tAKiDA, one of Sweden’s most successful rock bands, has just released their brand-new digital album, Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall, today! Recorded in 2024, the album captures the electrifying energy of their live semi acoustic performances across 19 powerful tracks – the Boxroom versions.
These versions are adding a fresh dimension reimagined with a softer, yet strikingly powerful approach, creating an intimate atmosphere enriched by lush strings and warm horn arrangements. All with soaring melodies, and powerful vocals that have made tAKiDA a dominant force in rock.
Since forming in 1999 and breaking through with their debut album, tAKiDA has ruled the Swedish rock scene with six platinum singles (including one of them 4x platinum), three platinum albums, and five #1 albums. Their success has also crossed borders: their most recent studio album, The Agony Flame (2024), marked their highest German chart entry yet (#8), while its lead single “The Loneliest Hour” hit #1 on the German Rock Airplay Charts.
Alongside the album release, tAKiDA has unveiled a powerful new official live music video for “Your Blood Awaits You”, cut from their latest studio release, offering fans an intense glimpse into the band’s signature onstage presence.
With their unstoppable momentum, tAKiDA continues to push boundaries and build on their international acclaim. In summer 2025, the band will bring their unmatched live energy to Germany on an extended headliner tour, kicking off on July 18 in Regensburg.
Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall is now available on all streaming platforms – dive in and experience the magic. Listen here.
Tracklisting:
“Jaded (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“As You Die (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Better (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Willow And Dead (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Curly Sue (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Your Blood Awaits You (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Give Into Me (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Never Alone Always Alone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Summers Gone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Evil Eye (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Sacred Spell (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Untouchable Part 2 (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Master (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Swallow (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“You Learn (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“What You Never Knew (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Morning Sun (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“My Dove (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Feel You Falling Away (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
German thrash metal veterans SODOM have released a music video for their new song "Witchhunter". The track, which will appear on the band's upcoming studio album "The Arsonist", is SODOM's homage to the group's late drummer Christian Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter). The "Witchhunter" clip was created by ex-SODOM guitarist Andy Brings.
"The Arsonist" will arrive on June 27, 2025 worldwide through SPV/Steamhammer.
We all know that good music is always also a question of sound. To this end, the human factor is crucial — along with the right equipment, of course. After all it's about authenticity and individual personality. With that in mind, SODOM came to a logical conclusion: to enable the most natural production possible, the drum parts on "The Arsonist" were recorded using a 24-track analog tape machine. No studio tricks, no digital overdubs, or, to quote frontman Thomas "Angelripper" Such: "No plastic! The difference in sound compared to today's standard drum productions is amazing and has had a positive effect on all the instruments. Naturally, time and effort as well as costs were also higher, but we're happy to fork out for a superior result."
However, it's not only the complex production process that testifies to the band's exceptional creative spirit, but also their diverse songwriting, which saw all four SODOM musicians — Thomas "Angelripper" Such (vocals, bass),Frank Blackfire (guitar),York Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums) — involved in the development of the material on "The Arsonist".
Tom says: "Frank contributed those typical SODOM riffs and hooks again, whereas York favors more epic songwriting. As a perfect complement to both of them, Toni, who is also an excellent guitarist, contributed a number of songs and helped to make the album even more versatile."
The first single and lyric video, "Trigger Discipline", the toughest song on "The Arsonist", was released in early April. The song sounds equally martial and is about a sniper who has completely lost control of his actions and shoots people indiscriminately.
"The Arsonist" track listing:
01. The Arsonist
02. Battle Of Harvest Moon
03. Trigger Discipline
04. The Spirits That I Called
05. Witchhunter
06. Scavenger
07. Gun Without Groom
08. Taphephobia
09. Sane Insanity
10. A.W.T.F.
11. Twilight Void
12. Obliteration Of The Aeons
13. Return To God In Parts
In a recent interview with RapidMetalFire, Angelripper discussed his decision to cut down on SODOM's touring activities for the foreseeable future. He said: "I think you know the story of [SLAYER's] Tom Araya. Maybe you heard something about it. I think he's got the same problems, like [issues with his] neck [when performing live]. He couldn't more headbang. I can headbang. It's not so massive… But that is not the reason why. The reason why is I want to spend more time with other things. I want to spend more time with my family. I need more time going for my hunting district. I want to spend time doing nothing.
"If you are a professional musician — I'm also the manager of the band — you are busy every day," Such explained. "There is no time to breathe. There is no time to relax. I like to spend the time on stage. I like to spend the time making music, but I hate wast[ing] time on airports or hotels.
"If you're getting 62 [years old] like me, you say, 'Okay, I need money to make my [living] from [playing] music.' I know — money is a very important thing. But there is something you cannot buy with money: the freedom," Thomas added. "And that's what I told to my boys, to my group. I told them, I think two years ago, 'In this year, I wanna slow down the things a little bit,' because I can't do nothing, because I'm still working on re-releases. The only difference is I have my home office. That's the only thing. But I can tell you, I have no plan what to do. I have no plan how long I'm gonna rest. I have no plan when I restart the band, so I don't wanna live without any plans in the next times. I can't tell people I want to come back in '27 or '28, maybe '26 — I don't tell the people. When I think I wanna come back, I go."
Asked if SODOM is still "receiving booking requests" from promoters around the world, Thomas said: "I receive a lot of booking requests… I get some offers from this [and that] festival. I get some offers for making a tour with HEAVEN SHALL BURN. They were interested in maybe a SODOM tour. I get a thousand of requests [for] the 'Big Four' [of German thrash metal: KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, SODOM and TANKARD] worldwide. That is not a problem… People are still interested. It's not something bad because we have no success. I can book tours every day over the year, if I want. That is another thing. SODOM is still — we are still very much a success, I think. People are really interested in coming [to see us]… So that is not the problem. I know that people wanna see SODOM."
Elaborating on his reasons for taking a break from the road, Thomas said: "I love my fans, but I also love myself. I also love my family. I also love my old friends. Now it's time to stop [and] just [concentrate on] doing other things. That's very easy. I'm still healthy. I'm able to do it. I'm still creative. Maybe the day will come I don't know what to do, I'm not more creative, I cannot write lyrics, I cannot play bass. Then it's gone. It's just a break. But I don't know how long it takes."
In November 2023, SODOM released an EP, "1982", via SPV/Steamhammer.
SODOM's 40th-anniversary album, "40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell Of Sodom", arrived in October 2022 through Steamhammer/SPV. The LP included one song from each of the previous studio albums receiving a re-recorded treatment from SODOM's current lineup. The CD and vinyl double LP with their martial cover artwork penned by Eliran Kantor (KREATOR, TESTAMENT, GWAR, among others) contain 17 tracks, all newly recorded by Such, Blackfire, Segatz and Merkel.
SODOM's last studio album, "Genesis XIX", came out in November 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and Steamhammer/SPV in Europe. The disc was recorded by Siggi Bemm and mastered by Patrick W. Engel and comes shrouded in the cover art of Joe Petagno of MOTÖRHEAD fame.
German dark heavy rock force, Wolfskull, presents a first song taken off their much-awaited, sophomore studio album entitled Midnite Masters. The album will be released on July 25 via Metalapolis Records (SPV). Available on CD, vinyl and in digital formats, the pre-sale has just started at this location.
Midnite Masters will see Wolfskull put a bold exclamation mark on their band history and simultaneously ignite a new level: ten songs brimming with enthusiasm, power, and catchy melodies, while exuding the raw charm of classic heavy rock. Today, the Essen-based band is premiering a video clip for their first single, “Jaguarette”; a song that captures the thrill of freedom, raw energy, and untamed adventure.
Tracklist:
“Midnite Masters”
“Son Of Light”
“Holler In The Hollow”
“Destyna”
“Jaguarette”
“Call Of The Wayward Ones”
“Mustang Baby”
“Netherworld In Flames”
“(I Wish It Could Be) Night All Day”
“Tyger Of Fate”
DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG (DATOG),the project featuring former ACCEPT members Udo Dirkschneider (vocals),Peter Baltes (bass) and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar),along with Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider (drums),Manuela Bibert (vocals) and Mathias Dieth (guitar),has released a new single, "Time To Listen". The track, like "It Takes Two To Tango", which came out a month ago, will appear on DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG's new album, "Babylon", due in October 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM).
DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG comments: "'Time To Listen' is an up-tempo song that once again shines with DATOG's typically diversified lead vocals. A soaring guitar riff paves the way for a powerful Udo performance, accompanied by Peter's harmony vocals and continues with Manuela's sustained two-part vocals. The chorus, with its convincing power casts a spell over everyone. Here also, Mathias's guitar solo is a marvel of ingenuity that ignores all convention and whips through the musical realms in an unconventional manner. The compact and powerful ending is just as uncompromising as the beginning of the song."
A one-off charity campaign during the pandemic grew into an all-star heavy metal project: DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG — DATOG for short — united six seasoned musicians, many of whom have helped shape the metal genre's legacy over the past four decades.
At the core: iconic vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, founder and longtime frontman of ACCEPT, and leader of U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. He's joined by Peter Baltes (bass, vocals; ACCEPT, DIRKSCHNEIDER),Stefan Kaufmann (guitar; ACCEPT, U.D.O.),Mathias "Don" Dieth (guitar; SINNER, U.D.O.),Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider (drums, U.D.O., DIRKSCHNEIDER),and powerhouse vocalist Manuela "Ella" Bibert, whose standout performances on the U.D.O. orchestra album "We Are One" (2019) solidified her place in the lineup.
Together, they released three singles between 2020 and 2021 — "Where The Angels Fly", "Face Of A Stranger" and "Every Heart Is Burning" — followed up by a special charity EP, called "Arising", to help support artists, crews and musicians affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The immense success of their recordings and music videos surpassed every expectation, with more than 23 million streams and views in total to date.
"The whole thing developed a momentum of its own that we hadn't expected," recalls Kaufmann. "Fans and labels immediately wanted to know: is there more to come?"
The answer arrived in April 2025 with the release of "It Takes Two To Tango", a powerful new single and the first taste of "Babylon", released via Reigning Phoenix Music — a trusted partner of both U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. The track kicked off the next chapter in DATOG's journey, proving that the chemistry, passion, and fire between these six musicians is as strong as ever.
DATOG commented: "We're very happy about being part of the RPM family and continuing our work with Jochen Richert. We secretly started this joint campaign a while ago, and our mutual experiences behind the scenes have so far shown us that we are all definitely on the same page and driven by the same musical mutual factors: passion, loyalty, and the love for heavy music."
Managing director Jochen Richert (Reigning Phoenix Music) added: "Grabbing the chance of releasing DATOG's much-anticipated debut album was a no-brainer, of course. After their first steps exceeded, by far, several hopes and dreams, their new material is nothing short of a continuation, if not now on a higher level. Thank you to the whole GANG for your trust, let's rock this together!"
Musically, "It Takes Two to Tango" put the pedal to the metal, supported by a lyric underlining the aforementioned idea behind DATOG: the common joy of playing music! A virtue that surely will also infect all the viewers of the supporting music video, which was filmed by RCN TV at the legendary Dierks Studios (Stommeln, Germany),where actually the full record was tracked. The concluding mastering was handled by guitarist Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany).
"'It Takes Two To Tango' is strictly speaking only half of the song title, as the lyrics go on to say '(But) It Takes Six To Rock'. "This motto says it all", the group states and adds: "An absolute joint effort!"
DATOG is:
Udo Dirkschneider - lead vocals
Peter Baltes - bass, lead & backing vocals
Manuela "Ella" Bibert - lead & backing vocals, key instruments
Stefan Kaufmann - guitars, backing vocals
Mathias "Don" Dieth - guitars, backing vocals
Sven Dirkschneider - drums, backing vocals
RATT singer Stephen Pearcy and guitarist Warren DeMartini played their second reunion show last night (Sunday, May 4) at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
Playing alongside Pearcy and DeMartini were former RATT and QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, former RATT and ROUGH CUTT bassist Matt Thorr and former SLAUGHTER drummer Blas Elias. Thorr and Elias are both current touring members of Pearcy's solo band.
Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.
Featured songs in top video:
00:00 Intro
02:08 Wanted Man
05:50 I Want A Woman
10:35 Walking The Dog
14:16 In Your Direction
18:30 I'm Insane
22:20 Slip Of The Lip
26:20 Never Use Love
30:20 Back For More
35:44 Givin' Yourself Away
41:10 Nobody Rides For Free
47:48 Way Cool Jr.
54:14 Over The Edge
58:40 Lack Of Communication
01:03:45 Lay It Down
01:07:10 You're In Love
01:14:00 Body Talk
01:19:54 Round And Round
In a recent interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Pearcy spoke about his reunion with DeMartini for a handful of shows this spring and summer. He said: "It's always been going around, 'You guys should get together.' I believe I actually approached Warren a few years ago. I go, 'Hey, why don't we try doing this [Jimmy] Page-[Robert] Plant [-style] thing or something.' And nothing became of it. So, I'm, like, hey, well, he's grooving. He's still that guy — he's the lead guitar player in RATT, the guy who co-wrote those songs; he's the guy. So I went about my business, as you know, and do my solo thing. And I have great players, but this is the real deal.
"So what happened was, over seven years later here, we get a contact from a promoter at M3 [Rock Festival], and it was, like, 'Well, I have this idea. Maybe we can get you guys back together and you can headline one of these nights.' And I'm, like, 'Okay. Yeah, right. Okay, well, let's see what happens.' So anyway, long story short, I said, 'Hey, whatever it takes, I'm in. Let's see if we can make this happen.' Well, it just happened to be the right timing for Warren too, to go, 'Hey, why not? Let's play again.' And here we are."
Regarding Pearcy and DeMartini's first reunion show at Mohegan Sun, Stephen told Waste Some Time With Jason Green: "It was fucking amazing. And we kind of blundered here and there and it's a given. We had a few rehearsals.
"The way Warren and I worked in RATT was we do like to be loosely tight," he explained. "We don't wanna be that technical out there when we play. So it kinda worked out the other day, like, 'Okay, we got our feet wet. Now we know what's happening.' So, some of those songs you may never hear us play again, that we played."
Asked if there are any other songs that he would like to perform at the future shows, Stephen said: "Oh, a hundred percent. And I think [Warren] would do it. I wanna play 'Eat Me Up Alive'. And that's a song Carlos and I wrote, so what the fuck? We played it before. That's a song I wanna do. I liked the couple songs Warren picked.
"For me, it's kind of cool, and even being this sobered up guy for years, is going out there and it's still the same as it was in '85, '86 with Warren up there," Pearcy added. "That's the vibe I got. I mean, we were able to sit there and chit-chat and didn't give a fuck on stage. 'Let's take a second out for us, dude. This is funny, huhThis is a trip, right?' That's our conversation up on stage."
Regarding the fact that drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier, who were both members of RATT's classic lineup, are not playing with Pearcy and DeMartini at the current shows, Stephen said: "People are already going, 'Oh, bring back the other guys.' Well, I don't really think they know how complicated it is or it would be, or if it even need be. Because the reason Warren and I are out here in the first place is to kick about the legacy of the music. Hey, we had great songs.
"It wouldn't have worked [with the other members], nor would I think I would've… Of course if you're really doing 'business business', you have to consider all aspects," he added. "But do I wanna fuck with our fans or our friends and go out there and pretend it's fucking cool and it's really not? You know what I mean? I mean, look, it took seven years for Warren and I [to play together again], and it was, like, 'Hey. Wow.' I never thought it would happen, but now we're talking about writing new music. So what the fuck?"
Asked if he thinks he will ever play under the RATT brand again, Stephen said: "Uh, well, I could say it would be cool, but I've proven it's not necessary right now. If you're doing 'business business', so to speak — but it's not necessary. That's why I've been out there busting ass for the last few years, is to establish that… It's irrelevant. I'm the guy who co-wrote or wrote those songs, created the band. Here I am — I'm singing. Because one day I'm gonna wake up and go, 'I don't wanna do this shit anymore.' And it happens… But, yeah, I think about that all the time. I mean, I'm fucking Evel Knievel right here, so I've gotta take it carefully.
Pearcy and DeMartini will also perform a set of RATT classics at Rock The Dam 8 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, on July 26.
"It's all good," Stephen said. "And I'll tell you what we've decided to move forward and because of that show, because we were touchy- touchy, if we wanted to stay out. And so we're gonna entertain some more shows. It's by overwhelming demand. I mean, this might be it, the last you'll see of RATT, for all I know. I don't know. But I'm enjoying this shit. It's fun again. It's been fun for me for the last few years, and I'd like to keep it that way."
During an appearance on the January 29 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Stephen said about the lineup of his new band with DeMartini: "We're gonna have Carlos out there, which is cool. And I'm bringing in Matt Thorr on bass, who's pretty much an original RATT guy from 1981, '82, when Jake E. [Lee] and Warren pulled in. And then we're taking Blas Elias on drums from SLAUGHTER and my band. And we're ready to go."
Added Warren: "When I moved up to L.A. to join RATT, I stayed at a house with Jake E. Lee for a few months, and, it was like a three-bedroom [house], and Jake had one, and Matt had the other, and this other musician had the third. And I was on the couch. But Matt goes way back with [RATT]. I'm actually kind of looking forward to checking that out again. He was playing bass at the time I joined [RATT]."
Regarding why they are not playing the M3 show under the RATT banner, Pearcy said: "Well, I'll tell you right straight up — it's not about RATT. It's about the legacy of our music. And who better to deliver it, because we don't have all the proper original elements, which would include [late RATT guitarist] Robbin [Crosby]. So we just decided — no. This is great. This is perfect. I mean, we don't wanna hit a brick wall. We want this nice and smooth. So that's what we intend to do. It's not about that — it's about the legacy of RATT. Period."
DeMartini went on to say that he was open to playing more shows with Pearcy in the future, assuming that everything goes well with the M3 gig.
"Since we announced the M3 show, other stuff has come up," he revealed. "When this [M3 concert] came up, I was treating it as a one-off, but everything has a momentum, or it can have a momentum. And in this case, it just feels better and better.
"I've always wanted to play these songs to the people, like we always have," he added. "So I'm totally game to doing more."
Asked if Blotzer and Croucier would have any involvement in M3 and other gigs Pearcy and DeMartini plan to play together, Stephen said: "No, no, no. Not on this. No. Like I say, we wanted it to be about the music and Warren and myself delivering it, because it is gonna be a little different. If you were to throw the other guys in the mix, it wouldn't be exactly what it is now, the opportunity."
On the topic of what he has been doing in the seven years since he last played with Stephen, Warren said: "What I always did and what I always do. When I'm not sort of dealing with all the stuff that we deal with in life, I drift back into the studio and either start working on something that I hear in my head or refining something that I have going. So it's been a really nice thing to be able to do all this time, because basically since Stephen and Robbin and I wrote 'Round And Round', it's, like, 'Okay, you can be a writer if you wanna be,' so that's what I do, basically."
Asked if he missed being on stage and being in front of an audience, Warren said: "Oh, of course. It's hard to find words to describe the kind of energy that we have with our audience. It's just fantastic… I did do some gigs with some friends, like the last one was with Billy Gibbons and Sebastian Bach, and we would all play each other's songs. It was two or three songs each. And stuff like that kind of kept it burning, but this is the real fire."
Last year, Pearcy celebrated the 40th anniversary of RATT's classic debut album, "Out Of The Cellar", by performing it in its entirety and in sequence for the first time.
RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of "Out Of The Cellar". Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, lead single "Round And Round" hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Out Of The Cellar" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with "Back For More" and "Wanted Man". RATT started the tour as an opening act, but by the end of the tour had climbed to arena headliner.
RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, "Invasion Of Your Privacy". Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, "Invasion Of Your Privacy" also featured the classics "Lay It Down" (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and "You're In Love".
"Dancing Undercover" followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single "Dance" hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with "Slip Of The Lip", while "Body Talk" was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film "The Golden Child". "Dancing Undercover" became RATT's third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
1988's "Reach For The Sky" saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite "Way Cool Jr.", "Reach For The Sky" was also certified platinum and became RATT's fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. "I Want A Woman" was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.
RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, "Detonator", in 1990. Music was changing, but "Detonator" was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad "Givin' Yourself Away" reached No. 39.
In 1991, they released the single "Nobody Rides For Free" from the hit film "Point Break", starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band's classic lineup.
RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.
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