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14 июн 2025
GEORGE LYNCH Unveils Initial Lineup For His New Band GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB
 Legendary guitarist George Lynch has announced the first two shows for his new project dubbed GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB. The dates are as follows:
July 25 - Angel City Music Hall - Manchester, NH
July 26 - Jam At The Dam - Monroe, CT
Joining Lynch on stage at these shows will be vocalist Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE),drummer Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER, OZZY OSBOURNE) and bassist Jaron Gulino.
Tichy was previously a touring member of George's long-running band LYNCH MOB in 2010, 2012–2013, 2015, 2020 and 2025; Gulino was in LYNCH MOB from 2022 to 2025; and Freeman played with LYNCH MOB in 2003, 2010 and 2019.
In a recent interview with Talking With Cars, legendary guitarist Lynch spoke about his upcoming touring activities following the completion of LYNCH MOB's "The Final Ride" farewell tour celebrating the band's 35-year legacy. He said: "Well, LYNCH MOB did its last show March 22nd, earlier this year. And so that's it for touring for LYNCH MOB. So I have another entity partially put together, which will probably be a revolving door of different people. But right now I'm just tentatively calling it GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB, so people can identify with my name and the fact that there's still the LYNCH MOB aspect to that name without the bad connotations."
Asked if GEORGE LYNCH & THE MOB will feature a "rotating" lineup of musicians, George said: "Most likely, yeah. Because we aren't gonna be touring solidly enough to really keep a band together. So it'll just be probably a basket of different people that'll rotate in and out on a need-to basis or whenever they're available."
He continued: "The interesting thing is I've played with so many people in LYNCH MOB that a lot of those people are still friends of mine. They're familiar with me and the material and what people wanna hear. So it's easy. So we've got a couple shows coming up in the summer here. And it is Jaron [Gulino] still on bass from LYNCH MOB. And, we've got Brian Tichy on drums for the next couple shows, and then a vocalist to be determined. We don't know who yet. But we do have a LYNCH MOB record coming out. So, it's being mixed right now. It's all done. It's been done for a second, and it's gonna be a double album — it's gonna be, well, actually two albums. Two separate albums but packaged together. So it's a live album — full live show — and then also a studio album. And that's it. It's mixed right now. So, [it will be out] later in the year."
LYNCH MOB, the band formed by George in 1989 after his exit from DOKKEN, played its "final" concert on March 22 at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, Minnesota.
In February, George was asked by the Iron City Rocks podcast how he felt about completing one final trek with LYNCH MOB. George said: "Well, it's a mixed bag. I thought that it would make sense to go out with a band that, or a version of the band, which this is, that has remained intact for a while. LYNCH MOB has a history of having a revolving door, so that's been frustrating for me because when I first put the band together in '89, I was hoping for the exact opposite… And, of course, that did not happen. But we have a great time, and when we spend time together and tour, it's just really a dream, fun band. We joke around a lot. We work hard and the band — we bring it when we get on stage and we get in the studio. I thought, 'Well, that's the way to go out.' And also, on the other side of the coin, I'm not getting any younger. I didn't want to be that guy up there on crutches, having to sit down. I wanted people to remember it with some sense of vitality. Yeah, so I think we're kind of ending on a positive note, I would say. And we gave ourselves quite a long window. We decided this last year, and it gave us an eight-month, nine-month window. So it's a long, slow kind of fade into the sunset… And we've got, actually, two records [in the works] — we've got a live album and a live DVD and a studio record."
Asked if he was planning on getting involved in more recording projects in the future once the LYNCH MOB tour was done, George said: "Well, I love being in the studio, and I have a pretty nice studio situation, both in California, where I have my own studio, and in New Mexico, where I have found a home out there and a really wonderful venue, where I'm working now, actually. So, as long as I have something to say, I'll try to say it musically. But I will say that I've sort of spent my — I've done a lot of recording, I've written a lot of songs in the last group of years, since COVID and so forth, so I find myself kind of treading over old ground and saying the same thing, and I don't like that. And I think on occasion I've gotta slow down in my output a little bit. So, as I mentioned, we are working on a LYNCH MOB 'Final Ride' studio record. And beyond that, I've got other records in the pipeline that I am obligated — well, I can do, let's say; I don't know how obligated I am. If I don't wanna do 'em, I don't have to do 'em. One is a fourth THE END MACHINE record for Frontiers. And the other one is a third 'Heavy Hitters' album, which is a series of records that [ex-DOKKEN bassist] Jeff Pilson and I have been doing for Cleopatra Records, which are covers, and that's always really fun to do. I enjoy working with Jeff. I'll be working with Jeff Pilson on both those records. So that might be something that I decide to finish up. But, having said that, those are obligations consistent with my past work, doing THE END MACHINE records and 'Heavy Hitters' records and LYNCH MOB records and various other projects, with KXM and so forth, that I have been doing. But what I'm thinking is I would really like to — not to be super self-indulgent, but do something different. And that requires kind of banking a bunch of experiences and exposure, different kinds of music and styles and saying something unique. Or doing a master guitar record, what I consider would be my magnum opus guitar record. That's easier said than done, but maybe I need [to do something like that]. I don't know. I'm not sure what I wanna do yet. But I'm gonna let this touring schedule ride out and then I'm gonna sort of collect my thoughts [about what my next step will be]."
LYNCH MOB was formed in 1989 after Lynch parted ways with his former band DOKKEN. Their debut release, "Wicked Sensation", was met with critical and fan acclaim and went on to be certified gold in sales by the RIAA. The band would continue on through the years with a cast of talented players joining Lynch throughout their musical journey over the course of six more studio albums.
LYNCH MOB's eighth studio album, "Babylon", came out in October 2023. Joining revered guitarist and band founder for the LP were vocalist Gabriel Colón, bassist Jaron Gulino (TANTRIC, HEAVENS EDGE) and drummer Jimmy D'Anda (ex-BULLETBOYS).
In August 2020, Lynch announced that he was ending LYNCH MOB due to the racial insensitivity of the moniker, saying he would no longer record or perform under that name. Two years later, George had a change of heart, explaining that he had to "live with the fact that [the name LYNCH MOB] has some negative connotations that I probably have to continue explaining for the rest of my life, and I don't mind doing that. But it is a brand that I built, and I'm just gonna stick with it. As far as a marketing thing and a brand thing and a business thing and a working thing, and it keeps my band guys working and it keeps the fans happy, it makes sense."
George Lynch image credit: Jordan's Rock Vault
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14 июн 2025
JIMMY PAGE And THE BLACK CROWES Release 'Making Of Live At The Greek' Short Film
 Twenty-five years since the live collaboration that shook Los Angeles's Greek Theatre to its foundations, a brand-new short film brings together Jimmy Page and THE BLACK CROWES to revisit the making of their iconic live album, "Live At The Greek", on its 25th anniversary.
Titled "The Making Of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live At The Greek", the short film is a definitive behind-the-scenes journey into a landmark moment in rock history — a celebration of raw rock n' roll energy, creativity and collaboration. With new and exclusive interviews, never-before-seen footage and candid reflections, the video captures the spirit and friendship that made the iconic 1999 performance a reality. The film was directed by Barbara McDonough and edited by Rick Ballard.
The short film continues the 25th anniversary celebrations of one of rock music's most legendary live collaborations, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees THE BLACK CROWES and global rock icon Jimmy Page have released the definitive version of "Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live At The Greek". Recorded during unforgettable nights of rock and roll in October 1999 at Los Angeles's Greek Theatre and Jones Beach in August 1999, the newly presented album features powerful renditions of LED ZEPPELIN classics and THE BLACK CROWES' staple blues-rock jams. The 36-track anniversary album is produced, mixed, and remastered by Kevin Shirley and includes 16 previously unreleased tracks, exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, video, and more.
A deep dive into the legacy of one of the great live LPs, standing shoulder to shoulder with THE WHO's "Live At Leeds", NIRVANA's "Unplugged In New York" and "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison", the release has been described as "enormous fun" by Mojo, "an ideal match" by Classic Rock magazine, and "highlighting Page and THE BLACK CROWES' musical chemistry" by the NME. Uncut magazine praised the 6LP box set "illustrates just how good a tour that was", whilst the Daily Mirror applauded, "they roar through LED ZEP classics and swaggering CROWES gems".
In October 1999, Page teamed up with THE BLACK CROWES for a two-night performance of material from the LED ZEPPELIN catalog and old blues and rock standards. A live album, "Live At The Greek", was recorded during these shows and released in February 2000. The set was dominated by LED ZEPPELIN tunes, along with a mix of classic blues nuggets and covers of FLEETWOOD MAC and Page's first group, THE YARDBIRDS. (Due to contractual obligations, no CROWES songs were included.)
When the 25th-anniversary edition of "Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live At The Greek" was first announced in February, Page said in a statement: "I'm really looking forward to the soon-to-be-available release of Jimmy Page and THE BLACK CROWES material from concerts in 1999. The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments."
THE BLACK CROWES singer Chris Robinson added: "The new 'Live At The Greek' box set brings the whole experience of our work with Jimmy into a vibrant, electric, mystical, and powerful perspective. Hail, hail rock 'n' roll!"
THE BLACK CROWES guitarist Rich Robinson said: "Going through the shows and putting together the new box set has been such an incredible dive back to that time in our history. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to play these amazing iconic songs with the man who composed them. The sound of the new mixes and extra songs blew me away when I first heard them."
"Live At The Greek" track listing
01. Celebration Day
02. Custard Pie
03. Sick Again
04. No Speak No Slave
05. Hard To Handle
06. The Wanton Song
07. Misty Mountain Hop
08. Hots On For Nowhere
09. What Is And What Should Never Be
10. Wiser Time
11. Mellow Down Easy
12. Woke Up This Morning (My Baby She Was Gone)
13. Ten Years Gone
14. In My Time Of Dying
15. Your Time Is Gonna Come
16. Remedy
17. The Lemon Song
18. In The Light
19. Shake Your Moneymaker
20. Sloppy Drunk Blues
21. Shape Of Things
22. Nobody's Fault But Mine
23. Heartbreaker
24. Bring It On Home
25. She Talks To Angels
26. Oh Well
27. Band Intros
28. Hey, Hey, What Can I Do
29. You Shook Me
30. Out On The Tiles
31. Whole Lotta Love
32. Custard Pie (soundcheck)
33. You Shook Me (soundcheck)
34. The Lemon Song (soundcheck)
35. Ten Years Gone (soundcheck)
36. Jam (soundcheck)
Five years ago, Rich Robinson refuted former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman's claim that the guitarist turned down an offer to write music with Jimmy Page.
In his book "Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes", Gorman said that he learned from Page that the legendary LED ZEPPELIN guitarist wanted to write songs with the Robinson brothers for what at the time was supposed to be THE BLACK CROWES' next record, but that Rich blew him off with a "No thanks! … We don't need more songs." "I was insulted," Page allegedly said to the drummer, who furiously called THE CROWES' manager and told him, "I'm driving to Connecticut, and I'm going to kill Rich in his home."
Speaking to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Robinson said that there was no validity to Gorman's account. "Absolutely not true," Rich said. "I remember having conversations with Jimmy, telling him: 'Hey, if you ever wanted to make a record or do anything, I would love to help in any way I can.' Jimmy's a brilliant musician, a brilliant person. I loved playing with him."
He continued: "Jimmy Page wants to write songs for me, and I'm gonna say: 'You know what, Jimmy? LED ZEPPELIN was all right, but I'm not gonna do it'? It's the most absurd thing I've heard in my life."
Gorman is not involved in THE BLACK CROWES' reunion, which officially launched in 2021 — delayed by the pandemic — after being announced two years earlier. | +1 | |
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13 июн 2025
ANDY LA ROCQUE Says Plan Is To Finish Recording KING DIAMOND's 'Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920' Album Before Christmas
 In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's forthcoming horror trilogy, part one of which is titled "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right after the [fall 2024] U.S. tour, we talked about, 'Okay, let's just take a short break and we start working on the next few songs right away,' because we have most of the songs like a demo thing of most of the songs. But then we had some issues with… I'm not gonna go into that, but there were some diseases, people were sick for a long time, and then the time just ran out kind of thing. And then we had to start planning the European tour [for the summer of 2025]. It's, like, 'Wow.' We now will, after going back from this European summer tour, we will just have a short break and then go back into recording the stuff."
Asked if all the lyrics for the next KING DIAMOND album have been written, Andy said: "[KING DIAMOND frontman and namesake has] got all the ideas in [his head]. A lot of lyrics are already done. He's got everything in [his head]. A lot of small Post-it notes everywhere with lyric lines and stuff like that. The whole story is pretty much there. So we just need to start recording the music in a proper way. And we've got demos of a lot of things. I mean, I think I have seven or eight songs kind of already. Demo needs to change, drums need to change, a few things, we could use that. But King also has a lot of ideas and songs. So we'll see how many of my songs will end up on the album — maybe three, maybe four. I don't know. We'll see. But we have a lot of music, that's for sure."
Elaborating on the KING DIAMOND songwriting process, Andy said: "I would say me and King write the music. That's how we want it to be. And we try to write it as complete as possible when we present it to each other. Sometimes it's not complete — it's like a guitar riff, maybe a click track or a drum machine. And sometimes it is kind of complete, except for we need real drums on it because usually on the demos it's like a programmed drum machine, things like that. Sometimes I play the bass, and we want [KING DIAMOND bassist] Pontus [Egberg] to play the bass, of course, but for the demos [I sometimes play the bass] to get the complete picture of what we want. And also I try to make as much of the keyboards as possible too. And same with King. And then when we think that, 'Okay, this might be a good song,' so we'll send it to each other. And then we start doing arrangement. King can call me and say, 'I think you should just take that part out or double that section because that's really good.' So that's how we work out things. And maybe I can tell him, like, 'That solo section or that section of the song is really good to play a solo on, so maybe we can use that instead of what yet have.' Things like that, arrangement-wise."
Andy also talked about the new KING DIAMOND songs "Electro Therapy" and "Spider Lilly" which were first performed during the band's fall 2024 U.S. tour. He said: "We were kind of done with these songs. That's why we decided to try to play them live and see how it works out. And that's what we did. So, for example, 'Spider Lilly' is gonna be on the album. And we play that live. And it's also released on video. So, yeah, that's how we do it. We don't have to wait for a whole album. We thought, 'We need to put out something now for the fans.'"
During the chat, La Rocque addressed his previous comment that he wanted the next KING DIAMOND album to have a more organic sound, similar to how it was on some of the band's early efforts. Asked if he and his bandmates will have to do a lot of "tweaking" in the studio to achieve this sound, Andy said: "Not really. That's what we don't do this time around. We don't do a lot of tweaks to it. It's organic also in the way of the playing is not like copied and pasted, stuff like that. It's more relaxed play. And there might be some things you hear that are like, 'Oh, yeah…' We're gonna keep that… Because that's what we had back in the '80s too when we recorded an album. Everything wasn't perfect — more organic, and not everything triggered and sound like everyone else. But we want a more acoustic, kind of more of the acoustic drums, and stuff like that, to make it a little bit more organic. It doesn't have to be perfect everywhere. It's good, but some things might not be a hundred percent, only 99.99, you know what I'm saying? But that's also to make everything like a more loose or organic feel to it. Of course it's gonna be good. We don't release anything that we're not happy with."
As for when "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" might see the light of day, Andy said: "We have been talking about we have to have it recorded before Christmas. That's the plan we have. Then if someone gets sick or whatever happens, then if that's not the case, we'll see. But that's the plan we have. We have to record everything by Christmas. So that means it's coming out next spring."
On the topic of KING DIAMOND's touring plans in support of "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920", Andy said: "I don't know. Maybe next fall [we will be back on the road]. I don't know yet. We don't really have any plans with that yet. We'll see. When the album's done, we're gonna start working on a new cycle, so that includes touring. But hopefully, yes."
KING DIAMOND launched its spring/summer 2025 European tour on June 4 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
The band's lineup for the current trek consists of King Diamond on lead vocals, Andy La Rocque and Mike Wead on guitars, Pontus Egberg on the bass, and Matt Thompson on drums. Greek female vocalist Hel Pyre, who previously played bass for NERVOSA, is handling backing vocals on the trek.
In a recent interview with Fistful Of Metal magazine, King stated about the status of the long-awaited new KING DIAMOND album: "Well, for starters, the original name that we had picked was 'The Institute'. However, that has now changed to, 'St Lucifer's Hospital 1920', since the start of the U.S. tour. There very well may be a track on the album called 'The Institute'. We were supposed to release the album this year, and in fact the album was supposed to be completely finished prior to the live shows, but I just want to make sure that it's the best material I've ever released. Right now, we are gearing up to film the next video for the single 'Lobotomy', which will definitely be released later this year. Other songs that are completed are an intro track called 'Under The Surface', 'The Institute', 'The Nun', 'Faceless' and, of course, 'Spider Lilly'. There's another track, which I'm not sure is going to be on the album yet, called 'Deep In The Darkness 1920'. Andy has been working on at least five tracks, one of which has as monster chorus that we plan to record with a choir. The plan is that this album will be the first of a trilogy, and I already have all three album titles."
Last December, KING DIAMOND released a studio version of "Spider Lilly". It was a first-time mixing collaboration with Arthur Rizk, who also mastered the track. The music and lyrics were written by King Diamond.
The official music video for "Spider Lilly" was directed by My Good Eye Visuals. Part of the clip was filmed at the very haunted Pennhurst Asylum outside of Philadelphia on a travel day during the band's 2024 North American tour, two days before Halloween. It was only King himself and actress Jodi Cachia who could participate on that specific day, together with producer David Brodsky, Allie Woest and their crew.
KING DIAMOND performed "Spider Lilly" live for the first time at the kick-off concert of the band's 2024 North American headlining tour, which launched on October 15 at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. The "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" trek ran through December 6 in Dallas, Texas. Support came from OVERKILL and NIGHT DEMON. Additional backing vocals for the KING DIAMOND set were provided by the special guest Myrkur.
In November 2024, the KING DIAMOND shows in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (November 20 at Edmonton Convention Center),Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (November 21 at TCU Place),Calgary, Alberta Canada (November 22 at Grey Eagle Event Centre),Portland, Oregon (November 24 at Keller Auditorium) and Seattle, Washington (November 25 at The Moore Theatre) were canceled due to "unforeseen circumstances".
In October 2023, KING DIAMOND released a music video for the 2019 single "Masquerade Of Madness". The clip was directed by David Brodsky and Allison Woest of My Good Eye Visuals.
A month after KING DIAMOND released "Masquerade Of Madness" in November 2019, La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."
KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".
"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.
KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captured 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances featured KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Matt Thompson.
Photo by Jeremy Saffer
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13 июн 2025
GARY HOLT On Upcoming EXODUS Album: It's 'Beautiful, 'Crushing', 'Catchy' And 'Spectacular'
 In a new interview with Germany's Rock Hard magazine, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt opened up about the recent departure of singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and the decision to bring Rob Dukes back. Asked why Zetro "had to leave", Gary said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): 'Without going into details, I tell people like this: being in a band is like being married. And you might see that husband and wife out in public and they're really nice and charming, but you don't know what's happening in their house. Like, maybe she's throwing fucking dishes and knives at his head. Maybe he's smacking her around. You don't know what's happening. And there was a lot of unhappiness in the band, and I wish him no ill will. We had a good time until just kind of the four of us were trying to enjoy this as much as we can. I'm 61 years old. I want to end my career smiling all the time."
Asked if bringing Rob back was "the only option" or if he talked to other singers as well before deciding to reunite with Dukes, Gary said: "No, we talked to nobody else. Rob's still one of our best friends. And I don't like change. That's the thing — people think, 'Oh, well, they did this.' I had some guy on Instagram say, 'You just did this for money.' And when has it ever been financially beneficial to part ways with your singer? It's usually the opposite. But, once again, we're all in our sixties now. We wanna have fun with friends. We wanna enjoy ourselves doing this. And I could have brought in some young guy who's 30 years old, who still has abs, isn't fat like the rest of us, and can jump off the top of drum risers and stuff. But no — we'll stick with guys our own age."
Holt went on to praise Dukes's vocal performance on EXODUS's upcoming LP, saying: "Wait till you you hear the new album. It's insane. He does things vocally you've never heard him do or anybody in EXODUS. It's insane."
According to Gary, EXODUS recorded two albums' worth of material this time around. "We just decided we were gonna work ourselves as hard as we could and try to accomplish this," he explained. "And the second one's 80 percent recorded, 'cause we did 18 songs. And so when it's time for the next album, we go in and record two more [songs], not 10 more. And then I can go on vacation. I've never had a vacation in my life… We worked hard. We were in the studio for seven weeks, and one day after we stopped recording, we were on tour. So since March 2nd, I've been home for two and a half weeks."
Regarding a possible release date for the first new EXODUS album, Gary said: "Yeah, early next year. I think February. [As for when the second new album will arrive], we'll figure that out. But I have a lot less work to do when it's time. All of us, we can go on vacation. I've never had a vacation."
Holt said that fellow EXODUS guitarist Lee Altus, who has been in the band for two decades, "really stepped up" this time around "and contributed six [songs]. Lee — usually he contributes a couple of songs. He wrote six songs. Lee wrote the longest song. I'm the guy who writes the long songs, and most of mine are five minutes long."
Gary added: "But the album's spectacular. We couldn't be more proud. It's beautiful. It's crushing. It's catchy — hits, punishing hits. It's spectacular. There's some stuff that is so different for us, but it's 100 percent EXODUS. You'll go, 'Holy shit.'"
Holt previously talked about EXODUS's plans to release two new albums earlier this month in an interview with The Dan Chan Show. He said at the time: "[We are tracking] 19 songs. And they're all killer. I mean, in the past, you read about this band, 'Yeah, we went in the studio. We had 39 songs,' and I'm, like, 'How do you have 39 great songs?' To me, you usually have maybe 20 and some ideas. But I realized that it is possible — at least 19. 'Cause Lee was really active as a songwriter on this album, and he contributed, like, six songs — something like that. And we had 19 songs, and they're all awesome. The hard part is figuring out what to put on the record. And so we figured we can tour for the next album and then take a break in between releases and have it already in the can."
Asked if EXODUS is currently "in post-production" for the two new albums, Holt said: "We still have some vocals left to do. We ran out a little bit of time. Not a whole lot. A couple of songs. A couple of things we have left to do are on songs that we know we're gonna put on the next album, so we could sit on that. And I'm sure by the time we get to thinking about releasing the second one, I'll have something new I wanna record. And Lee will have something. We're, like, 'Damn, well, I got something way sicker.' But then we go in the studio for two weeks and not two months."
Regarding how he and his EXODUS bandmates will go about choosing which songs to put on the first album and which to save for the follow-up, Gary said: "We're still working on it. [Laughs] We're letting vocals dictate a lot of it, and there's a couple of songs that still don't have vocals on it. And sometimes, once you put the vocal melody on it, a song comes alive. So some of 'em we know we want on this record. Like I wrote two epics, longer ones, so we'll put one on this and one on the other. I fluctuate back and forth over which one all the time. But, yeah, everybody else wants to put this one. So I said, 'Cool. We'll save the other.' There's a big variety of music on it. Some of the shit's so lightning fast and some of it's almost doom — like, slow, slow, slow, [but] über fucking sinister."
Holt also talked about his creative process, explaining: "I'm always writing a riff when I have a guitar, but as far as songwriting, I keep telling myself I wanna do more of it all the time, not just when I have to. 'Cause you get 61 years old and you start thinking about stupid shit, like, if anything happens to me, I'd like to be like Prince and have a vault of material to release. His final works. So you literally start thinking about shit like that.
"I get in the writing mode," he continued. "When we record, we leave the drums set up the entire time. We don't go in and do drums and then they go away. We're prepared to record a new song at any day. And the fastest fucking one on the album — it's just ridiculous — I wrote it in the last two weeks of recording. I sent it to Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer], and he had a panic attack when he heard how fast it was. And then when we [recorded it], he realized it was fine. [Laughs]"
Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza's departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.
Dukes previously joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).
EXODUS played its first concert with Dukes in nearly 11 years on April 5 at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned "Bonded By Blood" LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.
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13 июн 2025
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13 июн 2025
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13 июн 2025
Ex-EVANESCENCE Guitarist JEN MAJURA Is 'Stepping Away' From Music Industry: 'I Just Can't Identify With Today's Attitude And Values Anymore'
 Former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura has announced her decision to "step away" from the music industry, at least temporarily, so that she can focus on doing "healthier and better things" with her life.
Earlier today (Tuesday, June 10),Majura took to her social media to write: "Dear friends, I'm gonna make this as brief as I can: After careful consideration, observing what's going on in the music industry, AI related developments and change in society I've come to the conclusion to step away.
"Some of you have heard me talk about this quite a while ago. Instead of wasting another year of my life constantly hoping for new energy, drive and creativity, I've reached a point in my life where I can confidentially lean back in peace. While time allowed me, I was able to collect an amazing amount of beautiful experiences, tours, shows, travels and moments! I am grateful for every bit of that, but the world has changed. I can confidently make up my mind to stop.
"I am not saying that I will never create any music again, whether recorded or live — but for now I feel there are healthier and better things to fill my life with good vibes and not deal with the overwhelming amount of ridiculousness that comes with the music industry nowadays. I just can't identify with today's attitude and values anymore.
"I wholeheartedly want to wish all the ambitious and remaining 'creators', young and old, all the best. With time, the meaning will become clearer.
"To you, the fans, I wanna give you a giant virtual hug and say THANK YOU for all your support, love and faith throughout these years of me being an active touring musician, I am grateful. As a final musical endeavor I wanna share 4 tracks with you. Songs that were written over a decade ago together with the great guitarist Dennis Hormes. I found these old demo recordings while cleaning out stuff from my computer and thought they are too good to not be shared. So if you made it this far and read the whole post, I assume you actually ARE someone that truly cares and these 4 singles are for you!"
The now-41-year-old guitarist's departure from EVANESCENCE was announced in May 2022 via social media.
"It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it's time to go our separate ways," EVANESCENCE said in a statement at the time. "We will always love her and support her, and can't wait to see what she does next! We are so grateful for the good times and great music we made all around the world together."
Jen spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE during a December 2022 interview with IbagensCast. Asked what the first seven months after her exit had been like for her, Majura said: "I'm tired. I am very, very tired because there are many opinions and there's a lot of judgment out there. It got to a point where no matter what I posted, people had opinions about that. And it seems ridiculous to me, but if I would say honestly how I feel — I'm hurt; it's hard; of course I'm not feeling great — people would go, like, 'Oh, you're playing the victim.' So, I'm, like, 'Okay. All right then.' So I said, 'Actually, I'm doing okay. I'm all right.' And then, of course, people would go, like, 'She never gave a shit about the band.' And it got to a point where I'm, like, 'You know what? I could post about my blueberry yogurt, and you would still find a way to connect this to what happened.
"I must say I turned very quiet on social media, because I just wanted to avoid all that white noise, all that blabbering, all these opinions — I was just tired of that," Jen continued. "And also, at the same time, when you break up with an ex-partner — that's the easiest example; you break up with your partner — the last thing on planet earth is that you wanna see that ex-partner on social media moving on. It's, like, 'No. I don't wanna see that.' I needed time to digest the whole thing. And like I said, I think the first few months I was just very busy with convincing everybody that I was doing okay when I honestly wasn't; I was not okay. And when everything you say in public is being judged… And honestly, I can only imagine how [Prince] Harry and Meghan [Markle] feel [laughs] — people with real problems, in terms of paparazzi. Who am I? I'm just a little nobody. Why do people talk about me? I think there's way more important things that the humankind should talk about, like climate change and what's going on in this nonsense war [in Ukraine] — real issues that people should discuss and find solutions for — instead of me. So I just realized that apparently this is a topic and people like to talk about it, but I don't necessarily need to be a part of that. So I turned very quiet on social media. And the more I distanced myself from that whole thing, the more I'm, like… I'm gonna say this right now, 'cause it's horrible, but I'm gonna say it anyway… The more I felt grossed out by the humankind.
"So altogether, I have not been good," Majura added. "I'm okay, but I'm far away from being good… When life throws shit at you, honestly… I mean, take a look at the whole scenario. In the beginning of 2020, I lost my dear-hearted relationship. That was followed by two years of isolation and lockdowns and the whole pandemic situation. Great! And then finally things get back to kind of 'normal-ish', and then May happens. So I can't really say that my past few, couple of years have been great."
Jen previously spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE in June 2022 during an appearance on THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube show "Coffee With Ola". At the time, she said that she was still "hurt" by the move and compared the situation to a divorce.
"I believe, honestly, it's three weeks now since I got the news, and I'm still in this blurry, oblivious momentum," she said. "I guess I'm still in shock, kind of, because after being married six years, all of a sudden you're divorced.
"You know me, I always try to find the positive in a situation, so every day, step by step — I'm not doing great yet — but every day I find little tiny things that I'm, like, 'Oh, actually, this is good.'"
Asked how she found out that her services were no longer needed in EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Honestly, I was cleaning my apartment, and I got the phone call. And first of all, I was, like, 'Is this a bad joke?' And I remember, after I got the news, I hung up, and I have this hallway in between my studio and my living room, and I just lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, wondering what that was, and literally looking over to my suitcase that I had already started packing, because I was two weeks from going out on the road until pretty much the end of the year."
Majura, a self-described "half-Asian living in Germany," joined EVANESCENCE in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo.
Shortly after she landed the gig, Majura spoke to EMP Rock Invasion about how she came to connect with EVANESCENCE. She said: "My name was somehow recommended by a sweet friend of mine, Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT, and Dave Eggar — he's also known as a very good cellist, and he's a musician working in New York. And all of a sudden, there was this e-mail popping up: 'Are you interested in joining…?' And I was, like, 'What the fuck?' So I stopped breathing until my face turned kind of blue. And then afterwards, I was, like, 'Okay, I've gotta read it again.' Three days later, I found myself suddenly on an airplane, flying over to New York to meet Amy Lee. And we had some very, very cool talks. She's an awesome person. She's a very, very great musician. And so I found myself suddenly inside of his empire called EVANESCENCE."
Regarding the fact that she didn't even have to "audition" for EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Yeah. To be honest, I was kind of concerned. I told [Amy], 'Do you want me to bring my guitar?' And, 'Would you like me to audition?' And she was totally, like: 'Nah, I know you can play. I've seen plenty of videos of you. And I know your live experience and you're touring the world, so… No, just come over and let's have some food and talk.' Yeah, and that's it. So, actually, what I was surprised by very, very much was that she actually had another guitar player on her list, and that was the guitar player of Alice Cooper [Nita Strauss]. And she's now with Alice Cooper and I'm now with EVANESCENCE. This is, like… I still can't believe it."
In 2019, Lee said she was happy to have Majura in the band. "She has added a lot to our live shows because she's a singer," Amy explained. "It has been a really awesome thing to have live background vocals for the first time. I am such a fan of layered vocals, and to have that better represented at our show has been a cool breakthrough for me. And also, she's just rad energy. She's got a great attitude, fun personality, very engaging, killer onstage, so she has been a fun addition to our family. And of course, it's awesome having another girl in the band for the first time."
Majura has released two solo albums thus far, 2014's "Jen Majura" and 2017's "InZENity".
EVANESCENCE's current lineup, featuring Emma Anzai of SICK PUPPIES on bass and EVANESCENCE's longtime bassist Tim McCord on guitar, made its live debut in June 2022 in Athens, Greece.
Photo credit: P.R. Brown
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jen Majura (@jen_majura)
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13 июн 2025
JUDAS PRIEST Launches 'Shield Of Pain' Tour Celebrating 35th Anniversary Of 'Painkiller' Album
 British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST launched the "Shield Of Pain" tour Thursday night (June 12) at Rockfest in Turku, Finland.
The band's 19-song setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.
In addition to performing the "Painkiller" title track, PRIEST also played "All Guns Blazing", "Hell Patrol", "A Touch Of Evil", "Night Crawler", "One Shot At Glory" and "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" from the same LP.
When PRIEST first announced the "Shield Of Pain" tour last fall, the band promised a "rare" and "unique set" which would include "beloved classics" and would "be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe".
The setlist for the Rockfest concert was as follows:
01. All Guns Blazing (performed for first time since 2019; first time as an opener)
02. Hell Patrol
03. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
04. Freewheel Burning
05. Breaking The Law
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Night Crawler (first time since 2012)
08. Firepower
09. Solar Angels (first time since 2005)
10. Gates Of Hell
11. Metal Gods
12. The Serpent And The King (live debut)
13. One Shot At Glory
14. Between The Hammer And The Anvil
15. Judas Rising
16. Giants In The Sky (live debut)
17. Painkiller
18. Hell Bent For Leather
19. Living After Midnight
Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.
PRIEST's 2025 European tour will next hit Hamar, Norway on Saturday, June 14 and will conclude at the O2 in London, United Kingdom on July 25.
Last December, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford told Heavy Consequence about the setlist for the "Shield Of Pain" tour: "It's still in the works, but we're gonna go and show ['Painkiller'] off. Not in its entirety. I haven't figured out yet whether we're just gonna do a clump of 'Painkiller' songs — this is the 'Painkiller' section — or we're gonna go, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others. It's all in theory in my mind at the moment, but, however, I think it's gonna be a real thrill and a treat. And, again, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the band. You'll only see the show once. You'll only see the 'Shield Of Pain' show once. So, we hope our fans will be on the rail and banging their heads to it."
Rob also reflected on PRIEST's mindset while going into the recording process for "Painkiller". He said: "The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, 'We really need to show off what this band's true heart and soul and spirit is about.' And I'm using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, 'We're gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we've ever done,' and we did that — we achieved it. It's full-on. It only pulls back a little bit for 'A Touch Of Evil'. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop. We did it in Miraval Studios in the south of France. It was very isolated, so, unlike Ibiza [where 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Defenders Of The Faith', among others, were recorded], where we were going into the clubs every night, it was very, very isolated, so we really got into the work in a very, very strong way with no interference. And so the exercise of achieving all of the components to make that album as strong as we wanted it to be was a success. And, again, a band will tell you we've done everything we can. Let's see what happens. The world embraced that album."
He continued: "It's a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, 'If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on 'Painkiller'.' And that's pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, 'Painkiller''s still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years [in 2025]."
PRIEST's 12th album, "Painkiller" was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature drummer Scott Travis following the departure of Dave Holland.
In a 2023 interview with "The Jeremy White Show", founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing spoke about how the addition of then-new drummer Travis affected PRIEST's sound and songwriting on "Painkiller". He said: "I think with the addition of Scott, because we knew his capabilities from his former band, RACER X, which were a great band… After so many years, having Scott in the band with those double kicks again, it just opened doors for myself and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] to write rhythmically and musically. And we knew that Scott could play anything that we could — as fast as we could play on guitar, we knew he could match us on the kit, which helped a lot, really, because it meant we could expand writing after so many years, really, in respect of the faster side of metal, if you like."
In 2022, Travis spoke to "Drumtalk", the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, about the fact that the intro to the title track of "Painkiller" has become one of the most iconic drum intros of all time. He said: "Me personally, I always loved the drum intro of certain songs. We all know 'Rock And Roll' by LED ZEPPELIN and 'Walk This Way' by AEROSMITH, and, of course, 'Hot For Teacher', which is VAN HALEN. So, anyways, I grew up like that, always understanding that, 'Man, if ever I could come up with a signature drum intro — no guitars; just drums — and make it really impactful.' And sometimes I get emotional, now that I've been playing for so long, that I was able to come up with something."
He continued: "[I recently saw a video featuring] 'Top 15 drum intros'. And, of course, it's subjective. I don't know who made the list; I think it was some rock magazine. So, naturally, I watch it, and it had 'Where Eagles Dare' [by IRON MAIDEN], it had 'Rock And Roll', and number two was 'Painkiller'. And I was, like, 'Oh my God. Thank you so much.' And number one, which I'm happy to take a backseat, was 'Hot For Teacher' — Sir Alex Van Halen. If I'm second place to old Alex, then, man, that's fantastic. Again, that's one opinion and one little something someone made up. But nonetheless, I didn't make it, so I'm happy that people appreciate 'Painkiller' and it has become a signature JUDAS PRIEST song, which I never in a million years would have imagined that."
Back in 2020, Travis told Invisible Oranges that he wrote the "Painkiller" intro at Miraval Studios in early 1990 as producer Chris Tsangarides and engineer Patrice Roullion were testing microphone placements.
"We were set up at the studio… Studio Miraval in Nice, France," Travis recalled. "The drums are all set up and they're in a big room and then, of course, the control room is at the other end of the studio. I used to just go and warm up first thing in the morning and just work on the next song we were gonna do the next day, and just start playing it with my own headphones on. It was just a cool place — very comfortable to just go and play whatever you wanted. I knew we were gonna be working on the 'Painkiller' song and it was meant to be a fast-paced upbeat song. And I was just messing around doing the intro type stuff."
He continued: "I don't know what those notes I play with my feet [are called]… between my feet and my hands. Technically, it's four with the feet, one with the hand. So it's not a quad but I don't know, septuplet, quintuplet... Shows you how educated I am on drumming, right? [I was] just out there messing around, doing a flurry of things like that, exercises and whatnot. I had the 'Painkiller' idea in my head and they really liked what I was doing and they said, 'Hey, just do some more of that, some stuff like that.' And I just kind of whipped it up…
"As a young drummer or just as a drummer, period, I always… I don't wanna say dreamt because that sounds corny, but I always was hoping that I could come up with a signature drum intro, and I think every drummer wants that. Rarely does a drummer get to do an intro and especially one that really sticks. Given the fact that it exists now, I'm kind of blown away. It's cool."
THURSDAY 12TH JUNE 2025 - ROCKFEST/TURKU, FINLAND
Photos by Reuter Music Photography for Sweden Rock Magazine
Stage Clothes: Ray Brown Fashion
Posted by Judas Priest on Thursday, June 12, 2025
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13 июн 2025
PAUL STANLEY Says 'KISS Army Storms Vegas' Event Will 'Go Through Some Major Changes', Confirms He And GENE SIMMONS Will Perform '15 Songs'
 In a new interview with Justin Richmond of the Broken Record podcast, Paul Stanley spoke about KISS's upcoming appearance without makeup at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as part of the three-day "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, which runs from November 14 to November 16.
"KISS Army Storms Vegas" celebrates the KISS fan club's 50th anniversary and will be the band's first appearance since Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their "End Of The Road" farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.
Stanley told Broken Record about the Vegas event (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " It started off as something, honestly, that Gene and I kind of took a back seat in, and, honestly, we reached a point not too far in the past where we both said, 'You know what? This isn't the way we want it.' And it's going to go through some major changes to be what we think it should be.
"We spent 12 years nurturing a KISS cruise and what that means and what goes into it and what you get to participate in and the social aspects between fans from 33 countries," Paul explained. "So, this virtually will become a KISS cruise in Vegas. [It] doesn't need a ship. It will have all the familiar touchstones that people love about a KISS cruise, whether it's bands playing, Q&As, contests, food available, good drinks, social aspects to it.
"So, it started in a way that we kind of took a step back to see what some other people might do. And then we recently found ourselves going, 'No. This isn't what we want to do or the way we wanna do it.' So there'll be some announcements forthcoming and a lot of stuff where people are gonna be very happy, as I am, that.
"A KISS cruise — there was no ships available, but a KISS cruise can take place anyway," Stanley added. "And to do it in Vegas at the Virgin Hotel, it's gonna be everything that people want and have been hoping for."
When Richmond noted that a KISS event in Vegas sounds just as good as, or better than, a cruise, Paul concurred. "It will be great, and it'll be a great, fantastic weekend of all the things that we've loved and that people loved," he said. "So whether you're KISS Army, Navy, cruiser, whatever you are, this is about to become much more. We're really excited. So I think people should just stay tuned."
Asked if he and Gene will perform at all at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Paul said: "We're going to do a no-makeup set. We'll play 15 songs, whatever. And Tommy — we're all geared up to do it. We really look forward to it."
After Richmond asked if the performance will be "acoustic", Stanley clarified: "No. That'll be electric… So it's gonna be great. And the other bands that are gonna be announced, it's gonna be everything that everybody loves on the KISS cruises. I think that was missing from what was being planned. And we needed to put our big hands into this and we needed to steer the ship."
Last month, Stanley was asked by The 500 With Josh Adam Meyers podcast who created the KISS Army and when. Stanley responded: "The KISS Army, like the best armies, was volunteer. KISS Army started in Terre Haute, Indiana when Bill Starkey, a resident, and his friends weren't getting any KISS music on their radio station and they called the radio station as the KISS Army and said, 'If you don't start playing KISS music by a certain time, we'll surround the building.' And, of course, everybody chuckled, until they surrounded the building. So that was the start of the KISS Army. KISS Army started as not a calculated fan club, but as an uprising of the army."
Earlier last month, Simmons told Greg Schmitt of Noize In The Attic about the "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event: "People misunderstand what that is. The Virgin event in November is really the fans, the KISS Army — they're taking over the hotel. This ain't a concert. No [makeup]. Certainly not. We promised we would never do that again. No touring. We'll get up and jam. In fact, I'm not even sure how many of us are gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there. I think Tommy's gonna come, but [former KISS guitarist] Bruce Kulick might pop in. It's very informal."
Asked if original KISS members Ace Frehley (guitar) and Peter Criss are "welcome" to appear at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Gene said: "Of course."
After Schmitt noted that KISS is one of the last bands of his generation that have all living members and that "it'd be great if somebody could really utilize that still," Simmons said: "I like the way you think, but it's dreamland, my friend. That's not how life works. You can lead a horse to water, but that's all you can do. We invited — I personally invited Ace and Peter to jump up on stage with us at Madison Square Garden [for the final KISS concert]. 'Hey, why don't you invite him on the show?' I did, but they said no. 'I want this and I want that.' 'Well, you can't have that, but join us to celebrate the beginning.'"
Simmons previously discussed "KISS Army Storms Vegas" in a separate interview with the "Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show" on New York City's Q104.3 radio station. Simmons said at the time: "Well, this is not a KISS concert. We promised when we sold the IP [KISS intellectual property rights] to Pophouse, an amazing company — they're futurists — about a year and a half ago when we finished touring at Madison Square Garden. There's gonna be a film and there's a lot of stuff coming up. We promised we would never tour again, because, as you noticed, I'm stunning in real life and that's when you want it… While you're on top, get out of the ring. Don't wait for some chump to knock you out. We've all seen boxers and rockers and everything that stayed around too long. 50 years, half a century is plenty of time."
Simmons went on to say that he and his KISS bandmates still want to honor the group's fans. "So that's what we're doing," he explained. "We are showing up for a fan-run event. Three days in November at the Virgin Hotel. Be there or be square. And it's really for the fans. There'll be lots of questions — if they want a back rub or anything. But it's not a KISS concert. We will jump up [and] jam, but certainly we are not bringing the flying rigs and 60 people on the crew and the jets and all that stuff… Other bands will pop up on stage and stuff, but it's really a chance to be more intimate with the fans — actually, to be cornball about it, to our bosses. Because without the fans, I would surely have been asking the next person in line, 'Would you like some fries with that?'"
50 years ago in Terre Haute, Indiana, a small group of fans lit the spark that would become the loudest and proudest fan movement in rock history: the KISS Army. Now, five decades later — and 30 years since the first official KISS convention — KISS is cranking it up to 11 in Las Vegas for the ultimate celebration.
Gene said: "Strange story. There was a guy in Terre Haute, Indiana, as a matter of fact, and in the early days, radio didn't play KISS 'cause we didn't do John Denver kind of namby-pamby stuff… But we just didn't do the la-di-da kinds of songs. We liked to turn the guitars up and have fun, and radio wouldn't play us. So this one guy, [Bill] Starkey, his name was, called the radio station, which was a small building outside of town. 'Play KISS.' 'I'm sorry, kid. We don't play that song.' And he threatened them. He said, 'If you don't play KISS by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, the KISS Army will surround your building and everything.' Of course they did not. So what happened? The cover of the [local] newspaper [ran the headline] 'Kiss Army Invades WXYZ', whatever it's called, and that's where the name came from. And by the way, afterwards, they played KISS. Because they knew that we knew what their home address was, and when they weren't home, we might set their pets on fire. There's that."
In a separate interview with Rob Rush, the evening host on Long Island, New York's 94.3 The Shark radio station, Gene stated about KISS's upcoming Vegas appearance: "This is much more a fan gathering. The Kiss Army … are taking over the Virgin Hotel and we will show up, but I don't even know if the entire band's gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there, and Tommy. Bruce Kulick probably will show up, and we'll jam, answer questions and stuff. It ain't a concert — we're gonna do none of that stuff. I may even bring my solo band up there just for [shits] and giggles. So this is more a fan event, like a fan gathering that we're gonna be guests at."
This past March, Gene told Las Vegas Review-Journal that he and his KISS bandmates "will not do the makeup" at "KISS Army Storms Vegas". "We will hold true to the promise [of never playing another KISS show in makeup]," he explained. "There's no stage show. There's no crew. We won't have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A."
Regarding what else fans can expect from "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Simmons said: "There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it's much more personal. And of course, we can't get by without playing, so we'll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don't know."
When KISS officially announced "KISS Army Storms Vegas", the band said that Stanley and Simmons — along with "special guests" — would play at least one show "unmasked," meaning without their iconic makeup. It was later revealed that Thayer would also appear at the event, along with Thayer's former band BLACK 'N BLUE, as well as former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach and the tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS NATION: THE KISS TRIBUTE SHOW.
KISS's official "KISS Army Storms Vegas" announcement made no mention of Singer, making it unclear if he will be part of the event.
There will also be question-and-answer sessions with Stanley and Simmons, as well as KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee, where they will share stories, behind-the-scenes moments and answer fans' most burning questions.
Fans can also expect guest performances, including from Kulick, as well as surprise appearances, guest sets and tribute bands.
KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.
For more information, visit kissarmystormsvegas.com.
Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."
Kulick was a member of KISS from 1984 until 1996.
According to Billboard, Kulick is one of only two musicians to have not worn makeup while a member of KISS, the other being Mark St. John.
Kulick had performed with the band again at their Kiss Kruise events in 2018 and 2021.
Image credit: Gibson
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13 июн 2025
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13 июн 2025
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME Announces New Album 'The Blue Nowhere', Shares 'Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark' Single
 25 years and 10 genre-defining albums into its storied career, Grammy-nominated band BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME returns with its most immersive and eclectic record yet, "The Blue Nowhere", due out September 12 via InsideOut Music. The release also serves as BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME's debut for the label.
Although BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME is known for its conceptual albums, vocalist Tommy Rogers explains that the 10-track collection "exists in a world that's not tied to a storyline. It's more about a feeling, where the songs live for me." He describes the lyrical approach to "The Blue Nowhere" as "journal entries, fleeting and introspective thoughts — chaotic at times, depending on the music."
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME offers fans a first feel for the new album with today's release of "Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark" and its accompanying video.
Director Miles Skarin shares insight into the clip: "For 'Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark', we wanted to create the hotel from the album concept and artwork — we 3D-modeled the hotel based on the artwork and began to create shots of it at different times of day. Marigold is a theme across the record, so we have a scene where lots of marigold petals start to cover the hotel. This was quite an intense particle simulation that took 17 hours to process and render. We also added surreal elements to the video, including infinite hotel corridors and strange space sequences with the doors to the different rooms in the hotel. We're really pleased with the final look and hope that everyone enjoys seeing the hotel come to life!"
"This track emerged from the maniac genius of Dan Briggs," Rogers shares. "The song deals with the dark cloud that is ego, so I tried to vocally approach it with a different kind of confidence than normal, almost like a pop song… even though it takes you down crazy avenues, you can sit back and sing along."
Dan Briggs adds: "It's one of the rare songs I started around the bass and that foundational funky idea, while also maintaining a pretty straightforward melodic idea underneath everything, no matter how dense it got rhythmically. I love when we have arrangements that feel like they have a page turn into another dimension, but I thought it was important for this one to feel really seamless as it moved dynamically. Even when it gets heavy, I thought it'd be fun at the core to still feel like it was Prince's band playing, keeping it funky."
Produced by longtime collaborator Jamie King, "The Blue Nowhere" is also the first BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME album to feature an extensive string and horn section. It is available as a special-edition CD, gatefold 2LP and digitally. A deluxe gatefold special colored 2LP + 2CD edition includes a bonus track on side D, the full album and instrumentals across 2CDs, an exclusive door-hanger, and alternate artwork. Pre-orders are available tomorrow via Betweentheburiedandme.com.
"The Blue Nowhere" track listing:
01. Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark
02. God Terror
03. Absent Thereafter
04. Pause
05. Door #3
06. Mirador Uncoil
07. Psychomanteum
08. Slow Paranoia
09. The Blue Nowhere
10. Beautifully Human
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME has built a reputation as one of heavy music's most forward-thinking and creatively ambitious bands. Over the past 25 years, they have released ten albums, from their 2002 self-titled debut to 2021's "Colors II", blending technical mastery with conceptual depth. Throughout their career their albums have consistently landed on year-end best-of lists, earned a Grammy nomination in 2019 (with the award's web site praising their music as "versatile, imaginative and absolutely crushing the band's music"),been dubbed "prog metal heroes" by Kerrang!, and praised by Guitar World for their "epic" and "hugely diverse" sound.
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME is Tommy Rogers (vocals/keys),Paul Waggoner (guitars),Dan Briggs (bass/keys),and Blake Richardson (drums).
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13 июн 2025
Watch: Former FEAR FACTORY Singer BURTON C. BELL Kicks Off Australian Solo Tour In Brisbane
 Former FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell kicked off his Australian solo tour on Wednesday (June 11) at The Triffid in Brisbane. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.
Last month, Burton shared the lyric video for his fourth solo single, "Savages".
In a recent interview with Andrew Haug, Bell spoke about his plans for new music after issuing two singles in 2024 — "Anti-Droid" and "Technical Exorcism" — and a cover of RAMMSTEIN's "Du Hast" in 2023. He said: "Right now there's no solo record planned. We're just writing songs and releasing singles. When it comes to a point where we have enough songs to release a full-length, maybe an EP — we'll choose which one — but if I can get some support and some funding to make that happen, I will definitely release a full-length. But at this point, we're just writing songs and releasing 'em like hip-hop artists. It's the hip-hop template where they would just drop songs, singles, just here and there along the way, and then they would eventually release the record.
"I realized a while ago that when bands — mostly rock bands, other than hip-hop artists — when they released records, and they released a single before the record is dropped, and when the record dropped, there might have been another song, but the whole record gets lost by the wayside, just gone in the ether," he explained. "So all that work is just lost. And I'm thinking, well, why don't I just have people pay attention to one song at a time and then when we have enough songs we can release something and they can have 'em all together, plus some new stuff."
As for how the changes in the industry in the last three decades have affected his approach to putting out new music, Burton said: "One thing technology has been positive is that artists have been able to record their own music and release it on their own independently. The downside of that is there's way more artists nowadays releasing music, so it's harder to get noticed. But I am very fortunate and I'm grateful that I've had the 30-year career before this for people to see it already. They know my name already, so I've done the hard work. Now the harder work starts with dealing with social media."
Bell went on to say that there have been occasions where he felt limited by the musical restrictions of his former band. "Yeah, at various times," he said, before clarifying: "Not just in the band, but in my life in general. I felt that I wanted to experiment more than anybody else did, and I just wanted to move out of the box that we created for ourselves."
Burton also acknowledged that going solo at this point in his career comes with its own set of obstacles. "It's challenging, and is hard," he explained. "But we don't do things because they're easy; we do things because they are hard. And that creates the challenge. And I do feel that freedom. And that freedom is a sense of — I have a sense that I can go in any direction I feel. I can write any type of song I would like to write and I can go in any direction I wanna go. As long as I stay true to myself in creating music that I would love to hear, I think other people would love to hear it as well."
Bell played the first concert with his solo band on June 13, 2024 at 1720 in Los Angeles, California.
Backing Bell at his recent gigs have been guitarist Henrik Linde (THE VITALS, DREN),drummer Ryan "Junior" Kittlitz (ALL HAIL THE YETI, THE ACID HELPS),bassist Tony Baumeister (ÆGES) and multi-instrumentalist Stewart Cararas.
Bell's discography includes multiple live and recorded collaborations with BLACK SABBATH icon Geezer Butler and JOURNEY's Deen Castronovo (as G/Z/R); industrial maverick Al Jourgensen and MINISTRY; and guest vocal appearances with PITCHSHIFTER, CONFLICT, SOIL, STATIC-X, SOULFLY and DELAIN, among others. He's the vocalist of ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS and CITY OF FIRE and, of course, the co-creator of FEAR FACTORY and the only musician to appear on every FEAR FACTORY release from 1992 through 2024.
FEAR FACTORY created a sound that revolutionized extreme metal, defined in no small part by Bell's innovative scream/sing dichotomy and the influences he brought from post-punk and industrial. Songs like "Replica", "Linchpin", "Edgecrusher", "Fear Campaign", "Archetype", "Cyber Waste" and "Zero Signal" are modern metal anthems. "Demanufacture" (1995) and the RIAA gold-certified "Obsolete" (1998) are genre-redefining works heralded by fans and critics as essential albums. Orwell, Bradbury, "Blade Runner", and sophisticated sci-fi and fantasy works fed Bell's lyrics and concepts.
The band toured the world with METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, KORN, MEGADETH and OZZY OSBOURNE, taking bands like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and STATIC-X out as support acts in their early stages. After years of behind-the-scenes band member turmoil and legal issues, Bell left FEAR FACTORY in the fall of 2020.
The 56-year-old Bell had been largely inactive on the musical front since officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY in September 2020. At the time he said that he could not "align" himself with someone whom he did not trust or respect, an apparent reference to FEAR FACTORY founding guitarist Dino Cazares. Bell has since been replaced in the band by the Italian-born singer Milo Silvestro.
In early May, Burton reflected on his decision to leave FEAR FACTORY in September 2020 after a 31-year run as the band's singer and pursue a solo career. He told the Post-Punk.TV podcast: "It was time for me to do other things. And here I am. Venturing out on my own is scary. Doing something solo is frightening. I'm, like, 'Am I doing the right thing?' As artists, we always question ourselves. [We hear] voices in our head. There's voices in my head that are, like, 'Oh my God. What the fuck are you doing?' But I've gotta follow my heart because my heart is directing me towards a path that I truly wanna be in, and that's the artistic path."
Bell continued: "Failure is something that, as artists, we experience on a daily basis. But you just can't let that failure dictate your life. You have to learn from it. And once you learn from that, it's, like, 'Okay, I did that wrong. This time I'll try it this way. And so I am moving forward with my solo career, writing music that, for me, fits my mantra.
"I came up with a mantra maybe a couple years ago," Burton added. "Now that I have a [solo] band that I'm working with on a daily basis, they have grown to understand me as well. And so this next [solo] song I'm about to release called 'Savages' on May 30th, we wrote together as a band. And it fits my mantra, which is 'heavy, groovy, dark and moody'. And I think that fits every aspect that I wanna do. It fits the criteria of every band that I've ever liked. I think it fits the criteria of every band I've been a part of. So what I'm doing now is an amalgamation of everything I've ever done. I'm taking it all, creating this nice little piece, and I'm releasing it, making something new for myself. And I think when people hear this new song 'Savages', and the next song, which is called 'Cold Lazarus', they [will be], like, 'Wow, that sounds familiar, but it's kind of new.' So it's, like, there you go. That's what we're doing."
Burton went on to say: "So I'm super excited about the future. I'm super excited about my tour coming up in June, going to Australia, and just very excited for what the future holds. I'm just staying creative. That's what it's all about. Being an artist is being creative, and creating art, whether it's writing music or photography, you're expressing yourself through your visions and from what you see and how the world affects you."
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13 июн 2025
HELLOWEEN Shares Music Video For 'This Is Tokyo' Single From Upcoming 'Giants & Monsters' Album
 German metal veterans HELLOWEEN will release their highly anticipated new album, "Giants & Monsters", on August 29 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The LP, now available for pre-order, follows HELLOWEEN's self-titled No. 1 2021 record and promises to be the most versatile and dynamic release of the band's career. Mixed at the legendary Wisseloord Studios (IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, DEF LEPPARD) in Hilversum, Netherlands, "Giants & Monsters" reaffirms HELLOWEEN's position at the pinnacle of the metal world.
Leading the charge is the album's first single "This Is Tokyo", accompanied by a visual homage to Japan. The powerful, four-minute anthem features vocalists Andi Deris and Michael Kiske and delivers a chorus designed for stadium sing-alongs.
The song holds personal significance for Deris, who says: "I've always wanted to write this song. Japan plays a special role in my life because I had my first big successes there. I wanted to create a tribute to Japan for a while now and finally found the right lyrics. Because 'Tokyo' sounds better than 'Japan,' the city stands for a whole country that is very important to me."
HELLOWEEN will celebrate four decades of metal mastery with a global 40th anniversary tour. The European leg begins in mid-October, with initial dates selling out quickly and additional shows in Madrid and Bochum already on sale. Featuring an ultimate set list packed with surprises, the tour will showcase the band's unparalleled legacy and ongoing creative power.
"Giants & Monsters" pushes the boundaries of HELLOWEEN's sound, thanks to the instincts of producers Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, as well as the band's relentless pursuit of excellence. Per example, drummer Dani Löble recorded all tracks using three different drum kits to capture the perfect vibe for each song, a testament to their attention to detail and love of experimentation.
The band's chemistry continues to drive their success. "What keeps motivating us is the fact that we're extremely different. It generates creative energy," says guitarist Michael Weikath. Guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen adds: "We try not to take ourselves and everything around us too seriously." Deris sums it up: "In the end, we're just seven guys who want to make music and enjoy the incomparable force that arises when we're together. HELLOWEEN is way more powerful than the sum of its parts."
"Giants & Monsters" track listing:
01. Giants On The Run
02. Saviour Of The World
03. A Little Is A Little Too Much
04. We Can Be Gods
05. Into The Sun
06. This Is Tokyo
07. Universe (Gravity For Hearts)
08. Hand Of God
09. Under The Moonlight
10. Majestic
In a recent interview with Hakos Pervanidis of the Metal Hammer Greece TV program TV War, Deris and Hansen were asked if they would agree that "Giants & Monsters" sounds "more focused and direct" than 2021's self-titled effort. Hansen said: "Yeah, I would agree. I mean, we have diversity, but we've grown together as HELLOWEEN and the individual members, so you could hear the differences between the songs and the songwriters still, but there's a straight red line. And we're more connected now."
Deris chimed in: "So far I'm happy to say that there were lots of little things being put into your song by the other guys, which was much easier this time. Honestly, we had so much more time, actually, so everybody had tons of time to listen to each and everybody's tracks and come up with own ideas. Kai, for example, he added I would say a whole new song into my song. 'Giants On The Run', the whole middle part is a new song which Kai put in, and it's just perfect; it fits. That's something I love and I always wanted to have, but, honestly, back in the day, like [on] the [previous] album, everybody was minding his own business. You have to write super songs for the new upcoming album and the expectations are so high because Michael [Kiske, HELLOWEEN singer] and Kai are back. And so there was no mindset to actually put your shit into the other songs and vice versa. And this time it just played out easily because the pressure was gone. I think when you just had such a successful album, it takes away so much pressure because you know you were on the right track. So play with it. Don't stress it. Just play with it. And that was a lot of fun."
Regarding the "Giants & Monsters" album title, Deris said: "The first title says it all. It's 'Giants On The Run', and it talks about us as mankind. We are actually giants. We are gods inside. But then you could come up with a conspiracy theory. Are we on purpose, purposely put down that the god side, that giant thing that we all have inside, is not allowed to express itself or to come out? But at the end of the day, everybody, each and every individual I know, they are much bigger inside with their dreams, with their possibilities they would like to have, than they're actually allowed to have or allowed to be in our society. And there you could come up with that conspiracy theory. Are we held down on purpose? I personally think when I listen to my inside, I know everybody from the band and all my friends I know, they're so much bigger inside. They're great, great people. And they have great ideas, but in our world, you're not allowed to express it."
Kai added: "It takes all efforts. You have to fight the monsters. That's the point. And I think the title leaves a lot room a for interpretation. You could say the giants is your great ideas that you might have, your aims, your goals. But then here come the monsters, the demons you have to fight and everyday struggle. Then you could go to the Anunnaki, the return of the gods from outer space, giant people and so on. There's a lot of room for fantasy, I think."
Andi continued: "But I just went back also to the Bible. I said, 'Okay, look, it's even written in the Bible.' There were giants walking on earth, and who says that the giants are not still here in ourselves? I mean, we are still the giants, and as Kai said, you constantly have to fight the demons, the monsters in your life. And I thought that's a super metaphor. And I think everybody knows what I'm talking about because sometimes when you're with yourself thinking about yourself, your own life, you realize you would be much more if only you are allowed to be."
Asked if HELLOWEEN purposely approached songwriting this time around in a way where the vocals and the first chorus come in very early in each song, Andi said: "Yes and no. I mean, honestly, if it would destroy the song, I'd rather not, me personally. I think everybody in the band would agree, because if the song yells for it and shouts for it — keep it short; otherwise it's getting boring — then I keep it short.
Hansen added: "It's good to have that on the commercial tracks, all the — how do you say it? — the hit singles. It's very hard. Personally, I don't mind if it takes longer to go into the chorus if it makes sense for a song. So there is no general thought or rule when you approach songwriting to say, 'Oh, no, the chorus has to come after one minute or so.'"
Deris continued: "If we talk about looking what the commercial side would be, and back in the days, I remember you've been forced by the record company to put it short into maximum three-minute songs because otherwise it couldn't be a single. Fuck it. I mean, honestly, no. If I have to keep it short, then probably, because I'm a stubborn asshole, I would do the opposite. But nobody tells me what to do, so I just personally write the way I feel. But then again, it's very important, when we have guys in the band who say, 'This is a great song, and I could hear it even better when we not keep it that short.' For example, 'Giants On The Run'. [Kai's] part is at least three minutes and stretches the song to eight minutes something, which used to be something like round five minutes, and it's totally worth it. But if it's not worth it, why would you? That was another question: 'Do you always have to write these long songs?' And Kai said, 'No.' It's just what it is. When you're in the process of songwriting and it yells for another part and here's an idea, and yeah, I could do this lyrics, so I need another part, otherwise the story is not round, and maybe you end up with 10 or 12 minutes."
Hansen added: "And it's fun to do those long songs. To me, it's fun. It's a kind of challenge, but I don't do it on purpose to say, 'I need a long song.' It's just if the song gives it to you, then you do it."
Deris explained: "And if the story is two sheets of paper. You can't possibly put all the lyrics in a three-minute song; that's not possible. So then you've got different feelings depending on the lyrics itself. Suddenly there's a romantic section, for example. Ah, yeah, definitely you have to go down and do something romantic around it arrangement-wise. You probably cannot go all metally with that romantic thing. And so it cries, it, it yells, it shouts for another part."
On the topic of how they balance fans' expectations with being creative and trying new things with their music, Hansen said: "It's a challenge and it's always like a walk on the edge. Because if you consider that you want people to be pleased with what you're doing, but on the other hand, when you do your thing, you should not consider that. You should not write with that purpose in mind, because, first of all, you have to be a fan of what you're doing. To me, it's a very egoistic process. I write for myself, and I want to be a fan of what I'm doing. And then I'm glad if other people think so too."
Deris added: "Yeah, that's my way too. I don't wanna say I don't give a fuck, but when you are writing, there should be nothing in the back of your mind. It's just you and your music. And as Kai said, if you goosebump goes up, it's great for yourself, first of all. And then when you finish the song, on the second thought or second guess would be, 'Would they like it out there?' But during the songwriting process, it's not important. You are important because you have to actually give your thoughts, your feelings into whatever you do in the very moment. And yes, sometimes it's not good enough that the people would say, 'Yeah, I love it.' But I always say that the possibility that I am completely happy with my song and my goosebump goes up, considering myself a super-normal guy, so when I say I love it, my goosebumps go up, because I consider myself a mediocre guy, I would say the normal person out there would feel the same [as] I do. That's what I always hope."
Hansen continued: "You develop a feeling. I mean, when you write a song, and you trust yourself, if you like it, then there will be a lot of others that would like it too."
Deris concurred, saying: "No guarantee, but that's the way to work."
"Helloween" was the first HELLOWEEN album to feature the band's expanded lineup, consisting of returning singer Michael Kiske and Hansen along with Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble.
Last December, Deris told Spain's MariskalRockTV about the musical direction of the new HELLOWEEN material: "I love two or three songs from Kai. [They're] super crazy, and I love 'em to death. Weiki [guitarist Michael Weikath] has a great song as well. My songs are certainly always good. [Laughs] [That's a] joke, joke, joke. But I think we have lots of great songs, definitely. Super-nice hooks, lots of positive sing-alongs. So, yeah, I think this is something that we probably may need in the times to come. [Laughs] Very positive, I have to say. So I would say 80 percent of the album is super positive. Sometimes very fast and heavy, but positive. Good, good mood. And we have a ballad. Finally, we have a ballad."
Earlier in December, Deris was asked by The Metal Command how the material for HELLOWEEN's next album compares to that on "Helloween". He said: "I'd say it's much more easy listening, because there's less constructed stuff on it. It's more flowing with the wind, so to say. It's very, very positive, so I would rather say it's more happy, happy HELLOWEEN than the other album. I think it's a bit more… yeah, the flow is, for my taste, not as edgy as the last album, which was cool — I like edgy stuff — but we should have more or less some counterpart to edgy, more exhausting things. The last album, for me, was great to listen through — it was edgy, it was heavy, it was complicated here and there — but after listening to it, then I needed a pause. It was exhausting. After [listening to 'Helloween'], I needed some break, put it that way. I loved it, and I still love it, but it's demanding. I think the next album will be much more easy listening, I think much more enjoyable to sing along [to]; there are lots of parts in there. So I would rather describe it as a more happy, happy HELLOWEEN album. That would be the best description."
Andi continued: "It's hard to describe, because there are lots of speedy and heavy things on it. But when I listen through it, I feel good. I mean, that's a good sign. Not that I felt bad when I listened to the last album — that's not what I mean. It's fun. I listen to it, and it's fun. Definitely."
Regarding what he and his HELLOWEEN bandmates learned from the making of "Helloween" that they improved upon this time around, Andi said: "Yeah, I think the main keyword would be confidence. The last album, we had to get to know each other in that new setup, lineup, how to work with [each other], how to work here and blah, blah, blah, and this time we just realized, okay, actually everybody has such great ideas; just don't control each other. We don't need to actually stick in a studio for pre-production for two months because everybody did it for himself. Let's just listen to it and say, 'Wow, cool.' So this time we've been some lazy backs, actually, and just said, you know, pre-production we just do ourselves back at home, everybody in his own studio, and we just take the technique we are given. Internet is great, and you can have live sessions online, and that made life so much easier because everybody is just relieved that you [are] still at home. You still work hard, but you're at home. And as we all know, when you're at home, work doesn't hurt that much as being back in the studio again somewhere in the world, but not with your family. And nowadays you can actually have your family life, you have your eight, nine hours per day in the studio, you yourself decide when you make a break or when you go and have a meal with your lady or go down to the beach, in my case. That makes life so much easier and much more enjoyable than sitting in a fricking studio again and again and again, each and every day for two months, just for a pre-production, which you could easily do at home together. So this time, I have to say there's confidence that we earned for each other that helped a lot to make things even more easygoing. And I think that's exactly what you listen, when you go through the songs and you listen to them — you feel that easiness: 'Wow. Wow. Okay, cool.' I love it. So that's the way to go."
Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.
Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the last HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).
"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analog and Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.
HELLOWEEN released a new live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The colossal effort immortalized HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan.
"Live At Budokan" was made available in a plethora of formats: 2CD-digipak and 3LP vinyl in trifold with the first print run of both coming as "deluxe edition" including embossed cover artwork, as well as Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Each version is meticulously crafted to suit the metal community's diverse tastes, ensuring every fan can relive the raw, unfiltered energy of HELLOWEEN in their preferred medium.
This release celebrated the grand finale of HELLOWEEN's epic world tour from 2022 to 2023. Spanning over 30 countries on three continents, the tour was nothing short of a triumph, drawing massive crowds and showcasing the band's undying appeal, the sold-out concert in Tokyo is the crowning glory of the cycle.
HELLOWEEN is:
Michael Kiske - vocals
Andi Deris - vocals
Kai Hansen - guitars, vocals
Michael Weikath - guitars
Sascha Gerstner - guitars
Markus Grosskopf - bass
Daniel Löble - drums
Photo credit: Mathias Bothor
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13 июн 2025
COHEED AND CAMBRIA's JOSH EPPARD Announces Mental Health Collaboration Between Drum Set Confessional And HeartSupport
 COHEED AND CAMBRIA's drummer Josh Eppard has announced a special collaboration between his organization Drum Set Confessional and the metal community-driven mental health nonprofit HeartSupport.
Drum Set Confessional was born from Eppard's own struggle with deadly substance addiction. He uses the platform to share his stories with at-risk populations like students as well as with professionals like therapists and teachers.
The partnership with HeartSupport will allow Eppard's empowering story to reach more heavy music fans with hope.
"We're usually in awe of HeartSupport," Eppard expressed. "Like, 'Wow, look what's possible.' While they lead the way, it's our honor to use them as aspirational and inspirational. We know HeartSupport can help us to better our organization."
HeartSupport was founded by another band member in the heavy music scene: AUGUST BURNS RED's Jake Luhrs. HeartSupport offers opportunities to open up about mental health and receive immediate peer support. Listeners who hear Josh Eppard's story will now also hear about their chance to receive free peer support through HeartSupport's repliers and Support Calls.
Eppard added: "We all intertwine. The marriage with HeartSupport just feels so right to us. I'm just so happy that they'll have us. I sense a lot of good people doing the work so well and leading the way for other bands and organizations to pop up."
HeartSupport's services include social media replies of support from trained volunteers and a long-term Support Calls program where participants are matched with a peer supporter who calls them every week. HeartSupport goes wherever heavy music fans are: both online and at festivals. Their services fit the needs of Drumset Confessional's audiences perfectly.
"We are so incredibly grateful to partner with Josh Eppard and Drum Set Confessional to deepen our impact on the scene and help more fans," the HeartSupport staff stated.
You can learn more about Drum Set Confessional at drumsetconfessional.com and get involved with HeartSupport and their services at heartsupport.com.
HeartSupport unites fans through music and empowers them to support each other's mental health. HeartSupport founder Jake Luhrs is the well-recognized frontman of the world-famous metal band AUGUST BURNS RED.
Every night, fans would share raw stories about addiction, suicide, self-harm, fear and hopelessness. He created HeartSupport to help these fans open about their struggles and get support in improving their mental health. | +1 | |
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13 июн 2025
RANDY BACHMAN And BURTON CUMMINGS To Perform As THE GUESS WHO For First Time In 23 Years On 'Rock Legends Cruise XIII'
 It has been announced that Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings will play as THE GUESS WHO for the first time in 23 years when they take part in the Rock Legends Cruise as it sails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida through the Caribbean, February 23-27, 2026.
As principal songwriters of THE GUESS WHO's early hits, Bachman and Cummings helped propel the band to international success with songs such as "These Eyes", "Laughing", "Undun", "American Woman", "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" and "No Time". Their 1970 album "American Woman" reached No. 1 in Canada, and the title track became the first Billboard number one hit by a Canadian group.
After the group disbanded, Burton continued his winning streak with a gold record for his solo debut single "Stand Tall". He followed his inaugural solo success with more than a dozen hit singles and albums, including "I'm Scared", "My Own Way To Rock", "Break It To Them Gently" and "You Saved My Soul". Burton's 1978 album "Dream Of A Child" became the first quadruple platinum-selling album by a Canadian artist.
Randy went on to find success as BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE with hits such as "Let It Ride", "Roll On Down The Highway", "Takin' Care Of Business", "Lookin' Out for #1", "Hey You" and the BTO anthem "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet".
For the cruise, passengers can look forward to two hours of hits from THE GUESS WHO, along with songs from BTO and Burton Cummings's solo career. Joining Burton and Randy on stage will be Sean Fitzsimons (drums, vocals),Jeff Jones (bass, vocals),Nick Sinopoli (percussion, vocals),Tim Bovaconti (guitar, vocals) and Joe Augello (guitar, vocals).
THE GUESS WHO joins the previously announced line up of GENE SIMMONS BAND, KEVIN CRONIN BAND, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, URIAH HEEP, JEFFERSON STARSHIP, UGLY KID JOE, ROBERT JON & THE WRECK, Gary Hoey and TWO WOLF.
Earlier this year, Bachman told American Songwriter about his plans for a reunion with Cummings for a THE GUESS WHO reunion tour in 2026: "[Burton is] finishing up his stuff this year, I'm finishing up my BTO stuff. And we have a plan for 2026 to be THE GUESS WHO, where … we do a setlist of about 30 hit songs, and it's probably gonna be a two- or three-hour Springsteen kind of marathonic show. And we're all geared to do that in 2026. It'll be the unveiling of 'THE GUESS WHO are back.'"
Two years ago, Bachman and Cummings filed a lawsuit accusing a band calling itself THE GUESS WHO — led by original drummer Garry Peterson — of falsely advertising "a group of hired musicians who have been touring and recording using the band's name."
In September 2024, it was announced that Bachman and Cummings had settled their long-running dispute with former bandmates Peterson and Jim Kale.
Hailed by The Toronto Star as "the greatest band in Canadian history," THE GUESS WHO emerged out of Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965 and went on to international success through the next decade with an impressive catalogue of songs including "These Eyes", "No Time" and the chart-topping "American Woman". During the course of its legendary career, the band released 11 studio albums, with 1970's "American Woman" — recorded with the classic lineup of Bachman, Cummings, Kale and Peterson — reaching No. 1 in Canada and the top 10 in the United States. THE GUESS WHO charted more than thirty Top 40 singles in Canada along with 14 in the U.S., including "American Woman" which went all the way to No. 1.
The classic lineup of THE GUESS WHO reconvened at various times over the years, including a series of shows captured on 1984's live album "Together Again!" (known as "The Best Of The Guess Who - Live!" in the United States). In 1999, the band performed at the closing ceremonies of the Pan Am Games at Winnipeg Stadium at the personal behest of the premier of Manitoba.
THE GUESS WHO have been bestowed with a wide array of honors in their home country. In addition to their 1987 induction into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, the band were given a star on Canada's Walk Of Fame in 2001 while in 2002, the band received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Image credit: wowzieee | 0 | |
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13 июн 2025
PAPA ROACH Has 'About Five, Six Songs Finished Up' For Next Studio Album; New Single To Arrive This Month
 In a new interview with Skratch N' Sniff and SNSMix.com, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2022 album "Ego Trip". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've got about five, six songs finished up. I'm headed to Nashville later today. I'm going to a NASCAR event and then headed to L.A. to go back in the studio and wrap up some more new tracks. And so [we're] well into this new album.
"We don't have a release date yet [for the new PAPA ROACH album]," Jacoby clarified. "We just wanna get this one perfect before we drop it. But fans can expect new music throughout the year. Actually, after I go in the studio, I'll jump back down to L.A. We're shooting a music video for a brand new single we're gonna drop in the middle of June, and so that's coming up right around the corner. And that one's a fucking banger, dude. I'm so excited about this next song."
Asked if there is a possibility of some guests appearing on the new PAPA ROACH album, Jacoby said: "Actually, yeah. I've got a couple guests already on this record, but I ain't gonna tell you who it is 'cause we just wanna surprise you as the tracks drop."
Jacoby also talked about PAPA ROACH's decision to release "Ego Trip" through the band's own record label, New Noize Records, in partnership with ADA Worldwide (WMG's independent label and artist services arm). Asked if there are things about that process that he and his PAPA ROACH bandmates learned along the way that they can apply to the upcoming album, Jacoby said: "Oh, absolutely, man. I've been a student since I've been in the business, and back in ''99 when we first got a record deal, I've been taking notes; everybody in the band's been taking notes. And it's been a good experience for us. And I was quite fearful of stepping into the role of being a record company executive. But now that we're two years into it, and we really have learned the insides of the record business, it's just, 'Let's go.' It's exciting. So we're gonna continue that. And we've had some great successes on this last album, 'Ego Trip'. We had four Number Ones on rock radio, and for us that was huge. And then broke into the Top 5 and Top 10 with 'Leave A Light On' at alternative. And 'Even If It Kills Me', the reimagined version, just hit through the Top 10. And so we've got this momentum happening, and it just feels so good. And then we just came off this tour, 'Rise Of The Roach', in America and Europe, some of the most successful touring of our career. And so we just feel this excitement bubbling up around what we're doing, and I'm just, like, 'Dude…' This deep into our career, we're having all these successes. And it's dope. I mean, I just got a plaque from Spotify for a billion streams. It a really good time to be in PAPA ROACH and to be doing what we're doing with New Noize."
Last month, PAPA ROACH released a music video for an acoustic version of "Even If It Kills Me". The original single reached No. 1 at U.S. Rock Radio, marking PAPA ROACH's 13th appearance at the top of the charts.
Shaddix spoke to the I-Rock 93.5 radio station about the lyrical inspiration for "Even If It Kills Me", which was released in late January. He said: "This one was started about two years ago, the music part of it, and I heard it first from the first musical just vibe with the strings. I was, like, 'It sounds cinematic. This sounds like it's about to be a journey we're taking the fans on.' So I hit the boys up instantly. I'm, like, 'Dude, I can't wait to get in the studio on this one.' Then life happens, and some stuff goes down. My older son went through this really traumatic heartbreak breakup. Just his whole world was leveled, and I watched my son just crumble. And that was a tough one. But to also have to go, 'Hey, man, there's some hard truths about life, and sometimes people aren't what they show themselves as, and there's two sides to people sometimes. And you got one, and then eventually discovered that other dark side of them and you were hurt.' And that was really hard for me to watch my son just fall to pieces. And that song was born from that moment of going, 'I wanna be able to help you, but I also know that you kind of gotta walk through the fire.' And knowing that, 'I'm not gonna leave you. I'm here for you, but I'm also gonna stand in that fire with you.' And I wanted to shoulder the pain. I wish I could, but sometimes we have to go through those moments in life that build character. Who are you? Can you get back up? Well, my son got back up."
In March, PAPA ROACH released a "reimagined" version of "Even If It Kills Me". The band and Joshua Landry again produced the track. "Even If It Kills Me (Reimagined)" was a fresh take on its heavier counterpart, showcasing the hit song in a new light, with a melodic arrangement and signature vocals delivered by Shaddix.
PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music. PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health and have been doing so since the seminal release of their first hit single "Last Resort". Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, including "Ego Trip".
Photo credit: Bryson Roatch | +1 | |
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13 июн 2025
NIRVANA's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' Video Surpasses Two Billion Views On YouTube
 NIRVANA's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video has surpassed two billion views on YouTube. The clip, which was uploaded to the Google-owned video platform in June 2009, previously hit one billion views in 2019.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" opened NIRVANA's breakthrough release "Nevermind" (Geffen/UMe) which hit No. 1 around the world, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. The single made its radio debut on August 27, 1991 and the accompanying video showed the band playing background music for a truly spirited high-school cheerleading squad. The clip was filmed on August 17, 1991 at a sound stage in Culver City, California.
The "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video was directed by Samuel Bayer, whose his personality clashed with those of the NIRVANA bandmembers. "He's got a little Napoleon complex," NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain said in the NIRVANA biography "Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana". "He was just so hyper, such a rocker guy. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe we actually submitted to that."
Courtney Love, who married Cobain in an intimate ceremony on February 24, 1992, told New York Magazine in 2011: "Kurt hated Sam Bayer. For 'Teen Spirit', Kurt wanted fat cheerleaders, he wanted black kids, he wanted to tell the world how fucked up high school was — but Sam put hot girls in the video. The crazy thing is it still worked."
"Nevermind" would come to be much more than one of the most successful and influential albums of all time. It returned rock 'n' roll integrity and passion to the top of the charts and continues to be a singular inspiration to fans and musicians alike over the last three decades — and generations to come. It has been credited over the years with helping to kill off hair metal.
Charles R. Cross, the author of "Heavier Than Heaven", a biography of Cobain, told Today.com about the mega-success of "Nevermind": "It's an incredible album. It would have been a hit whenever it was released. But at the same time, the timing was right for there to be a superstar act like NIRVANA. It came right at the end of the death knell of hair metal and the world was screaming for rock music that would be meaningful again. And the timing for a new generation wanting a voice was also ideal. It just so happened that everything came together at the exact right moment when rock needed a revolution." | +2 | |
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13 июн 2025
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13 июн 2025
LARS ULRICH On Taking Risks With METALLICA's Music: 'We've Always Wanted To Turn Over Rocks And Look At New Ideas'
 In a new interview with Variety to promote METALLICA's upcoming film project "Metallica Saved My Life", which explores the world of METALLICA through the lives of their fans — including the bandmembers themselves — METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked if having a fanbase which has followed him and his bandmates as they take big risks with their music has liberated them in taking big swings. He responded: "I don't think it was ever a choice. I would like to believe that we dictate our own narrative, and one of the key pieces of the individual and collective DNA in METALLICA is curiosity. We've always wanted to turn over rocks and look at new ideas and challenges. If curiosity is a significant part of our DNA, another part is the fear of complacency, a fear of fear, of getting stuck. The claustrophobia, 'Oh my God, we've got to keep evolving. We've got to keep growing. We gotta keep trying different shit.' The fear of stagnation, of ending up on autopilot, a fear of repetition, of just getting stuck. So we've always pushed ourselves into new and different creative endeavors. Whether it's the films or doing stuff with symphony orchestras or playing with different producers or new approaches, it's to make sure that we always keep it fresh and there are always challenges in front of us.
"When 'Ride The Lightning' came out, the fourth song, 'Fade To Black', had acoustic guitars on it," he continued. "There were definitely some raised eyebrows and people in the very hard-rock end of the community wondered what we were doing. But I would like to think that very early on, we stated that we were not to be boxed in, and we were not to be doing always what was expected. We would not be the band to churn out the same record over and over again, just in a different sleeve with different cover art. We were gonna do everything that we could to prevent that from happening."
"Metallica Saved My Life" will get its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival Wednesday night (June 11),with New York City screenings following Thursday and Saturday.
Filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund, who previously directed METALLICA's music videos for 1998's "Turn The Page", 1999's "Whiskey In The Jar" and 2016's "ManUNkind", interviewed fans from 23 different countries for the documentary, which is slated for release later this year.
In a statement announcing "Metallica Saved My Life" in April, the band said: "As a few of you may know, we've been working behind the scenes the last couple of years on a new film that will be released later this year starring you guys! 'Metallica Saved My Life' explores our world through the lives of fans who have supported each other through highs, lows, trials and triumphs for over four decades. And yeah, we're in it a little bit too."
Back in July 2023, METALLICA put out a casting call for "superfans" of the band to possibly appear in an upcoming documentary. The filmmakers were looking for "big personalities, unique characters and unexpected stories from METALLICA fans who consider METALLICA to be their favorite band, real 'Fifth Member' types. All stories and walks of life" were "welcome and encouraged to reach out."
The documentary was reportedly being produced by METALLICA and Mercury Studios, powered by Universal Music Group.
Two years ago, Ulrich credited the use of "Master Of Puppets" in 2022 in the hit Netflix series "Stranger Things" with creating a whole new generation of METALLICA fans.
As a result of the song's appearance in the show, "Master Of Puppets" — the title track of METALLICA's 1986 album — went on to top of the iTunes Rock Chart and crack the Spotify Top 50.
Ulrich told Japan's TVK: "I'm just so happy that hard music and hard rock still has a place. To see so many young people connecting with music again. . . I can see it my kids; I can see it, in the last nine months, the 'Stranger Things' phenomenon of so many young kids discovering 'Master Of Puppets' and that being a gateway to maybe more METALLICA music or to more heavy music or heavy rock music."
Lars went on to say that the possibility for METALLICA's music to reach a new audience seems endless.
"I see that there's still so much, all over the world, a coming of age when kids are 12, 13, 14 years old, to get into music and for us to be part of that discovery is an incredible thing," he explained.
In a 2015 interview with Time Warner Cable News, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was asked what it feels like to get such a strong reaction from the crowd every time the band performs live. He said: "Well, it's like an ultimate family for us — especially for me. When I'm able to just be honest and ask, 'Hey, help sing this part,' or I screwed up the words and they sing it for me. It's, like, 'Man, they really do have our back.' And we don't look at things as mistakes. There are no mistakes that happen. There's just unique ways of doing it for that day. We go up there and we play it. So there's just such a freedom when you have… When the crowd has your back, there's such a freedom to be able to even explore more up there or to even do better. 'Cause you know you're not out there to impress people, you're out there just to deliver what you've got in you."
In 2016, Ulrich told Vice that he and his bandmates don't make a concerted effort to bring in new fans or win over naysayers whenever they release a new album. "I mean, we are all aware kind of aware of the fact of how wide the net is cast," he said. "And like I said, most things that I see in the world is in grays, so it's pretty easy with this stuff. So 40-year-olds, 50-year-olds, 30-year-olds, 20-year-olds, teens, it's fine. We don't go out of our way to do one thing more than the other. I think that there still there seems to be a rite of passage for 13 and 14-year-old boys and in lots of places around the world. There are still a lot of young kids. When I occasionally check our social media, I can tell that a lot of them are younger, which is cool. So I think we got a pretty good balance. There are certain places like in Scandinavia, they're really young and there is like 14-year-old girls down in the front row. Sometimes parents bring their kids, or kids bring their parents. It's fun."
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13 июн 2025
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13 июн 2025
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Malvada
