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15 ìàð 2025
IRON MAIDEN – Limited Edition Trooper Warrior Pack, The Ultimate Collector Set Available For Pre-Order
 Trooper Beer fans, it’s time to upgrade your home bar to legendary status. The all-new Trooper Warrior Pack has just landed, and this isn’t just any bundle – it’s a collector’s arsenal, built to honour the beer that started it all.
The Trooper Warrior Pack is an all-new exclusive collector’s bundle built for true Iron Maiden and Trooper Beer fans. This is not just any merch—it’s the ultimate battle gear for those who live and breathe the Trooper legacy.
With the legendary Trooper Original Ale reaching new heights, we’re taking things up a notch with the brand-new Trooper Original Bar Mat & Coasters – designed to honor the flagship beer that started it all.
Here’s what’s inside your Warrior’s Arsenal:
– 1x Trooper Pint Glass Set (2 glasses) – The ONLY way to drink your Trooper beer! Featuring Eddie in full battle mode, these high-quality pints bring the power of Trooper to your hands.
– 10x All-New Trooper Original Coasters – The freshest, most badass coasters yet! Inspired by the bold, untamed spirit of Trooper, these coasters bring an arena-sized attitude to your bar.
– 1x All-New Trooper Original Bar Mat 89cm x 25cm (35.04″ x 9.84″) – Your home bar isn’t complete without it. This high-quality, ultra-durable bar mat is built to withstand the mightiest of beer sessions, keeping your surfaces clean, stylish, and worthy of a Trooper!
This is a limited edition set. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Pre-order here. Ships by the end of March. | +4 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
DESTRUCTION's SCHMIER: Why American Thrash Bands Became More Commercially Successful Than Their German Counterparts
 In a new interview with Chris Akin Presents, DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier was asked why he thinks American thrash bands like METALLICA and SLAYER achieved greater success than German bands such as DESTRUCTION and KREATOR, even though they all came out in the early 1980s. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You have to see that the States are a huge music market — the biggest music market in the world. So, when you're big in America, you can be big everywhere. Basically, that's what they do with a lot of the pop artists too — they make them big in the States first, then they come over to the U.K., they come to Europe and then they conquer the world.
"I think a lot of the European bands that got big in Europe had to be big in America first, like SCORPIONS," he continued. "SCORPIONS went big in America and also big in Japan, and then they finally got recognized in Germany also. So I think America, as a music market, it's the most powerful music market in the world. And if you're big in America, you can be big everywhere. So METALLICA and SLAYER, they broke through and MEGADETH, they broke through in America, because also back in the day, remember you had MTV, you had 'Headbangers Ball', and that shit was playing all over, in every home in the States, and it was huge. And I think Europe was a little bit behind with the kind of [support from the media]. Later on, we had had 'Headbangers Ball' too, but it never went as big as in America.
"METALLICA became commercial at one point with the 'Black Album'," Schmier added. "They made a big step working with [producer] Bob Rock, and he made an amazing album with the band, with very catchy songs. And the European bands stayed filthy — we kept on thrashing. And the same goes with MEGADETH — they had some really commercial albums. And 'Symphony Of Destruction' is just a simple fucking hit. You also have to see that the American bands are all older than us. They are our bigger brothers. We're basically the little brothers of the American bands. We came out in almost the same time — there's not a big time difference in between those albums; our first demo came out '83 already also — but the guys were a little bit older, more experienced musicians at that time already. And I think this is also a little plus for the Americans. Also in America, [you had] the big producers. The first ANTHRAX, the first METALLICA, they sound amazing. Maybe the first MEGADETH doesn't sound that good, but in general, America had early great producers for metal, which Europe was lacking. But at the end of the day, now Europe has been picking up big time. We have a lot of big festivals. We have a lot of big metal festivals that you guys in America don't have. I mean, you have some of them, but like something like Wacken [Open Air in Germany], with 100,000 metalheads [doesn't exist in America]."
Schmier previously talked about why American thrash bands were more successful than their German counterparts during a December 2019 interview with Finland's Rauta. He stated at the time: "You have to understand the Americans are sellers — they know how to sell themselves when it comes to image, when it comes to catchy songs. I mean, look at METALLICA — they started to write catchy songs, and then they became famous… They still fill stadiums. And SLAYER, of course, they had their 'cult' status at one point, and then they were up on this [level] that is kind of untouchable, basically. I think the American bands, if you look at the age, they are all a little older than us. We were the little kids when the American bands were, like, two years older than us, three years older. So, they were all technically also the better players at that time, because we were just 17 and they were already 21. So, I think that is one of the reasons why the American metal was more famous. The big wave came from America; the big labels were from America. The productions were flawless at the time. The first METALLICA albums still sound great. Even the guy was a Danish guy who produced them. They did a lot of things right. And I think that made the American bands, of course, a little bit ahead of the time, ahead of the schedule. And that's why they're so legendary nowadays."
Last September, Schmier spoke to former THE HOURGLASS guitarist Rudi Messiah about METALLICA's evolution from thrash metal pioneers to one of the biggest rock bands in the world with their 1991 self-titled LP, commonly known as the Black Album. He said: "I think they've always been the first ones doing something. I think when they created their style of thrash metal, they've been one of the first bands and they did it very good. They made the right decisions on producers and stuff. And also when they changed, when the big change came with the Black Album, they chose the right producer for it. And it was a very different album, but it has great songs. So, I think it's a lot of making the right decisions and having the right producer, having the right team around you. But also, you have to write good songs. And they've been writing a lot of great songs. In the last years, not so much, I think. The last years of METALLICA, the last albums, they don't really touch me so much. The last album [2023's '72 Seasons'] is not bad, I have to say… There's this one song that sounds like DIAMOND HEAD, the first single ['Lux Æterna']. It's actually a pretty cool song. But, yeah, I think they're there because they were one of the first bands doing something new. And when they changed, they changed to amazing songwriting and amazing production with Bob Rock at that time. So they did they did a lot of things right, of course, at the right time. And that's how the world works — the right timing is always most important."
DESTRUCTION's 16th studio album, "Birth Of Malice", was released on March 7 via Napalm Records.
Schmier is joined in DESTRUCTION's current lineup by guitarists Martin Furia and Damir Eskić, along with drummer Randy Black.
"Birth Of Malice" was recorded at Switzerland's Little Creek Studio by V.O. Pulver. Guitarist Martin Furia mixed and mastered the masterpiece at The Black Mancave in Hannover, Germany.
DESTRUCTION's massive career has seen many successes, with the band hitting stages at the world's biggest festivals around the world like Hellfest, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting and México Metal Fest.
DESTRUCTION, known as one of the "Teutonic Four", alongside KREATOR, SODOM and TANKARD, were reunited with the other three acts at the "Klash Of The Ruhrpott" concert on July 20, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
In August 2021, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael "Mike" Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.
Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band's career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION's first three albums before exiting the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André's sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the "Cracked Brain" album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.
Photo credit: Jennifer Gruber
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14 ìàð 2025
IAN ASTBURY On New Music From THE CULT: 'If It Happens, It Will Happen Organically'
 In a new interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, THE CULT frontman Ian Astbury was asked if there are any plans for the band to release new music as the follow-up to THE CULT's 2022 album "Under The Midnight Sun". Ian responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If it happens, it will happen organically. And there's no hard plans, but there are recordings that are already nearly finished, things that we were working on previously.
"We released [the songs] 'Flesh And Bone' and 'C.O.T.A.'. That only came out as a seven-inch. Nobody even knew it came out. I decided they were DEATH CULT [a stepping stone between Astbury's previous band SOUTHERN DEATH CULT and THE CULT] songs. Call it whatever you want. For me it felt like DEATH CULT songs. And now people are beginning to listen to those songs and go, 'Oh, these are really interesting. Do you have any more?' And we go, 'Well, we have a few more from that period.' And there's plans to drop some other recordings, maybe from DEATH CULT. But definitely THE CULT…"
"I mean, there's definitely plans to do things, but a formal album in the studio? I don't know," he continued. "It could happen. It may not happen. We're talking about music right now. We're always talking about music. But… I don't know. There's no formal plans to go in the studio and make an album right now.
"If you know about the way the streaming works, the algorithm, you can spend so much time, you can make a masterpiece, and you can put it out in the world and the algorithm doesn't like it, and then it disappears very quickly. You're competing with thousands and thousands and thousands of thousands and thousands of individual artists.
"[It] seems to me there's a decline in bands, and there's an increase in artists who are making records in their bedrooms and studios, small studios.
"I'll definitely be releasing music," Ian added. "There will be CULT music this year of some description. But it's not gonna be in a conventional format. There will be one record released maybe in the middle of the year that will be in conventional format, a live concert, but I can't say much more than that. You have to wait for that. We'll see. We have to do some negotiations to get it finished.
"With THE CULT, we're very intuitive in that way. We don't follow a plan or a schedule. We kind of work in harmony with the rhythm of what's happening around us.
"'Under The Midnight Sun' is referring to the pandemic 'cause it was this anomalous moment where a once-in-a-lifetime experience — not even once-in-a-generation [or] once-in-a-lifetime; once-in-a-century experience — so it was this anomalous moment. There's just so many layers. But ultimately, it has to translate with four musicians on stage and then you have to use your emotional intelligence to convey this. So, a lot of time is spent living, documenting, studying, reading.
"I don't really watch — I don't watch TV. I have two TVs in my house. They're never on. Maybe football, and that's about it. Everyone's saying, 'Have you seen this TV show, seen this TV show, seen this film, seen this TV show?' I'll go to a theater to see a film, like the last 'Dune' film. I had to see that on a big screen, 'cause on TV it's just blergh. I don't watch much television. I've watched a lot of film in my life, but if it's an important film, I'll watch it or I'm interested in it. But mostly I'm reading and listening to music. And then training in martial arts. And then doing creative direction for the band. And then working on other projects — my material. I wouldn't even call it solo projects. They're collaborations.
"So my intention is there'll be more CULT at some point, there'll definitely be DEATH CULT, there'll be more CULT, and then I'll be working on other things myself, other collaborations," Astbury concluded.
THE CULT holds a significant place in musical history due to its pioneering use of post-punk, hard rock, and experimentalism, pushing boundaries and influencing countless bands across multiple genres. With their musical prowess, uncompromising attitude and captivating stage presence, they forged a distinct identity while charting new territory for bands to explore. From guitarist Billy Duffy's formative, and influential, years in the Manchester underground, to Astbury's groundbreaking "Gathering Of The Tribes", the duo has left an indelible mark on modern music, shaping its trajectory in profound ways.
"Under The Midnight Sun" arrived in October 2022 via Black Hill Records. The LP was produced by Tom Dalgety (PIXIES, GHOST, ROYAL BLOOD). Dalgety is the first British producer THE CULT has worked with since its second album, "Love" (1985).
Born out of the ashes of the U.K. post-punk scene, THE CULT evolved to become one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the late 20th century, selling millions of albums, headlining arenas and stadiums around the world, infusing innovative possibilities into the worlds of music and art, and quickly ascending through the ranks of the indie music world to achieve global status. THE CULT, whose music transformed from punk rock to post-punk, psychedelia, heavy dance music and transcendental hard rock, became one of the handful of important bands in the U.S. post-modern and hard rock communities, and was embraced by a generation that was waking up to the influence of 1960s and 1970s rock icons like LED ZEPPELIN, THE NEW YORK DOLLS and David Bowie.
The constant core of THE CULT is the "head and heart" of the band, Astbury and Duffy. Attitude incarnate, the chemistry between these two vastly different artists — equal parts genuine affection and palpable tension — remains the source of their long-standing partnership. Duffy grounds Astbury's esoteric side with a hard rock perspective, and there is no doubt that at all times, these two have each other's back. THE CULT's current lineup also includes former WHITE ZOMBIE, EXODUS and TESTAMENT drummer John Tempesta. | +1 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
ZAKK WYLDE Is Open To Recording New PANTERA Music Based On DIMEBAG's Riff Ideas
 In a new interview with Guitar Interactive magazine, Zakk Wylde once again spoke about the possibility of the reformed lineup of PANTERA — featuring surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass),alongside Wylde and Charlie Benante (drums) — making new music. Asked if he would be open to working on new material with PANTERA, Zakk responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, the fellows [Philip and Rex] were talking about doing something, and Rita [Haney, longtime girlfriend of late PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] has tons of cassette recordings of Dime writing riffs and stuff like that. So, I guess if it would be like something like, let's say if it's Eric Clapton playing with [JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE drummer] Mitch [Mitchell] and [bassist] Noel [Redding], 'cause if Eric went out and did what we're doing right now, did a Jimi Hendrix celebration, and Mitch and Noel asked Eric Clapton to come out 'cause he was buddies with Jimi and they were just, like, 'Would you go out and sing and play Jimi's stuff?' And Eric does it, and then after that, it's just, like, 'We've got these recordings [that] Jimi never finished, a song called 'Purple Haze' and a song called 'The Wind Cries Mary' and this song called 'Little Wing' or whatever,' and we'll properly record 'em [with Eric], because if they were just Jimi just jamming on a tape recorder, just him playing 'em. If they were, obviously, Dime's original riffs and ideas, yeah, of course. But PANTERA is those four guys. You're gonna call it the Jimi Hendrix band and you've got Eric playing and singing. It's just Mitch and Noel. If it's Jimi's original ideas, and they're just gonna properly record 'em, take it from the little tape recorder from a cassette, yeah, that would be cool. 'Cause if it was something Dime wrote and him and Vinnie were working on or whatever..."
Zakk previously discussed the prospect of making new music with PANTERA during a February 2024 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked if he would be open to working on new material with PANTERA, Zakk said at the time: "No. I think you would have to call it something else. You know what I mean? PANTERA is those four guys. So, yeah, you can't replace that."
Pressed about whether he would want to do it under an altered name rather than calling it PANTERA, Wylde said: "Yeah. If that was ever a bridge we crossed, we'd have to wait until we get there. But right now, it's just the four of us celebrating what the fellas [from the classic lineup] created."
Zakk went on to say that he was open to making new music with Anselmo, Brown and Benante, provided that it was presented differently than just PANTERA. "Yeah, of course," he said. "I mean, how could you call it PANTERA unless it was just pre-existing material and we were gonna record it — stuff that was in demo state or whatever, and it is songs that the guys wrote. But as far as new songs, it would have to be — you'd call it something else."
Back in January 2023, longtime PANTERA producer Sterling Winfield, who is reportedly one of the people who control PANTERA drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott's estate, told Reckless Rock Radio 89.3 KNON FM about the possibility of the reformed PANTERA recording new music: "It's not unheard of, it's not blasphemous. I will say that it is entirely plausible, it is entirely possible, but at this point in time, I don't know that anybody's looking that far down the road. They've got a world tour to tackle, man, for the next two years, and they are gonna be busy doing that. Now, could it happen? Yes."
Asked if he "would be cool" with Brown, Anselmo, Wylde and Benante making new music together, Sterling said: "It depends, man. Again, it has to be done right, like this whole thing; the whole tour that's happening has to be done properly. And I don't really feel comfortable — if it were to happen, I would not feel comfortable calling it PANTERA. I don't think that would be classy. I'll put it that way. And I'll just leave it at that for now. [But] this lineup could make some very badass music. And the music is all that matters."
Back in 2016, Vinnie Paul said that he would eventually release music that was planned for DAMAGEPLAN's second album.
The drummer formed DAMAGEPLAN with his brother "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott after PANTERA's split in 2003 and released the debut DAMAGEPLAN album, "New Found Power", a year later.
Vinnie Paul told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "The first [DAMAGEPLAN] record, I think, was pretty diverse. We wanted to do something that didn't sound exactly like PANTERA, and with [the material that was written for] the second record, it was really focused, man. I've got the demos and someday they'll come out. But I really feel like we had turned a corner. We'd been out, the fans had seen us, and they'd accepted the fact that this was our new thing at this point."
The reformed PANTERA is headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging its own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2025.
It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.
According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of Vinnie Paul and Dimebag, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.
Anselmo and Brown spoke about PANTERA's return to the stage during an appearance on "The Metallica Report", the podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA. Philip said: "It's empowering. It is incredibly beautiful, and you feel so much love when you're up there. And if you take it in, it's a great feeling, man. These days, man, that's where me and Rex, you know, we get to dig the shows more."
He continued: "When we were younger, we were at war and when we were on stage; we were just angry and at war, man. Now it's — the songs are there. I can concentrate on singing the fricking songs, number one. Geez, that's a relief for me, man. I don't have to break my fricking body in part anymore."
Anselmo and Brown also talked about Charlie and Zakk being part of the PANTERA team. Philip said: "Them two dudes, so enthusiastic. And they got their damn thing and they got their own damn legacy, both of them, without us. It's an honor to play with them. They're the nicest frickin guys in the world, man. I'm just so... [Laughs] Zakk, he's a crack-up, man. He's a sweetheart. And fricking Charlie, we've known Charlie since '87, man. It's a long time."
Rex chimed in: "The way [Charlie] plays Vinnie's parts is uncanny. I don't think there's any drummer out there that could play the way that Vinnie did. I would close my eyes, because I was trying to get tight, and sometimes if I close my eyes, I can hear a little better; I think I can. And there'd be a tear of joy just coming down, because that was so close to what Vinnie and I used to play. So you have the foundation."
Philip concurred, saying: "The low end sounds so PANTERA, man. It's freaking me out."
When the interviewer suggested that the reformed PANTERA had Vinnie Paul and Dimebag's "spirit inside it", Philip said: "Only thing I can say is, man, I know for a damn fact Vince and Dime would want us to do this, hands down. They would want the PANTERA brand or the legacy to go on. And I don't know what you believe in, but sometimes, you know, you would like to think that them old fellas are looking down on us, giving us the thumbs-up."
While he was alive, Vinnie Paul had repeatedly dismissed talks of a PANTERA reunion, telling Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: "People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."
He continued: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."
He repeated those same sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: "Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [PANTERA] reunion. And that's all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it's over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that's all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it's not, you know… It's selfish of the fans to want something that they can't have. And they don't ever understand that, and I get it. There's things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they're not gonna get it."
Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.
Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.
Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Philip to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag.
Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Haney told the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.
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14 ìàð 2025
SPIRITBOX's COURTNEY LAPLANTE: GOJIRA's Performance At Olympic Games Was 'The Biggest Mainstream Moment In The History Of Metal'
 In a new interview with Audacy Music, SPIRITBOX frontwoman Courtney LaPlante spoke about the fact that her band lost out to GOJIRA in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. GOJIRA was nominated for "Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)" — a version of the French Revolution-era standard "Ah! Ça Ira!" — which the band performed at last year's Olympic Games opening ceremony. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In my opinion, [GOJIRA's performance at the Olympic Games] was the biggest mainstream moment in the history of metal. Most metal bands don't hit mainstream in any capacity like that until they make more mainstream music. And I don't mean 'mainstream' in a bad way. I just mean more accessible to lots of people. But GOJIRA, that's why it was so shocking to me, and I think to the world, who's kind of scared of that performance, is that they didn't do anything — I don't think they compromised anything. I think it might be the most metal thing to ever happen on TV — ever, ever — 'cause a billion people watched it."
Regarding the fact that GOJIRA won over SPIRITBOX, Courtney said: "It was funny 'cause [the guys in GOJIRA] are very humble people and they are really nice and really supportive of us. And so we were all in the lineup to go do the Getty Images together… And we were, like, 'Guys, you opened the Olympics. You're winning.' … I really think they thought they weren't gonna win because they sat so far in the back, they almost didn't get to do their speech. I'm, like, 'Guys, at least come to the 10th row.' … So I'm really happy for them.
"Of course, I'd love to win a Grammy," Courtney clarified. "That sounds awesome. But when there's only one metal award, all the other people in there are awesome, and I don't think anyone is sad to lose to those other people, because there's only five bands that get to be picked to be nominated for that every year. That's the only award for metal."
SPIRITBOX's sophomore album, "Tsunami Sea", came out on March 7 via Pale Chord / Rise Records.
SPIRITBOX kicked off its sold-out European tour on February 13 at London's iconic Alexandra Palace, marking the band's largest headline show to date, with 10,000 tickets sold. From there, they continued across Europe before launching into the "Tsunami Sea" North American tour, beginning April 3 in Dallas, Texas. The 24-date trek — produced by Live Nation — brings LOATHE, DYING WISH and GEL along for the ride, tearing through cities across the U.S. and Canada. This summer, SPIRITBOX will step onto even bigger stages, joining LINKIN PARK for select stadium dates in Italy, the Netherlands, and the U.K.
Formed in 2017 in the picturesque yet isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada by vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer, SPIRITBOX would fully cement themselves as a household name in the summer of 2020 with the release of their blistering breakout single "Holy Roller", along with a host of other captivating singles shortly after, resulting in a media firestorm of hype.
With new and existing fans eagerly watching their next move, SPIRITBOX exceeded every expectation imaginable in 2021 with the release of their genre-defining debut studio album "Eternal Blue" via Pale Chord/Rise Records. "Eternal Blue", which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, kicked open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewrote the genre's playbook with 12 stunning tracks that incorporated everything from djent and post-metal to infectious synth-laden pop sensibilities and cinematic arrangements, brought fully to life by the inimitable LaPlante's ethereal and commanding vocal performances.
The album cycle for "Eternal Blue" saw SPIRITBOX not only grace the covers of esteemed music publications such as Revolver, Alternative Press, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, among many others but would also solidify the band as one of the most in-demand groups in live music today with their one-hundred percent sold out, first-ever headlining tour in support of the album which saw ticket sales over 40,000. The band would also share the stage with seasoned metal veterans such as LIMP BIZKIT and GHOST and win "Best International Breakthrough Band" at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards.
In 2022, SPIRITBOX secured highly coveted spots at numerous major U.S. rock and metal festivals and were nominated for two Juno awards. SPIRITBOX would also round out their current lineup with the inclusion of drummer Zev Rose and bassist Josh Gilbert in addition to releasing their sonically experimental EP "Rotoscope" in June of that year as well as a cross-genre collaboration with dubstep artist Illenium for the track "Shivering".
During another whirlwind year for the band, including a U.S. tour with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH, SPIRITBOX wrote and recorded their critically acclaimed EP "The Fear Of Fear", released in November 2023. The EP features the single "Jaded", which was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, the band would make another genre-bending splash with a high-profile collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of her song "Cobra". | +2 | |
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JACK STARR Premiers Official “Rise Up” Music Video From Upcoming Out Of The Darkness Part II Album
 BraveWords Records is excited to release the new Jack Starr music video for the lead track “Rise Up”. The single is taken from his new solo album, Out Of The Darkness Part II, which will be released on April 25.
Jack Starr talking about the new single and video, “‘Rise Up’ is a song about the centuries old fight for freedom and liberty that has been going on since the dawn of time. There have always been injustice and leaders who rule by fear but at the same time there have been brave men who have stood up and asserted their right to live free. ‘Rise Up’ has a universal message of the importance of personal liberty that will appeal to all people of all political persuasions because even though it may be expressed differently at the end of the day people want to live their lives in peace even if it is sometimes requires a struggle to achieve that.”
Watch the new video below, and stream/download the single here.
Early reviews for Jack Starr’s Out Of The Darkness Part II.
“Part 2 will blow the world with those catchy rhythms, heavy vocals, and blasting solos.” – The Metal Mag
‘Prepare for total devastation and exploding your stereo, a must-have 100/100.” – The Metal Mag
“The new Jack Starr song is awesome, and Giles Lavery is a welcome addition to Jack’s songwriting.” – The Metal Command Podcast
Jack Starr talking about the new album, “This is the album I always hoped I would make, one that would be filled with power and glory but also melodic and passionate at the same time. This is the sequel to my 1984 album Out Of The Darkness, and it truly is a worthy successor that I believe will be embraced with the same affection that greeted the original. So yes, Out Of The Darkness Part II is here, and I urge everyone to listen to it. Keep the metal burning.”
Out Of The Darkness Part II tracklisting:
“Hand Of Doom”
“Endless Night”
“Into The Pit”
“Rise Up”
“Underneath The Velvet Sky”
“Tonight We Ride”
“The Night Has A Thousand Eyes”
“Sahara Winds”
“The Greater Good”
“Soulkeeper”
“Savage At The Gate” (Bonus Track)
“The Lesson” (Bonus Track)
Lineup:
Giles Lavery – Vocals (Warlord, Alcatrazz)
Jack Starr – Lead Guitar
Eric Juris – Lead Guitar (Warlord)
Gene Cooper – Bass
Rhino – Drums (ex-Manowar)
Guests:
Mark Zonder – Drums (Warlord, ex-Fates Warning)
Jimmy Waldo – Keyboards (Alcatrazz, Warlord, New England)
– Produced and mixed by Thomas Mergler
– Co-Produced by Giles Lavery & Jack Starr | +1 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
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14 ìàð 2025
MACHINE HEAD Launch Shotgun Blast Whiskey; Video Trailer
 Machine Head have launched their new Shotgun Blast Whiskey.
Batch #1 Limited Edition Collector’s Box, comes with 2 (two) Sawed-off Shotgun shaped bottles and 2 (two) Shotgun Shell shot glasses. An ultra-premium blend of 11 year aged and 4 year aged bourbon. 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley. This exceptional mash bill and aging process was handpicked by Robb Flynn himself, coming in at a powerful 94 proof, delivering a shot of rich bourbon flavor straight to your pallet.
Shop now, here.
Adds guitarist/vocalist/founder Robb Flynn, “We are beyond stoked to be doing this. As most of you know, Machine Head has always been a drinking band, from our first shows playing kegger parties, to sending out a hearty “cheers” to 70,000 of our friends while headlining Hellfest last year, both Machine Head and the Head Cases like a drink or 3. So last year when the opportunity presented itself to deliver a premium bourbon whiskey, it was a bit of a no-brainer.”
“Aged in first-use, charred American oak. The nose opens with layers of caramelized vanilla, toasted oak, and dark honey, complemented by notes of leather, baking spices, and a touch of dark cherry. On the pallet waves of rich toffee, brown sugar and toasted pecan, meet nutmeg and clove, balanced by the younger bourbon’s bright butterscotch and caramel corn. Hints of dark chocolate, black pepper, and dried orange peel add depth, while a velvety mouth feel leads to a long, warming finish of cinnamon spice, and smoky oak.
“To Machine Head fans everywhere may these bottles serve as a reminder to stand tall, speak loud and let freedom ring like never before. This is Shotgun Blast Whiskey, the first round is on us.
“Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast.”
US orders happening now, here. Find the EU pre-order page here.
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14 ìàð 2025
PHILIP ANSELMO's SCOUR Bandmate DEREK ENGEMANN Defends Singer Over 2016 'Dimebash' Incident: 'I Know He Feels Terrible About It'
 Philip Anselmo's SCOUR and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS bandmate Derek Engemann has defended the singer over the controversy surrounding his actions at a California concert more than nine years ago.
Anselmo performed the PANTERA classic "Walk" at the January 2016 "Dimebash" event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood in honor of late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. As he left the stage, he made a Nazi-style salute. He appeared to say "white power" as he made the gesture, but later claimed he was joking about drinking white wine backstage and was reacting to the audience members up front who he says were taunting him.
In a new interview with the John The Ninja podcast, Engemann addressed the incident, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, that was an unfortunate event, to say the least. [SCOUR's] John Jarvis and I were actually there at the 'Dimebash' that night. We were backstage hanging out and drinking. There was a lot of drinking involved. It is what it was back then. But a lot of people don't really realize what happened.
"So, they jammed all night for Dime, bringing out supergroups of [different] people. Rex [Brown, PANTERA bassist] was there; all kinds of people were there. And Phil came out at the end for three songs. I think they did [a cover of a] MOTÖRHEAD [song], they did [PANTERA's] 'A New Level', I think, and something else. The second [Phil] came out on stage, there was a group of these three guys that were just — they were just heckling him from the second he walked out on stage, like, You racist. You fucking racist,' blah, blah, blah. And everyone's, like, 'Yo, shut the fuck up. We're trying to enjoy PANTERA. This is for Dime. This isn't about your bullshit.' And they just kept on heckling him the entire time he was out. And at the end, he just lost it. And he was a little drunk and he did the most offensive thing he could to those people. And they were there with their camera. It wasn't like he had pure hate in his heart, and he's, like, 'This is what I'm gonna say tonight. I'm gonna make a statement.' It was, like, these motherfuckers were heckling him all night long, and he just threw gas on the fire. And it was super unfortunate. I know he feels terrible about it. [It was] probably a little embarrassing, I'm sure."
Engemann went on to say that the negative publicity surrounding Anselmo's actions nearly derailed SCOUR's launch. "We weren't sure if SCOUR was gonna happen, 'cause we had the stuff ready to go, and we had every record label wanting to put it out at that time," he explained. "We almost had our pick. And then that happened, and we didn't have our pick anymore. So the album got delayed by, like, six, eight months. And then I wanna say it was the first thing that was released by Phil after that incident. So it was kind of, like, 'How much slack are we gonna be taking for this?' 'Cause black metal has a history of some not nice people involved, and it was kind of a toss-up. But we were, like, 'You know what? The music's good. We're just gonna go with it.' We put it out."
Circling back to Anselmo's controversial gesture, Derek added: "It's not the best part of history, but Phil's owned it. He's apologized. That's not who he is. I've toured with him around the world with THE ILLEGALS, SCOUR shows, PANTERA stuff. It's just not who is. Even our most recent videos were shot by Malcolm Pugh, who's half black. That's my dawg. We go back 20 years too. We used to live together and whatnot. But he said people kept asking him, like, 'Oh, I can't believe you're working with [Phil] after that.' And he's like, man, 'Phil's been nothing but gracious to me, backstage, at his home.' He's, like, 'I don't even know what you're talking about.'
"So, I don't know. I don't know how else to say it, but it's, like, that's not who [Phil] is," Engemann concluded. "It was a bad moment."
Back in May 2019, Anselmo was asked by U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine if he felt the "Dimebash" debate was something he had moved past. Anselmo responded: "I feel like it's ridiculous. I made an off-color joke and 'Boom!' — it's like I'm literally Hitler! I'm not. I take each individual one at a time, in the way that any logical individual will. I have love in my heart. Over the years, I've learned to take the first step with love and to put good faith first. I get along with everybody. If there's any doubt about my political leanings, people should get it out of their heads. I was raised amongst a dazzling [cast of characters] from the theater, from the mental hospital, from all walks of life — all colors, creeds and kinds. It's absurd to me that anyone in this day and age would judge anyone by the color of their skin, their heritage or their religion. I'm a harmless guy. I'm a reactionary, not a troublemaker."
In the days following the "Dimebash" incident, MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn — who played PANTERA songs with Anselmo at the event — released an eleven-minute response video in which he denounced Anselmo as a "big bully" and a racist. He concluded by saying that he would never play another PANTERA song again. ANTHRAX's Scott Ian, who is Jewish, released a statement on his official web site saying, "Philip's actions were vile" and invited Anselmo to make a donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who hadn't spoken to Anselmo since the band's split in 2003, was dismissive when asked for a comment on the singer's white-power salute. "I can't speak for him," Vinnie said in a 2016 interview. "He's done a lot of things that tarnish the image of what PANTERA was back then and what it stood for and what it was all about. And it's sad."
In 2017, Anselmo blasted "false journalism in the metal community" for suggesting he was racist because of his actions at "Dimebash".
In a November 2016 interview with Clrvynt, Anselmo denied being racist and explained that his actions at Dimebash were him "being crude and lewd and showing an extension of a joke from backstage."
"First and foremost, I'll take that one. I'll own it," he said. "I did something extremely stupid that I know was absolutely stupid. If anyone in this world believes that I go through life judging anyone — no matter what color, size, shape, sexual preference — they are sadly, sadly mistaken. I might have gone and been successful in my life at what I do, but I still to this day don't think that I could walk five minutes in someone else's shoes. Just like I don't think they could deal with the pressure I have on me as the person that I am and all the crap I deal with every day, so it goes both ways, man. I am no rustic fool, despite what I might get sometimes get into on a stage. That part of my personality is like pro wrestling or something. It's part of me — I don't know where that came from. But 'racist' is a very strong word. Truth be told, I have more love in me for everybody than I do [loathing]. If you don't [believe me], look at my track record and you'll see a lot of love there, I do believe. If you see the loathe part — well, maybe that's my expression as an angry vocalist. Still, that doesn't equate to someone that hates someone else for their fucking skin color. That is absurd.
"I was raised in the French Quarter," he continued. "My earliest memories are of living in the French Quarter, raised by women, with theater folk in and out of the house. If you've never been to the French Quarter, you would have to know that it is one of the most diverse, character-driven, all-walks-of-life type of place. If I really and truly upset people that I work with, or that really took offense to what I did that particular night, that hurts my heart. I wish everybody nothing but everything they could ever possibly dream of to come true in their damn lives.
"I want people to understand that I have nothing but love in my heart," Anselmo added. "The whole Dimebash thing was me being crude and lewd and showing an extension of a joke from backstage. I made myself out to be the ugly face of it all. I did that. I accomplished it, and now I'm, like, 'Fuck, why?' Really, I should have just walked away from the situation. It is what it is, but hopefully the truth comes out in the wash, and I love everybody. I do. The sad truth of it all [is] I love everybody, almost to a fault."
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14 ìàð 2025
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's JESSE LEACH: 'I Know We Can Do Better As A Human Race; I Know We Can Do Better In Our Country'
 In a new interview with the 100.3 The X Rocks radio station, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about the band's latest album, "This Consequence", which came out on February 21 via Metal Blade. Regarding why it seemingly took so long to release the LP after it was recorded months earlier, Leach said: "Yeah, tweaks and final finishes, for sure. We wanted to make sure the mix was where we wanted it to be. Song selection, kind of deciding what songs made the record and what didn't. It was a very careful process. We really wanted this album to be everything that it should be — a nice, short and sweet punch in the face. So, yeah, it took a little time."
Regarding the songwriting approach on "This Consequence", Leach said: "I think we kind of all know how to do our thing, but on this record, the standard was set a lot higher. I think we all, especially me, I was getting a lot of feedback on how to do things, and I think it really helped me look outside the box, lyric-wise and vocal wise, and it pushed me to do something a little different. It's still a KILLSWITCH record — it's not a huge departure from our sound — but if you're really paying attention, there's nuances there, both lyrically and vocally, that I'm pushing to do something that's got a fresh feel to it. So as much as we have honed the KILLSWITCH sound, I think all of us are a little eager to push a little outside of that here and there — I think with this record of bringing in a little more extreme metal some hardcore into it and just a feeling of desperation and anger, which I think was necessary for this record."
On the topic of the increased aggression in KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's new material, both in terms of the music and the lyrics, Leach said: "Yeah, everyone can relate. Look at the world we're living in, man. Look at the division that's amongst us as people. And for me, I'm just trying to kick back, push back on all that with a righteous anger. It's not a hate-filled anger. It's an anger because I know we can do better as a human race, I know we can do better in our country. So to me, it's passion fueled, but there's definitely some anger behind that, for sure. Frustration."
"This Consequence" is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's ninth LP overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012.
In a recent interview with United Rock Nations, Jesse was asked what the biggest challenge was in making the new record. He said: "I think for me wanting to be, and I use this word loosely, relevant, but relevant to me and my bandmembers. I wanted what I had to say to excite them, but I also needed it to be genuine. I needed it to be something that when I looked at those lyrics, I thought, 'Yes. That's exactly what I wanna say.'
"I went through — I don't know — seven, eight songs where I was kind of just throwing it out to see what would stick," he continued. "And those guys were, like, 'This doesn't feel like you're really giving us your best.' So having that sort of rejection from them initially was very hard. It sort of felt like I was becoming insecure. I was wondering if I had it in me. But that turned into a determination to rediscover myself as a writer, to go deeper, to tap into things that I never tapped in before, and to sort of look outside of myself. I mean, after everything we've been through, there's so much to draw from. There's so much to pull from. So I started pulling from things that I was seeing on mainstream media. I started pulling from stories that I heard from people that they've been through. I started pulling from extreme relationships of abuse and just kind of dialing them all into a story — obviously coming from me and the way that I saw and felt about those things, but it ended up becoming much more of a worldview as opposed to just me going, 'I, me, I.' It was more about us — 'This is about us.' Hence the title 'This Consequence'. It's about us — all of us. How do you respond to these situations? How do you modify your behavior? What lessons have you learned? And realizing that with everything that you do, there's going to be a reaction.
"So, the big picture to me is what I was focusing on and how to how to heal our PTSD from everything we've gone through and realizing that we're still all going through it," Leach added. "We may not realize it, but we are. And how do we allow the outside sources that are constantly manipulating us to control our minds and to continue to keep us divided? The challenge was how do I crack that code? How do I get that message through to people? And I did the best I could. And I think I did pretty damn well."
Asked if writing about all those topics was a form of therapy for him, Leach said: "Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, it is. And I think it's necessary. You can't avoid it. And I think I avoided it a lot during the pandemic. I wanted nothing to do with it, 'cause it was such a volatile time. I think we're all sort of coming down off that, and it's not so intense where people are actually open to discussions of, or maybe you weren't 100 percent accurate or correct in your belief. Maybe you have room to be wrong here, and if so, what did you learn from that? And how do you move forward without having that assumption being part of your vocabulary? I think all of that is very important. And as a writer, how do I write it in such a way where you as a listener can draw your own conclusion? So I'm not giving you the answer. I'm asking you to think about this thing. And then what do you think about that? You as the listener can sort of put the answer on that question. And that's really what I tried to do — writing with a broad enough brushstroke where the song can be yours. I penned the lyrics, but I very much want you to sort of take the torch and run with it."
In a separate interview with Joshua Toomey of the "Talk Toomey" podcast, Leach stated about the "dark", "angry" and "aggressive" nature of "This Consequence": "Yeah, I think angry, dark and aggressive, for better or for worse, is kind of what the world needs right now, I think, therapeutically speaking. I think a lot of us can relate to frustration, anger, betrayal, all those things, and that's kind of what I highlighted lyrically with this album; I was really focusing on that stuff. But I will say this: if you really read into the lyrics, there's a positivity through a righteous anger, anger that wants to sort of wake people up and have people choose their own path instead of just the blind leading the blind, which is what we see so much in society and our governments and organized religion and all these things that control us as people. It's very much about breaking out of the matrix, if you will, and carving your own path. And there's a righteous anger underneath all of it, and that's where the positivity lies. But I think with metal music, the great thing about it is you can talk about dark stuff and it is therapeutic. That's why a lot of us get into this kind of music."
Elsewhere in the chat, Leach touched upon his growth as a vocalist since the release of 2019's "Atonement" LP, saying: "Truth be told, ['This Consequence'] was very difficult for me to write and sort of find my inspiration again. And even vocally, learning new techniques, like the vocal fry, and trying to add that into my old technique and still sound like me, it was a long, hard process.
"Especially after my vocal surgery in 2018, I relearned how to speak differently — I speak differently than I did," he explained. "I'm more measured; I make sure my voice is placed in the right place. And through that, it went into my vocals, my singing, especially. I was really focusing on my singing first and foremost to stay in key and not go flat or sharp. Then it was, like, my screams were — I was so paranoid. I was really worried about… We do three shows in a row. That fourth show, I'm, like, 'It's getting difficult. I can feel the swelling happening.' So I was really studying vocal fry, 'cause you can do a lot of cool stuff with fry, but me with my voice, it has such a signature sound to it, I guess, according to Adam [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer], at least, that if I just went into that new technique completely, the lows were missing something, my yelling. It different. So I was going into these demos just doing fry, saving my voice, especially thinking that, once I get to the studio, it's going to be fatiguing; we're doing four- or five-hour sessions. But I kept falling flat and the voice just didn't sound right. For some of the high stuff, it works, but for the lower, mid stuff and for the death metal growls, that's all old school… It's the old-school way, the way we all started doing it in the late '80s and early '90s. So I've learned, thankfully, through a lot of trial and error, and this album had a lot to do with it, to blend the styles. So I can do my old-school stuff, and then I can sort of blend in some of the vocal fry to hit those crazy, maniacal-sounding highs without it destroying my voice."
Earlier this month, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE kicked off its first tour of North America since late 2022. The trek features support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL. | +1 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
SHADOWS FALL's BRIAN FAIR Is 'Excited' About Band's New Music: 'We Are Covering A Lot Of Ground Sonically'
 SHADOWS FALL singer Brian Fair has praised the band's new material, saying it covers "a lot of ground sonically".
On Wednesday (March 12),Fair took to his account on Threads to write: "Getting more and more excited about the new @shadowsfallband music we are working on. We are covering A LOT of ground sonically, letting all of our influences and inspirations seep into things. Insane to feel like we are having a rebirth 30 years into our existence. So many ideas and riffs flowing. Sorry for the tease but you will just have to wait patiently until it's all ready to unleash."
Last December, SHADOWS FALL released a new single, "In The Grey". The track marked the band's first new piece of music in more than 12 years.
"In The Grey" was made available via SHADOWS FALL's new record label home, MNRK Heavy.
The song was described in a press release at the time as "classic SHADOWS FALL — galloping solos, riffs on top of riffs, three-tiered vocals, memorable, stadium-sized melodics, and introspective lyrics."
"We are incredibly excited to share our first new music in over a decade with our single 'In The Grey' and are proud to announce our partnership with MNRK Music Group," Fair said.
"When SHADOWS FALL first got back in the practice space to prepare for our reunion shows, we did not know if it would lead to new music, but the excitement of jamming together and all of the riffs that Jon [Donais, SHADOWS FALL guitarist] had floating around in his head led us in the direction almost immediately. The idea began flowing, the energy started building and new songs began taking form out of the chaos."
He continued: "'In The Grey' is a full-throttle thrasher that contains all of the elements that are the bedrock of the SHADOWS FALL sound, but also adds new elements and approaches that developed in the recent past while we all explorer other musical avenues. Lyrically, I was trying to put into words and describe the physical manifestation of the weight and crushing power that can come with depression, that feeling that the weight of gravity is crashing down on you or being trapped in the dark waters of our own mind, trying to rise to the surface and take a breath. It can be an overwhelming and lonely place but there is always a light at the end of that tunnel and we always need to keep striving for a brighter day and escaping the grey."
Fair finished: "We want to sincerely thank everyone for the decades of support that you have given SHADOWS FALL and we cannot be happier to be back and rocking once again. Crank up 'In The Grey', raise those horns to the sky, and bang your head as hard as you can. Stay tuned for more music and news soon..."
Last August, Fair told Sh!t Talk Reviews about SHADOWS FALL's new deal with MNRK: "We definitely have a great partner for the music. We have a very progressive kind of view. They're gonna let us kind of release it in a way that makes sense. So, yeah, we're very excited that we got kind of the infrastructure."
He continued: "It's very different now. The traditional sort of record deal, it doesn't have to be the way it used to be. There was such an industry standard of, like, record a full-length, tour for a year and a half, record a full-length, tour for a year and a half, that kind of cycle. And it's been totally decimated now, 'cause you don't need to do the… The first-week [sales] numbers don't mean what they used to, all that type of shit. So it's cool. But, yeah, we've got a good partnership."
Regarding the progress of the songwriting sessions for the fresh SHADOWS FALL material, Brian said: "I'm very excited to be making new SHADOWS FALL music, which we'd always thought would happen, but didn't know for sure. When we kind of stopped touring, it wasn't 'cause we didn't wanna make music together or didn't want to play. We were so burnt out. Life was taking different turns. People were having kids. Jon ended up in ANTHRAX, so he was in the 'Big Four' [of 1980s thrash metal] all of a sudden. So once we finally got together to start playing shows again a few years ago, the idea of new music came up almost right away. And Jon just had a stockpile of riffs.
"We're gonna take our time, 'cause there's really no deadline involved," he explained. "Also, I don't think we're gonna release it all at once. I think now, thankfully, modern ways of doing things, you don't have to just drop a 10-song album. You can do a few just like little chunks here and there… But, yeah, getting back with [producer] Zeuss [Chris Harris] is just awesome. We've been working with him, really, since the demos before [2000's] 'Of One Blood' [album]. And we're recording most of it at Matt's [Bachand, SHADOWS FALL guitarist] house as well. So when I get back to Massachusetts, it's super comfortable, just get in his basement and just work on tunes. And it's been a blast… So hopefully things keep moving the way they are."
Noting that SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner recently announced his departure from OVERKILL, one of the Sh!t Talk Reviews interviewers then asked if it is "safe to say" that SHADOWS FALL "is back" and is "not going to go anywhere anytime soon." Brian responded: "It's not going anywhere, but I don't think we'll ever be the full-time touring band we were. It's a lot of family stuff and people have just got different things going on. Jon, being in ANTHRAX, that's gonna be kind of his main gig most of the time. Jason, yeah, he left OVERKILL, but he's also got CATEGORY 7 with John Bush and Phil Demmel and all those guys, and that new record's killer. So they'll be busy with that. But we're definitely gonna keep playing shows. We're gonna keep doing festivals. We probably will hopefully do some short tours here and there, especially when new music comes out, but we're gonna kind of pick and choose our battles, which is, again, also a nice place to be in.
"When the band was our full-time job, you couldn't stay at home for too long or there wasn't gonna be a home to come home to," Fair explained. "You've gotta go out and grind. So it's nice to not have that pressure, but also to do it because it's fun again. Each show that we've done have all been blockbusters in our minds because there's just enough time between each one that you get that excited again. It ramps up and then it's just like an explosion.
"Me personally, I was so burnt out by the time we stopped touring in 2015. We'd been on a 15-year run where I hadn't been home for more than a few weeks through that whole thing. And physically, my neck was shot, my back was shot. I was burnt mentally as well, so it was time to come home for a while. But then, now I'm, like, 'Okay, cool. Let's go have some fun.'"
"The only way to survive in a band like us… We're not gonna sell 10 million records and have all that stuff," Brian added. "So you've gotta go out there and stay on the road to keep your name in front of people, keep everything exciting. You've gotta sell t-shirts — that's how you make your money, [by staying] out there on the road. And, yeah, if a label is gonna spend a bunch of money to drop a record and do videos, they're, like, 'You've gotta go promote it now. You've gotta get out there and hit it.'
"What's driving us to record now is that we love the songs we're writing. It's not 'cause there's a deadline. And the shows we're playing is because we're just, like, 'That sounds like a party, man. Let's do it.'"
Elaborating on how he and his SHADOWS FALL bandmates chose their new record-label partner, Brian said: "It's totally changed things where they've kind of realized their best role is as a promotional partner and a manufacturer, if you're doing vinyl or whatever. CDs, they still make 'em, I guess, but not in the numbers they used to. And a lot of them downsized, because they had to. So it's more about partnering with the band and label relationship and finding a way to make it make sense for everyone.
"The old model doesn't work," the 49-year-old singer, who now lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and their two kids, added. "It's broken. You can't just throw money at things and think it's gonna hit. People have too many choices. You can put out music yourself, so there's definitely an oversaturation, unfortunately, as well because of that. So there's just so much content, you've gotta find new and innovative ways to share it and keep it special. And I think the labels that are surviving and thriving are the ones who are flexible, willing to evolve, willing to work with the artists' vision as opposed to just, 'Cool, man. Let's stick to the old method.'"
The long-running Massachusetts-based metallers, who were at the forefront of the New Wave Of American Metal scene that dominated the '00s, celebrated the 20th anniversary of their "The War Within" album by playing the LP in its entirety in March 2024 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, the site of the band's many classic shows.
In an interview with the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station, Fair stated about SHADOWS FALL's new music: "You can tell it's SHADOWS FALL, but, man, it's got new vibes, it's got new influences and it's just kind of a very fresh approach.
"When we first started working on it, we were worried," Brian admitted. "We were, like, 'Is this gonna sound like us?' We hadn't written songs together in five to six years, where it's gonna be. And, man, right out of the gate, we were, like, 'This is the SHADS. We're back.'"
Elaborating on the musical direction of the new SHADOWS FALL material, Fair said: "Honestly, it's gonna be everything that we've always done, plus more… I'm super excited about these songs. I've also been pushing myself as a singer to really expand my range to try new ideas, and having the time to work through that has been really helpful. 'Cause even when SHADOWS FALL was doing downtime, I was doing different projects and trying to really bring some new elements to what I do, and I'm putting all that into this record. So it'll sound like SHADOWS FALL, but there'll definitely be some some new interesting ideas and approaches and stuff. So it's really exciting."
He added: "For us, it's just been great to be back in the room jamming on new material, 'cause when we got together to do these [reunion] shows, when we're rehearsing, we were, like, 'If we're putting this work in, why not see what happens with new music?' And I couldn't be happier with how it's coming out. So, really exciting."
In December 2023, Fair told RichardMetalFan about SHADOWS FALL's decision to reunite: "We'd wanted to play shows again for a while and we just wanted the time to be right. And once the pandemic kind of hit, we sort of realized, like, 'Why are we waiting around? It's the time.' So we were lucky that we were able to kind of get everyone's schedules together. And it was incredible. As soon as we started jamming together again, it just felt fun, it felt right. So the shows were a blast. We really rehearsed like crazy for it. And we're probably better prepared for that than anything we'd ever been for before that. And we also realized, like, man, we should have been practicing more when we were together. We used to hate practicing. We always were, like, 'Ah, we tour enough. We don't need to.' And then after we practiced a bunch, we were, like, 'All right. Maybe we really should have.' [Laughs] But then also when we started practicing, we figured if we have ideas, why not write new music as well? If we're gonna get together, let's see what we've got. So that started leading to some new stuff. So [I'm] looking forward to seeing where it heads."
Asked if the next SHADOWS FALL release will be stylistically similar to the band's last album, 2012's "Fire From The Sky", or if it will be "a new beginning" for the band, Brian said: "If you heard these songs, you'd be, like, 'Oh, that's SHADOWS FALL.' But no, it doesn't sound like… It's different. It definitely sounds different."
Fair previously discussed SHADOWS FALL's plans for new music during an episode of "Drinks With Johnny", the Internet TV show hosted by AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ. At the time, he said: "We're pretty deep into the process. I'd say I'm kind of a slacker, but I'm really focusing on getting things as good as I can vocally because we have no agenda. We have no time frame. We have no record label pressure. We're just trying to write the best music we can. And it all kind of came about as we started jamming to do the reunion shows. And these guys have — Jon's been playing in ANTHRAX and Jason's been playing in OVERKILL, so their chops are still at top-notch level. But they had riffs, man. And I was, like, 'If we've got riffs and they sound like SHADOWS FALL, if we're gonna get together and jam, let's make some new music.'"
He continued: "It's been a blast, man. It's funny, 'cause the older we've gotten, it's gotten a little more brutal, which was not a surprise, 'cause I just figured that would happen. We're, like, 'If we're gonna do it, we're gonna drop the hammer.' So it's been fun, man. I forgot how much of a riff machine Jon was. And he's just like — ideas are just flying out of him. And also in ANTHRAX, he just gets to solo in the studio. So he's just, like, 'Finally I get to write some riffs.' [Laughs]"
In July 2023, Bittner told the "Nothing Shocking Podcast" about SHADOWS FALL's decision to work with Zeuss again: "[Zeuss] did all of our records except for… Well, he had a hand in all of them except for 'Fire From The Sky'… So he's always been involved with SHADOWS FALL in some way, shape or form. Once this whole reunion thing kind of morphed from being just a one-show thing, we started talking with him, 'cause he still lives two minutes away from Paul [Romanko, bass]. So, it's, like, 'All right. Well, if you guys are getting back together, what's the next step? Are we making another record?' We're, like, 'Well, we don't know.' And he was, like, 'Whatever we're doing, let's get on it.' So kind of, like, we just sort of figured, 'We don't have any money to pay you, because we don't have any money because we don't have a record label or anything.' But he was just, like, 'Well, let's just start doing this and let's do it together.'"
SHADOWS FALL released a statement in August 2014 in which the bandmembers explained that financial difficulties made it virtually impossible for the group to continue as a full-time concern.
In August 2015, SHADOWS FALL played a few reunion shows on the U.S. East Coast, one year after completing what was being billed at the time as the band's "final" European tour.
"Fire From The Sky" was released in May 2012 via Razor & Tie. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer | +1 | |
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SLEEP TOKEN Announces 'Even In Arcadia' Album, September/October 2025 U.S. Tour
 SLEEP TOKEN returns with "Even In Arcadia", the band's fourth offering and first under RCA Records, set for release on May 9. This new chapter follows "Take Me Back To Eden" and continues the unfolding journey, where SLEEP TOKEN further intertwines the boundaries of sound and emotion, dissolving into something otherworldly.
Preorders for "Even In Arcadia" can now be placed in addition to "Emergence" seven-inch vinyl single variant.
As this next chapter commences, SLEEP TOKEN has unveiled its return to the U.S. with the "Even In Arcadia" tour, with stops across 17 cities this fall. Promoted by AEG Presents, the "Even In Arcadia" tour will be SLEEP TOKEN's only 2025 headline tour and exclusive to the U.S. All dates are below. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 21 at 10 a.m. local time. SLEEP TOKEN will also appear at the Louder Than Life festival on Friday, September 19
SLEEP TOKEN wants to give fans, not scalpers, the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To make this possible, they have chosen to use Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange. If fans purchase tickets for a show and can't attend, they'll have the option to resell them to other fans on Ticketmaster at the original price paid. To ensure Face Value Exchange works as intended, SLEEP TOKEN has requested all tickets be mobile only and restricted from transfer.
*New York, Illinois, Colorado, and Utah have passed state laws requiring unlimited ticket resale and limiting artists' ability to determine how their tickets are resold. To adhere to local law, tickets in this state will not be restricted from transfer but the artist encourages fans who cannot attend to sell their tickets at the original price paid on Ticketmaster.
"Even In Arcadia" tour dates:
September 16 - Duluth, GA - Gas South Arena
September 17 - Orlando, FL - Kia Center
September 19 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life*
September 20, 2025 – Greensboro, NC - First Horizon Coliseum
September 22 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
September 23 - Worcester, MA - DCU Center
September 24 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
September 26 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
September 27 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Arena
September 28 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena
September 30 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
October 1 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
October 3 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
October 5 - West Valley City, UT - Maverik Center
October 7 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
October 8 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
October 10 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
October 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena
* Festival
Formed in London, United Kingdom in 2016, the SLEEP TOKEN members perform under cover of anonymity in cloaks and masks. Only two of the group's pseudonymous members — singer and multi-instrumentalist Vessel and drummer II — are credited as having played or written a note on any of SLEEP TOKEN's three albums so far.
Widely considered one of the biggest rock bands in Britain, SLEEP TOKEN wrapped up a massive U.K. arena tour last December that included two stops at London's O2 Arena.
The members of SLEEP TOKEN have never revealed their true identities and have only done a handful of interviews since forming in 2016.
Photo credit: Andy Ford | +2 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
ROB ZOMBIE Uses 'House Of 1000 Corpses' Characters To Teach Kids To Spell
 Rob Zombie has released a new spelling book titled "Z Is For Zombie: Learning To Spell With House Of 1000 Corpses Friends".
Published by Neck Bolt Publishing, the new 76-page hardcover book features artwork by Pete Bregman.
The official product description of the book reads: "It's always more fun to learn with friends, especially when they're 'House Of 1000 Corpses' friends! Rob Zombie presents 'Z Is For Zombie: Learning To Spell With House Of 1000 Corpses Friends', where aspiring spellers can learn the important words and phrases properly. With support from positive role models like Captain Spaulding, Baby Firefly, Otis Driftwood, Professors, Doctors, and Rob Zombie himself, learning is just so damn good!"
"Z Is For Zombie: Learning To Spell With House Of 1000 Corpses Friends" is available now for $39.99 from Amazon.
Released in 2003, "House of 1000 Corpses" was Zombie's debut as a feature film director.
Even though "House of 1000 Corpses" was not a box office smash, the relatively low-budget flick's (which cost a reported $7 million to produce) $12.5 million haul was enough to make Lions Gate Films happy.
2005's "The Devil's Rejects", widely considered Zombie's best film, picked up the story of the infamous Firefly family, a clan of psychopathic murderers first introduced in "House Of 1000 Corpses".
Zombie's first live appearance with bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson in 18 years took place last August at the opening show of the 2024 leg of Zombie and Alice Cooper's "Freaks On Parade" tour at the Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Blasko's return to Rob Zombie was announced in January 2024.
Nicholson rejoined the group just hours after the shock rocker's longtime bassist Matt "Piggy D." Montgomery revealed that he was exiting the band after 18 years.
Blasko was previously a member of Rob Zombie's band from 1997 through 2006, playing bass on the first three Zombie albums: "Hellbilly Deluxe", "The Sinister Urge" and "Educated Horses".
Nicholson left Zombie in May 2006 in order to join Ozzy Osbourne's recording/touring band.
Montgomery played bass on the Rob Zombie studio albums "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" (2010),"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" (2013),"The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" (2016) and "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy" (2021).
In the fall of 2022, John 5 left Rob Zombie to join MÖTLEY CRÜE as the replacement for that band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. John 5 has since been replaced in Zombie's band by returning guitarist Mike Riggs.
Rob Zombie's current band consists of Zombie, Riggs, Blasko and drummer Ginger Fish, who has played with Rob since 2011.
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New THREE DAYS GRACE Album To Arrive In June
 Last November, Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE released "Mayday", their first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier. The 46-year-old musician, who left THREE DAYS GRACE in 2013, is sharing lead vocals in the band's new lineup with singer Matt Walst, who has fronted THREE DAYS GRACE for more than a decade.
In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, THREE DAYS GRACE drummer Neil Sanderson stated about how the band's new two-singer arrangement came together (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "First and foremost, we're a family. We all grew up together in a small town, and so Matt, who came in 2013 to replace Adam, he's been in the band for, yeah, 12 years now. But he's Brad, our bass player's younger brother. So he was around as a kid when we were first just jamming in basements and trying to figure out our sound as we were teenagers, and he wasn't even a teenager. And so for him to come in was just a very natural fit. And then, as time progressed on, we just started having open conversations, which is the notion of, like, what would this be if we joined forces and we become a five-piece? And it creates a completely new dimension and facet for the sound of THREE DAYS GRACE and our ability to artistically branch off into just different things that we can do with having two voices that are uniquely different, but come together in such a powerful way. So it feels like we've kind of come full circle and we've closed this loop. And it's just fate, I guess, that we're all seeing eye to eye now and the band sounds bigger than ever. And, yeah, it's a great time to just see it all come into one full force moving forward."
Regarding the musical direction of the upcoming THREE DAYS GRACE album and how "Mayday" fits into that, Neil said: "It's definitely dynamic. 'Mayday' was a song that we — I guess we were pulling some inspiration from our [2006] record 'One-X' with songs like 'Animal I Have Become' and things like that, where it's a really driving-force song. The lyrics are really a social commentary about how sometimes you feel in life that you're like hurling at just warp speed through time and space and you don't quite know who's at the wheel… It feels like everything can be in fast forward and sensory overload, which isn't always healthy for the human brain. And basically just making the decision whether you're gonna swim against the current or whether you're gonna fall in line with other people, and making those choices on a daily basis. So that's what that song's about. The rest of the record, we have a lot of really heavy moments. We do love sort of down tempo heaviness. I mean, we listen to a lot of PANTERA and stuff like that, and that is contrasted with some songs that I think are really going to bring out the emotion, because they're emotional to us. And I think that's the strongest connection with THREE DAYS GRACE and our fans, is that we're writing from the heart and from the gut and deep down in the psyche and putting it out into song. And when people can relate to that and see their own lives in that music, then that's the most powerful thing you can have as an artist. So there's a lot of that where we stay true to ourselves and we're not afraid to write about the real deep down stuff. And that seems to always resonate with our fans because it's coming from a real place."
Asked when fans can expect to see the new THREE DAYS GRACE album, Neil said: "It's looking like we're gonna be releasing it in June. We're just putting the final touches on it… We're past the recording stage. We're doing some mixing right now and just doing some finessing, just kind of going over [everything]. Some of the times we'll go back to it and just see like what we can mute, what we can remove. Sometimes that's an exercise in making a record that's good because sometimes you just have too much stuff in there and more isn't always better. So we kind of go through, at this process, and just make sure that every part in there is deliberate and is there for a reason and is making the song better. If not, it's gone."
THREE DAYS GRACE played its first full show with Gontier in 12 years on February 25 as the support act for DISTURBED on the U.S. leg of "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" at Ford Idaho Center Arena in Nampa, Idaho.
In a recent interview with Nik Nocturnal, Adam was asked how it feels to be back in THREE DAYS GRACE after such a long absence. He responded: "Well, I think more excitement than anything, man. 'Cause it's just been so long. And it just felt like the right time — it felt like the right time for everybody. So, yeah, just excitement and kind of ready to go."
He continued: "It took a little while to connect with the guys and do a couple shows together, a couple things, but, yeah — just more excitement than anything, and definitely some nostalgia, obviously. But, yeah, I think everybody's really, really excited about this next chapter. It's gonna be quite the year, I think."
Regarding the prospect of sharing lead vocals with Matt in THREE DAYS GRACE's new lineup, Adam said: "Yeah, I was just talking with somebody about that. We got sort of — not lucky, but our voices do blend really well together. And we've noticed it obviously way more now with making the record and recording and all this stuff that, yeah, our voices really blend well. Yeah, so we're fortunate for that, that it's working out the way we had hoped."
Gontier added: "It's been great, man. It's cool. Matt grew up with the band. He's Brad's little brother, and I knew Matt from when he was just a little guy. So I think for them it was a natural fit to get him to take my spot there. And, yeah, now [we're just, like] — let's do it together."
Asked how he and Matt delegate the vocal responsibilities on THREE DAYS GRACE's new material, including "Mayday", Adam said: "Yeah, that's what we've been doing. I mean, we're all sort of writing the new stuff together, so we've been sitting in a room together, coming up with all this material and stuff… We're in a room together and coming up with all that stuff… But yeah, I think the recording of vocals, who's gonna sing what and where, it's come pretty natural. There's certain parts that we both now know, like, 'It might make more sense for me to sing this part or you to sing this part.' And at the same time, working with a couple of different producers on stuff, we did get some guys that would have some good input and just a good idea of what to do with two singers, 'cause it hasn't really been done before — not in this world. So we wanna make sure we're doing it right. So getting an outside point of view from a producer or something to put his two cents on where the guys should go and that sort of thing, that's helped out a lot too. But, yeah, in general, it's been pretty seamless. The whole thing has been really easy to navigate through."
"Mayday" was produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster with vocal production by Howard Benson. In addition, the band released an epic CiRCUS HEaD-directed visual to accompany the track which can be found below.
In a December 2024 interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Adam was asked if "Mayday" is a good representation of the material that will eventually appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's next studio album. He responded: "I think it's pretty close. I think it was pretty important for us to sort of get some elements in these songs that were super classic THREE DAYS GRACE with some newer elements as well. So I think 'Mayday' is a good representation of that. It's a pretty heavy song, but it's got everything else that we wanted to have in there. So, yeah, I think it's pretty close."
Asked if there was ever any doubt "Mayday" would be the first song to introduce this iteration of the band, Matt said: "We found with 'Mayday' — we listened to, obviously, our ideas and our songs a lot, and with 'Mayday', we kind of all found we never got sick of it. Personally, too, I listened to it over and over again, and I didn't get sick of it. And it takes you on this kind of journey throughout it, and it's not super predictable. And, yeah, [we] just found it was fresh."
Matt also talked about how the idea for having two singers in THREE DAYS GRACE came about. He said: "I think one day I just talked to my brother Brad about it and was, like, 'It'd be sick if Adam came back. And we could both sing, and I can sing the songs of the past 10 years and Adam can even sing a few of those too.' And yeah, it just seems like a new life to breathe into THREE DAYS GRACE and to make it exciting, like the early days or just to freshen it up and, yeah, make it exciting."
In a separate interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Neil stated about Adam's return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "We had been talking and we've kept in touch. And the band was just talking about, like, how great would this be for us and for the fans and for the nostalgia of THREE DAYS GRACE. And then he got up on stage with us [for a guest appearance], and then we just thought, 'Let's make something new. Let's sit down and write a song.' And once we kind of got into that songwriting process, it just felt really natural and it felt right. And I think for the fans, we're giving them something that we haven't done before and hasn't really been done much in the past."
On the topic of the "Mayday" video, Neil said: "It was a really fun video to make. It was kind of especially cool for me because very rarely as a drummer do you get to make a video where you don't have to fake playing drums all day. [Laughs] And so, yeah, complete melee goes on on the plane. And it's kind of an analogy to just feeling like we're hurling through life at warp speed, and sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a pilot that's in control of things. But it's also a bit of a celebration, like, 'Hey, if we're going down, we're all going down together.'"
In April 2023, Gontier reunited with THREE DAYS GRACE onstage during the band's concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Gontier rejoined his former bandmates when they opened for SHINEDOWN at the Probst Arena At The Von Braun Center to perform two classic songs from THREE DAYS GRACE's 2006 album "One-X": "Never Too Late" and "Riot".
THREE DAYS GRACE later shared a post-performance photo with Gontier on social media and wrote in an accompanying message: "Soooo we did a thing."
In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.
Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".
Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.
Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).
THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released in May 2022 via RCA Records. | +2 | |
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THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG Revives Traveller Storyline On New EP
 Bay Area underground metal heroes Slough Feg revive the classic Traveller storyline on the Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades EP—seven songs of pure weird metal glory. The EP is set for release April 11 via Cruz Del Sur.
Asteroids! Vegetable spores! Space pirates! Add ‘em up and what do you get? The Lord Weird Slough Feg’s sequel to their now-classic 2003 studio album, Traveller. Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades arrives in the format of a 20-minute EP that delivers lean and mean heavy metal without all of the fluff.
Just as important, it bears numerous similarities to its highly regarded predecessor, right down to being recorded at the same studio, with the same producer (Justin Weis), with the same microphones. The only difference is that 24 years have elapsed.
The Ephemeral Glades story picks up where the original Traveller left off: The exiled Professor Rickets, still transformed to a Vargr, living in exile on his secret asteroid ship, and Baltech Budapest hiding out on the icy planet Mithril.
According to the members of The Lord Weird Slough Feg—guitarist/vocalist Mike Scalzi, second guitarist Angelo Tringali, bassist Adrian Meastas and new drummer Austen Krater—the EP was born from the idea of choosing the best ideas and leaving the rest on the cutting room floor.
In true The Lord Weird Slough Feg form, The Ephemeral Glades, gallops and surges with the band’s trademark twin guitar action. A lot of the vim and vigor behind The Ephemeral Glades is attributed to Krater, who is a prolific writer and contributed to many of the EP’s songs.
“Knife World”
“The Black Circle”
“Mission On Mithril”
“The Ephemeral Glades”
“Magnetic Fluctuations”
“Ice Shelf Stomp”
“Vargr Reprise” | 0 | |
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14 ìàð 2025
CADAVER To Release Hymns Of Misanthropy Album In April; “Maltreated Mind Makes Man Manic” Lyric Video Posted
 Listenable Records will release Cadaver’s Hymns Of Misanthropy album on April 25. Pre-order the physical edition of the album here, and the digital edition here.
Cadaver’s long-lost beast, “Maltreated Mind Makes Man Manic”, finally claws its way into the light – begun in 1993, finished in 2024, and seething with three decades of buried rage. Anders Odden (guitar/vocals) and Ole Bjerkebakke (drums/vocals), the original architects of sonic chaos, reunite to unleash this long-brewing storm together with Eilert Solstad (double bass). Raw, relentless, and disturbingly prophetic, this track proves that madness only festers stronger with time. Check out a lyric video below.
On Hymns Of Misanthropy, Norwegian legends Cadaver revisit unreleased material that offers a fascinating glimpse into the band’s formative years. This is a raw and powerful chapter of Cadaver’s history, demonstrating once again that they were never just a typical death metal band, but consistently pushing the envelope of what extreme music can achieve.
Hymns Of Misanthropy tracklisting:
“Maltreated Mind Makes Man Manic”
“Chained To His Fate”
“Nowhere To Hide”
“Sunset At Dawn”
“From The Past”
“Breaking Through”
“Misanthropic Anthem”
“Death Has To Wait”
“Through The Pain”
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14 ìàð 2025
TED POLEY Drummer Collapses On Stage During Monsters Of Rock Cruise Performance
 Metal Sludge is reporting that Ted Poley’s drummer, Paul “Paulie” del Boccio, collapsed on stage during the Danger Danger singer’s performance on board the Monsters Of Rock Cruise on March 12.
According to the report, a source from the show that was side-stage, said; “I saw Ted trashing the drums, then I saw his face, and he looked terrified”, then the source added; “I then realized his drummer was laying flat… and then paramedics were trying to resuscitate him.”
Another source says: “We just heard an alpha massage for medical“, and shortly thereafter paramedics quickly started on him; “He got compressions on stage.”
A fan named Richard posted on Facebook the following: “We are on board. They shut down that section of the ship to address his health issues.”
A fan named Mark who was at the show posted the following on Facebook: “We didn’t know exactly what was going on. Show ended, people were waiting for the group photo. Suddenly, parts of the drum kit were being thrown aside. Then everyone was “told” to get out. Looking back it looked like they were doing CPR, we thought he had fallen backwards. After getting out of the theater, and into another floor, we heard a ‘Alpha Emergency’ being broadcast, and crew running toward the stairs.”
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SMASHING PUMPKINS' BILLY CORGAN To Reimagine 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness' Album As Opera
 Billy Corgan achieved stratospheric fame as the founder, frontman, and creative force behind the legendary SMASHING PUMPKINS. A Grammy winner whose powerful songwriting, commanding vocals, and inventive melodies were the foundation for the massive, decade-defining double album "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness", Corgan has now teamed up with Lyric Opera of Chicago, his hometown company, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this groundbreaking album with his signature boundary-pushing, innovation and imagination.
The result is "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness", a new commission inspired by one of the greatest alternative albums of all time. You'll hear Corgan and special guest artists along with the epic sound of the Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra And Chorus in a completely new, sonic and visual experience. Whether you love the PUMPKINS and are excited to hear their music in a sumptuous new dimension, or you simply crave the opportunity to hear a new work inspired by the unexpected, this promises to be one of the can't-miss cultural collaborations of the season.
"A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness" will be staged across seven nights only, November 21–30, 2025. Corgan reimagines his magnum opus by marshaling all of Lyric's technical and artistic forces for an immersively original sonic and visual experience that blurs the boundaries of opera, rock, and performance art. Featuring newly commissioned arrangements and orchestrations by Corgan and James Lowe, who also conducts, as well as costumes from House of Gilles by Gilles and Chloé Mendel Corgan, these historic performances promise to further magnify the legend of the original album and expand the definition and intention of opera.
"It is thrilling to collaborate with Lyric head John Mangum, my musical partner James Lowe, and all of the artists at Lyric in reimagining this very special and historic album, and to discover how Lyric's full operatic treatment is helping me experience my own compositions in powerful new ways," says Corgan. "Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way."
Tickets for "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness" go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. at lyricopera.org and are available to Lyric subscribers now, as part of a subscription package.
John Mangum, general director, president and CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago, adds: "Next season is filled with a tremendous range of lavish and powerful opera productions that we are excited to share with our audiences. I'm just as excited about the special performances like 'A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness' that open the aperture and expand the definition of opera and what an American opera company can be. The season clearly illustrates how this company continues to push the art form forward and create new work that can only happen in Chicago."
"Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" was SMASHING PUMPKINS' third studio album. It featured the singles "Tonight, Tonight", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "1979".
Photo credit: Jason Renaud | +1 | |
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Bryan Ferry
