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10 ìàé 2025
SHINEDOWN Releases Haunting And Beautiful Piano Version Of 'Three Six Five'
 SHINEDOWN has released a stripped-down and yet hauntingly beautiful piano version of its quickly rising song "Three Six Five" via Atlantic Records.
The song has already caused quite a stir at radio as it is charting at four radio formats where it has reached No. 5 at Alternative, No. 13 at Hot AC, Top 30 at Active Rock, and Top 30 at Mainstream AC radio — not to mention it will be reaching Top 40 radio shortly. The unprecedented rise at radio is, well, preceded by SHINEDOWN themselves as they previously pulled off a similar feat with their song "A Symptom Of Being Human".
This month SHINEDOWN kicked off its "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Led by frontman Brent Smith, the band delivered an incredible performance with jaw-dropping production, pyrotechnics, and an absolutely mind-blowing setlist. The 36-date tour 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.
Fans were on their feet from the first note as Brent Smith, Eric Bass, Barry Kerch and Zach Myers tore through a set packed with highlights. They lit up the crowd with their hit "A Symptom Of Being Human", unveiled the live debut of their brand-new singles "Dance, Kid, Dance" and "Three Six Five". They even dusted off a few deep cuts they hadn't played in nearly a decade, including "Asking for It", "Burning Bright" and "Breaking Inside", plus treated fans to the first-ever live performance of "Thick As Thieves". The energy was electric all night long, with the crowd belting back every word — especially during the fan-favorite smash "Second Chance" and their soaring cover of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Simple Man".
Recently, SHINEDOWN released an official music video for its No. 1 song "Dance, Kid, Dance". The music video, which was filmed in Brooklyn, New York, brings the viewer into a dark underground world of pure rock fervor and dance. The video opens up with concertgoers trying to break into a vending machine to take "the pills (that) will make you dance" and building into a nonstop crescendo of a mixture of rock and pure adrenaline. Not to mention, the video features the members of SHINEDOWN doing exactly what they do best — bringing high energy with a killer live performance.
On the new music video and its creative vision, Smith said: "For the video, we really wanted to focus on the dancers. Every one of them brought so much energy to the set, and it was amazing to watch and be a part of. The song doesn't let up, so it was super important that our performance as a band matched the intensity of the choreography. When it came to the location, everyone agreed that NYC was the place. The backdrop of the city, and the authenticity of the dance culture was extremely important. One of the coolest things about the video for us as a band, is that every time you watch it you see something new, and exciting. We had an absolute blast making it and we hope the fans love it as much as we do."
The video 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.
Brent 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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10 ìàé 2025
ORBIT CULTURE Shares New Single 'The Tales Of War'
 Swedish metallers ORBIT CULTURE have released a new single, "The Tales Of War". The song's accompanying music video, which finds the band braving a raging storm, was directed by Riivata Visuals and can be seen below.
ORBIT CULTURE comments: "'The Tales Of War' marks the beginning of a new chapter for ORBIT CULTURE. While other songs evolved and shifted during the writing process, this one stayed exactly as it was from the very start. It captures everything that defines ORBIT CULTURE — the cinematic elements, the build-up, the verses, and the chorus. From the beginning, we knew this had to be the first song to introduce this new era. On almost every show we've ever played, we've used these long, cinematic intros to set the mood — but this time, we figured: Why not bake that feeling straight into the song itself? Even as we move forward and leave parts of our past behind, we needed a bridge to the future — and this track became that bridge."
After supporting TRIVIUM and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE earlier this year, ORBIT CULTURE is gearing up for European summer festivals and supporting IN FLAMES on select shows.
Hailing from the small town of Eksjö, Sweden (located between the revered metal cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm),ORBIT CULTURE, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson, and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt, has grown into a global force, melding together, riffs that are equal parts thrash, death metal and industrial with arresting hooks and a layered atmosphere that invites comparison to GOJIRA, METALLICA and STATIC-X while carving out something that is uniquely their own.
ORBIT CULTURE's 2023 album "Descent" and its subsequent EP release "The Forgotten" topped many year-end lists in 2023, including Metal Hammer which described the album as "a formidable entwining of modern metal’s most effective and exciting strands into an impressive milestone."
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10 ìàé 2025
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7 ìàé 2025
MARTY FRIEDMAN Says 'Symphony Of Destruction' Was 'Maybe' MEGADETH's 'First Pop Song'
 Marty Friedman, who was in MEGADETH from 1990 to 2000 and played guitar on the albums "Rust In Peace", "Countdown To Extinction", "Youthanasia", "Hidden Treasures", "Cryptic Writings" and "Risk", was asked in a new interview with Brazil's Gustavo Maiato if there is a clear difference between the music which was created during his MEGADETH era and that which came before him and after him. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, definitely. In my opinion, completely. MEGADETH was a great band before I joined and they were a great band after I left. But my era in MEGADETH has its own particular sound and a particular look, and I think it's very different from all of the other eras. And, yeah, it was very cool."
Friedman was also asked about the creation of MEGADETH's most streamed song on Spotify, "Symphony Of Destruction", which was released as a single from the band's fifth studio album, "Countdown To Extinction" (1992). He said: "I wrote a lot about this in my autobiography. I have a autobiography called 'Dreaming Japanese', and I wrote in great detail about the writing process in MEGADETH. And an important thing that I wrote in the book was the fact that no matter whose name was on the song, whose credit, all four bandmembers worked exactly the same amount of time on that writing. They all worked the same amount of time songwriting, starting the song from zero and completing it."
He continued: "And so if I remember, 'Symphony Of Destruction' was on the second album that I did with the band, and at that time I was more comfortable in the band because I'd been in the band for almost two years. And it was maybe our first pop song. It was like a pop song, if you could say that. And I was glad because you've gotta have pop songs if you wanna reach massive amounts of people. And I think we did it without losing our heavy metal fans, you know what I mean? You can make a pop song, but if you lose your core audience, it's not something that we wanted to do."
Friedman's latest solo album, "Drama", came out in May 2024 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.
Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy "Hebimeta-san" ("Mr. Heavy Metal") and its spinoff, "Rock Fujiyama", which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan's mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon.
At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.
Friedman's autobiography, "Dreaming Japanese", arrived on December 3, 2024 via Permuted Press.
Marty recently completed the "Live Drama 2025" U.S. tour.
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7 ìàé 2025
TAKIDA Drops Digital Album Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall, “Your Blood Awaits” Video Streaming
 tAKiDA, one of Sweden’s most successful rock bands, has just released their brand-new digital album, Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall, today! Recorded in 2024, the album captures the electrifying energy of their live semi acoustic performances across 19 powerful tracks – the Boxroom versions.
These versions are adding a fresh dimension reimagined with a softer, yet strikingly powerful approach, creating an intimate atmosphere enriched by lush strings and warm horn arrangements. All with soaring melodies, and powerful vocals that have made tAKiDA a dominant force in rock.
Since forming in 1999 and breaking through with their debut album, tAKiDA has ruled the Swedish rock scene with six platinum singles (including one of them 4x platinum), three platinum albums, and five #1 albums. Their success has also crossed borders: their most recent studio album, The Agony Flame (2024), marked their highest German chart entry yet (#8), while its lead single “The Loneliest Hour” hit #1 on the German Rock Airplay Charts.
Alongside the album release, tAKiDA has unveiled a powerful new official live music video for “Your Blood Awaits You”, cut from their latest studio release, offering fans an intense glimpse into the band’s signature onstage presence.
With their unstoppable momentum, tAKiDA continues to push boundaries and build on their international acclaim. In summer 2025, the band will bring their unmatched live energy to Germany on an extended headliner tour, kicking off on July 18 in Regensburg.
Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall is now available on all streaming platforms – dive in and experience the magic. Listen here.
Tracklisting:
“Jaded (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“As You Die (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Better (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Willow And Dead (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Curly Sue (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Your Blood Awaits You (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Give Into Me (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Never Alone Always Alone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Summers Gone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Evil Eye (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Sacred Spell (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Untouchable Part 2 (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Master (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Swallow (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“You Learn (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“What You Never Knew (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Morning Sun (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“My Dove (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Feel You Falling Away (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)” | 0 | |
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7 ìàé 2025
JAMEY JASTA On New HATEBREED Music: 'We'll Probably Have A Single Any Day Now, Or Maybe Even Two Singles'
 In a new interview with Into The Necrosphere, HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2020's "Weight Of The False Self" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think creatively the ideas are all there, the lyrics are all there, the music's all there. I've been going around taking different meetings with labels."
He continued: "It was kind of funny and cool — I just mentioned in passing that we were free agents, and then that went kind of semi viral or something, because then we got hit up by every label under the sun. And that was really nice to see that there was interest there from all these labels. 'Cause I am one of those people that I really believe that your next biggest, best song is always in you. You just have to get to that point where you can channel it or you can grab it out of the ether. Anybody can do it. You just have to get there, and you have to figure out the path there. And now that 'Weight Of The False Self' is finding fans, I thought, 'Yeah, I could expand on a lot of these topics. But then there was also new topics that I had never touched on before that I had been writing about and riffing out about."
Jasta added: "The real sort of mother lode of riffs that I wrote that I got inspired was right after Milwaukee [Metal Fest], because you get this post-festival sort of slump where you're, like, 'Damn, now what am I gonna do?' And I had to go to Europe right away. But TESTAMENT had given me a guitar — they did a deal with Dean, and they gave me this beautiful guitar. And so I just started riffing out on that guitar as soon as I got back. And I don't know if it just had good energy from the festival in it or if it had a different feel of the neck, but I started messing around with different frets and different placements… But just having that experience and then listening back to 'Weight Of The False Self' and going, 'All right, yeah, I'm ready. I've got enough.' I had 24 topics kind of written on a vision board, and I thought, 'All right, I've gotta narrow those down to 14. Can I combine?' And then I kept going, kept going, and yeah, now it's… I mean, we'll probably have a single any day now, or maybe even two singles."
HATEBREED spent 2024 celebrating its 30th anniversary with several tours. It was par for the course with the Grammy-nominated Connecticut-based hardcore icons, who are road warriors, in addition to being one of the most impactful and enduring bands of the modern era.
Last month, the band announced it was resurrecting the beloved and annual "Summer Slaughter" tour for 2025, which kicks off July 8 in St. Petersburg, Florida and runs through July 28 in Grand Rapids. Support for this year's run will include FUGITIVE, GRIDIRON, MALEVOLENCE, INCITE, ESCUELA GRIND and SNUFFED ON SIGHT on select dates.
HATEBREED celebrated its 30th anniversary with a North American tour last fall. Support on the trek came from CARCASS, HARMS WAY and CRYPTA.
With dozens of pit-stirring anthems across their eight catalog albums, HATEBREED are celebrating three decades of ruthless breakdowns and consistently sold-out shows the world over. Over the course of their career, the band has gone from playing basements and backyards to being a featured, must-see attraction on countless festivals like Graspop Metal Meeting, Ozzfest, Warped and Download alongside massive high-profile tours.
Recently described by Forbes as "more relevant than ever in the metal and hardcore community," HATEBREED remains one of the most definitive live acts in music today and recently celebrated a milestone with their track "Looking Down The Barrel Of Today", which surpassed 75 million global streams on Spotify alone while generating over 600,000 global equivalents across all digital service providers, making it their single biggest career streaming track of the modern era. To date, HATEBREED has sold over 1.5 million albums in North America alone.
Press photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR
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7 ìàé 2025
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7 ìàé 2025
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7 ìàé 2025
SODOM Pays Tribute To Late Drummer CHRISTIAN 'WITCHHUNTER' DUDEK With New Song And Video
 German thrash metal veterans SODOM have released a music video for their new song "Witchhunter". The track, which will appear on the band's upcoming studio album "The Arsonist", is SODOM's homage to the group's late drummer Christian Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter). The "Witchhunter" clip was created by ex-SODOM guitarist Andy Brings.
"The Arsonist" will arrive on June 27, 2025 worldwide through SPV/Steamhammer.
We all know that good music is always also a question of sound. To this end, the human factor is crucial — along with the right equipment, of course. After all it's about authenticity and individual personality. With that in mind, SODOM came to a logical conclusion: to enable the most natural production possible, the drum parts on "The Arsonist" were recorded using a 24-track analog tape machine. No studio tricks, no digital overdubs, or, to quote frontman Thomas "Angelripper" Such: "No plastic! The difference in sound compared to today's standard drum productions is amazing and has had a positive effect on all the instruments. Naturally, time and effort as well as costs were also higher, but we're happy to fork out for a superior result."
However, it's not only the complex production process that testifies to the band's exceptional creative spirit, but also their diverse songwriting, which saw all four SODOM musicians — Thomas "Angelripper" Such (vocals, bass),Frank Blackfire (guitar),York Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums) — involved in the development of the material on "The Arsonist".
Tom says: "Frank contributed those typical SODOM riffs and hooks again, whereas York favors more epic songwriting. As a perfect complement to both of them, Toni, who is also an excellent guitarist, contributed a number of songs and helped to make the album even more versatile."
The first single and lyric video, "Trigger Discipline", the toughest song on "The Arsonist", was released in early April. The song sounds equally martial and is about a sniper who has completely lost control of his actions and shoots people indiscriminately.
"The Arsonist" track listing:
01. The Arsonist
02. Battle Of Harvest Moon
03. Trigger Discipline
04. The Spirits That I Called
05. Witchhunter
06. Scavenger
07. Gun Without Groom
08. Taphephobia
09. Sane Insanity
10. A.W.T.F.
11. Twilight Void
12. Obliteration Of The Aeons
13. Return To God In Parts
In a recent interview with RapidMetalFire, Angelripper discussed his decision to cut down on SODOM's touring activities for the foreseeable future. He said: "I think you know the story of [SLAYER's] Tom Araya. Maybe you heard something about it. I think he's got the same problems, like [issues with his] neck [when performing live]. He couldn't more headbang. I can headbang. It's not so massive… But that is not the reason why. The reason why is I want to spend more time with other things. I want to spend more time with my family. I need more time going for my hunting district. I want to spend time doing nothing.
"If you are a professional musician — I'm also the manager of the band — you are busy every day," Such explained. "There is no time to breathe. There is no time to relax. I like to spend the time on stage. I like to spend the time making music, but I hate wast[ing] time on airports or hotels.
"If you're getting 62 [years old] like me, you say, 'Okay, I need money to make my [living] from [playing] music.' I know — money is a very important thing. But there is something you cannot buy with money: the freedom," Thomas added. "And that's what I told to my boys, to my group. I told them, I think two years ago, 'In this year, I wanna slow down the things a little bit,' because I can't do nothing, because I'm still working on re-releases. The only difference is I have my home office. That's the only thing. But I can tell you, I have no plan what to do. I have no plan how long I'm gonna rest. I have no plan when I restart the band, so I don't wanna live without any plans in the next times. I can't tell people I want to come back in '27 or '28, maybe '26 — I don't tell the people. When I think I wanna come back, I go."
Asked if SODOM is still "receiving booking requests" from promoters around the world, Thomas said: "I receive a lot of booking requests… I get some offers from this [and that] festival. I get some offers for making a tour with HEAVEN SHALL BURN. They were interested in maybe a SODOM tour. I get a thousand of requests [for] the 'Big Four' [of German thrash metal: KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, SODOM and TANKARD] worldwide. That is not a problem… People are still interested. It's not something bad because we have no success. I can book tours every day over the year, if I want. That is another thing. SODOM is still — we are still very much a success, I think. People are really interested in coming [to see us]… So that is not the problem. I know that people wanna see SODOM."
Elaborating on his reasons for taking a break from the road, Thomas said: "I love my fans, but I also love myself. I also love my family. I also love my old friends. Now it's time to stop [and] just [concentrate on] doing other things. That's very easy. I'm still healthy. I'm able to do it. I'm still creative. Maybe the day will come I don't know what to do, I'm not more creative, I cannot write lyrics, I cannot play bass. Then it's gone. It's just a break. But I don't know how long it takes."
In November 2023, SODOM released an EP, "1982", via SPV/Steamhammer.
SODOM's 40th-anniversary album, "40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell Of Sodom", arrived in October 2022 through Steamhammer/SPV. The LP included one song from each of the previous studio albums receiving a re-recorded treatment from SODOM's current lineup. The CD and vinyl double LP with their martial cover artwork penned by Eliran Kantor (KREATOR, TESTAMENT, GWAR, among others) contain 17 tracks, all newly recorded by Such, Blackfire, Segatz and Merkel.
SODOM's last studio album, "Genesis XIX", came out in November 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and Steamhammer/SPV in Europe. The disc was recorded by Siggi Bemm and mastered by Patrick W. Engel and comes shrouded in the cover art of Joe Petagno of MOTÖRHEAD fame.
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7 ìàé 2025
Watch: GENE SIMMONS BAND Performs In Red Bank, New Jersey During Spring/Summer 2025 U.S. Tour
 On Monday, May 5, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and his solo band, GENE SIMMONS BAND, performed at Count Basie Center For The Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The setlist for the concert was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:
01. Deuce (KISS cover)
02. Shout It Out Loud (KISS song)
03. Are You Ready (Gene Simmons song)
04. War Machine (KISS song)
05. I Love It Loud (KISS song)
06. House Of Pain (VAN HALEN cover)
07. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD cover)
08. Band Intro Jam
09. Parasite (KISS song)
10. Cold Gin (KISS song)
11. Bad Reputation (THIN LIZZY cover)
12. Charisma (KISS song)
13. Spit / Whole Lotta Love
14. And Your Bird Can Sing (THE BEATLES cover)
15. Calling Dr. Love (KISS song)
16. Rock And Roll All Nite
Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.
The GENE SIMMONS BAND kicked off its 2025 tour Friday night (May 2) at Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater in Peachtree City, Georgia. The band — consisting of Gene on bass and vocals, Jason Walker on guitar and vocals, Brian Tichy on drums and vocals and Brent Woods on guitar — reportedly played only six songs before the rest of the gig was scrapped due to bad weather. A second show followed Saturday night (May 3) at Beaver Dam Amphitheater in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.
Simmons recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026. Gene currently has dates scheduled through August 3 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
In an interview with 95.9 The Rat's Carl Craft, Gene discussed the "Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day" experience he is offering to his fans during his tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND. The experience in question, called "The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience", offers fans the opportunity to not only meet Simmons and his band but to assist him with load-in at the venue and setting up the stage, attend soundcheck and spend time backstage. The roadie will also join Simmons for a meal, and the 75-year-old rock legend will introduce the fan during the gig. The experience costs $12,495 — plus the original ticket price and comes with a bass guitar Gene previously used — and is only available to one fan per venue.
Asked how he came up with the price tag of $12,495 for the experience, Simmons said: "Here's the deal: when I was a kid and I went to see [Jimi] Hendrix or somebody, of course I enjoyed the show and really got off on it — we talked about it forever and stuff — but I didn't know what it was like. What's the beginning of the day like? What's it like to sit and have breakfast or lunch with my favorite rock stars, and then get in the limo, go to the gig, set up the drums, do soundcheck and then be on stage with your video, 'cause nowadays everything's on video. You can't take a poop without a camera coming in under the stall. And then you get pulled up on stage to sing along with them. Now, having said that, we only do one roadie for a day per show. And I'll tell you why — because nowadays everything is so litigious. That's a big word, like gymnasium. That means everybody sues everybody for no reason. So if you get a paper cut, somebody gets sued. And that's just the way life is here in America — much more in California, by the way. It's crazy out here. So, I can't even, if I wanted to, bring out do roadie for a day with 10, 20, 30, as many people [as we would like]. So we do one, because the insurance costs for that are astronomical. And so this ain't cheap. It's not for everybody. And for that one person, you do have to pay premium numbers. That's just life."
Gene went on to say that the $12,495 price tag doesn't "just" include "the classic stuff. It's also exposure, financial and legal exposure," he explained. "Somebody has a bad experience and they sue you and it costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars. You need insurance for everything. Do you have a car? You've got insurance. Everything in life, apparently… In fact, you buy anything — a tool — they give you insurance. Would you like the one-year or three-year? Everything's insured."
Simmons is offering another package called the "Gene Simmons Bass Experience", which gives one fan and three guests the chance to meet the KISS icon backstage. With this package, the fan will be able to take home one of Simmons's bass guitars, which can be signed and personalized for $6,500 for a "non-stage-played" instrument, and $12,500 for one that Simmons previously played at a show in addition to the ticket cost.
Simmons's $12,495 "Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day" experience is limited to one per show and includes the following perks:
* You will meet up with Gene and GENE SIMMONS BAND members early in the day (either at his hotel or designated location) to go over the band's show day schedule.
* You will be on the GENE SIMMONS BAND team crew for the entire day!
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member shirt and hat
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member VIP laminate
* You will have a meal with Gene Simmons (at the hotel or backstage at the show)
* You will arrive and load in to the venue with the band
* You will help the band set up for the show
* You will hang out backstage
* You will sit in on soundcheck
* Gene Simmons will bring you on stage during the show and introduce you
* You will get a setlist signed by Gene Simmons
* You can take photos throughout your entire experience
* You may bring one guest
* You may bring four items for Gene to sign (no instruments, parts, etc.)
* And… you get a Gene Simmons (KISS-rehearsal-used) bass signed by Gene Simmons
For more information, visit GeneSimmonsAxe.com.
During an appearance on a December 2024 episode of Billboard's "Behind The Setlist" podcast, Gene spoke about how he now tours and performs with his solo band. He responded: "I thought I could stay away from the stage [after the completion of KISS's 'End Of The Road' farewell tour]. It bears noting that there's a magic that happens up there that words don't really sort of describe. It's a feeling, and it's tough to talk about feelings. It's probably closer to… There used to be a guy named Dr. [Arthur] Janov and he had a kind of a strange hippie point of view about people having their stuff pent up. So you put people in a padded room. And it was called scream therapy. You go in there and you just let loose and reportedly — I was never part of that, but reportedly — people would come out drenched in sweat and relieved and tired and you expel all this stuff. And going through life, there are rules. You can't compliment women too much. There's no more hugging. There's all these rules. You can't do trans jokes, gay jokes, Jew jokes, black — you can't do any of that stuff because we're very sort of… There are subtle rules that we all have to be aware of. Not on stage. You are free. You just expel all this energy, and it's this celebration of life with the fans and you, and you get to this kind of joyous place. So the GENE SIMMONS BAND is a chance for me, with some friends who are monsters on their instruments, to go out there and just have a great time. It bears noting we don't have managers, road crew, nothing. No trucks, nothing. The local promoters provide the backline, and we just get up there and play. And there are no set-in-stone setlists. Fans can yell, 'Hey, why don't you do 'Almost Human' from 1804?' You betcha. And you break into it. Or, 'Do you guys know 'Whole Lotta Love'?' 'Yeah, I think so.' And you break into it. Or you jam. And at every show we bring fans up on stage. 'Can you sing?' 'Can you play? Let's have a party.'"
When asked how the idea for touring without managers and a road crew came about, Simmons replied: "Actually, it was done by black musicians when they played the Chitlin' Circuit, what used to be the black clubs, 'cause they couldn't play white clubs. So Chuck Berry, as an example, famously would show up with his guitar, and there was a local band. Now, I don't do that — I take my band with me — but Berry would show up, and he'd tell the guys, 'Study the records, learn these songs, I'm gonna show up,' and no rehearsal, nothing. Just let it happen. And you can be as tight as THE [ROLLING] STONES. I don't know if you've ever seen THE STONES live. No matter how much they rehearse, there's this kind of sloppy, greasy way of doing it. And you never quite know where the end of the song is — it never quite ends — because there is no end; you just kind of feel it. So it's very easy. We have a lot of fun. The fans are, as they say on the street, digging it. And then you die. That's all there is."
Regarding what the difference is to him financially when he plays shows with his solo band compared to how it was with KISS, Gene said: "I make more [with my solo band]. Yeah, there's no managers, no private jets, no 20 tractor trailers, no 60-man crew, no huge shows. And the pyro alone for every [KISS] show was 10 grand, sometimes 50, depending if you go outdoors — enormous, enormous costs for doing that — but proud to have done that with [fellow KISS founder] Paul [Stanley] and the rest of the guys in the band. But this is a decidedly different thing. It's almost as if you decided to rent some amps in a garage and plug in and then everybody from the neighborhood comes in and you have a much different relationship. There's none of that sort of prepared thing. It's very informal and an awful lot of fun."
In addition to Simmons, the GENE SIMMONS BAND members include guitarists Brent Woods (WILDSIDE, SEBASTIAN BACH, VINCE NEIL) and Zach Throne (COREY TAYLOR) alongside drummer Brian Tichy (LYNCH MOB, THE DEAD DAISIES, WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, PRIDE & GLORY, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT).
Back in 2017 and 2018, the GENE SIMMONS BAND played a number of shows with a lineup that consisted of Simmons alongside guitarist/bassist Jeremy Asbrock, guitarist Ryan Cook, guitarist Phil Shouse and drummer Brent Fitz.
Six years ago, Simmons stated about his solo shows: "Doing these smaller concert halls, which hold a thousand to three thousand people, means they get filled up by real diehard fans. They don't want to hear the 'same old, same old.' They want to hear nuggets, as they say. It's a hoot for me because I've never really had a chance to do this stuff live. It's been a lot of fun." Gene told the Chicago Sun-Times: "By the end, I get the chance to bring as many people from the audience as we can fit on the stage to sing with me."
Regarding how the idea for a solo tour came about, Simmons told Australia's Advertiser in a 2018 interview: "The GENE SIMMONS BAND was not a plan or anything. About a year ago, a corporate event asked me to be keynote speaker … then they said, 'Won't you get up and sing a few tunes?' I explained that you can't just do that, you've got to have a band and rehearse and all that. They said, 'Well, we'll pay you X dollars more,' and I said, 'I like you!' "So I put together a band from Nashville — these guys back up Kid Rock and lots of other people — and without a single rehearsal, I just told them which songs I wanted to do and they learned them. It just sounded natural — there is such a thing called chemistry. They don't teach that anywhere — I mean, they do teach 'chemistry' but not the kind I'm talking about. It felt right and as soon as the videos went on YouTube and such, people were calling. This little GENE SIMMONS BAND never tried to be KISS… It was just a little bit of fun and stuff. Now all of a sudden, we're headlining festivals in the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany… It's crazy."
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ALEX LIFESON Says He Recently Jammed With KIRK HAMMETT And ROBERT TRUJILLO: 'I Loved Every Second' Of It
 In a new interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility, RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed that he recently met up with a couple of the members of METALLICA. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The guys from METALLICA were in [Toronto] last week. And I got together with Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] and Rob [Robert Trujillo, METALLICA bassist]. We went out for dinner and then we got together and jammed afterwards — actually, right here [at my house]. They came over after dinner and we played for a few hours, and it was great.
"Often in the past, if you jam with a a bunch of people, we'd play a 12-bar bluesy thing; everybody can play that: 'Let's do that.' But when you play with great musicians like those guys are, places you go is, it's just unbelievable," Alex explained. "It's so remarkable. And God, I loved every second that we did that. The three of us just were oozing with enthusiasm, that whole thing. And that's pretty cool."
Less than two years ago, Trujillo spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about his participation in Geddy Lee's four-part TV documentary series "Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?" The Paramount+ series featured the RUSH legend digging into the lives of Trujillo, former NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic, PRIMUS bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, and former HOLE/SMASHING PUMPKINS bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur. Robert said that it was surreal for him to be spending time with his musical idol whose playing had influenced him from his teenage years. "I played in backyard party bands at age 16 and we played [RUSH's] 'La Villa Strangiato', we played 'YYZ', we played all those classic songs," Robert said. "The harder, the better back then. And we probably butchered them, but we would play these backyard parties and play RUSH songs in the same way that we also played Ozzy [Osbourne] songs and we played BLACK SABBATH songs and VAN HALEN and all these different bands. So you can imagine hanging out with one of your heroes and just trying to stay grounded. At the end of the day, everybody's a human being and you always wanna treat people with respect and, again, stay grounded. But at the same time, you're going, 'Damn, that's Geddy Lee.'"
Trujillo and Hammett played a rendition of RUSH's "La Villa Strangiato" during METALLICA's April 26 concert at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Lifeson made his mark on the music industry over 50 years ago, redefining the boundaries of progressive rock guitar. His signature riffing, copious use of effects processing and unorthodox chord structures befitted him the title by his RUSH bandmates as "The Musical Scientist." While the bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with RUSH, he has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as a guitarist, producer and with the release of his 1996 solo album "Victor". Lifeson ranks third overall in the Guitar World readers' poll of "100 Greatest Guitarists" and is also included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."
ENVY OF NONE, the band featuring Lifeson, Andy Curran (CONEY HATCH),Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne, released its second album, "Stygian Wavz", on March 14 via Kscope.
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WOLFSKULL To Release New Album In June; “Jaguarette” Single / Video Available
 German dark heavy rock force, Wolfskull, presents a first song taken off their much-awaited, sophomore studio album entitled Midnite Masters. The album will be released on July 25 via Metalapolis Records (SPV). Available on CD, vinyl and in digital formats, the pre-sale has just started at this location.
Midnite Masters will see Wolfskull put a bold exclamation mark on their band history and simultaneously ignite a new level: ten songs brimming with enthusiasm, power, and catchy melodies, while exuding the raw charm of classic heavy rock. Today, the Essen-based band is premiering a video clip for their first single, “Jaguarette”; a song that captures the thrill of freedom, raw energy, and untamed adventure.
Tracklist:
“Midnite Masters”
“Son Of Light”
“Holler In The Hollow”
“Destyna”
“Jaguarette”
“Call Of The Wayward Ones”
“Mustang Baby”
“Netherworld In Flames”
“(I Wish It Could Be) Night All Day”
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DREAM THEATER Were Affected By MIKE PORTNOY’s 2010 Departure – “It Was Very Upsetting For Us”
 John Petrucci has opened up on just how much he and the rest of Dream Theater were affected by Mike Portnoy’s departure from the band’s lineup in 2010.
Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
Portnoy wasn’t just another drummer in a metal band but an integral part of their creative process. Since their inception, Petrucci and Portnoy have made all the important decisions in Dream Theater. Losing one half of this duo was stressful for the band’s loyal following, and you could only imagine how John felt at that moment. Of course, Mike Mangini was a worthy fill-in, but nothing could fully replace Portnoy’s unique groove and creative mind.
When we recently caught up with John Petrucci for an interview, the guitarist reflected on the tumultuous period right after Portnoy left, but also added that they managed to get back on track with Mangini’s help.
“That was a big change for us,” John recalled. “It was very upsetting for us. This is somebody who we’re all best friends and built this band together, and it was a shock that he had decided to move on. So, it was something where we all had to kind of learn what our strengths were, and to carry the band on without him.”
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Shinedown
