it. I wanna ride this thing into the sunset and leave a mark and be remembered for being authentic, real, making powerful music and just standing on what I believe in."

In a new interview with the 99.7 The Blitz radio station, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about the band's touring and recording plans for the rest of 2024. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right now, early in the year, we've been working on a bunch of new music. And so we're essentially pulling the slingshot back. 2025 is gonna be a big year for PAPA ROACH. It's the 25th anniversary of our first album 'Infest'. We've got a book, we've got tours, we've got the whole nine. And we've got a whole new batch of music that we're going to drop. And so new music will be probably coming, like, later in the year — third or fourth quarter."

He added: "It's good to get a little calm before the storm, and so I'm taking this year and just creating tons of music, writing for PAPA ROACH, writing with other artists and really just being as creative as possible."

This past January, PAPA ROACH shared a brand new live version of their hit single "Scars" featuring a guest appearance by Chris Daughtry.

"Scars Featuring Chris Daughtry (Live)" is not only a fresh take on one of the band's biggest hits, but it also serves as the latest release on the band's latest EP, "Leave A Light (Talk Away The Dark)". The track saw its debut performed live preceded by an emotional PSA delivered by Shaddix, who pledged a donation to the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP) on behalf of each city's attendees, culminating in a $155,000 donation presented in Denver, Colorado. Three months later the song sat in the top 10 at Rock radio, becoming the band's 26th song to reach that plateau.

Last year, PAPA ROACH was so impacted by the emotive response each night of the "Revolutions Live" tour and the work done by the AFSP that they have since officially re-named the song "Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark)" after the organization's "Talk Away The Dark" campaign, and pledged a perpetual royalty from the song's use, to be donated directly to the AFSP to continue their mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide long after the "Revolutions Live" tour concluded.

"Scars Featuring Chris Daughtry (Live)" royalties will also be donated to the AFSP in support of their "Talk Away The Dark" campaign. This impactful initiative teaches you the warning signs for suicide, and how to have a conversation that could save a life — whether it's someone else's or your own. Help is available — talking is the first step to preventing suicide.

PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music who in 2020 celebrated the 20th anniversary of their iconic album "Infest". PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health, and have been doing so since day 1 with the iconic release of "Last Resort". Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, along their most recent "Ego Trip" on their own label New Noize Records. "Ego Trip" has garnered over 260 million global streams to date, and has produced three No. 1 singles, bringing the band's total to 26 career Top 10 hits and 11 career No. 1s. 23 years into their career, the band continues to have global success.

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", ATREYU guitarist Travis Miguel was asked which METALLICA album he thinks is better, "Ride The Lightning" or "Master Of Puppets". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm gonna go with the obvious and say 'Master Of Puppets'. Me personally, my favorite album is '…And Justice For All'. It's a very strange album to be considered your favorite, because each song is, like, 18 minutes long and there's no bass, but that was my entry point to METALLICA, so I have a very, very soft spot for that album. But as far as the better thrash album between 'Ride The Lightning' and 'Master Of Puppets', I'm gonna say 'Master Of Puppets'. It was a bit more refined, a bit more, I guess, mature. I mean, not to say that 'Ride The Lightning' wasn't, because from 'Kill 'Em All' to 'Ride The Lightning', there was a huge jump in musicality. But even from 'Ride The Lightning' to 'Master Of Puppets', there was an even bigger jump, too — in my opinion. Somebody might call me crazy or stupid — I totally get it — but, yeah, I'm gonna go with 'Master Of Puppets'. … You've gotta figure, too, 'Master Of Puppets' came out in '86, so they were all still relatively young when they came up with that album. So, I mean, kudos to them. METALLICA is kind of my north star — they're the reason why I do what I do. So, yeah, I'm forever a METALLICA fan."

Asked if it all comes down to METALLICA's James Hetfield and his right hand, Travis said: "It's all of it, really. I remember the first time I ever saw the video for 'One'. I had never heard music like that before. The only thing I really knew about metal was what I saw on MTV. So we're talking about WARRANT and WINGER, bands like that, and their videos were all big and colorful, with pyro and chicks dancing on cars and stuff like that. And the 'One' video was the complete opposite of that. And it was extremely depressing. And I remember just seeing it as a kid, almost kind of being scared by it. But when you're that age, you kind of become fascinated with the stuff that you're scared of. So, yeah, that was my entry point."

Back in June 2021, Travis's ATREYU bandmate, guitarist Dan Jacobs, discussed his love for METALLICA in an interview with RadioactiveMike Z. He said: "We've played with them a couple of times — always at a festival, though; there's never been a METALLICA/ATREYU tour.

"They're the kings of metal — of rock and metal — they're just the biggest thing there is. So getting to experience that and see how they roll, it's really inspiring for any band, especially in the rock world. I mean, you watch what they do, and you're just, like, 'Holy crap, man.'

"When you're that big, you just have the best show; your show is so ridiculous," he continued. "It's so over the top in the most awesome, epic way. They still sound just as good [as], if not better than, they ever have. I mean, those dudes are just ripping at what they do. James Hetfield is an animal. It's a great experience. There's a reason why they're as big as they are and they have been as successful as they have. They're the real deal. You will not go to a METALLICA show and be let down."

Asked how he first discovered METALLICA's music, Dan said: "The first METALLICA I ever heard was 'Enter Sandman' back in the '90s. It was kind of around the time that I was just getting introduced to… I guess kind of really paying attention to music more than I ever have. I started watching MTV. Before, music was something in passing I'd hear on the radio. I sought it out a little bit. But this was the age when I was, like, 12 or 13 years old, and I was really pursuing music and really just obsessed with it at that point. So, I remember watching MTV or VH1 and METALLICA's 'Enter Sandman' would come on every once in a while. I liked it — it wasn't something that I super fell in love with, but I knew it was a great song [and it had] a huge sound, with the drums and the guitars and everything. It wasn't exactly in line with what I was listening to at the time; I was kind of a little bit more drawn to the punk world… As far as the mainstream — THE OFFSPRING and GREEN DAY and RANCID, which kind of led me down way more into the punk world, which then led me into the hardcore bands, which then led me into metal, which was kind of around high school time. That's when I kind of came back around and started listening to METALLICA a little bit more, especially a song like 'Battery'. I think that's probably the most standout song that kind of resonated with me as far as listening to quote-unquote older METALLICA… Out of all the METALLICA songs that are older, that one just, for whatever reason, sticks to my head the most."

ATREYU will release "The Pronoia Sessions" — a collection of eight reimagined greatest hits and two nostalgic tribute covers — this fall on Spinefarm. The digital release will begin streaming on October 25 while vinyl and CDs will hit streets on November 8.

On the latest episode of AXS TV's "Vinyl Obsession", MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine joins host Eric Young to talk about all things music, including some of the albums that have inspired him over the years. One of Dave's selections is "Lightning To The Nations", the debut LP by British heavy metal band DIAMOND HEAD. Speaking about the effort, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "One of the first records I picked… Any self-respecting metal fan that knows anything about Dave Mustaine or MEGADETH or METALLICA for that matter knows how important DIAMOND HEAD was. They were called the natural successors to LED ZEPPELIN in [the] NME [respected U.K. publication]. I mean, that, to me, is quite a compliment. I loved the music because it was riffs and it's not chords. American songwriters were doing a lot of chord writing and the European and predominantly the people in the United Kingdom were coming up with that riff. And a riff is simply something that is a melody that is played over and over and over and over again. So it has to be really good or it becomes this monotonous droning."

He continued: "DIAMOND HEAD was one of the first bands that I saw that played music that I understood that I wanted to play. And when I was in METALLICA was when we were basically discovering DIAMOND HEAD the most. Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] had spent a lot of time with the guys in DIAMOND HEAD, and this was such an influential band to me and to the guys in METALLICA that there's seven songs on the back of this record. And on side A, it's 'Lightning To The Nations', 'The Prince' and 'Sucking My Love'. And we played 'The Prince', we played 'Sucking My Love'. And on side B it's 'Am I Evil?', 'Sweet And Innocent', 'It's Electric' and 'Helpless'. And we played 'Am I Evil?', we played 'It's Electric' and we played 'Helpless'. There's five songs off of this record that we were playing in METALLICA, and a lot of people thought those were original songs, because we weren't rightly going out there and explaining to everybody, 'Hey, these songs are great, and you're probably gonna think they're ours and we're not gonna tell you that. We're gonna give credit to where credit's due.' Nah, nah. We're gonna be quiet and make you think we're really great.

"And so that's kind of how DIAMOND HEAD came on my radar and why I like these guys," Mustaine added. "And the singer for DIAMOND HEAD that made up all of these great songs in the beginning was a guy named Sean Harris. And Sean and Brian [Tatler, DIAMOND HEAD guitarist] don't get along anymore. For some reason, I think Sean thought his mom was gonna be a good manager. And she had helped run the band, and that was it."

Mustaine previously discussed DIAMOND HEAD's musical impact during a September 2022 appearance on SiriusXM's Liquid Metal. He said at the time: "[DIAMOND HEAD was] probably one of the most influential bands in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, if only for the fact that they were in the right place at the right time. I thought they had a great singer, and I thought the guitar riffs were amazing. And the press had gone as far as to say that they were the heir apparent to LED ZEPPELIN. That was a massive compliment for DIAMOND HEAD. So at the time, when I first heard them, it had come through my last band, METALLICA, from the drummer, Lars, who was evidently touring with DIAMOND HEAD; he would be a fanboy and follow them. I got to meet them on a little different level; I met them as equals, or as myself, as an established musician. So I got a chance to kind of really, eyeball to eyeball, meet this guy Brian Tatler, the guitar player from DIAMOND HEAD. And just a sweet man — a tremendous talent on guitar.

"The DIAMOND HEAD that I know and love was the DIAMOND HEAD in the beginning," Mustaine explained. "And I'll tell you, there were so many of those songs that we played in METALLICA: 'Helpless', 'The Prince', 'Am I Evil?' And a lot of people think those are original songs in METALLICA. They're not; they're DIAMOND HEAD songs."

Mustaine has been very vocal about what a "massive influence" DIAMOND HEAD and Tatler were on him and the music he wrote for both MEGADETH and METALLICA. Tatler, for his part, has repeatedly expressed his gratitude over the years to METALLICA, who have covered four DIAMOND HEAD songs and kept the band in the spotlight.

Five years ago, Tatler spoke to "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" about a collaboration project he began with Mustaine but never finished. Asked how the idea for the project came about and what became of it, Tatler said: "You remember [Mustaine] did an album called MD.45 [in 1996]? So he did that, and then maybe a year later, we got in touch with each other. And he said about that album, he said, 'I'd like to do another album like that, with yourself,' and he named a couple of other players. And I thought, 'That sounds fantastic. I'm up for that.' So I started writing material, and I would send stuff over, and he'd say, 'Yup. I like that. And I don't like that. And I like this.' And on it went for maybe a year or so. And every now and again, he'd apologize and say, 'I'm ever so busy. I'm doing the MEGADETH album,' and this, that and the other, and it seemed to drag on a little. And eventually, he said, 'I'm not gonna be able to do it.'"

Tatler continued: "Do you remember [Dave] hurt his arm [in 2002]? He went to sleep on his arm. And so he couldn't play guitar anymore. He sold his gear. MEGADETH stopped playing. That was the end of it. So he couldn't do our project either. So I just thought, 'Oh, okay. That's life.' One good thing: it forced me to write some songs, so I had about 30-odd song ideas that I wouldn't have otherwise, had I not had this opportunity. I had a fantastic reason to get my fingers out and start writing. And so some of these songs I've used on various albums that I've done since. That's the good thing that I took from that, negative. And we stayed friends, and MEGADETH offered us a support tour in 2005 — we did 22 dates all across Europe, opening for MEGADETH. So they did us a favor in the end — a return favor. And that went really well. It's all good."

It was announced in December 2017 that DIAMOND HEAD had inked a management deal with Thrashville Management, the company founded by Dave and his son Justis Mustaine. Several months later, the affiliation came to a sudden and unexpected end, with DIAMOND HEAD switching over to Siren Artist Management, which also handles SAXON, EUROPE, URIAH HEEP and THIN LIZZY.

In 2019, DIAMOND HEAD bassist Dean Ashton said "it was an awesome experience getting to work with Dave." As for the failed partnership, DIAMOND HEAD vocalist Rasmus Bom Anderson admitted: "It was a big blow to all of us, as there was so much great stuff happening in the wings, and it all fell to pieces. I have nothing but great respect to Dave Mustaine and Justis Mustaine. They were super friendly and supportive, and I believe [they] wanted this to work out as much as we did, but sadly it didn't."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian's side project SCARS ON BROADWAY played its first concert in more than five years Saturday (October 5) at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California as the support act for KORN. Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Chemicals 1:02
02. Sickening Wars 4:42
03. Fucking 6:59
04. Universe 9:25
05. Insane 13:29
06. Scars On Broadway 16:48
07. World Long Gone 19:30
08. Cute Machines 22:36
09. Guns Are Loaded 25:33
10. Fuck 'N Kill 29:29
11. Exploding/Reloading 33:10
12. Stoner Hate 35:16
13. They Say 37:37

Prior to the BMO concert, DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY hadn't played live since completing a short West Coast tour in March 2019.

Joining Daron in the current SCARS ON BROADWAY lineup are Orbel Babayan (rhythm guitar, backing vocals),Niko Chantziantoniou (bass) and Roman Lomtadze (drums).

SCARS ON BROADWAY's latest album, "Dictator", was released in July 2018.

SCARS ON BROADWAY, now rebranded DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY, has undergone a complete overhaul, with none of the members from the group's 2008 debut — including SYSTEM drummer John Dolmayan — appearing on the most recent songs.

Malakian explained the personnel changes in an online post, saying: "Nobody quit. When I first started SCARS, I always said that it would be different lineups from album to album. Depends on the type of direction I want to take. Different musicians work for different styles. That is partly why I added my name in front of the band's."

"Dictator" saw Malakian write, produce and play every instrument — including all vocals — over the course of a 10-day recording session. The album's cover art was created by Daron's father, Vartan Malakian, who also designed the artwork for SYSTEM OF A DOWN's twin 2005 releases, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize".

"Dictator" was recorded in 2012 but remained unreleased until 2018.

SCARS ON BROADWAY previously performed in 2012 as the opening act for DEFTONES in Los Angeles.

The group has only played live sporadically over the years: a headlining trek in 2008 was canceled, with Malakian citing his lack of enthusiasm and "his heart not being into touring" as the chief reasons behind the decision.

The guitarist later explained that he thought it was "almost too soon" for him to go on the road after SYSTEM OF A DOWN went on hiatus in 2006, also citing issues in his personal life that "made it impossible" for him to tour.

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.

CRIMSON GLORY's new lineup, which includes Ben Jackson (guitar),Jeff Lords (bass) and Dana Burnell (drums),along with the group's latest additions, lead vocalist Travis Wills of the Dallas, Texas progressive power metal band INFIDEL RISING and guitarist Mark "Borgy" Borgmeyer of the Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida hard rock act THE LOST BOYS, made its live debut Saturday night (October 5) at the Keep It True Rising IV festival at Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany.

The band's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Valhalla
02. Dragon Lady
03. Lady Of Winter
04. Where Dragons Rule
05. Painted Skies
06. Masque Of The Red Death
07. Queen Of The Masquerade
08. Burning Bridges
09. Chasing The Hydra (new song)
10. In Dark Places
11. Eternal World
12. Azrael

Encore:

13. Lost Reflection
14. Lonely
15. Red Sharks

Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

The Keep It True Rising IV show marked CRIMSON GLORY's first live appearance in more than 12 years.

In January, CRIMSON GLORY released the official lyric video for the first single to feature the band's new lineup, a song called "Triskaideka". Travis told The Metal Command about the fan response to the track: "At first, I was a little nervous when I was reading the comments, but then I was, like, it is what it is. I'm just gonna go out there, do my best and let the chips fall where they fall. The guys [in the band] obviously like what I've been doing with the songs, and that's really important. It's really important that the that the fans of the band dig it, and I'm really glad that they got a little glimpse of what my voice kind of steers toward that they can get on board with that."

He continued: "I've seen some real interesting comparisons, and while I don't hear it, I'm glad to read it. So that makes me happy, especially the Warrel Dane [comparison]. I'm, like, I don't hear it, but I'll take that. And, of course, the kind of Midnight [original CRIMSON GLORY singer] overtone, I'm very glad to do that.

"Man, I'll tell you what, I was really scared going — not scared, but just nervous going into it, because when you're stepping into a legendary vocalist['s shoes], there's a lot of weight that is on your shoulders," Wills admitted. "And I had to think about it, if this is something that I feel like I could do. And I thought about it, and I'm, like, 'Yeah, I can do this.' And I'm glad that these guys trust me to bring that to the band."

Jackson and Wills also talked in more detail about the musical direction of the new CRIMSON GLORY material, with Ben saying: "We're trying to go back more towards the roots of the band, like the sound and style of the first two albums [1986's self-titled LP and 1988's 'Transcendence']. So it's kind of a conscious move, that that's what we're going for. The third and fourth album [1991's 'Strange And Beautiful' and 1999's 'Astronomica'] were a little different in style, and it just seems that the fans have always really embraced and loved the first two albums the most, so we're going to try to recapture that sort of vibe and sound for this new album."

Travis said: "I really liked the [first] single that came out… But I think the stuff that we've got for the new album is just stellar, and fans are gonna be really pleased. There's a lot of hat tipping to Midnight in it, and there's a lot of revisiting the sound from the first two albums. So I think everybody's gonna be really pleased."

Jackson went on to say that the new CRIMSON GLORY music sounds "pretty close" to "Crimson Glory" and "Transcendence". "Obviously we're different now and we're evolving, as a band should," he explained. "It might have a little more modernisms about it, it might sound a little more modern. The production will probably be a little better and more modern than the productions on the first two albums because of things that you can do today in the recording world. The first album, when I listen to it, it sounds thick and everything, but the production's a little dated. Stylistically, the way we're writing, I think it's really right up the alley of what we were doing then. And, obviously, Travis is gonna bring something new to this, because he's a different guy, he's his own guy. Like he says, on some of these songs, he does little things that sort of tip the hat to the Midnight vibe, but he's really an original, and that's what we needed in a new singer. We didn't want a Midnight clone. We wanted somebody who was special, a real original. And we have that. Travis is very special, very original."

In February, Jackson told The Rock N' Roll & Coffee Show about how CRIMSON GLORY decided to become active again: "There was this really great singer named Mystique, a guy from Greece, and he was brought to our attention by a friend of ours. And the guy Mystique really caught our attention, got us kind of interested in maybe doing something with the band again. He sounded a lot like [original CRIMSON GLORY singer] Midnight, which was appealing for us at first. And then we worked with the guy for almost a couple of years, writing some songs and discussing the possibility of him joining the band. And ultimately it didn't really work out with him. We didn't really agree on everything we were doing with the songwriting, but he was a cool guy. But it didn't really work out, so he's gonna go ahead and do a solo album. And we wish him well with that. But that's kind of what got us reinterested, actually, is our friend bringing this guy to our attention. And when it didn't work out with him, Jeff and Dana and I were already kind of amped up with some of the new songs that we were working on. And we said, 'Well, we'll find somebody and we'll just do this.' And we did. We looked at a couple other singers before we kind of happened upon the guy we have now, Travis."

Asked what excited him about Travis, Ben said: "Well, what excited me was, I guess, he sent us a version of him singing one of our classic songs, 'Painted Skies', and it sounded really good; he was really capturing the emotion of the song. And he didn't sound exactly like Midnight, like he was trying to copycat him; he kind of had his own sound, his own voice, but he was really, really nailing it and sounded really good with it. So I was, like, 'This guy is something else.'"

Jackson also touched upon the lack of involvement of CRIMSON GLORY's founding guitarist Jon Drenning with the band's current formation. Asked if Jon is contributing to any of the music writing, Ben said: "No, not this time around. He's just completely away from it. Around 2012, when we were sort of writing with [former CRIMSON GLORY and current QUEENSRŸCHE singer] Todd [La Torre] for what we were gonna make a new album with Todd, we started planning some specific evenings in which we'd all write together, and Jon was just not showing up that much. He came to a few and then sort of slacked off on it. And that's one of the reasons that led to Todd just kind of pulling out and going full force with QUEENSRŸCHE. And that was over 10, 11 years ago now, and we haven't really had any contact with Jon in the last 10 years — any of us. We wish him well and everything, but, yeah, I think from the time his son was born, he just kind of removed himself from the music business and wants to play the dad role. And that's understandable. It's not really in his priority list right now to be doing music and records and stuff."

Last December, Drenning said that he "would have loved to be a part of" the band's reformed lineup, but that his family life has prevented him from being involved in the legendary progressive power metallers' comeback.

Drenning made his comments one day after it was announced that CRIMSON GLORY was returning with new lead vocalist, new guitarist and immediate plans to release two new singles.

On December 23, 2023, Drenning released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "I wish Ben, Dana and Jeff all the best. I would have loved to be a part of this new chapter, but my priorities are not in sync with the band at this juncture. Indeed, being a father has shaped my priorities in ways I could never imagine. Mark Borgemeyer is a good friend and I can't think of a better candidate to fill my shoes. I share the same enthusiasm as the fans, and there may be another surprise for them around the corner…stay tuned."

CRIMSON GLORY had been largely inactive since La Torre officially quit the band in February 2013.

La Torre, who joined Seattle-based progressive metal icons QUEENSRŸCHE in June 2012 as the replacement for Geoff Tate, became an official member of CRIMSON GLORY in April 2010 and played a number of shows with the Florida metal act during the two-and-a-half-year period prior to his exit.

A "raw" version of a new CRIMSON GLORY demo track titled "Garden Of Shadows", featuring La Torre on vocals, was released in September 2012 and was supposed to appear on the band's new concept record, which was expected sometime in 2013.

In announcing his departure from CRIMSON GLORY, La Torre said that his involvement with QUEENSRŸCHE "had nothing to do" with his decision to leave CRIMSON GLORY, adding that the "main reason" for his "resignation" was "primarily" due to the latter band's "inertia status."

La Torre made his first public appearance with CRIMSON GLORY at ProgPower USA X as one of 17 guest performers paying tribute to Midnight.

Midnight passed away in 2009 due to long-term health complications.

Wade Black sang on CRIMSON GLORY's 1999 album "Astronomica" and took part in a subsequent European tour.

David Van Landing replaced Midnight briefly for the U.S. tour in support of CRIMSON GLORY's third album, 1991's "Strange And Beautiful".

In celebration of their milestone 30th anniversary, KORN performed a once-in-a-lifetime show at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 5. This one-night-only performance featured special guests EVANESCENCE, GOJIRA, DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY, SPIRITBOX and VENDED.

KORN's setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Here To Stay
02. Dead Bodies Everywhere
03. Got The Life
04. A.D.I.D.A.S.
05. Coming Undone
06. Good God
07. Start The Healing
08. Somebody Someone
09. Blind
10. Ball Tongue
11. Clown
12. Shoots And Ladders
13. Helmet In The Bush
14. Twist
15. It's On!
16. Make Me Bad
17. Y'All Want A Single

Encore:

18. Falling Away From Me
19. Oildale (Leave Me Alone)
20. Freak On A Leash (with Amy Lee)

Fan-filmed video of the "Freak On A Leash" performance, featuring a guest appearance by EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee, can be seen below.

KORN kicked off its summer/fall 2024 North American tour on September 12 at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida. The band's 18-song setlist, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of KORN's debut album, included "Oildale" mostly the band's 2010 LP "Korn III: Remember Who You Are" and "Hey Daddy", a track from KORN's 1999 album "Issues" which had only ever previously been performed almost 25 years ago.

The rock cultural icons' 25-date Live Nation-produced trek featuring special guests, Grammy-nominated band GOJIRA and Canadian heavy metal group SPIRITBOX, will wrap up in St. Paul, Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center on October 27.

When the BMO show was first announced in March, KORN singer Jonathan Davis said in a statement: "Reflecting on thirty years of KORN fills me with such immense gratitude for our journey, the growth we've experienced, and the incredible bond we share with our fans. It's humbling to see how our music has touched so many lives across the globe. From our small club beginnings to now headlining stadiums, it's been an unforgettable ride, and we owe it all to our amazing, undying, loyal community that's made it possible. I'm really looking forward to this incredible night to celebrate together."

KORN changed the world with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1994. It was a record that would pioneer a genre, and blur others-leading into a larger cultural movement. Since forming, KORN has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, collected two Grammys, toured the world countless times, and set many records in the process that will likely never be surpassed. KORN has continued to push the limits of the rock, alternative and metal genres, while remaining a pillar of influence for legions of fans, and generations of artists around the globe.

The level of KORN's reach transcends accolades and platinum certifications. They are "a genuine movement in a way bands cannot be now," attests The Ringer. They represent a new archetype and radical innovation, their ability to transcend genre makes barriers seem irrelevant.

In a March 2024 interview with the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station, KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2022 album "Requiem". He said: "Well, I'll just say, yes, we are passionately and intensely working on new music. We're a little bit behind. We've been really digging deep into sounds and tones and miking techniques and just really focusing on every aspect of just the miking and the sonic levels of everything because… I love the last few records we've done in the last 10 years, but I think — I just have something in me that thinks we could beat the tones. I love the songs that we've done, but tone-wise I feel like we can beat it. So we're spending a lot more time on this new music, we're spending a lot more money [chuckles], and we don't have any record label involved, so it's all coming from us. And we really want to dissect our sound and remember where we came from and how we did it back then. And having a vintage KORN feel with a modern twist — sonically, I'm talking about. So it's very intense. The songs are amazing. I'm very proud of it. I feel like we are closer than we've ever been in the studio. And Jonathan [Davis, KORN singer] has been there every day."

According to Welch, he and his KORN bandmates are working on new music "off and on. We'll work for — I don't know — a couple of weeks. Then I won't see [Jonathan] for a month or two," he explained. "But it's starting to pick up now because we wanna put new music out. We're a little bit behind, but we're very proud of what we're doing. And we can't wait for people to hear it."

Regarding the musical direction of the new KORN material, Brian said: "I think it's the best and heaviest KORN stuff in years. And I think it's gonna be raw and just kind of more basic, as far as sound and recording and everything. I don't wanna give it all away, but we're just very, very pleased with where we're at right now."

Welch — who rejoined KORN more than a decade ago, eight years after leaving the band and at the same time announcing that he kicked his addictions to drugs and alcohol by becoming a born-again Christian — also clarified that he and the rest of KORN "haven't started recording" the band's next album "yet, but we're very passionately heading toward that direction. And we can't wait for everybody to hear it."

KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu announced in June 2021 that he would sit out the band's tour in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits." He has since been replaced on the road by SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Roberto "Ra" Díaz.

Released in February 2022, "Requiem", which was produced by Chris Collier and KORN, entered Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart at No. 1. The band sold 23,000 equivalent album units in the February 4-10, 2022 tracking week, according to Billboard. Of that sum, 20,000 units were from album sales. "Requiem" also landed at No. 2 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts. On the all-format Billboard 200, it arrived at No. 14.

Despite the fact that he hasn't performed with his KORN bandmates for more than three years, Fieldy did play on "Requiem".

In a recent interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series, KINGDOM COME guitarist Danny Stag was asked if there had ever been any attempt at a reunion of the band's classic lineup in the three and a half decades after the original group abruptly broke up for personal reasons in August 1989. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In 2014, we all agreed to put the original five back together. And we actually got to the point where we had an agent and shows were being booked and we were gonna start rehearsing out in L.A. And Lenny [Wolf, original KINGDOM COME singer] flew out from Germany, and we got through one rehearsal, and it fell apart because James [Kottak, KINGDOM COME drummer] had to go back to play with SCORPIONS. SCORPIONS had told James, 'Yeah, we're winding it down. We're only doing 50 or 60 shows a year now.' And Klaus [Meine, SCORPIONS singer] knew that James had been talking about putting KINGDOM COME back together and he knew there was a market out there for it. And it was like a dream of [James's] — the guy that quit, funnily enough, he wanted to put the band back together. [James] always loved the band. He loved [bassist] Johnny [B. Frank] and I and [guitarist] Rick [Steier]; we were all great friends. And so what happened was SCORPIONS said, 'Yeah, James, you can do KINGDOM COME now with our blessing. Just don't double book. If we have a show, don't book a [KINGDOM COME] show on any of the dates where there's a SCORPIONS show. And you're still gonna get paid the same way.' He wouldn't have to change his contract or anything. They just said, 'If you wanna fill in some days with KINGDOM COME, that's great.' So that's what we were gonna do. Then Klaus had surgery on his knee. He was in the hospital, and he's a sober guy. He was in the hospital, and they had him on painkillers and all this stuff, and he had a change of heart, and he told James he couldn't do it. And we had already put it in motion. Yeah, they said, 'We're gonna do another record.' Remember how SCORPIONS retired about six times in the last 10 years? This was this was one of those times. And they said, 'You have to come back. We're going in the studio and we're doing a tour.' And James had no choice. Well, he didn't wanna throw away a lot of money and screw the band over. So he said, 'I'm sorry, guys. We can't do it.' He was in tears. He felt really bad. And so Lenny went home, back to Germany."

In an interview this past March with Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!, Frank gave a slightly different version of why a reunion of KINGDOM COME's classic lineup failed to materialize a decade ago. He said at the time: "We tried to do [a KINGDOM COME reunion] in 2015 when Lenny was still in the band. James had a year off from the SCORPIONS, so he said, 'Let's do some KINGDOM COME. ' And Lenny was into it. We were getting those big bucks, 'cause it was all original members and we hadn't done anything in 30 years, 29 years or something. So there was a big buzz about us. And then James went to his doctor that afternoon — we were gonna rehearse that night with Lenny and Rick and Danny and everybody — and he told his doctor, 'I'm an alcoholic.' And his doctor said, 'Well, let me prescribe you some Valium.' So he thought, 'Okay, I'll just take a Valium before rehearsal and then I won't need to drink.' And then when the Valium started kicking in, he thought, 'You know what would go good with this? Some Jack Daniel's.' He felt that buzz coming on, and he was, like, 'I've gotta finish this off.' An hour later, he actually fell off his drum stool, and Lenny said, 'That's it. I'm going back to Germany.'"

In 2018, Kottak seemingly confirmed Stag's version of events as it related to the failed reunion of KINGDOM COME's classic lineup, telling NJArts.net: "I wanted to [put the band back together] in 2012 or 2013 and I had the entire band assembled, including Lenny here in L.A. And then I got this call from … Klaus Meine and he said, 'James, we've [SCORPIONS] been on our farewell tour for a few years but I have to ask you, can you not play with anyone else? Because we've decided not to say farewell, we're going to do another album.' Well, I said, 'My allegiance is with you guys,' so I had to go along with the boys, because they're like family."

The new lineup of KINGDOM COME — featuring Stag, Steier and Frank, along with the band's latest additions, vocalist Ezekiel "Zeke" Kaplan and drummer Matt Muckle — played its first two shows on March 15 at The Lamp Theater in Irwin, Pennsylvania and on March 16 at The Mercury Music Lounge in Lakewood, Ohio.

In February, singer Keith St John announced his departure from KINGDOM COME after a five-year run with the band.

St John joined KINGDOM COME in 2018 after Wolf opted not to be involved in the group's reunion alongside Kottak, Stag, Steier and Frank.

St John's exit from KINGDOM COME came just a month after Kottak died at the age of 61.

Earlier in February, Stag, Steier and Frank launched a new web site at kingdomcomerockband.com where they revealed that they would carry on under the KINGDOM COME banner with the addition of Kaplan and Muckle.

Kottak, who was open about his battle with alcoholism, died on January 9. No cause of death has been given.

KINGDOM COME had used a different drummer, SLAUGHTER's Blas Elias, instead of James for most of the band's shows in the last two years due to Kottak's deteriorating health.

Prior to Kottak's death, KINGDOM COME's most recent touring lineup consisted of St John and Elias alongside Stag, Steier and Frank.

Kottak's daughter Tobi told TMZ her father passed away in Louisville, where he lived until 1987, although further details about the exact circumstances weren't available.

In addition to SCORPIONS and KINGDOM COME, Kottak had toured with such bands as WARRANT and even DIO for a short run. James was also involved in various other projects, including the 1990s band KRUNK in which he sang lead vocals and played guitar.

Kottak was married to Athena Lee, the sister of MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee, from 1996 to 2010.

With the debut album from Doedsmaghird only a week away, the band have given fans a glimpse of what’s to come by unveiling their first single, “Heart Of Hell”. This eight-minute epic, characterized by its surreal and dreamlike atmosphere, is the first single to be released from the upcoming album Omniverse Consciousness (October 11, Peaceville). Accompanying the single is a visually captivating music video by Matt Vickerstaff.


Preorder here.


Speaking about “Heart Of Hell”, Doedsmaghird songwriter Yusaf Parvez shared, “The ascending leads to a finite outcome in this narrative, so the subject aims to descend and uncover roads and outcomes that can omit and perhaps surpass the previous outcome. Like the video portrays, this person is depicted in the very heart of hell, and by the options present it is actually easier for the subject to move down rather than up. 




“Downward on this scale can also translate moving towards less coveted ideas and a separation from common conception of values. As in culture, choosing this lifestyle over a lifestyle with more materialistic focus pertaining to profession and monetary means or reaching for a god, can seem like aiming for a lesser and much more unsafe state of being, but in turn it might yield a deeper sense of understanding existence and the nature of your being.”


Following the monumental release of Dødheimsgard’s 2023 magnum opus, Black Medium Current, Yusaf "Vicotnik" Parvez set out to create something inspired by the pioneering works of Satanic Art (1998) and 666 International (1999). This pursuit led to the birth of Doedsmaghird, a parallel world and a twisted companion to those genre-defining releases. By channelling the primal, grim essence that fuelled those classics, Doedsmaghird reinterprets it for the modern era, emerging under a new guise with the debut album Omniverse Consciousness.


In contrast to modern day Dødheimsgard, the origin and process of Doedsmaghird - rather than one of perhaps more meticulous and scrupulous focus - was one intentionally driven by instinct without over-thinking; to give flesh to something very real & honest sounding in its unfolding chaos and spontaneity. This sense of almost raw urgency was utilised to reflect the more time-restricted recording session experiences of Vicotnik’s earlier days, which in turn necessitated at times on-edge performances and more “in-the-moment” unreplicable magic.


The compositional style of Omniverse Consciousness itself is primarily about embracing those intense moments and capturing this as the pure unbridled source; the album a journey of

November 15, 2024 will see German hard- and classic rock overlords Voodoo Circle release their seventh studio album, entitled "Hail To The King", via AFM Records.


Following a lyric video for the band's latest single "Let It Rock", today, Voodoo Circle are releasing their brand new song "On The Edge".


Every album has its own history, and this one not only tells of Voodoo Circle and its musicians, but also – indirectly, of course – of Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin. Without trying to disguise their influences, Voodoo Circle consciously follow in the footsteps of these iconic acts and their great international status. Their upcoming album Hail To The King doesn’t even try to hide the obvious source of inspiration that spawned the twelve tracks on the recording, but presents with pride, bravura and impressive stylistic confidence the brand of timeless hard rock coined by those groups. Beyrodt states: “Our aim is to continue in the great tradition of this music and translate it into a contemporary context.”




The history of Hail To The King includes an interesting anecdote: Two of the twelve new album tracks were penned by former Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey. Beyrodt remembers, looking back almost 25 years: “At the beginning of the 1990s, we were in Tony’s studio to record material for a Sinner album, including the two Carey compositions, ‘All For One’ and ‘Billy’s Song’, which were only released in Japan at the time. I still remember how, in my mid-twenties, I couldn’t believe that I was standing in a recording studio with a legend such as Carey, watching him play the Hammond organ for us, headbanging away. Both songs have been at the back of my mind ever since, just waiting for the right moment to record them again. And since I also wanted to listen to the Rainbow side of me for ‘Hail To The King’, that perfect moment seemed to have arrived.”


At the same time, the new Voodoo Circle album contains not only the usual Whitesnake reminiscences but also a powerful dose from the Led Zeppelin direction. As always, Beyrodt proves to be an outstandingly versatile guitarist, adding: “Ultimately, each song decides which guitar I play. The days when musicians stood for one specific type of guitar are long gone. Nowadays, it’s all about doing justice to the song and its story.”


The first-rate mix courtesy of Achim Köhler, which – like the impressive cover artwork – captures the spirit of this powerful rock disc perfectly, also underlines this claim. Finally, let’s not forget to mention that Voodoo Circle will be going on tour in November 2024, because one thing is obvious: These songs belong on a stage, where hard rock à la Voodoo Circleis truly at home.

In a new interview with Consequence, DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy named PANTERA's 1992 album "Vulgar Display Of Power" as one of the 10 LPs which influenced his drumming. He said about the effort: "'Vulgar Display Of Power' came out around the same time as [DREAM THEATER's] 'Images And Words' back in 1992. We were actually labelmates at the time. So, we were working on the same label with the same people. And I remember hearing this when it came out, it just floored me. I was already a fan from 'Cowboys From Hell' that came out a year or two earlier, but this took their new sound and style and elevated it to a whole new level. To me, PANTERA was the band that kept metal alive in the '90s.

"By the time I was coming up with DREAM THEATER in the early '90s, thrash was starting to go away, grunge was killing all of us," he continued. "We were all fighting grunge, whether you were metal or prog or whatever, so PANTERA, to me, was the band that carried the flag. When METALLICA was going through their changes and ANTHRAX were going through their changes, PANTERA was carrying the metal flag throughout the '90s. And I have to give credit to maybe MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA as well.

"PANTERA, they took the heaviness of the thrash and speed metal world, but they really gave it a groove," Portnoy added. "I always appreciated that. They had a Texas swing and they had that swagger and they had the riffs and the heaviness of all these heavy thrash and speed metal bands, but they had the swagger of MÖTLEY CRÜE or GUNS N' ROSES, as weird as it is to say. And that's maybe why they toured with SKID ROW when this album came out.

"Vinnie Paul [Abbott, PANTERA drummer] played with a swing and a groove that a lot of thrash and speed metal drummers maybe didn't have. And I say that with all due respect, because a lot of those drummers blow my mind and are incredibly influential on me, but Vinnie, like a Mikkey Dee [KING DIAMOND, MOTÖRHEAD], had that swagger and that groove and really made these riffs that Dimebag [Darrell Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] was playing just really swing and groove."

Last year, Portnoy weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner. Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, headlined a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staged some of their own headline concerts. They also supported METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the new PANTERA lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Portnoy discussed the controversy surrounding PANTERA's comeback in an interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. Asked if he has had a chance to catch a concert from the new PANTERA yet, the now-57-year-old drummer said: "I caught the show in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was fricking phenomenal. I loved it. Absolutely loved it… Charlie and Zakk are absolutely killing it, really. I couldn't be happier for them. I think all the naysayers that came in this skeptical at the beginning are now kind of eating their words and realizing how badass this is and how important it is, to keep that legacy alive."

He continued: "I know it was a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but I think the reality is if Dimebag hadn't been killed, I think they surely would've reunited at some point by now. And I understand Vinnie, once Dimebag was killed, I understand Vinnie never wanting to do it without him; it's his brother, so I get that. But now that Vinnie isn't with us either — it's Phil and Rex's band as well, and I think wanting to carry on the legacy for a whole new generation is a great, great thing. They're an important band and important to metal, and why shouldn't they be out there doing it, you know? And actually, they're doing it so tastefully and with so much honor and respect to Dime and Vinnie. They're there each and every show right there on Charlie's bass drum heads. So I think they're doing it right."

Back in July 2018, less than a month after Vinnie Paul's passing, Portnoy told Metal Wani: "Vinnie was a friend of mine for a long time. We became friends right around when [PANTERA] put out 'Cowboys From Hell' and [DREAM THEATER] put out 'Images And Words'. We were both signed to Atco at the same time, so we were dealing with a lot of the same people. And I became good friends with not only Vinnie, but all four of the guys in the band, and, to this day, remain good friends with all of 'em.

"When Vinnie came on the scene, in terms of his drumming, I think [PANTERA] were the perfect band that was needed in the metal world around '91, '92, because pretty much the 'Big Four' were kind of knocked out of style by grunge," he continued. "SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, METALLICA and then also TESTAMENT and EXODUS and OVERKILL, all those bands around the early '90s got killed by grunge. So PANTERA was the only band to really carry metal through the '90s. I'd say PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA — to me, those were the three that were carrying it through. But PANTERA were the top of those.

"And getting back to Vinnie specifically, when I heard 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display [Of Power]', it was, like, 'Okay, this is fuckin' great metal drumming,'" Portnoy added. "I already was listening to Charlie Benante ], Dave Lombardo [SLAYER] and Lars Ulrich [METALLICA], but by the early '90s, Vinnie was kind of the next guy in line to carry the torch for the thrash or groove metal movement."

During an appearance on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show, Portnoy said that "Vinnie was a big part of the production" of the early PANTERA albums. "Him and Dime [PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] co-produced with Terry [Date]. So he was very into that stuff — they were done at his studios. And he was very into that — it was another thing that he was really good at that you forget about. You just think about the drumming and the partying, but he was also really behind the PANTERA production."

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Mike Portnoy photo credit: Travis Shinn

In a new interview with Charlie Kendall's Metalshop, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill spoke about the additions of guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap to the band's touring and recording lineup and how they have affected PRIEST's overall sound. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're a band with a long history, so we have to sort of remain audibly very similar. There's no point in going out there and playing a song 30 years old that sounds completely different. It's gotta sound pretty much how the fans expect it to sound. So it was filling the roles, I think, initially at least.

"Richie's been with the band now for — what? — 12, 13 years," he continued. "And, of course a lot of that time he was playing alongside of Glenn [Tipton, who has retired from touring]. So a guitarist being a guitarist, they'd talk and Glenn gave tips and hints to Richie the way Ken [former PRIEST guitarist Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing] might have done something, at least on the first tour. And then, of course, when we started to do new records with Richie, he could go and do his own thing. He could be himself rather than trying to fill somebody else's boots. And pretty much the same with Andy, fast forward about 10 years. And so Richie has been assimilated, if you like — he's now part of the clan, of the family. And the same happened with Andy. I mean, Andy was a great choice. He'd just [produced] the new record — he produced 'Firepower' — so he was familiar with all the new material. I think we might have done four or five songs from 'Firepower' on that particular tour. So, when you're learning a song, half of it is knowing and getting it between your ears. You're halfway there, and then the playing part — there's nothing worse than playing something, getting it right, and you're thinking, 'What comes next?' So, he was a perfect choice, really, to fit the bill. He's also a fan of the band, and he was familiar, and still is, with all the older stuff as well. So, he was a pretty perfect fit. And of course, over the tours — I think he's on his fourth tour now or something like that — he's grown in stature as well and he's performing really, really well on stage as well… So we have that signature sound, and I think that's very, very important."

JUDAS PRIEST recently kicked off leg two of its "Invincible Shield" tour with special guest SABATON. The all-time greats are taking over new markets in North America this fall with an additional 23 performances. Produced by Live Nation, the tour launched on September 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and makes stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona and more before wrapping up with three shows in Texas on October 22, 24 and 26.

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the spring 2024 U.S. leg of the "Invincible Shield" world tour on April 18 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

"Invincible Shield" entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

This past March, Hill was asked by Spain's Rock FM if he and his bandmates have thought about a possible retirement yet. The 72-year-old bassist responded: "No, we have no plan to retire yet. We're still able to perform. The time to think about retiring is when your performances start to dip and you're not doing too well. You have to think about it then. We're not stupid; we know that we're not getting any younger and that there will be a time when we have to retire, but there's no plans to do so just yet."

Dwarven power metal warriors, Wind Rose, celebrate their fast-approaching album release and tour kickoff with mugs full of beer, delivering the epic party anthem, "The Great Feast Underground". Their new album, Trollslayer, will be released on October 4, the day they begin their biggest tour to date with label colleagues and genre giants Powerwolf, as well as HammerFall.


After releasing the catchy Deep Rock Galactic hymn “Rock And Stone” and the sing-a-long anthem “To Be A Dwarf”, Wind Rose celebrate the dwarven party of the year, which can be experienced in yet another outstanding official music video. Dive deep into the world under the mountains with “The Great Feast Underground”.


Wind Rose on “The Great Feast Underground”: “Our 2019 party anthem “Drunken Dwarves” needed a heir to the throne, and that's how “The Great Feast Underground” was born. Prepare to raise your mugs, sing along with us and embrace the spirit of the party! We are looking forward to playing this banger live and to see some massive circle pits to it.”




Watch the video for “The Great Feast Underground”:





Trollslayer follows the success of Warfront (2022), which debuted in the Top 10 on the US Current Hard Music Albums chart. Arriving right before their biggest European tour ever alongside Powerwolf and HammerFall, this album promises to be the perfect blend of signature party anthems alongside select deeper, more serious tracks. Exploding onto the scene with viral appearances on TikTok and amassing almost half a million followers on the platform, as well as almost a million monthly listeners, Wind Rose have solidified their reputation as a powerhouse in the modern power metal scene.


Wind Rose on the new album Trollslayer: “We spent more than 2 years working on Trollslayer, a new Dwarf Metal opera that will entertain you with fast riffs, beer and fun. With Trollslayer we didn’t only keep all the key elements of Dwarf metal, we also brought back the fast paced rhythms typical of our previous albums. Both Wintersaga and Warfront have had a great impact on our fans, even if they have many differences in style. With Trollslayer we unified all the best features of both albums and we are delivering what we believe is the best Dwarf Metal experience so far. We can’t wait to play some of these new songs live for you, are you ready?!”


Trollslayer starts-off with the epic instrumental “Of Ice and Blood”, setting the stage for the fiery energy to come. Next up is the electrifying “Dance of the Axes”, a potent mix of catchy refrains and guttural growls. It is directly followed by two party anthems, “The Great Feast Underground” – which overtakes the listener with crazy dwarven drinking rhythms – as well as throwing the gauntlet with the anthem “Rock and Stone”, a party track inspired by space dwarf first-person shooter video game Deep Rock Galactic. The album continues with three deep and catchy anthems – the fast “Home of the Twilight”, the upbeat “To Be a Dwarf”, and the Warhammer-inspired title track “Trollslayer”. The album concludes with the gripping “No More Sorrow”, showcasing Wind Rose's ability to weave moments of emotional depth into their music. This track proves that even the mightiest dwarven warriors carry the weight of loss and hardship!


Trollslayer brings the listener into an unforgettable journey through the caves of metal, capturing the epic, medieval spirit of the dwarves!





Trollslayer will be available in the following formats:


- 1CD Digipack & Tankard – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive – strictly limited to 300
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Gold, Slipmat, Vinyl Booklet – strictly limited to 200
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black / White Marbled – strictly limited to 200
- 1CD Digipack & Shirt Bundle
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
- 1CD Digipack
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Silver –North America Indies Exclusive – strictly limited to 500
- Digital Album
- 1CD Digipak w/ signed autograph card – (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black w/ signed autograph card – (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Trans Clear Red marbled – Wind Rose store exclusive – strictly limited to 500


Pre-order

Modist Brewing Company is thrilled to announce their latest beer release, Apocalyptic City, a West Coast IPA brewed in collaboration with thrash metal icons, Testament. This limited-edition brew celebrates the iconic sounds and energy of Testament while delivering a crushable 6% ABV IPA with bursts of bold flavors and intense aroma.


Apocalyptic City is a smooth, medium-bodied IPA that will lay your taste buds to waste with a balanced hop bitterness and bright tropical flavors. Crafted with pale ale malt and Goldpils Vienna malt, and dry-hopped with hand-selected Simcoe, Citra, and Sultana hops, this IPA glows with a pale golden-orange hue. On the palate, drinkers can expect notes of pineapple-orange marmalade, passion fruit, and citrus pine, creating a true thrash-inspired experience.


This collaboration brings together Testament's "Apocalyptic City", a song that captures the chaos and power of the band's music, and Modist's commitment to pushing boundaries in brewing. In addition to the beer’s unique profile, the label features artwork by the talented Mats Engsten and Vic Moya, reflecting Testament's iconic thrash metal aesthetic.




“We’re beyond stoked to team up with one of thrash metal's greatest bands,” said Keigan Knee, Co-Owner and Director of Product Development at Modist. “This beer is a tribute to the raw energy and influence of Testament, and we can’t wait for their fans—and our beer fans—to get a taste of Apocalyptic City.”





Beer Availability:


- Pre-sale: Apocalyptic City is available for pre-sale now exclusively through Halftime Beverage. With shipping to most US states and all countries worldwide, consumers can order 12- or 24-packs of this exclusive release. Shipping begins in early October, but quantities are limited.


- Retail & Taproom Release: Apocalyptic City in cans is available for retail now at the Modist Brewing Taproom, with distribution within the Metro area to select liquor stores starting now.


Stay tuned for more information on upcoming events and special releases connected to Apocalyptic City via Modist Brewing’s social media platforms.





Join Testament on Monday, October 14 at 7 PM for a Meet & Greet / Signing at Park Ave CDs - 2916 Corrine Dr. in Orlando, Florida.


Featuring a Special Q&A with the band and a Testament judged pumpkin carving contest. Bring your killer creations to the shop for a chance to win a prize-pack from Concept Cafes Coffee + Park Ave CDs.


Testament will be signing records along with their latest release Brazen, the official Testament coffee. This coffee is in collaboration with local roasters Concept Cafes & Coterie Coffee Co. and they’ll be on site selling the collectible / limited edition Brazen coffee tin!





Artwork designed by Marina Tsareva/ Head Artist & Design @ Concept Cafes


 


Are you "Brazen" enough to slurp the sacrifice and be illuminated in the enlightenment?! Testament’s Brazen Coffee explores the true origins of coffee from ancient temple rituals to the fabled lore of venomous miracle elixirs. Brazen is a divine dark roast, sinisterly smooth and brazenly-bodied, the purest form of specialty coffee, tediously roasted to perfection. Brazen makes a diabolical drip, an evil espresso and callous cold brew.


Testament’s Brazen Coffee was roasted especially fresh right before the kick- off of the Klash of the Titans North American 2024 Tour to maximize the most Brazen coffee experience ever!


Testament has released remastered versions of their seminal albums The Legacy and The New Order both digitally and on vinyl via Nuclear Blast Records. Both releases + other classic Tes

Crash Midnight are back with another new single, this time aiming their sights at corporate media with “Toxic Propaganda”. The single follows their previous release, “Dead Aces”, issued this past May. A lyric video for "Toxic Propaganda" is available below. Stream the single on Spotify.





Vocalist Shaun Soho caught up with BraveWords’ Nick Balazs to talk about the inspiration behind the song and what’s coming up in the band’s future.




BraveWords: “Toxic Propaganda” – please explain the meaning behind the title and song.


Shaun Soho: I've had the idea for the song title for quite a while now, but the lyrical content really came together over the last several years as we've seen that veneer of impartiality of all these legacy media outlets really getting ripped off. We're trying to draw attention to, or really expose, the captured corporate media as the shills they are. "News with an agenda" is a real problem. So much of the news that people consume is hopelessly sensationalized and it seems like everybody always thinks "yeah, but not my side" and we're like "yes, your fucking side too jackass."


BraveWords: Crash Midnight usually doesn’t touch these type of subjects, what drove the inspiration behind writing this type of song?


Shaun Soho: As a band, we focus our stuff mostly on social commentary - whether it's something that's directly affected us or a situation we've been in as a result of what's going on around us.  "Toxic Propaganda" isn't really a political song per se because frankly we're not really what you'd call "joiners," especially of either of those teams, but seeing the legacy media so willing to spin for corporate interests, big pharma, and the war machine - at some point, that all comes home, you know?  


You see things reported and go 'that's horrible, I can't believe they did that,' but then you actually look up what really happened (because it just seems so unbelievable) and find out these outlets have completely manipulated and twisted reality to serve some greater agenda.  I don't fucking like being lied to and I don't like watching rigged games.  It's not a left or right thing because both sides are being wildly lied to and sensationalized.  Until we, as a country, can agree on reality, we're going to keep spiraling out of control, but I'm hopeful that this all may come to a head soon and maybe the more we get the message out there to question whatever propaganda you're guzzling from your preferred side, the better chance we all make it out of this alive and come back together.


BraveWords: The lyric video drives home the message of the media’s divisive tactics, talk about the theme and idea behind the video.


Shaun Soho: This is the first lyric video we've ever done. We really thought it was fitting to focus the video for a song like this on the actual lyrical content rather than anything else.  We cover the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" often as an encore song and "Toxic Propaganda" is, in some part, a take-off on that.  It's like a "Rome is Burning" commentary on what's happening all around us here.  There's actually a cool lyric video for "Gimme Shelter" and we gave a little nod to that with the general black, white, and red color scheme we used.


BraveWords: What do you hope listeners take out of the song?


Shaun Soho: I hope it makes people think more about what they've been watching - what echo chamber they've siloed themselves into - and start questioning whether they've been propagandized by these media outlets. It's a sort of thing that once you see it, you can't unsee it and too many people just unquestioningly believe whatever media they religiously consume.  But so many of these stations are straight up lying to you. They misreport things, intentionally take stuff way out of context to twist their audience’s opinions, or flat out refuse to report on something to keep their viewers in the dark and keep them in line with the agenda.  Anyone that needs to manipulate you that much doesn't have your best interests in mind and certainly is not on your side. The credibility of legacy media is crumbling by the day and hopefully something like this can help blow it apart for good.


BraveWords: W

Southern California's Bullets And Octane has unleashed their latest video “Party On the Roof”.


A fan favorite from their album Demos & B-Sides, “Party On The Roof” was written “to celebrate the end of summer with a bang (party on the roof); it’s a more fun/tongue-in-cheek type of song and music video encouraging fans to let loose. It was filmed at the legendary Doll Hut in Anaheim, California and celebrates the wild things in life like a motorcyle/car show and party… just nothing but a good time to end this summer and bring us into fall,” states vocalist Gene Louis.







The new video follows the success of their recent single/video “No One Gets Out Alive” featuring guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Kings Of Chaos).





Formed in 1998, Bullets And Octane has been a powerhouse in the rock music scene, sharing stages with iconic bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Social Distortion, and Eagles Of Death Metal. With a career spanning over two decades, the band has solidified their position as one of the most dynamic and engaging acts in the industry.


Their journey to stardom began in 2003 with the release of their debut EP, One Night Stand Rock N Roll Band, followed by the explosive debut album, The Revelry. Since then, Bullets And Octane have continued to captivate audiences with their high-energy performances and infectious melodies.


In addition to their musical prowess, Bullets And Octane have garnered critical acclaim for their relentless work ethic and unwavering passion for their craft. As Gene Louis, the band's leader, singer, and chief songwrite

Finnish progressive metal band, Oddland, are thrilled to unveil their new single and video, “Eternal Erode”, available today via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the official video below.


The band express their excitement for this release, by saying: “Our first single release off the upcoming album raises the question whether this planet we live on might be better off without our species, if we might be better off being eaten by worms. This most intelligent species is doing a wonderful job slowly harvesting its home into decay. Or in other words, casting this most beautiful place to 'Eternal (ly) Erode'."


"The video was fully directed and edited by our multi-talented drummer Ville Viitanen and perfectly accompanies the moods set by the music. We feel this is our best music video so far!”, they add.







Founded in 2003 in Turku, Finland, Oddland’s forward-thinking delivery melds aggressive tones, spacious textures, and glorious melodies into a seamless and cohesive entity. Following a string of successful demos, the band was signed to Century Media for the 2012 debut album, The Treachery Of Senses.


Mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö, the record was greeted with a barrage of critical acclaim, including praise from top-tier publications, and praised as the best prog-metal record ever recorded in Finland.


Oddland recorded the magnificent follow-up album Origin at Fantom Studios (Insomnium, Korpiklaani, Oranssi Pazuzu) after which it was mixed and mastered by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir) and release worldwide through Sensory Records in 2016.


Containing a bit more than forty-five minutes of music, the album bears a theme which ties deeply into the lyrics and extensive artwork, with a separate piece of art being created for each of the nine songs, by Egyptian artist Mohammed Essam.


Oddland have performed at several festivals including FME, Tuska, Headway, Næstved metalfest and Progpower Europe, been touring Europe three times, both as support act for Persefone, for Manticora and as split headliner, in addition to many shows alongside the likes of established acts including Soen, Leprous, Swallow the Su

In a new interview with Kyle Meredith, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders spoke about the band's plans for the follow-up to the "Hushed And Grim" album, which came out in 2021. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Thankfully, we don't really sit down. Nothing is really preconceived as far as musically. Whatever riffs are happening with people in the band, those come to the forefront. And if we like it, then we dig in on it and we try to get it to a spot where it can become hopefully a good song. The storyline, if we decide to have one on the next album, that will come if someone brings in an idea, like, 'Hey, guys, I've been thinking about this thing. What do you think of ta-da-da?' And if it sounds interesting, compelling, then we'll dig in and give it a go maybe. But at this moment, we just wrapped up three years of touring on 'Hushed And Grim', so we're excited to dig into some new music. That's for damn sure. But nothing is written in blood or set in stone. But also nothing is off limits. If someone comes and says, 'What do you think of this, guys? Just hear me out.' And if it sounds interesting and unique and potentially fun to pursue, then we're in. We never really think, like, 'Hey, the last record was long. It was good. It was long and dark and the subject matter was really sad. So we need to do something different.' Well, we're gonna do something different anyway. But we're not gonna do anything just to try to please our fanbase. We're not gonna do anything to purposely try to appeal to a new fanbase or anything like that. We've always just felt confident in whatever we do, people will see through it as authentic, and whether they like it or not, it's not in our hands anyway."

Sanders went on to say that he is "excited to dig into new stuff" with his MASTODON bandmates. "We've got a lot of loose demos that we've been collecting over the years of touring," he explained. "So now that we're home, I'm excited to call the guys here in a few days after everyone reacclimates to home after a seven-week tour and be, like, 'Hey, what's happening? How you feeling? You want to dig in? You ready? You guys ready?'"

Asked if he thinks performing MASTODON's entire "Leviathan" album on the recent "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headlining tour with LAMB OF GOD will have any effect on the musical direction of MASTODON's next LP, Troy said: "Good question. We were proud to play that record every night for the past month and a half. It didn't feel like simply nostalgia. It felt like, 'Hey, this is a cool record.' We know what it did for us. A lot of people love it. There's tons of people out there enjoying it as we're playing it live. So it was awesome. It's very possible that some of that ferocity and some of those quick riffs will be, like, 'Hey…' This is fun to play. It's very fun to play. So I wouldn't be surprised if some 'Leviathan' creeps in. But it's still in the early stages."

"Leviathan", released on Relapse Records, was MASTODON's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. Three magazines named the LP "Album Of The Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015, MetalSucks named "Leviathan" the best metal album of the 21st century. "Leviathan" was also released with an audio DVD in a limited-edition set with a black-and-gold slipcase.

MASTODON's latest album, the aforementioned "Hushed And Grim", was a double LP recorded at the band's Atlanta studio, West End Sound. The effort was produced by David Bottrill (TOOL, RUSH, MUSE, PETER GABRIEL) and was MASTODON's most expansive song cycle to date, featuring 15 distinct tracks. It achieved the band's third consecutive No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and earned MASTODON a Grammy Award nomination for the track "Pushing The Tides". Additionally, the album's single "Teardrinker" secured a top 10 position on the rock radio charts, a further testament to the band's widespread acclaim.

Last month, MASTODON and LAMB OF GOD shared a collaborative new single called "Floods Of Triton". The track, which was recorded prior to the launch of the "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour, was made available via Loma Vista Recordings.

"Floods Of Triton" was recorded at MASTODON's own West End Sound in Atlanta and was produced by MASTODON and Tyler Bates, highly regarded in his own right for his scores for "Guardians Of The Galaxy", "John Wick", "MaXXXine" and more.

Fan-filmed video of EXTREME performing a cover version of VAN HALEN's "Mean Street" on September 28 at MTelus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

In a new interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt spoke about how he felt when he first heard Eddie Van Halen's classic instrumental "Eruption". He said: "That's the shot heard around the world, man. That's the real shot heard around the world. When Edward Van Halen, when we dropped that needle on 'Van Halen 1', and we didn't know what spaceship had landed, what happened, what alien that was, and he just changed guitar playing forever, period. In a good way."

Asked why Van Halen was the guy that changed his life, as opposed to someone like Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton, Nuno said: "Well, because a lot of the guys you just spoke about, which were incredible and still are incredible at their generation, let's say, possibly a generation before me, were doing things, as guitar players, as creatives, almost in what they played and stylistically. Edward did the same thing, but he did one thing a little bit different. He changed the sound of a guitar player. He changed it in an innovative way, so innovative on the types of things we were hearing that we were confused about. It wasn't just like a blues scale that Clapton or [Jimi] Hendrix might have played that had been around for a minute from Chuck Berry and everybody else, but they were just taking that to a different place. When we heard Edward, and I'm sure as quiet as they were, the Claptons and the and the Jimmy Pages of the world, I'm sure they were doing the same thing we were doing — putting it on and going, 'Okay. What is this? What is he doing? What is going on?' Even though the guys before them, they were incredible and they were game changers and they were influential, we could still visualize and we could still intellectualize where the fingers were and what was going on. When we heard 'Eruption', we were just, like, 'Wait a second. Wait a second.' Go back. Listen to it again. Listen to it again. It was just a different level of technicality, but also creativity, and it was just so innovative. And you know what? For me, that stuff, 'Eruption', was one thing. I'm talking more about the rhythm playing. Edward was doing something where all the guys before him, while they were playing their rhythm tracks, if a change to a section happened, it was always the drummer who did a fill, who did something to make a change. Edward was now — we were hearing a guitar player and going, 'Wait a second. We can also have fun with rhythm playing?' He's doing fills, almost like drum fills, going into sections, having fun and putting a smile on your face and really being creative and playing little vignettes of solos for — I don't know — a bar or two in between sections. That was something really fresh and new. It made you go, 'I can be creative with rhythm playing.' That was wild."

Back in September 2023, Nuno once again dismissed suggestions that his is Eddie Van Halen's heir in the realm of rock guitar playing. Discussing the late guitar legend's legacy in an interview with Tony González of Made In Metal, the EXTREME guitarist was asked to share his thoughts on being referred to as Van Halen's successor, to which he replied: "I think when somebody like Edward changes guitar that much, I don't think there will ever be anybody — not me, not anybody else — that is gonna take that throne. But for guys like me who were influenced by him, the best thing we can do is keep that torch alive, keep the guitar playing alive and hopefully keep passing it on to other generations as well. We definitely don't want guitar to go away in that way, and we want people to keep inspiring younger generations to play. So I'm hoping at the very least that's something I can do — on behalf of Eddie Van Halen."

Nuno went on to say that Eddie has been a huge influence on his playing. "I wouldn't be playing the same way, the way I play, if it wasn't for Edward Van Halen," he said. "I wouldn't be playing the way I'd be playing if it wasn't for Brian May or Jimmy Page or Randy Rhoads or Neal Schon or Elliot Easton from THE CARS. There's so many guitar players that make up a part of who you are. Steve Lukather, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen — all these guys are influences."

Bettencourt previously addressed comparisons between him and Van Halen in June 2023 in an interview with Metal Edge. "I mean, I never asked for that," he said about being referred to as Van Halen's successor, "but listen, when [EXTREME's] 'Rise' [single and video] came out, I was getting some great responses on the solo and everything in general, and that felt really good. A lot of my peers and heroes, like Steve Lukather, Steve Vai and Brian May, sent me personal texts and e-mails after sharing the song, which was amazing. And then, I was starting to read everywhere that I was, like, 'the heir to the throne' that Edward left."

He continued: "I have to say that while that is gratifying, there is no heir to the throne of Eddie Van Halen. Nobody sits on that throne. Nobody takes that throne. Here's why it's different with Eddie: when a great guitar player passes, you just move on to another, right? But in this case, Eddie wasn't just a 'guitar player.' We're talking about a guy who changed culture and how we play guitar. He was like an alien coming in and fucking everything up so much that even the legends beforehand are like, 'Okay… what is happening here? What sorcery is this?'

"All I can say is that after seeing [Eddie] while I was working on 'Rise' and then hearing the news of his passing, I did feel a little bit of a responsibility," Nuno added. "It's not about me being 'the guy' or some great guitar player because there are lots of them, right? But I definitely felt that within my genre and my generation, I felt like that after Edward passed, I had at least a little bit of responsibility to set an example."

EXTREME's Gary Cherone became the third VAN HALEN frontman when he took over after Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996. Asked in a 2016 interview with The Washington Times how it happened that he ended up lead singer of VAN HALEN, Cherone said: "I don't know if it was the stars aligned or I was at the right place at the right time. Our manager was also managing VAN HALEN. I got a tryout. I flew to L.A. thinking to myself, 'I'm gonna spend the weekend singing VAN HALEN songs with the band. Then coming back home to Boston with a great VAN HALEN story to tell.' That's how I approached it. I remember on the flight, Nuno saying, 'Why not you? Go for it.' I didn't have any expectations. By the second day, me and Eddie [Van Halen] hit it off and wrote 'Without You', the first track on the record ('Van Halen 3'). I was then asked to join the band."

Cherone also offered his theory as to why his collaboration with VAN HALEN didn't work. He said: "Looking back, if I was to do it all over again, I would have liked to tour with the band before I made the record. I think the record had some good songs on it but fell a little short production-wise. But they treated me great. It ran its course. The record didn't live up to expectations. We were starting to write the second record and things got a little dysfunctional."

Back in 2012, Cherone told Rolling Stone that it was "surreal" to walk onstage with VAN HALEN for the first time. He said: "We were in New Zealand and they were going to broadcast one of the first shows live. I got into a fight with the manager. I said, 'You're going to put this on video and I've only done three shows with this band? Let's do a video at the end of the tour so I can feel comfortable.' I remember being stressed out, but I felt comfortable. For me, all during the making of the record I couldn't wait to go on tour because that was my comfort zone. I was dying to get out there and play some new songs, play some old songs. Of course you're going to get the die-hard fans who are never going to like you no matter what you do. But most of the time, 90 precent of the audience was thrilled that I was singing the old shit. Two thirds of the set, if not more, were songs VAN HALEN fans hadn't heard in a very long time."

Eddie Van Halen told Billboard in 2015 that he definitely didn't bond with Cherone over clothing choices. "We were getting ready to go on tour, and all of a sudden I see this John Travolta outfit — these big lapels and a crazy jacket," Eddie said. "He's like, 'This is my stage outfit.' That's when I realized it wasn't going to work."

EXTREME's latest album, "Six", came out in June 2023 via earMUSIC. "Six" landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked the band's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992.

Guitar legend Tony MacAlpine will unveil "The Illusionist", a mesmerizing release of artwork made from a performance on the fretboard. Designed to showcase another dimension of time, space, and musicianship.


“The Illusionist" release will be unveiled on October 30. For more information join the interest page to get exclusive information on the release and access to see the collection before the public.


A quick look at the creation session is available below.




SceneFour is primarily known as the team responsible for the "rhythm-on-canvas" medium, having released art collections over the last several years with a highly select group of drumming legends, including Bill Ward (Black Sabbath), Rick Allen (Def Leppard) and Dave Lombardo (Slayer).


SceneFour, a Los Angeles design and branding firm, uses LED technology to transfer the musicians' unique style onto a canvas. The art reportedly provides a "musical fingerprint" that is as unique as an artist's autograph.


"Each guy's artwork looks drastically different because their styles and techniques are different," Cory Danziger, who co-founded SceneFour in 2004 with Ravi Dosaj, a grap

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin once again admitted that he was second guessing the group's decision to stop touring after the completion of "The BIG Finish" farewell tour. Asked what "The BIG Finish" means to him, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I'm not pulling the wool over anybody's eyes. It means the touring is over. Which kind of bums me out, because I was there in the meeting a year and change ago going, 'Yep. I agree. It's time that we call it quits.'

"I didn't wanna quit for the longest time," he admitted. "I mean, this was brought up, like, five years ago. 'Should we do a farewell tour?' We've got other projects going, and it's kind of hard to keep the MR. BIG thing alive. And I was, like, 'No,' cheerleading, 'Please, no. We've gotta keep it going.' But yeah, a year and a few months ago, I was totally in agreement with everybody going, 'Yeah, this is it.' I even thought of the name 'BIG Finish'. So I put the nail in the coffin. But now I'm, like, oh, I wish I had a nice big hammer to unclog that nail. 'Cause the band's so good and so tight. The crowd's coming out. New album came out. The momentum is there. And the band just sounds so tight on stage.

Circling back to what "The BIG Finish" means as far as the possibility of future MR. BIG live shows, Eric said: "What I mean by 'The BIG Finish' is there's no touring anymore. I would hope that we still leave the door open. I mean, I brought this up many times online. Even Nick D'Virgilio, our drummer, he goes, 'Man, we should do a residency in Indonesia or Japan or just anywhere,' like do a residency. And I go, 'Man, I just hope we can play in a few years, play four or five shows here and there, maybe play a festival with bands in our ilk.' It'd be great to keep that door open. And no response. I think also, a whole year and almost a half of touring, everybody just kind of wants to take a break. But I'm, like, 'Let's ride this wave, brother. Let's do this.' But yeah, no more touring. No more multiple dates. It's over. The big lady has sung."

This past August, Eric told Roppongi Rocks's Stefan Nilsson that there is no chance of him and his MR. BIG bandmates going back on their word that they would not tour ever again. "We're not the kind of band — when we say that we're gonna quit and it's over and we're not touring anymore… We may do a one-off here and there every couple of years or whatever, but we're not going to be like the MÖTLEY CRÜEs and the KISSes," he explained." And no offense to them, because the crowds keep coming to see 'em, but we're not gonna do it. We just maybe have too much pride in it."

Asked if there is a chance of MR. BIG making more studio albums in the future, Eric said: "I did an interview the other day with Billy [Sheehan, MR. BIG bassist], and… I'm not my brother's keeper. I don't know what he thinks. I know what I think, that I'd like to do albums. If we're not gonna tour anymore for different reasons — I mean, I just don't wanna tour lengthy…. This has been a year. I just can't do it. I'm too old to… Everybody goes, 'Oh, what about THE ROLLING STONES?' Yeah. What about THE ROLLING STONES? Flying in, playing one show and two weeks later playing another show. Yeah, this is back-to-back touring. Hardly any hotels. I mean, the bus will suffice, but it's like a big camping trip for older men. So, I would like to do other albums. But the interview went like this. The guy goes, 'You gonna do another album?' And I'm, like, 'I'd like to.' And Billy goes, 'No, that's it.' I'm, like, 'All right.' But he's the guy that always says, 'Never say never.'"

MR. BIG played the last show of its "The BIG Finish" farewell tour on August 23 at the Way Too Far Rock Festival 2024 in Bistrița, Romania.

After the concert, Sheehan took to his social media to share a picture from the gig and he included the following message: "Romania!!! Crowd was a little bit light, but they made up for it in enthusiasm! The last MR. BIG show (not MY last show, goddammit!!).

"What a great run we've had since 1988. We made Great memories and millions (literally) of friends all around the world. My unlimited love and respect to all who listened, watched, purchased records, tickets and T -shirts. — without you we would have been nothing. Fact. Moving on now to other adventures, but never forgetting this amazing experience."

Guitarist Paul Gilbert added: "What an adventure! MR. BIG wraps up over a year of touring! Many thanks to ALL! I'll get home just in time for my son's 10th birthday. I hope he remembers who I am!"

D'Virgilio, who joined MR. BIG in 2023 as the replacement for the late Pat Torpey, commented: "It has been an amazing run with @billysheehanonbass @paulgilbert_official and @iamericmartin I've been able to rock n roll all over the world with the guys and I will be forever thankful. Big Love for MR. BIG!"

MR. BIG's tenth studio album, "Ten", was released on July 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP features 11 new original tracks written by Martin and Gilbert, along with André Pessis and Tony Fanucchi. "Ten" was produced by Jay Ruston and MR. BIG.

D'Virgilio missed most of the final European leg of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" tour due to his commitments with his band BIG BIG TRAIN. He was temporarily replaced on the trek by Edu Cominato, an experienced drummer from São Paulo, Brazil who has previously played with Sheehan and Martin, Jeff Scott Soto and Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE),among others.

When MR. BIG announced "The BIG Finish" tour last year, the bandmembers said that it was "time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy" after drummer Pat Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018. The first leg kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August 2023, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

MR. BIG's last-ever live album release was "The BIG Finish Live", which came out on September 6 via the Evolution Music Group.

"The BIG Finish Live" is a brand-new live album and concert film of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" farewell tour, where the band played their million-selling "Lean Into It" album in its entirety, plus additional MR. BIG classics.

In a new interview with Australia's Wall Of Sound, Shavo Odadjian spoke SYSTEM OF A DOWN's inability to make the follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs, which came out in 2005. The Serj Tankian-fronted outfit has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011 but has yet to record any new music. The 50-year-old Armenian-American Shavo, born Shavarsh Odadjian, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had one show in '23. We had two shows in '24. I'm hoping to have four to seven shows in '25. So we'll gradually come and do more shows. But at least it's happening. So I'll take what I can get from that."

He continued: "I love [the other guys in the band] and I love the music and I love doing it. I would do it every day, but it takes four people to do what we do. And I respect everyone's wishes and everyone's feelings, and if someone's not ready, they're not ready. I can't force them, man. And no one should. And it's never because I hate or someone hates or there's a problem. There's nothing like that. It's just not the moment. When it's there, it's there."

Shavo added: "We're not broken up. People think we're broken up because we haven't made music. Yeah, there's creative differences, and that happens. But it doesn't mean that we can't be on stage together and we can't rehearse together. And I hang out with John [Dolmayan, SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer] daily — John and I are like brothers. And I love the other two. I don't see them as much, but when I do see them, it's like we never stopped hanging out. It's like that type of friendship. We're always gonna be friends no matter what."

Last month, Shavo told Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights about the possibility of SYSTEM OF A DOWN one day making a follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs: "Listen, bro, my door is always open with that. I have a hundred riffs waiting, if they need anything for me. The way it would work was Daron [Malakian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist] would come in and he'd have complete songs, which I fucking respect, man. The dude's a fucking sick-ass songwriter. And then Serj would have songs he'd bring in complete. It would just be Serj's were a little different than what the mold of SYSTEM became. So we would use some of it, but not all of it. And I feel like that's where the disconnect happened. It wasn't like someone fucking cursed anybody. It wasn't like someone banged anyone's girl or cussed out… Nothing happened that you can't be cool with. We're still cool with each other. We walk on stage. We love each other. So there's always gonna be that. I wanna always play shows with them. And you never know, bro. I'm always gonna leave that door open. It shouldn't be shut."

Shavo went on to say that "it's a fucking shame that" new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN is "not happening, because we can do so much. Look, we went in, we did two songs four years ago. How they sound, man. I mean, that could be an album of that shit. And we can even write crazier songs. That was quick. Daron brought a few of those in — boom, boom, boom — and the song was done; it was, like, two days. Imagine if it was going in and writing actual music and caring about the album. 'Cause we compose albums. We're not, like, songwriters. We're songwriters that make albums. It's all about the composition of the album."

This past June, Tankian, who has been promoting his recently released memoir "Down With The System", was asked in an interview with The Jesea Lee Show what it would take for him and his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates to release a new studio album,. He responded: "Egalitarian approach to everything within the band. [In other words] kind of more equality in terms of sourcing of the music, in terms of splitting everything, including publishing, in terms of ideas, in terms of sharing the vision — that kind of stuff."

He continued: "It's in the book. We call it a manifesto jokingly because I wrote points down that, years ago when I had some new songs that I thought would be amazing with SYSTEM, and so I played it for the guys. And I said, 'Guys, I've got an idea of a vision, a different way forward that I think would be very beneficial for the band.' And I presented it — we call it a manifesto in the book almost half jokingly, but bringing a manifesto to rock musicians is… [Laughs] I guess it doesn't work — it doesn't work. But I was trying to instill the same type of egalitarian principles as I love as an activist within whatever I do. And at that time, it didn't work, but maybe it will one day. We'll see."

"Down With The System" was released on May 14 via Hachette Books. In the memoir, Serj revealed that his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates had auditioned a new vocalist after he had asked out of the group in 2017. Serj said that his disdain for touring led to his decision to tell his bandmates to carry on without him so they could continue living their dream. Tankian later learned that the band had begun looking at new singers, and he also shared that in "more recent years", he had pitched a close friend as a potential replacement but he didn't think the band ever seriously considered the offer.

In May, Tankian explained to Patrick Ritter of the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station why he felt, from SYSTEM OF A DOWN's early days, that the complex dynamics within the band and the resulting clash of egos and creative tensions would ultimately led to the group's demise. The singer said in part: "John [Dolmayan], my drummer who's also my brother-in-law, recently — he's got an incredible memory. My memory is not as good, but he basically said, 'Yeah, ever since '99, you were looking and going, 'This can't continue this way.'' And I think it had a lot to do with the discrepancy between our attitude and Daron's attitude toward the band and toward everything that was happening. I think for Daron, he had grown up with this becoming his everything. In John's case, for example, even though he's played drums since he was eight years old — I think it was eight — he's done many, many things in life. He's had a comic book company. Shavo's done other things as well, even though music's been a big part of his life. But for Daron, it was the only thing. And I had done many things in life — worked in different industries, got a college degree and went into music almost late, later than all the other guys, definitely. So I think there was a lack of appreciation of stuff happening or whatever it was. I can't remember the exact circumstance, but I felt like there was something wrong with this puzzle that I don't think we could solve from a very early time. And music had become my everything at that time. I had screamed at the gods saying that I wanna do music. And I knew that was my vision. I knew I'd be doing music for the rest of my life, no matter what, with or without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, 'cause that was my calling. But early on, I could see that schism, that schism developing."

Tankian previously addressed how his relationship with Malakian has evolved over the years, particularly as it relates to their collaborative partnership, earlier last month in an interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One. He said: "Well, changing the dynamic is basically years of time and the progression of the band, the success of the band, everything that happened in between the day that we met and now, basically, so 25, 30 years. A lot changes in that time. And so I think that's a part of it.

"Daron's been a lifer and he's incredibly serious about his music and he's incredibly protective of his music and vulnerable due to his music," Serj explained. "All of those things kind of go together. So it's those things, I think, that created some of the creative differences that we started finding. And it's also our progression. Listen, when Daron and I started working together, I didn't really write a lot of instrumental music — I mostly wrote lyrics; I was the lyricist; I was the singer. And he didn't write any lyrics; he just wrote music. But as time progressed and I played more musical instruments and I started becoming a songwriter/composer and he started writing more lyrics, we started kind of covering each other's territory. And I was okay with that. If he wrote lyrics, I was trying to encourage him to write more, because I believe in artistic growth. I believe in progression. I don't believe in things staying the same way, for music's sake. Otherwise the music becomes the same thing over and over again. That progression is necessary in every artist's life or in every group's life. So I was very encouraging of that. And I just wish that I got some of that back. And so that wasn't the case, and it was disappointing. And it became a creative difference over the band's path, and whatnot, over time."

Asked why he wanted to write about this in his book, Serj said: "A lot of it has been publicized in a very sensationalist format by media, music media mostly, and I kind of wanted to put it in a proper perspective and grounding perspective, but with love and with balance and understanding that these things happen. This is normal. You have a relationship and you have differences in opinion as [to] how you wanna go forward, whether it's a band or a marriage or whatever it is. And these things happen. And so I wanted to take that aspect out, I wanted to take the sensationalist aspect out of the whole thing and be, like, this is not only what happened, but this is how I see things."

Tankian also addressed the fact that 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.

"We haven't been making new music," Serj said. "We only put out two songs when the invasion of Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh happened in 2020 by Azerbaijan, because we felt like the Azeri trolls, the government-sponsored trolls were taking over social media and the news networks, and the victims of these attacks weren't getting the word out. So we became kind of obsessed with getting the word out, because we were seeing our people suffer. So we put out those two songs because of that and we donated a lot of the proceeds for that to the cause as well."

Asked how he balances the love and obligation he might feel toward his fans, those who love SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and the internal struggles within the band, Tankian said: "That's an incredibly smart question. It's really hard catering — when you're an artist, it's really hard catering. If you're an entertainer, catering is [what you do], but if you're an artist, then you're just creating what comes to you. You're almost unaware of what people want. Yes, if it's something heavier, you know people are gonna like it more. But if you're a good songwriter, you could do both. I do orchestral music, I do film music, I do rock music — I do it all. So I enjoy 'em all, but I know that if I do rock, more people are going to listen to it than a piano, instrumental orchestral piece of music, soundtrack kind of music. But it doesn't mean that you don't do both, as an artist. So it's hard to really cater to people's feelings. What I love is, and I know that I can speak for the rest of the guys in the band, that no matter what's going on with our creative difference or the band not making new music or not touring fully or whatever, everyone's incredibly appreciative of what we have in terms of the love that we get from our fans and the way that people react to our music and the way that we get all these e-mails about how it's changed people's lives and all of that stuff, and that is mind-blowing. It's the biggest honor. And when I meet people on the street, I'm still incredibly honored that someone would pick me out and look at me in a positive light, not knowing who I am personally, but knowing me through my music, through our music, let's say. And I think that's a great fucking honor. I feel blessed for it. But it doesn't mean that that thing should continue forever either."

Shavo's new band SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET will release its self-titled debut album on October 11 via the Sumerian Records imprint 1336 Records. Shavo is joined in the group by vocalist Taylor Barber (LEFT TO SUFFER),WINDS OF PLAGUE guitarist Michael Montoya (a.k.a. Morgoth Beatz, a producer and songwriter who has previously collaborated with Travis Barker, JuiceWrld, Lil Xan, Jonathan Davis, ISSUES and many more),guitarist/backing vocalist Alejandro Aranda (a.k.a. Scarypoolparty, "American Idol") and drummer Josh Johnson (WINDS OF PLAGUE).

SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET will make its live debut at this year's Mayhem festival, set to take place on October 12 at the Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino.