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23 май 2025
SHINEDOWN To Release Two More Singles This Summer Before Announcing Eighth Studio Album
 During an appearance on a recent episode of the "On With Mario Lopez" radio show, SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's eighth studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been working on it for a little over a year, and we're probably 75 percent finished with it right now. But the other side of it too is we're already kind of constructing what the touring cycle looks like for 2026 and 2027. Obviously, we have a tour that we're getting ready to do. But we released two singles as of right now, and we are also gonna follow that up later on this summer with two more singles. And then the announce of the album, we're hoping to be able to present that this year. But anybody that knows us knows that when we're in the studio and it's time to write a SHINEDOWN record, we have to make sure that it is a hundred percent authentic. So usually the album will talk to us and let us know when it's finished."
SHINEDOWN released the first two singles from the upcoming album, "Three Six Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance", in January via Atlantic Records.
This month SHINEDOWN kicked off its "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The 36-date trek is one of the largest run of shows (and venues) the band has ever put on. It will be the first time the band has ever headlined some of the country's most legendary venues, including Madison Square Garden (July 20),Boston's TD Garden (July 19),Los Angeles's Kia Forum (August 3),New Orleans's Smoothie King (May 6) and more. Joining them on the tour are BEARTOOTH and BUSH (on select dates) and Morgan Wade for all shows.
SHINEDOWN recently released an official music video for its No. 1 song "Dance, Kid, Dance". The clip was directed by Lewis Cater, choreographed by Julissa Bond, and edited by Samuel Halleen.
This year has also come with some historic wins for SHINEDOWN as they recently took home two trophies at the iHeartRadio Music Awards where they won "Rock Artist Of The Year" and "Rock Song Of The Year" for "A Symptom Of Being Human".
The awards were in celebration of the banner year they've had as "A Symptom Of Being Human" has hit nearly 125 million global streams and charted at five radio formats, including a No. 1 at Active, Top 10 at Alternative, Top 10 at AC, Top 15 at Hot AC and a Top 20 at Top 40. To date, SHINEDOWN is the very first artist to get a song Top 10 at Active, Alternative, and Hot AC Radio on Mediabase with one song. The song, off SHINEDOWN's "Planet Zero" album, resonated with fans across the globe for the unifying message of its lyrics: that it is our human connections that matter the most.
SHINEDOWN has already had a packed 2025 as its latest single "Dance, Kid, Dance" has made history, reaching No. 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, which marks their 22nd song to reach No. 1 on the chart, and on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. SHINEDOWN has become the only band in the chart's history to reach 20 No. 1s on the chart. Not to mention when the song entered the Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, SHINEDOWN tied with the FOO FIGHTERS for the artists with the most songs to hit the top 10 in the chart's history with 32 songs each. All these incredible accomplishments continue to solidify that SHINEDOWN have made a name for themselves in rock. On Mediabase, SHINEDOWN hold the record for the most No. 1s, No. 5s and No. 10s on the Active Rock chart, with a total of 24 No. 1s on the Mediabase charts.
Smith and Eric Bass co-wrote "Three Six Five", and "Dance, Kid, Dance" was co-written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass and Dave Bassett. The songs were produced by Eric Bass at his own Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.
Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz | 0 | |
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23 май 2025
MAX CAVALERA Is Putting Finishing Touches On SOULFLY's 13th Studio Album: 'I'm Very Proud Of The Record'
 In a new interview with MetalUnderground.com, SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera spoke about his plans for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Totem" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're working on the new record right now. It's going good, man. We're taking our time to do it right. We are in the process of finishing the recordings right now, and then we're gonna start getting stuff mixed and finding the songs that are gonna go on all the socials, Spotify and all that jive. But, yeah, I'm very proud of the record."
Regarding the musical direction of the new SOULFLY material, Max said: "The record, it's cool. It feels to me [like it] has the adventurous spirit of the first record [1998's 'Soulfly']. Sonically, it's pretty different from the first record — it's more intricate and maybe even heavier, heavier grooves. But in terms of spirit and attitude, it's similar to the first record, which I think is cool that I got to figure out a way to put my mind back at that time and what made me create that record and use it again on a new record. It's pretty fun. It's kind of hard to do, but I think it was an exciting thing to tackle. It was kind of, like, 'Let's try to do this. Let's see if you can use your first album as somehow some kind of inspiration for your thirteenth record. [Laughs] And that was great, man. I love that. I love that kind of vibe that the record has."
Cavalera continued: "That's the cool thing about this record. It's kind of, in a way, a return to what me and fans of SOULFLY fell in love with SOULFLY for. And then throughout the years, many of the other records had a lot of different vibes in it. Some of them went more thrashy with stuff like 'Dark Ages' [2005], 'Omen' [2010], 'Conquer' [2008]. So, to me, making a record that sonically is inspired by the first thing that you did as a band, it was a challenge — there's a challenge in that — 'cause it's easier said than done. Because I don't wanna just copy that first record either. There's no point in doing that. I'm just using it as inspiration. It's really just full on for metal inspiration. The songs [themselves], they're gonna have their own personality and their own vibe. But, yeah, it's coming out quite interesting. I'm excited to hear what the fans are gonna think about this one."
Asked about a possible release date for the new SOULFLY album, Max said: "Right now I think we're looking at October. That's they're talking about. And we do have a European tour that starts in June. It goes from June to late July. We are gonna be playing one or two songs of the new record on that tour, which I think is great. Anytime I had a chance to do that, it's been great. I remember playing 'Primitive' [the title track of SOULFLY's second album, which came out in 2000] on the first record tour, because I wrote 'Primitive' at the same time I wrote the first SOULFLY record. I just couldn't fit in. There was too many songs, and I was, like, 'All right. Fuck it. I don't need another song on this record.' But then we went on tour, and I got a chance to play the song 'Primitive' live before the 'Primitive' record came out, so that people got a taste of the second record coming up. So it's kind of similar kind of thing — people get a taste of this album a little bit before. Especially this day and age with the Internet, people gonna get it on YouTube, they're gonna watch it, and they're gonna feel the record before October, at least."
This past April, SOULFLY parted ways with the band's longtime bassist Mike Leon.
Leon, formerly of HAVOK, joined SOULFLY in September 2015 as the replacement for STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos, who left SOULFLY in May of that year.
"Totem" came out in August 2022 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.
In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's 2021 and 2022 run of shows.
Guitarist Mike DeLeon has been touring with SOULFLY for more than two years. Prior to hooking up with SOULFLY, DeLeon had been a member of PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo's solo band PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, which he joined in 2015 as the replacement for Marzi Montazeri. More recently, Mike filled in for Zakk Wylde at the first rehearsal for the fall 2022 PANTERA shows.
In a November 2024 interview with Dave Rumbler of Metal-Roos, Max, who turned 55 years old in August 2024, said that he has no plans of slowing down in the coming years. "I was put on this planet to do this, and that's all I wanna do," he said. "It's all I know how to do and it's all I wanna do… Of course, we change as people as we get older, but I think there's some things in me, they are the same as they were when I was 15 years old — my passion for metal, how I feel about going on the stage and the goosebumps, the excitement is like a drug. You can't really get that anywhere else except on the stage. And those things don't change. And I love that.
"To me, I'm always looking forward to whatever tour we're doing, whatever album we're making," he continued. "There are challenges, but at the same time, they are great life opportunities. And I live life for the moment. I'm not one of those guys that — I don't live thinking 10 years from now. I live for right now for this, 'cause I don't know what's 10 years from now. I live the moment, and in the moment, this is what's going on right now. I grab it with both hands, man, and enjoy. And I try to teach that to my kids — enjoy the moment. It's a great thing. It's good to be alive. It's good to share this feeling with people around you. It's incredible. It's an incredible thing."
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23 май 2025
Watch: Ex-SEPULTURA Drummer IGOR CAVALERA Performs Unique Set For EARTH HOUSE
 Former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA drummer Igor "Iggor" Cavalera recently joined U.K.'s Earth House to perform a unique set incorporating electronics, synths, drones and of course, drums. Video of the performance, produced and directed by Ali White, can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Drumtalk, the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, Igor was asked how he measures success. He responded: "I have to say success, in my measurement, it's being able to do something that you love for a long time. Succeed to an extent that you are comfortable with what you do and you don't sacrifice your integrity as a musician, as a drummer just for the sake of making money. So that's success for me. It's not having a golden Ferrari, it's not having — whatever — limousines and all that stuff. It's doing something that you love and maintaining that for quite a few years, and that's what I try to show to my kids. It's like no matter what camp you are working — it could be anything from coding computers — but if you have that passion and if you enjoy what you do and for a long time, you're successful. It doesn't mean that you're rich. It doesn't mean that you're a millionaire. It just means that you are successful within yourself. And that's the way I measure things."
This past February, Igor launched a solo tour of the United Kingdom during which he performed electronic music from the repertoire of his solo discography inspired by the varied sub genres of avant-garde, drone, industrial and harsh noise.
Along with older brother Max Cavalera, Igor is a founding member of the Brazilian thrash metal band SEPULTURA. Igor is now the drummer for CAVALERA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SOULWAX, PETBRICK and other projects. Cavalera is one half of the DJ duo MIXHELL, an electronic music project he founded with his wife, Laima Leyton, in 2006. With MIXHELL, he has toured the globe, performing in festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival and Reading.
In 2013, Igor moved to London with his family and in 2016 joined the Belgian band SOULWAX, recording drums for their album "From Deewee" and touring as part of "Transient Program For Drums And Machinery". Soon after, he founded PETBRICK with Wayne Adams — a project that involved melting noise and crushing electronics over grinding drumming.
Igor has been performing live with analog modular gear, drum pads and visuals for intimate crowds at experimental festivals such as Dio Drone (Florence) and clubs such as Cafe Oto and Iklectik (London). His latest releases include "Aural Manifestations" on Damian Records in America and Deepthroat Records in Europe and "Alucinações Sônicas" on Hospital Productions.
Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).
In 1996, Max Cavalera exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.
Photo credit: James Young (courtesy of Nuclear Blast) | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
KATAKLYSM Releases New Standalone Singe 'The Rabbit Hole'
 Montreal, Quebec, Canada death metallers KATAKLYSM have released a new single, "The Rabbit Hole". The track was recorded earlier this year at JFD Studios in Dallas, Texas and Studio City, California as well as The Cabin in Orlando, Florida and Silver Black Studio in Laval, Quebec, Canada.
"The Rabbit Hole" was produced, mixed, and mastered by the band's guitarist Jean-François Dagenais. It features Clemens Wijers (CARACH ANGREN),who curated the tracks ambient sound effects and synth section.
With a brutal honesty and relentless force, "The Rabbit Hole" rips through the illusion of control and dares listeners to wake up, fight back, and resist. A soundtrack for the disillusioned—unapologetic and unrelenting.
KATAKLYSM's Maurizio Iacono states: "'The Rabbit Hole' is the band's first standalone single since the band's classic 'Iron Will' track.
"As the world spins out of control and people search for purpose and truth, we felt questioning these things is something important to do.
"There's a lot of noise and lots of distortion these days, but always trust your gut and what is right versus what is forced fed, so why not put these thoughts to music? So while we wait for the next record, we decided to drop this heavy hitter. Spread it and enjoy!"
The visualizer video for "The Rabbit Hole", which was created by Ingo Sporl at Hard Media, can be seen below.
KATAKLYSM's fifteenth full-length studio album, "Goliath", was released in August 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at JFD Studios in Dallas, Texas and Studio City, California as well as The Cabin in Orlando, Florida by Dagenais, who also produced and engineered the album. For the mixing and mastering, the band returned to Chris Clancy with assistance from Colin Richardson. The cover artwork required an image that captured the iconic battle of David versus Goliath theme that is echoed throughout the album while matching the power of the music. The band enlisted renowned Berlin metal illustrator Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE) to create the artwork which who took the KATAKLYSM look and gave it a macabre filter that compliments the brooding sense of uneasiness that was felt during the writing and recording of the album.
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22 май 2025
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22 май 2025
Legendary Musician STEVE MILLER To Be Honored With 'Les Paul Spirit Award'
 The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to honor and share the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul through generations, has announced the annual Les Paul Spirit Award in partnership with Gibson Gives, the philanthropic division of Gibson. The prestigious award will be presented to legendary musical artist and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Steve Miller on Monday, June 9, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. CT at a private ticketed event held at the Gibson Garage Nashville located at 209 10th Ave S, Suite 209 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The event will take place on what would have been Les Paul's 110th birthday, and marks the fourth anniversary of the Gibson Garage Nashville. The Les Paul Spirit Award was created by the Les Paul Foundation in honor of the music innovator.
The annual award is presented to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music. In addition to the award, a grant from the Les Paul Foundation will be made in the honoree's name to the charity of his choice. Like Les Paul, Steve Miller personifies the spirit of excellence through musicianship and industry recognition.
Michael Braunstein, executive director of the Les Paul Foundation, says: "I cannot think of anyone more deserving to be honored with the Les Paul Spirit Award than Steve Miller. Not only is he an extraordinary talent and a wonderful friend of the Les Paul Foundation, Steve holds the very distinct title of being Les's godson. They had a very unique relationship which Les cherished. If anyone understands the 'spirit' of Les Paul, it's Steve. If Les were still alive today, Steve and he would be jamming at his house regularly. I am personally thrilled to be able to present Steve with this award because I know he exemplifies everything Les was about and wanted to accomplish. I want to also thank the Gibson Gives Foundation for partnering with us on this exciting annual award and for everything they do to keep Les's name alive."
Erica Krusen, global executive director at Gibson Gives, adds: "Steve Miller personifies the spirit of excellence through his musicianship and industry recognition. Gibson Gives is proud to partner with the Les Paul Foundation to present the prestigious Les Paul Spirit Award to this legendary artist who not only embodies the innovative spirit of Les Paul himself and his landmark contributions to music but continues to entertain and inspire us through his music and talent."
Steve Miller has been a monumental presence on the American music scene for over half a century and his releases have sold tens of millions of records and been streamed billions of times. Miller's "Greatest Hits (1974-1978)" received the RIAA diamond award with sales of over 15 million copies. It is among the 25 top best-selling albums of all time. If one would run through Miller's music catalog, they would quickly recognize his influences — his parents were jazz aficionados and personal friends of Les Paul and Mary Ford. As a budding guitarist, Steve absorbed every lesson or piece of advice Les Paul gave him. Miller played with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton and Paul Butterfield, all of whom inform his music to this day.
Miller's hits include "The Joker", "Take The Money And Run", "Abracadabra", "Rock'n Me", "Jet Airliner", "Swingtown", "Fly Like An Eagle" and others. The album "Fly Like An Eagle" was recently inducted to the Library Of Congress's National Recording Registry. To this day these songs are instantly recognizable and impossible not to sing along with.
Miller was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (2016) and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame (2022) and is a member of the Visiting Committee of the Department of Musical Instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is a member of the Board Of Directors at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On last year's STEVE MILLER BAND tour, he played to three quarters of a million fans and returned to the top of the charts with his hit "Abracadabra" via the prominent feature in Eminem's hit single "Houdini".
Steve's relationship with Les Paul was deeply personal and formative. Les Paul was not only a family friend but also became Miller's godfather as noted above. Their connection began in Miller's early childhood in Milwaukee, where his parents frequently attended Les Paul and Mary Ford's performances. A young Steve Miller was introduced to Les Paul who gave him his first informal guitar lessons and taught him his first three chords. Miller has often recalled how these early experiences watching Les Paul perform and receiving personal instruction were pivotal in inspiring his own musical journey. To understand how close the two families were, Steve's father Sonny was even the best man at Les Paul's wedding. Miller joined Les Paul on stage at his 90th birthday concert in New York city highlighting their enduring bond. Steve continues to enthrall his audiences with stories like these at his performances.
The exclusive, physical Les Paul Spirit Award for Steve Miller is made from actual hand-carved acoustic boards built by Les Paul that he used in his home studio. Les Paul designed and created the memorabilia during his life. The acoustic wood piece is a unique presentation and supported by Les's personal story. No two Les Paul Spirit Awards are exactly the same given the unique nature of the studio pieces which are being used to create them and their intrinsic value as authentic Les Paul memorabilia. Past recipients of the award have included Bob Weir (founding member of THE GRATEFUL DEAD),producer and musician Nile Rodgers, U2's The Edge and Peter Frampton.
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22 май 2025
AUTOGRAPH's STEVE LYNCH Releases 'Confessions Of A Rock Guitarist' Memoir
 Steve Lynch, renowned for his innovative two-handed tapping technique and as the co-founder of the glam metal band AUTOGRAPH, has just released his memoir, "Confessions Of A Rock Guitarist", via Indigo River Publishing. It's a raw, riveting, and unexpectedly introspective chronicle of a musician's rise, fall, reinvention and search for meaning beyond the fretboard.
Told with humility and offbeat humor, "Confessions Of A Rock Guitarist" traces Lynch's unlikely journey from a troubled childhood in the Pacific Northwest to the heart of Los Angeles's exploding rock scene. His pivotal years at the Guitar Institute become a launching pad — culminating in a spontaneous demonstration that transforms him from student to innovator. It's here that Lynch begins to shape his groundbreaking two-handed tapping technique, earning him recognition as one of the era's most technically advanced and expressive players.
Lynch's ascent with AUTOGRAPH was meteoric. Amid the glam-metal surge of the 1980s "hair bands", AUTOGRAPH achieved global recognition — touring extensively, dominating the charts, and earning a place among rock's most iconic acts. But as "Confessions" reveals, behind the scenes were battles with addiction, industry upheaval, and the toll of reinvention in an ever-changing musical landscape.
More than a typical rock memoir, "Confessions Of A Rock Guitarist" is also the story of a seeker—an artist propelled by curiosity, spiritual exploration, and the desire to evolve beyond stardom. Through globe-trotting adventures as a musician and educator, Lynch reflects on the forces that shaped both his sound and his soul.
The memoir is richly illustrated with never-before-seen photographs from Lynch's personal archive, offering readers a front-row seat to the making of a music pioneer.
"Confessions Of A Rock Guitarist" is available for purchase on major platforms, including Amazon, and through major retail bookstores Barnes & Noble and Book Shop nationwide.
About Steve Lynch: Steve is an award-winning American guitarist best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the glam metal/hard rock band AUTOGRAPH, which formed in 1983. He began his musical journey on bass guitar in 1968 but switched to guitar on September 18, 1970 — the day his hero Jimi Hendrix died — marking a turning point in his dedication to the instrument. Lynch's innovative two-handed tapping technique has earned him recognition as a pioneer in the guitar community. He graduated from the Guitar Institute of Technology in 1979, earning the "Most Likely To Succeed" award, and while attending, authored his first book, "The Right Touch" (published by Dale Zdenek Publishing),introducing his groundbreaking playing method. With AUTOGRAPH, he signed to RCA Records, released three albums, and produced the mega-hit "Turn Up The Radio", ultimately selling over five million records worldwide. Lynch's unique style launched a storied career, including global tours with bands like VAN HALEN, MÖTLEY CRÜE, AEROSMITH, Ronnie James Dio, WHITESNAKE, Bryan Adams and HEART. He went on to write two more instructional books, produce an educational video, teach 325 clinics in 20 countries, release a solo album ("Network 23"),run his own music school, won "Solo Of The Year" in Guitar World magazine, and his famous guitar "Stella" is now on display in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
AUTOGRAPH has released seminal albums such as "Sign In Please" (1984),"That's The Stuff" (1985) and "Loud And Clear" (1987). Successfully touring again since the beginning of 2014, AUTOGRAPH has strived and shined at arenas, casinos, major music festivals such as M3 Rock Festival, Monsters Of Rock cruise, Moondance Jam, 80's In The Park, Grand Rock Tember, Cat Club festival at Irvine Meadows, and Firefest UK, among others. In 2017, AUTOGRAPH released a new album on ex-MEGADETH member David Ellefson's EMP Label Group, hitting No. 21 on the Billboard Classic Rock sales chart, as well as placing two new singles on the top 10 Hard Rock Mediabase radio chart.
In 2019, Lynch decided to leave AUTOGRAPH to pursue different musical styles and was replaced by Jimi Bell (HOUSE OF LORDS).
Three years ago, Lynch was reportedly sued by some of the recent non-original members of AUTOGRAPH lineup as they attempted to gain control of the band's name and trademark. In August 2023, Lynch announced that he had emerged victorious in the court battle over the band's name.
BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
HELLO EVERYONE!!!
Confessions of a Rock Guitarist will be released May 20th!!!
I'm...
Posted by Steve Lynch on Tuesday, April 22, 2025
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22 май 2025
Taiwanese Metallers CHTHONIC Release Live EP 'Megaportal 2425'
 Taiwan's metal masters CHTHONIC have released a new live EP, "Megaportal 2425", including five select songs from the band's appearances at 2024 and 2025 Megaport Festivals.
There has been a consistent theme in CHTHONIC's performances at Megaport Festival over the past two years — breaking the boundary between reality and illusion, and bringing onto stage the virtual. In 2024, technology was used to allow virtual characters to be presented in real time on the big screen, and in 2025, these characters appeared onstage in person — interacting with the virtual big screen characters.
CHTHONIC lead vocalist Freddy Lim explains that the screen at these two concerts are a "tunnel of time and space", "portals" in time-travel dramas. "The virtual time and space are connected to the real world through the portals. We see the virtual character through the screen, and the character sees us in the real world. When we performed 'Endless Aeons', the character travelled through and appeared in the real world," he states.
Other than "Endless Aeons", the interweaving of time and space appears throughout other songs included in this live EP. The overture "Megaportal Intro" superimposes different versions of the band's smash single "Takao", presenting a chaotic and thrilling atmosphere; "Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple" is a battle across the world and the underworld; for "Defenders Of Bú-Tik Palace - Acoustic", Finn, a character who has appeared in several CHTHONIC music videos in the past decade, came to life onstage.
CHTHONIC will now turn their attention to a new album, with no future performance plans in the short term. For now, the band invite fans to enjoy the live EP.
"Megaportal 2425" track listing:
01. Megaportal Intro
02. Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple
03. Endless Aeons
04. Defenders Of The Bu-Tik Palace - Acoustic
05. Takao
CHTHONIC has released several albums, including "Mirror Of Retribution" (2009),"Takasago Army" (2011) and "Butik" (2013) on Spinefarm/Universal Music. In their time they've performed at such fêted events as Ozzfest, Download, Wacken Open Air and have toured Europe and North America multiple times.
However, the band's activity halted in 2016 when lead vocalist Freddy Lim was elected to Taiwanese Parliament.
For almost a decade, Freddy has been occupied with parliamentary work, and other members have been working on their own projects — resulting in only occasional large Taiwan performances for the CHTHONIC. Occasional musical output followed (2018's "Battlefields Of Asura" album and 2023's "Pattonkan" single, which was selected to Grammy's Global Spin) but almost all overseas performances were halted.
Although CHTHONIC have stayed low-profiled in recent years, in 2019 they performed with an orchestra in front of Taiwan's Presidential Palace to an audience of 50,000.
People say rock can change the world, and Freddy Lim made that a reality during his two terms in parliament, advocating for reform. Freddy pushed for legislation to make Taiwan's first Asian country to have marriage equality, and for greater protection of indigenous rights. Additionally, he pushed for increased budgetary aid for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and advocated for "transitional justice", demanding that government declassify files from Taiwan's past authoritarian era.
This hit home unexpectedly in 2023. Declassified files revealed the sorrowful and previously unknown past of Freddy's family. Combining history and mythology, it is perhaps not coincidental that CHTHONIC's music told the sorrowful yet brave stories of Freddy's grandparents. Shocked at the news and overwhelmed by emotion, Freddy called time on his eight-year service in parliament, and announced that he would not seek re-election.
Now, CHTHONIC returns. The band is working on new songs and could possibly return to global stages once more again soon.
CHTHONIC is:
Freddy Lim (lead vocals)
Doris Yeh (bass, backing vocals)
Jesse Liu (guitars, backing vocals)
Dani Wang (drums)
CJ Kao (keyboards, synthesizer) | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
P.O.D. Guitarist MARCOS CURIEL: 'A Lot Of People That Listen To Metal Or Rock Have Tunnel Vision'
 In a new interview with the Rock Brothers Podcast, guitarist Marcos Curiel spoke about P.O.D.'s musical evolution since the band's formation more than three decades ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we started, man, it wasn't like everybody opened their arms and welcomed us in. There's a lot of taboo when it comes to P.O.D. There's the spiritual angle, then there's the rap angle, ethnic angle, the reggae. We like to mix it up. And a lot of people that listen to metal or rock have tunnel vision. And throughout the years, we just stayed consistent, doing us.
"We come from an era where everybody sounded different," Marcos explained. "Right now a lot of bands sound alike. When we grew up, it was RAGE [AGAINST THE MACHINE], BODY COUNT, [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS — just those three alone. NIRVANA, PEARL JAM, they all sound different, and they all have their own unique sound. And the thing about P.O.D. — I don't care whether you love us or hate us, when you hear us, you know who we are. And that right there is a blessing in itself. We're not chasing the carrot. At one point some people try to get us to do that, and we're, like, 'Dude, we're just P.O.D. Take it or leave it.'"
Elaborating on some of the pushback he and his P.O.D. bandmates received early on, Curiel said: "What's crazy is when we got signed to Atlantic, back then it wasn't even a thing for rock bands to be adding features. But we're hip-hop fans, so we were, like, 'Hey, man, why don't we add H.R. from BAD BRAINS or Eek-A-Mouse?' And the label at the time was, like, 'What are you guys doing? You're a rock band.' And we were, like, 'Exactly. This is what we think is cool and this is what we like.' And look at it — now everyone's doing features.
"The evolution is organic," Marcos explained. "It's not contrived. And we always hear bands that are, like, 'Oh, you need to check us out, man. We do this, do this.' And we listen and we're, like, 'I get you're trying to do that. I get it, but it doesn't sound fresh. It doesn't sound organic.' And I'm not a music snob, 'cause we're all about vibes and how it feels when you hear something. 'Oh, that's sick.' And when it's organic, I think people are just drawn to it. And some people don't get it. They're, like, 'What is this?'"
P.O.D. joined U.S. hard rockers GODSMACK as special guests on their March/April 2025 European tour. The trek kicked off on March 22 with a sold-out show at the Sofia Arena in Bulgaria and then made stops in Romania (Bucharest),Hungary (Budapest),Poland (Gliwice),Austria (Vienna),Croatia (Zagreb),Czech Republic (Prague),Germany (Munich, Berlin, Offenbach),U.K. (London),Belgium (Brussels),before finishing with two shows in Germany, Hamburg, and finally April 12 at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen.
In May last year, P.O.D. released its 11th album, "Veritas", via Mascot Records. The album was a Top 10 hit across the U.S. Billboard Current Hard Rock, Current Rock, and Current Alternative album charts, and has already surpassed 48 million streams.
P.O.D. has released several singles from the album including "Drop", "Afraid To Die", "I Got That" and "I Won't Bow Down".
"Drop" features a vicious vocal feature from LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe, while the equally eruptive single "Afraid To Die" features JINJER vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk.
As well as releasing "Veritas", P.O.D. has toured with SKINDRED, who between them brought the party in a major way to the U.K. They bulldozed through Europe with euphoric festival sets at Graspop Metal Meeting, Summerside and Rock For People. They supported MUDVAYNE, took on their blistering U.S. "I Got That" headline tour with special guests BAD WOLVES and NORMA JEAN, and festival stops at Louder Than Life, Aftershock, Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and made waves on the ShipRocked cruise. They spent October 2024 touring Latin America, playing Knotfest and headline shows in Brazil as well as shows in Chile, Colombia and Mexico. | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
BUSH's GAVIN ROSSDALE 'Tried To Be As Clear As Possible' With Lyrics On Upcoming Album 'I Beat Loneliness'
 In a new interview with Baltimore's 98 Rock radio station, BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the band's upcoming album, "I Beat Loneliness", which is due on July 18 via earMUSIC. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think it's like a snapshot of my life. I'm at a point in my life where I can look far enough back and remember when I first made records. I had no horizon, you know what I mean? And I didn't know what was happening, and the road was just infinite and open. And then, obviously, as you mature, you get older and you see what the lay of the land is and your time around, you gotta go, 'Okay, I can see the horizon.' So it kind of presents a different thing about making sure there's a reason to write. I call it making sure you improve the silence. And so I just went inside and found some things, just sort of experimented with myself musically and lyrically and just went inside and tried to be as clear as possible. Anytime I thought about an idea, I questioned myself if I was being clear enough about it. And I try to get right down to the kind of the really basic cell structure of people."
This past April, BUSH released a new single, "60 Ways To Forget People", a raw and emotionally charged taste from "I Beat Loneliness". The track explored the complexities of heartbreak, personal transformation, and the painful process of letting go.
Produced by Rossdale and Erik Ron (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, SET IT OFF, BAD OMEN),"I Beat Loneliness" marks BUSH's tenth studio album — a powerful testament to the band's enduring legacy and continued evolution. The record blends their grunge-rooted intensity with fresh textures and themes exploring mental health, solitude, and resilience.
"I Beat Loneliness" track listing:
01. Scars
02. I Beat Loneliness
03. The Land Of Milk And Honey
04. We're All The Same On The Inside
05. I Am Here To Save Your Life
06. 60 Ways To Forget People
07. Love Me Till The Pain Fades
08. We Are Of This Earth
09. Everyone Is Broken
10. Don't Be Afraid
11. Footsteps In The Sand
12. Rebel With A Cause
Following the release, BUSH will embark on a worldwide tour, launching in North America from July 19 to August 30, before heading overseas to join VOLBEAT for a series of dates across Europe from September 18 through November 13.
In a recent interview with São Paulo, Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock radio station, Rossdale stated about the 12 songs featured on "I Beat Loneliness": "I know that everyone [says] no one cares [about full albums anymore] and it's [all about] these singles, but I think that if I like an act, if I like a band, I just wanna hear their body of work. I don't wanna hear just one song. I'm a musician, so I wanna know what 12 ideas someone has, not just one idea. And so I'm excited for that. But I understand most people just listen to one song and move on, with so many bands. But [I'm] very excited about it."
Asked what fans can expect to hear on the new BUSH album, Gavin said: "Oh, it's in a similar vein to [2022's] 'The Art Of Survival' and [2020's] 'The Kingdom' — super detuned, super heavy, but there's moments of light. And so it's not like angst [all the way through], but it's just very… It is very sort of centered on people's mental health and well-being and those kind of challenges, because it becomes more and more apparent, people suffering more and more. So music is often the way that people — it's like a medicine. So it's really good to have heavy subjects within the songs, but the songs have loads of hope and light and lift you up. I want people to come see us and have a great experience. It's not a doom-and-gloom [collection of songs]; it's a sort of a, how do we fight the good fight?"
Gavin also spoke about the inspiration for the "I Beat Loneliness" title, saying: "The reason why I like that title — [there's] a song called that — is because anybody who has a degree of melancholy in their heart, and it's normal; sometimes you feel good, sometimes have a melancholy. And it's good to be reflective. You can't be smiling like a moron the whole time, like a maniac, so the idea of beating loneliness is that it's impossible, because you can't. But it's beautiful 'cause the idea is that if you feel you beat it, it's like a respite, and you're not in that mindset. But it's all temporary, because you come back and that sort of feeling can flood in. But I just like the idea 'cause it's impossible."
2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the release of BUSH's six-times-platinum debut album, "Sixteen Stone".
Last summer, BUSH celebrated its 30th anniversary with an extensive North American headline tour.
BUSH released "Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023" in November 2023 via Round Hill Records. The set included a new song called "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere", which was written by Gavin and produced by Rossdale and Corey Britz.
BUSH's current lineup consists of Rossdale, Chris Traynor (guitar),Corey Britz (bass) and Nik Hughes (drums).
BUSH broke up in 2002 but reformed in 2010, and has since released five albums: "The Sea of Memories" (2011),"Man On The Run" (2014),"Black And White Rainbows" (2017) and the aforementioned "The Kingdom" and "The Art Of Survival".
"Black And White Rainbows" was crafted after Rossdale went through a divorce with pop star/reality TV judge Gwen Stefani in 2015.
Photo credit: Joseph Llanes | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
K.K. DOWNING Says JIMI HENDRIX's 'Purple Haze' And 'Foxy Lady' Were 'Cutting-Edge Metal' Songs When They Were First Released
 In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, K.K. Downing was asked about JUDAS PRIEST's musical evolution a more blues-based sound on the band's debut album, 1974's "Rocka Rolla", to a more aggressive approach which combined elements from earlier bands like BLACK SABBATH and LED ZEPPELIN and introduced a signature two-lead guitar approach that became a hallmark of the heavy metal genre. Downing said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think that it was just a natural process, really, the way it all came about. Everything evolves, literally. It was such exciting times.
"I'm so lucky, by the way," he continued. "I'm absolutely blessed to have been born in 1951. And I have to say that, because just as I was coming of age and started to have a bit of common sense and awareness, when I was kind of 13, 14 and 15, everything was happening musically — everything. So much was happening. Admittedly, a lot of it, to start with, was kind of on the pop front, with THE BEATLES and so many other bands. But also we had coming along, obviously we had the blues movement with JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS and the CREAM, and, obviously, THE ROLLING STONES, THE SMALL FACES were great, THE TROGGS, THE PRETTY THINGS and so many bands. And I was just, like, 14 years old or something. It was so exciting because it was moving so fast. And then when I was 16, I went to see Jimi Hendrix for the first time, and that was life changing. But everything was so exciting. There were so many bands, progressive blues movement. JETHRO TULL, BLODWYN PIG, TEN YEARS AFTER, TASTE, FREE. I mean, it was endless, endless. But, obviously, me being and thinking the way that I was, in my mind, I was always into the kind of more kind of moody, darker… That's why I liked THE ROLLING STONES early on, 'cause they were kind of eclectic and kind of dark looking — in the early days, whenever you used to see them. But it was exciting times."
Downing added: "The evolution of what happened between the late '60s, especially, and the mid-'70s — SCORPIONS, UFO, BLACK SABBATH — there were so many other ingredients coming into play that wasn't blues, wasn't particularly progressive blues, but there was another different style, which I was attracted to, which was more kind of riff-orientated songs as opposed to kind of 12 bars or something a bit more blues based. 'Cause so many great bands were very much blues based, progressive, hence progressive blues — FLEETWOOD MAC and so many bands that I mentioned. But what was to become eventually heavy metal was actually there. It was prevalent in bands like JUDAS PRIEST, definitely BLACK SABBATH and some other bands. These ingredients were there. But the great Jimi Hendrix had some heavy metal in there — 'Purple Haze' and 'Foxy Lady'. I mean, those songs, they were cutting-edge metal, as far as I was concerned."
Back in May 2021, Downing picked Hendrix as his "Rock God" during an appearance on BBC's "The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker" and stated about his choice: "I first saw Jimi at Coventry Theatre way back in 1967, and what an amazing night that was. I was lucky enough to see Jimi no less than six times, including his two appearances at the Royal Albert Hall [in February 1969]. And yes, I was out there, at the stage door, autograph hunting. I was really lucky — Jimi arrived, and I managed to get his autograph, which was a real treat.
"I absolutely must tell the story about the Isle Of Wight festival where Jimi was performing [in August 1970]. Myself and a friend cunningly worked our way back to the dressing room area, which was outside, but Jimi, Noel and Mitch were in a caravan that they were using for a dressing room. And me and my friend, we hinged the window up and there they were, the three of the [JIMI HENDRIX] EXPERIENCE around a table with a couple of ladies. And myself and my mate, we managed to get a drumstick from Mitch and a Coke bottle that Jimi had just finished drinking a beverage from, and that was a real highlight of my whole life."
He continued: "Jimi could absolutely stir any audience up into a complete frenzy; they would jump from the balconies and they would rush the stage. And I know, because I was one of those fans that did just that."
Widely recognized as one of the most creative musicians of all time, Hendrix's influence with his genre-defying mix of blues, funk, soul jazz and R&B still impacts musicians worldwide today.
Hendrix pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. His innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical form and his influence resonates to this day.
Jimi died of a drug overdose on September 18, 1970 at the age of 27.
Hendrix's 1968 album "Electric Ladyland", hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.
In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."
Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.
The remixed and remastered version of "Rocka Rolla" was released digitally in the U.S. and Canada last September. The CD and vinyl versions of "Rocka Rolla - 50th Anniversary: Remixed And Remastered 1974 - 2024" arrived in November.
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22 май 2025
KELLY HANSEN Says He Still Has 'A Lot Of Rocking To Do' With FOREIGNER
 FOREIGNER lead singer Kelly Hansen has released a new video message confirming that he will exit the band at the end of the legendary rockers' summer 2025 tour.
During FOREIGNER's performance on the May 20 season finale of NBC singing competition "The Voice", Hansen announced his departure with a "passing of the torch" to the band's guitarist Luis Maldonado.
Earlier today, Hansen said in his video message (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hey, everybody. Hello. And I'm walking in the morning after 'The Voice' last night. If you don't know, I announced on 'The Voice' live that this will be my last summer as the lead vocalist of FOREIGNER. And it's been an amazing, incredible ride. And I love the guys, love the band, love these songs. I love you guys. It's very difficult for me to describe what you guys have done for me and my gratitude for all that you've given me over these 20 years in the band. And I'm wearing sunglasses 'cause we had quite a party last night.
"So, I wanted to tell you that I'm going to be making posts all the rest of this year on my last stint as lead vocalist of this band and showing things from this last current tour this summer, which is gonna happen, and also things from the past and memories and humor and all the great things that I've shared with the band.
"All I can say to you is I'm so proud and so thankful that you guys have been a part of my musical life," Hansen added. "And it's not over yet. We've got this whole summer to do. So I wanna encourage you to find out where we're playing in your area this summer. There's, like, 45 or some odd shows that I'm gonna be doing on my last run with the band. So, check it out. Please come party with us. We've got a lot of rocking to do. And again, thank you guys so much."
When Hansen announced his departure from FOREIGNER last night, he said in a statement: "Being the voice of FOREIGNER has been one of the greatest honors of my life. But it's time to pass the mic. Luis has the voice, the energy and the soul to carry these songs into the future. I couldn't be prouder to hand this off to him."
FOREIGNER's founding guitarist Mick Jones said that "in 1976, my goal was to assemble the finest group of musicians I could find" and "Results have shown that it worked!" He added that "about thirty years later, Jason Bonham encouraged me to do it all over again and create a brand-new FOREIGNER, and the magic was still there," explaining that "I was especially fortunate in the choice of lead singer."
In the statement, Jones called Hansen "one of the best" frontmen in music and said he "breathed new life into our songs" over a 20-year span. "His boundless energy and flawless talent has helped us climb the mountain and set up the opportunity for FOREIGNER vocalist and guitarist Luis Maldonado to bring us home," Jones said. "I wish Kelly great happiness in his next endeavors after our summer tour, and I look forward to welcoming Luis to his new position."
Before Luis joined FOREIGNER, he was best known as the guitarist for TRAIN and for his work with Lisa Marie Presley. He now steps into the spotlight as FOREIGNER's new lead singer. Maldonado brings a rich blend of vocal power, stage charisma, and musical versatility that makes him a natural fit to lead the next chapter of the band's journey.
"This music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember," said Maldonado. "I'm ready to honor FOREIGNER's legacy and bring my heart to every performance."
Hansen joined FOREIGNER in 2005 and played a crucial role in revitalizing the band's live presence. His powerful vocals and magnetic stage presence helped introduce FOREIGNER's timeless hits to a new generation of fans across the globe.
FOREIGNER's tour continues through 2025 and will feature both Hansen and Maldonado on stage in a symbolic handoff. The transition coincides with major milestones for the band, including next year's 50th anniversary of its formation in New York in 1976.
FOREIGNER replaced original singer Lou Gramm with Hansen. Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. In February 2024, Jones revealed on social media that he was battling Parkinson's disease, which explained his absence from FOREIGNER's live shows since 2022. | 0 | |
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22 май 2025
JERRY CANTRELL Releases Music Video For 'I Want Blood' Title Track Featuring DUFF MCKAGAN And MIKE BORDIN
 ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell has released the official music video for the title track of his latest solo album, "I Want Blood". The LP, co-produced by Cantrell and Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, MELVINS),was recorded at Barresi's JHOC Studio in Pasadena, California. The album features contributions from bass heavyweights Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) and Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),drummers Gil Sharone (TEAM SLEEP, STOLEN BABIES) and Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),and backing vocals from Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).
Cantrell recently announced a new round of U.S. tour dates, kicking off on August 16 in San Diego. The four-week outing will find Cantrell joined once again by FILTER.
"I Want Blood" showcases the legendary guitarist and vocalist at his most raw and resolute, blending brooding melodies with searing guitar work and introspective lyricism. The album has received widespread acclaim with the Los Angeles Times praising its "heavy, nuanced songs," while Kerrang! calling it a "thunderous solo album that you can file alongside his best work." Revolver, in their cover story on the iconic musician, saying the collection "delivers weighty, slippery riff and the kind of memorable rock hooks he's been creating since the earliest days of ALICE IN CHAINS."
The album is available on CD, digitally, and in multiple 2LP vinyl variants. A deluxe spoken-word edition featuring narration by Cantrell and contributions from producer Joe Barresi, engineer Maxwell Urasky, Greg Puciato, Roy Mayorga, Gil Sharone, Rani Sharone, George Adrian, Vincent Jones and Michael Rozon is also available both on vinyl and digital platforms. An accompanying animated video series by Boy Tillekens can be viewed on YouTube.
Cantrell's first headlining tour supporting "I Want Blood" kicked off on January 31 in Niagara Falls, with FILTER opening on all dates.
Cantrell's previous solo album, "Brighten", came out in October 2021. The LP was Jerry's first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years.
Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two other solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".
ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with singer William DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018. | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
IRON MAIDEN's ADRIAN SMITH On His Musical Relationship With BRUCE DICKINSON: 'He Is Really Easy To Write' Songs With
 In a new interview with Made In Metal, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith was asked about his musical relationship with the band's singer, Bruce Dickinson. Adrian responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, even when Bruce first joined IRON MAIDEN in '82, I think it was, we'd rehearse, the band would rehearse and then everyone would go home. And I wasn't married then. I don't think Bruce was then. But Bruce and I would go and have a beer after or play pool, and we'd hang out a little bit. 'Cause he'd only just joined, so I was trying to get him into the band a bit. And I've always written songs, so I used to play him riffs and stuff, and then we'd started writing songs. And that's our musical relationship. He'll always come to me and say, 'Oh, what have you got?', if we're doing a record. 'You got any riffs?' So I have riffs or even have melodies or a title for a song. And he's great. He is really easy to write with. He'll come up with something really quickly, and we write songs very quickly. That's the way he likes to do it. And he's a great singer. He's got a great range. When I'm on my own and getting ideas together, I can visualize him maybe singing over what I'm playing, so there's that side to it too."
Adrian continued: "In the '90s when I was just doing my solo stuff, he came to me and said he wanted me to join his [solo] band. And I really liked the songs he was doing with [the guitarist for his solo band] Roy Z — I think it was 'Chemical Wedding', [Bruce's] first [solo] album; I love those songs. So I sort of threw my lot in with Bruce in the '90s and I had a great couple of years. I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot of stuff like from Roy. So, yeah, Bruce and I, we get on great, and we write, I think, some great music together."
Smith previously talked his collaborative relationship with Dickinson on the MAIDEN singer's solo albums "Accident Of Birth" and "The Chemical Wedding" in the late 1990s this past March in an interview following SMITH/KOTZEN's acoustic performance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. "That was a fun, fun time," Smith recalled. "I had a project called PSYCHO MOTEL and did a couple of good albums, [but] the grunge thing was happening everywhere. It was difficult. We were trying to put something together for a tour, and we were coming up against a lot of obstacles. Then Bruce just rings me up and says, 'Hey, you've got to listen to this stuff I've been writing with this guy Roy Z over in L.A.' He'd come around the house, and he played me 'Accident Of Birth'. I was just blown away. It was really good. He said, 'Do you want to get involved?' I said, 'Yeah, all right.' My project was on hold, so next thing I know, I was on my way to L.A."
Smith went on to explain that Roy Z introduced him to drop-D tuning, in which a guitar's low E string is tuned down a full step to create a heavier sound. "Roy was the drop-D [tuning] guy," Smith said. "I learned all these songs, but I didn't know about the drop-D tuning, so I just tuned my guitar all the way down to D. It was like a banjo. He said, 'No, no, no. I'll show you how to do it.' I've got to say, I learned a lot from Roy. He's a guitar teacher as well; he was a virtuoso. He gave me a few pointers. What I love about working with different people is you learn stuff, and you grow. It was a fun time, and I'm proud of those albums, and we did a couple big tours as well. It was a good, fun time."
Smith also reflected on writing with Dickinson in IRON MAIDEN. "I think I was the first one in MAIDEN to get a multi-track recorder in the '80s — a little four-track thing," he explained. "I used to start doing demos on that. When Bruce first joined the band, he and I used to hang out because we didn't have regular girlfriends. I should rephrase that. After rehearsal, we used to go down to the pub and play pool. We started writing, because everyone else would just go home to their missus, and we'd hang out and write. That's how it started. '2 Minutes To Midnight', I had on this little cassette. I only write a lyric if I have to, because it's a pain in the ass. You've got to do it [eventually], but Bruce just walks around with books of lyrics all the time. If you've got something [musically], he'll have something very quickly. Sometimes, I'll come up with a melody or a title like 'Speed Of Light' or 'Writing On The Wall', and that will inspire him. It's back and forth."
SMITH/KOTZEN's second album, "Black Light/White Noise", was released via BMG on April 4. The record — mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER) — sees Smith once again join forces with Richie Kotzen (THE WINERY DOGS),with whom he shares guitar and vocal duties.
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22 май 2025
See ALICE COOPER Perform In Wilkes-Barre During Spring/Summer 2025 'Too Close For Comfort' U.S. Tour
 Jim Powers has uploaded video of Alice Cooper's entire May 20 concert at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Check out the footage below.
Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.
In an interview with the 96.1 KLPX radio station, Cooper stated about how his stage show has evolved over the years: "It's so funny because it used to be easy to shock an audience in the '70s. Now nobody's really trying — we're not really trying to shock an audience. I don't think anybody is 'shock rock' anymore, but those elements still remain in the show because they're fun to watch. It's still fun to watch the guillotine and the fact that you really buy in to it because of what happens before that. You're really concerned about this character Alice up there, what happens. And that's what I like about it. I want the audience to get involved in the show. We don't do a lot of lasers. We don't do things like that, because I want the emphasis to be on the character Alice, what happens to him and what he what exactly he's doing. But all that happens during all these songs that everybody knows — 'Feed My Frankenstein' and 'Poison' and 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and, of course, 'School's Out' at the end."
Fresh from the success of his latest album "Road", a concept album about the thrills and spills of touring, Alice is accompanied, as always, by his long-running live band of Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henriksen (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Nita Strauss (guitar).
With a schedule that has included six months year in and year out on the road, Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real-life shocking images.
With his influence on rock and roll and popular culture long since acknowledged, there is little that Cooper hasn't achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards.
The surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band — Alice, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — recently reunited to release a brand-new studio album, "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", due on July 25 via earMUSIC. This highly anticipated LP is heralded as the successor to their iconic records "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Love It to Death" and "Killer". | +1 | |
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22 май 2025
JUDAS PRIEST Documentary, Co-Directed by TOM MORELLO, Coming From SONY MUSIC VISION
 Sony Music Vision, in association with Sony Music Entertainment UK and Epic Records, today announced the production of "The Ballad Of Judas Priest", a new documentary about legendary Grammy-winning English heavy metal band JUDAS PRIEST and their epic journey to the top of rock and roll.
Co-directed by documentary filmmaker Sam Dunn and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello in his directorial debut, the documentary will celebrate the legendary band's lasting impact on music and culture with their influence reaching far beyond metal. Featuring unforgettable anthems and pop culture staples like "Breaking The Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "The Ballad Of Judas Priest" will capture the passion, resilience and enduring legacy of a band whose music and story continue to inspire generations.
Rising from humble, working-class roots in Birmingham, U.K., to become global rock legends, JUDAS PRIEST didn't just help shape heavy metal culture — they forged it. Widely credited as being one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre in the 1970s, JUDAS PRIEST has sold more than 50 million records and released 19 studio albums for their legion of dedicated fans around the world. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With their 2024 album "Invincible Shield", the band became the first heavy metal act to release studio albums 50 years apart. The album drew widespread acclaim, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance". This fall, they will be joined by Alice Cooper for a co-headlining tour across 22 North American cities.
JUDAS PRIEST said: "We have lived and breathed metal for over five decades, and finally in this documentary we are summoning our congregation to officially witness our lives uncensored, in a never-before-seen way…the cassock comes off, revealing PRIEST in all its metal glory!"
Co-directors Morello and Dunn said: "While some may know JUDAS PRIEST for their huge hits that have shaped the heavy metal genre, there is so much more to their story. Tracing their incredible 50-year journey, this film will capture how JUDAS PRIEST both defined the sound and look of metal, but also made it a more inclusive place along the way. We are grateful to the band for allowing us such intimate, unfiltered access to their lives and look forward to bringing this film to the metal masses around the world."
The documentary is a production of Banger Films and directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello. Producers include Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. It is executive produced by Tom Morello, Rick Krim, Sheila Stepanek and Jayne Andrews. Tom Mackay, Krista Wegener and Abby Davis serve as executive producers for Sony Music Vision. Sylvia Rhone is executive producer for Epic Records. The film is presented and distributed by Sony Music Vision.
JUDAS PRIEST's current touring lineup consists of singer Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap and drummer Scott Travis.
PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than 15 years ago but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's "Firepower" album. He was replaced by "Firepower" and "Invincible Shield" producer Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.
Released in March 2024, PRIEST's latest album, "Invincible Shield", entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".
Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.
PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.
"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).
"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.
JUDAS PRIEST will celebrate the 35th anniversary of its classic album "Painkiller" extensively live with the "Shield Of Pain" tour. This "rare" and "unique set" will include "beloved classics" and "will be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe" this summer, according to a social media post from PRIEST.
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22 май 2025
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22 май 2025
IAN GILLAN: 'Thank God They're Gonna Remix' BLACK SABBATH's 'Born Again' Album
 In a new interview with Igor Miranda of Rolling Stone Brasil, Ian Gillan spoke about Tony Iommi's plans to remix BLACK SABBATH's "Born Again" album for future release.
Issued in August 1983, "Born Again" was the only album SABBATH recorded with Gillan, best known for his work as the singer with DEEP PURPLE. It was also the last of SABBATH's studio albums to feature drummer Bill Ward.
Ian told Rolling Stone Brasil: "I think the songs [on 'Born Again'] are great. I just thought it was ridiculous — the mix was outrageous… All you could hear — if you ever saw the movie '[This Is] Spinal Tap', then that's the story of 'Born Again'. The bass level was so high, they couldn't play it on the radio. So they're gonna remix it. It's a bit late, but, yeah, probably for aficionados or collectors or whatever — I don't know. But there are some songs on there that I really, really think are great.
"It's always a joy to write with Tony," Ian continued. "And we certainly had some fun making the record… It was quite a fantastic time, and I enjoyed the tour. It was the longest party I've ever been to. It lasted one year.
"I think the album is actually great," Gillan added. "I always thought, we always recognized the fact that Ozzy's [Osbourne] the singer with BLACK SABBATH, and people identify with that. So it was a kind of a weird hybrid kind of situation. But all in all, thank God they're gonna remix it."
Back in May 2024, Iommi told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about why it's taking so long for fans to hear a remixed version of "Born Again": "Well, eventually we got the tapes, but we couldn't find them for years. We didn't know where they were. And [my manager] located somebody, and they were in a record [company's], in their archives tucked away somewhere in one of the record companies. I don't know how they got them, but they did. And so eventually we got them, and then we've had them, or [we are] having them transferred, 'cause obviously it's tape. And so we're having them transferred so we can have a look at that. And that's sort of a plan as well; I'd like to do that. And I know Ian would like that to happen as well. Well, Geezer [Butler, SABBATH bassist] would as well, I'm sure."
Iommi went on to say that a lot of SABBATH fans have rediscovered "Born Again" in the four decades since it was originally released. "Yeah, it's funny. That does happen," he said. "And it's the same as the Tony Martin [-era BLACK SABBATH] stuff as well. People didn't know of it at the time, and then it's word of mouth that gets around and the Internet, and they get interested and eventually, they [go], 'Oh, yeah, it's good.' And that's what's happened with 'Born Again' a little bit. It's funny how that works. Later on, a new generation come in and then people get to hear, the original fans will hear it and go, 'Oh, yeah, I forgot about that record.' It is funny how it all works, but it's great. It's great that it does. And that's why I'd like to present that again, have a look at that and see what we can do with it. Because I know we weren't very happy with the sound. But a lot of people accepted the sound, really — certainly now. At the time, it was, 'Oh my God.' Because we went on tour, left it to somebody else, and when we heard it, we nearly had a fit. It was in the top — I think it was No. 4 [on the chart] in England at the time. And we tried to stop it, but it was too late by the time we'd heard it. And it just sounded really muffly; it was nothing like when we left, before we went on tour. So it would be nice to get it so we can get a better sound on it, really…. There really are some great songs on that album. There really are."
Iommi previously discussed his plans for the "Born Again" remix in a June 2023 interview with "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Regarding what kind of changes he expects to be made to "Born Again" during the remixing process, Iommi said: "Well, when it was originally recorded, in the studio it sounded great; we loved it. But we went on tour then and somehow the sound got muffled. And whether it was from the pressing or what, I don't know. But I'd like to look at that. I have heard, when I played the 'Born Again' album, there's parts where I go, 'Oh, that should have been louder,' 'This should have been more prominent' — drums or whatever it may have been. There's things that really need adjusting on it, because there's some really good songs on that album too. But it would be nice to give it an up-to-date quality now, of what you can do now, and be able to listen to it differently. Because, obviously, when you're involved with this stuff at the time, you're hearing nothing but it, and then you leave it into somebody else's hands, like we did with that. We went on tour, [came] back and heard it, and we went, 'Oh my God. What happened?' We don't want that to happen. I want to be able to pull the tapes out again and really give it a good listen to and see what we need to adjust and change and make it a better-sounding album."
In November 2022, Gillan was asked by Spain's RockFM if it's true that he broke "Born Again" when he first got a copy of it. He responded: "I didn't break it. I threw it out the window of my car. [Laughs]
"Look, I was disappointed," he explained. "I didn't have the mentality of all the guys in BLACK SABBATH. I loved it. I had a fantastic year; it was insane. But when we finished the mixes… I still have a cassette at my home of the monitor mixes of 'Born Again', and it sounds fantastic — just on a cassette. And that's the last thing I heard in the recording studio. When I heard the album, I went, 'What is this?' The bass rumble was a bit too much for me.
"There's a famous line in a famous movie called 'This Is Spinal Tap' that has two or three references to BLACK SABBATH in it," Gillan added. "And I don't know where these may have come from [laughs], but one of them was 'This album in unplayable on American radio,' because of the bass end. And so it was — unplayable on the radio.
"I was disappointed in the final production mix," Ian clarified. "I don't know what happened between the studio and the factory, but something happened. So that was a disappointment. Having said that, I love some of the songs on there. And 'Trashed' is one of my favorite rock and roll songs of all time, and even more so because it's a completely true story. [Laughs]"
Gillan also reflected on his touring activity with SABBATH, saying: "I was with BLACK SABBATH for a year and I sang Ozzy Osbourne songs as well as the songs from 'Born Again'. And I never felt right doing that. It was great — I could sing them okay — but I didn't sound like Ozzy. There was something not quite right."
Following the departure of lead singer Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice after the studio mixing of the "Live Evil" album, BLACK SABBATH was once again on the lookout for yet another lead vocalist to fill the significant void left at stage front. The band turned to Gillan.
The resultant album and live touring certainly made for one of the more curious associations in the world of heavy metal. Much of this era of BLACK SABBATH has passed into rock folklore and was actually the source for the material used in the rockumentary movie "This Is Spinal Tap". From the replica stage production of Stonehenge, which was too large for some of the venues on the world tour, to the employment of a dwarf to dress up and play the part of the "devil-baby" from the LP front cover, the world of BLACK SABBATH took on a distinct air of the surreal.
While the well-received "Born Again" album and live dates succeeded in stoking the embers and kept the SABBATH flames burning, this would ultimately be a marriage built more on friendship and respect as opposed to any long-standing and compatible musical association. After one tour, Ian Gillan would eventually bid farewell and rejoin his old sparring partners for the Mk. II reunion of DEEP PURPLE and leave BLACK SABBATH once more gazing into the crystal ball hoping the face of yet another lead vocalist would reveal itself.
For Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ward, Gillan, and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, work would swiftly commence in May of '83 at the Manor Studios in the village of Shiptonon-Cherwell, Oxfordshire. Produced by BLACK SABBATH and co-producer Robin Black, who had also worked on 1975's "Sabotage", 1976's "Technical Ecstasy", and 1978's "Never Say Die", SABBATH's eleventh studio release would represent a radical departure from the gloomy atmospherics and blackened lyricism that had forged their identity and spawned innumerable descendants.
Gillan's approach to songwriting bespoke a lighter-hearted approach to what had, until then, been the primary concern of Butler. Album opener "Trashed", for instance, was inspired by Gillan's boozed-up race around the Manor's grounds in Bill Ward's car that ended in near-catastrophe and a wrecked vehicle. "Disturbing The Priest" was the result of a door in the studio having been left open during playback, and a local vicar appearing in the doorway asking for the volume to be turned down as it was disturbing choir practice in the adjacent village.
For all of its off-kilter appearance however, "Born Again" was still SABBATH through and through. Musically twisted and possessed with more than a whiff of brimstone, the album is a thrilling glimpse into an alternative world.
In a 2018 interview with SiriusXM, Gillan said that "Born Again" began with a bender at the Bear Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Oxford, England.
"How it started is was just 'cause we got drunk together one night," the DEEP PURPLE frontman said. "I went for a drink with Tony and Geezer, and we ended up under the table. And I can't remember much more that happened. But I got a call from my manager the next day saying, 'Don't you think you should call me if you're gonna make decisions like this?' I said, 'What are you talking about?' He said, 'Well, apparently you… I just got a call. You agreed to join SABBATH.' So that's how it happened. I was at a kind of loose end anyway, having just finished with my own band and PURPLE not really being anything viable at the time. So we set a one-year plan, and it was to do an album and a tour. Nobody knew what was gonna happen, so we pitched up and I pitched my tent, literally, at the old manor in Oxfordshire. And we made an album. I didn't see much of 'em. They were night people, so they slept all day and worked all night. I got up in the morning, cooked my breakfast, went to the studio to hear what they had recorded the night before and write a song over it. And that's how the album was made."
Gillan went on to describe the making of "Born Again" as "a challenge for me. It was a bit like doing [Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera] 'Jesus Christ Superstar' or singing with [opera singer Luciano] Pavarotti; it's just something completely different," he explained. "But Tony is such a great writer. You know what to expect with Tony. There's no multidirectional approach. He is the father of everything that came out of Seattle, I believe. He's just very direct, and that's how he evolved from the early days.
"I found it very easy to sing and write songs with [Tony]," Ian continued. "And we had a couple of good ones. There was always a narrative. My favorite song from that album is 'Trashed', which was a true story about a racetrack and too much drink and spinning a car and crashing it and going upside down. It was exciting times."
The second track on "Born Again" was a brief instrumental called "Stonehenge", and on SABBATH's 1983 tour, the band hilariously had to shelve a Stonehenge stage concept because the scenery was much too big to use.
"We had a production company called Light And Sound Design; they were in Birmingham, where the band was based," Gillan recalled. "And after rehearsal one day, we had a kind of meeting to go the office, and as we were walking through these corridors, one of the guys said, 'By the way, anyone got any idea of a concept for a stage set or anything?' And Geezer Butler said, 'Yeah. Stonehenge.' And the guy said, 'Wow! That's great.' He said, 'How do you visualize it?' And Geezer said, 'Well, lifesize, of course.' We didn't quite go lifesize, but it was about two-thirds. And we could never get it all up on a stage. We played some huge arenas, and places, stadiums, and you couldn't get it [up there]. So there are parts of it, there are monoliths that are all lying around in docklands somewhere and are spotted around the world, as far as I know."
A longtime treasure among hardcore SABBATH fans, "Born Again" was re-released in the spring of 2011 as a special two-CD set featuring a 1983 live performance from the Reading Festival.
At the time of its initial release, "Born Again" was a commercial success. It was the highest-charting BLACK SABBATH album in the United Kingdom since "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and became an American Top 40 hit. Despite this, it became the first BLACK SABBATH album to not have any RIAA certification (gold or platinum) in the U.S.
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22 май 2025
Ex-ICED EARTH Singer STU BLOCK Hopes MATT BARLOW Rejoins The Band: 'It Just Works On So Many Levels'
 Former ICED EARTH singer Stu Block says that he hopes Matt Barlow rejoins the band if founding guitarist Jon Schaffer decides to reactivate the group at some point in the future.
Barlow, who served two stints with ICED EARTH — from 1993 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2011 — was asked about the possibility of his return to the band earlier this month in an interview with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said: "That's something that would be entirely up to, obviously, when Jon… That's Jon's band — a hundred percent — so that's something that Jon would have to decide, whether I would be a part of it or not, either way, but whether ICED EARTH goes out and does it. But I look forward to that, whether it would be me involved with it or somebody else, if that were to happen. And I can't speak to it, 'cause I don't think at this point that… It's not even in the long distance at this point."
Nearly two weeks after BLABBERMOUTH.NET published an article about Barlow's open-ended attitude about rejoining ICED EARTH and shared a Facebook post about it, Block chimed in below the post, writing: "I hope he does! He is amazing, a fan favorite and a great human. It just works on so many levels."
Last October, Jon was sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment. Schaffer later became one of about 1,500 people accused of crimes related to the riot who were pardoned by President Donald Trump.
This past April, Schaffer said in an interview that the legal issues and professional setback he faced as a result of his involvement in the Capitol riot have been "the biggest gift" of his life, in part because "it is what led" him "to [Jesus] Christ."
Back in August 2021, Stu said that Jon "fucked up real bad" when he got involved in the violent protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 that left several dead, including a Capitol police officer.
Block, the Canadian-born vocalist who had fronted ICED EARTH since 2011, officially quit the band in February 2021, stating at the time it was "the best decision in many ways" for his "personal and professional growth going forward."
Stu addressed Jon's involvement in the Capitol riot as well as his departure from ICED EARTH in an interview with The Metal Voice. Speaking about his former bandmate, he said: "We all make bad decisions, man, and [Jon] fucked up real bad. And I'm sure he knows it, and I think everybody with half a brain knows it… The line that was crossed with going in and all that kind of stuff… He had so much going on. It was a shame. It hurts, 'cause you've got plans, and all of a sudden, you can't tell someone what to do — you can't tell a very strong-willed individual what to do; you can't. And so it would be lost words."
He added: "At the end of the day, I don't hate him. I'm not writhing in hate for him. I feel sad. I feel bad that everything went down the way it did. And maybe one day we'll talk. I don't know. I'm not too sure. But I think he knows that I still have a place in my heart for him, because I've seen that man do a lot of amazing, wonderful things for people. But I just wanna move on. And that's what it is."
Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January 2021, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.
Last month, it was announced that ASHES OF ARES, the band featuring Barlow and fellow former ICED EARTH member Freddie Vidales, will celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of ICED EARTH's third album, 1996's "The Dark Saga", on a European tour in September/October 2025. Vidales played with ICED EARTH from 2008 to 2012 and is featured on the band's 2011 album "Dystopia".
Recorded in early 1996, "The Dark Saga" was a concept album based on the Todd McFarlane comic book character Spawn (who also appears on the album's cover). Upon its arrival, the LP was praised for Barlow's vocals, as well as ICED EARTH founder, songwriter, guitarist and producer Schaffer and Randall Shawver's guitar playing. Eduardo Rivadavia called Barlow's vocal performance "impressive throughout", while Mike Stagno felt that "Barlow's deeper vocal style also helps the songs sound much more emotional". Rivadavia also named Schaffer and Shawver's interplay the highlight of "The Dark Saga".
Regarding why "The Dark Saga" was an important enough album for him that he wanted to celebrate it three decades after the LP's original release, Barlow told The Metal Voice: "I can't talk about ICED EARTH without talking about, for me, entering the band with [1995's] 'Burnt Offerings'. That was huge for me. That was my first foray into actually being in a professional band. But along with that kind of came a dark side of it because it was a really tough time for the band as well, which kind of translated into the music. As everybody, I think, understands with Jon, when he writes, his heart goes out into the music. Whatever he's focused on is that. Just like for that record, he read 'Dante's Inferno', and then you get this giant humongous trilogy from that, because he puts everything he has into it. So, obviously, that's the crown jewel of that record — but, along with other things, that's definitely the crown jewel. But it was just a dark time for the band in general, even though I think I was the shining star at that point. But [it was] a tough time.
"So 'The Dark Saga', for me, and I think for Jon as well, was a renewal, a reinvigoration for the band," Matt explained. "The reason that even Jon got turned on to 'Spawn' was that we were celebrating Christmas. I like collecting action figures and stuff, and I had got all these like Batman and stuff, and Jon was a huge Batman fan, so I think I got Jon a Batman figure, and the other guys liked Spawn figures. And he was, like, 'What the hell's this?' And then he started getting into it, started reading the comics, and the rest is kind of history. And he was totally involved in the entire lore of it and just thought it was just the coolest thing ever. And that's what happened with 'The Dark Saga'.
"For me, it was really cool," Barlow added. "For some members of the band, obviously, members changed and things like that at that point too. It wasn't like a shock, with ICED EARTH, the membership changes from time to time. But for me, it was really a really good time. It was really a positive time for the band. And we did some amazing shit, man. We were able to do a lot more touring on that. We got a lot more recognition. A lot of the songs obviously sounded a little more mainstream, I guess you'd say. The European fans just ate it up. It had all the great aspects, the sing-along stuff, all the really sweet, hooky stuff. The choruses were just really super smooth and just well written. And, of course, you've got Jon just chunking along. So it's got all the cool shit that you would relate to ICED EARTH. And I think that you listen to it and you go, 'Yep, that's ICED EARTH.' And for me, also I was able to get kind of recognized who I am. At the time, in between 'Burnt Offerings' and 'The Dark Saga', I was starting to work with a vocal coach. I had had a little bit of coaching before. My sister-in-law, she was a voice instructor and things like that. But this guy kind of got me and sort of understood and said, and he told me that the coolest thing, and I tell this to every other vocalist that asks me about how I developed my voice or whatever. I just say, 'Do the best you can with what you've got. Figure out what your sweet spots are and focus on those.' And you can broaden your voice, obviously — you can broaden your range and all that — but really focus on those sweet spots in your voice and accentuate that and make that the star of what you're doing. So I really took that to heart. I really started accentuating, obviously, the cool low parts. And then, of course, working with [producer] Jim Morris was just huge as well to really help me bring that kind of stuff out in the studio. And then developing that and bringing that into a live show and everything else. So it was just a really cool growing experience as well with that record. So, yeah, I've got just tons of fond memories of things that that represents for me."
Asked if he and Freddie were concerned at all about going out and celebrating "The Dark Saga" after Schaffer's recent legal troubles related to the guitarist's involvement in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Matt responded: "We don't live in a tube of silence here. We get stuff. But I think for me, and I think for people that are fans of the music, they don't care about that. I think at the end of the day, it's the music. And I hope that everybody's respectful because I'm gonna celebrate Jon and what he's done. He's written some fucking amazing music, and I've been fortunate to be a part of that. So, outside of that, I'm not gonna get political with anything. We're not talking politics. We're just talking strictly music, and it's for the love of music. And I hope that everybody understands that. That's what the point is. Hopefully we're bringing something cool and special. And I certainly look forward, if Jon wants to tour again and play this music again, I wholeheartedly look forward to that, if that's a possibility. But we're just gonna go out there and just celebrate this music that is very special, I think, for a lot of people. We've been given blessing to do so by Jon, so that's super important to us as well."
Regarding whether he actually asked Jon if the guitarist was okay with Matt and Freddie going out and celebrating "The Dark Saga" this fall, Barlow said: "Yep. Yep. I mean, obviously, we have things that we need to do, as far as we're not using [ICED EARTH] logos or anything like that. We're asking, and we're gonna make sure that the promoters aren't using any logos or anything like that of his, and, of course, Jon, as the writer of this stuff, he will get paid for music that's performed live. And for my little chunk that I'll get paid as well, my writing part of it."
Barlow, who works as a police lieutenant in Georgetown, Delaware, went on to say that his day job prevents him from playing a lot of shows with any music project he is involved with.
"I'm still in law enforcement and my schedule [limits how much touring] I can do," he said. "So, I've got some more responsibilities now, and it's good — I feel awesome about that — but it's also taxing. And I don't wanna tax my agency too much on that. So I'm doing it when I can, with vacation and things like that. We're doing the best we can [to play as many ASHES OF ARES shows as possible]. We're trying to spread it out a little bit and do some stuff. We'll see what we can do, man. We'll see what we can do."
ASHES OF ARES released its third studio album, "Emperors And Fools", in January 2022 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels.
"Emperors And Fools" was produced by ASHES OF ARES, and mixed and mastered by Byron Filson at Villain Recording in Phoenix, Arizona. The cover artwork was created by Kamil Pietruczynik.
ASHES OF ARES's second album, "Well Of Souls", came out in November 2018 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels. It was the follow-up to ASHES OF ARES's self-titled debut album, which was released in September 2013 via Nuclear Blast.
Seven years ago, Barlow told "The Classic Metal Show" about ASHES OF ARES: "Sometimes it's hard to escape the comparisons [to ICED EARTH], because my voice is still my voice no matter what, and I'm still gonna deliver things emotionally like I have before, so people are always gonna draw comparisons with ICED EARTH, and that's fine; I'm completely cool with that. I'm proud of my time in ICED EARTH, proud of everything that I've done with them, proud of them right now, going on and kicking ass. So I don't have any problem with that whatsoever — the comparisons. But that being said, I want ASHES to have its own identity as well. I think, again, as my writing partner, Freddie deserves that — he deserves to have his own identity in ASHES — and I think that's really important; that's what we're striving to do."
ICED EARTH played its final show with Barlow at the 2011 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.
Barlow, who is married to Schaffer's sister, announced his departure from ICED EARTH in March 2011. In a heartfelt statement, he cited his commitment to his family and the need for ICED EARTH to tour more as the reasons for his retirement; however, he committed to performing with ICED EARTH on all 2011 European festival dates, including Wacken Open Air.
Back in late 2020, Barlow reunited with Schaffer to celebrate the holiday season with an EP called "Winter Nights". Released under the SCHAFFER/BARLOW PROJECT banner, the effort contained the duo's unique spin on five Christmas classics and two ICED EARTH songs.
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22 май 2025
DREAM THEATER To Perform Entire 'Parasomnia' Album On September/October 2025 U.S. Tour
 On the heels of their successful 2025 40th-anniversary sold-out North American tour that wrapped at Radio City Music Hall in March, Grammy-winning, progressive music titans DREAM THEATER have announced another run of dates in the United States. As referenced nightly from the stage on the last run, the upcoming tour will be "An Evening With Dream Theater" that will celebrate the band's recent chart-topping sixteenth studio album, "Parasomnia". The tour is scheduled for 30 cities across the United States, kicking off September 5 in Reading, Pennsylvania and running through October 25, when it wraps in Long Island, New York. The tour will make stops in Orlando, Floria; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri and Providence, Rhode Island, among others. DREAM THEATER will be performing its latest album in its entirety as well as classics and fan favorites from the band's catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music.
"An Evening With Dream Theater - Parasomnia 2025" tour dates:
Sep. 05 - Reading, PA - Santander PAC
Sep. 06 - Baltimore, MD - The Lyric
Sep. 09 - North Charleston, SC - North Charleston PAC
Sep. 10 - Clearwater, FL - The BayCare Sound Amphitheater
Sep. 12 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
Sep. 13 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy
Sep. 14 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy (40th-anniversary tour rescheduled date)
Sep. 16 - Charlotte, NC - Owens Auditorium
Sep. 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Benedum Center
Sep. 19 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life (Festival)
Sep. 21 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
Sep. 22 - Peoria, IL - Prairie Home Alliance Theater
Sep. 24 - Milwaukee, WI - Miller High Life Theatre
Sep. 25 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
Sep. 27 - Des Moines, IA - Vibrant Music Hall
Sep. 29 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
Oct. 03 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock (Festival)
Oct. 04 - Oceanside, CA - Frontwave Arena
Oct. 05 - Long Beach, CA - Long Beach Terrace Theater
Oct. 07 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center - Ikeda Theater
Oct. 08 - El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
Oct. 11 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Theater
Oct. 13 - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
Oct. 14 - St. Louis, MO - The Factory
Oct. 17 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond
Oct. 18 - Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre
Oct. 20 - Syracuse, NY - Landmark Theatre
Oct. 22 - Providence, RI - Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Oct. 23 - Schenectady, NY - Proctor's Theatre
Oct. 25 - Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum
"Parasomnia" came out on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marked DREAM THEATER's first release with drummer Mike Portnoy since 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings".
"Parasomnia" was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James "Jimmy T" Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.
Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010.
Mike Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Portnoy. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".
In a recent interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, Portnoy was asked why he wasn't involved with the production of "Parasomnia", after being credited as co-producer for the six prior DREAM THEATER LPs he appeared on, starting with 1999's "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory". He responded: "Well, to be honest, it was one of the very first things that John Petrucci brought up to me when the two of us began discussing the possibility of me coming back [to DREAM THEATER in 2023]. There were a lot of things that happened while I was away that they wanted to remain intact, and that was one of the things that was very important to John, was to maintain the sole producer credit. And what can I say to that? Would I have liked to have reunited the production team the way it always was? Yeah, I would have. But the reality is when he brought that up to me, I needed to respect that."
Portnoy continued: "When I left the band [in 2010], [John and I] were producing the albums together, and after that he began producing on his own. So, obviously, over the last five albums, that was the way that the band functioned. If that's very important to him, then I need to respect that. I can't just come back into the band and demand things to be the way they used to be. It's impossible. We're not the same people and things have transpired over a decade and a half at this point. So I needed to be respectful of his request for that. And that's pretty much it in a nutshell.
"But to be honest, it didn't dilute any of my ideas," Portnoy explained. "All of my ideas were always welcome. And some of the things that I did suggest, like the conceptual, thematic stuff, a lot of that stuff falls under the category of producer, but if John wants the sole credit, that's totally fine. All that meant for me is that I don't have to be in the studio 24-7 babysitting the keyboard tracks or the bass tracks, and that's fine with me. I live three hours away. So, I was more than happy to delegate that all to John and be able to get home and spend a little time with my family here and there."
The North American leg of DREAM THEATER's 40th-anniversary tour kicked off on February 7 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trek was "An Evening With Dream Theater" and was the first tour of North America since Portnoy's return to the lineup, joining Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, Myung and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The tour concluded on March 22 in New York City. | +3 | |
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22 май 2025
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Patriarchs In Black
