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25 дек 2024
BRING ME THE HORIZON's OLI SYKES: What I Like About Living In Brazil
 In a new interview with Brazil's 89 FM A Rádio Rock, Oli Sykes of the British rock band BRING ME THE HORIZON, who married his Brazilian model wife Alissa Salls in 2017, was asked what he likes about living in Brazil. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The weather, the people, the food. The way of life is very different to England, but it's very good for me. I think mentally I needed to slow down a bit, and it's really hard to do that in England, whereas when you come here, everything's a little slower. People are a lot more chilled.
"I've wanted to get away for a long time," he added. "I feel like I need to have times of disconnection and get away from who I am in the band and stuff like that. And I never thought it would be Brazil, but we kind of got stuck here in lockdown, and I just realized how at peace I feel when I'm here, and I just I just really like it."
BRING ME THE HORIZON has been touring in support of its latest album, "Post Human: Nex Gen", which came out in late May via Columbia Records.
"Nex Gen" is the latest chapter in the series to be revealed and sees the band expanding both musically and conceptually. It follows on from 2020's "Post Human: Survival Horror", which featured collaborations with Yungblud, NOVA TWINS, BABYMETAL and EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee, and included the huge hit singles "Teardrops" and "Obey". Sonically, the album hits heavy, while Sykes's vocals are his most melodic to date.
BRING ME THE HORIZON entered 2024 with an explosive start, having played to over 140,000 fans in the U.K. and Ireland on their biggest U.K. arena tour to date, winning the BRIT Award for "Best Alternative/Rock Act", and announcing their first stadium show in São Paulo, Brazil (selling 30,000 tickets in the first day!).
In January, BRING ME THE HORIZON released a new song called "Kool-Aid". The track was the first to arrive following the departure of longtime keyboardist and percussionist Jordan Fish in December.
Fish joined BRING ME THE HORIZON in 2012 and appeared on the albums "Sempiternal", "That's The Spirit" and "Amo", which he helped write.
BRING ME THE HORIZON has been called one of the most forward-thinking metal bands in the world. As it has grown, BRING ME THE HORIZON has undergone a musical progression from its earliest days as a metalcore band, in large part because of the production talents of Fish.
Jordan had been a major influence on BRING ME THE HORIZON's sound, inspiring many of the edgy guitar riffs and other elements on the "Sempiternal" album. His music production fingerprints can be found all over "That's The Spirit", which offered a stylistic departure from the metalcore genre.
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25 дек 2024
ATREYU's BRANDON SALLER Says Moving To Tennessee From California Has Been 'Awesome'
 In a new interview with the BREWtally Speaking podcast, ATREYU vocalist Brandon Saller discussed his decision to move to Tennessee in 2023 with his wife and two daughters after living in California his entire life. Asked how it has been for him and his family "to get acclimated to a completely different environment and weather and everything", Brandon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been fucking awesome. Even though I've been here a million times throughout my life, it's still different living here. But for the majority of my experience, I would say the vast majority, people here are so nice. People are cool as fuck. You have everything that you want. The only thing that Tennessee does not have, which I have not found yet, which is a bit disheartening, but I'll live, is good Mexican food and good sushi, But I also travel enough where I can get my fix, so it's gonna be okay. It's probably better off that there's not good Mexican food, 'cause then I just don't eat it. But other than that, it's been awesome. There's so many friends here that we already knew that lived here and then we've made so many good friends already that it's like a crazy good clique. The culture here is just a little bit more — people just seem to ride or die for you."
He continued: "I think growing up you go through a lot of phases of different friend groups, and you have some friend groups that are just kind of fleeting and, like, 'Yeah, we hang and it's cool, whatever,' but then you have some that are, like, 'Oh, these people would take a knife for you.' And we're lucky enough to have a couple of those friend groups in our life, but I feel like that's what we've come into since moving here. So it feels good, man. It's been awesome. And the weather is great. I like seasons. California is beautiful and I'll love it forever, but you have spring and then it rains sometimes, which is dope. But here, you have fucking seasons, and there's fall and there's winter and it's hot as fuck in the summer, but you kind of like learn to love 'em all."
Addressing the challenges of moving to a different part of the country in his early 40s, Saller said: "I think that's what keeps life fucking exciting, man. Not to say that I've done that a bunch, but I think the scary shit is always what turns out to be the most cool shit. Anything in my life that I've ever been pretty nervous to do or pretty scared to do and I just jump off the damn cliff usually ends up being the best things that I've ever done. Whether it's career-wise or musically or whatever, those kind of risks put you in a bit of an exciting headspace where I think at least I usually end up thriving. But I love that shit.
"I lived in the same house in Huntington Beach for 17 years, and I lived in California my entire life," he explained. "And I was just, like, 'Should we move to Nashville? Fuck it.' My kids were young enough to where they'd only been in school for a year — my oldest had only been in school for a year; my youngest hadn't even started school yet. So, as far as friends, they didn't have tons of friends. But now, we move and there's seven girls on my street that are just at my door wanting to party all the time. So, it's one of those things where now they're making friends or doing it in a more important phase now — for them, at least.
"I think if people get an itch and people have some sort of inkling of a need for change, that's the universe telling you something that you probably should listen to," Brandon added.
A state with close to 40 million people, California remains by far the most populous state. One in eight Americans lives in California, which is the fifth-largest economy on earth, behind only four national economies: United States, China, Germany and Japan.
Even though California has lost some residents, others have stepped in to take their place.
An estimate released in December 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau said California's population fell by 75,000 residents in 2023 to about 38,965,000 people.
In April 2024, the state Department Of Finance estimated that California gained just over 67,000 people last year, the first increase since 2019.
The U.S. Census Bureau's estimate was for July 1, 2023, while the California Department Of Finance's estimate was for January 1, 2024.
Last December, ATREYU bassist Marc "Porter" McKnight spoke to the "BREWtally Speaking" podcast about his decision to move from Alabama, where he was born and raised, to a small town in Germany, where his wife's family resides.
ATREYU recently released "The Pronoia Sessions", a collection of eight reimagined greatest hits and two nostalgic tribute covers. The digital release was made available on October 25 while vinyl and CDs hit streets on November 8.
On October 18, ATREYU celebrated the 20th anniversary of its sophomore album, "The Curse", by performing the gold-certified LP in its entirety at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. | +2 | |
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25 дек 2024
Watch Pro-Shot Video Of CRIMSON GLORY's Comeback Show With New Vocalist TRAVIS WILLS
 Crimson Glory - featuring mainstay founding members Ben Jackson, Jeff Lords and Dana Burnell, amazing new vocalist Travis Wills, and guitarist Mark Borgmeyer - made their comeback performance at Keep It True Rising 2024 in Würzburg, Germany on October 5. Professionally-filmed video from the show is available below.
Earlier this year, BraveWords Records announced the signing of Crimson Glory. A new album is planned for 2025.
"Metal" Tim Henderson from BraveWords Records: "What an incredible moment for BraveWords Records! Signing the legendary cyber metallers Crimson Glory as they resurrect their unstoppable career. Fans are in for such a tremendous treat as they unveil their futuristic sound and vision in 2024!"
Ben Jackson of Crimson Glory added: "I am letting everyone know how proud and excited we are to be working with Bravewords Records. Their team is outstanding! The new album is coming out killer and has similarities to the first two records while displaying a modernized feel."
Crimson Glory leader singer Travis Willis: "Becoming the new singer for Crimson Glory has been very humbling. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed I would be singing for one of my very favorite bands I listened to as a kid, with posters on my wall. It's still surreal to me, just crazy. Sometimes, when I pause, when all the noise has receded, I sit back and it hits me... dude, you're singing for Crimson Glory! My pledge to all the fans, I'll do my very best to dutifully recreate the magic and melody of Crimson Glory. I see it is an honor and a privilege and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of bringing it all back to life."
Travis Wills offers a singthrough of some of the band's classics in the video below:
Fans can sign up to be notified with news about the upcoming album, here.
About Crimson Glory:
Crimson Glory, an American heavy metal band that formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida, USA. Their journey began in 1979 under the name Pierced Arrow, then evolved into Beowulf, before they finally settled on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up featured vocalist Midnight, guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bass guitarist Jeff Lords, and drummer Dana Burnell. With this line-up, they rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and were considered one of the pioneers of the American progressive metal movement, alongside bands like Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Watchtower. Throughout their career, we released four studio albums and one EP.
About BraveWords Records:
There is a serious void which desperately needs to be filled, hard-working and creative bands that have yet to find a partnership and a mutual vision with a professional team. The music-fuelled minds behind BraveWords Records, Brian Adams, Giles Lavery, Tim Henderson and Michael Brandvold, have built the ultimate home for
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25 дек 2024
SAMMY HAGAR Shares "Why Can't This Be Love" Video From The Best Of All Worlds Tour
 Sammy Hagar has released the video below, along with the following message:
"We hope you're feeling the love as we roll into the holiday season! ❤️ Check out this little throwback to The Best Of All Worlds Tour as Sammy & Mike get ready to take over Sin City with the Residency beginning April 30th!"
Hagar has announced that The Best Of All Worlds, his critical and commercial hit summer 2024 tour, will launch in 2025 as The Best Of All Worlds Tour - The Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The tour will reunite the rock powerhouse band of Sammy, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Kenny Aronoff with a new “only in Las Vegas” setlist running April 30 through May 17, 2025. The tour represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this band of brothers deliver one of the most legendary hits-packed live shows of their careers.
This highly anticipated residency will showcase Sammy’s career-spanning hits, from seminal breakouts with Montrose, his iconic solo hits, and a deep dive into his tenure with Van Halen, Chickenfoot, and everything in between. Presented in partnership by Live Nation and MGM Resorts International, the residency will be custom-designed for Dolby Live, giving fans an intimate, high-energy concert experience in the 5,200-seat entertainment venue.
“I'm so looking forward to this residency and being able to stay in one place so we can get the sound and production completely dialed in,” said Sammy Hagar. “It also allows the band to experiment with the setlist every night – that’s why it’s going to be exclusive to Las Vegas. Instead of traveling all day on tour when there's no time to rehearse and make changes. I plan on digging deeper into the Van Halen catalog, and my solo career, Montrose and Chickenfoot, as well. The fans are in for a lot of surprises.”
The Las Vegas residency follows on the heels of the chart-topping success of The Best of All Worlds tour, which sold out amphitheaters and arenas across North America and Japan. Together with the release of The Collection II, the 2023 box set featuring newly remastered versions of the four consecutive #1 albums released during the Hagar era of Van Halen: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995), fans were reinvigorated by their arsenal of hits, many which hadn't been played live since the band’s 2004 reunion tour. Musician Rai Thistlethwayte will also return on keyboard and backing vocals to round out the band of brothers and deliver an exclusive new hits-packed live show.
Tickets for the nine shows are available at ticketmaster.com/SammyHagarVegas or RedRocker.com.
The Best of All Worlds tour received universal raves from fans who’d been waiting 20 years to experience it live again, and critics who universally praised it.
“The crowd remained on their feet for most of the show, singing along or holding up their phones to capture the moment. The musicians seemed to be having just as much fun. Hagar, alongside Anthony, made it clear that the tour was not just a performance but a ‘celebration’ of Van Halen’s enduring legacy. 'It’s a celebration of the music and the people who supported that band,’ Hagar said. And the fans couldn’t agree more.” – USA Today
“Now this is going to be an amazing tour! If you’re ever going to play the Van Halen music, this tour you put together is going to be a massive celebration of all the music. I get emotional just listening to it.” – Howard Stern, The Howard Stern Show
“Sammy Hagar sounded ageless as he celebrated Van Halen and more in Phoenix. Joe Satriani did a great job of channeling Eddie Van Halen (and more). The phrase ‘guitar hero’ is obviously overused, but Satriani more than lives up to the title. He’s a total badass on guitar, as he reminded us repeatedly without necessarily making it all about him.” - Arizona Republic
“Sammy Hagar’s Best of Both Worlds Tour — which also features former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, and drummer Kenny Aronoff — brought an infectious energy to PNC Music Pavilion. Hagar and Anthony’s bond was palpable on stage... The crowd turned out in full force to hear Van Halen-era songs like ‘Right Now,’ ‘Best of Both Worlds,’ and ‘Why Can’t This Be Love,’ alongside Hagar’s solo classics. Their performance proved that age is just a number when the music is this good.” - Charlotte Observer | 0 | |
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25 дек 2024
Watch QUEEN's 1975 Performance Of "Keep Yourself Alive" From London's Hammersmith Odeon; Official Video
 Queen continue to celebrate the release of the remixed, remastered and extended Queen 1 boxset, today sharing video of the band performing "Keep Yourself Alive" at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1975. Watch below:
Queen recently shared the fifth episode in their "Queen The Greatest Special" series.
A message states: "In this exclusive episode of Queen The Greatest, Brian May reveals how the iconic cover image for Queen's debut album, and the extraordinary collage on the back, were created. It's one of the earliest examples of how the band paid just as much attention to the look of Queen, as well as the sound."
Watch the first four "Queen The Greatest Special" episodes below:
Episode 1:
Episode 2:
Episode 3:
Episode 4:
The 6CD + 1 LP Queen I box set (out now) contains 63 tracks with 43 brand new mixes, comprising the original album with its intended running order restored, intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the studio, demos, rare live tracks, and previously unheard recordings from Queen’s first ever live performance in London, August 1970. Absent from the 1973 release, the song “Mad the Swine” has been reinstated to its original place in the | 0 | |
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25 дек 2024
AGNOSTIC FRONT To Record New Album In January 2025
 Vocalist Roger Miret of New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT has revealed to The Brooklyn Blast Furnace podcast that he and his bandmates will enter the studio on January 10 to begin recording their new album. The follow-up to 2019's "Get Loud!" is tentatively due in late 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Back in July, Miret was asked by Prescription Punk Rock if it gets harder for AGNOSTIC FRONT to write new music after having done it for so long. Roger said: "First of all, we have to — we like the songs, we have to like the songs a lot, we have to love the songs, and we have to believe in them. And if we believe in them, we have to then trust that the people will love them and enjoy them too. But there's always the critics, there's always somebody waiting for you to mess up or do something or wanna just bring you down. But they have no one idea how hard it is to write songs when you're under that microscope. Unfortunately, when you get to a certain level of a band — we're going on our 14th album, whatever, spanning a career of 42 years— it's a long career. And most people love it, but there's always that critic, and you can never change their mind, whatever. But I'm here for the people that wanna accept and enjoy our show. We just wanna come to your place, have a great time. We wanna play, make new friends, meet new people and do what we love. And that's who I'm there for, playing for, that's who I write songs for."
Regarding the lyrical themes he covers in AGNOSTIC FRONT's songs, Roger said: "We've always been socially political. We don't really talk about world politics. We'll touch on it here and there, but that's a touchy subject. Everybody's got a really strong opinion about stuff. And some of it's valid, some of it's not what you think… I try to work on day-to-day stuff that happens around me, socially stuff. And I write about real stuff — my experience; it doesn't mean [it will be the same as] your experience."
He continued: "It was interesting. When I was writing my book, I was telling these stories, and I had Amy from NAUSEA, who is the mother of my child. And I respect the mother of my child — I have a lot of respect — I said, 'Hey. I'm writing this book. These are these stories. I want you to read them because it's about you too. So I don't wanna say anything that would upset you.' And the funniest thing of the whole conversation was when she says, 'You know, it's funny. We have two different visions of the same story.' And I never thought about it. I remember what I wanna remember, she remembers what she wants to remember. We were both living the same story, but it's what you take of it. I could witness something and I could write something about it and you witnessed the same thing and you write something different about it. But it's the same thing; it's just how we perceive it in our minds. And it's interesting 'cause with that thought in mind, I'm, like, these are my stories. If you want to listen to my stories, you can. If you don't agree with them, well, this is my experience."
In September 2021, Miret revealed that his cancer was in remission.
After Miret was diagnosed with cancer in early 2021, a long road of tests and diagnoses led to a complex initial surgery and lengthy hospital stay. Even though the original surgery was complicated, the results were extremely positive.
Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the U.S. to escape the Castro regime. He joined AGNOSTIC FRONT in 1983, and the seminal New York hardcore group released classics like "United Blood", "Victim In Pain" and "Cause For Alarm" over the next several years.
In 2017, Miret released a memoir, "My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts, And Glory", which documented his struggles to adapt to life in the U.S. after his family fled the Castro regime. According to the Phoenix New Times, the book delved into many facets of Miret's life: the grinding poverty of his childhood; living as a teenager squatter; becoming deeply enmeshed in downtown New York’s hardcore scene; and later turning to drug-running to support his family.
In addition to fronting AGNOSTIC FRONT, Miret has also played with ROGER MIRET AND THE DISASTERS and is a member of THE ALLIGATORS.
For the past several years, Roger has resided in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Photo credit: Lad & Misfit Photography | +1 | |
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25 дек 2024
JOHN CORABI Says He Was Both 'Bummed' And 'Relieved' When He Was Fired From MÖTLEY CRÜE
 In a new interview with Rock Daydream Nation, ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, was asked if he saw any of the drama in the MÖTLEY camp that the band is notorious for while he was a member of the group. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There was so much drama in that band and turmoil. And so when they told me that they were bringing Vince back, there was a huge part of me that was bummed and kind of upset, but there was another part of me that felt like somebody was… I felt like a 300-pound man was standing on my shoulders. So I was actually relieved at the same time, if that makes any sense at all.
"Yeah, there was shit like that going on all the time," Corabi continued. "And it's funny, now this interview is gonna come out and it's gonna go global and everybody's [gonna say], 'Goddamn it. He's talking about MÖTLEY again. Doesn't that guy have anything better to talk about?' [Laughs]"
Asked if any of the other MÖTLEY members "put up a fight" to keep him in the band when the record company made it clear they wanted Vince back in MÖTLEY, John said: "I don't know. I found out later that they had been secretly meeting with Vince and the whole time that they were meeting with him, I was kind of under the impression… The record label had said to them — this guy Doug Morris basically said, 'You need to bring back Vince. Get rid of that guy.' He didn't even know my name. He was, like, 'Get rid of the new guy and bring Vince back.' And they never really said that to me; they didn't tell me that till the very end. But I know from that point where we had all flown to New York — this was even before we started doing what became the 'Generation Swine' record; fuck, it was probably a year and a half before, a year before — and I was getting, 'There's no way, Crab. We're never bringing that guy back. No way, dude. No way, dude.' And then in the meantime, they were meeting with him and taking meetings and trying to work things out. And I think they were keeping me in their back pocket in case it didn't work out with Vince. Which is — to be honest with you, I get it. That's a smart thing to do.
"There was just so much drama with those guys," Corabi reiterated. "I would work out in the morning with Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist], and he would talk about Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] and Mick [Mars, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist], and then I would go hang out with Tommy to write music in the afternoon, and he would talk about Nikki and Mick. And I was living in Mick's guest house, so then I would come home at night and I would sit and have a drink with Mick and he would talk about Tommy and Nikki. And I was, like, 'Oh my God. It's impossible to keep up with all this bullshit.' You know what I mean? So when they told me, 'Hey, dude, Vince is coming back,' I was bummed. [But] like I said, it [also] felt like someone took a 300-pound man off my shoulders."
Regarding what it was like performing live with MÖTLEY CRÜE, Corabi said: "The funny thing of it is if you watch the [MÖTLEY CRÜE biopic] movie 'The Dirt', they make it look like the band was playing in high school gymnasiums to, like, 20 people [while I was in the group], and it wasn't that way at all. Yeah, we were playing, like, 10,000-plus-seat arenas, but we were selling maybe four thousand, five thousand. So we were doing maybe quarter to half of the arena. And even that, with that three, four, five thousand, six thousand people, the response was great. Singing 'Shout At The Devil' or 'Primal Scream' or 'Wild Side', the audience was into it at the time and it was fun. It was cool."
Asked if there were certain songs from the Vince Neil era of MÖTLEY CRÜE that he refused to sing with the band, John said: "That was my first argument with Nikki. I said, 'I am not singing 'Girls, Girls, Girls'. I won't do it.' And he was, like, 'It's one of our biggest hits.' We got into an argument, and then Tommy intervened on my behalf. He said, 'Dude, if he ain't comfortable with it… He's the one that's gotta sing it, so we'll just pick something else. We don't have to do that song every fucking tour.' So we did 'Wild Side', we did 'Shout At The Devil', we did 'Home Sweet Home', 'Primal Scream'. I can't remember what else. 'Live Wire'. What else did we do? I can't remember. It's been so long. But we did a little bit of that and a little bit of the new record and then we did a couple of covers."
This past June, Corabi was asked by the "Talk Louder" podcast about the fact that he was " one of the early predictors" that Mars "was being shoved out of" CRÜE, forcing the guitarist to file a lawsuit against his bandmates over a year and a half ago. Corabi said: "This is the little quagmire that I have to deal with, and I expect it, because in the grand scheme of things, the thing that put me on the map was MÖTLEY CRÜE. I get it. And it just seems like every time they do something, I get asked a question about what they're doing. Now I've tried to do this before where in an interview, somebody said, 'Oh, hey, dude, what do you think of this MÖTLEY…?' And I said, 'Next question. I'm not answering this. I have nothing to say.' Well, that video came out, and then I started getting e-mails on Facebook and Instagram, 'Oh, dude, you ungrateful prick. Oh, you can't fucking talk about MÖTLEY CRÜE.' So, I go, 'Okay. Well, you know what? I'll answer.' Now if you go on, if I answer anything, all the comments are, like, 'Doesn't this motherfucker have anything to talk about besides MÖTLEY CRÜE?' He was in the band for five minutes and he was a loser.' And so I go, 'Fuck. Whatever.'
"[Someone] asked me a question when I was in London when my book came out [in the fall of 2022]. I was doing a book signing and they had a live audience there and they were asking me questions. And that statement had just come out from MÖTLEY, and it said, 'Mick's retiring. We're gonna continue on with John 5,' and yada, yada, yada. And all I said was, 'I will believe that statement when Mick releases it. The statement that we've been given has come from MÖTLEY and its management. This seems more like a damage-control thing than… I don't believe a word of it until Mick releases the statement.' And then someone asked me another question and they said, 'Well, why do you think that?' And I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge — I don't think I enlightened anybody about anything, because even Mick has said doing the 'Generation Swine' record [1997] was the most miserable, worst fucking time of my life and Tommy and Nikki and [producer] Scott Humphrey literally got under Mick's skin mentally and made him feel like he wasn't a very good guitar player. And at that point, I had been told that Vince was coming back. We wrote a bunch of those songs like the year prior. Vince is coming back, but the management had asked me to help them finish the record. So I said, 'Okay.' I got a call pretty much daily at, like, 9:30, 10 o'clock, and it was Tommy, Nikki and Scott all asking me to come into the studio early because they had Mick in the studio the night before and they were disappointed because they couldn't get anything out of him. So I said, 'Yeah, I'll come in and play, but only if Mick is cool with it.' They said, 'Yep, he is. We already talked with him.' 'Okay. Killer.' I went in, and Mick will tell you this as well — probably 80 percent of the guitars on 'Generation Swine' is me playing. So I know that they weren't happy with Mick during 'Generation Swine'. I don't know who played guitar on 'New Tattoo'… I don't know who played on that record, but I can tell you, after that, they did several new songs for the 'Red, White & Crüe' [compilation] record. That was DJ Ashba on guitar. They did 'Saints Of Los Angeles' — also DJ Ashba on guitar. And then when they did the soundtrack for 'The Dirt', it was John 5…. And then, as you've all seen, [former OZZY OSBOURNE bassist] Bob Daisley went on record saying, 'Dude, when [OZZY OSBOURNE and MÖTLEY CRÜE] did the 'Bark At The Moon' tour [together], they [MÖTLEY CRÜE] were trying to get [then-OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist] Jake E. Lee to join their band back then' — get rid of Mick and get Jake in. So, I'm not telling anybody anything new. This has all been in the press. Mick has stated things about the 'Generation Swine' record. There was a big feud between Tracii Guns and Nikki Sixx back in the day when they were doing BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION. He was mad that they hired DJ Ashba and not him. So I didn't tell anybody anything new, but it was funny, when I said it, everybody goes, 'Dude, you're so full of shit. You don't know what you're talking about. Mick's sick.' And I go, 'Oh, okay. We'll see.' And I have to admit the morning it came out that Mick was suing them, my phone just started blowing up: 'Oh, hey, dude. Sorry. Sorry I said [what I said].' And I wasn't gloating or anything — I didn't give a shit; I really don't give a shit. If you ask me a question, I'm gonna give you an honest answer. But I don't give a shit either way. That's their news, that's their dirty laundry they've gotta sort it out. But it was just funny. I just catch flack all the time. It doesn't matter what I say, what I do. In regards to MÖTLEY, I'm gonna be the asshole. Whatever. And I guarantee you a snippet of this will be on Blabbermouth tomorrow."
Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues.
Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.
When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in early April 2023 the now-73-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting. | +1 | |
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25 дек 2024
L7's DONITA SPARKS: 'We've Always Been An Outlier, Oddball Kind Of Band'
 In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, Donita Sparks of L7, who often got lumped in with their '90s grunge contemporaries, but whose music bore more similarities to the unhinged punk-metal of MOTÖRHEAD, was asked how she would categorize the band's sound. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we've always been an island. I think we've been grouped in those different things. And I think it's really cool that we're invited to participate in all of those tribes [like punk and metal and alternative], but we've always been kind of an outlier, oddball kind of band. I mean, some people said we were Riot grrrls; we weren't. We never called ourselves grunge, but now I don't care if they call us either a metal band or punk or anything. Whatever — just hashtag us, for crying out loud. Please."
Sparks went on to say that L7 has "always been embraced" by fans of alternative, punk and metal music. "We're an anomaly," she said. "For a chick band, it's rare. To be our age… And back then we were embraced by that crowd. Now we're embraced… Who else is…? I mean, I guess Joan Jett maybe. So, I don't know. It's cool. And metal bands and hard rock bands have always been pretty much kind to us and supportive of us."
In November, L7 staged the inaugural "Fast And Frightening Takeover" of the Belasco theater, a dynamic night of music and entertainment in Downtown Los Angeles.
Last year, L7 completed the "In Your Space" U.S. tour, which included stops at Louder Than Life and Aftershock festivals.
Formed in 1985, L7 went on indefinite hiatus in 2001. A 2015 reunion tour was followed by the documentary "L7: Pretend We're Dead" in 2016.
L7's first album in 20 years, "Scatter The Rats", was released in May 2019 via Joan Jett's Blackheart Records. At the time, Sparks told the Asbury Park Press that new music was never part of the reunion strategy. "New music was not in the plan at all," she said. "We just got together to do reunion shows, and that just really kind of took off and we wanted to keep playing shows, we really enjoyed connecting with our fans again.
"Playing rock is fun and we hadn't done it in a long time and we realized, 'Wow, this is really fun again,' so we thought, 'If we want to keep doing this, we should put out new music.' And we felt we still had stuff to say and still wanted to express ourselves with new stuff."
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25 дек 2024
DROWNING POOL's RYAN MCCOMBS Clarifies His Comments About Social Media: 'I Hate The Effect That It's Had On Society'
 In a new interview with The Underground Australia, DROWNING POOL and SOIL vocalist Ryan McCombs clarified his recent comments about the benefits and drawbacks of social media, including interacting with loved ones, business networking and the way it has made people less civil in how they talk to each other. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I appreciate social media because of the fact that it is a medium that allows bands in our situation, allows bands to stay in contact with the people out there that the support the music and everything that allow us to do what we do. And without them, we'd be selling shoes or something… Yeah, we wouldn't be allowed to do this. So I appreciate social media because it allows us to stay in contact with the people that allow us to be us. But I hate social media because of what it does as far as the big picture society-wise.'
He continued: "I hate that the world is full of just generations of zombies that walk around with their [phones in their hands]. And I'm guilty too — I hate it, but I'm guilty too. I sit around with that stupid phone in my hand all the time. I mean, most of the time I'm dealing with e-mails and text messages and stuff as far as stuff like Australian tours and everything. But social media is such a crap thing in another way because people are so concentrated on how many likes they're getting and all this shit, and it's such a false world. And I hate that.
"There's that saying, if you could go back in time, [you'd] go back and kill baby Hitler. But no — I wouldn't. I'd go back and step in the way of anybody who had anything to do with creating social media, because, man, I hate the effect that it's had on society," he added.
Ryan made his original comments about social media last month in an interview with The DJ Force X podcast. He said at the time: "Social media sucks. Social media is cool because it has given us all a way to stay in contact. That's pretty much where the coolness of it stops. There's so much negativity. I mean, people criticizing TV shows and movies — all anybody's got to say about anything anymore is negative shit. It's just, like, man. You jump on social media nowadays and it's a bummer. And then you've got people with the politics. They think they're making a difference by posting some stupid meme on fricking social media instead of actually doing something about the issue. And then if you get over here in the [United] States, if they actually do choose to do something physical, [it's] some stupid rioting or some horseshit like that.
"Man, if I could go back in time and… There's that, 'What would you do if you could go back in time?' … my thing would be I would do whatever I could to make sure that social media never existed so that you would walk into a restaurant and you wouldn't see a family sitting at a table with everybody with their faces in their phones, and families would actually be communicating again and people would be communicating again and not so quick to be tough and talk shit on the social media."
Ryan added: "It's a very cool thing if used in a business sense, like to communicate, whether it's to spread the word about podcasts, whether it's to spread the word about tours, shows, to use it to advertise something that you're doing or not advertise, but to at least let people know that it exists. It's invaluable in that sense. The fact that you have a new record coming out, whatever the case may be, it is a way to allow people that wanna know to know. But at the same time, it's also such a disgusting, ugly fricking creation on a social level. I'd go back in time and take care of that. [Laughs]"
DROWNING POOL's latest single, "Revolution (The Final Amen)", was released on September 20 via SBG Records.
"Revolution (The Final Amen)" marks the first piece of music guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton and drummer Mike Luce have completed with McCombs in 13 years.
The "Revolution (The Final Amen)" video was filmed at El Paso, Texas's Speaking Rock Entertainment Center.
McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL in March 2023 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and at the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.
The longtime SOIL frontman, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, originally joined DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band's studio albums, "Full Circle" (2007) and "Drowning Pool" (2010),as well as a live album, 2009's "Loudest Common Denominator". He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.
McCombs is continuing to front SOIL and will carry on recording and performing with both bands.
DROWNING POOL's debut album, "Sinner", was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD's first single, "Bodies", was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band. DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave "Stage" Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus. | +1 | |
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25 дек 2024
New TESTAMENT Album Will Be 'Pretty Evil', Says STEVE DIGIORGIO
 In a new interview with IMPACT Metal Channel, TESTAMENT bassist Steve DiGiorgio spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Titans Of Creation" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's pretty close to being done. There's still some things here and there to finish. So there's some bits to record still, but it's pretty easy to say the majority of the album is done. So it feels like an album now. But we keep throwing tours in the middle of the recording process, so we just put it on hold and go play for two months and come back and turn on the system and work on it some more. So it'll take a while, but, yeah, I think we'll be mixing in the early part of the year, which means release probably middle of the year."
Regarding the musical direction of the new TESTAMENT material, Steve said: "It's pretty evil. The last album has some cool, catchy songs mixed in with some fast stuff. And it's one of my particularly favorite TESTAMENT records, the way it came out, 'Titans'. So if I say anything, it's supposedly in a good way catchy; it's not a turn-off. But this new one, I would definitely say it is much more evil-sounding. Having the new kid [Chris Dovas] on drums has really picked things up, and Chuck's [Billy, TESTAMENT vocalist] singing just as good as ever. And for being 62 now, he still sounds like Chuck. And we have this [slower song] — they've been talking about it even before we wrote the song; it's a ballad-type song. But it's a TESTAMENT ballad. There's acoustic guitar in it, but then there's still elements of kind of heavy, slow. But having Floor Jansen sing on it, the NIGHTWISH singer. She's gonna do a little guest spot in the song. So, there's a pretty big variety, considering there's a ballad combined with some pretty fast, evil shit, too. So, I guess, just to keep it simple, it's another TESTAMENT record. The TESTAMENT variety is there in all forms again. But this early, it's also hard to tell until it's done and we can sit back and listen to it. Especially me — I'm the worst guesser of how something's gonna be. Sometimes I think it's silly and everybody gets behind it, or sometimes I'm really excited about it and kind of no big reaction. So, I don't know what that means. But I'll just wait and see. But I know that playing it in the studio was intense. It wasn't easy to play, so I think that's why I feel it's evil, 'cause [there were] some difficult, fast passages and stuff."
Last month, Billy told Australia's The Rockpit, about TESTAMENT's upcoming LP: "Well, this [album is] gonna be very special. I think I'm more excited about this one, just because of the fact — the timing of everything. I'm a big person believer in things happen for reasons. And Chris Dovas jamming with us and having a lot of time to come up and spend with Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] at Eric's place, just jamming, coming up a lot of music and working on it hard and tracking it at home and doing demos. And I could tell, when I first started getting the songs and the riffs sent, that it was something different. It's still Eric and I recognize it, but he was being pushed and inspired 'cause Chris is a very fast, aggressive drummer, and I can tell that it just inspired Eric just to be Eric and play guitar instead of trying to think about building a song or making a song — 'Let's just jam.' And that's the kind of way they approached it. And next thing you know, they had 10, 11, 12 jams that were sounding pretty strong, but individually identified just different vibes. And I was, like, 'Okay, this is what it is.' And then, as it just built vocally and everything, that's when we were kind of, 'Wow. It just feels fresh and new and challenging again. Vocally, for me, I've got a wide range of tones on this one — I'm screaming again, which I haven't done that a lot on a lot of records in the past, but a lot on this one. And we are still writing for ourselves, but we're still excited that when we write a song, how it hits live, and that's always been the payoff, is do these songs we write in the studio hit live like we want 'em to? And that's the fun part."
Earlier last month, Peterson told Francisco Zamudio of KNAC.COM about TESTAMENT's upcoming LP: "It's gonna be an amazing record. I'm super excited for everybody to hear it. It's all over the place. It's very focused, but there's a lot of elements going on."
Regarding where TESTAMENT is in the production process for the new album right now, Eric said: "I would say we're, like, 95 percent done recording it. There's some solos to do… Drums, bass [are recorded]. A little bit of guitars need to be done. Alex's [Skolnick, TESTAMENT lead guitarist] got some solos [left to record], some solos for me. I think Chuck's got, like, two or three songs left to do. But everything's pretty much in the can. All the hard work's done. So, we can definitely play it for people and go, 'Look, we've got a record.'"
As for a possible release date for the new TESTAMENT album, Peterson said: "Definitely for singles [it will be early 2025], yes. Release-wise [for the full album], I would say maybe more in the summer. I mean, I guess we could push it and put it out in May, but we'll see what the record company wants to do. Definitely people will be hearing a couple of songs by April [or] May for sure."
Earlier in November, Billy was asked by Jaimunji if the new TESTAMENT LP will be a throwback to some of the band's early records or if it will once again be a step forward for the band. Chuck said: "I think we've always evolved. We never like to go backwards. These songs, definitely the old classic stuff, 'The Legacy' and 'The New Order', that's where we came from, those are the first songs we wrote, so definitely that's who we are, but we always wanna evolve. We don't wanna do something we've done. But I will say the new record, we're very excited for it 'cause Chris Dovas, the new drummer, it's probably the most a drummer has worked with Eric writing material, and it shows.'
He continued: "The songs are very strong, very heavy, very fast. We've got a little of everything. We've got some mid-tempo, but really crushing fast drums. I would even say that we went and put — I don't wanna say the word 'ballad', but it's a very slow, old classic TESTAMENT vibe, like 'Return To Serenity', that we had the confidence and the song is there that we wrote. This record, we're fired up 'cause, to me, it sounds modern. That's the one thing I've gotta say. It's TESTAMENT but modern-sounding, just because I think Chris, he shifts another gear on the songs. I mean, he just puts it to another level as far as the drum playing and inspiring Eric to what he's doing. And it actually opens up the doors for me, challenge-wise, to not just take it the easy way out. I've really had some challenges — a lot more screaming death metal, mid-tempo clean vocals. I'm doing a little bit of everything. So that's the fun part for me and the challenging part, is to make it all work."
Billy also confirmed that one of the new TESTAMENT songs will be a duet with Jansen. "Yeah, I reached out to her," he said. "Me and Floor became friends maybe under 10 years ago. Me and her, Joey Belladonna [ANTHRAX], Udo Dirkschneider [ex-ACCEPT], we all did this Christmas performance show through Europe. And we were singing our songs, but with a Christmas theme with an orchestra. And so we all traveled together and became friends. And she's a powerhouse of a vocalist. Great voice. And when we wrote the song and the lyrics, first thing I thought was, 'Okay, this song, it, it needs a strong girl's voice,' and, of course, Floor is the first one that came to mind. And this song, it's gonna be pretty epic. We're gonna put a string section on it, acoustic guitars. It's gonna have a lot going on, but it's a really, really beautiful song. It's really deep. And with Floor, it's kind of me and her kind of singing the lyrics kind of to each other, and the meaning of the song and what we're saying, it's kind of, like, I'll say my part and she's answering me through the vocal. So it's gonna be very strong, very cool. And I can't wait to hear what she's gonna do on it… We haven't sent it to her because we haven't laid down the acoustic guitars yet for it, but the song's done. I tracked it all. I tracked her parts. And I wanna wait till she hears it for the first time with the acoustics and get the vibe — I want her to be in the vibe once she gets it… And Alex has a connection to some guys that are gonna do the strings on it, who played on some huge records, so what we've heard so far, it's pretty cool."
Billy recently told Metal Express Radio's Bryce Van Patten about how TESTAMENT's songwriting process has changed since the band's early days in the late 1980s and 1990s: "Oh, it's night and day. Before, back then, we all lived the same place, we all had to go to the same studio, where now it's by e-mail, sharing the songs. Everybody has home studios to work out demos. Definitely a different writing process, but still Eric is one of the main writers. And ever since we brought in our new drummer, Chris Dovas, he's been here two years — he was 24 when he came into the band; he's 26 [now]. But he's a smart kid. [He] graduated [from] the Berklee [College] Of Music. [He] knows theory [and is] great in the studio with Pro Tools. He's really into modern bands and new and upcoming stuff, and he's got an old soul so he knows the history of the music. But I think him working hand in hand with Eric as long as they did, he really pushed Eric and drove Eric to get challenged. And I wouldn't say 'copy', but I think Chris and what he listens to and the style Eric likes, it brought an influence to the new songs."
Regarding the musical direction of the new TESTAMENT material, Chuck said: "To me, the new songs sound current, they sound fresh. They're touching what a lot of new upcoming bands are making good names for themselves are doing. So, again, it's raising the bar one more time. And I think when fans hear this record, especially new, younger fans are gonna go, 'Whoa. That's TESTAMENT. I know the TESTAMENT I know from 30-something years ago and grew up with, but what is this?' I'm excited for that because I wanna hear what people think. I'd love to see the expression of them hearing it for the first time. That would be great, because it does sound new and modern and fresh, even though we're still being challenged."
Asked if he and his TESTAMENT bandmates have more freedom to do whatever they want now than they did when you were on a major label like Atlantic, Chuck said: "Totally. When we were on Atlantic, that was a big machine. They had an A&R department, they had the radio department, they had tons of departments, tons of money, and they were always influenced by how well their big-selling artists were, which were radio bands and they were pushing radio. So that A&R guy would be whispering in our ears, 'What's the next radio song?' And we're thinking, "Well, we're not a radio band. That's not us.' And even to this day, when I hear some stuff like [on the SiriusXM channel] Ozzy's Boneyard or something, they play ballads by us, and it's, like, that doesn't represent us, but that represents that era in thinking maybe of what TESTAMENT did or what they chose to expose us to the public, which it's misrepresenting us. So, yeah, the freedom's huge now, especially being with Nuclear Blast as long as we have. There's no deadline. It's just, 'When you're ready, you have a record, give it to us.' And that's been really nice. And the beauty about this record is that usually we have Andy Sneap mix our record, so we usually write a record and give it to him and then it's done, written in stone, can't go back. But this record, we had to pick a somebody to mix it, which wasn't available till early next year, January. So we decided, 'Okay.' We tried to get all the tracking done before we went to Europe this June or July, and we got most of it done."
This past September, Peterson told Brutal Planet Magazine that TESTAMENT has tapped Swedish producer Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with OPETH, KREATOR, PARADISE LOST, SOILWORK and AMON AMARTH, among others, to mix the band's upcoming studio album. Peterson said about the LP: "It's, like, 90 percent done. And it's gonna get mixed in December by Jens Bogren. He's a producer from Sweden, and he's done — God, he's done KREATOR, he's doing the new BEHEMOTH right now, he's done IN FLAMES, ARCH ENEMY. A lot of European bands. We usually work with Andy Sneap, but he's [the touring guitarist] in JUDAS PRIEST and he's just, like, 'Bro, I need some time off.' It's a good switch, though. I think Jens will do a good job. And yeah, there's a lot of crazy stuff on this record. I'm excited for everybody to hear it."
In August, Billy told Oran O'Beirne of Overdrive.ie about the musical direction of the new TESTAMENT material: "We always try to outdo ourselves or make a better record or write better songs. It's always a challenge for ourselves, and I think this time we really took a long time to create the record. We kind of got everybody in the same room to really go through the songs and kind of put their two cents in to the arrangements. I think by having Chris — he's a younger drummer, a really great drummer — but I think he brought you know a new fire to Eric in the writing process. And I believe because we're going on 37 years of making records, it's kind of full circle right now. We're kind of inspired by new generation, I guess, of music and metal. And Chris is a big part of that. He's a big fan of that. So I think he inspired Eric just to write some really aggressive, fast, creative riffs. And it really inspired me to really push myself to try to do a little more screaming, death vocals, melodic stuff. We even went as far as writing — I don't wanna say 'ballad', but it's something really catchy that's really slow that's something we haven't done in over 30 years. So I think just the overall songs and the confidence in the writing this time really is gonna stand out on this record."
This past June, Chuck told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone about the lyrical themes covered in the new TESTAMENT songs: "[It's] not as focused [on], like, the aliens, creating mankind and that kind of stuff, but there is some of that. There's a lot. Each song definitely has its own identity lyrically. And again, we're writing stuff that is real, that happens with the environment; we're singing about that again. A.I., we're singing stuff about that. That's a big thing. So, there's always an inspiration for songs. I think it's a little easier. There's so much going on in our world to write about now. It's a crazy world today, so there's a lot of stuff to talk about. And I like singing about what's real and what's going on instead of some fantasy lyrics, because, for me, I think when I sing 'em, I have more conviction, I believe in 'em a little more. And maybe it's easier for me to remember the lyrics live. [Laughs]"
Naming specific tracks, Chuck said: "There's a song, 'Havana Syndrome', which is about the Havana Syndrome. People, look that up. There's 'Infanticide A.I.', which is another song going A.I. direction. And there's actually a slower song. We haven't done a slower song. I'm not gonna say 'ballad', but I'm gonna say a slower song that has a lot of groove and soul, called 'Meant To Be'. And it's like a classic TESTAMENT-type ballad, I guess, if you wanna use that word. But we've got a little bit of everything, but, again, I think it's really sticking to TESTAMENT, having to have some melodic stuff, even though there's some really brutal lyrics and real brutal, more of a death voice. I still put the hook in with more of a melodic hook or something. It's still classic TESTAMENT. If you listen to it, you'll go, 'That's TESTAMENT, but a little more octane to it.'"
Also in June, Chuck told Canada's The Metal Voice that he writes most of TESTAMENT's lyrics with Del James. "Del, he works with GUNS N' ROSES," Chuck said. "He's been working with them and wrote with them a long time ago. I think he had big hits like 'November Rain' with them. And we've been working [together] for over 20 years. So I always go down and work with him because I come up with a lot of the ideas and concepts, but he really interprets and gets the right words, how to say what I'm thinking. And we work fast. When we get together, we'll knock out like two songs in a day. So we don't mess around. We get there, say hello to each other, we sit down and we go right to work. It's about what we do." | +3 | |
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25 дек 2024
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25 дек 2024
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24 дек 2024
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24 дек 2024
APOCALYPTICA Perform Christmas Classics "O Holy Night" And "The Little Drummer Boy"; Visualizer
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24 дек 2024
BRUCE KULICK And Wife LISA LANE KULICK Perform "Santa Baby"; Video
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24 дек 2024
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24 дек 2024
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24 дек 2024
FINAL DEPRAVITY - Vocalist BENJAMIN KRZIS Parts Ways With The Band
 German thrash metal band, Final Depravity, have issued the following unexpected update:
"Today, on our 17th anniversary as a band, we have an important announcement to share with you: A few months ago, our vocalist Benjamin Krzis decided to part ways with Final Depravity. While we are sad to see him go, we fully respect his decision and want to wish him nothing but success and happiness in whatever the future holds for him."
"Benjamin has been an essential part of Final Depravity, and over the years, he became not just a bandmate, but also a close friend. His talent, dedication, and energy have left a lasting impact on the band, and he will be deeply missed both on stage and off." | 0 | |
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24 дек 2024
MARK TREMONTI Isn't Bothered By CREED 'Haters': 'If It Becomes A Household Name, There's Gonna Be People That Hate On It'
 In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, Mark Tremonti was asked if all the "hate" that CREED got at the height of the band's popularity is something that shaped him as an artist or something that he was able to grow from. Mark responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "After a while you just kind of realize if you wanna be in a band where it got as big as CREED did, there's gonna be people that love you, there's gonna be people that hate you. Look at all the biggest bands in the world, look at especially pop artists, if it becomes a household name, there's gonna be people that hate on it. And you've gotta take the good with the bad. Would you rather sell tons of records and have people come at you or sell no records and have everybody love you? And I got to see both sides of that when we started ALTER BRIDGE. When we started ALTER BRIDGE and we had gotten into a few records, we got a lot of critical praise, but we weren't selling the millions of records that CREED was. So I got to see what it feels like on both sides. Yeah, I mean, I'm glad I've gotten to experience it all. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for those early CREED days."
Tremonti previously drew a straight line between the backlash and CREED's massive popularity in a July 2024 interview with Guitar World magazine, noting: "Whether it's LeBron James in basketball or CREED in rock 'n' roll, anytime somebody is on top, people want to see them knocked down. We were on the radio non-stop, and we were playing your city every other month. Some people push back on that.
"You're seeing it now with Taylor Swift," he continued. "She shows up at a [Kansas City] Chiefs game, and everybody wants to hate on the situation. It's just a shame. Don't hate on people because they're successful."
CREED's "Summer Of '99" tour was put on sale in November 2023, and exceeded expectations, leading to a fall leg announced in February. The "Are You Ready?" tour featured 3 DOORS DOWN and MAMMOTH WVH, this time taking in arenas in new markets and some repeats, with many dates selling out immediately, according to Pollstar.
CREED's reunion started in April with a pair of cruises, before the North American trek kicked off on July 17 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
With more than 53 million albums sold worldwide, CREED remains one of modern rock's most successful acts. Now, 30 years into their incredible journey, CREED is bigger than ever. In late 2023, the Texas Rangers made "Higher" their unofficial anthem, as it spurred them to their first World Series win. Earlier this year, the song appeared in a high-profile Paramount+ Super Bowl commercial, while a NASCAR Daytona 500 campaign also incorporated the hit single. Along the way, CREED has gained a new generation of fans, thanks to countless TikTok videos that feature their songs.
In the summer of 2023, after an 11-year hiatus, CREED announced its long-awaited reunion — returning to the stage for the first time at the sold-out Summer Of '99 cruise and Summer Of '99 And Beyond cruise. In May, meanwhile, the band's multiplatinum-selling "Greatest Hits" collection made its wide debut on vinyl (via Craft),this month landing the collection back into the Billboard Top 200, as well as hitting Top Hard Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Alternative Albums, and moving up the Top Hard Rock Albums rankings. Originally issued in 2004, the 14-track compilation spans the band's first three albums (1997's "My Own Prison", 1999's "Human Clay" and 2001's "Weathered"). | +1 | |
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24 дек 2024
TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Says He Was 'Confident' When He Joined JUDAS PRIEST: 'I Knew That I Could Sing Really Good'
 In a new interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast, former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens reflected on how he joined the band in 1996 after being discovered when PRIEST drummer Scott Travis was given a videotape of Tim performing with the PRIEST cover band BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Rob Halford, who has since rejoined the band. Asked what kind of advice or preparation he had for stepping into those shoes, Owens said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, listen, I was confident. They were confident with my voice. I knew some fans wouldn't like me, but I also knew that I could sing really good, and I could sing really good live. One advantage I felt I had as a singer was I could sing what I recorded in the studio; whatever I recorded, I'm gonna be able to sing that live. And I felt when fans came to the show, they would be happy that they have someone who's coming in the JUDAS PRIEST that could still keep the voice going. So if someone didn't like me, there's nothing I could do. K.K. [Downing, then-PRIEST guitarist] used to always say, ''The proof is in the pudding. Come to the show and see.' And I think a lot of people used to come to the shows and they just couldn't wait to hate me. They hated me showing up and wanted me to fail. And so many of 'em, I'd win 'em over when I started singing, because they could tell that I loved it; I loved what I was singing, and I wanted to do the songs justice. So I always felt confident."
Addressing the fact that the two albums PRIEST recorded with Owens — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — sold poorly, and he was ultimately pushed out to clear the way for the return of Halford, Tim said: "It was a really bad time of heavy metal. So it wasn't like I joined them in the heyday. I mean, when Rob left JUDAS PRIEST, they were playing in front of a couple thousand people on the 'Painkiller' tour, a lot of shows So, it really wasn't a great time of heavy metal. So I understood that, and I understood people would want Rob back. But all I cared about was getting on stage and sound[ing good]. I just wanted the band to be happy and me to be happy with me doing it. That's all I worried about."
He added: "I know a lot of the the musicians at the time, especially the hair metal bands, because hair metal was gone at that time, they hated me in L.A., 'cause they were, like, 'Who's this guy? He comes from Akron, Ohio. What's he done? How's he here?' And I still am the same Ohio guy, [with the] same friends. I have the same attitude. And all of us are the same. I tell musicians this all the time: we're all the same. I mean, nothing different."
Asked if he had any sort of communication or relation with Halford at that time, Owens said: "No, just in the press. They always tried to get us to say mean things and bad things. And every now and then, one of us would say something. Now, this was pre-Internet. So, I couldn't imagine doing that nowadays, how screwed up it would be. But, no, because there was a respect. I don't think Rob liked me much, probably at the time, because someone's going to his band, his songs and singing this, but we always had this respect. And when we met each other, we always had great talks. And I think it made a lot of people mad that we liked each other. I think it made a lot of people mad, and I think it still does. But whenever I've seen him, I love talking to him, and he knows what's going on with me, and he's, like, 'Oh, I see that you're playing in Russia,' whatever."
Tim continued: "Back in those days, [journalists] would have the old tape recorder hidden. Now they could just turn their phone on, and no one would know it. But you would do an interview, and then they go, 'All right, the interview's over.' And then they'd turn the tape recorder off, but they'd have another one going in their pocket trying to get you to say stuff. And you know this, doing interviews, you get people to feel comfortable so you talk like you're friends. And then you just start saying stuff. And I put my foot in my mouth a few times. Oh, now I do all the time, because now — I always do."
When The Vinyl Guide host noted that his podcast is generally kept "gossip-free" and he doesn't try to elicit "clickbait" headlines out of his interview subjects, Owens said: "But you don't even have to do that because, even this conversation we can have, Blabbermouth will make drama out of something I said. It's just normal — [I could say] one line that isn't bad, but they could make it sound bad. 'Cause some people won't even go look at the interview; they'll just look at that line in the headline and go, 'Tim says that Rob didn't like him.' Not saying [anything else about] what we just talked about.'
Tim continued: "But anyways, it's good to have [a gossip-free show], because there's enough of that shit on the Internet now and on social media, why should we talk about the negative stuff or try to bring out that kind of stuff? I mean, listen, social media, everybody knows everything, all the fans know what I should look like and write like and give me career advice. I get career advice every day by someone who flips burgers, but they give me career advice every day. And it's, like, 'Why do you do this? You should do this.' I'm, like, 'What do you do?' So we could just talk about the good stuff."
Asked if there is a classic Halford-era PRIEST song that is extraordinarily hard for him to sing, Owens said: "I haven't sang them all. The ones I've done, 'Metal Meltdown''s a little harder, I guess. But I try to sing these songs exactly how they were recorded in the studio. Rob has an advantage. He can change 'em, 'cause they're his songs. So he doesn't actually sing 'em like they were sung in the studio, which most people should do that. I'm forcing myself to try to do it. But I think I probably have a harder time with a few of the ones I wrote — 'Blood Stained' or some of the other things. 'The Sentinel' can be tough to sing. But, again, I'm not doing all the stuff. I can 100% guarantee there's some tough ones. As you get older, I mean, now that I'm 57, but I'm singing right now as good as I've ever sang, so I'm kind of lucky. But I probably have a little more trouble with some KK'S PRIEST songs, 'cause I wrote 'em. Singers always write to the top of their ability — not always, but sometimes — and that's when you get yourself in trouble."
This past January, Owens was asked by The Metal Voice if he thinks the two albums that he has done with KK'S PRIEST so far would have been "a total game changer" if they were released under the JUDAS PRIEST name back in the 1990s and early 2000s instead of "Jugulator" and "Demolition". He responded: "I don't think it would have been. I think it was the time we were at. I think if we released 'Jugulator' and 'Demolition' right now, it would be totally different, in my opinion. Because metal was so bad [back in the 1990s]. Bands were playing in smaller places. At the end of JUDAS PRIEST, on the 'Painkiller' tour, they were playing in front of a thousand people in Europe and stuff; I mean, it was a totally different kind of an animal. In 2000 or so, when it started coming back, you started seeing it. Now you get [IRON] MAIDEN and PRIEST out there still selling out these big concerts — well, MAIDEN selling out their really big concerts. And I think those records… It's hard to replace somebody like [Rob Halford]. I don't care how great the records would have been. [The fans] still want Rob, just like people still yell that they want Ken [former JUDAS PRIEST and current KK'S PRIEST guitarist Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing] in PRIEST. I mean, that's a normal thing. But I think no matter what we would have released, I don't think it would have [been received much better]. It would have been about the same."
Owens was also asked if his lack of songwriting contributions to PRIEST was primarily the result of the fact that he was the "new guy" in the band, Owens said: "Oh, exactly. You're joining JUDAS PRIEST. At the end, I did wanna write. I came to the table with a few songs; 'Scream Machine' [which appeared on the 2006 album from his BEYOND FEAR project] was one of them, actually, which would have probably been one of the better JUDAS PRIEST songs on those records. But it's JUDAS PRIEST. It's K.K. You know what I mean? You just go with it, and I was fine with how everything went. I loved the records, and I learned a lot from working with Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] and Ken, and working in the studio. I learned a lot."
In September 2023, Owens spoke to Cassius Morris about his relationship with Halford. He said: "I think it made people very angry that there never really was [a rivalry between us]. I mean, there was a little bit of things said back in the day, but we've always been friends and I've always respected him, obviously. And he's always talked well about me in the press. So I think it does make people mad that that they're that we don't hate each other and we say bad things. But we definitely consider each other friends and there's respect there."
Asked if he thinks there is a chance of PRIEST staging a one-off reunion concert featuring all current and former members of the band, including Owens and Downing, Tim said: "Should there be? Yes. Will there be? I don't think so. I don't think they would ever do it. They don't seem to make those kind of good decisions, so I don't think it would happen. I mean, this is a band that went to one guitar player [in 2022]" he added, referencing the fact that PRIEST announced it would tour with one guitarist before quickly reversing its decision and going back to the two-guitar format. "So I really don't think that that it would happen."
He continued: "I think it would be great if they got Ken back and they did a tour. I think the world would love to see that especially. Me? It definitely is not gonna happen, I wouldn't think. But I think fans would love it. I think it'd be great and it would be fun… but I don't think it'll ever happen."
Three years ago, Owens told Pierre Gutiérrez of Rock Talks that it didn't "make sense" JUDAS PRIEST to not perform any songs from the two albums he recorded with the band — the aforementioned "Jugulator" and "Demolition" — during the group's then-ongoing 50th-anniversary tour. "I mean, it was JUDAS PRIEST," he said. "Listen, you're celebrating 50 years of JUDAS PRIEST, but you're leaving out 10 years of it. The thing is Rob would sound so awesome… Could you imagine Rob singing 'Burn In Hell'? Holy crap, it would sound fantastic. So, there's nothing wrong with sticking 'Burn In Hell' in a setlist. It was right in the middle there, so… I don't know.
"It's amazing JUDAS PRIEST has never done it," Owens continued. "They don't always have to do it, but it's amazing that they've never done it. I mean, Rob supposedly has never heard my era of JUDAS PRIEST, and it's kind of all right because I've never actually listened to his solo stuff except FIGHT, so we're kind of even on it. After FIGHT, I've not really listened to his stuff either, so it's kind of all right.
"When I was in JUDAS PRIEST, I didn't listen to a lot of stuff so I really didn't listen to the HALFORD stuff — unless somebody had it on somewhere," Tim explained.
"I love Rob — Rob is a friend and a mentor and an idol. Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio are the two guys that really inspired me. So it's nothing against anything, really. It's not that I didn't want to [listen to his solo stuff]; I just never did. It was kind of, like, 'I'm in JUDAS PRIEST. There's no need.' But after I left, I listened to the JUDAS PRIEST records. Whether I liked them or not, I listened to 'em."
In September 2021, Rob was asked by Classic Rock magazine if he has listened to "Demolition" and "Jugulator". "No. I still haven't," he said. "This might sound selfish, but because it's not me singing, I'm not attracted to it. I sound like a twat, but I'm really just not interested. And that's no disrespect to Ripper, 'cause he's a friend of mine."
Halford went on to say that he first met Owens "when the band went through Ohio, [and Tim] came to the show. Was it awkward? Not in the least," he said. "We gave each other a hug. He's a massive PRIEST fan, and when the opportunity came for me to go back, he was, like, 'Thumbs up, it's great. I'm happy for the band, I'm happy for Rob.' I respect his chops; he's a great singer."
In a 2000 interview, Halford explained why he was reluctant to hear "Jugulator". "It's just too difficult for me to listen to the band when I'm not in it, and that's nothing to do with taking a shot at Ripper," he said. "I just can't listen to it. It's just psychological. I should just put it on and listen to the fucking thing, but then if I do, [interviewers] will say, 'Well have you heard it?', and I'll go, 'Yeah', and then you'll go, 'What do you think?', and I don't want to do that. I don't want to be put in that situation. I just love all the things that I've done with the band and I'm happy to be a part of that great legacy and that's all. You want to treat it with respect because that's what it deserves."
In October 2020, Halford told "The SDR Show" that he would "absolutely" be open to performing material from "Demolition" and "Jugulator" with PRIEST. "Those two albums are just as valid as everything else in the PRIEST catalog," he explained. "So who knows? That day may yet come."
In 2019, Owens told Ultimate Guitar that he believes his era of JUDAS PRIEST is largely overlooked. "Yeah, I think it definitely deserves more [attention]," he said. "I mean, they don't do anything. [Laughs] It's kind of amazing that they just totally erased it that they won't play... I mean, 'Burn In Hell' [off 'Jugulator'], the crowd would like to hear 'Burn In Hell'.
"They don't have to give me a tribute or anything, but it would be nice to play a song from... You know, that was a pretty big thing, I did two studio records, two live records, and a DVD, starting from '96 to 2004. So it's kind of crazy that it's just been erased and they won't even play a song from it live, because it is JUDAS PRIEST."
In October 2019, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner said that "Hell Is Home" is one of his favorite songs from the Owens era. The PRIEST guitarist, who joined the band in 2011 as the replacement for K.K. Downing, offered his opinion during a live video chat. He said: "I was listening to the Ripper albums the other day, and 'Hell Is Home' is such a great track. It's really heavy and the vocal melody is really great. I think Ripper sings it really well. It's probably one of my favorite PRIEST songs of the Ripper era. 'Hell Is Home' — I really like that."
"Demolition" and "Jugulator" are included on "50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music", JUDAS PRIEST's limited-edition box set which contains every official live and studio album to date plus 13 unreleased discs. Released in October 2021, it is the most extensive release of previously unreleased music the band has made from its vast archives.
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24 дек 2024
DAVE MUSTAINE On Upcoming MEGADETH Album: 'We've Got Some Really Great Ideas We're Working On'
 During a December 22 chat on X Spaces, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine offered an update on the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's upcoming follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right now I'm in the studio working with [engineer] Chris Rakestraw. And everybody else is gone. Teemu [Mäntysaari, MEGADETH guitarist] is in Switzerland and James [LoMenzo, MEGADETH bassist] and Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] are in Los Angeles. So it's just me here by myself with Chris. And Chris leaves tomorrow to go on a vacation, and I'm working up to the last second today to get as much done as I can before he takes off because we won't be starting again until he returns somewhere around New Year's Day. And at that point, it's only a matter of a couple weeks before everybody converges on to the studio. And for that I'm pumped. And you guys are gonna be excited."
Regarding what it has been like being back in the studio, Dave said: "It's been frustrating, because I wanna be farther along than I am right now. But that's quite all right.
"When you write original music, you've always gotta start at the first step," he explained. "And that's what I've been doing my whole career. So, before we did this, I had all four of us listen to the entire catalog — every single song; 205 songs — and I wanted to make sure they knew chord progressions, lyric patterns, all kinds of stuff like that, so that they would hear tempos and starts and stops and everything to help them be able to songwrite and contribute also. And it's been really great because Teemu is contributing, Dirk is contributing, like last time, James contributed back in the day and he's got more stuff coming on this record.
"It was funny because sometimes when you think, 'Ah, I don't really know that that riff is that good,' and then you go back and you listen to it another day and say, 'Yeah, that's pretty cool.' 'Well, you already listened to it and you didn't like it.' 'What?' That kind of thing. So, we went through a bunch of riffs over and over and over and over and over again, and so far we've got some really great ideas we're working on."
Rakestraw is a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two albums, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".
This past September, Teemu, who joined the band more than a year ago as the replacement for Kiko Loureiro, was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the progress of the songwriting sessions for MEGADETH's next LP. He said: "Yeah, actually, already a while back Dave started talking about making the next album and kind of starting to do pre-production. And as soon as he mentioned that, and kind of before that already, once it was clear that I'm gonna be staying with the band, then I kind of started putting my ideas down and just recording any riff ideas that I feel like could be something that could be used in MEGADETH. And by now I have a bunch of riffs and ideas that I've gathered. And then Dave told me that he likes to work the way that everybody does their riffs and then at some point we're gonna get together and then review things and see which riffs are gonna work together and then work out the parts between the riffs to kind of connect things and then that way come up with the skeletons for the songs. And I'm really looking forward to doing that and hearing how he feels about my ideas as well. But what I've done so far is whenever I have a moment to sit down, I usually just record a little video of myself playing a riff idea and then when we have a day off at the hotel, then I would record that properly and then just like have this folder of riffs that we can look into at some point. So, [I'm] really looking forward to that. And Dave has been really supportive and sounds like he wants to have all the guys' input on the next album, which is really exciting."
In August, Mustaine was asked by Chuck Armstrong of "Loudwire Nights" how the dynamic within MEGADETH has changed since Mäntysaari's addition to the band. Mustaine responded: "Well, we are a band again. It doesn't feel like me and some side players or some session guys. Not that it felt like that with any of the previous lineups, but that was one of the fears that I had. I feel like Kiko did us a really huge courtesy by helping us find Teemu because with Kiko needing to step down… I thought I was gonna finish my career out with Kiko, and when things came up with him, he couldn't tour anymore because he needed to be home for his kids. So I see he's touring again, which I'm happy that he's still playing. But he had to go home. And when he did, he introduced us to Teemu. And it was an even closer connection between me and Teemu than Kiko and I had. We'll [Kiko and I] always be friends, but this new relationship I have is — it harkens me back to the days when we had Marty Friedman in the band and the four of us actually felt like a band."
Mäntysaari stepped in September 2023 for Loureiro, who announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the 37-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.
Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.
Earlier in August, Mustaine was asked by Kyle Meredith what Mäntysaari has brought to MEGADETH that wasn't there before. Mustaine responded: "God, he's such an amazing talent. And as far as being a human is concerned, he's a really humble guy. He's fun to be around because he's kind of — there's this 'greenness' to him, if that's a word, greenness. He makes it really fun because he's gone from being in a band that was pretty well known to being in MEGADETH. And so everything's very new for him at this level. And for us, we get to kind of enjoy ourselves, because we sometimes forget where we're at and then you see other people that, 'Wow, the bread is round and so is the meat,' that kind of shit. And it just makes him really happy, and it just reminds you of how good you have it."
Regarding how much a lineup change like that actually alters the musical DNA of the band, Dave said: "Well, it depends on who the new player is. If they're willing to learn the parts, then the songs either, they stay where they are or they get better. And a lot of times when you have a new player, like when Teemu came in, he played everything identical to the original players. So, he's been one of the best guitar players to step in and play somebody else's stuff. I don't know what his stuff's going to sound like yet, which I'm looking forward to finding out."
This past June, Mustaine told Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece that he thinks Teemu will contribute to the songwriting process on MEGADETH's next studio album. "I think he's gonna be a great addition to MEGADETH," Dave said. "He already has. We're playing more songs now than we were playing before. And that has nothing negative to say about any of the previous lineups. It just says that he knew more about the band and understands the metal backbone of so many of these songs more than some of the other people would understand it."
He continued: "When you're a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who, say for example, knows progressive rock like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Chris Broderick does, or somebody who knows bossa nova, which Kiko does, or somebody that plays jazzy, like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Glen Drover would play, maybe Al Pitrelli. These guys all have their strengths."
Mustaine added: "I've often thought, although I've never said it, I do believe that when somebody gets singled out by me, that's pretty much it for them. They've been indoctrinated into the world of great guitar players, and from that moment on, their life will change."
In early October 2023, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."
In September 2023, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like Marty. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."
Photo credit: Ryan Chang
💀Set Your Reminders💀 https://t.co/YJvFu1KbCw#Megadeth#MegadethDigital
— Megadeth Digital (@MegadethDigital) December 19, 2024
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24 дек 2024
MARK OSEGUEDA On Singing For KERRY KING's Band: It's 'Probably The Most Aggressive Thing That I've Done Vocally'
 In a new interview with Australia's May The Rock Be With You, Mark Osegueda was asked what he thinks he can do vocally with Kerry King's solo band that he can't do with DEATH ANGEL. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know if that is anything that I'm not allowed to do that I can't do with DEATH ANGEL because I kind of have carte blanche with DEATH ANGEL to do what I want, in a way. But what I think it's just brought out another character in my voice. And it's much more aggressive — probably the most aggressive thing that I've done vocally. The closest thing we'd have in it from DEATH ANGEL is a song called 'Divine Defector'. [That] is the closest one that we have to that intensity level. But this whole album is even more so. If anything, it just allows me to just really get out all frustrations the whole way through the set. [Laughs] And, as I said, it gives more variety in my voice."
Asked if there is already new music from Kerry King in the works, Mark said: "Oh, yeah. Kerry already has a lot of stuff written for the next record. He's got a work ethic that I absolutely admire and respect. And I'm hungry to start doing the new stuff. And I know he is too. We're doing this touring cycle and he's already putting the pieces together. Pretty much when this touring cycle is done, I believe that he's gonna start doing demos again already."
King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music. Joining King and Osegueda on the record are drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH) and guitarist Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD). Working with producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, BAD RELIGION),the vast bulk of King's solo album was recorded at Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios) in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from THE DOORS, PINK FLOYD, RAMONES and SOUNDGARDEN, among others.
Seven months ago, Mark admitted to the "Let There Be Talk" podcast that he didn't tell his DEATH ANGEL bandmates that he had joined Kerry King's solo project until it was officially announced in early February. "I really had to respect the NDA [non-disclosure agreement I signed with Kerry's team]," he explained. "I really did. And it was eating at me. 'Cause DEATH ANGEL has been touring consistently — we toured consistently when the world shut down [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. When the world reopened, we went right back out on the road. And this was all happening. I was starting to do these demos during the pandemic, and then, after that, I was regularly seeing Kerry to do more demos [for his debut solo album] when the world opened. And [Kerry's] record was done for a year before it came out. And I'd be on tour with DEATH ANGEL. And there were some nights where me and Rob [Cavestany, DEATH ANGEL guitarist] were in the lounge, just me and him, drinking, listening to music and just laughing and talking like we do. And it just took everything in me [not to tell him what was going on]. It's so hard to not just say, 'Look, bro. Look, bro.'
"This is one of those things that just, like it or not, some people will think I'm an ass about it, but I just kind of really promised — I promised Kerry and I signed the NDA," Mark explained. "I promised everyone I wasn't gonna let anyone know. The only people who knew were my girlfriend, my girl, my mom and my sister. We didn't even tell my dad 'cause my dad has loose lips. So we didn't even tell him then. So those are the three people who knew. And, of course, people who were at the studio when we were recording, and shit like that, who were all NDA people as well. So it's fucked up, but I waited and let him know through e-mail same day that the [official] announcement [of Kerry's new band] happened. And then shortly thereafter I talked to Rob and Ted [Aguilar, DEATH ANGEL guitarist]."
Elaborating on how he approached informing his longtime bandmates of his involvement with Kerry's new band, Mark said: "I said in the e-mail, 'Look, this is the toughest thing for me to tell you.' And how I worded it in one aspect to them was just pretty much, 'This is gonna be either the most surprising thing in the world to you or, slash, the most obvious thing in the world to you.' And I even said at the end, 'cause it was an e-mail to all the guys, and I just said, 'Take some time to really process all this before you respond, before we talk. Let all this kind of sink in, and then when come together, if you wanna talk to me, then we'll all talk.' And shortly thereafter, I talked to Ted and Rob. And they were still a little sideswiped, for sure — for sure. I could see it in their [faces]… We did a FaceTime kind of Zoom call, the three of us, and they were both definitely still in kind of a state of processing it. But by the end of the call, after we talked for about an hour, they were supportive, for sure, happy for me. And they both did say, 'Now that you mention it, man, it is kind of the most obvious fucking thing in the world.' [Laughs] But it was tough, man. I'm not gonna lie. It's tough, 'cause we've been through so much together — so much together — especially me and Rob. I mean, not to take away from… Shit, Ted's been in the band since 2001, and now Damien [Sisson, bass] and Will [Carroll, drums] have been in the band for well over a decade now. So it's crazy. But, of course, me and Rob, we've known each other since we were in the crib. So that it was a tough one. But now, [Rob is] very, very supportive. Before the first [Kerry King] show, I got a text from him saying, 'Have a fucking killer show, bro.' And all this stuff. The [Kerry King album] release day, he sent me congratulations on release day. Ted as well. So, they've [come] to accept it. And I think it's already brought a lot of attention to DEATH ANGEL. And it's gonna keep doing that. But it was tough."
Mark added: "I'm excited about everything. I'm excited about everything ahead. But, yeah, for sure, it was definitely a delicate situation. Even before it was happening, when I knew it was coming up, it was, like, 'I've gotta choose my words carefully.' It's tough. But now that it's out, I feel so relieved — so relieved — it's out. And since then, we've [DEATH ANGEL] toured South and Central America together recently, and that was the first tour we did since the [Kerry King] announcement and some [of Kerry's] songs have been released. So everyone got along great. And it's out. And it just feels so much better to be around the guys with them knowing. I just felt so odd them not knowing."
Asked by Delray if he made his clear in his initial e-mail that he was not quitting DEATH ANGEL, Mark said: "Yeah, absolutely. Well, first, I'm kind of yammering about the process of it, but I definitely said, 'I'm very much still the singer of DEATH ANGEL.' And, of course, when I was talking to Rob and Ted, Rob was, like, 'I was very happy to hear you say that.' Like, 'Of course, bro.'"
In a recent interview with Uruguay's The Dark Melody, Mark stated about how he feels about being part of Kerry's band: "Yeah, I'm thrilled about it. That's how I feel about it. I'm excited as hell. I worked hard to get that gig — very hard to get that gig — and since I did, I worked very hard in the studio. And then the recording experience of the record was incredible. We went to the studio with Josh Wilbur and the recording went great. It went great. And I think Kerry assembled a band of people he knew could pull off the vision and what he heard in his head… And the album, it's a beast. It's a savage. It is."
Regarding how he landed the gig in Kerry's band, Mark told El Planeta Del Rock: "It wasn't an overnight thing. It was a long process. Me and Kerry are friends, for sure, but that's not the reason I got the gig. By no means did I get the gig because we're friends; it was definitely a lot of hard work.
"He's an institution unto himself as his, as is SLAYER, and when SLAYER announced that they weren't gonna go any longer, he made it known to everyone that he was far from done," Mark continued. "And when that was announced, it was quite a few years ago. It was probably during the pandemic that I just gave him a cold call out of the blue, or a cold text rather, just saying, 'Just so you know, I heard you're doing this, and I'm just throwing my name into the hat, into the ring, or throwing my throat into the ring rather.' And he was, like, 'Hmm.' He's a very to-the-point guy, and he said, 'Okay.' And I know he's very serious about everything he does musically.
"It was a lot of hard work, I'll tell you that — a lot of going back and forth," Mark repeated. "I did quite a bit of demoing with him, and nothing was a sure thing ever. I know he had other people in mind for every for every position in the band. I think Paul was the shoo-in right off the bat, and then after that… Kerry knew his vision. He knew what he wanted. He knew what he heard in his head, and he wanted a lineup that could deliver it. And after a lot of hard work, one day me and him were out together — and it was plain simple as that. But quite some time had gone by and a lot of work was put into it, and he just said, 'If you want the gig, it's yours.' And I, of course, I just looked at him, like, 'Ah.' Pretty much, 'Fuck yeah.' And I gave him a huge hug, and from then on it was just even more hard work. As hard as I worked to get the gig, once I got the gig, it was even more hard work just concentrating on the songs and getting what I was gonna do to deliver in the studio. Once we got in the studio, we went in with Josh Wilbur, who produced it, at Henson Studios in Hollywood, and we didn't mess around. We got in — I think loaded in, two weeks later loaded out. It was work every day, but one of the most amazing studio experiences I've had and very fulfilling."
Kerry told Rolling Stone about Osegueda's addition to the band: "With Mark, he was on board early on. I just didn't pull that trigger. I was like, 'Let's see what happens.' Say for instance, [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford calls me and says, 'Hey, I would love to be your singer,' I'd have to go that way."
King also confirmed that PANTERA's Philip Anselmo was "considered" as a possible singer for his new project. "My management, my promoter, my record label all wanted Phil," Kerry said. "Phil's a good friend of mine, but I always thought he's not the right guy. That has nothing to do with his ability; I just knew he wasn't the right guy. When you hear Mark on this record, you know that's the guy.
"I had to do due diligence, because at the end of the day, had Philip been the guy, we'd be in arenas immediately because we could play new stuff, we could play PANTERA, we could play SLAYER, and fans would've been happy. It ended when the PANTERA thing came up.
"I saw Mark a few years back singing covers of MINOR THREAT and cameo in THE WEDDING BAND with members of METALLICA," King added. "It was different from what he does in DEATH ANGEL, and he sounded great. He's super versatile. He took steps to make this different than DEATH ANGEL. I don't touch on probably 50 percent of what he can do on the album.
"Mark knew how I expected the songs to be performed. On my demos, I sing with very good conviction, but I don't have pipes; that's why I don't sing. With 'Residue', he sounded so good I had to ask him, 'Is this sustainable? I don't want you to blow your load on this record and then blow your voice out every third show.' And he swore up and down he could do it. He went on to some of the harder ones and did the same thing on those, so I went, 'Okay.'"
Following his recent tour with LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON and his first European headline tour earlier this year, King and his new band will hit the road for the 28-date North American headline tour in early 2025. With MUNICIPAL WASTE as special guest and ALIEN WEAPONRY supporting, the tour is set to launch in San Francisco on January 15, 2025, and wrap at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22.
In early May, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).
KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.
The SLAYER guitarist's solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour wrapped on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.
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24 дек 2024
Watch THOMAS ZWIJSEN Perform DIO Classic "Rainbow In The Dark" Live With Brass Orchestra And Violin
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24 дек 2024
GENE SIMMONS Admits He Took Some Heat For Contributing To 'Reagan' Movie, But Says 'I Don't Give A Squat'
 During a recent appearance on former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin News" podcast, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke about his cover version of the Ethel Waters song "Stormy Weather", which was included in Sean McNamara's "Reagan" biopic, about the 40th president of the United States Ronald Reagan. Asked why he got involved in the project, Gene said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The other fella, who, actually, I'm proud to say I've written some songs with, is Bob Dylan. He also did a track for the 'Reagan' movie." He continued: "When my mother came to America with yours truly, I was eight and a half years old. We are immigrants. We are legal immigrants. And as far as I'm concerned, I was born in the promised land. But let me tell you something: America is the promised land. I came to America and discovered that anything is possible. There are no limits, no nothing. And despite the fact that people agree and disagree and all that stuff, this is still the light and will continue to be the light that shines the world. I may agree with some of the stuff Bill O'Reilly says, and some of the stuff I don't agree with, but so what? If you take a look at a dollar bill, the other side doesn't look like the other side, but they can both lay claim to the idea that this is their America as well. I don't have to agree with you. We can both live in the same country."
Asked if he admired Reagan, Simmons, who was 31 when the 40th U.S. president took office, said: "I did. I was much younger, obviously, when he was president, and I knew nothing, almost nothing about the body of politics. But interestingly, in hindsight, it bears noting that the political and pop culture figures of any age were always about the impression, the ability to communicate a feeling. And perhaps that's more important, the power of the personality, than what's written on a piece of paper. And now imagine a different president trying to communicate with [Mikhail] Gorbachev [who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991] and literally causing that wall to come down, which resulted in the fall of communism. That was Reagan; [he was a] great communicator. I was always a fan of his. I may have disagreed with something or something, but so what?"
Asked if he "took any heat" from the "liberal and progressive Hollywood" from contributing to the film, Gene said: "How do I say this as nicely as I can? I don't give a squat." When O'Reilly pressed him about whether he took any heat, Gene said, "Yes,"ку before adding: "Well, everybody's entitled to an opinion. It falls off your back… I think it is the bastion of a certain political leaning of the thing, but that's okay. [85-year-old actor and outspoken supporter of Donald Trump] Jon Voight and I hang out, we trade stories and everything else, and some people agree with this politics, some not. But everybody gives to charity, everybody loves children, and so think about the stuff that we agree with instead of the stuff that we don't."
The official music video for Simmons's cover of "Stormy Weather" can be seen below. The video, which was released by Rawhide Pictures, the producer of "Reagan", includes footage of Simmons recording the song behind a simple piano accompaniment intercut with clips from the movie.
Simmons told Newsweek about his cover of "Stormy Weather": "It seemed to me during the scenes where Ronald Reagan was sitting with Jane Wyman at the club, there would probably be music playing in the background. I was actually thrilled that the producers thought my version of the song would work in the scene."
Gene also praised Reagan, calling him a "great American" who will "certainly go down in future generations as one of America's great presidents."
"Interestingly, and I suspect the masses didn't know this about President Reagan, he started off as an actor, joined the Democratic Party, then became disillusioned with the Democratic party, and joined the Republican party," Simmons said.
Composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Ted Koehler had created "Stormy Weather" with the bandleader and entertainer Cab Calloway in mind, but Calloway had not been signed to appear in the 20-second edition of the "Cotton Club Parade"; Duke Ellington had been signed instead. So, Ethel was invited to sing "Stormy Weather" with Ellington and his orchestra.
Ethel recorded "Stormy Weather" on May 3, 1933 for Columbia, and this became her next crossover hit, a success even larger than her 1925 recording "Dinah". In 2003, Ethel's 1933 recording of "Stormy Weather" was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in the category of "Jazz" (Single). In 2004, the Library Of Congress honored the song by adding it to the National Recording Registry.
Two years ago, Simmons spoke about current U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, on whose "The Celebrity Apprentice" show he was once a contestant.
"For the record, when [Trump] first ran in 2016 and got elected, I was happy," Gene said. "I knew the guy from before then, seeing him in clubs and stuff like that. And for the record, he had Bill and Hillary [Clinton] at his wedding and Howard Stern went to his wedding. He's not a politician. But my point, I wanna say for the record, and people will tell you who know me, 'Oh, yeah, Gene was happy that Trump won.' I was. I didn't want Hillary [to be president]. I thought, 'Oh, a businessman is coming in. He understands how to run things.'"
When Maher pointed out that Trump doesn't understand how government works and doesn't care to learn, Gene said: "I agree. The person that I saw first coming into power is not the person I saw within a year or two of that… But I changed, the way lots of people changed."
Elsewhere during the chat, Gene went on to say that he is one of the more than sixty percent of the U.S. electorate which doesn't necessarily identify with a major party.
"Generally speaking, I'm a centrist," he said. "I don't like AOC [New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and I'm not a fan of [Vermont senator] Bernie [Sanders], but I think they're both fine people. I do like [Utah senator] Mitt Romney and [Wyoming congressperson] Miss [Liz] Cheney, I do like that, and both sides hate you for saying those things, because they both want you to align yourself with what the marching orders are. 'If you're a Democrat, it means this. You're a progressive.' I'm not a progressive. I know that business has to involve people who don't agree with you."
This was not the first time Simmons had been critical of Trump. In May 2022, he told SPIN: "I know the previous [U.S.] president," he said. "I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."
Simmons went on to say that he and Trump "knew each other" before "The Celebrity Apprentice", "in clubs and all that. You have a different responsibility when you're just a citizen or an entrepreneur," he added. "You don't make policy. It doesn't affect life and death. When you get into a position of power, it does affect lives.
"I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat," Gene said of Trump. "He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker."
Simmons previously touched upon his feelings about the Trump presidency in August 2021 while speaking to Yahoo!'s Lyndsey Parker about the negative response he gets from some of his fans every time he shares his pro-vaccine stance on Twitter.
"It's been politicized," he said. "The gentleman who was in office, the former president [Donald Trump], I knew before the political world. It's the same person I knew before; the stripes of a tiger don't change. And the unfortunate thing is that… Look, we all lie to some extent, but what happened the last four years was beyond anything I ever thought imaginable from people who had lots of power — not just him, but the administration, everybody. And unfortunately, that disease — The Big Lie notwithstanding — has really infected a large portion of the population."
Asked to elaborate on his comment that Trump is "the same person" he knew when he was a contestant on Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" series, Gene said: "We were in a restaurant together, and I happened to be with an attractive young lady. And he walked up and said, 'Hey, Gene, you and I, we're exactly the same. We like the hot chicks.' That was a strange thing to say, but yeah, I guess that's true. But I think it's the same person. And maybe that was the appeal and continues to be. People are sick and tired of politically correct language and stuff.
"In a political dialogue, if somebody spews complete fiction and QAnon stuff, you wanna be able to have somebody who says, 'Are you out of your fucking mind? Did you just shit your diapers and forget to wipe it?'" Simmons added. "We're looking for that politician who just says instead of watching your language. Because the other side will spew garbage and lies and everything."
Back in 2019, Simmons said that Trump had "forever changed" politics. He added that "earth has never been in better shape" than it was in the summer of 2019. "I know — climate change and a polarized political thing — but there are no more world wars," he stated at the time. "I mean, imagine what London looked like 60 years ago. This is the best of times. Unemployment in the United States is the lowest it's been in 50 years — 5-0. When I rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange at their behest, the Dow [Jones Industrial Average] was about 8,000. It's almost 27,000 today. More people are working. More people are making more money. Unions are more powerful."
In the past, Gene had defended Trump's occasional off-color remarks and frequently outrageous statements, saying: "I don't know anybody here who hasn't said stupid things publicly or privately. You've said potty words and so have I. So I'm gonna give the guy who was duly elected a chance to show us what he can do, and then I'll judge his legacy."
Simmons said that he "didn't necessarily vote for Trump or [Hillary] Clinton" in the 2016 presidential election, adding that "it's really nobody's damn business" whom he voted for. "I think you'd be surprised by my choice — but he's President Trump, because even if you don't like the man, you must respect the office of the presidency and the will of the Electoral College," he said.
In 2017, Simmons confirmed that KISS was invited to perform at Trump's inauguration but turned it down because it was "not a good idea."
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24 дек 2024
RAMMSTEIN Shares Hour-Long 'World Stadium Tour 2019-2024' Documentary
 German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN have shared a nearly one-hour documentary, "Rammstein World Stadium Tour 2019-2024", focusing on the band's touring activities over the course of the past five years. Check it out below.
Official video description: "RAMMSTEIN World Stadium Tour — a journey spanning five years, 135 concerts, and an incredible six million fans in attendance.
"From 2019 to 2024, a video team followed the production, focusing on the impressive efforts of the crew and their various trades. The footage provides an authentic and powerful look behind the scenes of the production: from intricate stage construction and lighting design to pyrotechnics, logistics, and countless other tasks. It highlights the expertise, tireless dedication, close collaboration, and sense of responsibility of an exceptional crew — qualities essential to creating a show of this magnitude."
RAMMSTEIN's latest European stadium tour launched on May 11 at Airport Letňany in Prague, Czech Republic and wrapped up with two performances at Veltins-Arena in Germany, Gelsenkirchen on July 26 and July 27.
In August 2023, Berlin public prosecutor's office dropped its investigation into accusations of sexual offenses by RAMMSTEIN singer Till Lindemann, citing a lack of evidence. Lindemann always denied the allegations, with his lawyers calling them "without exception untrue".
In August 2024, RAMMSTEIN released a statement addressing the past allegations, saying: "Since last summer, we have been actively dealing with the accusations made against the band. We take this dispute very seriously, even if much of it is unfounded and excessively exaggerated. It is an inner process that will accompany us for a long time to come. Each of us does this in our own way and deals with it differently."
The band also expressed gratitude, saying: "At this point, we would particularly like to thank our families and loved ones for their unrestricted support and love; they too were hit hard by the allegations made and the media's handling of them.
"We thank our crew, our management, all our employees and everyone who has supported us and remained loyal along this journey. This massive stadium tour with this great show and this extraordinary stage has now come to an end after 135 concerts in 5 years with 6 million fans."
"It's not RAMMSTEIN. It's not us. It's not you. The path continues."
RAMMSTEIN's latest album, "Zeit", arrived in April 2022.
Lindemann (vocals),Paul Landers (guitar),Richard Z. Kruspe (guitar),Flake (keyboards),Oliver Riedel (bass) and Christoph Schneider (drums) spent two years working on the eleven songs on the LP. They were once again assisted by Berlin producer Olsen Involtini. "Zeit" was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St. Rémy de Provence, France. | +1 | |
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24 дек 2024
L.A. GUNS To Release New Album 'Leopard Skin' In April 2025
 L.A. GUNS' new album, "Leopard Skin", will be released in early April 2025. It will mark the first fruit of L.A. GUNS' reunion with Cleopatra Records, a label known for its diverse roster and innovative approach to music production.
In support of the LP, L.A. GUNS will be touring heavily next year.
The band states: "Come and join us on The Lucky MF'r Tour!!!"
This past July, L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns told On The Road To Rock podcast with Clint Switzer about the sound of the band's new LP: "It's different than the other records. That's the thing about L.A. GUNS, is I never know what's gonna come out. I don't know what mood I'm gonna be in or whatever, but I'm really proud of what I was able to record. And all the management and Phil [Lewis, L.A. GUNS singer] and the guys, they're freaking out, like, 'Where'd this shit come from?' So, yeah, I'm always most excited about L.A. GUNS. It's the complete playground for me. I love it."
L.A. GUNS' latest studio album, "Black Diamonds", came out in April 2023. It was the fourth studio album since the much-welcome reunion of the band's core foundation of Lewis and Guns. It followed the well-received studio albums "The Missing Peace", "The Devil You Know" and "Checkered Past", plus the live release "Made In Milan", and a covers EP "Another Xmas In Hell".
In April 2021, a settlement was reached between drummer Steve Riley and Guns and Lewis over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Guns and Lewis continue to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS were allowed to perform and record under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS. Riley died in October 2023 at the age of 67.
L.A. GUNS was formed in 1983 and have sold over six million records, including 1988's "L.A. Guns" and 1990's "Cocked And Loaded", both of which were certified gold. "Cocked And Loaded" contained the hit single "The Ballad Of Jayne" that went to No. 33 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. From the mid-'90s to the mid 2000s, L.A. GUNS continued to tour and release new music. Following their successful performance at SiriusXM's Hair Nation festival in September 2016, L.A. GUNS went into the studio to record the critically acclaimed "The Missing Peace", which was the highest-selling release for Frontiers Music Srl in 2017. Their 12th album, "The Devil You Know", was released in 2019 to the same critical acclaim. Since reuniting, Tracii and Phil continue to tour around the world with L.A. GUNS, which currently includes Johnny Martin (bass) and Ace Von Johnson (guitar).
In support of our new record “Leopard Skin” we will be touring heavily next year. Here is the first leg of the tour...
Posted by L.A. GUNS on Friday, December 20, 2024 | 0 | |
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24 дек 2024
Watch JAZZ SABBATH Feat. ADAM WAKEMAN Perform BLACK SABBATH Classic "Paranoid"; Live Video Streaming
 Jazz Sabbath, helmed by longtime Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne keys and guitar player Adam Wakeman, performed the Sabbath classic, "Paranoid", during their set at Germany's Leverkusener Jazztage jazz festival in 2022.
WDR Rockpalast has shared the video below: | +1 | |
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24 дек 2024
OPETH Unleashes "The Drapery Falls" Live At Bloodstock 2024; Official Pro-Shot Video Posted
 Bloodstock Open Air 2024 organizers have released the new video below, along with the following message:
"On August 9, 2024, Swedish progressive metal legends Opeth lit up the Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival in Catton Park, UK, as the eagerly awaited headliners. Renowned for their seamless fusion of death metal, progressive rock, and hauntingly atmospheric melodies, Opeth delivered a spellbinding performance that resonated with metal enthusiasts around the globe.
"This video captures their stunning live rendition of 'The Drapery Falls', a standout track from their iconic album Blackwater Park. Showcasing their unparalleled mastery of intricate guitar harmonies, dynamic growls, and mesmerizing melodies, the band brought this timeless masterpiece to life with remarkable intensity and emotion. Mikael Åkerfeldt's charismatic stage presence and the band's impeccable synchronization made this performance unforgettable.
'Under the shimmering night sky, the Bloodstock 2024 crowd erupted with energy—headbanging, singing, and immersing themselves in Opeth's enchanting soundscapes. The connection between the band and the audience created a magical atmosphere, solidifying this moment as a defining highlight of the festival. Whether you're a long-time Opeth devotee or a first-time listener, this live performance will leave you spellbound."
Check out Opeth's performance of "Deliverance" at the same show:
Opeth's 14th studio album, The Last Will And Testament, was officially released on November 22 via Reigning Phoenix Music / Moderbolaget. The album lands at #26 on BraveWords' BravePicks 2024 Top 30, currently counting down here.
Opeth's fourteenth album was written by Mikael Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara). The Last Will And Testament was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (Ghost, The Hellacopters), engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (Killing Joke, Robert Plant), and Opeth, with Boman, Åkerfeldt, and the rest of Opeth mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on The Last Will And Testament were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting "photograph" reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's infamous "Overlook Hotel" photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, Queen) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flautist and Jethro Tull main man Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson's signature notes fly on "§4" and "§7", he narrates on "§1", "§2", "§4", and "§7". Joining Anderson, Europe's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2”, while Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in "§1".
The Last Will A Testament is gripping from start to finish, jaw-dropping inside and out, representing some of Opeth's finest material to date. Just as Opeth welcomed many into its distressed arms over the years, the Swedes again deliver on the promise that great music always tells a compelling story—this time with growls.
The Last Will And Testament is available worldwide via Moderbolaget / Reigning Phoenix Music. Order here.
Album cover by Travis Smith.
The Last Will And Testament tracklisting:
"§1"
"§2"
"§3"
"§4"
"§5"
"§6"
"§7"
"A Story Never Told"
"§4" lyric video:
"§3":
"§1" (Radio Edit) lyric video:
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24 дек 2024
KIKO LOUREIRO: 'It's Much Easier To Create A 10-Minute Song With 20 Parts Than To Create A Great Pop Song'
 In a recent interview with Christine Greyson, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with MEGADETH and ANGRA, was asked about how he manages to stay focused on composing the kind of music he wants to write without worrying about what's going to commercially work later. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think about if the song is gonna work commercially, but composers that think commercially, I believe that it's natural as well. I believe that [someone] like Bruno Mars, [who is] a great composer and it's super commercial, I remember watching an interview or something that he grew up seeing Michael Jackson as his reference. If you grew up seeing Paul McCartney or Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder, and then you're already kind of shaping your taste, what you think is beautiful.
"Being direct and simple is not a sign of being bad. Actually, it's a sign of being great. It's much easier to create a 10-minute song with 20 parts than to create a great pop song. It's much easier. You just add stuff, just whatever, like pasta with a lot of veggies, just put whatever, put stuff — you know, pasta with something.
"So what I do is I do what I feel like at the moment," he explained. "And then I try to make it nice inside the style that I like. But I think that the people that are into this, they're not obeying like rules of the… I don't believe. Some people might be, but the big artists that they stay forever, that's who they are. They just have this huge talent to say something that connects to a lot of people. It's, like, how can you put some musically complex things, but the people just listen and it flows naturally. It's not simple. It's complex. But it touches people.
"That's the most difficult thing in music, in art, to do something really deep with a lot of elements that a musician can go and dig and find more different chords, more different melodies," Kiko added. "BEATLES have that, Steve Wonder has that, Elton John has that. The same goes for the classical composers. So that's what I try to think when I play. But then, in the end, it's a bunch of notes in the guitar. But that's the thought behind [it], the process behind [it], the references. [it has] nothing to do with capitalism or record labels. Somehow we have to go along with those things, because you have to upload to Spotify, because we need to make the Spotify owners and shareholders, they can have a new yacht. We have to help them. I'm very happy. I don't need a yacht. I live in Finland. So the sea is frozen for half of the year. So, yeah, just give me more guitars and that's it. I'm happy."
Kiko's latest solo album, "Theory Of Mind", was released in November.
In November 2023, Kiko announced his decision to "extend" his absence from MEGADETH's touring activities, explaining that he didn't want to "hinder any of the band's plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour."
Kiko revealed in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland.
One day after Kiko's announcement that he was "extending" his absence from MEGADETH's touring activities, band leader Dave Mustaine released a statement in which he said that he loves Loureiro and respects and fully supports Kiko's decision. He described Kiko as "a top-notch professional, a maestro" and thanked the guitarist "for his dedication and hard work these past nine years, helping us to achieve a Grammy on 'Dystopia' and the additional awards we have received on this latest record 'The Sick... The Dying...And The Dead'." Mustaine added: "I could not have done this without Kiko Loureiro."
MEGADETH played its first concert with Kiko's replacement, Teemu Mäntysaari on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 37-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.
Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.
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24 дек 2024
WHITESNAKE's DAVID COVERDALE Releases Official 2024 Remix Video For "Time & Again" (Piano Version)
 David Coverdale, the powerful voice behind Whitesnake and former Deep Purple frontman, sees his solo work shine brightly in a new collection featuring remixed, remastered, and revisited versions of his solo albums Whitesnake (1977), NorthWinds (1978), and Into The Light (2000).
Into The Light: The Solo Albums is available through Rhino Records as a 6CD boxed set. It comes packaged in a hardcover box featuring a 60-page book with rare photos, detailed liner notes, and a new interview with Coverdale. The newly remixed version of Into The Light is also available separately as a double vinyl album presented in a gatefold sleeve.
Watch the final video from the solo album series, "Time & Again" (Featuring Jeff DePaoli On Piano - Official Video 2024 Remix), below:
The boxed set features two versions of Coverdale’s solo albums: one newly remixed to deliver a more dynamic sonic experience and a second remastered from the original recordings for those who want to revisit the classic sound. The remixed versions feature significant updates (particularly to Whitesnake and NorthWinds) and utilize cutting-edge audio separation software. The track "Time & Again" from NorthWinds benefited from innovative voice extraction technology, allowing for new string and piano arrangements that Coverdale has envisioned for decades.
Coverdale shares, “The remixes are modern, using new technology to squeeze the best out of them… Truly exciting to revisit and take care of any technical ‘issues’ I had with the tracks all those years ago.”
Into The Light, Coverdale’s third solo album, boasts an impressive musical lineup that includes guitarists Earl Slick (David Bowie) and Doug Bossi, bassist Marco Mendoza (who later joined Whitesnake), legendary drummer Denny Carmassi (Montrose, Whitesnake), and keyboardist Mike Finningan (Jimi Hendrix). The remixed version of the album expands the original with songs like "Let’s Talk It Over" and "All The Time In The World". The collection also offers additional remixes, demos, and outtakes from the album, including "With All Of My Heart". Coverdale wrote the song for his wife and considers it one of the best he’s ever written.
The set also revisits NorthWinds, and Whitesnake Coverdale’s first two solo albums recorded immediately after leaving Deep Purple. Both albums have been reimagined and re-sequenced for the upcoming collection. NorthWinds includes some new arrangements and additional tracks like "Sweet Mistreater" and "Shame The Devil, Tell The Truth", breathing new life into this classic. Whitesnake features impossible remixes thanks to AI sound separation softwares, courtesy of technology that has only been available in the last couple of years.
Order here.
6CD tracklisting:
CD1: Into The Light (Remix)
"She Give Me"
"River Song"
"Don’t You Cry"
"Love Is Blind"
"Slave"
"Cry For Love"
"Living On Love"
"Midnight Blue"
"Too Many Tears"
"Don’t Lie To Me"
"All The Time In The World"
"Wherever You May Go"
"Yours For The Asking"
"Let’s Talk It Over"
CD2: Into The Light (Additional Remixes)
"Love Is Blind" (Band Version)
"As Long As I Have You"
"With All Of My Heart"
"Wherever You May Go" (Strings Version)
"Love Is Blind" (Strings Version)
Demos & Unfinished Symphonies
"Lust"
"Oh No Not The Blues Again"
"Into The Light Intro"
"Into The Light"
"You Make It Hard On Me"
"Would You Be Happy"
"Fooling Yourself"
"Make The Best Of It"
"Veda of Cassandra Blues"
"I Can See The Light"
"Another Fallen Angel"
"Itchy Finger"
Original Demos 1997
"Crazy ’Bout Cha" (Original Version of "Whipping Boy Blues")
"If You Want Me"
"Lay Your Love On Me" (Original Version of "Lay Down Your Love")
CD3: NorthWinds (2024 Remix)
"Keep On Giving Me Love"
"Sweet Mistreater"
"NorthWinds"
"Give Me Kindness"
"Queen Of Hearts"
"Only My Soul"
"Time & Again" (String Version)
"Say You Love Me"
"Shame The Devil, Tell The Truth"
"Breakdown"
"Time & Again" (Piano Version)
"Time & Again" (Strings Only)
CD4: Whitesnake MCMLXXVII (2024 Remix)
"Lady"
"Blindman"
"Goldies Place"
"Time On My Side"
"Peace Lovin’ Man"
"Sunny Days"
"Hole In The Sky"
"WhiteSnake"
"Celebration"
Young Lad's Blues (DC’s 1968 Home Demos)
"Sunny Days" (Original)
"Love Me In The Morning"
"I Will Love You"
"Moment In Time"
"It Would Be Nice"
"There Was A Time"
"Why?"
"I Still Love You"
CD5: Into The Light (Original Mix 2024 Remaster)
"She Give Me"
"River Song"
"Don’t You Cry"
"Love Is Blind"
"Slave"
"Cry for Love"
"Living On Love"
"Midnight Blue"
"Too Many Tears"
"Don’t Lie To Me"
"Wherever You May Go"
CD6: Whitesnake (Original Mix 2024 Remaster)
"Lady"
"Blindman"
"Goldies Place"
"Time On My Side"
"Peace Lovin’ Man"
"Sunny Days"
"Hole In The Sky"
"Celebration"
"WhiteSnake"
NorthWinds (Original Mix 2024 Remaster)
"Keep On Giving Me Love"
"NorthWinds"
"Give Me Kindness"
"Time & Again"
"Queen Of Hearts"
"Only My Soul"
"Say You Love Me"
"Breakdown"
All tracks previously unreleased, except CD2 track 8, CD5 & CD6. | 0 | |
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Bring Me the Horizon
