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10 сен 2025
WOLFGANG VAN HALEN Explains Why He 'Literally Couldn't Make' It To OZZY OSBOURNE's Final Concert: 'I Was Very Bummed About That'
 In a new interview with the Swedish rock radio station 106.7 FM Rockklassiker, Wolfgang Van Halen — son of legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen — was asked why he was forced to cancel his participation in the "Back To The Beginning" event, which marked Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH's final performance. The current MAMMOTH frontman said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had the flights purchased, the hotels ready to go. We also, obviously, have 'The End', [MAMMOTH's third] album, we were planning on that release, but we hadn't announced it yet. And then the rehearsal schedules moved. So, at that point, with how many people had bought hotels and, and everything, we literally couldn't make it, after that schedule changed. One, I had to rehearse for the CREED tour that I was about to go on [with MAMMOTH]. And then two, even if we wanted to go out there, there was no way to get a hotel or a flight that quickly after it changed. So, we couldn't do it, unfortunately."
He added: "I was really happy I was able to do the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing for Ozzy, and I got to see him then. But yeah, I was very bummed about that. Sometimes things just sort of happen that way."
Wolfgang joined super-producer Andrew Watt and TOOL singer Maynard James Keenan at last year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony, which saw the induction of Ozzy as a solo artist. They performed one of Osbourne's most popular songs, "Crazy Train", backed by RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' Chad Smith and METALLICA's Robert Trujillo. Asked how the whole Rock Hall experience was for him, Wolfgang told 106.7 FM Rockklassiker: "Oh, it was amazing. It was a dream. Being able to play with everybody, and being a massive TOOL fan, being able to play with Maynard was an insane thing I never thought I'd be able to do. I mean, if you told me five years ago I'd be playing 'Crazy Train' with Maynard, I'd be, like, 'Shut up. What are you talking about?' But, man, it was very, very cool. [I was] very, very happy to have been a part of it, and being able to, to see Ozzy after it and give him a hug and chat with him a bit really stuck with me."
Asked if he remembers the first time he met Ozzy, Wolfgang said: "You know what? I remember the first time I met [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon. She came to the house one time. but I think it was either in passing or really quick, But it was this time around where we did a photo shoot, like, a week or two before the whole [Rock Hall] performance. That's when I got to sit with him and talk the first time. And he was very, very lovely. And then I got to hang out with him after the performance at the Rock And Roll Of Fame."
Wolfgang added: "[Ozzy was] very funny and very, very kind. I got to chat with him on just random stories that my dad had told me. 'Cause when [VAN HALEN and BLACK SABBATH] toured together back in the day, I just kind of asked him about, like, 'Did this happen? Did this happen?' And, yeah, a lot of those stories, which were very, very funny, I got him to giggle a bit, I got him to laugh about it, which was very, very funny. It was great.
Asked if he remembers a specific story involving Ozzy and Eddie, Wolfgang said: "I do, but I don't think I would be allowed to say it. [Laughs] But it's very funny, and I was very happy to know that my dad wasn't pulling my leg on some of those stories."
"The End" will be released on October 24 via BMG. The 10-track effort was recorded at the legendary 5150 studio, and was produced by Wolfgang's friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette.
This past June, Wolfgang was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station to name his favorite guitar player who played with Ozzy — a list that includes SABBATH legend Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads. Wolfgang said: "I'm really bad at picking, 'cause that almost implies you don't like another one in comparison. And I feel like Randy was amazing, but you can't not give cred to Tony being the legend and groundbreaking genre creator he was — and is. [Laughs] So I love 'em all. That's not the answer you wanna hear."
Less than two months earlier, Wolfgang was asked by "Loudwire Nights" what SABBATH meant to him personally as a music fan. Wolfgang said: "There are some legends out there where it's just, like, they can't be replicated. They're just so original and they started a movement. You can't mess with that.
"My dad was very much a — he kind of focused on his stuff, but any time my dad gave cred to something else, that meant it was legit," Wolfgang continued. "And he always told me one of his favorite guitar riffs was 'Into The Void' by BLACK SABBATH. And there's nothing better, man. It's just the best."
Asked in a November 2024 interview with WRIF how he got involved in Osbourne's Rock Hall induction, Wolfgang said: "I got the request from Ozzy. So you don't say, 'Yeah, no.' You're, like, 'I'll do what I can, sir.' [Laughs] That's all I could do."
Wolfgang went on to say that he and the other musicians "had two rehearsals in Los Angeles before we came out [to Cleveland], and then a rehearsal the day before in Cleveland. So it was nice," he added. "So the band got to jell, got to jam with Rob and Chad. And it was nice to just kind of establish that baseline, so it wasn't just thrown together."
Wolfgang added that he "felt so out of place" because he was surrounded by "a crazy supergroup of people." But, he noted, "It was nice to have Zakk [Wylde, longtime Ozzy guitarist] there, so I could be, like, 'Hey, am I doing this right?' And he's, like, 'Yeah, you're doing fine.' It's, like, 'Okay, thank you.' [Laughs]"
Wolfgang also talked about playing the guitar solo originally written and recorded by Ozzy's late guitarist Randy Rhoads, who has influenced many musicians and is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Asked where he places Rhoads on his scale of guitarists, Wolfgang said: "You know what? I really don't make lists like that anymore. I think it's an unfair thing to do when there's just so much good out there than the stack of things against each other. Sure [I have my favorites], ones that I've been more influenced by others, but, yeah, Randy was an incredible guitar player and it's a shame we never got to see where he was gonna go. To make that much of a mark that early, it's a real shame [that he died]."
According to Wolfgang, he was "certainly incredibly nervous" to perform at Ozzy's Rock Hall induction. "But everybody, they made it really easy and it was really comfortable," he said. "And personally, it was really cool to be able to hang out with Maynard. I've been a huge TOOL fan my whole life and he's one of my favorite singers."
Asked if he had ever met Maynard before, Wolfgang said: "No, I hadn't. And he's a really great dude. It was a good time."
Wolfgang said that the circumstances prevented him from acting like too much of a fanboy around Maynard. "It's business time, so I had to put away the fan shirt and just kind of be, like, 'Yes, sir. Hey, how's it going? Nice to meet you. I'm here to jam with you,'" he explained ."But yeah, after a while, you just kind of hang out, and it's a good time."
Osbourne was inducted into the Rock Hall by actor and TENACIOUS D frontman Jack Black, who called Ozzy "the greatest frontman in the history of rock 'n' roll. He went on to say that the cover of Ozzy's debut solo album, "Blizzard Of Ozz" "was the most metal thing I had ever seen, and I didn't even know what metal was. Then I went back to Ozzy's earlier albums, to BLACK SABBATH. And I was, like, unholy shit, this motherfucker invented heavy metal ... the darkest, heaviest shit the world had ever heard."
After Black's induction speech, Osbourne accepted the award while seated on a throne. He told the crowd: "Well, here we are. You know what? I can't believe I'm here myself. Let me get the thank yous out of the way, because I'm not going to bore you with a long, drawn-out fucking monologue. I'd like to thank whoever voted me into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for my solo work. A great thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
"My fans have been so loyal to me over the years, I cannot thank them enough. I've been fortunate over the years to play with some of the world's greatest guitar players, drummers, bass players, and a few of them are here tonight. But I've got to say one thing for a guy by the name of Randy Rhoads. If I'd hadn't have met Randy Rhoads, I don't think I'd be sitting here now. And moreso more than that, my wife Sharon. Saved my life. And my grandbabies and my babies. I love them all."
Osbourne earned a solo Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction for his nearly six-decade career in music. This honor made Ozzy one of a handful of artists with multiple inductions into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.
Rhoads was posthumously inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during the 2021 ceremony. Rhoads, who played in Ozzy's band more than four decades ago, received the Musical Excellence Award at the October 2021 event. | +1 | |
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10 сен 2025
Watch: BRUCE DICKINSON Sings A Cappella Version Of IRON MAIDEN's 'Revelations', Performs Full-Band Version Of 'Flash Of The Blade' At Brazil's THE TOWN
 Professionally filmed video of Bruce Dickinson belting out an a cappella version of the IRON MAIDEN song "Revelations", as well as a full-band version of MAIDEN's "Flash Of The Blade", during his solo group's September 7 concert at The Town festival in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below.
Prior to launching into "Revelations", Bruce referenced MAIDEN's 1985 performance in front of 350,000 fans at the first-ever Rock In Rio festival where, in the middle of the band's set, he accidentally smacked himself in the face with a guitar during "Revelations", but continued to sing in spite of his bleeding head wound. Bruce told The Town crowd: "40 years ago, I was in the other place, up the road, Rio De Janeiro, Rock In Rio. Famously I cut my fucking head open with a guitar, and they're still using that picture… So I thought we could at least pay homage to what that song was." He then proceeded to sing parts of "Revelations" without the backing of his band, and added as an introduction to "Flash Of The Blade": "So that's all you're gonna get of 'Revelations'. 'Cause I thought we might do this instead."
During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" in August, Bruce talked about the setlist for "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour, saying: "We'll do one [IRON MAIDEN song]. We're gonna prepare a couple. But we'll do one every show. One of them is gonna be 'Revelations'. The reason for that is because we're going down — in the middle of the tour, we go down for one show in Brazil, which is the 40th anniversary of me setting foot in Brazil with MAIDEN. It's São Paulo at this big festival called The Town. And so 'Revelations' is a really kind of seminal track because that was the track in which I split my head open with the guitar blood pouring down my face, that was on the front cover of every newspaper in Brazil the day after [the] Rock In Rio [festival in 1985]."
Asked by Trunk how he ended up splitting his head open, Bruce said: "I played guitar at the beginning of 'Revelations' on that tour. And I was so pissed off with the monitor guy, 'cause the monitors were sounding awful and everything, and it was all disorganized and yada, yada, yada. And only the biggest gig we'd ever done in our lives. So, I'm waving at him, 'Ah.' And then I took the guitar off, and I took it off in such a goofy way that the edge of the guitar hit me across the nose like that and split my head open. And I'm bleeding from a head wound and it's really hot, so it looks impressive — lots of blood. And it's all on TV — so it's on national TV — and I'm bleeding all over the place. And the Brazilians absolutely went bonkers. And the whole of South America saw it went, 'Oh my God. He's bleeding for his art.' And Rod [Smallwood], my manager, came up and I was, like, trying to wipe it off. And this roadie came up and said, 'Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Rod says, can you squeeze it and make it bleed some more? It looks amazing on the cameras.' So to this day, when you talk about that song and that festival in Brazil, they talk about that image and that moment that was like the image of the festival. It was during that song. So when you play that song, it has an extra meaning and weight down there. But it's quite a long song. So, we've got other songs in the set that we could do of our own stuff as well. So, I've got my eyes on another MAIDEN tune, which has never ever been played — ever."
Dickinson declined at the time to name the other MAIDEN song he and his solo band had prepared for the tour, saying: "You have to find out yourself. It's all gonna come out [after we play it for the first time]. But you can keep people guessing. 'Are they gonna do it tonight? Where's it gonna be?' And things like that. And the thing is about this band is that they're good enough that we could go in the toilet and learn something five minutes before we go on stage and go and do it.
"We do try to vary the set a little bit so if people decide to come to the Boston show and then come to the New York show, yeah, we'll do something different in the New York show we didn't do in Boston and vice versa," Dickinson added. "So, that's nice. But, yeah, I'm gonna cover a lot of ground in the set. I don't believe in doing a set in which you make people suffer: 'You will get all of this album, whether you like it or not.' I'm there to entertain people and have a great time and show off the band. So, there's gonna be stuff from 'Accident At Birth' and 'The Chemical Wedding' — tracks that people have not heard ever. We're playing 'The Alchemist' and stuff like that, which everybody just goes, 'Oh my God.' And it's bone-crushingly heavy live. And we're doing 'Book of Thel'. And then there's other stuff. There's at least two or three songs off 'Mandrake'. We're gonna be doing 'Shadow Of The Gods', which we've never played, ever. So all of last year we'd never played that song. And it's probably one of the top songs off the record. So America's gonna get that song. Obviously we're gonna play 'Tears Of The Dragon', 'cause I think we'd be lynched if we didn't. But there'll be another couple of [songs from the reworked version of 'Balls To Picasso'] 'More Balls [To Picasso]' as well. And there's a song off 'Skunkworks'. There's nothing, at the moment, off 'Tattooed Millionaire'. And there's two or three options for doing things off 'Tyranny Of Souls'. So, really, it's a pretty across-the-board solo-track thing. And funnily enough, think throwing ahead to what we do in '27, I'm thinking, oh, my God. There's so many other tracks that you could drop in to a tour in '27, which we haven't played and we haven't played live as well. 'Cause I've got seven albums to pick from."
"The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour kicked off on August 22 in Anaheim, California.
Dickinson is touring in support of his latest solo album, "The Mandrake Project", which arrived in March 2024.
Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour is once again his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.
"The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour takes the band across North America, including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky).
Prior to the April 12, 2024 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.
Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent three solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).
O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson in 2023 as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.
Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.
Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.
Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.
Dickinson's reworked version of his classic 1994 album "Balls To Picasso", now titled "More Balls To Picasso", arrived on July 25.
Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.
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10 сен 2025
ROGER GLOVER: 'There'll Probably Be' A New DEEP PURPLE 'Album Next Year'
 During an August 26 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover spoke about the band's ongoing tour, "The Long Goodbye", which started in May 2017. Asked if he and his bandmates will "just keep moving forward" with live shows while they are still physically able to, without ever announcing a final concert, Glover replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I see a lot of bands doing the farewell tour or the farewell gig — BLACK SABBATH just did it recently, and other people have done it before — but it doesn't appeal to me, and I don't think the rest of the band either. To actually put a date on the final [show], now where's it gonna be? The pressure is too great. I'd much rather just play and play and play, and suddenly we're not playing. We don't need to go out with a fanfare — I don't think, anyway. It's possible other people disagree with me, but that's my feeling."
Asked if the other members of DEEP PURPLE feel the same way as he does about the idea of not announcing a final gig, Roger said: "Quite a few years ago now, at the start of 'The Long Goodbye', [then-PURPLE guitarist] Steve Morse, he said, 'Why don't we finish on a high and name the last tour and we'd make a lot of money because it's the last tour and then kiss it goodbye?' And that didn't go down well with the band, which is why we called it 'The Long Goodbye', because we knew it was gonna happen sometime, but, of course, we didn't know it was gonna go on and on and on. And thankfully so.
"This year is a bit of an off year," Glover explained. "We've been writing and stuff, and there'll probably be an album next year. And the last — actually, the last two or three years have been so busy. We haven't stopped touring and working. So it's good to have a little bit of a breather. We did one gig in Brazil — a festival in June — and there's a couple of gigs coming up at the end of the year, but it's not really a touring year. It's a resting year."
Asked by host Eddie Trunk if he thinks the final DEEP PURPLE concert will just happen without it being "a pre-announced thing," Glover said: "Yeah. I think that would be the way to do it. I mean, who knows? The business side of things, we all disagree. We haven't talked about it. It's just we assume we're just gonna carry on. Bop till you drop."
After Trunk noted that so many artists have announced farewell tours, only to come back for select shows or extend their farewell tours indefinitely, Glover said: "It's all about the money. See, it's all about the money. And then we're more about the music. Yeah, money's important, but music is more important. And having a big finale like that [for DEEP PURPLE] … of course it may happen, but it wouldn't be my decision."
Regarding the health and physical fitness of the PURPLE bandmembers, Roger said: "Well, I don't think anyone, when they're around 80, feels like they did when they were 20. We all have aches and pains and stuff like that. But so far, certainly playing live and playing in the studio, we're still on top of the game. So, I don't see any problem coming up. Ian [Gillan, PURPLE singer] turned 80 this year. I'll be 80 later this year. It's a horrible number. I still haven't quite got used to it. I'm hanging on to 79 as much as I can."
Glover also talked about DEEP PURPLE's insistence on still putting out new music, with the band's 23rd studio album, "=1", having arrived in July 2024.
"That's what we do, isn't it?" he said. "We write music. Even if there was no band, I'd still be writing music, certainly for my own pleasure. It's one of the things you do. The idea is not to try and repeat yourself, to find new ways of being a hard rock band. And we seem to do that. I don't know how we do it. We just do it. It's kind of a natural thing."
Elaborating on why it's so important for him to stay creative as he approaches his 80th birthday, Roger said: "I'm working on my book right now, writing about my life, and the more I write, the more I realize what an amazing journey that we've been on, and certainly I've been on. And you kind of owe it to yourself to sort of not squash it, just to continue as much as possible. [Working on my book] keeps reinforcing what an amazing — almost against the odds of joining a band and having been going for 60 years, or 50-whatever it is, years, I mean, just it doesn't make sense. We were just very lucky or just in the right place at the right time, or just the right mix of people. I don't know what it is, but we kind of owe it to our legacy to not give up."
In August 2024, Gillan was asked by "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if retirement is out of the vocabulary for him and his DEEP PURPLE bandmates, eight years after they launched "The Long Goodbye" tour. He responded: "I think it is. That was a joke, actually, because it was the promoters. And someone said, 'We've gotta sell some more tickets.' And it's the good old standby, the farewell tour. So I said, Okay, we'll call it 'goodbye' tour, but let's call it 'the long goodbye', and let's make the emphasis on the word 'long',' so it's kind of an enigmatic phrase."
He continued: "There's no intention to stop. At the moment… I spoke to my manager the other day. I've got some solo project. He said, 'You're gonna have to put 'em back,' and I'm putting them back years. We're already booked to the end of '26, in the planning stage, in the diary, with all the projects we've got for DEEP PURPLE. So, yeah, years to come, hopefully."
In December 2023, DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice, who turned 77 in June, was asked by Zoom when he and his bandmates will eventually retire from performing live. He responded: "We have never planned a date to stop working. We are realists. The guys are getting older, and there's gonna come a point where maybe one or two of us don't want to do it anymore or [it's] not physically possible for them to do it. But we don't think about that. We're still having a great deal of fun. A lot of people still enjoy what we do, and so long as those two things stay in harmony, we'll continue.
"I don't think we'll ever know what the last gig, what the last tour is," he continued. "I think it'll come and just smack us in the face. Unless there's a definite plan, which there isn't, to do something as a final bye-bye, I just think we'll just go, 'Sorry, guys. We're finished. We can't do it anymore. It's been wonderful.' But even then, I think if we stopped touring, there's no reason why we couldn't make more records. That's the easiest thing in the world. All you've got to do is have the ideas. That's the hardest thing in the world. But physically making a record is easy."
Paice added: "Touring only works if you enjoy it. You can't just enjoy the two hours a night when you're playing. You've got to be able to deal with the whole thing. You've got to be able to deal with a ten-hour flight, a hotel which is less than perfect, transportation which goes wrong. You've gotta deal with all that. And if you can, and still enjoy it, then why would you stop something that you got into as a kid 'cause it made you happy? And if it still makes you happy, why would you stop it?"
Glover expressed a similar sentiment about the band's final tour in a June 2023 interview with Rock Hard Greece. The bassist, who turned 79 last November, said: "I don't like the idea of announcing the last show: 'And here they are. This is their last show.' I mean, the stress involved in that would be ridiculous. Where would it be? When would it be? For me, the ideal ending for PURPLE is that we just carry on until it stops. No announcement. We're not gonna announce, 'This is the last one.' People would buy tickets: 'Oh, this is the last one.' It's an exercise in making money. It's not very good. I've never liked it. I'd rather go and play and play and play and play, and one day when something happens and one of us drops dead or gets really ill or whatever, [we say], 'Well, that's that.' And leave it at that."
In 2022, DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Don Airey, who turned 77 in June, told Rolling Stone magazine that there is no concrete plan for him and his DEEP PURPLE bandmates to stop playing live shows.
"We started the farewell tour in 2017. It was due to end in 2019," he noted. "But the thing is, when you're a musician in a band, you think you're in control of it, but you're not. The business is running you. Of course, there was so much demand for the band to continue from the promoters and agents that we said, 'Okay, we'll do one more year.'"
Regarding when he thinks DEEP PURPLE will finally call it quits, Don said: "The words of T.S. Eliot [the greatest English-language poet of his generation] come to mind: 'This is the way the band ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.' I think we won't know it's the last gig. We won't have a clue that this one is going to be the last one. That's how it's going to end. It's going to be no big scenario.
"I like what Buddy Guy said. He said, 'Musicians don't retire. They drop.' You do have thoughts about being in the garden and bouncing the grandchildren on your knee, but it's part of your blood system, playing and touring. It's an addiction. I hope I keep playing for a while yet."
In July 2022, Morse officially left PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who is battling cancer. He has since been replaced by Simon McBride.
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10 сен 2025
Watch: DROWNING POOL Performs 'Bodies' With OFFSET On 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'
 Last night, multi-platinum superstar Offset joined hard rockers DROWNING POOL to perform his genre-crossing smash single "Bodies" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".
Joined by Atlanta standout J.I.D. and hit-making producer Bnyx, Offset tore into the hard-rocking "Bodies" from his new "Kiari:Offset" deluxe album — but instead of sampling the iconic whispered hook and grinding guitar from DROWNING POOL's 2001 nü-metal hit of the same name, they had the real thing. Watch the instantly legendary performance below.
DROWNING POOL is officially back in the studio, crafting a brand-new EP set for release in 2026 via SBG Records. This highly anticipated project will mark the next chapter in the band's legacy as they gear up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their landmark debut album, "Sinner".
Since its release in 2001, "Sinner" has become a defining record in modern rock, featuring the anthemic hit "Bodies", which remains a cultural staple across radio, sports arenas, and entertainment to this day. With the 25-year milestone approaching, DROWNING POOL is ready to honor their history while pushing their sound forward.
The forthcoming EP will be a powerful reminder of why DROWNING POOL remains one of rock's most enduring acts.
Further details on the EP, anniversary celebrations, and touring plans will be announced in the coming months.
Known for their iconic anthem "Bodies", DROWNING POOL needs no introduction. This breakout single propelled them to international recognition, leaving an indelible mark on the nu metal landscape. The song's relentless energy and defiant spirit resonated with a generation, becoming an anthem for moshers, metalheads, and fans of electrifying live performances.
Ryan McCombs played a pivotal role in the band's evolution, joining their ranks in the aftermath of the tragic loss of beloved frontman Dave Williams. His powerful vocals and charismatic stage presence breathed new life into DROWNING POOL, solidifying their status as metal titans. Songs like "37 Stitches", "Feel Like I Do" and "Turn So Cold" catapulted them to new heights, earning them a place among the genre's heavyweights.
Yet, DROWNING POOL's story is not just about music; it's a testament to enduring friendships and a shared passion for their craft. Ryan's return to the band in 2023 marks a reunion of kindred spirits, a return to the roots of their musical journey. As he succinctly puts it, "Just being back in the same room together after so many years… was a quick reminder as to why I considered them to be my best friends in the business back in the day."
DROWNING POOL has released two singles in the past year, "Madness", which came out in April, and "Revolution (The Final Amen)", which arrived in September 2024. "Revolution (The Final Amen)" was the first piece of music DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton completed with McCombs in 13 years.
This past April, Pierce confirmed to Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series that DROWNING POOL is planning to tour in 2026 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of "Sinner", which was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD's first single, "Bodies", was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band.
After the release of "Sinner", DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave "Stage" Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus.
Photo credit: Todd Owyoung / NBC | +1 | |
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10 сен 2025
EMPEROR To Be Joined By MORTIIS And FAUST For 2026 BEYOND THE GATES Festival Performance
 Norway's Beyond The Gates festival has announced the first batch of bands for the 2026 edition, Chapter XIV.
It's been a busy few days in the Beyond The Gates headquarters. The 2026 edition, which will be the fourteenth installment of the festival, is gradually taking shape. The mighty EMPEROR will play a very special set featuring former members Håvard "Mortiis" Ellefsen and Bård "Faust" Eithun.
EMPEROR is — as everyone knows — one of the most influential acts to ever emerge from Norway and has taken atmospheric black metal to heights no one ever would have dared dream of. Festival organizers say they "can't wait to return to the roots with them when they hit the stage in the iconic Grieghallen."
Along with fellow Norwegians 1349, ARCTURUS and MISOTHEIST, and returning IMHA TARIKAT and THE RUINS OF BEVERAST, a vast selection of underground talent — which this first announcement, to a large extent, is focused on — will perform at the 2026 event. SPECTRAL WOUND, WARNING, FORTERESSE, SULPHUR AEON and CONCRETE WINDS will all make their debut at Beyond The Gates next year.
From July 29, 2026 through August 1, 2026, Beyond The Gates will be held for the fourteenth time and will showcase why the festival has grown into the international metal gathering it has become. Attracting visitors from 50 different countries around the world, the extreme metal festival has become a global phenomenon. The festival takes place the city center of Bergen, using several venues spread across town, including the legendary Grieghallen and USF Verftet. Festival passes are on sale now.
In addition, Beyond The Gates has launched a December campaign in which fans can enter to win a chance at a free hotel packages and other prizes! To enter the draw, buy your festival pass before December 31, 2024.
Beyond The Gates festival organizers say: "Since the inception of the Beyond The Gates festival, fans have been coming to Bergen to see performances of their favorite Norwegian artists in their home environment. As most visitors know, nature and local culture has always been a poignant source of inspiration for the bands emerging from the Bergen scene. Yet again, Beyond The Gates will give all of the traveling fans the opportunity to get an unique insight into all aspects of the Norwegian metal scene and the local culture in general. In that regard, we’re putting together a series of events before and during the festival so that all of you can discover what inspired —– and still does — the Norwegian metal scene.
"More special events will be announced, including exclusive listening parties, music and culture panels, in-depth live interviews, and a wealth of of events and activities that will give you a Beyond The Gates experience that will last for a lifetime."
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10 сен 2025
SPINAL TAP Performs On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'; Band's First Late-Night Television Appearance In More Than 15 Years
 SPINAL TAP made its first late-night television appearance in more than 15 years Monday night (September 8) on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest),David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) were joined by director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner),the fictional documentarian behind "This Is Spinal Tap", for an in-character interview and performance, just days before the theatrical release of the long-awaited sequel, "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues".
DiBergi, St. Hubbins, Tufnel and Smalls talked about "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues", the items on their greenroom rider, how often they get together, the first film bringing them a lot of recognition, the first time they heard their own music on the radio, how their songwriting process has changed, having some very famous guests on their new album such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, if they desire knighthood, which musicians they're fans of, their new book "Smell The Book", whether or not they were invited to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration, why we don't hear a lot of SPINAL TAP music in movies or TV commercials, and performing "Big Bottom" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Prior to last night's performance, SPINAL TAP's last late-night appearances were in 2009, when they played "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" and "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" to promote their third album, "Back From The Dead". Back in 2000, SPINAL TAP appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno", and more than a decade and a half earlier was a guest musical performer on a 1984 episode of "Saturday Night Live".
On Wednesday, September 10, fans can be among the first to experience "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" in IMAX at the "On, Off, And Around The Record Live Event", featuring an exclusive question-and-answer session with Reiner, in character as DiBergi, and SPINAL TAP members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls, also known as actors Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, respectively.
"On, Off, And Around The Record Live Event" will be held on September 10 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles and will stream live in theaters across the country.
Tickets are on sale now.
In July, SPINAL TAP teamed up with music icon Elton John for an epic re-recording of the band's classic cut "Stonehenge", released via Interscope Records. The soul-stirring single will appear on "The End Continues", the forthcoming album for the mockumentary "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues", out September 12 to coincide with the film's theatrical release. The 13-track set includes nine brand new songs and four reinvented favorites featuring additional guests Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
A trailer for the movie, featuring a musical clip of "Stonehenge" premiered in July at San Diego's Comic-Con 2025 after Rob Reiner and Paul Feig's panel "Directors On Directing".
Destined to become an instant cult classic, "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" picks up 41 years after the release of 1984's groundbreaking "This Is Spinal Tap", when now-estranged bandmates David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) are forced to reunite for one final concert. Documentarian Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) returns as well, to try to capture his favorite metal gods as they contemplate mortality. Joined by music royalty like McCartney and John, SPINAL TAP wrestle with their checkered past to put on a concert that they hope will solidify their place in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll.
"Stonehenge" looms large in TAP lore thanks to a prop gaffe captured in the first movie, where the band ordered an 18-foot high version of the monument but instead received an 18-inch one. They've performed the song many times since, with rocks of various sizes, and Tufnel even appeared on NatGeo's 2008 "Stonehenge: Decoded" special to share his theories about the mysterious megaliths. For the new recording of the song, John brings his most arena-sized vocals to the mix, lording over shredding guitar, swirling synths, pounding drums, shrill pan pipes, and a full-band medieval jam session. Tufnel still holds down the eerie spoken parts.
"Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" will open in theaters and IMAX nationwide on September 12, following a recent limited theatrical re-release of "This Is Spinal Tap" newly restored in 4K resolution. The original film — directed by Reiner and written/improvised/performed by McKean, Guest and Shearer — released to critical acclaim and went on to become a cult classic that has directly inspired actual metal bands like METALLICA, spawned the "turn it up to 11" idiom, and been referenced in pop culture ever since. In 2002, it was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the Library Of Congress, and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
Meanwhile, TAP have played on, reuniting for various tours, charity gigs, festivals and TV appearances (including "SNL" and "The Simpsons"); collaborating with the likes of John Mayer, Cher, Slash, Adam "MCA" Yauch and members of FLEETWOOD MAC, FOO FIGHTERS and METALLICA; and releasing three albums: 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap", 1992's "Break Like The Wind" and 2009's "Back From The Dead", which was nominated for a "Best Comedy Album" Grammy Award (all three charted on the Billboard 200).
Although "This Is Spinal Tap" was first released in 1984 in the U.S. and U.K., the band SPINAL TAP was actually created in the late 1970s. The band's rock musician characters "Nigel Tufnel" and "David St. Hubbins" were created by Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, with Harry Shearer creating bassist "Derek Smalls." SPINAL TAP's comedic sole claim to fame was as "one of England's loudest bands." Performing as their beloved stage personae in the company of a rotating cast of percussionists willing to risk the kit (as so many of their predecessors have been accident prone),SPINAL TAP has toured the world multiple times since the film's release. Hundreds of thousands of SPINAL TAP sound recordings have been sold over the ensuing decades and the film has been released on scores of video formats through the years.
In 2019, the band's creators concluded a new agreement with Universal Music Group. The band's recording of a full-length SPINAL TAP album featuring songs from the film is still available for physical sale, download and streaming today from UMG.
"This Is Spinal Tap" was released to little fanfare with some viewers convinced the bumbling dinosaurs — who had a knack of losing drummers in freak accidents — on screen were a genuine band. But word of mouth about the smartly observed film, which took a pop at bands such as STATUS QUO, LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH, spread and it became a sleeper hit.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, McKean, Guest and Shearer prepared several scenes with Reiner but then ad-libbed. At the end of filming, they had more than 40 hours of footage, which was edited down to a more manageable form.
When "This Is Spinal Tap" was released, not everybody got that it was a "mockumentary." U2's The Edge immediately embraced it, saying: "I didn't laugh, I wept. It was so close to the truth." Ozzy Osbourne didn't understand it, saying the first time he watched it, he thought it was a real documentary. Early home video versions of the movie reportedly even had a disclaimer at the start and finish of the movie stating the band didn't really exist. | 0 | |
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10 сен 2025
TONY IOMMI On BLACK SABBATH Ballet: 'It's A Shame OZZY Didn't Get To See It' Before He Passed Away
 BLACK SABBATH co-founder, lead guitarist and co-songwriter Tony Iommi spoke to BBC Breakfast about Birmingham Royal Ballet's hit production of "Black Sabbath - The Ballet", which will return with a homecoming at Birmingham Hippodrome from September 18 to September 27 following dates in Europe and the USA. The production will then visit Manchester's The Lowry, Salford for the first time (October 8-11) before returning to Theatre Royal Plymouth (October 16-18),Sadler's Wells, London (October 22-25) and finishing with a Scottish premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre (October 30 - November 1).
Iommi said that he wishes his SABBATH bandmate Ozzy Osbourne was alive to see "Black Sabbath - The Ballet".
"[The ballet] means everything, and it's a shame in a lot of ways [Ozzy] didn't get to see the ballet because he wanted to see it," Tony said. "It's our lives and music."
Iommi said that he was sold on the ballet idea after an initial get-together with Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta, who had "Black Sabbath - The Ballet" on his mind since he first arrived in Birmingham at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic hit. BLACK SABBATH played its first-ever gig in The Crown pub just a stone's throw from Birmingham Royal Ballet's base on Thorp Street. The pub was recently saved from demolition and is deemed a heritage site by fans.
"I couldn't believe it at first, but when we got together at a meeting the enthusiasm in Carlos was incredible," Iommi said. "When Carlos presented it to us, taught me about it, he had this same vibe as I had when I put songs together and that excitement of doing it. He knew he had a vision of what it should be, and it gave me the confidence."
Following a complete sell-out premiere season in autumn 2023, bringing heavy metal fans to ballet for the first time, the 2025 tour will incorporate brand-new audio interviews with BLACK SABBATH bandmembers, voices such as Sharon Osbourne and fans from across the globe. The sound design has also been revised, sharpened and turned up to full volume for this electric night of dance and rock that audiences have never experienced before.
Acosta said: "Back in 2023 we were blown away by the awesome success of 'Black Sabbath - The Ballet', selling out at every performance with standing ovations and bringing audiences that had never experienced live dance before to the theatre. Now, in 2025, we are cranking the volume up to 11 with a big, bold U.K. tour that is sure to knock everyone's socks off!"
Iommi said: "BLACK SABBATH have always been innovators and never been predictable, and it doesn't come any more unpredictable than this! It was incredible to see what Carlos and the team at Birmingham Royal Ballet did back in 2023 — bringing our music to life in a way I never thought possible! It's fantastic that more fans across the country get to see this extraordinary production this autumn on a U.K. tour."
Composer Christopher Austin is the mastermind behind the classical reimagining of some of BLACK SABBATH's most iconic songs, played live at every performance by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Tony Award-winning Christopher worked closely with Iommi on the score, creating full orchestrations of legendary BLACK SABBATH tracks alongside new orchestral works inspired by their music. The orchestra is joined by guitarist Marc Hayward who plays live on stage alongside the dancers at every show.
Christopher Austin said: "For the music team, creating the score for this extraordinary ballet has been an exhilarating journey, and it all began with the most amazing gift from Tony: his trust in us to honor the band's music and his encouragement to follow our own new paths with those iconic songs.
"The passion and commitment of the whole creative team at BRB and the overwhelming response from audiences has made 'Black Sabbath - The Ballet' the experience of a lifetime and I can't wait to be back in the theatre conducting this magical show."
The eight BLACK SABBATH tracks featured are:
* "Paranoid" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Iron Man" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "War Pigs" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Black Sabbath" ("Black Sabbath" album, 1970);
* "Solitude" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Orchid" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Laguna Sunrise" ("Vol 4" album, 1972) and
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" ("Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" album, 1973).
A full-length, three-act Ballet Now commission, "Black Sabbath - The Ballet" was created by a host of international talent including lead Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidburg and Cuban designer Alexandre Arrechea with additional choreographers Raúl Reinoso and Cassi Abranches and composers Marko Nyberg and Sun Keting. Dramaturgy is by Richard Thomas and lighting design is by KJ. Metal curator is Lisa Meyer.
In an October 2023 video from Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sharon Osbourne the wife and manager of BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, said: "When I first heard that Birmingham Royal Ballet was putting on a ballet to BLACK SABBATH music, I just thought, this is so left field. It's so not expected. Who would have ever thought the combination? And I just thought, brilliant. This is just so out there that it's wonderful."
Iommi, who had been present at some rehearsals for the U.K. "Black Sabbath – The Ballet" dates, came up on stage at the end of the opening performance to play guitar on the band's classic song "Paranoid". Iommi also took a bow at the end of the night along with the cast and crew. Also in attendance at the event were Iommi's bandmate, SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler and Sharon Osbourne, along with LED ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant and ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's Bev Bevan, who served as the touring drummer for BLACK SABBATH from 1983 to 1984 and played percussion on "The Eternal Idol" album in 1987.
In April 2023, Iommi was asked by Birmingham World if he could ever have imagined that half a century after he formed SABBATH that Birmingham's ballet company would be dancing to their music. Tony laughed and said: "I wouldn't have believed them, really, to be honest. At the time when I got involved with BLACK SABBATH, I thought it was great, because it was something so different, and hasn't been done before. And I found it, I think, a good challenge.
"I'm looking at our music differently now with this [the ballet], because it is being interpreted in a different way. It's still got the basic things, but then it did have in the different orchestral things coming in. And then I never thought for a minute we would have people dancing to BLACK SABBATH and 'War Pigs' and 'Iron Man'. But here we are, you know."
Regarding Birmingham Royal Ballet's interpretation of SABBATH's music, Tony said: "Birmingham Royal Ballet are very conscious of the work being what it is — the SABBATH music. We don't want to change it so you can’t recognize it. So they've held that part of it, but added another dimension to it. So I was very happy with that."
As for whether he thinks the Black Sabbath Ballet could inspire heavy metal fans to become ballet fans, and ballet fans to become heavy metal fans, Iommi said: "I certainly hope so. I mean, it is a strange combination, but you've got to push the boat out. And, you know, hopefully, we can get everybody together. But they're opposite but they're not at the same time — because it's still creative. They're creating what they're doing. We're creating what we've done, and we're bringing them together. And I think it'd be really interesting to see the SABBATH fans and then to see the ballet fans liking it, hopefully."
Acosta revealed early last year that 60 percent of tickets at that point for the U.K. shows had been bought by SABBATH fans. He said that "BLACK SABBATH is so different from the world of ballet, and I wanted to multiply our reach. I hate to be predictable; I hate for the company to be taken for granted. Everyone knows 'Swan Lake' and 'Cinderella' … [It's] a great opportunity for us to show people the world of dance."
Austin, who supervised the music for the project, said: "Unlike THE BEATLES where you can buy two enormous volumes of all their scores with all the instrumental parts, there's not so much for BLACK SABBATH.
"When I was asked to take part in this project I thought, where do you start? The BLACK SABBATH catalog is enormous, it's so rich and so varied. So the process initially was starting to narrow down the amount of material that we wanted to work with that would furnish us with variety, with richness, with different emotional tones, but also help us create this evening-length show."
Austin added: "What I love about BLACK SABBATH music is the glorious irregularity. All the aspects of music — the flexibility of tempo and feel. And the extraordinary early period Ozzy vocals which are stratospheric, it's exceeding Pavarotti in term of the high notes and ringing power."
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's "Today" program, Acosta said he had been a fan of SABBATH for more than two decades, and said he felt the band's classic protest song "War Pigs" still has particular resonance.
"'War Pigs' is so relevant today, how sometimes politicians and governments hide behind words. And all the wars happening at the moment... it's timeless," he said. | +2 | |
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9 сен 2025
NUNO BETTENCOURT On OZZY OSBOURNE: 'He Was A Godfather To Us'
 EXTREME's Nuno Bettencourt spoke to Page Six about what it meant for him to honor Ozzy Osbourne with a medley of Osbourne's greatest hits on Sunday (September 7) at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards alongside AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, and Yungblud. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Listen, that means everything, especially my 15-year-old self as a guitar player coming up and listening to rock and metal. He was a godfather to us. He started it in the early '70s, and that's how rock became heavier and heavier. And for him, what he did with BLACK SABBATH, and then be out of there and have a whole other career as Ozzy Osbourne, the solo artist, and then be a reality star after that, this guy's affected culture in a way and touched everybody in so many different ways. So it means everything. Especially having been part of [Ozzy's final concert] in Birmingham [in early July], and going up and performing and actually talking to him and saying goodbye. We didn't know [he was going to die so soon after that] — I mean, we knew it, but we didn't know it. And so that was really special."
Regarding what it was like to take part in the "Back To The Beginning" concert, Nuno said: "When I was 15 and his guitar player [Randy Rhoads] passed in a bad plane accident in 1982 or '81, I believed when I was 14 that I was gonna replace him. And there was an ad to send a cassette in. So I did — I put a cassette together at 15, sent it in. 'This is my gig. I'm gonna get it.' Of course, I didn't. Nobody ever called. Cut to 12 years later, I'm opening for AEROSMITH with EXTREME in London, and my booking is coming in. [He said], 'Sharon [Ozzy's wife and manager] just called. Ozzy wants you. He wants you to be in the band.' This was 1995, '96. And I said no. I was in a band that we were just up and coming with EXTREME and we had hits out. But the last words we said to each other when we took the big group photo [at 'Back To The Beginning'] and I was at his feet, I grabbed his hand saying, 'Thank you for everything and thank you, Ozzy, for what you mean to me.' And he pulls me in by the hand and he goes, 'You were the only guitar player who said no to me.' But he laughed. He goes, 'I love you.' And he laughs. He goes, 'Thank you for being here' to honor him. And I was, like, 'Thank you.' I said, 'Thank you for everything.'"
Nuno also talked about the vibe between all the musicians who were involved in "Back To The Beginning", saying: "You know what really, really, really blew my mind, is that when you get GUNS N' ROSES and METALLICA — they're the biggest bands in the world — to come together to do something… I've been part of those things before, tributes, and it's always like everybody's egos, they're rock stars. All of a sudden, every member of every band is in the same room. It was like heavy metal summer camp. We were all a bunch of kids again, 'cause Ozzy was like our dad or our godfather, like, 'You guys behave.' But everybody put egos at the door. It was a hug fest. There was so much love, and you could feel it on that stage. Nobody was complaining and everybody was just helping each other out and supporting each other. I've been doing this for 40 years. I've never seen that on a tour anywhere else where everybody was just like a big community and big rock family. And that's what Ozzy does to everybody for us."
Ozzy's son Jack introduced Sunday's tribute at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, along with his four daughters, via a pretaped video, saying, "I wish we could be there with you all tonight as you celebrate my dad's amazing musical journey. I know for sure it would make him incredibly happy to see these great musicians carry on his legacy and help inspire the next generation of rockers." He also gave a "special shout-out" to the artists who took part in the tribute. To conclude the video, Ozzy's granddaughters signed off by shouting in unison, "In the words of our Papa, let's go crazy!"
Yungblud kicked off the tribute with Osbourne's "Crazy Train" before slowing things down with a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Changes". Tyler then took the stage to sing Osbourne's hit ballad "Mama, I'm Coming Home", accompanied by Perry on guitar. Yungblud returned to the mic to duet with Tyler on the tune, which ended with pyrotechnics and Yungblud shouting into the microphone, "Ozzy forever!"
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by LL Cool J, aired live coast to coast from New York's UBS Arena on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Ozzy's long-standing and storied MTV history spans "Headbangers Ball" in the 1980s, "Battle For Ozzfest" and groundbreaking reality TV series "The Osbournes", to name a few. He was honored with the prestigious MTV EMAs Global Icon Award in 2014. Later this year, Paramount+ will debut the feature-length documentary "Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now".
With more than 120 million albums sold worldwide, the global rock icon, multiplatinum singer-songwriter and pop culture phenom was a five-time Grammy winner, two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, both with BLACK SABBATH in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024, with stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Birmingham Walk Of Stars, among a multitude of other top accolades.
Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.
A private funeral service for Ozzy was held on July 31 on the 250-acre grounds of the house the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer and his wife and manager Sharon bought in 1993 in Buckinghamshire, England. Only 110 of the singer's friends and family members attended the service, including his SABBATH bandmates, Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),Rob Zombie, Zakk Wylde, Marilyn Manson and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT).
Ozzy's final concert on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom saw him and his fellow original SABBATH bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward perform four songs for more than 40,000 people in the stadium and 5.8 million more on a livestream. The festival served as a tribute to the legendary heavy metal act, including additional performances from such other groups as METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, SLAYER, TOOL, PANTERA and ALICE IN CHAINS. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.
Osbourne leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimée, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, and grandchildren. | +1 | |
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9 сен 2025
SALIVA's BRAD STEWART Fires Back At 'Desperate' JOSEY SCOTT: 'No One's Showing Up To His Shows'
 SALIVA bassist Brad Stewart has fired back at Josey Scott after the band's founding singer called the current incarnation of the group a "Temu version of SALIVA."
In a recent interview with Youngstown Studio, Scott, who left the band in 2011 and was replaced the following year by Bobby Amaru, made it clear that he had no intention of rejoining the band he co-founded nearly 30 years ago. Josey explained that he didn't foresee ever teaming up with the current version of SALIVA, noting that he had "butted heads" with Bobby and insisting that he didn't "want to give the fans the Temu version of SALIVA," a reference to the Chinese e-commerce site, "with some kind of a bastardized version that Bobby puts together." Josey, whose real name is Joseph Sappington, went on to say that he wanted to get the SALIVA name back and use it with members of his new band, explaining that he named SALIVA completely on his own and that the SALIVA name's "rightful place" was with him, not with the Amaru-fronted version of the group. "That was what I came to the table with," he said of the SALIVA moniker. "I put that band together one member at a time. That's my name."
Stewart, who has been a member of SALIVA since 2015, addressed Scott's comments about the current lineup of the band while appearing on the latest episode of "The Vinyl Road" podcast, which Brad co-hosts with Jason Bailey. Reflecting on the circumstances behind Josey's departure from SALIVA nearly a decade and a half ago and the rest of the band's decision to carry on with a new vocalist, Brad said: "[Josey] left on his own recognizance. And in doing so, that decision is now, I guess, haunting him to a certain degree because when you do something like that… I don't know what his intentions were as far as the lives of the other bandmembers that were still counting on the band for their livelihood. Hopefully they weren't malicious, to try to sort of end their careers too or at least their… Because you have to imagine after six albums with Island Def Jam and all the touring and all the records and everything you do as a band together, it's an enterprise, it's a moneymaking machine, and people count on the machine for their livelihood. When something like that ends, what are you gonna do? Go become a stockbroker in New York City? You're a musician. That's what you do, and that's what you're used to doing, and you get paid for it, and it's your passion and it's how you make your living. So when someone walks away, and in most cases, of course, the singer is the face and the voice of the band, and also a creative force. Josey was a hell of a songwriter and, of course, the band had hits. They were banking on him to make great songs and great recordings of those songs. So when someone walks away, it could have ended right then. The whole thing could have just went [sic]. But contractually, it wasn't set up that way to where any one member had the controlling share of the band or the corporation. Every member, it was kind of split up. So when that happened, the other members had the right to continue on and to replace him. And that's exactly what happened. And by him leaving, he forfeited… Or any leaving member — if you got fired or if you quit, you forfeit rights to be able to use the name SALIVA. And so moving forward, I think he was going to embark on a solo Christian career. Maybe at the time he'd found God, maybe at the time he thought that the band was to blame for all of his problems. And those are all reasonable things, feelings to have. You've been through a lot. Six records' worth of shit in in a rock band, that's a lot, man. In 10 years, 12 years, whatever it was, from the time where they were actually a signed band — 'Every Six Seconds' [SALIVA's second album] came out in 2001. So, when you leave something like that, it's a big decision, and, unfortunately, to try to sort of come back and take it over, regardless of the situation, you just can't just walk back in and take the name and expect to own it again. You just can't. And the last surviving member of that version of the band was [late SALIVA guitarist] Wayne [Swinny]. And Wayne started a corporation with Bobby. That was, like, seven years ago or whatever. And part of that corporation, there was a death clause. Surviving member of this corporation carries the name. Wayne passed in 2023, as we know. And Wayne's intention was, 'I want y'all to carry the name. This has become my legacy. I'm the last O.G., and I don't want you guys to stop.' He told us that shit, man. All the time he would tell us that. He was, like, 'Whatever you do, if anything happens to me, don't stop.'"
Asked by Bailey what his initial reaction was to reading Scott's comments about the SALIVA name on BLABBERMOUTH.NET — comments which were later picked up by other rock music news outlets — Stewart said: "I was, like, 'This again? I thought we kind of dealt with this.' I'm pretty sure the copyright, the trademark office already settled this. And he lost that part of it. It's a 10-year license for the trademark, and he had his attorney and his legal team, and so did Bobby. And that's between them, for the name and for the brand.
"For him to sort of backhand what we've done — I mean, we've put out quality music under the SALIVA name, we go out there and kick its ass," Brad continued. "And I think we make the band or the brand — I mean, we're proud of what we do out there, for the brand's sake. And, again, for someone to think that, 'Oh, you're just gonna hand the name back over' — remember what I said about the enterprise thing. This is a business, and that's a business he no longer owns.
"My buddy put it to me, and it was really great. It's like if you started a pizza business, Saliva pizza company, and you have all these members, and even if Josey's the one that has the recipe, man, that's money recipe. That's the fucking delicious pizza. That's it. And then 11, 12 years later, he wants to start a Christian pizza company, and he leaves the pizza company. And then the people that are still in it … they continue to make Saliva pizzas, and they still put out quality pizzas. And then, a few of those guys, along the way, get left behind. New people get hired to run the business. And then, 10 years later, the O.G. of Saliva pizzas wants to come back in and take back over the pizza company. You're not in the company anymore. Now, you can go make pizzas down the street as whatever — Scott's Pizzas — but you can't put the Saliva pizza name on your business, or you can't take it back. You left the ownership part when you left. And that's it, man… It's one of those things where, even legally, coming back trying to take back the pizza company, it's not your pizza anymore."
Asked how he personally feels when he sees Josey calling the current lineup of SALIVA a "Temu version" of the band, Brad said: "[It] doesn't bother me at all. One bit. And I'll tell you why — because it's basically a desperate way to draw attention to a situation he hasn't had control over for a long time. No one's showing up to his shows as Josey Scott, so he needs the brand, but I think the brand has lived on and evolved because of the work that we've put in. So, the things he's gonna say… He doesn't act like he even knows me, in that article. So, what do you do with something like that? He knows who I am. He knows what I've done and what I've been a part of and my influence and the people I know in this business and otherwise. So, him trying to trash what we've done — again, he should be thanking us for keeping the thing that he tried to kill and ultimately sabotage and end so long ago. And he's playing the victim. So he's making us look like the bad guy for carrying on something that he ultimately tried to end. So I don't feel bad about…
"Look, man, I get paid to play shows, bro," Stewart continued. "I've been doing this for a long fucking time. You know what I mean? I'm not in the LLC on [SALIVA]. But I've been around it, and I've known these guys and I've known this band for 22 to 23 years, whatever. And I've been in this version of the band for 10 years. So I know the stories. I know how things — from other, previous members — what went on. I mean, trust me, there's some weird shit that went on that I don't think I need to go there.
"So, to answer your question, I just saw it as, like… This has already been dealt with," Brad added. "We'll take the free press any day, and don't think there's not gonna be some Temu products, that say 'SALIVA Temu' on them. Trust me, dude. We're gonna embrace it with laughter and fun. [Josey] probably thought he was probably being clever or something, but it's hilarious, honestly. Like, really? That's all you got? I mean, come on, bro. Temu version? Our Temu version sounds… Go look at the footage of us playing the songs versus their version. That's all I gotta say, man. Whatever, dude — O.G. or not."
When Scott was asked by Youngstown Studio's B.J. Lisko if he foresaw a time in the future when he might team up with the current version of SALIVA and move forward as a unified force, Josey responded: "All I can do, to answer your question — no, I don't, because it would be sort of a bastardized version of it if I went with the lineup that they have now. Not to speak ill of those musicians — I think they're very great musicians; Sebastian LaBar [who plays guitar for the Amaru-fronted version of SALIVA] I love dearly. He's the son of a legend, Jeff LaBar from CINDERELLA. I adore him. I adore their drummer Sam [Sammi Jo Bishop]. I don't know the other [musicians in the Amaru-fronted version of SALIVA].
"Me and Bobby have just butted heads," Josey continued. "And he's talked crap about me in the press and just done all these sort of… I don't wanna talk ill of… My mother used to say, 'If you don't have anything nice to say about somebody, don't say anything at all.' But it's just — I don't know. I don't want to give the fans the Temu version of SALIVA with some kind of a bastardized version that Bobby puts together.
"He's not SALIVA. He has never been SALIVA," Scott added. "He definitely went out there and did his thing and filled in the space. And he's written some songs or whatever. But he said in the press my analogy of, if this was a David Lee Roth-Sammy Hagar situation [with VAN HALEN], I'd be glad to do this with Bobby because he would have as many hits as I had. And he told the interviewer, 'Let's face it, Josie's no…' — I think he said 'Bruce Dickinson' or something. I didn't even say IRON MAIDEN. I was talking about the analogy — certainly not comparing myself to the great David Lee Roth or the great Sammy Hagar. [I was] just using that as a one-two analogy between the two of us.
"It's just a dirty situation," Josey said. "It's just a sticky situation. And I respect the fact that he did what he did, but if that's the case, if his stuff that he did with SALIVA is equally as important as mine, then let him play his songs and I'll play my songs and we'll see how it shakes out. But that's not what he does. He goes out and plays a couple of covers, a couple of his songs, and the rest of the set is my songs, man. It's my music. So it's just a sort of a dirty, just gross situation and I have no interest in dealing with Bobby Amaru. I have no foresight of seeing anything down the road."
Regarding whether it is his hope and desire that he and the members of his new band can eventually perform under the SALIVA name, Josey said: "I would like to get my name back because it's not like that was a name that all five of us came up with. That was my name. That was what I came to the table with. I put that band together one member at a time. And if [late SALIVA guitarist] Wayne Swinny was here, he would tell you that. God rest his soul. And the other three guys, [former SALIVA drummer] Paul Crosby and [former SALIVA bassist] Dave Novotny and [former SALIVA guitarist] Chris D'Abaldo, they will tell you that I came up with that name. That's my name.
"So all I can do is say a Hail Mary that that name comes back home to its rightful place. And now if that happens, I will be glad to pour my heart and soul back into that name and to do a new SALIVA record and to even bring in — as much as Dave Novotny wants to be involved. I think the last time we tried to get him involved, he was, like, 'Man, I'm making about the same money I was making at the job I have now.' So, he has his boys that he's busy raising, being a father, and I respect that. I'm a father as well, and God knows I adore my children. And that's the one drawback from this life, is being away from your family and your children. But yeah, as much as they've wanted to be involved, I would welcome him with open arms. Chris D'Abaldo, same thing. Paul Crosby, same thing. It's our name. It's not anybody else's name, and anybody else that tells you that [it is their name] is full of shit. Just plain and simple."
In an October 2024 interview with Youngstown Studio, Amaru was asked if replacing Scott 13 years ago initially posed similar challenges to the ones Blaze Bayley and Tim "Ripper" Owens had to overcome when they replaced IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson and JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford, respectively. Bobby responded: "I don't wanna throw [Josey] under the bus, but he's no Bruce Dickinson and he's no Rob Halford. So there's that. Let's go ahead and get that out of the way. Now he thinks he is, but he's not. Those dudes are extremely hard to replace. It's very, very, very hard. And I like Ripper. I like that record that [PRIEST] did [with Ripper], man. I remember it was, like, 'Jugulator' or something. It was an awesome record. And I think people do give Ripper credit for a lot of that stuff. Now when you talk about replacing Bruce Dickinson, I don't even know who it is or have no idea what you're talking about. 'Cause I don't know. But the Ripper stuff I do remember and was more familiar with."
He continued: "I think no matter what, any band [where] you replace [the singer] — so VAN HALEN, David Lee Roth [leaves the band], they get Sammy Hagar, and people hated it, even though it was good. And then it was, like, you still had MTV, you still had things that were, like… The label was, like, 'Look, just write great fucking songs and we're not gonna lose.' And that's what they did. They wrote great fucking songs, man. So that's why it worked. Then it's, like, 'Okay, cool. All right, this isn't working out. Now we're gonna go get Gary Cherone.' Now the fans are, like, 'Wait, wait, wait, wait a second. Hold on. Hold up. Now you're throwing us for a loop.' And it doesn't work the same.
"I think sometimes it works or it doesn't," Bobby added. "I mean there's been singers to come into bands and it just doesn't… And I think that you would know right away if it's a good fit or not. But I think when I came into the band, I never tried to be him. I never wanted to be him. Some people would say that they thought there were similarities in the voice or whatever. But I mean, people think that I have similarities to Chester's [Bennington] voice and other people singing. And I don't see it. I mean, I can maybe hear some similarities, but I hear the difference. When I track something or whatever, I can definitely hear the difference. But maybe subconsciously when people are hearing the music of some of those bands that you kind of get familiar with a vocal or a sound or something. But I think when I came in, I just wanted to be myself and just do what I could do. I like writing songs. I like working in the studio. I like being on stage. And I'm a diehard musician at heart. And that was the approach. And it doesn't always work when you take an approach of, 'I've gotta be this' or 'I've gotta be like this so people will like me.' People are gonna like you or hate you either way. It's like Coke [and] Pepsi. I would think that me coming into the band, that was all it was — just let's keep it alive and have some fun."
Asked what the fan reaction was like when he first joined SALIVA and how it has evolved over the years, Bobby said: "It was super mixed at first, and I get it. I can't blame them. Most of the negative stuff I felt like never really came from people who had seen the band. I think it just came from that approach of, 'Oh, it's not the same' or 'it never will be the same.' But they're right. It never will be the same. And I think that fans get so invested into the catalog and these bands and these songs that they forget that it's a business. It is a business at the end of the day. It's bands' livelihoods and things and the show must go on."
He continued: "It's no disrespect to what SALIVA was before at all — I've never disrespected that one bit — but when you come into something and when the other person quits and basically abandons and leaves everyone high and dry and they just disappear for a decade and stuff. And then you start hearing all these crazy stories about how it was in the band and you're just, like…. Dude, there was part of me that, at first, was, like, 'Do I even wanna do this?' This is scary kind of stuff that you would hear. And people would come up to me at shows and tell me stories, and I'd be, like… [It would] make you wanna run kind of stuff. But I stuck through it, man. I was, like, that's not me. I'm not that. And [there was] almost like a black cloud over the SALIVA name or something. But you fight through it, man, overcome and just get through it. And I don't wanna talk crap about anybody or the past or whatever, but those were challenges for me because I was coming into something that I was not aware of and I had no idea all of these kinds of things. So on top of people nitpicking what you're doing or how you should be, I just stuck to my guns, man, and just said, 'I'm just gonna do things the way I wanna do them.' That 'Love, Lies & Therapy' record that we did, I pretty much did the whole record. And the band wanted me to do that. Wayne was, like, 'Dude, let's make this your record.' I think that was kind of the turning point of starting to get more and more fans knowing this version of SALIVA and stuff. Now it's just go do what we do and go onstage and give people a killer show."
Bobby added: "I go to merch booth every night and a lot of these shows, there's a line really, really long. And I'll stand there for three hours sometimes, man, shaking everyone's hands and doing that. And that's super important, because I feel like if those people don't like you, they're not standing in line. And it's important to be able to tell them 'thank you' for everything, whether they were a fan from the get-go, from 20 years ago, or they started listening to the band when I got in, whatever that may be. I mean, there's a lot of that, man. There's a ton of people that are, like, 'I was never a SALIVA fan before.' I've had a lot of people say that about this latest record ['Revelation']. They hear 'High On Me' on the radio, and they're, like, 'That's not SALIVA. There's no way.' And then they become a fan through that. And that's just showing you music evolves and can evolve and you don't have to just put out the same thing over and over again. If it's a good song, it's a great fucking song, people will react."
In September 2024, Amaru and SALIVA bassist Brad Stewart were asked by Joshua Toomey of Talk Toomey if there had been any "confusion in the marketplace" over the fact that Scott had been performing with his solo band in the last couple of years under various names, including JOSEY SCOTT – THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF SALIVA and JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA. Brad replied: "There is, actually." Bobby concurred, saying: "Yeah, I think he's just kind of made it confusing. Josey's just being Josey, what he always was. He always thought he was like a one-man thing, and he's doing what he's gonna do. I think for us, though, we spent a lot of time, I spent a lot of time, too, when I got in the band just hearing a lot of 'noes' from radio stations and from managers and a lot of damage control, and that stuff that just kind of really… I'm not talking shit; I'm just being real. This is what it was. I got in the band, and there was a lot of roadblocks — a lot of roadblocks — and everything always led back to one person causing those roadblocks. I think it's just another roadblock.
Continued Brad: "And bridges burned into the ground that you're trying to sort of rebuild, in a lot of ways, at radio and places that there was a lot of self-sabotage that was going on there that was unfortunate. And for a lot of the times that [Bobby] spent in the band before I joined in 2015, it was all about sort of rebuilding bridges, man. And, 'Hey, this is not the SALIVA, though, that did or whatever happened with you guys at the station or somewhere else. We're sorry, but this is not the same band, and we're here now to rock and we're ready to do it. And then we're gonna kick some ass.' And so it was a lot of that — it still is, even in some places."
Added Bobby: "Even for someone like [Josey], you go away for so long and you come back, he's gotta be humbled at this point with some of the shows he's doing. 'Cause we hear about it and stuff. We're just kind of, like, whatever, let him do what he wants to do. But you're not gonna use the [SALIVA] name — don't use the name — because then all it does is it just steps on everything that I and we've worked hard for the last 13 years."
In May 2024, Scott was asked by Tulsa Music Stream if it was his hope that he and the members of his new band could eventually perform under the SALIVA name. He responded: "Of course that's my hope, because I've always wanted the name to sort of go full circle and come back home. Whether that happens remains to be seen. I think there's things that I think are fair and things that the other camp thinks are fair. And we'll see. We'll see how it all shakes out."
Asked if he was in communication with the band which is continuing to perform under the SALIVA name, consisting of Amaru and Stewart, about coming to a resolution on the usage of the SALIVA name, Josey said: "Uh, yes," before adding, "Basically, all I've been trying to do this whole time is appease the other side. I'll leave it at that."
He continued: "At the end of the day, as I've always said, this business is not about band names and it's not about personalities, it's not about Josey Scott and it's not about Bobby Amaru. It's about songs, songs, songs, songs. At the end of the day, when we all put our head on the pillow at night, it's always going to be all about songs."
In September 2023, Stewart and Amaru spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the fact that Scott embarked on a tour under the JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA banner which saw him performing a lot of the band's classic songs without any of the other original SALIVA members. Brad said: "It's an interesting thing because we've been doing this version of the band [with Bobby on vocals] since Josey originally left 11, 12 years ago. So we've kind of kept the fires burning and put out new records and new music and stuff. So it's an interesting situation that we're in now, to be quite honest, so we're just trying to figure out how to make it work for both parts of it — both versions of it, I should say."
Bobby commented: "I think it's good that [Josey's] trying to connect with fans and tour and play music. I think it's an awesome thing. He should have been doing it long ago."
Referencing Swinny, who died in March 2023 while on tour with the group, Amaru added: "I think what we're doing here [with the current SALIVA touring lineup] is we're just trying to do what Wayne would have wanted and we're honoring Wayne. This [latest SALIVA] record ['Revelation', which came out in early September 2023], I know how important it was to him and I think the world should hear it. We're going out every night, we're playing songs from it. And this tour has been great. The fans have been awesome, man."
In May 2023, Josey weighed in on the announcement that SALIVA's surviving members would carry on following the death of the group's last remaining original member, the aforementioned Swinny. Josey told Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz: "I'm very close with Bobby and I know in my heart and in my soul that Bobby will do the honorable thing. He never hasn't done the honorable thing. And I just trust in his steering the ship at this point, and I know he's gonna do the right thing. And I know it's all gonna work out; it's all gonna be great."
SALIVA's current lineup consists of Amaru, Stewart, Bishop, LaBar and Josh Kulack (guitar).
SALIVA reunited with Scott for a one-off appearance at the 2022 Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Scott performed three songs with the group at the event, which also saw SALIVA play with Amaru. | +1 | |
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9 сен 2025
FORBIDDEN's CRAIG LOCICERO: 'If You Can't Write Heavy S*** In' The Standard Guitar Tuning, 'Then I Don't Know What To Tell You'
 At last month's Motocultor Festival in France, FORBIDDEN guitarist Craig Locicero was asked by Loud TV what it's like for him and his bandmates to play thrash metal in 2025, since the music industry has changed a lot in the past four decades. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET) "Yeah, yeah. Well, like that's ever mattered to us. Yeah, it's never really mattered to us. There was a time in the early '90s where it killed everything. I think now thrash has a very permanent home because kids keep rediscovering it. And it goes along with my philosophy of the way I record music now, too. If you go back and you look at the history of thrash records, people wanna listen to the old stuff, and there's a reason for that, because it wasn't too perfect, it wasn't too clean, it wasn't manipulated by digital. Everything was so natural. So with the way we recorded, even though we recorded digitally, we didn't fix everything. We laid a good drum track down, we laid a quick guitar track, quick guitar track, quick bass track — bang, bang, bang, bang. And so when you do things like that, the result is people feel that there's more energy coming from that because there's — I call it hair. There's hair in it. I like hair. I like albums that sound perfect, I like really clinical metal records that are supposedly industry standard, but I don't think they last as long in the fans' hearts and minds. And that is being proven over the years, 'cause people just wanna go back and listen to old shit. You've gotta have the balls to do it, and we're doing it."
Craig continued: "Another thing we did, too, is we recorded everything in [the standard guitar tuning of] E — not the whole album, but most of it tuned up, the way we used to tune. And you'll probably find two or three bands in this whole festival that are tuned high like [that]. You can play Chuck Berry and Elvis [Presley] and FORBIDDEN — and old SLAYER. We all used to be in E. If you can't write heavy shit in E, then I don't know what to tell you."
Locicero was also asked how the ripple effects from rising production expenses and shifting consumer spending have affected promoters, venue operators, agents and touring artists like FORBIDDEN in 2025. He said: "You know what? I'm a realist… And to me, what I wanted to do is write the greatest record we could possibly write. And that's why we got Chewy [VOIVOD guitarist Daniel Mongrain] in the band. That's why this lineup's so fire, with Norman [Skinner, vocals] and everybody. And I always say — there's an old thing from a movie, 'A Field Of Dreams': build it and they will come. So if you build something good enough, if people want it, you'll find a way to do it. If you can't afford to go everywhere and play, that's okay too. I mean, you don't have to fucking — sorry, Wichita, Kansas, but I don't have to play there if it's not gonna be worth… If it costs too much to get there and you're only paying X amount of money, we can't play there. So that's just a realistic part of the machine now, and you have to live with it and go with it. And people that really suffer under that idea get jaded and they just give up. I'm not that guy. I just adjust. I care about the music and the performances we do, and if we don't go everywhere, I'm okay with that."
This past June, FORBIDDEN returned with the official music video for its first new song in over 15 years, "Divided By Zero". The track marked the band's first recording with FORBIDDEN's current lineup, consisting of founding guitarist Locicero, alongside longtime bassist Matt Camacho and the group's latest additions, Skinner and Chris Kontos (drums),plus Mongrain, who stepped in as a replacement for Steve Smyth in July 2024.
When "Divided By Zero" was first released, FORBIDDEN commented in a statement: "The opening riff for 'Divided By Zero' was the first thing Craig brought to the table as a new FORBIDDEN song. The lyrics address the erosion of civility and society through divisive control of institutions, cultures, religion, and government. Without picking sides, 'Divided By Zero' points to anyone and everyone that partakes in this mass manipulation, willingly or unwittingly."
The band added: "The video for 'Divided By Zero' is the stuff of dystopian nightmares, depicting how influential words and propaganda of the few have power to sway the many. Robots and monsters — how most of us unwittingly end up being one or the other through the multiple institutions' relentless brainwashing and beating us down. All of the disturbing imagery, created by Ethan Renoe at Crumb Hill, visually captures the story perfectly, haunting, powerful, and poignant."
"Divided By Zero" represents the bridge between classic and modern FORBIDDEN. It was recorded similarly to FORBIDDEN's debut album, 1988's "Forbidden Evil", in approach: no samples, no triggers and no over-editing.
In a recent interview with The Metal Command podcast, Skinner, who has previously fronted such acts as NIVIANE and IMAGIKA, stated about how his vocal approach is different from that of former FORBIDDEN singer Russ Anderson: "I kept in mind, I'm, like, 'I've gotta throw a little bit of Russ in there on some of this. I can't just be, like, 'Okay, well, now here's a new song done completely in the style of Norm now.' So, yeah, it's a balancing act with some of these songs. It's a little different and there's a bit of a learning curve for me because I'm so used to singing a certain way and recording a certain way and everything, and now with this group of guys, it's, like, 'Well, we don't do it that way. We do it this way,'" he explained.
"I just finished a powwow with our guitar player Daniel Mongrain and found out that I sing a lot of 'happy chords', a lot of majors, he says. So we're going on ways to — I don't know — maybe make it sound a little more evil. But then when you've been singing power metal for 10 years, that tends to happen.
"But I'm definitely keeping it in the back of my mind that, as we roll out these new tunes, to make sure I still stay true to what I think the FORBIDDEN fans will like while staying true to myself at the same time," Norm added.
On the topic of the musical direction of the new FORBIDDEN music compared to that of the band's previous efforts, Norm said: "The music itself, I've heard Craig [say] that it's very a mixture of [2010's] 'Omega Wave' and [1990's] 'Twisted Into Form'. That's the cross where vocally I'm doing the more modern-sounding singing like I do — I'm throwing in my harsh screams and growls sprinkled throughout, which Russ really didn't do until 'Omega Wave'. 'Omega Wave', all of a sudden it's, like, 'Oh, wow.' I mean, [1997's] 'Green' was an angry album, and Russ was just more just like raw scream and just anger. 'Omega Wave' was a more polished, some more death vocal stuff thrown in and stuff. So I'm bringing a lot of that in these songs here and there, because that's something I like to do. But then at the same time I'm taking a lot of the kind of phrasing that Russ would do on those old thrash songs. And, of course, I'm keeping the high notes in there, here and there. Not overdoing it, just placing them where they need to be. So you get that little, 'Yeah, there it is.' We're just trying to really balance these songs as best. And, for me, those are my two favorite FORBIDDEN albums: 'Twisted Into Form' and 'Omega Wave'."
FORBIDDEN's new songs are being recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/co-producer Zack Ohren.
FORBIDDEN summer 2025 "40 Years Of Twisted Evil" European tour celebrated the 40th anniversary of the band's formation and the 35th anniversary of the release of FORBIDDEN's second album, "Twisted Into Form", which originally came out in March 1990 via Combat Records.
In August 2024, Locicero spoke to Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne about FORBIDDEN's decision to remain independent, at least for the time being. He said: "We don't have a record label. I don't want a record label yet. I have an opportunity to finally do this with no monkey. And we're a better band than we were at any point recently because of all the things that have kind of brought us together. It feels different, and that's no knock on anyone. But from the top down, with Russ going through what he went through, that's kind of the stigma that stayed on us for a while. He wasn't feeling a hundred percent. So now you have Norm who's up there, he's, like, 'Yeah.' He's not trying to be anybody, and there's just a whole positive groundswell."
Elaborating on why FORBIDDEN has no interest in aligning itself with a record label right now, Craig said: "It's important to say that we have no delusions of grandeur either. I think that we understand more than anybody how much the industry has changed.
"I don't wanna get caught in the machine, and the machine can chew you up before you get creative," he explained. "You can get stunted creatively if you agree too quickly. 'Cause we've been approached already. And I'm, like, 'Not yet.' We're not gonna go there yet.
"It's important for us to feel like we got our album done and artistically put together, lyrically," Craig added. "No one needs to fucking tell us how to do it. And I feel good about our chances of at least reigniting and kind of reforging our path again. 'Cause there's a spot for us. 'Cause we've got all our Bay Area brothers, but we're that band, we're a little more heavy metal, a little more melodic. We do things a little differently. So we have our own little spot. And I hope to have it all land where it's supposed to be."
Smyth exited FORBIDDEN in July 2024, saying in a statement that he "decided it's time to part ways with FORBIDDEN, and return to my band ONE MACHINE as priority, along with other projects on the horizon, and of course session work, and teaching music as always."
The resurrected FORBIDDEN lineup made its live debut at a "secret" show in July 2023 at Baltic Kiss in Richmond, California under the TWISTED INTO EVIL banner.
Originally founded in 1985 as FORBIDDEN EVIL by Anderson, guitarists Locicero and Robb Flynn, bassist John Tegio and drummer Jim Pittman, the quintet started playing house parties and Bay Area clubs such as the legendary Ruthie's Inn soon after. After a couple of lineup changes (Paul Bostaph on drums and Matt Camacho on bass) in '86, the band quickly rose through the ranks of Bay Area thrash to gain a massive following and worldwide notoriety. In 1986, the band added Glen Alvelais as the second guitarist. It was this lineup that cemented itself into the Bay Area scene and soon after recorded 1988 release "Forbidden Evil" for Combat Records, changing the band's name to simply FORBIDDEN. In May of '89 while on a European tour with SACRED REICH, FORBIDDEN made their first appearance at the legendary Dynamo Open Air in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was here that FORBIDDEN made their European mark and recorded the "Raw Evil" EP. The band returned Stateside and replaced Alvelais with Tim Calvert. Calvert was a missing ingredient that brought the band closer together as a team. They continued to tour the U.S. first with EXODUS and then again with SACRED REICH with Calvert on second guitar. The band went on to release "Twisted Into Form" in 1990, "Distortion" in 1994 and "Green" in 1996. However, the band, having gone though many lineup changes, disbanded in 1997.
In 2008 Craig being inspired at a screening of the movie "Get Thrashed", called the other members of the band and suggested getting back on stage to see if they could reignite the FORBIDDEN machine. With Anderson, Locicero, Camacho back in the mix along with new additions Glen Alvelais and Gene Hoglan they played two sold-out DEATH ANGEL shows in San Francisco. Steve Smyth came into the mix in place of Alvelais and Mark Hernandez took Hoglan's place. The band then released "Omega Wave", the fifth in the catalog and went on a U.S. tour with OVERKILL. European festivals were next but afterwards Hernandez had to walk away due to personal reasons leading to a tour cancelation. Sasha Horn was the answer to fill the drummer's spot.
After playing "Bonded By Baloff" with EXODUS and one Bay Area show, FORBIDDEN embarked for Chile to play the Metal Fest in Santiago. It was on this flight back home that Russ informed the band that he couldn't tour anymore because of the physical toll it was taking on him. With that, the band dissolved once again for 11 years.
When FORBIDDEN's "rebirth" was first announced in April 2023, Locicero said in a statement: "First off, I did NOT see this coming. When FORBIDDEN quietly disbanded the second time in 2012, I figured it was over. While I always apply the 'never say never' mantra to my life, Russ made it clear that he was completely finished with touring. My wingman and main dude from the conception of FORBIDDEN EVIL, Russ was my mentor and the guy who bought me beer when I was 15! I couldn't imagine FORBIDDEN without him, so I had little hope of a future with FORBIDDEN. Today Russ is happily retired and living the sober life. I have nothing but love for that and him. Everyone needs to respect his wishes like we do.
"So then ….. fast forward 11 years after our last show, Bay Area vocal talent Norman Skinner walks in to help us rehearse and sing a few thrash classics for the BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL set at Dynamo MetalFest 2022. WHAMMO! That's when it all happened by accident. Truly. Then it happens AGAIN when Norman sings 'Chalice Of Blood' onstage alongside WARBRINGER at the one Bay Area show of BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL. Holy fuck!"
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9 сен 2025
THE CULT Announce Vinyl Reissues Of Choice Of Weapon And Hidden City, Available In October
 The Cult reissue two of their acclaimed albums, Choice Of Weapon and Hidden City, on vinyl on October 17 via Cooking Vinyl.
Originally released in 2012 and 2016 respectively, the albums form part of a trilogy that witnessed the rebirth of the band with Record Collector dubbing Choice Of Weapon “their best album in years,” and The Guardian noting Hidden City features “the strongest Cult songs in years” in a four-star review.
Available now for pre-order, Choice Of Weapon arrives as a 2LP limited-edition color-in-color effect vinyl (LP1: red/black vinyl, LP2: purple.black vinyl). Hidden City has been newly remastered for vinyl by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound and is presented as a 2LP set (LP1: red vinyl and LP2: white vinyl).
Choice Of Weapon was recorded in the California desert with Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age, Masters Of Reality) at the helm and finished by long-time collaborator Bob Rock who first worked with the band on Sonic Temple. Driven by the lead single “For the Animals,” Choice of Weapon earned iTunes’ Rock Album of the Year in 2012 and debuted at #1 on the UK Rock Chart. Out of print since the original pressing, it has become one of The Cult’s most sought-after modern releases.
Hidden City, The Cult’s tenth studio album was also produced by Rock. Introduced by the sonic assault of “Dark Energy,” the 12-track collection is a master class in space and time, showcasing a band in its absolute prime.
The band embarks on a North American tour next month, with the special performances featuring two sets each night: one from the band’s post-punk origins as Death Cult, and another spanning The Cult’s stories discography. Tickets are on-sale now via thecult.us. Patriarchy opens as special guests. | 0 | |
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9 сен 2025
GODSMACK's SULLY ERNA Says AEROSMITH Needs To 'Come Back' And Play A Few Farewell Concerts: 'You Can't Go Out With An Instagram Post'
 In a new interview with Chaz & AJ In The Morning, a morning radio talk show program on 99.1 WPLR, a rock radio station broadcasting from New Haven, Connecticut, GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna weighed in on AEROSMITH's August 2024 announcement that the latter band was retiring from the road due to singer Steven Tyler's vocal injury. AEROSMITH's decision to stop touring came nearly one year after the now-77-year-old singer fractured his larynx during a September 2023 show. Sully said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I hope Tyler comes back, at least resurfaces, just to put a small handful of shows together, because I've gotta tell you, I don't like that he wrote a letter, posted it on Instagram about, like, 'Hey, this is the end. Thanks for being a fan for 50 years, and see you later.' I'm, like, nah, that's not how you end a legacy, dude. You need to come back, even if your voice hurts or whatever. You stand on that stage, maybe you have some guest singers, play a full show and then Tyler steps out for a three-song encore or something at the end, takes his bow, says a few words to the fans, and that's how you go out."
Regarding AEROSMITH's announcement that Tyler had been "tirelessly working" to get his voice back to where it was before the injury but that it was clear "a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible", Erna said: "I think he was just nervous about trying to do a full set. Maybe he felt like he didn't wanna hurt himself or maybe he has to cancel again, and he doesn't wanna let his fans down. And that's understandable. But at the same time, you've gotta do L.A., Boston, London — pick a few and just do it right, like OASIS just did, stadiums. They're AEROSMITH, man. It's 50 years of a legacy. You can't go out with an Instagram post."
In July 2019, Erna paid tribute to AEROSMITH, crediting the legendary rockers with playing "an enormous role in sculpting me to become the musician I am today."
The GODSMACK frontman made his comments afer attending an AEROSMITH concert in Las Vegas, where the iconic band was in the middle of its "Deuces Are Wild" residency. Sully took to his Facebook page to share a few photos of the show and included the following message: "Some info you may or may not know about me... Seeing @aerosmith tonight with my Manager Paul in Vegas was such a walk down memory lane for both of us. Not only have we built the GODSMACK brand together over the years, but we're both #Boston boys and have been friends now for 30 years and grew up listening and studying this band since we were teenagers. We've been going to AEROSMITH concerts since we were 14 hrs old and AEROSMITH Rocks was literally the first album I ever bought. I even remember smoking my first joint to the song 'Last Child'.
"I've seen AEROSMITH at least 10 times throughout the years and the photo of @joeperryofficial inside the Live Bootleg Album holding up his B.C. Rich with his hair in front of his face and that blonde streak was single handedly the photo that made me want to grow my hair long and go from just being a musician to being a 'rockstar.' This band and their music has meant everything to me over the years and has played an enormous role in sculpting me to become the musician I am today. Their presence, attitude and musicianship is by far some of the coolest and iconic ever known.
"I don't know how much longer they'll go for, but I just feel grateful that their music has been embedded into my veins and have been a huge part of my life! Thank You @aerosmith for all the music and inspirations you've given all of us Rock Musicians over the last 50 years! Talk about 'Legends Rise'? These guys have risen, fallen, and rose again to become bigger and better than they were before. They've been on the top of that mountain for decades. And they continue to inspire all of us over and over again. Yes, we're still super fans! But it's also nice to know that I didn't waste the last 37 years of my life idolizing the wrong band. #proud to be #boston ! What a fun and emotional night!"
In 2018, Erna told Classic Rock magazine that AEROSMITH's 1976 album "Rocks" was a huge influence on him growing up. "I'd been a musician since I was three and a half years old, and I was raised on blues and more jazzy music," he said. "A friend played me 'Last Child' from 'Rocks'. I think it was the first time I smoked a joint, and it was a really life-changing point for me, because it really lured me into the world of rock. It was super-cool for a young kid."
Photo by Chris Bradshaw
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9 сен 2025
ROB HALFORD Says JUDAS PRIEST's Upcoming North American Tour Will Be 'A Roller-Coaster Ride Of Sheer Metal Power'
 In a new interview with Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco Bay Area radio station 107.7 The Bone, Rob Halford was asked how JUDAS PRIEST's upcoming North American tour with Alice Cooper and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY came together. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. I wish it was a lot easier. [Laughs] Back in the day, it was so easy to put these two together. Now they're a little bit corporate, and blah, blah, blah. But does that really matter? No. 'cause eventually we get the opportunity — we get the opportunity to be in each other's company and to share the stages with each other. And this is a real event — this is a real event. Will this ever happen again? I don't think so. So if you wanna see an event where you've got The Metal Gods, and you've got the original shock rocker, 'cause he started it all, baby. And CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. And I'm so, so happy that that band has stayed together. They've been through some tough times, like we all have. But Pepper's [Keenan, C.O.C. frontman] such a great guy. It's a great band, great music, great albums. So, bang, bang, bang, one after another."
After Blakk jokingly asked if PRIEST and Cooper were arguing over who gets to hit the stage first and go to bed early, Halford said: "Well, we're flipping it. We're flipping it. It is a co-headline. So, I don't know how many shows — is it 30 shows? — we split [it]. 15 Alice closes, 15 PRIEST closes. I've gotta say, from my angle, I'll go on at nine o'clock in the morning. Not really, but what I'm trying to say is I don't care, as long as we get to play, as long as we get to see our beautiful metal maniacs again, see the people that have given us this great life in rock and roll and just party. It's a reunion, and it's such a great, great way to celebrate both bands, rather all the bands. And so yeah, just a lot of good vibes, a lot of good feeling and incredible music."
Regarding PRIEST's setlist for the upcoming tour, Rob said: "We're still promoting this 'Shield Of Pain' tour idea, because, as you know, [PRIEST's 1990 album] 'Painkiller' celebrated a big anniversary last year. So we're sharing a great set. It's a big selection of the 'Painkiller' album and some [of PRIEST's latest album] 'Invincible Shield'. So you've got your 'Invincible Shield', which is still roaring on all cylinders, and the obvious celebration of 'Painkiller', which is the album for PRIEST and the album for a lot of metalheads, in and out of the PRIEST world. It's such a beautifully blessed and respected album. So it's just great. We come out of the box just roaring… It's just a roller-coaster ride of just sheer metal power from the PRIEST side of things."
Halford went on to say that "it's tough" coming up with a setlist at this point in PRIEST's career. "It's real tough," he added. "As I said, thankfully, because of the 'Painkiller' [35th-anniversary] angle, that kind of gave us a good chunk of the setlist that we took out recently in Europe; we did all of the festivals over there. And for the fans in Europe, they were just going nuts to hear these 'Painkiller' songs one after another — 'All Guns Blazing', 'Hell Patrol', 'Night Crawler', 'A Touch Of Evil'. It's just a great display of metal power in its truest sense. But, yeah, I'm sure Alice is the same. This is a problem. C.O.C. —all of these bands have got all of this music, all of these songs. Where do you start? You try and cover all of the dots, so to speak. If PRIEST didn't play 'Breaking The Law', everybody [at the venue] would be breaking the law. And we love playing those songs that are such an important part of the music fabric of America, because you know what music's like. We can say firsthand how much music is important in our lives, because all of these songs are a reference point, all of these songs are a reference point to the first date, to the first metal show we went, the first metal album we got. So it really is a larger-than-life experience on all levels for this upcoming tour."
Produced by Live Nation, PRIEST's 22-city tour with Alice Cooper kicks off September 16 at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi and stops in Toronto, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and more before wrapping October 26 at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas.
During the European leg of JUDAS PRIEST's "Shield Of Pain" tour, the band's 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 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".
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. | +2 | |
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Nevertel
