In a new interview with "HRH Metal With Dan Chan", former AMON AMARTH drummer Fredrik Andersson spoke about his evolution as a musician. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I was young, before, I guess, [the age of] 35, up until 35, I didn't think about anything. I just thought about playing shows and drink[ing] beer. I mean, there was nothing else back then. I'll be honest, I didn't care about anything else. And also because back then, there wasn't so much focus… I mean, obviously, being a drummer in a death metal band back then — you have to remember that the death metal scene was really small, so it was never on the map to even be recognized as the drummer in this band. That's something that came much later. I guess that came with… Even back then, when you had drummers like Sean Reinert [DEATH, CYNIC] or Gene Hoglan [DARK ANGEL, DEATH, TESTAMENT], sure, everybody in the scene knew that they were good, but it's not like they were in [drum] magazines and they weren't really recognized in the business like it is now… So, when that started taking off, I guess somewhere in the 2000s, or maybe a little bit before that — it's hard to think about what year exactly — it was frustrating for me playing drums in AMON AMARTH where I was… I wouldn't say I was held back, but since I didn't practice… We were in the rehearsal room, like, eight hours a day writing songs; we were there at least. And I wasn't really allowed to play on the drums, unless we were playing together. I can't just sit there and practice by myself because they're also in the room. So I never took the time for myself to stay extra long. I wanted to go home as well after those eight hours. So I didn't have, I guess, the energy and the passion to try to become better at my instrument back then. And that was frustrating when I noticed that all these other drummers started to get recognition also outside in the world. Like Daniel [Erlandsson] from ARCH ENEMY got a lot of recognition, and I wanted to compete with that; I wanted people to notice me as well. And I never really — at least I didn't get the backup from my bandmembers, because we always said in the band, like, 'It's not about one guy. We're a team. It's more about our group performance than the individual performance.' And I was, like, 'Yeah, okay, that's fine. But I want to evolve. I wanna try to become better at my instrument.' And I would say I was a little bit held back on that even during recording sessions. If I tried to do something more technical, they were, like, 'Oh don't try to make it too complicated or so complicated. Just play play something simpler.' And if you're not super confident in what you're trying to do and someone is telling you, 'Yeah, you should you should not do that,' you're, like, 'Okay.' In that sense, the last few years I was in AMON AMARTH was more frustrating as a musician and as a drummer. But that time was also when I started to actually become a better drummer, so I did get some lines in there, some parts that I'm really proud of."

Andersson was fired from AMON AMARTH in March 2015, just as the band was preparing to enter the studio to begin work on its 2016 album "Jomsviking". AMON AMARTH opted to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP),during the recording sessions for the disc, but hired Jocke Wallgren to join them on the road. Wallgren was named a permanent member of AMON AMARTH in September 2016.

In a 2016 interview with Brazil's "Wikimetal" podcast, AMON AMARTH guitarist Olavi Mikkonen stated about the band's split with Andersson: "I don't really wanna go into details regarding Fredrik, but, basically, we just separated. It's kind of like a marriage that doesn't work, and you get divorced. And that's kind of what happened to our band."

Andersson and two other former AMON AMARTH members, Niko Kaukinen on drums and Anders Biazzi (formerly Anders Hansson) on guitar, have joined forces in a new band called FIMBUL WINTER. The project, which sees Andersson playing lead guitar, is completed by Gustav Myrin on bass and Clint Williams on vocals.

FIMBUL WINTER made its first official live appearance on the Close-Up Båten cruise earlier in September. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

When FIMBUL WINTER's formation was first announced, the band said in a statement: "The focus for now is to play the old demo and classic songs we were all involved with in some way but we already have five original new songs written and demoed, some songs including riffs that were originally written for AMON AMARTH, which will be recorded and released at some point.

"The idea started with Niko wanting to play the demo 'The Arrival Of The Fimbul Winter', which he recorded over 30 years ago, at his 50th-birthday party. Fredrik thought it sounded like fun and offered to play the guitar. After that Anders was asked to join in and then with the addition of friends Linus Nirbrant on bass and Clint on vocals, a selected amount of friends got to experience this unique lineup and hear the tracks that once laid the foundation to what was to become. Having so much fun playing together and realizing all three former members had a ton of killer old-school material, the decision to keep on playing and to eventually record new songs was made."

Canadian thrashers, Triskelyon, will be delivering stainless steel fury on their third album, Shattered Elysium, this coming September 27 via Moribund Records. In the lead-up to its release, Triskelyon is sharing their latest music video, "Eternal Conflict", featuring guest vocals from Tiina Teal of Detente.


"Eternal Conflict is about us, humanity, as we live in a violent world engulfed in perpetual war and conflict. It highlights the devastation and despair caused by continuous warfare, with imagery of crumbling cities, blood-soaked grounds, and lives destroyed. The relentless nature of the violence is a cycle that perpetuates itself without end," says band founder and guitarist Geoff Waye.







Founded in 2021 by guitarist Geoff Waye of the acclaimed true metal band Category VI, Triskelyon burst onto the scene with a self-titled EP, quickly securing a deal with Moribund Records for their radio chart-topping debut album Downfall (2022). In the following year, they demolished expectations with their masterful sophomore release, Artificial Insanity, which earned rave reviews and dominated the radio charts for six weeks!


Triskelyon is again back to enthralling the metal world with Shattered Elysium. With their lethal third strike, Geoff Waye once again drafted some of the finest emissaries of the Canadian metal scene. Enlisting the vocal talents of guests Amanda Kiernan (Into Eternity, The Order of Chaos), Eric Forrest (E-Force, ex-VoiVod), Tiina Teal (Détente), Amanda Jackman (Category VI), Armin Kamal (Infrared), Dale Drew (Sea Dogs), Fíochmhar (Artach), Des Mason and Pete Healey, this album detonates as a pure and true thrash metal masterpiece. The record features a unique style along with refreshing variations of thrashing classics! Traditional, yet intricate, drum duties are exceptionally executed by Raul Marques (Burning Torment), while Dwayne Pike, Keith Jackman (Category VI), Rick White, and Darrin Pope are conscripted on bass.


Shattered Elysium runs the gamut from pure 80’s thrash and speed metal to classic power metal, and traditional heavy metal, and even includes some brutal death-thrash. It attains an impressive new milestone in classic thrash metal, with far-reaching appeal across all heavy metal sub-genres. Shattered Elysium truly resurrects the glory days of the 1980s, while maintaining a fresh and modern sound!


In keeping with Triskelyon's tradition of closing their albums with an iconic cover, this release delivers a thunderous metal rendition of Duran Duran's mega-hit, “Hungry Like the Wolf.”


Pre-order Shattered Elysium here.





Tracklist:


"Beyond Shattered Elysium (Intro)"
"Endgame Euphoria"
"Anarchy Avenue"
"Hellbound Hellions"
"Sealed Hypocrisy"
"Under His Eye"
"Eternal Conflict"
"The Battle for Monte Cassino"
"Phantom Serenade"
"Whispers from the Shadows"
"Hu

Swedish hardcore punk icons, Wolfbrigade, have unleashed a video for "Ways To Die". The punishing new track comes by way of the band's Life Knife Death full-length, out now on Metal Blade Records.


Comments the band, "This is a little gem about the human creativity when it comes to ways of punishing and killing each other in the most terrible ways. Take the sadistic practice of 'rat torture' for instance, involving strapping a bucket full of rats to a victim's naked torso. The bucket is then heated from the outside. The rodents chew their way into the very bowels of the victim in an attempt to escape the heat. All the way through the doomed person's flesh, and any organs it happens to encounter on its way to freedom. No living being is meant to be caged."


The video for the track was directed by MeANkind with director of photography and editor Jacob Frössén.







Forged in 1995 in the small Swedish city of Mariestad by key players from Sweden's legendary hardcore scene, Wolfbrigade - previously known as Wolfpack until 1999 - stands among Scandinavia's most respected, influential, and reliable purveyors of real-world brute-force tumult.


On Life Knife Death, thirty years of skill are honed to a fine edge and dispatched with greater style and intensity than ever before. Most immediately, there's the sheer velocity and barely controlled rage pumping through dynamic d-beaten blood-shakers like “Ways To Die“ and “Your God Is A Corpse,” the furious attack assisted to heart-fluttering greatness by a newly loosened sense of raucous spontaneity.





Life Knife Death can be ordered here.





Life Knife Death tracklisting:


"Ways to Die"
"Disarm or Be Destroyed"
"Life Knife Death"
"A Day in the Life of an Arse"
"Unruled and Unnamed"
"Skinchanger"
"Your God Is a Corpse"
"Nail Bomb"
"Cyanide Messiah"
"Mayhem Mongrel"
"Sea of Rust"
"Age of Skull Fuckery"


"Life Knife Death":





"Disarm Or Be Destroyed":





Wolfbr

Singer, songwriter, subversive performance artist, video director and purveyor of surrealist chaos Poppy has released a new song called "They're All Around Us". The track, which was produced and co-written by former BRING ME THE HORIZON member Jordan Fish, comes with a new visualizer directed by Sam Cannon. Check it out below.

"They're All Around Us" and the previously released "New Way Out" will both appear on Poppy's upcoming follow-up to 2023's "Zig" album, the details of which have not yet been revealed.

The new songs follow on the heels of Poppy's recent successful collaborations: BAD OMENS' "V.A.N.", and KNOCKED LOOSE's "Suffocate", which broke into the top 10 on Spotify's Viral 50 USA playlist. Poppy brings something special and very different to both releases, showing her versatility as an artist.

Poppy has a series of festival appearances scheduled for the remainder of 2024, including Aftershock, Louder Than Life and Mayhem.

In January, Poppy kicked things off by joining BAD OMENS on the "Concrete Forever" tour across Europe, followed by her headlining her own "Zig" tour throughout the region. In March, Poppy came back stateside and supported AVENGED SEVENFOLD on their month-long North American tour. This summershe opened for THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS on their North American run.

Originating from a dance background, Poppy's first steps in the creative world began with performance art video vignettes. These vignettes evolved, allowing the unique, multi-hyphenate performer to dig deep visually and experiment sonically to create something entirely new. After initially signing to Los Angeles's Sumerian Records, she released her album, 2020's "I Disagree", to much acclaim. Disregarding labels and genres, it tallied over 100 million streams, and the song "Bloodmoney" earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance", the first-ever solo female artist nominated in the category.

Poppy's 2023 "Zig" is a reflection of an artist who has been in the public eye since her late teens coming into her own in her late twenties as a woman who knows what she wants and who she is. Pairing immersive, roiling electronics with candy-coated vocals, songs on "Zig" bubble just under the skin. At times, the music's cool lacquer gives way to Poppy's own lacerating screamed lyrics, the perfect complement to dislodging the songs' pointed pop edges. Since its release, "Zig" has earned over 12 million streams globally, launching Poppy to 663 million streams globally. It also reached No. 8 on Billboard's Current Alternative Albums chart and No. 9 on Billboard's Current Rock Albums chart.

Photo credit: Sam Cannon

DEF LEPPARD has released a performance video for the band's latest standalone single, "Just Like 73", filmed during the group's summer 2024 stadium tour with JOURNEY. Check it out below.

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen stated about "Just Like 73": "We started it when we were doing [2022's] 'Diamond Star Halos' [album], and anyone who doesn't know, that's a line from a Marc Bolan song [from] T. REX. He says 'hubcap diamond star halo'. And me and Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] have always used that phrase to describe the time that we got really baptized into music. I remember seeing [David] Bowie on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' and 'Top Of The Pops' and was, like, 'Oh my God. This is my guy.' I was, like, 14 or 15. I'd already seen DEEP PURPLE; it my first concert, which was amazing. So, then all of a sudden this glam stuff came out. So we would always describe that as 'Diamond Star Halos'."

Phil continued: "I was writing a song with Dave Bassett, who I wrote 'Kick' with. And the same deal — I really want to put a SLADE slant on the backing vocals and just make it very much about '72 or '73. And Joe heard the demo and he's, like, 'Why can't you have both?' So we did, and then Joe started writing some lyrics because he's obviously really tapped into that, and all the verse lyrics and all the imagery from exactly that 'Diamond Star Halos' period ends up on this song. We actually hadn't finished it, so the rest of the band hadn't even heard the demo, and we played it to everyone and they all loved it. They all put their stuff on it. Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] played guitar, Sav [Rick Savage] did [his bass tracks], Rick [Allen, DEF LEPPARD drummer] put his part on and then we had some vocals — everyone had sung on it — and before you know it, it came out like this. So, we're really thrilled. It actually sounds better than the stuff on 'Diamond Star Halos', to my ears. So I'm really excited about that. And it seems that everyone really digs it as well."

Asked if this is a one-off single or the seed of another DEF LEPPARD full-length album, Phil said: "Oh, it's absolutely the seed of another DEF LEPPARD record. I mean, it was a leftover from the album before, but it was also the start of a new album. So, without a doubt. [Joe and I] write all the time. We send each other things. Sav gets in on there. Just between the three of us, there's just a lot of stuff floating around already. So we've, yeah, got a bunch of stuff. It's really exciting. And it's a great place to be. It's never that thing where, 'Well, we've got to sit down and write an album.' It's, like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play this to the guys and see what the reaction is.' And we keep pushing the boat out even further."

Regarding whether he envisions a new DEF LEPPARD full-length album coming out this year, Phil said: "This year would be pushing it, I think this year. But once we kind of get into the groove, I think — yeah. Who knows? Next year [or] early the year after. But you know how these things go. We have these tours and everything, but we've got a new song. So that's really exciting. So that'll be on the go pretty soon."

"Just Like 73" arrived on seven-inch vinyl on August 2, 2024 and is available in a special color variant only through the band's D2C store and in black at all retailers.

"Just Like 73" notably marks the first collaboration between the iconic rock titans and the legendary guitarist, sonic innovator and co-founder of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. The single revolves around a classic DEF LEPPARD stomp fueled by a robust stadium-size beat, thick riffing, and a signature chant, "Rock with me, just like 73!" Meanwhile, a knockout gang vocal gives way to a signature fret-scorching solo from Morello. The instantly recognizable whammy bar wheezes as he shreds at lightspeed into one last head-nodding hook.

Of the collaboration, Elliott previously shared: "It encapsulates a time that burned deep into our DNA. We wanted to celebrate that very important and glorious time."

Morello said: "I had a blast rocking a solo on 'Just Like 73'. I played 'Rock Of Ages' in my college cover band almost 40 years ago and here DEF LEPPARD are still killing it in stadiums with a brand new tune that's one of their best."

DEF LEPPARD's 23-city trek with JOURNEY kicked off on July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri and continued through September 8 in Denver, Colorado. Along the way, the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees brought their show to stadiums in major cities like Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. CHEAP TRICK played two shows at the beginning of the tour and two concerts at the end of the trek, while STEVE MILLER BAND joined the bill for the majority of shows.

The DEF LEPPARD/JOURNEY tour was promoted by AEG Entertainment.

Both bands offered VIP packages through their respective web sites.

DEF LEPPARD's VIP experiences included a premium seat, personal photo with the band, exclusive merchandise and more.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

LINKIN PARK played the second concert of its comeback mini-tour Monday night (September 16) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show featured LINKIN PARK performing a two-hour set on a high-tech stage shaped like an aircraft carrier, allowing for a unique production as well as a greater-than-usual number of tickets sold at the venue.

As was the case with LINKIN PARK's September 5 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles and the September 11 concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, the Brooklyn gig showcased new singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who have joined returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Joe Hahn in the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder was filling in for Delson for the livestream and the Kia Forum and Barclays Center shows and will continue to tour with LINKIN PARK for the foreseeable future instead of Delson.

LINKIN PARK's set at the Barclays Center kicked off with "Meteora" cut "Somewhere I Belong" and included "Hybrid Theory"-era track "My December" and "Keys To The Kingdom", the opening song from 2014's "The Hunting Party" album. LINKIN PARK also played its new single, "The Emptiness Machine", which was released earlier in the month. The track will appear on the band's upcoming album "From Zero", which will arrive on November 15 via Warner. It will mark LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before the death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington.

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

Feature songs:

00:00 Inception Intro C
02:16 Somewhere I Belong [short intro]
05:49 Crawling
09:16 Lying From You
12:49 Points Of Authority
16:19 New Divide [Moscow intro (short)]
22:33 The Emptiness Machine
25:53 The Catalyst [shortened (no third chorus/breakdown)]
32:30 Burn It Down
36:27 Waiting For The End [2024 intro]
41:09 Castle Of Glass
44:36 Joe Solo [w/ Colin]
46:10 Empty Spaces
48:44 When They Come For Me / Remember The Name [Mike solo; mashup; w/ Colin]
51:33 A Place For My Head
55:40 Given Up
58:52 One Step Closer [2024 intro; ext. outro w/ chorus riff]
01:03:00 Collapse Transition
01:07:44 Lost [Piano Version; Shortened (first verse/chorus only)]
01:09:36 Breaking The Habit [piano start]
01:13:13 What I've Done
01:16:42 Kintsugi Transition
01:17:29 Leave Out All The Rest [2017 version; 'Iridescent' intro sample]
01:22:39 My December
01:27:58 Friendly Fire
01:30:59 Numb ['Numb/Encore' intro]
01:34:31 In The End
01:38:12 Faint [ext. outro]
01:43:54 Resolution Intro C
01:44:56 Papercut [2024 intro]
01:49:17 Keys To The Kingdom
01:55:18 Bleed It Out [ext. Bridge W/ 'There They Go' verse; ext. outro]

The Los Angeles and Brooklyn concerts were the first two nights of a short international tour that will be followed by stops in Hamburg, Germany; London; Seoul; and Bogota, Colombia. A longer tour is promised for 2025.

In an interview with Billboard about LINKIN PARK's comeback, Shinoda explained that drummer Rob Bourdon — who had founded the band with Mike and Brad — had decided to exit LP.

"Rob had said to us at a point, I guess it was a few years ago now, that he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band," Shinoda said. "And we understood that — it was already apparent. He was starting to just show up less, be in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too. The 'Hybrid Theory' re-release [in 2020] and 'Papercuts' release [this April], he didn't show up for anything. So for me, as a friend, that was sad, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best."

According to a press release, Shinoda, Delson, Farrell and Hahn "quietly began meeting up again in recent years" and "rather than 'trying to restart the band,'" they worked with numerous musicians and "found a special kinship with Armstong and Brittain."

Regarding the band's new lineup and future plans, Shinoda said in a statement: "Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was XERO. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future — embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead."

"The Emptiness Machine" is said to "channel the DNA of LINKIN PARK." Shinoda said the band feels "really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we've made together," adding that they are "weaving together the sonic touchpoints we've been known for and still exploring new ones."

Grind veterans BRUJERIA have canceled all of their previously announced shows "due to a severe medical emergency".

On Monday (September 16),the band released the following statement via social media: "We regret to announce that due to a severe medical emergency, BRUJERIA are forced to cancel all upcoming tour dates until further notice. We apologize to all of our fans and will update you on the situation soon. Thank you.

BRUJERIA guitarist Anton Reisenegger shared the group's announcement on his social media and added: "Thanks to all those who have expressed their concern. I'm fine, it's not me, I just can't really say much more right now."

This past July, longtime BRUJERIA vocalist and samplist Ciriaco "Pinche Peach" Quezada died at the age of 57.

BRUJERIA released its fifth full-length album, "Esto Es Brujeria", in September 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records.

In a 2015 interview with The Moshville Times, BRUJERIA's leader Juan Brujo said that BRUJERIA was never meant to be a touring band. "We only ever meant to make some records. What it was, was back in L.A. in 1989, there was a metal scene which included grind and hardcore stuff. There was a band called TERRORIZER, and they wouldn't let them play in the normal clubs so they'd play in backyards in the Mexican parts of town. We would go — in the backyard of someone's house — and none of the fans there watching the show spoke English. All these Mexicans — there are a lot of Mexicans in L.A., so we just thought, 'We have to start a band that sings in Spanish. Give them what they want.'

"There were issues with some of the guys — 'I've got a contract with my other band,' 'I might be on the road' — but we were only ever going to make music; we were never going to tour it. Just make music in Spanish and see how it went. We did the first record in a day at the studio. We had nothing written; we had no drummer… we just showed up. Someone who'd never played drums in their lives was playing drums. We recorded four songs and when we left, we gave a copy to a Mexican kid and a white guy — one of those hardcore dudes, just someone who didn't speak Spanish. The next day we met the hardcore guy again and he had a patch on his arm. He'd got a BRUJERIA tattoo. He wanted to be the first guy with a BRUJERIA tattoo. The day after we recorded the songs. The Mexican guy — he didn't speak any English — we saw him a couple of days later and he'd memorized all the words. I mean, they're really [makes harsh vocal noises] but he'd listened to them about a thousand times and worked them all out. He was singing them to us there and that's when we thought, 'This thing is gonna work.'"

BRUJERIA's most recent lineup also included Jessica Pimentel, the American actress best known for her role as Maria Ruiz on the Netflix original series "Orange Is The New Black".

Photo credit: Hannah Verbeuren

Lamentamos anunciar que debido a una emergencia médica grave, BRUJERIA se ven obligados a cancelar todas las fechas de...

Posted by Brujeria on Monday, September 16, 2024

Rumored to be finished, Subway To Sally, the German grandmasters of folk metal, prove they are very much alive with their 15th studio album. Post Mortem, set for release on December 20 via Napalm Records, arrives not even two years after their 2023 predecessor, Himmelfahrt, was secretly intended to be the final album of their over 30-year career.


In hindsight, this explains the symbolic title. However, things turned out differently. Subway To Sally had clearly struck a chord with their music, as fan and critic reactions to Himmelfahrt were overwhelmingly positive. Following a nearly sold-out tour, it became clear that the 14th album was not the final chapter. The release of Himmelfahrt unleashed an untamable lightness and energy that ignited their creativity so strongly that Subway To Sally now stand ready to unveil their brand-new masterpiece, Post Mortem, created in the fastest production process in the band’s history.


Subway To Sally comment: "The world around us is still in flux. The prevailing feeling is that nothing is getting better; on the contrary, it seems to be getting worse. The 'Black Death' is over, but the long-awaited Freedom Day after COVID never came. Instead, one problem seems to replace the next. We are living in times of grand failure. Everything swings between darkness and euphoria. People long for distraction, for forgetting, for celebration and freedom – even if only for a moment. In our music, we address the desires and fears of people, but also their hopes and dreams. In a time when the world seems to be falling apart, we want to be a constant – a voice of authenticity and humanity amidst the turbulence of life."




The new masterpiece begins with the explosive track "Phönix", which celebrates the creative rebirth of the folk metal institution. On Post Mortem, Subway To Sally neither look back nor into the future, but rather deliver a sharp analysis of the present. Songs like "Wunder", "Nero", "Lumpensammler", and "Die Erde bebt" offer the band’s signature soundscape while exploring socially critical themes without moralizing. This serious side is contrasted by captivating tracks that celebrate life and the simple joy of music. The anthemic title track "Post Mortem", the rousing "Unter dem Banner", and the poetic ballad "Herz in der Rinde" unleash an uncanny joy of playing. All songs unite the band’s familiar trademarks of great melodies and profound lyrics but never feel redundant. The haunting "Atlas" melancholically draws on Greek mythology, while the folk metallers showcase a heavier yet melodic side on "Stahl auf Stahl". For this piece, they enlisted their labelmates Warkings as guest performers, whose power metal adds a unique flavor to the track. With English lyrics in the chorus, Subway To Sally return to their roots. With "Kummerkind", the septet tackles mental struggles that many people cannot escape, once again proving their precise grasp of the zeitgeist.


Subway To Sally comment: "In this world of contradictions and changes, finding a voice seems difficult. But upon closer inspection, one finds parallels in history and art. What do Putin and Nero, Oppenheimer and Prometheus have in common? What rises from the ashes of Rome? Does history truly repeat itself – once as tragedy, the other time as farce?"


Subway To Sally skillfully explore this tension between past, future, and present, art and political reality with their music, making it clear with Post Mortem that they are more alive than ever before.








Post Mortem will be available in the following formats:


- 1 LP Gatefold Liquid Black (Napalm Records mail order only - strictly limited)
- 1 LP Gatefold Splatter (Napalm Records mail order only - strictly limited)
- 2 CD with 24 pages mediabook + goblet (Napalm Records mail order only - limited)
- 1 CD Jewel Case + goblet (Napalm Records mail order only - limited)
- 1 LP Gatefold Black + goblet (Napalm Records mail order only - limited)
 - 1 LP Gatefold Black
- 2 CD with 24 pages mediabook
- 1 CD Jewel Case
- Digital Deluxe Album
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





Post Mortem tracklisting:


"Introitus"
"Phönix"
"Post mortem"
"Wunder"
"Nero"
"Unter dem Banner"
"Herz in der Rinde"
"Lumpensammler"
"Stahl auf Stahl"
"Atlas"
"Kummerkind"
"Eisheilige Nacht"
"Die Erde bebt"

MUDVAYNE guitarist Greg Tribbett will sit out the remaining shows on the band's "Destroy All Enemies" tour with MEGADETH due to a "family issue". Filling in for him will be MUDVAYNE's touring guitarist Marcus Rafferty, who has served as a guitar tech for several metal bands over the years, including LAMB OF GOD and HATEBREED. He also worked for HELLYEAH, which originally featured both Tribbett and MUDVAYNE vocalist Chad Gray.

Earlier today (Monday, September 16),Greg shared the following statement via social media: "Greetings Metal family! Okay so First things first. MUDVAYNE will be playing every show on our calendar! With that said it's with a very heavy heart that I have to write this. I have to leave the tour on Monday Sept 16th for a family issue that I HAVE to go home too. Family first right? But rest assured the band will be finishing this MEGADETH run and all the dates on our calendar. INCLUDING the Knotfest's in South America and the Mexico City show [in late October and early November]. Our boy @marcusrafferty30 will be stepping up for us and filling in for me. Thank you all for your love and support for me and my family through this time."

MUDVAYNE completed its first headlining tour in over 14 years, "The Psychotherapy Sessions", in the summer of 2023. Support on the 26-city trek, which was produced by Live Nation, came from COAL CHAMBER, along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the "Freaks On Parade" tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marked MUDVAYNE's first headlining endeavor since 2009.

Gray told The Oakland Press that his "main motivation for putting [MUDVAYNE] back together and coming back was our fans", including those who discovered the band during its absence. "There's so many younger kids that are coming up and coming into our world, the metal world, and they're learning about MUDVAYNE," he said. "So you have this, like, the ground's kind of rumbling and it goes out and touches more and more people, but we weren't out there to scratch that itch. You still have your actual fan base but you're accumulating new people. So when we came back it was very exciting for us. It was about our fans and giving those new fans the experience."

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms.

Gray spent 15 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away six years ago.

Greetings Metal family!

Okay so First things first. Mudvayne will be playing every show on our calendar!

With that...

Posted by Mudvayne on Monday, September 16, 2024

Veteran rockers REO SPEEDWAGON have announced that they will stop touring at the end of 2024.

The decision to halt all touring activities was apparently prompted by a disagreement over a return to the stage of bassist Bruce Hall, who underwent back surgery last November. Filling in for him at REO SPEEDWAGON's shows so far in 2024 has been Matt Bissonette, who has previously played with Elton John, Joe Satriani, David Lee Roth, Ringo Starr, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA and Rick Springfield.

In an announcement on social media Monday (September 16),REO SPEEDWAGON said they would "cease touring effective January 1, 2025."

The statement reads: "To our fans: Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he'd be back on tour… but it's not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect. Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that Matt has been around to keep the WAGON rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years. For Kevin's [Cronin, REO SPEEDWAGON singer] part, he too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well. Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin. So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO SPEEDWAGON will cease touring effective January 1, 2025. Neal, Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever."

Formed in 1967, signed in 1971, and fronted by Cronin since 1972, REO SPEEDWAGON's unrelenting drive, as well as non-stop touring and recording jump-started the burgeoning rock movement in the Midwest. Platinum albums and radio staples soon followed, setting the stage for the release of the band's explosive "Hi Infidelity" in 1980, which contained the massive hit singles "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It On the Run". That landmark album spent 15 weeks in the No. 1 slot and has since earned the RIAA's coveted diamond award for surpassing sales of 10 million units in the United States.

From 1977 to 1989, REO SPEEDWAGON released nine consecutive albums all certified platinum or higher. To date, REO SPEEDWAGON has sold more than 40 million albums around the globe, and Cronin and bandmates Hall, Dave Amato, Bryan Hitt, Derek Hilland, and most recent addition Bissonette, electrified audiences worldwide in concert with hits and fan-favorites such as "Ridin' The Storm Out", "Can't Fight This Feeling", "Time For Me To Fly", "Roll With The Changes", "Keep On Loving You", "Take It On the Run" and many, many more.

More recently, REO was featured in season three of the hit Netflix series "Ozark" with an episode titled "Kevin Cronin Was Here". Cronin sang a duet with Dolly Parton on his number-one hit "Keep On Loving You" for her star-studded "Rockstar" album, which featured a who's who of rock luminaries including Sir Paul McCartney, Elton John and Sting, to mention just a few. Cronin performed on the 2022 season finale of "American Idol", is a regular guest with the JIM IRSAY COLLECTION band.

REO SPEEDWAGON launched its first Las Vegas residency in November of 2023, the sold-out "An Evening of Hi Infidelity …and More!". The band is active in numerous charitable endeavors, including the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Music Drives Us and Moffitt Cancer Center.

To our fans: Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he'd be back on tour…...

Posted by REO Speedwagon on Monday, September 16, 2024

Mark Hoppus, bassist, songwriter, and vocalist for renowned pop-punk trailblazers BLINK-182, will release a memoir, "Fahrenheit-182", on April 8, 2025 via the HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books. The book was co-authored by Dan Ozzi, who also profiled BLINK-182 in a chapter of his book "Sellout" and who previously co-authored a memoir by AGAINST ME!'s Laura Jane Grace.

Mark announced the book with a mock infomercial, in which he said: "This book has everything. A young man born in the California desert joins a punk rock band and goes on to conquer the world. It's got skateboarding. It's got punk rock clubs. It's got '90s music. But that's not all. Pre-order now and we'll throw in, at no extra cost to you, anxiety, depression, band breakups… loss of self, suicidal thoughts and ideation. And, of course, everyone's favorite: cancer! This shit gets dark."

"Fahrenheit-182" is described as "a story of what happens when an angst-ridden kid who grew up in the desert experiences his parents' bitter divorce, moves around the country, switches identities from dork to goth to skate punk, and eventually meets his best friend who just so happens to be his musical soulmate." It is a "memoir that paints a vivid picture of what it was like to come of age in the 1980s as a latchkey kid hooked on punk rock, skateboards, and MTV; Mark Hoppus shares how he came of age and forms one of the biggest bands of his generation. Threaded through with the very human story of a constant battle with anxiety and Mark's public battle and triumph over cancer, 'Fahrenheit-182' is a delight for fans and also a funny, smart, and relatable memoir for anyone who has wanted to quit but kept going."

As a founding member of BLINK-182, +44 and SIMPLE CREATURES, Hoppus has survived three decades of the ever-changing alternative music scene. From small punk clubs to skyrocketing fame in the "TRL" era, Mark, alongside BLINK-182, catapulted pop-punk into the mainstream and has sold over 50 million albums and gained billions of streams worldwide. Hoppus also honed in his hosting skills with his Fuse TV show "Hoppus on Music", and in 2020 launched a weekly radio show with Apple Music. In 2023, BLINK-182's latest album, "One More Time..." , debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard album chart and further cemented their enduring cultural relevance. The band has just ended its biggest tour to date, selling out arenas, stadiums, and headlining festivals all over the world.

Mark lives in Los Angeles with his wife Skye and his son Jack.

Ozzi is a highly regarded music journalist. A New York–raised, Los Angeles–based writer, he is the author of Dey Street's "Sellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo And Hardcore", a national bestseller and an NPR Book Of The Year. Along with AGAINST ME!'s Laura Jane Grace, he co-authored 2016's "Tranny: Confessions Of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout", which was listed in Billboard's "100 Greatest Music Books Of All Time." He has contributed to The Guardian, SPIN, Billboard, The Fader and others.

Photo credit: Rory Kramer

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In a new interview with "Coffee With Ola", the YouTube program hosted by Ola Englund, the Swedish guitarist, record producer and owner of Solar guitars, OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt discussed the band's upcoming album, "The Last Will And Testament", which will arrive on October 11 via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget. Speaking about the fact that OPETH fans have reacted positively to the recently released first single from the LP, "§1", which contains growling vocals from Mikael, Åkerfeldt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't have social media. Obviously, the record is not out yet, so I haven't read any reviews, but I'm on YouTube, believe it or not, every now and then, so I've seen some comments and videos, 'Oh, my god, OPETH is back. Mikael's back,' that type of thing. And yeah, there are some screams on there. And it's cool that they appreciate it. It's also slightly annoying."

Elaborating on why he finds it "annoying" that so much of the focus has been on the fact that he is growling on an OPETH album again, Mikael said: "I choose not to get upset. I'm an old guy. I decided I'm just gonna take in, like, 'You love it? You love that I do that stuff? Fine. I'm gonna be happy about it. But it's also, is that all we are? We've done four records in a row without that type of vocals, which people have liked, but it's been… It's so much focus on the screams, I almost feel like I wanna troll, just do a shit record, like really shit, obvious shit, with great screams and see what they think."

He continued: "But I'm really happy with the record. The screams sound really good. They fit this music and the concept of the record. So, all in all, I'm happy."

When Ola noted that there are "a lot" of growling vocals on "The Last Will And Testament", Mikael concurred. "Yeah, maybe it's 50-50, maybe more. But it was fun doing it again. I hadn't done it on an OPETH record for quite some time. 'Watershed' was the last [album] with that type of vocals. I wrote the songs. I started with the one called 'Paragraph One' ['§1']. So I tried some screams to see if it fit with the music, because I hadn't written music with the intention of having that type of vocal for a long time. So I didn't know if it was gonna work, but it sounded great to me. So I was, like, 'Okay.' Besides, it's a concept record and it gave a voice to that main character in the story. So that felt, like, 'Okay, I'm gonna try.'"

Regarding the concept for the new OPETH album, Mikael said: "People heard that first song, 'Paragraph One'. It starts with footsteps leading up to a door. A door opens and then off we go. And a patriarch, a father has died. He's a rich, conservative, stern old fucker who's passed away and the album starts when his children, his three children, arrive to attend the reading of his last will and testament, basically to see what they're, so to speak, getting. And then throughout the album, through his testament, all the lyrics are written as if they were written like a proper testament, with paragraphs, which explains the titles, or the lack of titles. And throughout the reading, he will reveal secrets about himself mostly, but many of these secrets will immediately affect his children and kind of turn their lives upside down. And then there's a twist to the story as well in the end."

"The Last Will And Testament" was written by Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (THE HEARD, ex-CRUCIFIED BARBARA). "The Last Will And Testament" was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (GHOST, THE HELLACOPTERS),engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (KILLING JOKE, ROBERT PLANT) and OPETH, with Boman, Åkerfeldt and the rest of OPETH mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on "The Last Will And Testament" were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (EGG, KHAN) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting "photograph" reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's infamous "Overlook Hotel" photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, QUEEN) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flautist and JETHRO TULL mainman Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson's signature notes fly on "§4" and "§7", he narrates on "§1", "§2", "§4", and "§7". Joining Anderson, EUROPE's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2", while Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in "§1".

"The Last Will And Testament" is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, unfolding the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. The narrative weaves through the patriarch's confessions, the reactions of his twin children, and the mysterious presence of a polio-ridden girl who the family have taken care of. The album begins with the reading of the father's will in his mansion. Among those in attendance is a young girl, who, despite being an orphan and polio-ridden, has been raised by the family. Her presence at the will reading raises suspicions and questions among the twins.

"The Last Will And Testament" is the darkest and heaviest record OPETH has made in decades, and it is also the band's most fearlessly progressive. A concept album recounting the reading of one recently deceased man's will to an audience of his surviving family members, it brims with haunting melodrama, shocking revelations and some of the wildest and most unpredictable music that Åkerfeldt has ever written.

The follow-up to 2019's widely acclaimed "In Cauda Venenum", "The Last Will And Testament" is set in the shadowy, sepia-stained 1920s. It slowly reveals its secrets like some classic thriller from the distant, cobwebbed past, with each successive song shining more light on the stated machinations of our dead (but definitely not harmless) protagonist. The emotional chaos of the story is perfectly matched by OPETH's vivid but claustrophobic soundtrack, which artfully winds its way towards a crestfallen but sumptuous finale. Masters of their own idiosyncratic musical domain, OPETH have never sounded more unique.

"The Last Will And Testament" is destined to be a milestone in OPETH's illustrious recorded history. The band's first out-and-out concept record, it features guest cameos from JETHRO TULL legend Ian Anderson and Joey Tempest, frontman with Swedish rock gods EUROPE. Only one of the album's eight songs has a title: closing ballad "A Story Never Told". The rest are simply labeled as numbered chapters in this slowly unfolding saga of deceit, recrimination and betrayal. Enigmatic, unsettling and immersive, "The Last Will And Testament" is a turbulent, prog metal tale like no other.

Making his recorded debut alongside OPETH's long-established lineup of Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboard maestro Joakim Svalberg on "The Last Will And Testament" is new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022.

OPETH will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek, which will kick off on October 11 in Milwaukee, includes stops in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Denver and more.

Photo by Terhi Ylimäinen

Legendary rockers STYX are already starting to lock in shows for their 2025 tour schedule, which will once again include an unforgettable five-night engagement at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. For the first time in their 50-plus-year career, STYX will be performing 1977's "The Grand Illusion" in its entirety, along with the band's classic hits. The shows will be held on January 24, 25, 29, 31 and February 1, 2025. All shows are scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $45, plus applicable fees, and will go on sale to the general public Friday, September 20 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets will be available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, any box office at The Venetian Resort, or by calling 702.414.9000 or 866.641.7469.

STYX fan club members will have access to a pre-sale beginning Wednesday, September 18 at 10 a.m. PT. Venetian Rewards members, as well as Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers, will receive access to a pre-sale beginning Thursday, September 19 at 10 a.m. PT. All pre-sales will end Thursday, September 19 at 10 p.m. PT.

"The Grand Illusion" is the biggest seller in STYX's catalog. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned the smash hits "Come Sail Away", which reached No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)", which made it to No. 29. The album has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA, having sold over three million copies to date, and it was the first in the band's groundbreaking string of releasing four multi-platinum albums in a row.

The album's iconic cover art by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse is modeled after Belgian surrealist René Magritte's 1965 piece titled "Le Blanc Seeing", a.k.a. "The Blank Check".

"The album's artwork has stood the test of time," declares keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan. "It looks so engaging today, when I see that equestrian image mixed with the forest, the woman's eyes, and the female face. It's one of the great icons of rock history, and rock lore. I'm happy to see it continue to be celebrated."

The seven men comprising STYX — James "JY" Young (lead vocals, guitars),Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars),Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals),Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion),Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards),Will Evankovich (mandolin, guitars),Terry Gowan (bass, guitar, vocals) — have committed to rocking the paradise together with audiences far and wide, and each one of them is committed to making the next show better than the last. STYX draws from over five decades of barn burning chart hits, joyous singalongs, and hard-driving deep cuts. Like a symphony that builds to a satisfying crescendo, a STYX set covers a wide range of stylistic cornerstones. From the progressively sweeping splendor that is "The Grand Illusion" to the hunker-down fortitude of all that is the "Blue Collar Man", from the majestic spiritual love for a special "Lady" to the seething indictment of preening, primping pageantry for pageantry's sake of "Miss America", from an individual yearning for true connection as a "Man In The Wilderness" to a soul-deep quest to achieve what's at the heart of one's personal vision in "Crystal Ball", from the regal reach-for-the-stars bravado of "Come Sail Away" to the grainy all-in gallop of that rugged "Renegade" who had it made, the band draws on an unlimited cache of ways to immerse one's mind and body in their signature sound.

As STYX continues to travel all over North America on their ongoing headlining and co-headlining tours, the desire to make new music doesn't stop and won't anytime soon. Their 17th album, "Crash Of The Crown", was released June 18, 2021. Forbes described the album as one in which "…its sweeping, dramatic and anthemic sound immediately recalls the band's classic works of the 1970s and early 1980s." It's the follow-up to "The Mission" (their first in 14 years at the time, which critics also had called "a masterpiece") which was released June 16, 2017. It originally debuted on various Billboard charts, including: No. 6 Top Rock Albums, No. 11 Physical Albums, No. 11 Vinyl Albums, No. 13 Current Albums and No. 14 Billboard Top Albums.

Photo credit: Jason Powell

Rush singer/bassist, Geddy Lee, has paid tribute to Herbie Flowers, the acclaimed British bassist who passed away on September 5 at 86 years of age.


Flowers is estimated to have played on 500 hit songs, perhaps the most recognizable being the Lou Reed classic, "Walk On The Wild Side". He performed with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Marc Bolan, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, and many more. He was also a member of the pop group Blue Mink, as well as legendary rock band T. Rex.


Geddy Lee shared the following via Instagram:




"Recently, we lost one of rock and roll’s truly great bass players. Herbie Flowers recorded and performed with the likes of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry and Elton John. Even though his name may not have been known to every rock fan, to his peers and fellow bass folk he was a bright and shining star. RIP Herbie Flowers."


 




 

 
 

 


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Progressive, psychedelic rock pioneers, Gong, have announced a new special edition of their 2023 release, Unending Ascending.


The new release, a CD package with an 8-page booklet, includes six previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded live from the band’s 2024 show at Edinburgh’s Summerhall as part of the Gong + Ozric Tentacles UK Tour.


The release coincides with Gong’s extensive late-2024 North American & European tour which will see them play shows across the US, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, amongst others. Tour dates and tickets here.




“It’s been a long time coming but, following the release of Unending Ascending, Gong are delighted to be playing in the US. No minds left unblown or else” says Kavus Torabi.


The Unending Ascending Special Edition will be released via Kscope on September 27. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Tiny Galaxies"
"My Guitar Is A Spaceship"
"Ship Of Ishtar"
"O, Arcturus!"
"All Clocks Reset"
"Choose Your Goddess"
"Lunar Invocation"
"Asleep Do We Lay"


Bonus tracks:


"My Guitar Is A Spaceship" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"All Clocks Reset" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Tiny Galaxies" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Musica Per Aprirci La Mente, Musica Per Aprirci Il Cuore" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Lunar Invocation" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Choose Your Goddess" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)


The universe of Gong began in 1969 when visionary Daevid Allen was inspired by a profound psychedelic vision. A founder member of Soft Machine, Allen incorporated his spiritual and metaphysical leanings into an evolving collective. More a mythology than a band in the conventional sense, Gong established itself as one of the most unique, innovative, and experimental rock groups of the seventies, through an exploratory mix of rock, jazz and psychedelia with elements of mysticism and surrealism, unafraid to deliver its messages directly, obliquely or whimsically.


The current incarnation, who were put together by Daevid for his swansong album with Gong, I See You, honour his intention that Gong do not die with him, urging the band to “carry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself."

Slipknot/ex-Sepultura drummer, Eloy Casagrande, has shared drum-cam video from the band's performance of "Spit It Out", filmed in Los Angeles, CA on September 13. Check it out below:





Slipknot’s Here Comes The Pain Tour, produced by Live Nation, includes arena plays nationwide this summer, followed by global performances across arenas later this year and throughout 2025. Knocked Loose, Orbit Culture and Vended are confirmed as support on select dates.




Tickets are on sale now. See below for a full list of dates.


2024 dates:


September
17 - Austin, TX - Moody Center #
18 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion #
21 - Des Moines, IA - Knotfest Iowa at Waterworks Park #
26 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival


October
11 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival
19 - São Paulo, Brazil - Knotfest Brasil


November
8 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Calle 2
9 - Mexico City, Mexico - Parque Bicentenario


December
5 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
6 - Dortmund, Germany - Westfalehallen
8 - Stuttgart, Germany - Schleyerhalle
9 - Leipzig, Germany - Quarterback Immobilien Arena
11 - Zürich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
12 - Paris, France - Accor Arena
14 - Leeds, UK -

In a new interview with Germany's EMP, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach was asked about the title of his latest solo album, "Child Within The Man", which came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, rock and roll makes me feel like a child. [Laughs] Like if I listen to one of my favorite records, like SCORPIONS, nothing brings me back to my childhood more than rock and roll. Rock and roll makes me feel the same way I did when I was a kid."

Referencing his appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Bach continued: "This was our 44th show this year. When I started out this year, I was doing all my headbanging, and I fucked my neck up, I paralyzed my back. And I thought I was gonna have to cancel some shows, but I don't cancel shows. But when I'm on stage and I look at the crowd, I feel like I'm 19 years old; I feel like a little kid. And then I get off stage and my body says, 'Fuck you. You're not a fucking little kid, man. What the fuck are you doing?' But it's okay. If Mick Jagger can be rocking and rolling at 82, you better get used to me, man, 'cause I'll be doing it for fucking 40 more fucking years. All right?"

Sebastian will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek will kick off October 4 in Portland, with dates in the U.S., including two shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, plus 16 dates in Bach's native Canada.

Bach is continuing to tour in support of "Child Within The Man", which was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

In an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Sebastian talked about the "Child Within The Man" artwork, which holds special meaning since it was designed by Bach's father, noted visual artist David Bierk.

"I have a lot of my dad's artwork," Bach said. "He's no longer alive. And we all, all of his kids, we got a lot of his art when he passed away. And I unrolled a roll of paintings that I knew had the SKID ROW 'Subhuman Race' painting in it, and I wanna take care of it and make sure it's preserved. But in that roll was this painting that I remember my dad doing of me when I was 10 in a field next to this beat-up old Cadillac car in the field and then behind the car, it's Jesus ascending into heaven, and I'm running next to the car. It looks like an album cover. And then he also did a painting of me from Circus magazine, the first centerfold of me on stage at Giants Stadium. He did a gigantic painting of that, like 12 feet high. And so the cover is gonna be me running as a child into me on stage as a man, and it's child within the man. And it just reminds me of the '70s, like child in time, and it just reminds me of a good '70s album cover. And the fact that I can bring back a painting from the year 1978 and make it into artwork in 2023, 2024, that's really mind-blowing to me."

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" spring 2024 U.S. tour got underway May 10 in Jefferson, Louisiana and wrapped on June 29 in San Diego, California.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, ex-MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked what it was like to rejoin his former band twice on stage in six months last year — first in February 2023 at Tokyo, Japan's famed Budokan and then in early August 2023 at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, it was fantastic. Budokan was the one thing that was kind of like unfinished business within the relationship between me and Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader], which has always been fantastic and still is. But there was just that one little thing that was there that was just kind of left hanging there. And Dave was so gracious to invite me to play at the Budokan in Japan, and it was just a great, great way to tie things up — wonderful for me, wonderful for the band. But the fans, watching the fans who were there that night, it was just really something special, something unusual. The look of the fans was different from a normal show. People were in disbelief, and people were laughing and crying and big smiles and it was just kind of a really special event and I'm really glad that it happened."

As for the Wacken show, Marty said: "That was kind of more coincidental because MEGADETH was playing there and I was playing there on — I forgot who [played the festival] first, [if I played] the day before the day after — but we were both in the same place, and [we said], 'Let's do it again.' And it was a thrill there as well."

He added: "I'm just the biggest fan of those guys, ans anytime they ask me to play, I'm happy to do it. And I just wish them all the best with their lineup that they've got now and I'm glad to see them kicking ass."

The interviewer then noted that former MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro suggested in an interview that he would have liked Friedman to rejoin MEGADETH after Kiko exited the group last fall. Asked if he was actually approached about coming back to MEGADETH when Kiko decided to leave the band, Marty said: "No, and I don't think that's realistic. I don't know anything about it. I don't think Dave would think that I would be a candidate to join the band, or rejoin the band, and it's certainly not something that I thought of. I think they're absolutely doing just fine the way they are."

On the topic of MEGADETH's current guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who officially joined the band in November, Friedman said: "I met him for a moment at Wacken. [He] seemed like a very cool guy, and I wish him nothing but the best. He's gonna have a good time with those guys."

When the interviewer asked for more details about Friedman's meeting with Mäntysaari, pointing out that Marty is one of Teemu's "biggest influences", Marty said: "I really didn't have too much time to chat with him very much, because at the time Kiko was still in the band and he was there just kind of watching everything and just kind of being a fly on the wall and watching how the band does its business. He was a very polite, cool guy. And, unfortunately, I didn't get to see him play there. Yeah, I didn't really know what was going on in the band, but I just was there to do my show and hooked up with them for a show and he was there. And next thing you know, he's in the band. So all the best to him."

He continued: "I'm glad to hear he's a fan of mine because that's gonna help in MEGADETH. One of the things I remember about being in the band was it was really difficult for me to play the other guitar players' guitar work. Luckily, when I was in the band, they only had like three albums out before I joined the band. But it was very, very difficult for me to even try to play Chris Poland's stuff, and I was not suited for that at all. So, if the new guy is familiar with my stuff, it's gonna make his life a lot easier, and hopefully he'll put his own stamp on things and he'll make a whole lot of new fans too."

Mäntysaari was welcomed into MEGADETH after first temporarily filling in for Loureiro.

Earlier this year, Kiko told Guitar World magazine about whom he wanted as his replacement in MEGADETH: "Actually, I even mentioned to management and Dave that I thought bringing Marty Friedman back would be amazing. I have no idea if they're talking about it or talking to him, but I did say that. But again, I have no idea beyond that, and I don't want to make anything more complicated."

Loureiro went on to say that he was warmly embraced by MEGADETH fans during his nine-year stint with the group.

"The fans never said anything bad about me or complained, which was amazing," he said. "But I'm a fan, and I always understood that Marty was a part of those iconic albums like 'Rust In Peace' and 'Countdown To Extinction'. I understood that Marty was the guy who helped create that sound and style, you know? From the moment I joined MEGADETH, I knew the fans could show me love, but I would never win their hearts over Marty."

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari, who was scouted and selected by Loureiro for MEGADETH, was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

At last year's Wacken Open Air, Marty performed four songs with MEGADETH: "Trust", "Tornado Of Souls", "Symphony Of Destruction" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due".

At Budokan, Friedman came up on stage for three songs toward the end of MEGADETH's main set: "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction".

Four years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and drummer Nick Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

In a new interview with Matt Pinfield of 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" show, former ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 spoke about how he came to join MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I was asked to join MÖTLEY CRÜE, we didn't really have any bad things going on [in ROB ZOMBIE] or anything like that. So it was tough [for me to leave Rob's band]. I was doing it for 17 years and I loved it. We were friends and laughed, and everything was still the same. But I thought to myself, 'I want to…' 'Cause I always thought about everybody else: 'Let me make sure everything sounds good.' I just wanted to think about myself for a minute and go, 'I really wanna experience this. Life is short and I want to experience as much as possible.' And, of course, I love MÖTLEY CRÜE."

John 5 continued: "I've been friends with Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] forever — forever. Just really close. And then with Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer], I've always worked with him. So I was really close with these guys — really, really, really close. And poor Mick, he has a horrible disease. And the poor guy. If I have a weird papercut, I'm, like, 'I don't know if I can do the show.' And you've got Mick Mars out there… I would always say he's the toughest guy I know because he's getting up there and just killing it and in pain, but just playing. And I'm, like, wow, I have such respect for him. And then he didn't want to tour and things like that. So they asked me and I was, like, 'Absolutely. I would love to do it. I would love to do it.' And they gave me the songs, and, of course, I didn't wanna say, but I knew every single song — I knew how to play them all. But I told Rob, and I said, 'Rob, I just want to experience life and I wanna do this.' And he understood. He was cool. He wasn't psyched, but he understood, and that's what was really, really cool."

Regarding what is has been like to tour and record with MÖTLEY CRÜE over the course of the last year and a half, John 5 said: "Man, I'm telling you, it has been such an incredible experience to do this. It's a different thing. 'Cause you imagine what it could be like, and then it just goes so far beyond that. It's so crazy in such a fun, incredible way. And it just feels like life is brand new again. It's so exciting. It's like when you get a new girlfriend or something. You're, like, 'Wow, this is great. Look at how blue the sky is.' So it's been absolutely wonderful — absolutely wonderful."

John 5 previously discussed his addition to MÖTLEY CRÜE during a May 2023 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said at the time: "Well, I've been friends with Nikki and Tommy forever — forever and ever and ever. I'm so close to Nikki. We talked, like, probably 80 times a day for a decade. And we've done so much work together. We worked on the Meat Loaf song together, 'The Monster's Loose'; SIXX:A.M., of course; L.A. RATS; 'The Dirt' [soundtrack]. But other than music, we were just always around. I mean, he was the best man at my wedding. And we'd always go to the mall and ride bikes and just do total normal stuff. So when this came about… We were talking to each other on tour, like, 'All right, dude. I'm going on stage.' And he's, like, 'All right, dude. I'm going on stage. I'll talk to you after the show,' and blah blah blah. So we talked pretty much every day when he was on tour and I was on tour at the same time with the Zombie thing. We were doing 'Freaks On Parade'. It was great — great shows, packed to the nines, and having a good time and laughing and making music. And the tour ended. We went home. Actually, I went to do some CREATURES shows, my instrumental thing. And MÖTLEY was finished. They were off tour. And I was still doing some shows. And Nikki called and said, 'Listen, Mick is going to retire. And we have these obligations from Live Nation. We have South America booked. We have Europe booked. Would you wanna come on board?' And I was, 'Absolutely.' I mean, it's just like your brother asking you or something like that. But now the hard part was telling Rob, because we never had a negative word between us. And he's my buddy and we made great music and great live shows together for 17 years, and we never really had a problem. But I was thinking to myself, I was, like, 'Life is short.' And I'm being completely honest with you — 'Life is short. I wanna experience as much as I can in life.' And I was thinking about myself. And I was, like, 'I wanna do this for me, because I'm 51 years old' at the time, and I was, like, 'I wanna do this. I want to experience this.' How many times do you get a new chapter in your life at this magnitude later in life? And I talked to Rob, and he understood. Rob is a smart, rational person. I mean, he wasn't psyched, but he understood. And I think that was amazing of him. And he was just, like, 'Go get 'em.' He was fine about it. And then they got [Mike] Riggs, who I think is a great addition. That's who he was using when Rob did the early solo records, and I think it's a great addition. And they're kicking ass."

Detailing how he told Rob about his decision to leave his band and join MÖTLEY CRÜE, John 5 said: "I told Rob before it got out in the press. But I agreed to Nikki. And I called Rob and I said, 'This is what's happening.' And we did a show, Louder Than Life, together, and that was my last show [with Rob] in Kentucky. And then they got Riggs and were rehearsing with him and did the Aftershock show. And then it was announced — my time frame is not great, but then I believe it was announced a little bit after that. But it was no bad blood or anything; it wasn't anything bad; it wasn't dramatic or anything. And Rob was super cool. He was, like, 'Hey, I get it.' He was cool about it."

Asked if he has spoken with Rob since his announcement that he was joining MÖTLEY CRÜE, John 5 said: "To be honest, I haven't, and I miss talking with him and texting with him. I'm more worried about him not texting me back or not replying. I think that would really break my heart. That's the thing. I think I'd be really bummed out about that. But I haven't. To answer your question, no, I haven't."

Elaborating on his reasons for leaving Zombie's band and joining MÖTLEY CRÜE, John 5 said: "In the 17 years of being with Zombie, I got asked to join a ton of bands — a ton of bands. But, listen, I am so close with the guys, and with Mick too. So close with the guys. Something said, 'You've gotta do it.' It's just something I really wanted to do. Because life is show. I wanna experience everything. I don't wanna be laying in my bed at 126 years old — that's what I plan to live to be — laying in my bed at 126 years old going, 'God, I wish I would have done this, that and the other thing.' But I'll probably say that to myself anyways. But it's been an amazing ride so far."

In April 2023, Sixx spoke with Wyatt of U.K.'s Planet Rock about MÖTLEY CRÜE's decision to hire John 5 to replace Mick, who announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues.

"I've been friends with John forever and I would make jokes, 'As long as you're a 5, I feel good being a Sixx.' Y'know, stupid best buddy jokes. Me and that guy have been either hanging out at each other's houses, writing songs… he plays (guitar) all day long. So, he comes over here and he grabs one of my guitars or brings his own and we just sit around and play and talk about the '70s and how great LYNYRD SKYNYRD and 'Scooby Doo' was."

He continued: "My wife just said that when Mick told us he was leaving the band and I told her I'd talked to Tommy and Vince [Neil, CRÜE singer], and everybody feels that John would be a great fit, and I hadn't called John yet because you had to be sure we were doing everything correctly. My wife said, 'Well, that's great.' I said, 'What do you mean by that?' She goes, 'Well, you'll be going on stage and you'll be on the phone to John.' And they're, like, 'You gotta go on stage!', and he'll be like 'Okay, call me back in an hour and a half.'

"So we're always chatting and jamming and the friendship is so wonderful. Him and Tommy are really close. Vince loves him. He's just a great guy and a great musician and he gives us a great opportunity as a three-piece so to speak to really lock in. He's just such a great guitar player."

Comparing CRÜE 's current musicianship to how it was while Mick was still in the band, Nikki added: "It's nothing against any other musician that you play with, just that when you play with new musicians you play differently. We're still playing the same songs that people wanna hear but it kind of like re-inspires you. And I'm sure the same thing would happen if they got a new bass player. They're like 'oh wow, he's attacking it differently.' So it's never about how bad anybody was.

"It's a nice time [for MÖTLEY CRÜE] and it's kind of inspired us to write a little bit," he added. "We love our history, we're very proud of everything we've done. We've always been really supportive of Mick no matter what Mick was going through. We're just happy with where we're at right now."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in April 2023 the now-73-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Regarding Mick's lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE, Nikki told Planet Rock: "If a member of a band tells you that they can't tour because of health reasons, you have two choices. You can quit as a band [after] 42 years of work. Or we could look at each other and go 'are we done yet?!' We're really peaking and we understand [Mick's] health issues.

"We wish him the best and we know that he's a little bit confused and being misled by representatives right now. But we still have to stay focused on why we're here."

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only band member to play 100 percent live on their 2022 stadium tour, claiming Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

After Mars filed his lawsuit, Sixx responded on Twitter, writing: "Sad day for us and we don't deserve this considering how many years we've been propping him up. We still wish him the best and hope he find's [sic] lawyers and managers who aren't damaging him. We love you Mick."

In a new interview with Tone-Talk, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars spoke about the musical inspiration for his recently released debut solo album, "The Other Side Of Mars", and the upcoming follow-up effort, on which he is currently working with engineer/producer Chris Collier. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "It has to be different. And I've said this before — on this record that I did, 'The Other Side Of Mars', was my first step to where my mind is. Especially when you listen to songs like 'Undone' and 'Killing Breed', and some of those kind of songs like that, I'll always have the bangers, but those songs are more of the place where I wanna go. On this next album we're working on now, Chris and I, is a level up, it's a step up — the next level. In other words, what I try to do is to take Mick Mars fans with me. And with going with me, like when I do the album, is I get ahead of myself sometimes, but it's like a journey. You sit down and put on the record, it takes you places. And the same with this one, but levels up."

This past May, Mars told "The Rocker Morning Show" about the variety of sounds and musical styles covered on "The Other Side Of Mars": "I think that me being on my own really doesn't give me any boundaries or any restrictions or stuff. I can take it to wherever I would like to have it. My album is pretty diverse. It shows different sides of how I write or how I approach music — just a lot of different things."

Regarding how long it took him to put together the material for "The Other Side Of Mars", Mick said: "Some of [the ideas] I had for a while, but it took me a good four years to get out what I really wanted to. 'Cause I listen back to some of my older stuff and I go, 'Ugh', and I get rid of it. 'Cause it sounds dated. I didn't wanna sound like, 'Here's an old rocker that's playing 1980s music still.' And not that that's a bad thing, but I couldn't stay there. I needed to get something different or something people wouldn't really expect from me."

Mars went on to say that he is able to have more freedom with his solo project than he would have been able to with MÖTLEY CRÜE. "I can play anything," he said. "I played everything, from country music to a lot of different things, a lot of different influences, a lot of people that I listen to, everything from classical, Mozart, Beethoven, and all those people, and country music, and all sorts of stuff. I fell in love with the blues."

"The Other Side Of Mars" was released on February 23. The effort was made available via Mars's own label 1313, LLC, in partnership with MRI.

Birmingham, Alabama rocker Jacob Bunton collaborated extensively with Mars on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Bunton had previously worked with former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler and CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, and has songwriting credits with Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler and Smokey Robinson, among others.

Bunton sings lead on all but two of the 12 songs on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Other guests on the LP include WINGER/ALICE COOPER keyboardist Paul Taylor, KORN drummer Ray Luzier, and Brion Gamboa, who handled lead vocals on the songs "Undone" and "Killing Breed".

Bunton previously fronted the Alabama bands MARS ELECTRIC and LYNAM.

This past February, Mick told Joe Rock of the WBAB radio station that he wanted to take the music on his second solo album in a slightly different direction from what he did on "The Other Side Of Mars". "Another level. It has to be that way," he explained. "I'm not a youngster. And I'm not a depressed dark guy or nothing like that. But when you start getting older, you start going, like, 'I don't wanna do that again. Let's try this or move up or go a different level,' instead of putting the same repetitious kind of thing, which is [what you sometimes do when you are stuck in an] album-tour,-album tour [cycle]. And a lot of times, when that does happen, you find yourself kind of repeating yourself, and it gets to be pretty much samey after a while. So I'm fortunate enough to be old — I made it to here — but to be able to change my music, my next step. I don't wanna stay on this level. I have to take it up a notch every time. And if I get to do a third [album], it'll be a notch again, of course."

Regarding which guest musicians he would like to possibly approach about appearing on his second solo album, Mick said: "I think of different things, I guess. I was, at one point, just kind of like fantasizing about it. I don't even know if it would work. But I was thinking, like, Slash [GUNS N' ROSES] is a bud, and calling Slash in and going, 'Hey, come on in there and goof around.' And Doug Pinnick [KING'S X], just to play bass — not to sing, but for his bass playing. And I think that the fans would kind of dig that, but I don't know what would come out of it. But I'm willing to take the chance, of course.

"As far as other things go, let's take it back a bit and go, a lot of people were expecting more of a blues album [from me this time around]," he continued. "Maybe I could throw a blues song on there, but the 'cry in your beer' kind of blues, but the kind that you just wanna get up and fight. After having a couple beers, I'm gonna beat up this [guy]. But, yeah, I can do that kind of stuff. I'm so open, and I have so much freedom to take my project anywhere, of course, and any direction. It's all open. It's a great feeling, really a great feeling just to express myself any way I want. I could go out and get, let's say, an unknown female singer and just totally have something that's so different than what you would expect from me. I don't know if people do know what they expect, 'cause I don't what I'm doing next. I do know what I'm doing next, but I don't know."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, he has since filed a lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Mars — whose real name is Robert Alan Deal — served as MÖTLEY CRÜE's lead guitarist since the band's inception in 1981.

Pics from the pit has uploaded front-row video of Kerry King's September 1 performance at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma. Check it out below.

The SLAYER guitarist's solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour wrapped on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).

In early May, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).

KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released in May. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

Former SKID ROW and H.E.A.T. singer Erik Grönwall played a short acoustic set at the release party for his Swedish-language autobiography "Power - Musiken, Döden, Livet" (English: "Power: Music, Death, Life") on Thursday, September 12 at Mammut Bar in Stockholm, Sweden.

The setlist for the performance was as follows:

01. Rainbow In The Dark (DIO cover) (with Jona Tee)
02. 18 And Life (SKID ROW cover) (with Jona Tee)
03. Living On The Run (H.E.A.T song) (with Jona Tee)
04. Headless Cross (BLACK SABBATH cover) (with Jona Tee)
05. Sex On The Beach (with Jona Tee)
06. A Shot At Redemption (H.E.A.T song) (with Jona Tee)
07. I Will Always Love You (DOLLY PARTON cover) (with Philip Näslund)
08. I Want To Break Free (QUEEN cover) (with Philip Näslund)

Fan-filmed video, along with an official livestream of the release party, can be seen below.

"Power - Musiken, Döden, Livet" was released on September 12 via HarperCollins.

Erik went from auditioning for the competition show "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" to fronting the band 13 years later. In his autobiography, Erik opens up about his life — from his childhood to the "Idol" participation to being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021 and his recovery to how he became the frontman of SKID ROW. We also get to hear about his decision to leave the band in the spring of 2024 to follow the values he set for himself during his illness.

"I never thought I'd release an autobiography, much less so at 36," Erik said in a statement. "But sometimes it feels like I've lived two lifetimes in a third of a lifetime.

"I feel like I have something to share and I hope that can give hope to more people who are struggling. Life after an illness can actually be better than ever."

Grönwall announced his decision to leave SKID ROW on March 27, 2024, saying that he wanted to "prioritize [his] health and full recovery."
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SKID ROW's longtime friend Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) handled lead vocals for the band's four concerts in late May and early June.

The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are "proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years" and "wish nothing but the best to him and his health."

Grönwall, who was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. for nearly a decade before exiting the group in October 2020, announced in September 2021 that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant one month earlier.

Grönwall sang on four H.E.A.T. studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020).

In September 2021, just four months before joining SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency.

Grönwall lives in Knivsta, a city in Uppsala County in east central Sweden, with his wife and their five-year-old son.

Min vän Erik Grönwall släppte i torsdags självbiografin ”Power - Musiken | Döden | Livet” och firade detta på Mammut Bar...

Posted by Peter Johansson - Författare on Friday, September 13, 2024

In a new interview with Capital Chaos TV, bassist D.D. Verni of New Jersey thrashers OVERKILL was asked about drummer Jason Bittner's recent decision to leave the band. Verni responded: "We kind of knew that that was coming. He had told us a while ago that he was just kind of burned out on too many things and had his hands in too many pots. So I think we kind of knew that was coming."

When the interviewer noted that "it's nice to see he left on good terms" and that there wasn't "some sort of drama," D.D. concurred. "Yeah, it was nothing like that," he said. "He didn't leave us hanging. You know, he finished out his commitments with us. He was supposed to do this European tour, but he couldn't; he ended up not being able to do that, which worked out, because we have Jeramie [Kling, formerly of VENOM INC.] now in the band and he's going to do the KING DIAMOND tour with us. And so it it all ended up working out."

OVERKILL played its first concert with Kling on August 30 at the Posada Rock festival in Câmpulung Muscel, Romania.

When OVERKILL announced Kling's addition to the band on August 23, the group said in a statement: "We're gearing up for an epic European and North American tour this August through December and are excited to announce a special addition for the tours. Here comes a thunderous old friend, who had done work with us, as well as THE ABSENCE & VENOM INC. Please welcome, with drum sticks in hand, Jeramie Kling!"

Jeramie added: "Words cannot express how stoked I am to share the stage with my good friends in OVERKILL. We will be laying waste to everyone throughout Europe and North America (with KING DIAMOND). Check the dates online and come out to see an unforgettable night of metal \m/".

A founding member of THE ABSENCE, Kling appeared on VENOM INC.'s second album, 2022's "There's Only Black", and has played with such acts as FORE, RIBSPREADER, GOREGÄNG and NECROMANCING THE STONE. He was also briefly affiliated with the reunited Florida death metal band MASSACRE, which led to the formation of INHUMAN CONDITION, alongside Terry Butler (OBITUARY, ex-DEATH) and Taylor Nordberg (DEICIDE). In addition to being a drummer, Kling is a recording engineer, producer and live sound engineer.

Bittner joined OVERKILL in 2017 and played drums on the band's last two studio albums, 2019's "The Wings Of War" and 2023's "Scorched"

When Bittner has announced his departure from OVERKILL on August 5, he said in a statement: "On August 1, 2024, I played the Vagos Metal Fest in Portugal, and it was the last show I will play in the band OVERKILL.

"For a while now I have been juggling a few different bands along with OVERKILL, and I knew at some point something would have to give since I simply can’t be three places at once. Over the course of this last year, my schedule has reached that breaking point.

"At this time SHADOWS FALL is working towards completion of our new material that will take us back out on the road sometime in 2025, as well as our fall shows we have booked for the rest of this year celebrating 20 years of 'The War Within'. Compounded on top of this is my new band, Metal Blade recording artists CATEGORY 7, whose album just hit the shelves last month and will start touring soon through 2025. All of this adds up to something having to 'take a break', so as of today I no longer play drums in OVERKILL so I can concentrate solely on the bands that I am a full member/owner of.

"Now don't worry — they currently have another great drummer already learning the material, and he will be ready to do battle for the upcoming tours.

"I would like to thank EVERYONE in the OVERKILL extended family for 7 1/2 years of laughs, killer shows, and fun around the globe. All our crew members throughout my run, our agents Dolores Lokas and Mike Monterulo, my tech Animal for always having my back (Shake and Bake),as well as all of our crew past and present, the SKULLKRUSHERS (much love Jurgen),and all the fans who supported my tenure in the band, I love you all, thank you, and will miss you on the European and KING DIAMOND tours… but I'll see you out there with SHADOWS FALL and CATEGORY 7."

The new official visualizer video for Thin Lizzy's classic hit, "Jailbreak", is available for streaming below.


Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak (2024 Remix) will be released on silver vinyl LP on September 27 via UMR. The classic 1976 album features the title track and the career-defining "The Boys Are Back In Town".


This features the new 2024 stereo mix undertaken by Richard Whittaker, overseen by legendary Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham and mastered by Andy Pearce.







Tracklisting:


Side A
"Jailbreak"
"Angel From The Coast"
"Running Back"
"Romeo And The Lonely Girl"
"Warriors


Side B
"The Boys Are Back In Town"
"Fight Or Fall"
"Cowboy Song"
"Emerald"

In a new interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford, who turned 73 last month, was asked if there will eventually be a follow-up to the band's latest album, "Invincible Shield", which arrived in March. He responded: "Well, it's what we do. I think most bands will tell you that their relevance is based on their music and where they are at that particular moment in their in their life as a band and that's always sustained by the new music that you create. So even though we haven't gone into that world yet, into that new world of PRIEST music, I think that it's inevitable there will be something else. When it will happen. I have no idea."

Rob continued: "This band thrives on the metal that we make, the time that we spend with each other, 'cause there's a lot of love in this band for each other. We appreciate that we need time downtime to go and be who we are outside of the band, which is important, so you can decompress and take a deep breath and rest and chill and then prepare for the next metal assault. But this is what PRIEST has been doing. Fifty years ago, we started with [PRIEST's debut album] 'Rocka Rolla'. Fifty years later, we have 'Invincible Shield'. So, at some point, there's gonna be another one, obviously."

"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.

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the summer/fall 2024 leg of its "Invincible Shield" North American tour on September 13 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Produced by Live Nation, the 23-date tour with special guest SABATON is making additional 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 launched the spring 2024 U.S. leg of the "Invincible Shield" world tour on April 18 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

JANE'S ADDICTION frontman Perry Farrell has apologized to his bandmates, fans and family after an onstage altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro prompted the group to cancel the remainder of its U.S. tour.

"This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday's show," Farrell said in a statement posted to his Instagram. "Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation," he added.

The September 13 show at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston came to a sudden end after Farrell bumped Navarro's shoulder with his own before seemingly yelling at the guitarist. Navarro then placed a hand between himself and Perry before Farrell appeared to throw a punch at him. Another man then jumped between them, breaking up the fight.

Earlier today (Monday, September 16),JANE'S ADDICTION members Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins released the following statement via social media: "Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour.

"Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs.

"We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.

"Our hearts are broken. Dave, Eric and Stephen".

A separate statement posted on the JANE'S ADDICTION social media Monday morning reads: "To all the fans, the band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour." The announcement goes on to say that refunds for the cancelled dates will be "issued at your point of purchase — or if you purchased from a third-party resale site like StubHub, SeatGeek, etc, please reach out to them direct."

On Saturday (September 13),Farrell's wife Etty Lau Farrell provided a "first person account" of what happened during the Boston concert, writing in an Instagram post that there had been "a lot of tension and animosity between the members" and the "dynamite was lit" that night.

She went on to say that the altercation had been a culmination of Perry's "mounting" frustration due to the "extremely loud" volume of the band's playing, and that her husband felt that “his voice was being drowned out by the band."

"Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night," she explained. "But when the audience in the first row started complaining [to] Perry, cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it."

"The band started the song 'Ocean [Size]' before Perry was ready and did the count off," Etty continued. "The stage volume was so loud at that point, that Perry couldn't hear [past] the boom and the vibration of the instruments and by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just to be heard."

Etty claimed that while Navarro had tried to keep her husband "at arm's length to de-escalate the situation," bassist Eric Avery "put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times." She said a crew member was able to pull Avery away, and he "walked off to the front of the stage to apologize to [the] audience for the show ending early."

"Dave still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight," Etty wrote. "Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did break down and cried and cried.

"Eric, well he either didn't understand what de-escalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry," she added.

In a comment below her original post, Etty insisted that alcohol was not the real issue, despite the fact that Perry was seen drinking from a bottle of wine at some of the recent concerts.

"Unfortunately, that bottle of wine is more of a prop nowadays," she wrote. "I have gotten angry at him multiple times, that he would leave a beautiful bottle of wine 3/4 full on the stage, when I would've loved a glass after the show."

The Boston show was part of JANE'S ADDICTION's co-headlining tour with LOVE & ROCKETS.

Navarro had missed JANE'S ADDICTION's tours in 2022 and 2023 because of a battle with long COVID. To fill Navarro's spot, the band brought on QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and ex-RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

Farrell admitted to the New York Post that he missed Navarro during the guitarist's absence.

"I wish I would have my dear guitar player around," Farrell said in September 2022. "[But] I live to bring entertainment and art to the world. And whatever I can do to entertain you, to blow your mind, that's what I live for."

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Avery was unsure if JANE'S ADDICTION would be still standing in 2025.

"I still don't know if we're a band that you ever assume will be here a year from now," he told the magazine. "That being said, yeah… there is a revitalization and a reconnection. Let's hope it lasts."

DeadMike.com has uploaded video of Alice Cooper's September 15 concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas. Check out the clips in the YouTube playlist below.

Cooper and Rob Zombie kicked off the 2024 leg of the "Freaks On Parade" tour with special guests MINISTRY and FILTER on Tuesday, August 20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Isleta Amphitheater, with stops throughout North America including Saint Paul, Milwaukee, Boston and Austin, before wrapping up on Wednesday, September 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.

In a recent interview with the 96.1 KLPX radio station, Cooper stated about how his stage show has evolved over the years: "It's so funny because it used to be easy to shock an audience in the '70s. Now nobody's really trying — we're not really trying to shock an audience. I don't think anybody is 'shock rock' anymore, but those elements still remain in the show because they're fun to watch. It's still fun to watch the guillotine and the fact that you really buy in to it because of what happens before that. You're really concerned about this character Alice up there, what happens. And that's what I like about it. I want the audience to get involved in the show. We don't do a lot of lasers. We don't do things like that, because I want the emphasis to be on the character Alice, what happens to him and what he what exactly he's doing. But all that happens during all these songs that everybody knows — 'Feed My Frankenstein' and 'Poison' and 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and, of course, 'School's Out' at the end."

Fresh from the success of his latest album "Road", a concept album about the thrills and spills of touring, Alice is accompanied, as always, by his long-running live band of Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henriksen (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Nita Strauss (guitar).

With a schedule that has included six months year in and year out on the road, Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real-life shocking images.

With his influence on rock and roll and popular culture long since acknowledged, there is little that Cooper hasn't achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards.

Former JUDAS PRIEST and current KK'S PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens celebrated his 57th birthday by joining ACCEPT on stage this past Friday (September 13) at Palladium Times Square in New York City to perform the ACCEPT classic "Balls To The Wall". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of ArmyOfOneTV and Whitechapel Ghost Video).

In addition to Owens, KK'S PRIEST features fellow former JUDAS PRIEST member K.K. Downing (guitar) alongside guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST and ACCEPT kicked off their joined North American tour, dubbed "Full Metal Assault Tour 2024", on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

KK'S PRIEST's first-ever U.S. headlining tour, which featured support from L.A. GUNS and BURNING WITCHES, kicked off on March 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and concluded on March 24 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

KK'S PRIEST's sophomore album, "The Sinner Rides Again", came out in September 2023 via the Austrian label Napalm Records.

KK'S PRIEST made its live debut on July 6, 2023 at Downing's KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

KK'S PRIEST released its debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording "Sermons Of The Sinner" and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the 1980s.

Downing was reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

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

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.