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BOB CATLEY Explains Why He Changed His Mind About Carrying On With MAGNUM Following TONY CLARKIN's Death

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:50:38 +0000

In a new interview with Dales Rock Interviews, MAGNUM vocalist Bob Catley spoke about his decision to carry on with the band, two and a half years after the passing of Tony Clarkin, the guitarist, songwriter and the driving force behind the U.K. prog/pomp/AOR rock act. When asked how he managed to come back from the death of his longtime bandmate, Bob said: "Don't know. Good question. I was encouraged to keep it going. It wasn't in my heart, really. It was gone. I had a big empty space inside me for some time, for most of that year. But it's changed slowly, talking to people. I do something called AVANTASIA, with Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA. I do world tours with that. I see the world with that, and it's brilliant. And I had that already booked to do. It was in the summer of the same year. I went, 'All right, okay, that'll keep me off the streets. That'll give me something. That'll cheer me up.' I needed cheering up. I needed to do something. 'Cause I was so desperate to have him back. Like, 'Where's Tony?' For 50 years we worked together, and so can you imagine how I felt, how anybody would feel. But getting back on the stage, Tobias Sammet put me back on the stage. He said, 'Come on. We'll get you back on the stage. That's where you belong, Bob. Come on. You're a good singer. You're a great singer. I'm your biggest fan, Bob.' [Laughs] He's a massive MAGNUM fan, Tobi. He's a lovely man. We're good friends… And I'm there on the stage in front of all these people. I did 10 massive festivals all around Europe in that summer of that year. And the reaction when I was singing Tobi's songs, knowing that the people knew who I was, Bob Catley from MAGNUM, and what had happened. And they were all for me, with me. It came at me, and I went, 'I should be sharing this with MAGNUM, doing this.' AVANTASIA, but MAGNUM as well. It wasn't complete. Something was missing — the MAGNUM crowd. There's a lot of MAGNUM fans in the AVANTASIA crowd, but the MAGNUM crowd is totally focused on the whole hour and a half. So I thought, 'I need to do that.' People go, 'Yeah, I think you made the right decision, Bob.' So I got there, and I'm really glad I made it." Referencing the fact that Brendon Riley, Clarkin's former guitar tech, served as MAGNUM's lead guitarist for the band's 2025 and 2026 dates so far, Bob said: "We got together and we ran through some stuff, and I'm going, 'Oh, that's what I wanna hear. That's what I wanna hear. Give me this.' 'Cause I wasn't quite certain, but the unknown. I've always worked with Tony, and, like, 'Can I do this? Do I wanna do this?' But [Brendon] answered my prayers." Brendon said that his addition to MAGNUM was made easier by the fact that he wasn't an entirely new face to the band's fans. "I think so, yeah," he said. "And I suppose, 'cause I already knew the songs anyway — I knew a lot of the set, sort of knew where things would come in and go out and everything — and I think it just sort of helped to make life easier for everybody else, so that it was someone who wasn't a stranger. And for me, the background I came from as a tech, it wasn't a name that would take the shine away from the ultimate purpose of what we were doing it for, which was to honor Tony and his music. And, yeah, everything just seemed to fall into place very smoothly, really, or at least as far as I'm concerned, anyway. I can't speak for anybody else." Regarding what it was like to perform without Clarkin by his side, Catley said: "It was a bit surreal at first. But we're there now. It's gotta be done. So it's great stepping on that stage. It is great. And Tony's with us anyway. He ain't gone anywhere. He's here. It's the music. He's here… And that's what it's like when we go on that stage every night. Tony's there, and they all know it. It's all there. Nothing's changed in that respect. So it was a new situation to get used to, let's say. And we're very lucky to be able to do it. And we wanna do it and keep it going for as long as we want it, and as long as the fanbase wants it." Bob also confirmed that there are tentative plans to work on a MAGNUM album containing previously unreleased songs that were written by Tony. "It's not a new studio album. How could that be?" Bob clarified. "[It's songs] from the archives. They will be looked at in the studio, yes. But it's gonna take time. Probably more next year than anything, or maybe not that soon, I don't know. It's just a project at the moment, an idea. But it might not come to fulfillment until much later on. Then there's a lot of stuff to choose from, to listen to, and then choose stuff. "This was Tony's daughter's idea, Dionne Clarkin," Bob explained. "She's come up with this idea, and she wants the fans to listen to, understand, have an insight into how he worked, but then moved on, leaving a song unfinished. But he'd move on. It wasn't working out at the time. And he did that. A lot of songwriters do that, producers do that. Like, 'Oh, it's not working,' and move on to something that was working. And so there's a lot of that went on. So there are a lot of different versions of what people know and love now. Some have never been heard by anybody, where it's just, 'Wow, I didn't know that existed.' And I'd go, 'Oh, yeah, I remember that one. It's definitely me singing.' So I was on it. So, it's gonna be great. And other songs that did make album tracks or B sides, in uncompleted demo form of the finished product. So it's a collector's item. And she's doing it all for the right reasons. And it should be shared. And I think it'll go down very well. I think that will be very much wanted, whenever that is completed. Don't hold me to that. I don't know. We're just talking about the moment. It takes time to do it, of course… Yeah, it'll all unfold as we go through." Catley added: "Dionne's running this [album project]. I'm just her advisor and sidekick. And we're doing it as a team. But if you need to know any more, you have to ask her. I'm just a singer." Clarkin died in January 2024 at the age of 77. The news of his death came just weeks after it was announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare and incurable spinal condition. As a result of his diagnosis, MAGNUM canceled its previously announced spring 2024 tour. Formed in Birmingham over 50 years ago by Catley and Clarkin, MAGNUM has cemented itself as one of the U.K.'s finest hard rock exports, a largely American-dominated genre. With its unique melodic skill and tasteful instrumentation, the group has released 23 studio albums over the years, with its most recent, "Here Comes The Rain", arriving in January 2024. Image and video credit: Swedishstokie

TONY IOMMI Releases 'World Alone' Limited-Edition Seven-Inch Single

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:25:59 +0000

On July 29, Tony Iommi, founding member of BLACK SABBATH, announced his brand-new studio album, "From The Dark", and premiered the first single from it, "World Alone", to critical and fan acclaim. Racking up 2.5 million streams and heavy global radio playlisting since its release, "World Alone" is a thunderous rock song that speeds along on a barrage of flying guitar riffs and solos, backed by a driving rhythm section and topped off with the powerful rock operatics of acclaimed Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande. A limited-edition seven-inch single edition of "World Alone" is out today and has an exclusive instrumental version on the B-side and is packaged in a deluxe, foiled sleeve. The video for "World Alone" is based around a retrofuture, dystopian universe where the lead protagonist, The Believer, is pitched into a twisted video game to save his life and ultimately find salvation. Late last month, Tony released a behind-the-scenes film, pulling back the curtain on how this extraordinary video was made. "World Alone" is a thunderous rock song that speeds along on a barrage of flying guitar riffs and solos, backed by a driving rhythm section and topped off with the powerful rock operatics of acclaimed Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande. The video is based around a retrofuture, dystopian universe where the lead protagonist, The Believer, is pitched into a twisted video game to save his life and ultimately find salvation. "From The Dark" sees Tony Iommi joined throughout by Jorn Lande, who shares writing credits on all songs, as well as bassist Becky Baldwin and drummer Karl Brazil. Co-produced by Tony and Mike Exeter, his longtime creative partner, co-writer, producer and audio engineer, the sound is crystalline, vibrant and enormous, engulfing the listener in a state-of-the-art sonic experience that is as contemporary as it is timeless. Iommi previously said about "From The Dark": "It's an album we've really enjoyed making. We're not trying to prove anything — it's a great album, it rocks!" From the opening notes of "Over The Violent Sun", featuring a classic, driving down-tuned guitar riff from Tony Iommi and the dramatic vocal prowess of Jorn Lande, it is clear that "From The Dark" is an outstanding album that can hold its place amongst the impressive Iommi catalog. "Black Times" continues the journey, a sucker-punch strike that takes no prisoners, leading into the barn-storming first single "World Alone", before fourth track "Beyond The Dead" changes the pace, with a stately and sinister riff interwoven with epic orchestration. The existential questioning of Lande's lyrics, full of dystopian imagery and ruminations on the fleeting nature of the human experience is writ-large throughout the album, especially on "Stormwatcher" with its nautical metaphors and dreams of new horizons. A brilliant centerpoint of this remarkable album, "Stormwatcher" is matched in scope and drama by the subsequent "Death Wake", both music and lyrics combining to create a vivid picture of the cruelties of a life without love and humanity. "From The Dark"'s closing two songs, the furious passion of "Return Of The Arbalist" and the truly epic kaleidoscope of "Legacy" showcase the power and drama, the light and the shade that courses through the album. Coming a year after BLACK SABBATH's final-ever show, at 2025's "Back To The Beginning" concert in Birmingham, it demonstrates the creative fires that burn ever-brightly in Tony Iommi and is undoubtedly one of the greatest rock albums to be released this year. There will be a limited-edition seven-inch single of "World Alone", backed exclusively with an instrumental version and housed in a deluxe, foiled sleeve which will be released on September 4. The song will also be available on the Gibson learn-to-play-guitar app. "From The Dark" will be available in several deluxe vinyl and CD formats. The double LP edition will be manufactured in four colors, available from different retailers. Cut at 45rpm on double vinyl for optimum dynamic range the deluxe, gatefold package is premium black card with a die cut of Tony's signature cross, that holds beneath a suitably dark and detailed, illustrative journey across the album. Part visible when in situ and with the full image revealing as the inner sleeve is drawn out. There will also be a CD Amazon exclusive that also has the same die cut sleeve and a deluxe 32-page CD media book edition that includes two bonus tracks. "From The Dark" deluxe CD track listing: 01. Over The Violent Sun 02. Black Times 03. World Alone 04. Beyond The Dead 05. Stormwatcher 06. Death Wake 07. Return Of The Arbalist 08. Legacy 09. Scent Of Dark (exclusive bonus track) 10. Deified (extended version) (exclusive bonus track) Lande previously performed with Iommi and other surviving HEAVEN & HELL members Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice at a very special tribute to their fallen bandmate, Ronnie James Dio, at the 2010 High Voltage festival at Victoria Park in London, England. The musicians were also joined by legendary former DEEP PURPLE vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes. In 2024, Iommi released an instrumental track, "Deified", to accompany the arrival of another new fragrance. The song saw Iommi reunite with longtime collaborator Mike Exeter, who played keyboards and handled production, with Laurence Cottle (who played on BLACK SABBATH's "Headless Cross" album) on bass. The recording lineup was rounded out by FEEDER and Robbie Williams drummer Karl Brazil, with Ben Andrews scoring the orchestrations. Three years earlier, Iommi unveiled "Scent Of Dark" — his first new music in eight years at the time — alongside an accompanying cologne. At the time of "Scent Of Dark"'s release, Iommi revealed that he had "four or five hundred" unused riffs on his phone, with plans to arrange and record some of them for his various projects. "Scent Of Dark" and "Deified" were the product of a friendship struck up during the pandemic between Iommi and Sergio Momo, acclaimed perfumer, and designer for Xerjoff, well known for its unique and individual creations and collaborations in the fragrance world. Sergio is also an accomplished guitarist, and his fine fretwork can be heard on both songs. Iommi's new solo album will be his third, after 2000's "Iommi" and 2005's "Fused". Joining Iommi on "Fused" was ex-DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and drummer Kenny Aronoff, whose resume includes the "Iommi" album and a long run with John Mellencamp. SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan and Dave Grohl of the FOO FIGHTERS are among the guests who were heard on "Iommi". The LP also featured guest appearances from Philip Anselmo of PANTERA, Henry Rollins and SYSTEM OF A DOWN's Serj Tankian as well as Skin of SKUNK ANANSIE, Peter Steele from TYPE O NEGATIVE, and THE CULT's Ian Astbury. Iommi is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in modern music. As the founding member and primary composer of BLACK SABBATH, Iommi is credited with helping create the sound and vocabulary of heavy metal. Iommi's contributions have been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and honorary academic distinctions in the U.K. He was awarded a doctorate from Coventry University, a Lord Mayor's Award and the Freedom Of The City of Birmingham. Most recently, in June 2026 he has been awarded an MBE, one of the highest honors in British public life. In his youth, Iommi overcame a serious industrial accident that cost him the tips of two fingers — an event that led him to develop a distinctive playing style and the darker, heavier guitar tone that defined BLACK SABBATH's music. Formed with Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, the band released pioneering albums throughout the 1970s and became one of the most culturally significant British exports of the era. Across his six-decade career, Iommi has continued to record, perform and collaborate internationally. He worked extensively with the late Ronnie James Dio, released acclaimed solo material, and reunited with the original BLACK SABBATH lineup for the chart-topping 2013 album "13" and the global farewell tour "The End" (2016–2017) which played to 1.6 million fans. In recent years, his work has expanded notably into broader cultural spheres. In 2023 he collaborated with the Birmingham Royal Ballet on "Black Sabbath - The Ballet", a groundbreaking production based on his early compositions. BLACK SABBATH headlined 2025's monumental metal show "Back To The Beginning" in Birmingham, an all-encompassing show revisiting BLACK SABBATH's origins and a poignant farewell to fans, that took place just a few weeks before the death of his bandmate Ozzy Osbourne.

FOREIGNER Announces 'Foreigner Unplugged' Four-City April 2027 European Acoustic Tour

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:59:58 +0000

FOREIGNER, one of rock's most celebrated bands, has announced "Foreigner Unplugged", a four-show European tour that will bring the band's catalog of Top 10 songs to audiences in a rare, stripped-down acoustic setting. The FOREIGNER fan pre-sale begins Monday, September 7 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Set for April 2027, the intimate run will feature a lineup of Luis Carlos Maldonado, Jeff Pilson, Bruce Watson and Michael Bluestein, reimagining FOREIGNER's biggest hits acoustically and offering fans an entirely new way to experience some of rock music's most enduring songs. The tour will visit four of Europe's most well-known venues, beginning April 12 at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre, followed by the London Palladium on April 14, Paris' L'Olympia on April 16 and Vienna's Globe Theatre on April 18. With a catalog that includes timeless anthems such as "I Want To Know What Love Is", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Juke Box Hero", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Urgent" and "Feels Like The First Time", "Foreigner Unplugged" will showcase these songs with the melodies, musicianship and vocals at the forefront, in an up-close setting rarely experienced by fans. British singer-songwriter Billy Lockett will join FOREIGNER as special guest in Dublin, London and Paris. "Foreigner Unplugged" 2027 tour dates: April 12 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Olympia Theatre April 14 - London, England - London Palladium April 16 - Paris, France - L'Olympia April 18 - Vienna, Austria - Globe Vien With more Top 10 hits than JOURNEY and as many as FLEETWOOD MAC, FOREIGNER ranks prominently across categories in Billboard's "Greatest of All Time" list. At times, the band's weekly catalogue sales have surpassed those of LED ZEPPELIN, AC/DC, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO, DEF LEPPARD, VAN HALEN and AEROSMITH (source: Nielsen SoundScan). With 10 multi-platinum albums and 16 Top 30 hits, FOREIGNER is widely recognized as one of the most popular rock acts in the world, boasting a powerful catalogue that continues to drive sold-out tours and total sales exceeding 80 million records. The band is responsible for some of rock's most enduring anthems, including "Juke Box Hero", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Feels Like The First Time", "Urgent", "Head Games", "Say You Will", "Dirty White Boy" and "Long, Long Way From Home". Their worldwide No. 1 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" is also part of Spotify's exclusive Billions Club. 50 years into their career, FOREIGNER remains a major presence on the charts, with strong airplay and continued Billboard album success. Their catalogue sales recently ranked them among the Top 40 Best-Selling Music Artists Of All Time, according to Business Insider. FOREIGNER 2026 is: Luis Carlos Maldonado (vocals),Jeff Pilson (bass),Michael Bluestein (keyboards),Bruce Watson (lead guitar),Chris Frazier (drums) and John Roth (guitar). Photo credit: Krishta Abruzzini

METALLICA's Foundation ALL WITHIN MY HANDS Partners With CNH For Labor Day Auction

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:41:03 +0000

METALLICA's foundation, All Within My Hands, is partnering with CASE Construction Equipment, a brand of CNH, the world-class agriculture and construction equipment and services company, to celebrate Labor Day in support of skilled trade education programs. This Labor Day weekend, edition 1 of 25 handmade "Hetskid" — the James Hetfield-inspired CASE skid steer — will be available for bidding via the Purple Wave auction site. Renee Richardson, director of philanthropy at All Within My Hands, comments: "These are the kinds of relationships we love. Since day one, the team at CNH has embraced the work All Within My Hands is doing across the board. From direct financial support to the Metallica Scholars Initiative, where we provide funding for trade education, to volunteering with us at food banks along METALLICA's 'M72' world tour, and now this incredible machine that I dare anyone to actually use in the dirt!" Built at the CASE production facility in Wichita, USA, the TV450B compact track loader is an industry fixture. Tough and rugged, it performs tasks such as digging, loading, and dumping in commercial and residential construction activities as well as landscaping. This custom-designed CASE TV450B compact track loader is the first off the line and is the same as the one destined for use at the ranch of METALLICA frontman and co-founder James Hetfield. Hetfield commissioned the design as part of an equipment supply agreement with the CASE brand in 2024. For collectors or dirt movers alike, this auction is a chance to own CASE and METALLICA history. Purple Wave Auction, the leading online, no-reserve equipment auction platform, is hosting the auction, which runs through December 17, and 100% of the final sale price goes directly to All Within My Hands and its Metallica Scholars Initiative. Purple Wave is also donating the 10% buyer's premium so that every dollar goes to the cause. Register for free, search "Hetskid" and start bidding today at purplewave.com. Established in 2017, All Within My Hands (AWMH) is a non-profit, philanthropic organization conceived by the members and management of METALLICA and dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. METALLICA covers all administrative costs, so 100% of donations go directly to the organizations supported by the Foundation. To date, All Within My Hands has provided grants of $19 million to career and technical education programs through its Metallica Scholars Initiative, $8.8 million to combat food insecurity, and $6.2 million to disaster relief and other critical local services worldwide. Visit AllWithinMyHands.org to learn more. CNH serves and advances the people who feed and build a growing world. An iron-and-tech company that brings engineering intelligence, automation, and precision into the machines that move the global economy, CNH operates in more than 160 markets, supported by a global team of more than 34,000 people, including engineers, technologists, and industry experts. Brands include Case IH, New Holland, and STEYR in agriculture; CASE Construction Equipment and New Holland Construction in building - are backed by CNH Capital and complemented by a portfolio of technology and regional brands that together generated $18.1 billion in revenue in 2025. Building on a legacy of innovation dating back to 1842, CNH has achieved milestones, including the first mass-produced tractor, the first twin-rotor combine, and the first factory-integrated precision farming system. Today, CNH is engineering autonomous and predictive machines that will shape the future of food and infrastructure. Purple Wave Auction is the leading online auction brand for construction, ag and fleet equipment, combining nationwide reach with a local touch. Since 2000, Purple Wave has provided the easiest, most straightforward way to buy and sell equipment through no-reserve auctions that connect sellers with a vast community of qualified bidders. Purple Wave handles every detail of the selling process — from professional photos and videos to marketing, bidder qualification, and payment collection — allowing sellers to turn equipment into cash without the hassle of transportation or preparation costs. Equipment sells where it sits, and every listing features detailed descriptions so buyers can bid with confidence from anywhere. Purple Wave is more than an auction platform — it's a dedicated partner in its customers' success. With a team of industry experts and a commitment to transparency and innovation, Purple Wave continues to redefine industry standards and foster a thriving marketplace for buyers and sellers nationwide.

ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ's BLUE MEDUSA Releases Third Single And Music Video 'Crocodile.'

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:04:55 +0000

BLUE MEDUSA, the new band led by former ARCH ENEMY and THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, has released its third single, "Crocodile.". Dark, tense and viscously unsettling, "Crocodile." explores the creeping sense that danger is close at hand — even when it remains hidden from view. "'Crocodile.' is about that feeling that you're being watched... that instinctive dread when you know something dangerous is nearby, even though you can't see it," explains White-Gluz. "It's the feeling that something is lurking just beneath the surface of what appears to be safe or familiar. That tension between what you perceive and what you sense; that is where the song lives." "Crocodile." marks the latest chapter in White-Gluz's ongoing visual collaboration with Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films, with the pair once again co-directing the stunning accompanying music video. The video features BLUE MEDUSA's first ever full-band performance, with White-Gluz playing a one-of-a-kind custom guitar built by Nik Huber Guitars as part of a unique three-way collaboration between Sea Shepherd, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein and BLUE MEDUSA. The guitar is autographed by Alissa and Doyle, includes Doyle's signature Von Frankenstein Monster Gear pick-ups and strings and will be auctioned to raise funds for Sea Shepherd's global marine-life conservation efforts. The video also features creative genius Beatriz Mariano of Okkultist, who contributes chilling visuals and heavy vocals to the video and track. The "Crocodile." release continues a remarkable year in which Alissa White-Gluz has elated and surprised fans around the world through a whirlwind of performances, collaborations and unexpected appearances. Later today, Alissa will host the Corrupted Blood live show in Berlin, which will be streamed on the Corrupted Blood Twitch channel. Fans should tune in and remain alert for more surprises. At this year's Wacken Open Air, Alissa spent her birthday weekend appearing across three different stages, including joining Bear McCreary to perform their original collaboration "Our Kingdom", the official Wacken anthem. She also appeared with Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein for a special signing session at Summer Breeze. At Sonic Temple and Welcome To Rockville, Alissa stepped up to front DRAGONFORCE, delivering two electrifying performances. She has also made multiple surprise appearances with ICE NINE KILLS throughout Europe and North America, including at Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park, Stuttgart, Heavy Week-End, Inkcarceration and Rock The Park. At Hellfest, Alissa performed a special acoustic set with SAVAGE LANDS before making another surprise appearance alongside SEPULTURA during "Kaiowas". Alongside these appearances, Alissa has continued developing BLUE MEDUSA, and a growing series of unexpected collaborations that have kept fans guessing throughout the year. She will front DRAGONFORCE once again for their "Inhumane Rampage" anniversary tour this fall in North America, concluding a year that proves Alissa knows exactly how to excite the metal world and intrigue the music industry. And with huge festival appearances already announced for 2027 — and more dates to be announced soon — Alissa shows no sign of slowing down. "Crocodile." is available now on all digital streaming platforms. White-Gluz is joined in BLUE MEDUSA by guitarists Alyssa Day (MINDSCAR, ABSENTIA) and Dani Sophia (ex-Till Lindemann). Bassist Alicia Vigil (DRAGONFORCE, VIGIL OF WAR) and drummer Delaney Jaster (STITCHED UP HEART) will also take part in BLUE MEDUSA's live shows. BLUE MEDUSA tour dates: 2026 Sep. 18 - Louder Than Life Festival - Louisville, KY Oct. 02 - Aftershock Festival - Sacramento, CA 2027 July 28-31 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany Aug. 11-14 - Leyendas Del Rock - Villena, Spain Aug. 18-21 - Summer Breeze Open Air - Dinkelsbühl, Germany White-Gluz, former vocalist of Canadian extreme metallers THE AGONIST, joined ARCH ENEMY in 2014 as the replacement for Angela Gossow. ARCH ENEMY released four studio albums with White-Gluz on vocals: "War Eternal" (2014), "Will To Power" (2017), "Deceivers" (2022) and "Blood Dynasty" (2025). Throughout her career, the now-41-year-old Alissa has consistently used her music as a vehicle for social change, addressing pressing issues such as environmental conservation, veganism, and the ethical treatment of animals. ARCH ENEMY played its final show with White-Gluz at the closing concert of the band's European "Blood Dynasty" 2025 tour with AMORPHIS, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER on November 15, 2025 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Photo credit: Beatriz Mariano

UMBILICUS, Featuring CANNIBAL CORPSE And DEICIDE Members, Announces New EP 'Ambiguous'

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:26:00 +0000

Florida-based classic hard rockers UMBILICUS will release a new EP, "Ambiguous", on November 20, 2026 via Listenable Insanity Records. The band, which features well-known death metal musicians Paul Mazurkiewicz (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HEAVENS GATE) and Taylor Nordberg (DEICIDE, INHUMAN CONDITION) alongside Vernon Blake (ex-NAPALM DEATH live, ANARCHUS) and vocalist Brian Stephenson (ex-ANNIHILATOR/SKULL FIST live), has produced five new songs showing off the group's dynamic range. The first single comes in the form of "Take Off", an up-tempo rocker featuring soaring vocals and guitar work, backed by a churning freight-train rhythm section. Mazurkiewicz shares his excitement for the new release: "We are back with five new songs that really exemplify the growth of the band! It's exciting to finally unleash these gems upon the universe and we hope everyone has as much fun listening to these sonic beauties as we did creating them." The quartet's sophomore offering will be available on 12-inch vinyl and digital platforms. Pre-order now at umbilicusband.bandcamp.com. "Ambiguous" track listing: 01. Take Off 02. Lord Stormbrew 03. Prelude: Eternity 04. Winter's Warmth 05. Magus Stellarum "Ambiguous" was recorded, mixed and mastered by Taylor Nordberg and Jeramie Kling at Smoke & Mirrors Productions in Spring Hill, Florida. UMBILICUS is: Brian Stephenson - Vocals Paul Mazurkiewicz - Drums Vernon Blake - Bass Taylor Nordberg - Guitar In a 2022 interview with Metal Plague, Paul stated about UMBILICUS: "It's a rock 'n' roll project, a hard rock project… It's just a great project that I'm involved with, with great guys. "I'm passionate about rock 'n' roll music and hard rock and music from the '70s and all that. That is what this is. I'm in the band with Taylor Nordberg, who recently just joined DEICIDE on guitar, and he's in INHUMAN CONDITION and THE ABSENCE. He's the guitar player. A good friend of ours, Vernon Blake, is playing bass. He's one of my best friends and he actually filled in for Shane [Embury] on a NAPALM DEATH tour in the States a few years ago. We have an amazing vocalist named Brian Stephenson from Canada and he's an incredible vocalist. "It's pure rock 'n' roll," Paul explained. "If people hear this and they're gonna be expecting it to be anything like CANNIBAL CORPSE, it's nothing like it. It's pure rock 'n' roll with great vocals, great songs, great riffing, and we are very proud of it." Regarding how UMBILICUS got started, Paul said: "To give you a little backstory, it was around 2000 or 2001 and Jack Owen was still in the band with CANNIBAL CORPSE. Me and him have been fans of this music forever. It's embedded and it's my passion and Jack's passion was that as well. I remember it was about 2000 that we said, 'Let's start a project like this,' just to break up the monotony of CANNIBAL and do something different and do something that we love to do as well. Along with the bass player that's in UMBILICUS, we started this project about 20 years ago. We wrote about 15 originals and actually played two shows in Tampa here in a small bar, but we never did anything with the music. We made a couple demo tapes, but we never put it out to the masses, we never made a proper CD. We were always kind of lacking in a good vocalist or a vocalist that we felt was an interpretation of what we were looking for and, inevitably, the band fell apart. We were together for maybe two years and then we went our own ways. Jack ended up forming a different rock band and of course he left CANNIBAL about two years after that. This project just fell by the wayside. "The bass player Vernon Blake is a good friend of mine, and we always talked about revisiting the project over the years, but Jack didn't want to do it anymore and I was busy with CANNIBAL so it never really came up. So after we finished recording 'Violence Unimagined', then that's when reality was setting in of not touring for a while and for CANNIBAL to be slightly idle for more months than we normally would be. I remember telling my buddy Vern that I'd love to revisit the project and get it going again. We had the time, so why not? You only live once and we're getting older here so we can't wait another 20 years. Well, we could but we'll all be in our 70s, which maybe isn't gonna be a great thing to be doing! I was, like, 'Let's do this.' I got together with Vern and we started playing some of the old songs that we wrote with Jack. I got ahold of Jack— he doesn't live in Florida; he lives in Illinois now, and he didn't seem to have an interest to revisit it, so we said, 'Let's get a new guitar player.' We brought in Taylor Nordberg. He lives in Florida here and we went through some friends and they said that he might be interested. We had Taylor come out and we had him learn some of these old songs that we have lying around that Jack was a part of. He learned a couple and said that he loved this stuff. We practiced for a few times and he said he's in, so basically the band was formed with us three. We decided to drop the songs we had from 20 years ago and just concentrated on new material that Taylor was writing and that we would all write together. The timing worked perfect because of the time off from CANNIBAL and my love of wanting to redo it again and Vern's love of it too. Taylor, luckily, has that same passion for this old school rock 'n' roll stuff as well and it all worked out. We wrote 10 songs that I think are really incredible rock tunes and then we brought in Brian Stephenson. Taylor knew him from a previous band and Brian sang over these songs, and we were blown away by it, and here we are. I think it was well worth the wait of doing this properly and making sure the songs are what they need to be and getting everything prepared for this moment." Band photography by Deidra Kling

WAGE WAR To Release New Album 'Landfall' In October

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:43:29 +0000

After releasing the "It Calls Me By Name" EP this past spring, Florida's WAGE WAR — Briton Bond (lead vocals), Cody Quistad (rhythm guitar, clean vocals), Seth Blake (lead guitar), Chris Gaylord (bass) and Stephen Kluesener (drums) — has announced the new album, "Landfall", due out digitally October 9 via Fearless Records. The band has also shared the visualizer for the vicious title track. Check it out below. Opening with a foreboding emergency broadcast-style alarm before erupting in a bludgeoning riff, WAGE WAR continue to indulge their heaviest side with "Landfall". It's a groove-heavy, guitar-forward anthem that sounds like... vengeance. The hellbound screams of Bond are punctuated by Quistad's melodic singing, making it a gloriously unpredictable listen. WAGE WAR are at their heaviest and most melodic — ever — with this track, as they continue to push their own boundaries. It's WAGE WAR, but bigger, stronger, louder, and as impactful as ever. "'Landfall' is a song about imminent danger and the realization that we aren't in control," WAGE WAR states. "Referencing our Florida roots, the hurricane imagery became a way of talking about that feeling of being completely at the mercy of something bigger than yourself. Musically, we wanted the verses to feel heavy and threatening, with the chorus being somber and inevitable." "Landfall" track listing: 01. Landfall 02. Sweet Dreams 03. Silk 04. Figure 8 05. God Complex 06. Stay With Me 07. Silence Has Spoken 08. Way Of Pain 09. Red Dot 10. Blindfold 11. Spellbound 12. Song Of The Swamp 13. Silhouette WAGE WAR will return to U.S. stages for a headline tour this fall, with WE CAME AS ROMANS, VARIALS and CANE HILL as support. The "Emergency Broadcast" tour kicks off October 25 in San Antonio and runs through Novemebr 27 in Orlando in the band's native Florida. WAGE WAR has spent its storied career cultivating a reputation for snarling breakdowns, infectious hooks and its own gripping take on the metalcore realms, with its releases also often lyrically packing a connective punch via themes of mental health, introspection and perseverance. Releasing its debut full-length "Blueprints" in 2015, WAGE WAR has since unleashed five studio albums, including the evolutionary 2024 LP "Stigma". Fluent in creating hybrid heavy creations and no strangers to chart success, including taking out the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for the single "Magnetic", WAGE WAR also dropped an EP, "It Calls Me By Name", a collection of songs shaped by Florida, the swamp and the relentless aggression of nature.

SILVERTOMB, Featuring Former TYPE O NEGATIVE And AGNOSTIC FRONT Members, Releases 'Graves In The Sky' Music Video

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:28:11 +0000

SILVERTOMB, the all-star band featuring former TYPE O NEGATIVE/DANZIG members Kenny Hickey (vocals, guitar) and Johnny Kelly (drums), and their three equally renowned bandmates Joe James (guitar, ex-AGNOSTIC FRONT), Hank Hell (bass, SHEER TERROR) and Aaron Joos (guitar, keyboards, vocals), will release its second album, "The Interpretation Of Nightmares", on November 13 via Steamhammer. The official music video for the LP's latest single, "Graves In The Sky", can be seen below. Hickey comments: "'Graves In The Sky' was a piece that was written from acoustic guitar and piano-a different creative approach for the band that yielded a new texture for the music, blending acoustic guitar, strings and distorted guitar along with piano. I felt I was coming close to death at the time of writing this song and the lyrics deal with that reality." "The Interpretation Of Nightmares" track listing: 01. Brain Matter / No God 02. Ascension 03. Graves In The Sky 04. You Know 05. Prayer For The Paranoid 06. Distorted 07. No Way To Live 08. When Will You Learn? "Just as things were really beginning to take off for SILVERTOMB, our hands were suddenly tied for a number of years due to the pandemic and its long-lasting aftermath; on top of that, I had a drinking problem that urgently needed sorting out," says Hickey, looking back at the period between 2020 and 2024. Shortly before that, SILVERTOMB's debut 'Edge Of Existence' (2019) had been released and met with unanimously positive reactions from fans and media alike. On top of that, a tour with MONSTER MAGNET had been scheduled before the international lockdown brought the world — and with it SILVERTOMB — to a complete standstill. But now, in 2026, these difficulties are thankfully history. "The Interpretation Of Nightmares" is an atmospherically dense doom metal masterpiece outclasses its predecessor in many respects. The debut single "No Way To Live" is a slightly faster track, acting as a sort of counterpart to the album’s slower, more brooding tracks with lyrics about rejection and pain. Back in 2019, Kelly told Antihero about SILVERTOMB's sound: "There's elements of what we were doing with SEVENTH VOID. It seems like it's a continuation from that, but the songs and the song structures really took a life of its own. It's more layered and textured — not to the extent that we would do in TYPE O NEGATIVE, but it has a little bit of that flavor to it. It doesn't sound like TYPE O, but, obviously, you have two guys from TYPE O NEGATIVE in the band. It's going to have resemblance. It's still a more rock-oriented approach than the slow-paced, doomy aspect that TYPE O had. Now that we've added a keyboard player, there's a lot more layers and textures to it than what SEVENTH VOID was." Regarding how SILVERTOMB started, Kelly said: "With SEVENTH VOID, the record that we put out, that came out on 2009. It's been eight years. There were points in time where there really wasn't anything going on. The last couple years, things started moving a little bit. We got a solid lineup. We had the guys that we knew that were going to be in the band and stuff. It started moving along a little bit. Some of these songs were written quite a while ago. Once we added a keyboard player… he's been in the band almost a year. That kind of changed everything. The music that we were writing was starting to go more towards that kind of stuff, and then we were revisiting songs that were written a while ago that didn't have keyboards in them, then we started adding stuff to that too. It's, like, 'Oh, wow.' Now it's really becoming something you can… more special to us." Left to right in photo above: Johnny Kelly (drums), Hank Hell (bass), Kenny Hickey (vocals, guitar), Joe James (guitar), Aaron Joos (guitar, keyboards, vocals)

BEHEMOTH Recruits DIMMU BORGIR's SHAGRATH For Cover Of VENOM's 'In League With Satan'

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:56:20 +0000

Polish extreme metal veterans BEHEMOTH have shared "In League With Satan", the second single from their new studio release, "I, Scvlptor", which is out today via Nuclear Blast Records (digitally) and Massacre Records (physically). The music video for "In League with Satan" was produced by the acclaimed Polish production collective Grupa 13. The song and the video feature very special guest, Shagrath (a.k.a. Stian Thoresen) of DIMMU BORGIR. BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski commented on the new single: "When we were looking for a name for our tour with DIMMU BORGIR, I thought it would be great to use a timeless slogan and basically quote the gods of satanic rock'n'roll — VENOM and 'In League With Satan' perfectly fit my vision. I honestly don't remember what came first — the idea for the tour name or the idea of recording the song itself. What matters is that we recorded it on seven-string guitars with Shagrath from DIMMU as a guest vocalist. The song gained a massive weight and a completely new dimension. We're planning to play it live and I think our version turned into something truly powerful." "I, Scvlptor", which is out today, is an exclusive release featuring eight previously unreleased songs — seven new studio recordings and one live track. It is an autonomous body of work that bridges the band's foundational past with their present creative fire. The release features brand-new studio material embodying the full force of BEHEMOTH's live energy and intensity. Two tracks — "Rise Of The Blackstorm Of Evil" (from "The Return Of The Northern Moon", 1992) and "In Thy Pandemaeternum" (from "Pandemonic Incantations", 1998) — are newly re-recorded versions of early BEHEMOTH material, reshaped with modern sonics while preserving their original spirit; a tribute to the bands who had a huge influence on BEHEMOTH — "In League With Satan" (originally by VENOM, featuring Shagrath of DIMMU BORGIR) and "The Return Of Darkness And Evil" (originally by BATHORY, featuring Sakis Tolis of ROTTING CHRIST). It is available on CD, LP, MC and limited-edition box set through Massacre Records worldwide and digitally via Nuclear Blast Records. Nergal commented: "We're fucking excited about the release of 'I, Scvlptor'. Even though it's not a regular studio album and is, in fact, more of a compilation, the mere fact that it contains songs nobody has ever heard before makes it a significant release for us. What's more, some of these tracks are likely a little different from what we offered on our last album, 'The Shit Ov God'. That's why we see 'I, Scvlptor' as an important record — a connecting piece, a bridge between where we are now and whatever may come next in the distant future." "I, Scvlptor" track listing: 01. I, Scvlptor 02. Lord Ov The Horizons 03. Rise Of The Blackstorm Of Evil 04. In Thy Pandemaeternum 05. Begotten 06. In League With Satan 07. The Return Of Darkness And Evil (live) 08. Lord Ov The Horizons (alternative version) BEHEMOTH's ascent from the Polish underground to the upper echelons of the international album charts is one of extreme metal's most remarkable stories. With virtually every major release over the past two decades, the band has broken new ground commercially — without ever compromising a single note of their uncompromising vision. "The Apostasy" (2007) marked the band's first-ever entry on the U.S. Billboard 200, debuting at No. 149 — a landmark moment that signaled the arrival of a new global force in extreme metal. "Evangelion" (2009) raised the bar further, debuting at No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and making it clear that BEHEMOTH's fanbase was growing at an extraordinary rate. "The Satanist" (2014) shattered all expectations. Debuting at No. 34 on the Billboard 200, it became the highest-charting black or death metal album in the chart's history at that time — a record-breaking achievement that sent shockwaves through the industry. The album simultaneously debuted at No. 1 in Poland on the OLIS chart, the band's home country — cementing BEHEMOTH as a mainstream cultural phenomenon as much as an underground institution. Nergal himself called it "unheard of" and noted that no black or death metal artist had ever reached a higher Billboard position. "I Loved You At Your Darkest" (2018) continued the momentum, debuting at No. 85 on the Billboard 200. In Poland, the album again dominated, reaching No. 1 on the vinyl chart and No. 4 overall. The album also charted highly across Germany, Sweden, the UK, Australia and beyond. "Opvs Contra Natvram" (2022) saw BEHEMOTH chart once more across multiple territories, including a Top 20 entry on the U.K. official albums chart (No. 19),further cementing their position as one of the most commercially viable extreme metal acts in the world. Photo credit: Kobaru

DREAM THEATER's JORDAN RUDESS To Debut jam_bot Technology With Two Exclusive Performances At MIT

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:38:38 +0000

On Saturday, October 3, 2026, DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess will perform two concerts at MIT's Thomas Tull Concert Hall during the inaugural MIT Future Fest alongside musical guests and jam_bot, an A.I. model developed with Rudess and trained on his playing. At the heart of the concert is a simple idea: this technology is not here to replace musicians, but to expand their creative possibilities and inspire new ways of making music. The concert will feature the world premiere of Rudess and jam_bot improvising with the MIT Chamber Chorus, with jam_bot creating music for the singers in real time. Performances are October 3 at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The jam_bot project has been developed over the past three years in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab by Lancelot Blanchard, Perry Naseck and Professor Joseph A. Paradiso during Rudess's Center for Art, Science & Technology Distinguished Visiting Artist residency at MIT. These concerts are a rare opportunity to experience the next chapter of this research project and witness Rudess interact with an advanced real-time system that enables the use of generative A.I. models in live music performances. Moving from Baroque counterpoint to progressive rock and beyond, the program will be built around live improvisation. jam_bot is able to listen and respond to Rudess in real time, while also generating musical material that can be performed by other musicians onstage, opening the door to new forms of collaborative improvisation. Rudess comments: "I've spent my entire life studying, exploring, and creating music. What excites me about jam_bot isn't the technology by itself — it's where it can take me musically. I can improvise, follow an idea in the moment, and suddenly have a choir or an ensemble responding to what I'm playing. That opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities." What: Jordan Rudess + jam_bot: A Human-AI Musical Dialogue When: Saturday, October 3, 2026: two performances, 5:00–6:00 p.m. and 8:00–9:00 p.m. Where: Thomas Tull Concert Hall, Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (201 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139) Tickets: $5 MIT community / $10 general admission. Tickets on sale at Eventbrite. A portion of the 5:00 p.m. performance is reserved for ticket holders of MIT Future Fest Capacity: 300 per performance. Performers: Jordan Rudess, MIT Chamber Chorus, and guest student performers Each performance will feature the same program, but because the music is created and shaped through live improvisation, no two performances will be exactly alike. Rudess is a Grammy Award-winning keyboardist, composer, and technologist best known as a member of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling progressive metal band DREAM THEATER. Widely recognized for his virtuosity and exploration of new musical technologies, Rudess has spent decades working at the intersection of performance, composition, and technological innovation. In addition to his work with DREAM THEATER and as a solo artist, Rudess has collaborated with researchers, designers, and technologists on new approaches to musical expression and human-computer interaction. His work with MIT began in 2023 and has evolved into an ongoing collaboration exploring how artificial intelligence can expand the possibilities of live musical performance. The MIT Media Lab is an interdisciplinary research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For 40 years, its students, faculty, and researchers have worked at the intersection of art, science, engineering, and design, guided by a conviction that everyone, everywhere, has the opportunity to flourish. Among its dozens of research groups, the Responsive Environments group, led by Professor Joseph Paradiso, explores how sensor networks, interactive systems, and emerging technologies create new relationships between people, information, and environments, spanning human-computer interaction, wearable sensing, responsive spaces, and new forms of musical and artistic expression. Learn more at mitmedialab.info/mlresponsive.

RIKKI ROCKETT Says He Has Stayed Cancer-Free For More Than A Decade: 'It's Never Been Back'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:53:45 +0000

In a new interview with Get On The Bus, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett offered an update on his health, more than 11 years after he was diagnosed with oral cancer. The 65-year-old Rikki, whose real name is Richard Allan Ream, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Once I was diagnosed [in June 2015], I did the whole normal sort of path to be treated for it, standard of care, as it was. And it didn't work. It didn't work. "I remember the doctor told me, he goes, 'What are you doing for the next three months?' He goes, ''Cause this is gonna be your job.' And I said, 'Okay. Uh, nothing, I guess,'" Rikki continued. "So, I did 37 rounds of radiation, five days a week, where they make a mask and they put you down on a metal thing. They twist these things so your head can't move, and the machine comes over. It's very scary stuff. And then you get chemo. I had that. I had a good type, a better type of chemo — Martha Stewart drug, they call it. At least I thought it was better. But it didn't work. And at the end of the five months, because it was three months of treatment, then two months you have to wait until everything calms down so they can do the imaging, and it was like it had jumped to the other side, and I had some on the front of my tongue now. And there wasn't that many choices. But there was something called immunotherapy. There was a doctor in San Diego that was heading up some clinical trials, and I did some research on him, and I said, 'I'm gonna meet this guy.' They made the introduction… I got in a car, and met with him. And he said, 'I think I can get you on a trial.' I said, 'Well, my surgeon told me I may not have time.' I said, 'If I let this go and try immunotherapy, and therapy doesn't work, it'll be too late to do surgery.' And he goes, 'I don't think so, 'cause I don't think that's the case. I think if it doesn't look like we're going the right direction, I'll get you on something to shrink the tumor right away. It'll buy more time. We'll figure this out. Somehow we're gonna figure this out.' So, within nine weeks, I was 90% cured. Within another few weeks, it was gone. It's never been back. I celebrate[d] my 10-year anniversary on July 13th." Rockett was declared cancer free in July 2016 after undergoing the aforementioned experimental immunotherapy, which eradicated the tumor. In June 2015, Rikki visited his primary care doctor with a sore throat. His doctor found a small tumor at the base of his tongue, and Rikki learned he had human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oral cancer. He endured nine rounds of chemotherapy and 37 sessions of radiation therapy. The tumor initially responded, but returned three months later, spreading to his lymph nodes. Rikki then saw Cohen at UCSD Moores Cancer Center, who helped him enroll in a clinical trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Rikki's tumor responded immediately. Just over two months into the trial, a scan revealed that his tumor had shrunk over 90 precent. In 2020, Rockett told "Trunk Nation" that he was afflicted with the same type of cancer as what IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson and MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine had. "It was base of tongue with an associated lymph node, which is pretty common as far as head and neck cancers these days," he said. "HPV-related head and neck cancers usually are base of tongue. There's a few people that I've sort of mentored or helped out, and many of 'em are musicians. And HPV is pretty rampant — it really is. If you have a kid, get 'em inoculated." Asked what his symptoms were, Rikki said: "I had a sore throat that wouldn't go away. That was the main thing. And then I had a lymph node that was kind of sticking out. First, they tried antibiotics, and they didn't work at all — they didn't even touch it. So it was, like, 'Okay, we need to do a biopsy. We're gonna go down and scope and take a look.' And there was a lump down there. Then, after a few weeks, it started to get hard to swallow, 'cause the lump was getting bigger — the tumor was getting bigger. So I went and did the typical treatment for it, which is chemo and radiation, and it did not work. And by the way, it's a fairly curable cancer, especially with HPV — there's a high percentage rate of success with it, of cure. But in my case, it didn't cure, so my options were a whole lot less. My doctor told me recently — he didn't tell me this before — but he told me recently that I had about a 10 percent chance if I would have went down the regular path. But we didn't — we used immunotherapy, and it put it in remission in about 10 weeks. When it works, it is amazing." Rockett first revealed that his tongue cancer diagnosis was caused by HPV — the most common sexually transmitted infection — in a 2015 interview. He said: "It is the number one leading cause of oral cancer these days. There's less and less of the truck drivers that chew tobacco for thirty years getting it, because people are more aware that that kind of stuff isn't good. So we are getting marathon runners and all these elite athletes with this. I have a friend that's a therapist, and five years ago, it was five percent of the people she treated, and now it's close to ninety percent." He continued: "It can be spread sexually, but now they're saying that it can spread [through] deep-kissing and actually hand to mouth. I mean, if you see the Olympic swimmers, they swim and they smack their hand on the side of the pool for each lap, and their hands are full of warts and stuff from HPV. Now the wart kind of HPV is not the same as the strain that causes cancer, but it is spread almost identically. For men, you can't tell if you have it. For women, you can get a papsmear. But the doctor estimated probably it was 15 [or] 20 years ago [when I contracted it], and my body probably got rid of it, but it mutated itself and my body would probably see that again and get rid of it. But there's no way to tell who got it. I mean, I know a couple that's been married for 15 years and they've never cheated on each other, and they're pointing their finger at each other [after one of them was diagnosed with oral cancer], and it turned into a thing until the doctor sat 'em down and went, 'Look, you can get this so many ways.'" Rockett's long-awaited memoir, "Ghost Notes: My Life In Poison", which was written with writer duo Leif Eriksson and Martin Svensson, will finally arrive in September 2026 via Rare Bird Books. Press photo credit: Dean Karr (courtesy of Pavement Entertainment)

Reformed Seattle Thrashers FORCED ENTRY To Play At BLADES OF STEEL METALFEST In Madison, Wisconsin This Month

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:12:15 +0000

Late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle thrashers FORCED ENTRY have announced their return performance for September 19 at Blades Of Steel Metalfest at Crucible in Madison, Wisconsin. They will share the stage that weekend with other Seattle stalwarts like METAL CHURCH and SANCTUARY, alongside other legendary acts like CRIMSON GLORY, RAVEN, ARTILLERY and more. FORCED ENTRY's reformed lineup consists of original vocalist/bassist Tony Benjamins and drummer Colin Mattson, along with guitarist Steve Campbell. The group has launched a new Facebook page at this location. Formed in the late 1980s, FORCED ENTRY carved out a unique space within the burgeoning Seattle metal scene, blending blistering thrash speed with complex, progressive song structures. The band's classic sophomore effort, 1991's "As Above, So Below" remains a high-water mark for the band, celebrated by fans and critics alike for its aggressive intensity, musicianship, groove and technicality. The 35th anniversary reissue of "As Above, So Below" features freshened up and expanded layouts by Marc Lopes, including a new interview with Benjamins and extra pics and flyers. The original album was produced by Tom Soares (DEMOLITION HAMMER, CRO-MAGS, MELIAH RAGE) and engineered by Jamie Locke (OBITUARY, PRONG, LEEWAY), with artwork by Sean Wyett (EXODUS, CYCLONE TEMPLE, DEVASTATION). The album featured two songs which were accompanied by official music videos, "Macrocosm, Microcosm" and "Never A Know, But The No". FORCED ENTRY is a technical thrash metal band hailing from Seattle, Washington, known for their influential role in the late 1980s/early 1990s underground scene. The trio of Tony Benjamins on bass, Brad Hull (later of the reformed SANCTUARY) on guitar and Colin Mattson on drums built a reputation for themselves within their regional scene through pounding live work and via the worldwide underground and fanzine circuit with the release of three classic demo tapes (which M-Theory will compile and release in 2027). Signed to Combat Records, FORCED ENTRY released two albums — 1989's "Uncertain Future" and 1991's "As Above, So Below" — and toured with bands like SACRED REICH, CORONER, ATROPHY and OBITUARY. Their music is characterized by blistering riffs, complex arrangements, and an unrelenting, aggressive energy that helped define the "Seattle sound" of the era, along with scene mates BITTER END and PANIC.

EXHORDER's KYLE THOMAS: 'We Are No Longer Under Contract With A Label Right Now'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 18:52:16 +0000

In a new interview with Brutal Planet Media, vocalist/guitarist Kyle Thomas of thrash and groove trailblazers EXHORDER spoke about a possible follow-up to the band's fourth full-length album, "Defectum Omnium", which came out in March 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records. The 56-year-old New Orleans-based singer, who also fronts doom metal legends TROUBLE, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "To be honest with you, we are no longer under contract with a label right now. We fulfilled our obligation to Nuclear Blast, and so we're kind of free agents right now. And we're not in a hurry [to sign with another label]. We've had some interest so far — some really good interest — that may surface down the line, but we're not in a hurry. We don't have an album ready to go yet, so we're just taking our time, making sure we make the right decision." Kyle added: "The labels today are more of glorified distribution companies. They really don't develop artists like they used to." Regarding why EXHORDER made the decision to reunite nine years ago after a six-year hiatus, Thomas said: "I think just the promise of seeing through unfinished business, and to be fair, the demand for it. We were approached by a management team that believed in the band and felt, like, 'You're crazy leaving this on the table. This could really work for you.' And as a result, here we are nine years later, and the band's bigger than it's ever been. So he was right. And it took some revolving door of people in the band coming and going. But as of right now, this core of this band is Jason VieBrooks [on bass] and myself [on vocals and guitar], with Pat O'Brien [on guitar] now in tow. So the three of us share a very similar vision. We're all very zen and business-wise linear with each other. So, [we're] friends that have a common goal in business, and it's working." Drummer Sasha Horn left EXHORDER in March 2026 in order to "focus on his personal life". Temporarily replacing him on the road this past spring was Corey Pierce of GOD FORBID fame. A permanent replacement for Horn has not yet been announced. Featuring 12 tracks and ominous cover artwork by Travis Smith (KATATONIA, OPETH),"Defectum Omnium" followed EXHORDER's critically revered 2019 release "Mourn The Southern Skies". "Defectum Omnium" was recorded in part at Fat Track Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio with engineer Rob Nadler. The LP marked EXHORDER's first with former CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist Pat O'Brien, who made his live debut with the latter group at the 2022 Maryland Deathfest. The Maryland Deathfest gig took place three months after guitarist Marzi Montazeri left EXHORDER, explaining at the time in a statement that he "decided to no longer be a part of it." Shortly after the Houston-based Montazeri announced his departure from EXHORDER, the remaining members of the band — Thomas, bassist Jason VieBrooks and Horn — said that they and Marzi had been "moving in different directions" and assured fans that they would "continue to thrive" Thomas is now the sole remaining founding member of EXHORDER, which released its debut album, "Slaughter In The Vatican", way back in 1990. In February 2020, EXHORDER parted ways with its original guitarist Vinnie LaBella, who wrote much of the material on "Mourn The Southern Skies". The remaining members of the group later issued a statement saying that they would fulfill their "touring and recording obligations for 2020 and beyond." EXHORDER released two albums in the early 1990s through the Roadrunner label — the aforementioned "Slaughter In The Vatican" and 1992's "The Law" — before breaking up, with Kyle going on to form FLOODGATE and also briefly appearing live as the vocalist for TROUBLE, which he later joined on a full-time basis (and is still a member of). EXHORDER is cited by many as the originator of the riff-heavy power-groove approach popularized by PANTERA.

SLASH's 'Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights' Returns On Two New Limited-Edition Vinyl Colors

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 18:04:47 +0000

Just in time for Halloween, legendary GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash is bringing back his acclaimed "Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights" collections with two brand-new limited-edition vinyl variants through Snakepit Records LLC and Deko Entertainment. Following multiple sellouts in previous years, "Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" return as exclusive vinyl-only releases featuring 21 original compositions written and recorded by Slash for the world-famous haunted attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood's annual "Halloween Horror Nights" event. For the past eight years, Slash has served as the musical architect behind many of "Halloween Horror Nights"' most memorable haunted house experiences, creating immersive scores that enhance the atmosphere, suspense, and terror encountered by millions of guests each season. His compositions have become an integral part of the event, blending cinematic storytelling with his signature musical style to create unforgettable sonic landscapes. Among the featured material is Slash's score for 2024's "Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines", which spotlighted an all-female gathering of iconic Universal Monsters including The Bride Of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter, She-Wolf Of London, and the ancient Egyptian princess Anck-Su-Namun. Also represented is music from 2025's "Scarecrow: Music By Slash", a haunting tale of nature's revenge where sinister scarecrows become agents of destruction against those who have wronged the land. Approaching each haunted attraction much like a film composer approaches a motion picture, Slash crafts music scene by scene, building tension and atmosphere while guiding listeners through every terrifying twist and turn. The result is a collection of compositions that stand on their own as compelling instrumental works while perfectly capturing the spirit of "Halloween Horror Nights". Both albums are presented in deluxe gatefold packaging and are strictly limited to just 300 copies each. "Vol. 1" is available on exclusive "Swamp Thing" colored vinyl, while "Vol. 2" arrives on "Yellow Smoke" colored vinyl. Whether experienced as a companion to the attractions or as the soundtrack to Halloween night, these limited-edition releases offer fans a unique opportunity to own a piece of the "Halloween Horror Nights" legacy created by one of rock's most celebrated guitarists. "Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" are available exclusively through Deko Entertainment. For more information and to order, go to this location. Slash also returns to "Halloween Horror Nights" this year to contribute to the original house "KILLceañera: Music By SLASH". Slash is one of the most influential guitarists in rock history, best known as the lead guitarist of GUNS N' ROSES. Beyond his work as a performer and songwriter, he has established himself as an accomplished composer, creating original music for film, television, and themed entertainment projects. His ongoing collaboration with Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights" has produced some of the event's most memorable and immersive musical experiences. Track listing: "Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights Vol 1" Side A 01. "Universal Monsters Rising" (Universal Monsters 2018) 02. "Live Again" 3:15 (Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives 2021) 03. "The Monster Reborn" 3:07 (Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives 2021) 04. "The Gypsy Theme" 3:17 (Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives 2021) 05. "Sweet Licks" 4:16 (Clowns 3D 2014) 06. "Dracula's Brides" 2:50 (Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives 2021) Side B 01. "Danse Of The Dead" 4:23 (Universal Monsters 2018) 02. "Kharis The Mummy" 3:58 (Universal Monsters: Legends Collide 2022) 03. "Silent Screams" 5:14 (Universal Monsters: Unmasked 2023) 04. "We Belong Dead" 4:46 (Universal Monsters 2018) 05. "The Final Scare" 1:52 (Universal Monsters 2018) "Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights Vol 2" Side A 1. "The Hunted Becomes The Hunter" 4:21 (Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives 2021) 2. "Monsters, Maniacs, And Madmen" (Universal Monsters Medley 2021) 5:08 (Universal Monsters 2018) 3. "The Blood Is Life" 3:38 (Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives 2021) 4. "The Collection Room / Dracula's Lair" 2:45 (Universal Monsters 2018) 5. "The Ossuary" 1:47 (Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man 2019) Side B 6. "Cycles Of The Moon" 3:02 (Universal Monsters: Legends Collide 2022) 7. "Immortal Curses" 4:26 (Universal Monsters: Legends Collide 2022) 8. "Alucard" 2:21 (Universal Monsters: Legends Collide 2022) 9. "Bloodline Drawn" 5:02 (Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines 2024) 10. "Unholy Alliance" 3:15 (Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines 2024) Slash photo courtesy of Prime PR Group, Inc.

MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Announces Three-City Book Tour For Highly Anticipated Memoir 'In My Darkest Hour'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:44:39 +0000

MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine has announced a three-city book tour in support of "In My Darkest Hour", his latest memoir with Joe Layden and Da Capo, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing (GCP) and Hachette Book Group. Due on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the memoir has become one of the most anticipated music memoirs of the fall, taking readers into Mustaine's battle with cancer and his fight to keep his voice, his music and his life. Fans will have an exclusive opportunity to hear directly from Mustaine as he brings the story on the road. The three-city tour launches on publication day, September 8, with a special event in New York City presented by the Strand bookstore at the Kaufman Music Center. The evening will be moderated by Rolling Stone's Kory Grow and fans will have the opportunity to ask questions. Tickets include a signed copy of the book. Mustaine will continue to celebrate his memoir launch with stops in Massachusetts and Virginia. Timed alongside MEGADETH's run on IRON MAIDEN's "Run For Your Lives" world tour 2026, the two photo opportunities give fans an additional chance to connect with Mustaine in select tour markets near the venue. "In My Darkest Hour" full book tour dates: Sep. 8 - New York, NY - Kaufman Music Center, 7:30-8:30 p.m Sep. 9 - Boston, MA - Parkside Bookshop, 9-10 p.m. Sep. 10 - Manassas, VA - Barnes & Noble, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. "In My Darkest Hour" takes readers from the treatment room to the studio as Mustaine chronicles how his diagnosis inspired him to take up the pen and guitar pick, going from radiation and chemotherapy appointments straight into hours-long recording sessions, resulting in MEGADETH's sixteenth studio album, "The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!" Along the way, Mustaine details how confronting his own mortality brought him closer to his family, taught him how to ask for help, strengthened his faith, and challenged the vulnerability of his art. Filled with perseverance, hope, and the determination to never let the bastards grind you down, "In My Darkest Hour" is a masterful portrait of a Dave Mustaine that the world has yet to see, and serves as a moving reminder that even our most invincible heroes are human. Now, six years removed from that initial diagnosis, Mustaine and his band MEGADETH are seeing the biggest success of their 40-plus-year career with their final album and final tour. Committed to go out on top, MEGADETH's self-titled final studio album just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the band's highest debut week ever on the chart. Mustaine and his band MEGADETH are always and forever the point of no return for metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would've gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. As an early member of METALLICA, and then founder of MEGADETH, the blast radius of Mustaine's impact has only been magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a Grammy Award (with 12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched nine Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe. Their catalog spans indisputable classics such as the platinum "Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?" (cited at No. 8 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time"), the platinum "Rust In Peace", and double-platinum "Countdown To Extinction", which captured No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, "Dystopia" notched a Top 3 debut and earned a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Metal Performance" with its title track. They only upped the ferocity with "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" in 2022. It saw them return to No. 3, receive a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Award nomination for "We'll Be Back" and garner rave reviews. In 2026 Mustaine and the band reached the apex of their success: a No. 1 debut with their self-titled final album on the Billboard 200. Along with No. 1s on seven additional Billboard charts, Mustaine and MEGADETH logged No. 1s in eleven countries. The band is currently on a multi-year farewell tour. Asked by one fan during a recent question-and-answer session on TalkShopLive if his cancer battle shifted his "perspective on life toward a more spiritual path", the 64-year-old musician said: "Nah. I was pretty set spiritually before this all happened, and a lot of the people that have suggested stuff online, a lot of them were really wonderful people. So, it was great to see like-minded people, people that were willing to send positive thoughts and feelings my way. But I have to remember my whole thing — God wanting me to be healed — and that that was it. He said that was gonna happen, and I got healed." Regarding what kept him motivated to create music during his grueling cancer treatments, Mustaine said: "Great bandmates. A really professional co-producer. We had a really great thing working. Unfortunately, we had the drama that was going on in an area of the band that has been resolved," apparently referencing longtime MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson's May 2021 exit from the band after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter, "and we don't usually bring it up very much just because it's an ugly chapter, and I don't think anybody wants to talk about it. So, it was mainly focusing on the music, which was such a great thing to go in and do a musical offering to our fans, and to focus on the music instead of all this just crap with people trying to get drama out of bands that they love." Dave also talked about the support he received during his cancer battle from his then-bandmates, including MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Mustaine said: "Yeah. Dirk was great. He was wonderful. [Current MEGADETH guitarist] Teemu [Mäntysaari] wasn't in the picture yet. [Then-MEGADETH guitarist] Kiko [Loureiro] was very helpful, but I think he was very uncomfortable, and that he was more or less a little bit afraid of what was gonna happen, because here's this guy that he just met that he really looks up to, and we've become friends, and the next thing you know, I'm looking like I'm gonna die on the outside. So, yeah, Dirk was very supportive, and so was my son and my wife. My daughter was also scared a lot too, so I think everybody dealt with it their own way. And we talk about that in the book. Each one of the people that were part of the book, they were asked to share their experience with everything, and I think it turned out really great to have all those different outlooks towards it." On the topic of how facing a life-threatening illness changed his internal perspective and motivated him to write "In My Darkest Hour", Dave said: "I personally adore my fans. I did not want them to get as sad as I saw them get. And I was really happy to be able to say that I was in remission once the doctor told me that in October [of 2019]. "You never really know with some of these things that happen in your life, the extent of what the treatment's gonna entail," he explained. "I had a lot of hope, and I had a lot of people praying for me, a lot of people sending me positive thoughts and stuff. I had money to get good treatment. I was living in an area where the doctors were fantastic. And not everybody's gonna have that same opportunity. So, I wanted to make sure that I was available to tell my story and share that story of hope. 'Cause even if you do have access to all that stuff, you're still afraid. You don't know what's going on. And you're gonna go put your head into a machine that's meant to fucking kill you." After the interviewer noted that the chemotherapy sessions "must not have been any fun", Dave said: "A lot of it I don't remember. That was one of the terrible things that comes along with when you do radiation and chemotherapy. It's called chemo brain, where your brain is, as is your entire body, is being attacked, and your body's dying. So, it was mentally a complete mindfuck to go into some place and to willingly say, 'Okay, kill me. Kill me a little more today.' It was very terrifying." The Da Capo imprint, which is focused on publishing books about music, is a reincarnation of Da Capo Press, the longtime music publisher acquired as part of Hachette Book Group's 2016 acquisition of the Perseus Book Group, which was folded into Hachette Books in 2018. The Hachette Books imprint was dissolved in 2024 as part of restructuring efforts at Hachette Book Group. "One of the most harrowing experiences of my adult life has been my seven-year journey through cancer treatment and onward into remission," Mustaine said in a statement. "This story is considerably more than just, 'Go to the doctor, get diagnosed, get treatment and hopefully I live happily ever after.' This was a journey of me saving myself, staying alive, keeping my family together, and continuing to make music through it all." "'In My Darkest Hour' is Dave Mustaine at his most revealing, vulnerable, and true," Ben Schafer, Da Capo's executive editor, said. "With lacerating honesty and soulful reflection, he speaks to the universal human experience of facing serious illness and how it changes a person, their family and friends, and one’s relationship with creativity." "In My Darkest Hour" was co-written by The New York Times journalist Joe Layden, who previously worked with Mustaine on his "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir" autobiography and on original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley's "No Regrets: A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir". Layden also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas's tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990. In a June 2026 interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Mustaine stated about "In My Darkest Hour": "The book is about my journey through cancer, having to make 'The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!' record at the same time. Because I was diagnosed right as we were starting the record, and you're faced with a life-or-death battle, and I didn't know how I was gonna come out, so I didn't want to stop recording in case it was my last record, in case I died. So, yeah, that was a very intense time." Asked if it was "extremely difficult" for him to write a book about his cancer battle, Mustaine said: "Well, some of it, it was difficult — not emotionally, but because I just had a hard time remembering a lot of the details. Chemotherapy has a terrible effect on your memory. It even actually has a name — the syndrome is called 'chemo brain'. When I first went through all my treatment, I was having the hardest time remembering shit, and it was really affecting me, because I had a mother-in-law that just passed away from Alzheimer's. And I know that Alzheimer's and dementia is rampant in the world right now, and I didn't wanna go out that way. So, having issues with your memory, that's scary stuff, man. Your voluntary muscles are one thing, but the involuntary muscles, like breathing — when you forget to breathe, you die." As for whether it's "easier to write as the musician Dave or as a person Dave when it comes to doing a book", Mustaine said: "It's about me, the person, Dave. But the music part about it is such a critical part of who I am. It's not what I am; it's what I do. But, yeah, the book is about me, the person, and what it was like. It was tough. It was really tough. I don't know if people are gonna get all choked up over it, but I hope that for some people that it gives them hope, people who may be diagnosed with that kind of illness. It always feels good to know that somebody else went through what you're going through, and they were victorious." "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir", which came out in August 2010, landed at position No. 15 on The New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list. The book was released in the U.S. via HarperCollins's It Books imprint (focusing on pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet). The U.K. edition, "Mustaine: A Life In Metal", hit bookstores in the U.K. in September 2010. In September 2020, Mustaine released his second book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece" (formerly "Building The Perfect Beast"),via Hachette Books. "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece" detailed the making of MEGADETH's iconic "Rust In Peace" album, which was released in 1990. The now-64-year-old MEGADETH guitarist/vocalist revealed his cancer battle in June 2019 on social media, saying the doctors had given him a 90 percent chance of beating the illness. Dave later said that he beat cancer after 51 radiation treatments and nine chemotherapy sessions. He returned to the stage in early 2020 — weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic derailed touring for months. In 2014, five years before his cancer diagnosis, Mustaine and his family relocated to Tennessee, in part, because his daughter Electra wanted to pursue a singing career. Electra now helps run the visionary wine brand House Of Mustaine which uniquely blends music, culture, and fine winemaking.

RIK EMMETT Says First Leg Of TRIUMPH's 'Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded' Tour Was 'Unbelievably Great': 'I Did Not Expect It To Be As Good As It Was'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:52:44 +0000

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, TRIUMPH singer/guitarist Rik Emmett spoke about the legendary Canadian rockers' recently completed first tour in more than 30 years. For the 2026 trek, TRIUMPH's original members Emmett and drummer/vocalist Gil Moore were joined by guitarist Phil X, drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns. Phil X, whose real name is Theofilos Xenidis, is a member of BON JOVI and a former member of TRIUMPH, while Fitz and Kerns are both members of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS. Original TRIUMPH bassist Mike Levine did not take part in any of the 2026 tour dates so far after revealing in December that he has "a problem" with his hand that "precludes" him "from being able to really play well." Asked how it was performing with TRIUMPH again on the first leg of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour, Rik said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was unbelievably great. And when I say unbelievably, that's the truth. I did not expect it to be as good as it was. And I was surprised by it, and then I was just so energized and happy about it. It wasn't easy for me, and physically I was kind of feeling the grind of it, but after a while I was realizing... And it's not like I didn't know this. Peter Frampton had said, 'The 90 minutes I get on stage, man, best part of my day, like fountain of youth.' And that's the truth of it. The music kind of gives me back a sense of why I'm on the planet and why I'm here and who I am. And so that kind of reinforcement of identity, I think, is something that kind of makes you go, 'Yeah, yeah, this is a good thing. This is a great thing.' And you're making a lot of money. It's all going great. There's money being raised for charity. My kids are coming out to see the shows, and they're having the time of their lives... My grandkids came and went, 'Oh my God, Bubba, we had no idea you were this kind of a guy.' So there's all of these things that are spinning off and spinning out of it, but essentially it's just like a vortex of energy, and you're getting to go, 'Okay, I'm tapping in. Here we go.'" Regarding the overwhelmingly positive fan response to the first leg of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour, Rik said: "You forget that that's something that happens, that when you're up there on stage and you get into something and you get that roar of sort of recognition and acceptance from the audience, and then emotionally they're going, 'Ah, this is why I paid the money, man. I wanted to hear this song so bad. I'm holding up my camera. I'm filming this with my phone, and I'm crying.' And you look at that person and you go, 'Wow.' That energy that you get from that is something where you go, 'I'm doing something that is valuable to people. I'm of use. I'm of service.' And those kinds of things, psychologically they tell you, 'It's a good thing. You should go and volunteer at the soup kitchen or you should go and help out at the bake sale at your church because it's gonna make you feel better about yourself.' Well, I get to do that on this gigantic scale of, 'Yeah, fire up that flamethrower. Shoot up that big screen 'cause we're gonna go out and play 'Fight The Good Fight' for everybody." And it really is something that I can't describe it in words. You can only sort of get into the emotional ballpark and hope that people go, 'No, no, I understand. I know what you're talking about.'" Emmett also addressed Levine's absence from the tour, explaining: "He didn't make it out to the actual shows. His son came out and was at some of them, and his grandkid was out at one of them and hanging around and having some fun. And Mike — Gil and I saw him last week in the studio. He came out, 'cause there's a weird thing happening here in Canada where they're gonna put out a stamp, like a TRIUMPH stamp is coming out by the Royal Mint. And Mike wanted to be at that meeting, man. He didn't wanna miss that meeting. He wants to be on the stamp. So he can travel, and he can move, but I don't think he can handle what it takes to be on stage. He's still a little frail, but he's up on his feet and he's moving around. He doesn't need a walker or canes or any of that stuff, and he's looking pretty good. He'd had his mustache shaved off for a bit. It's grown back in, so he's not quite back to Sam Elliott territory. But I would say just give it a week — a week or two. And he'll be looking like his good old self. There's nobody more hirsute than Mike Levine." TRIUMPH's leg two of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour will consist of 16 new shows across the United States. Special guest APRIL WINE will again join TRIUMPH for the newly announced dates. The second leg will take TRIUMPH through major markets across the Midwest, Northeast, Southwest, and West Coast in November and December. The newly announced run will culminate with December 10 and December 12 performances at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles and at Viejas Arena in San Diego, respectively. In a recent interview with WNST and Baltimore Positive founder Nestor Aparicio, Moore stated about the first leg of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour: "I can't tell you how excited the band is and how the first leg was just, it was overwhelming how positive the vibe was in the audience, in the dressing room, on the bus, everywhere that you can imagine, in the airports. It was a love fest, the whole thing. And it was hard to say 'no' to Live Nation when they wanted to extend it, because we knew there were great cities that have been really loyal to TRIUMPH that we hadn't played yet. And it'd be nice if we could just play every single city and retrace our entire history. Of course, we're doing our best. We added 16 more. We did 27 the first round. So, yeah, we're getting up there in numbers. It's close to 60 shows." Regarding his own expectations for the first leg of the tour and the fan response to the initial 27 dates, Gil said: "I think for me personally, it wasn't part of my game plan to get back and do a rock and roll tour. But then I got into it, and it was kind of like it grew on me so fast, and I thought, 'Wow.' If we weren't having such a blast, it would be different. If we were out there slogging it out, and people aren't getting along, and that kind of crap, I wouldn't be there. It's the fact that we had our families with us, and the band was just having a blast the whole time. And the audience, too. I mean, there were people crying at certain songs, and multi-generations in the audience. It was overwhelming, when you looked at the audience. The emotion coming to the stage from the audience was crazy, crazy different than… Back in the day, when it's all kids and everyone's cheering, and now you're seeing, hey, we've all spent decades together on the planet, but this music is pulling us back together in a positive way. So it was kind of overwhelming, honestly." Asked what he could not have known about this a year ago that he knows now, Gil said: "How perfect the shows would be. And I don't mean perfect like we never made mistakes. Of course we made mistakes. We'd just laugh it off and grin at each other if somebody made a mistake. Perfect in the sense of the harmony of the audience, the band and our families. The total feeling of this one love that's in the venue that's unmistakable. I've never seen Rik Emmett as happy ever in my life. The guy hugged me a couple of times, and it brought tears to my eyes on stage. I couldn't take the emotion. Watching Phil X and Rik Emmett feed off each other. These guys are monster guitar players, but they have such respect for each other's playing. As a drummer, getting to work with Brent on every aspect of the drum kits themselves, of stick control exercises backstage, discussing this drummer and that drummer, and this type of rhythm and that type of rhythm. I've never had another drummer to collaborate with. Guitar players get this all the time, 'cause tons of bands have two guitar players. That's nothing new. But two drummers, pretty rare. And thankfully, to fill Mike Levine's shoes, you had to have somebody that was a monster stage presence, and Todd Kerns is that monster. And what a singer. I mean, Todd's vocals are incredible on top of how he plays bass, and a super human being. So I guess I'm going on and on here, but that's just what I really think." As for what fans can expect to see during the second leg of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour, Gil said: " Well, we've got a lot of kind of three-dimensional or what we call two-and-a-half-D content, which I think is really, really cool, effects in the show. And we're gonna have some more upgrades on this leg, too. We had a lot of lasers back in the day, and we didn't have lasers on the first run. We just didn't have enough truck space. But with this tour or this run, this part of this tour, yeah, we're putting in a major laser infrastructure into what we're doing. So I think we're gonna have some really, really cool lasers. I'm working on trying to put in a couple old-school effects that we didn't carry on the first tour, 'cause they were considered too clunky and old school. And I'm, like, 'No, I think you need the old and the new.' I think you need the fancy video or I'll call it the the 3D or the two-and-a-half-D video. You need that. You need archival footage. Of course we have to have Mike involved in that footage as well if he's not playing. So all of that stuff combined, it's a great learning experience, and we're just polishing it a bit more. And like I said, we're adding some more pyro effects and some more laser effects and organic old-school stuff that I think is gonna be even better on this run." Moore also confirmed that TRIUMPH is working on a new documentary about the legendary Canadian rockers' first tour in more than 30 years. It will follow TRIUMPH's first documentary, "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine", which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. The 97-minute film, directed by Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli for Banger Films, was in pre-production in 2019 with plans for a 2020 release, but the COVID-19 pandemic stalled those plans. But finally in 2022, TRIUMPH devotees around the world were able to see the documentary, which mixed interviews with the band, archival footage and ecstatic and emotional responses from the fans. "The 'Rock & Roll Machine' documentary did really great things for us, and I felt like it was a great payback, too, to people that were kind of after us, 'cause we hadn't toured," Gil said. "But the documentary ends with a big question mark, as you know, and it's, like, 'Okay, what's next?' Well, that's why we're doing a part two, which is, 'Well, here's what's next. It's this band.' This is the 'Reloaded' band, and you're gonna see it full on. We've recorded it from the point of view of a fan. In other words, I went back to when I was a kid, and I wanted to be kind of backstage. I wanna see how did you set the drums up? Where did you guys come in the building? What's it like to be in the dressing room? All the stuff that you don't get to see when you're a fan. Well, I can remember being like that as a kid, so I thought, 'Okay, be a kid.' This is something that everyone's gonna wanna see, is wanna get on the tour bus with us and see what we talk about, listen to the jokes, all the things that you don't really get to see, the backstage maze, all of that. So as well as the actual show itself, there's gonna be all this behind-the-scenes footage, which I think's gonna be really special. I'm hoping we get it out in 2027, and we're continuing to record it on leg two, so anybody that comes to leg two, hey, you might end up in it. [Laughs]" TRIUMPH has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will support the SoundsUnite Charity — providing free music learning resources, music wellness, and collaboration tools to marginalized and at-risk youth. Formed in Mississauga in 1975, TRIUMPH — Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals),Mike Levine (bass, keyboards) and Gil Moore (drums, vocals) — rose from playing high school auditoriums and rock n' roll bars to selling out iconic arenas, from Toronto's famed Maple Leaf Gardens to Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas . Their virtuosic musicianship, soaring vocals, and dazzling, high-production live shows were at the forefront of the definitive spectacle of arena rock. Blending hard rock metal power with progressive intricacies , TRIUMPH sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned 27 gold and platinum certifications, building a global following through headline tours and landmark festival performances, including the 1983 US Festival before 500,000 fans. With hits like "Lay It On The Line", "Allied Forces", "Magic Power", "Fight The Good Fight" and "Follow Your Heart" — combined with pioneering stage productions that set the bar for rock spectacles featuring pyrotechnics, laser lighting, and theatrical flair — TRIUMPH became arena rock legends, securing a permanent place in Canadian and international rock history. The band's return to the road follows a defining year honoring TRIUMPH's impact across generations. In June 2025, the band was celebrated with "Magic Power: All-Star Tribute To Triumph" (Round Hill Records, June 6, 2025),a 15-track tribute album featuring rock luminaries such as Phil X, Sebastian Bach, Slash, Nancy Wilson, Joey Belladonna, Dee Snider, Lawrence Gowan, Deen Castronovo, Alex Lifeson, Jeff Keith, Mickey Thomas and produced by the world-renowned Mike Clink (GUNS N' ROSES, MÖTLEY CRÜE, WHITESNAKE). Further solidifying their celebrated status, TRIUMPH was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame in October 2025, a prestigious honor recognizing their enduring influence, masterful songwriting, and contributions to Canada's cultural legacy. This induction adds to their long list of accolades, which includes membership in the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame (2007),the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2008),Canada's Walk Of Fame (2019) and Metal Hall Of Fame (2021). TRIUMPH "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour leg 2 2026 North American tour dates with special guest APRIL WINE: Nov. 17 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena Nov. 18 - Cincinnati, OH @ Heritage Bank Center Nov. 21 - Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena Nov. 22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center Nov. 24 - Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center Nov. 25 - Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena Nov. 27 - Indianapolis, IN @ Fishers Event Center Nov. 28 - Springfield, MO @ Great Southern Bank Arena Nov. 30 - Albuquerque, NM @ Rio Rancho Events Center Dec. 01 - Las Vegas, NV @ Fontainebleau Las Vegas Dec. 02 - Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre at The Grand Sierra Resort Dec. 05 - Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds Dec. 06 - Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater Dec. 08 - Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum Dec. 12 - San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena TRIUMPH is the legendary Canadian hard-rock power trio formed in Mississauga in 1975, featuring Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore. Known for musical mastery, innovation, and an unwavering connection to their fans, TRIUMPH's anthems — marked by hope, empowerment, and resilience — helped shape a generation and continue to resonate worldwide. From local Ontario venues to sold-out arenas around the globe, TRIUMPH achieved international acclaim through headline tours and iconic festival performances, including the 1983 US Festival before 500,000 fans, the Texas World Music Festival, The World Series Of Rock and Day On The Green. Their hits — "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power", "Follow Your Heart" and "Fight The Good Fight" — combined with pioneering stage productions featuring pyrotechnics, laser lighting, and theatrical flair, were defining features of arena rock. Selling over 15 million albums worldwide with 27 gold and platinum certifications, TRIUMPH has been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame (2007),the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2008),Canada's Walk Of Fame (2019),the Metal Hall Of Fame (2024),CMW Legends Of Live (2024) and the Canadian Songwriter's Hall Of Fame (2025).

ZAKK WYLDE Understands Why Some Artists Don't Believe In Making Full-Length Albums Anymore

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:49:00 +0000

In a new interview with Scott Davidson of Chicago's Rebel Radio, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde weighed in on MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx's recent comment that doesn't "believe in making full-length records anymore". Zakk said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I get it. But I'm just saying if you end up recording 10 songs, you just release all 10 over a length of time. But I know what Nikki's saying. 'Cause it's different than like when we made [Ozzy Osbourne's] 'No More Tears'. It's just, like, where you would put your single out, and then [the] 'No More Tears' [title track] is out there, and then all of a sudden the album gets released and then you release a couple more songs off the album. But, yeah, it's definitely different." Zakk continued: "Even what Ozz would always say, from the beginning of BLACK SABBATH, the way things were done then, 'cause he was just, like, 'Zakk, we would make a record, tour for a couple months, and then be back right in the studio again knocking out another album.' Which is kind of insane. I mean, when you look at SABBATH back then, it was just, like, you were playing 'Under The Sun', that was '72. That's 'Vol. 4'. Their first album came out in '70. Their second album came out, 'Paranoid' came out in '70. Their third album, 'Master Of Reality', came out in '71. 'Vol. 4' came out in '72. Then, what was it? '74 was 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'. Then 1975 was 'Sabotage'. That's like six albums within five years. I mean, that's insane. And they were doing shows in between and everything like that. But they weren't touring — like now, you put an album out, you could literally tour for two years on one record. Which I don't mind either, just because it gives everyone a chance to digest the album." BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's latest album, "Engines Of Demolition", was released in March via MNRK Heavy. The follow-up to 2021's "Doom Crew Inc." contains 15 tracks, including the four previously released singles, "Name In Blood", "Broken And Blind", "The Gallows" and "Lord Humungus", as well as a tune titled "Ozzy's Song", which is a tribute to the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY guitarist/vocalist's longtime bandmate, the iconic BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne. Wylde formed BLACK LABEL SOCIETY in 1998 and has kept the band busy in between touring and recording with Ozzy Osbourne, whose backing group he first joined nearly four decades ago. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Order Of The Black" (2010) and "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican" (2014) both broke into the top five on the hard rock album charts. Since first joining Ozzy, Zakk had played on all of the BLACK SABBATH singer's solo albums except for 2020's "Ordinary Man", including such classic efforts as "No More Tears" (1991),"Ozzmosis" (1995) and "Black Rain" (2007). Photo credit: Justin H. Reich

70000 TONS OF METAL Cruise Announces Public Sales And First Half Of 2027 Lineup

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:34:21 +0000

70000 Tons Of Metal, the original, the world's biggest heavy metal cruise, just announced that public sales for the 2027 sailing will begin on Monday, September 7, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. EDT / 18:00 CET via 70000tons.com. Join the United Nations Of Heavy Metal at sea and experience heavy metal in an entirely different setting. Feel the warm Caribbean breeze, sink into a rejuvenating hot tub, and take in the ocean horizon as heavy metal roars around you — with thousands of metalheads from around the world — coming together for an unforgettable adventure at sea. 70000 Tons Of Metal 2027 will sail from Miami, Florida to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and back from January 14-18, 2027 aboard Royal Caribbean's luxury cruise ship Freedom Of The Seas. The festival offers round-the-clock entertainment, from explosive performances on the biggest open-air stage structure to ever sail the open seas, to artist-hosted activities and events, meet-and-greets with every band, and the opportunity for fans to mingle with their heavy metal heroes in a unique environment. With half of the lineup revealed, there's still plenty of room for your picks: Which bands are you hoping to see return, and who would you like to see make their debut onboard 70000 Tons Of Metal? The currently announced line-up for the 2027 sailing, featuring 30 of the 60 total bands who will take the stage, is: ABIGAIL WILLIAMS ÆTHER REALM ARCH ENEMY AVALAND BATTLELORE BRAINSTORM BRYMIR DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER ENFORCER EQUILIBRIUM EVERGREY EXMORTUS EXODUS FAMOUS STRANGERS HAMMERFALL MELECHESH MOONSPELL MORS PRINCIPIUM EST NAGLFAR OBSCURA ORIGIN PRIMAL FEAR RHAPSODY SINISTER TALIA HOIT THULCANDRA ULI JON ROTH WARBRINGER WOLFHEART YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS …And 30 more! Continuing the tradition of bringing fans one-of-a-kind events: Finnish "winter metal" band WOLFHEART will do a world live premiere of its upcoming album during the January 2027 cruise. Footage from this performance will be included in an upcoming music video. "It is an absolute honor to step on the deck of the mighty 70000 Tons Of Metal for the third time, on one of the most majestic metal events in this universe," said WOLFHEART's Tuomas Saukkonen. "This time we are bringing something special with us: the world live premiere of our forthcoming album!!!" Only 3000 tickets are available to metalheads from around the globe, continuing the festival's legacy of cultivating a tight-knit, global metal community, the "United Nations of Heavy Metal at Sea". Secure your spot onboard 70000 Tons Of Metal 2027 at 70000tons.com. 70000 Tons Of Metal is the original, the world's biggest heavy metal cruise. Featuring 60 heavy metal bands from around the globe performing across four stages, 70000 Tons Of Metal is home to the world's biggest open air stage structure to ever sail the open seas. This extraordinary and unique floating festival now sails onboard one of the largest luxury passenger vessels in the world. Guests can enjoy the heavy metal festival experience of a lifetime with all the benefits that a cruise has to offer: complimentary fine dining, bars that never close, 24-hour room service, as well as the ship's many amenities. All 60 bands onboard play twice — and there are four concert venues onboard: * A concert hall — the Royal Theater — stands tall with five levels. * The Star Lounge offers a more personal and local club-like ambiance. * Discover the arena-like vibes at Studio B, the third indoor stage available. * Lastly, yet undoubtedly the most remarkable, is the Pool Deck Stage — the world's biggest open air stage structure to ever sail the open seas. This immense stage is accompanied by bars, pools, and even hot tubs that are integrated into the stage itself, allowing guests to indulge in the unique experience of watching their favorite metal bands while soaking in a hot tub. This four-day heavy metal music festival and Caribbean vacation offers 3000 metalheads the amazing opportunity to mingle side-by-side with all of the bands onboard. With no VIP areas it truly is like everyone has a backstage pass. Not only do guests have unrestricted festival access to more than 120 live performances (each band performing twice), every ticket also includes meet-and-greets with each band, intimate masterclasses with select musicians, world live premieres, exclusive listening sessions of unreleased material and special artist events. Guests also have full access to the "Jamming In International Waters" all-star jam — a one-of-a-kind concert featuring a host of musical virtuosos performing classic metal songs together on stage. Sailors also have the special opportunity to explore a Caribbean dream destination with their favorite band members on an "Artist Escorted Shore Excursion", another 70000 Tons Of Metal exclusive. Visit www.70000tons.com and follow the @70000tons social media channels for more upcoming news about 70000 Tons Of Metal 2027, featuring a lineup of top metal bands and exclusive performances and events.

IRON MAIDEN Announces Two Special Anniversary Releases

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:48:50 +0000

Forty years since the release of IRON MAIDEN's multi-million-selling sixth album "Somewhere In Time", the appreciation and acclaim for its groundbreaking songs and production continues to grow. Featuring many songs which IRON MAIDEN has included in its live set in recent years, including "Wasted Years", "Caught Somewhere In Time", "Stranger In A Strange Land", "Heaven Can Wait" and the epic "Alexander The Great", it saw the band reach new heights around the world, setting them up to soon become the biggest metal band on the planet. To celebrate its fortieth anniversary, "Somewhere In Time" will be reissued on limited edition Oxblood color vinyl, featuring the 2015 audio remastering. There will be a special Amazon variant that comes with an exclusive full sleeve poster. For more details and to pre-order, click here. In further celebrations that tie in to IRON MAIDEN's 50th anniversary since the band's formation, and reflecting the songs MAIDEN has been performing on its two-year "Run For Your Lives" tour, a brand new vinyl box-set of their first nine studio albums will be released in December. Titled the "50th Anniversary Studio Album Collection, Part One: 1980 - 1992", it comes in a fully designed artwork box, with an anniversary poster and will be available to order exclusively through Amazon (ex-USA). The contents are as follows: "50th Anniversary Studio Album Collection, Part One: 1980 – 1992" * Iron Maiden - red/gold vinyl * Killers - red vinyl * The Number Of The Beast - silver vinyl * Piece Of Mind - yellow vinyl * Powerslave - gold vinyl * Somewhere In Time - oxblood vinyl * Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - white vinyl * No Prayer For The Dying - olive vinyl * Fear Of The Dark (2 LPs) - blue vinyl + yellow vinyl To pre-order the box set via Amazon, click here. IRON MAIDEN kicked off the North American leg of its "Run For Your Lives" tour on August 29 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In celebration of the band's 50th anniversary, MAIDEN is performing at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for — huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the setlist of songs from the band's groundbreaking first nine albums. They will also headline America's rock festival Louder Than Life at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky on September 17, 2026. The shows mark 45 years since IRON MAIDEN first visited Canada and the USA on the 1981 "Killer" world tour, according to a press release, and "feature some of the biggest shows the band has ever played there." Ahead of the "Run For Your Lives" tour's kick-off in May 2025, MAIDEN shared a message with fans, urging them to "severely limit the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans". MAIDEN has since announced that it will continue this policy for the 2026 legs of the tour. Since forming in 1975, IRON MAIDEN has released classic albums like "The Number Of The Beast", "Powerslave" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son". MAIDEN's most recent LP, the band's seventeenth, "Senjutsu", came out in 2021. In December 2024, IRON MAIDEN played the final show of its "The Future Past Tour" at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil. That run of concerts was the last for longtime drummer Nicko McBrain, who has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's rhythm section partner of the past 14 years with BRITISH LION.

TONY IOMMI On His Battle With Lymphoma: 'As Far As The Cancer Is Concerned, It's Stayed Away At The Moment'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:21:30 +0000

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi says that his cancer is still in remission, nearly 15 years after he was diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma. The now-78-year-old musician revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled "13", and the subsequent tour to promote it. During a September 2 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Iommi stated about his health (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's — touch wood — all right so far. I still go for more of my checks. And, in fact, two days ago I was having more blood tests. And I keep it up. Like everybody, we all have aches and pains and this, that and the other, but as far as the cancer is concerned, it's stayed away at the moment." Tony went on to say that he tries to manage his cancer as much as he can. "I have scans and this, that and the other," he explained. "But they're a good team, the doctors I've got, and they keep me going. And they'll call me up in a couple of days and say if anything's happened with the last blood tests. But no, so far it's been okay." Iommi originally revealed that his cancer was in remission during an August 2016 plaque unveiling at Spire Parkway Hospital's Specialist Care Centre in Solihull, England, where he had been receiving treatment for lymphoma. The BLACK SABBATH guitarist successfully underwent an operation in January 2017 to remove a noncancerous lump from his throat. "13" was the first album in 35 years to feature Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler all playing together. Iommi spoke about his battle with lymphoma in a 2013 interview with Guitar World magazine. At the time, he said: "The [cancer] diagnosis came when I was doing my book tour [in 2011] before we started rehearsal. On the book tour, I saw a doctor because this lump appeared in my groin. We thought it was just a swollen gland, so he gave me antibiotics. After the book tour, I was going to L.A to start rehearsals. He said if it wasn't gone in two weeks when I got there, I should see another doctor. So I did, because it was still there. He gave me more antibiotics, because I had developed an infection from this other problem I had with my prostate. It was too big and had to be cut down. So I thought the other lump was part of that. But it never went away. So we were rehearsing and writing, and I kept feeling this pain down in my groin. And Ozzy kept saying, 'You don't look really well.' And I'd say, 'Well, I don't feel too good.' He also told me to go get it checked out. I was going back to England to have the prostate operation, so I decided just to wait until then. They said they'd take out that other lump while they were in there. I thought nothing of it at all, but they found out it was cancer." He continued: [After they told me I had cancer] my whole life changed. And they're so casual about it! They say, 'The good news is that your prostate is really good. But the lump, we found lymphoma in it.' Lymphoma, what's that? Well, I knew what it was, but I wanted to hear them say it: cancer. Once I heard that, it was awful. I thought, God, of all the times." Iommi's new solo album, "From The Dark", is due on October 23 via BMG. "From The Dark" sees Iommi joined throughout by singer Jorn Lande, who shares writing credits on all songs, as well as bassist Becky Baldwin and drummer Karl Brazil. The LP was co-produced by Tony and Mike Exeter, Iommi's longtime creative partner, co-writer, producer and audio engineer. Lande previously performed with Iommi and other surviving HEAVEN & HELL members Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice at a very special tribute to their fallen bandmate, Ronnie James Dio, at the 2010 High Voltage festival at Victoria Park in London, England. The musicians were also joined by legendary former DEEP PURPLE vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes. Iommi's new solo album will be his third, after 2000's "Iommi" and 2005's "Fused". Iommi is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in modern music. As the founding member and primary composer of BLACK SABBATH, Iommi is credited with helping create the sound and vocabulary of heavy metal. Iommi's contributions have been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and honorary academic distinctions in the U.K. He was awarded a doctorate from Coventry University, a Lord Mayor's Award and the Freedom Of The City of Birmingham. Most recently, in June 2026 he has been awarded an MBE, one of the highest honors in British public life.

OZZY OSBOURNE Exhibition At Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Has Welcomed Almost 800,000 Visitors Since Its Launch

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:26:49 +0000

Fans of Birmingham, U.K. rock legend Ozzy Osbourne have just a few weeks left to see the exhibition celebrating his life and legacy at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery before it closes on Sunday, September 27, 2026. "Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero" charts Ozzy's journey from a working-class upbringing in Aston to international superstardom. It features personal memorabilia, photography and video alongside some of his most prestigious honors, including Grammy Awards, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame accolades, MTV awards, Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Birmingham Walk Of Stars honors, as well as a selection of his platinum and gold discs. A highlight of the exhibition is Ozzy's iconic black gothic-style throne, last used by Ozzy during his final performance at the "Back To The Beginning" concert at Villa Park and added to the display in July this year to mark the first anniversary of the performance and his death in 2025. The free exhibition has welcomed almost 800,000 visitors since it was officially opened by Sharon Osbourne on June 25, 2025, with its run extended twice in response to public demand. Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said: "The extraordinary response to the exhibition reflects the deep affection felt for Ozzy in his home city and around the world. "The recent addition of the throne with its distinctive bat-wing motifs has given fans another opportunity to connect with his story and his final performance in Birmingham. It has become an enduring symbol of Ozzy's final performance in his home city and provides a poignant centerpiece. "With the exhibition finally closing on 27 September, we would like to encourage anyone who has not yet visited, as well as those who want to see it again, to make the most of these final weeks." Councillor Deborah Harries, cabinet member for culture at Birmingham City Council, said: "This exhibition celebrating Ozzy Osbourne's legacy has been a huge success for the city — as visitors to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have then explored other sites across the city linked to both him and BLACK SABBATH. "Ozzy is one of Birmingham's most colorful cultural figures, and we will continue to honor his legacy here in the city, where his journey began. For anyone who has yet to visit 'Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero', there's only a few weeks to go — so don't miss out." Sam Watson, chair of Central BID Birmingham, said: "Central BID is incredibly proud to have curated this exhibition in Birmingham city center alongside Sharon Osbourne. The public response has been fantastic, with hundreds of thousands of people visiting from all over the world to celebrate Ozzy's extraordinary legacy. We are already planning for 'Ozzy Day' in 2027 and there's a lot more to look forward to next year." "Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero" is an exhibition by Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Central BID Birmingham and Sharon Osbourne Management, sponsored by Ocean Outdoor and supported by Birmingham City Council and Aston Villa FC. Photo courtesy of Birmingham Museums

POLARIS Emerges From Grief With Powerful New Single And Video 'Without You'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:07:02 +0000

At the crossroads of grief and exhilarating sonic potency, Sydney's POLARIS returns today with its first instalment of new music in three years, unleashing a brand new single, "Without You", via ADA in Australia and New Zealand and SharpTone Records for the remainder of the world. Born from unimaginable pain following the loss of their bandmate and brother Ryan Siew in 2023, "Without You" channels the POLARIS members' love, hurt and heartbreak into an indelible end result. The track coalesces caustic vocals, crushing beats and torrid riffs set against soaring melodic choruses, a heart-wrenching guitar solo and a ferocious breakdown outro that rivals POLARIS's heaviest moments to date. Hauntingly poignant, its lyrics show the band in their most brutally vulnerable state. POLARIS comments: "Never did we imagine that we would one day have reason to write this song. But three years on, we find ourselves still making sense of this immeasurable tragedy, and what it has meant to be left in the wake. "This is the sound of crushing loss, shock, grief and heartache, and the beginning of us learning how to share that with the world." Alongside the release of "Without You", POLARIS has also today shared an enrapturing music video that powerfully captures the track's ferocity and emotion. Highlighting the members left behind in this tragedy, the video brings forth their future while also reflecting and taking note of their creative past; interspersing imagery drawn from the band's history with solemn visuals of the members performing in a stark, empty cathedral. Now with three studio albums, multiple ARIA Award nominations, millions of streams and a formidable global live reputation under their belt, POLARIS have cemented themselves as a conduit for creating music that challenges, reflects and inspires alongside a blend of melodic metalcore, lush post rock coupled with electronic flourishes. Forming in 2012, POLARIS established their heavyweight status in the scene with their first two full-length albums, 2017's "The Mortal Coil" and 2020's "The Death Of Me", both of which debuted in the Australian Top 10 and received ARIA nominations for "Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album". In 2023, POLARIS expanded on their signature bleak imagery and hard-hitting soundscapes, embracing heavier tendencies and new creative terrain on their third album, "Fatalism". The record was marked by unimaginable loss following the sudden passing of guitarist Ryan Siew just months before its release, ultimately becoming a posthumous reflection of his legacy and contributions to POLARIS. In the wake of the tragedy, the music community rallied around the band, with "Fatalism" debuting at No. 1 on the ARIA chart and earning widespread acclaim. The album was named Triple J's "Feature Album" upon release, won "Best Independent Heavy Album" at the 2024 AIR Awards, and earned nominations for "Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album" at the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, "Australian Album Of The Year" at the 2023 J Awards and the 2023 Australian Music Prize. POLARIS have built a formidable global live reputation, selling out headline tours across Australia and taking their explosive live show around the world. In 2025, the band made their Knotfest Australia debut and appeared at major international festivals, including Download festival, Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park, Jera On Air and Rock For People. That momentum has continued throughout 2026, with POLARIS launching their own curated festival, Life's A Beach, before supporting longtime heroes LINKIN PARK on a massive Australian arena run and most recently joining ELECTRIC CALLBOY for the North American leg of their "Tanzneid" world tour. Next up, they'll head to Europe with I PREVAIL this fall before returning home for Australia's Good Things Festival in December. POLARIS tour dates: Sep. 19 - O2 Academy Leeds - Leeds, UK* Sep. 20 - O2 Academy Glasgow - Glasgow, UK* Sep. 22 - O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester - Manchester, UK* Sep. 23 - DEPOT - Cardiff, UK* Sep. 25 - Alexandra Palace - London, UK* Sep. 26 - O2 Academy Birmingham - Birmingham, UK* Sep. 27 - O2 Academy Birmingham - Birmingham, UK* Sep. 30 - Ancienne Belgique - Brussels, Belgium* Oct. 01 - Poppodium 013 - Tilburg, Netherlands* Oct. 03 - PSD Bank Dome - Düsseldorf, Germany* Oct. 05 - Porsche-Arena - Stuttgart, Germany* Oct. 06 - Zenith Paris - La Villette - Paris, France* Oct. 08 - Halle 622 - Zürich, Switzerland* Oct. 09 - Alcatraz - Milan, Italy* Oct. 10 - Wiener Stadthalle - Vienna, Austria* Oct. 12 - Klub Stodoła - Warsaw, Poland* Oct. 13 - Velodrom - Berlin, Germany* Oct. 22-25 - Hellbound Cruise - Sydney, Australia Dec. 04 - Good Things Festival - Melbourne, Australia Dec. 05 - Good Things Festival - Sydney, Australia Dec. 06 - Good Things Festival - Brisbane, Australia * With I PREVAIL Photo credit: thirdeyevisualsau

CARCASS Drummer's 'Family Situation' Forces Postponement Of Australia/New Zealand Tour

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:50:34 +0000

British extreme metal veterans CARCASS have been forced to postpone their Australian tour with BRUJERIA due to a "family situation" affecting their drummer Dan Wilding. On Wednesday, September 2, CARCASS released the following statement via social media: " We're incredibly sorry to announce that we have decided to reschedule our upcoming 'Putrefying Down Under' Australia / NZ tour along with our China and India dates. "Our drummer Dan is facing a deeply upsetting family situation, and his priority right now is being with his family. Out of respect for everyone involved, we won't be sharing further details, but we hope our fans will understand that this is a situation where family has to come first and he simply cannot be so far away from home for so long. "We know how much people have been looking forward to these shows, and postponing them is not a decision we have taken lightly. "For our fans in India, Bangalore Open Air will still go ahead as scheduled, and we sincerely encourage everyone to attend the festival, support the other bands performing and be part of what will still be an incredible day. "Thank you for your patience, understanding and, most importantly, your kindness and support at what is a very difficult time for our band and family. "All existing tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled dates. "Thank you for understanding." Rescheduled 2027 Australia/New Zealand dates: Sep. 07 - Perth, Magnet House (w/ KIMURA) Sep. 09 - Adelaide, Lion Arts Factory (w/ ANGGRATH) Sep. 10 - Melbourne, Northcote Theatre (w/ NEMBUTOLIK) Sep. 11 - Sydney, Liberty Hall (w/ HORMAGAUNT) Sep. 14 - Brisbane, Princess Theatre (w/ CRYPTIVORE) Sep. 15 - Townsville, The Warehouse* (w/ PSYCROPTIC & NECROPHAGE) Sep. 17 - Auckland, Galatos* (w/ JUST ONE FIX & SOUL VOID) * BRUJERIA not performing CARCASS's latest album, "Torn Arteries", was released in September 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo. The "Torn Arteries" album title references an old demo created by original drummer Ken Owen back in the 1980s. The album artwork also rings reminiscent of the grotesque photography that appears on classic CARCASS album covers like "Reek Of Putrefaction" and "Symphonies Of Sickness". Artist Zbigniew Bielak traveled outside his normal wheelhouse to bring forth a time lapsed set of photos showing vegetables shaped like a heart, rotting over time upon a white plate. This form of artwork was influenced by Japanese Kusôzu, meaning: "painting of the nine stages of a decaying corpse." Ferocious and uncompromising in their execution, CARCASS's ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for nearly four decades. Whether it was inventing gore-grind or creating the template for melodic death metal, CARCASS has always made records by which bars were set and rules were broken.

IRON MAIDEN's 'Eddie's Dive Bar' Pre-Show Events Are Coming To The U.S.

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:29:16 +0000

The U.S. leg of IRON MAIDEN's "Run For Your Lives" world tour kicks off on September 5 in New Jersey, and with it comes the first Eddie's Dive Bar experiences to happen Stateside. Overseas, these meetups offer passionate IRON MAIDEN fans a chance to "Up The Irons" and raise a pint before IRON MAIDEN takes the stage later that day. The events are open to the public, regardless of if someone is a ticket holder for an upcoming show or not. For U.S. fans, these events will have something extra: one of the best opportunities to experience the new Trooper West Coast IPA, the limited-edition collaboration between IRON MAIDEN's Trooper beer brand and IPA pioneer Lagunitas Brewing Company. Released in July, Trooper West Coast IPA is the first-ever West Coast IPA under the Trooper label crafted with the newly discovered Krush hop variety, this IPA delivers a pungent, resinous, and unmistakably West Coast profile. At 6.6% ABV, the beer offers a slightly elevated strength that strikes the perfect balance between intensity and drinkability, appealing to hop enthusiasts and casual craft beer fans alike. While Trooper West Coast IPA continues to sell quickly at retail, fans can still enjoy it at participating retailers, select bars and, most notably, at Eddie's Dive Bar venues. These first-ever U.S. events offer the most authentic way to experience the beer: alongside fellow MAIDEN fans, exclusive merch, and the energy of IRON MAIDEN's return to America. Enter The Beer Roadie: IRON MAIDEN fans heading to the New York and Los Angeles Eddie's Dive Bars will have an added bonus of having their Trooper poured by IRON MAIDEN superfan and Lagunitas' first-ever Beer Roadie Lara Mirinjian. Earlier this year, Lagunitas held a nationwide contest to find their first-ever Beer Roadie, a one-of-a-kind role created to celebrate the intersection of great beer, great music, and the communities that form around both. The position was designed to find someone who embodies the idea that life is a lot more fun when you're unapologetically yourself. Lara stood out among hundreds of applicants to secure this paid position, earning the chance to help bring the Eddie's Dive Bar experience to life around the country. Lara has a unique story to tell, but also very relatable. The Long Beach, California piano teacher Lara's journey into metal and IRON MAIDEN began when her father, an Armenian immigrant from Iran, passed away when she was 14. Her older brother began driving Lara to school, playing metal almost every day. That's when Lara found solace in the metal community, along with an unbridled love of IRON MAIDEN. Eddie's Dive Bar dates and venues: Sept. 5 - 6: Beer Authority, 300 W 40th St, New York City Sept. 9: Banners Kitchen And Bar, 82 Causeway St, Boston Sept. 11: Craftworx Taproom, 5615 Wellington Rd #101, Gainesville, VA Sept. 12: Charlotte Beer Garden, 1300 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC Sept. 15: JB Lovecraft's, 225 N 2nd St, 3rd Floor, Harrisburg, PA Sept. 17-20: Louder Than Life, on site at concert in Louisville, KY Sept. 19: Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Minneapolis, MN Sept. 21-22: Reggie's, 2105 S State St, Chicago Sept. 25-27: Rainbow Bar & Grill, 9015 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA Sept. 29: The Friendly Spot, 943 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX

NAILS Release Two-Song Single 'Fear Based Life'; Fifth Full-Length Album Due Summer 2027

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:14:15 +0000

Oxnard, California's NAILS has signed to Closed Casket Activities, marking the occasion with a new seven-inch release, "Fear Based Life". These two songs are brutal statement of intent and a bridge to the band's fifth full-length LP, due out summer 2027. The signing closes the loop on a relationship well over a decade in the making. NAILS comments: "NAILS has been very fortunate to work with great labels. All throughout the band's existence, there's not a bad label that the band have worked with. In fact, they've all been great. "A look into the backend of NAILS, I've been working with Justin Louden of Closed Casket Activities since 2011. All NAILS decisions regarding tour decisions, business decisions, all of the behind the scenes stuff.... we conferred with him to help with perspective and insight regarding how we made our moves and executed the vision for NAILS. There hasn't been a more instrumental asset to NAILS than Closed Casket Activities in the past 15 years. "Signing a record deal with Closed Casket Activities is the best move for NAILS and we know this is going to serve NAILS the best for the band's needs. "We hope you enjoy our new two-song 'Fear Based Life' release, and we will have our fifth LP out summer 2027. Thank you for supporting NAILS." "Fear Based Life" contains two new tracks recorded by Andrew Solis, mastered by Nick Townsend and features cover art by Jef Whitehead (Wrest), additional artwork by Cavan Hoover, photography by Duran Levinson, and layout and text by Martin Stuart. On the release itself, the band adds: "NAILS put these two songs together November/December 2025. Writing them was a true collaborative effort between the three of us. We decided to release them as we thought they complemented each other well together. Jef Whitehead a.k.a. Wrest did an incredible job with the front cover artwork as well as Cavan Hoover with the inner artwork. The photography was done in Berlin, Germany by Duran Levinson. The layout and text was completed by our friend Martin Stuart. It was a great experience putting this release together and working with everyone who collaborated on it including Closed Casket Activities. We hope you enjoy it." "Fear Based Life" is streaming now, with a vinyl release of October 9 via Closed Casket Activities. NAILS on tour: Oct 02 - London, UK – New Cross Inn ^$ Oct 03 - Glasgow, UK – SWG3 Warehouse ^ Oct 04 - Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club ^ Oct 05 - Manchester, UK – Rebellion ^ Oct 06 - Birmingham, UK – Asylum ^ Oct 07 - London, UK – Scala ^% Oct 08 - Köln, DE – Essigfabrik ^% Oct 09 - Nijmegen, NL – Soulcrusher Oct 10 - Hanover, DE – Musikzentrum ^ Oct 11 - Berlin, DE – Lido ^ $ with ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE, HARROWED ^ with ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE % with ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE, WOLFBRIGADE "Fear Based Life" track listing: 01. Dollar Bin Generation 02. Fear Based Life Photo by: Duran Levinson

SCORPIONS Postpone 2026 Las Vegas Residency 'Due To Unforeseen Circumstances'

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 05:17:38 +0000

SCORPIONS have postponed their 2026 residency at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Live Nation announced the postponement in a social media post on Wednesday (September 2), citing "unforeseen circumstances" as the reason for moving the shows to September 2027. "SCORPIONS regret to announce that, due to unforeseen circumstances, their upcoming September shows in Las Vegas will need to be postponed," Live Nation's post reads. "The band is extremely disappointed but looks forward to returning to Las Vegas in September 2027. SCORPIONS are also currently planning a number of European shows for 2027, continuing their hugely successful 'Coming Home - 60 Years Of Scorpions' tour, with details to be announced soon." The rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' 2027 residency are September 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, and 25. Promoted by Live Nation and Caesars Entertainment, "Scorpions - Coming Home To Las Vegas" was originally set to take place from Thursday, September 17 through Saturday, October 3, 2026, and was once again supposed to feature special guest BUCKCHERRY. When it happens, SCORPIONS' new residency will follow the band's three previous sold-out runs at the venue: "Scorpions - Sin City Nights" in 2022, "Love At First Sting Las Vegas" in 2024, and "Scorpions - Coming Home To Las Vegas 60th Anniversary Las Vegas Residency" in 2025. This past April, SCORPIONS vocalist Klaus Meine told Rolling Stone India that he and his bandmates were very much on "this upbeat feeling" as they continued touring around the world. "We still enjoy what we're doing," he said. "We're still very passionate about things and very excited to go on this road ahead," the 78-year-old said. Acknowledging that the road ahead is "much shorter than the years behind us," he added that SCORPIONS were "very grateful" to still be around. "We're still standing," he said. "God knows how long we can do this. We're getting older every year, but when we see the fans in front of the stage, we get so much energy and power back from our fans that we're still young at heart." In May 2025, SCORPIONS canceled some of their 60th-anniversary concerts in South America dates due to a respiratory infection suffered by Meine. The SCORPIONS launched their 60th-anniversary tour in March 2025 in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. The trek was originally supposed to kick off in February 2025 with a Las Vegas residency at PH Live at Planet Hollywood. However, these dates were postponed due to drummer Mikkey Dee's recovery process following a diagnosis of sepsis. SCORPIONS' only continuous member has been guitarist Rudolf Schenker, although Meine has appeared on all of the band's studio albums, while guitarist Matthias Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016, respectively. SCORPIONS' latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in February 2022. The album was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

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JOHN BUSH: 'I Champion' The Fact That ARMORED SAINT Has Kept Same Lineup For More Than Three And A Half Decades

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:35:39 +0000

In a new interview with Stevie J of TotalRock, ARMORED SAINT vocalist John Bush was asked how he and his bandmates have managed to keep their lineup almost entirely intact for most of their four-decade-plus existence. John responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm not gonna say that it's always wine and roses for us because we're human beings that don't always agree on things. But at the end of the day, it's pretty remarkable that, other than [guitarist] Dave Prichard, who died back in 1990, it's the same guys. It really is the same guys. The two Sandoval brothers — Gonzo [drums] and Phil [guitar] — Jeff Duncan [guitar], who came in when Dave was still alive and started writing songs with us that became [1991's] 'Symbol Of Salvation' [album]. Jeff wrote [the song] 'Last Train Home'. And then, of course, me and Joey [Vera, bass]. "A lot of bands, there's different versions of them, but it's pretty safe to say there's not a lot of bands like ARMORED SAINT where the majority of the people are still in the band," John continued. "I mean, METALLICA's one. ANTHRAX, actually, is one. There are some exceptions. Some people have died. What are you gonna do? Dave died back in, like I said, 1990. But I really champion that kind of thing that ARMORED SAINT is the same guys. You're not coming to see John Bush and four other dudes that you don't know, or Joey Vera and three other guys that you just don't know. "I know, like I said, other bands sometimes have to make those kind of sacrifices because people pass away or people just don't wanna be in the same room with somebody," Bush added. "And I get it. But, yeah, it's a cool aspect of ARMORED SAINT, for sure." As previously reported, ARMORED SAINT will join METAL CHURCH for a North American co-headlining tour this fall. "The Metal Saint Tour 2026" will commence on November 2 in San Juan Capistrano, California and run through November 21 in Agoura Hills, California. Additional support will be provided by LIVEKILL. "Emotion Factory Reset", ARMORED SAINT's ninth studio album since 1984's "March Of The Saint", was released in May via Metal Blade Records. The LP was described in a press release as "a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes." Produced, as were the previous four albums, by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR),the record finds the quintet challenging themselves. Songs like "Close To The Bone", "Hit A Moonshot" and "Every Man-Any Man" have ARMORED SAINT honoring their past as one of the most respected and recognizable bands in heavy music while making forward-thinking music rooted in the present. "Emotion Factory Reset" was recorded across several studios, including 606 Studios, Secret Hand Studios, Skullseven Studios, Constantine Studios and Bridge Recording, engineered by Oliver Roman, Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera and Jason Constantine. It features cover art by DDKing. A special European edition of the CD digipak includes the bonus track "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)", only available digitally until now. The classic track was originally written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and was first released by PEOPLE in 1970. Additional covers include THE FOUR TOPS (1974),SANTANA (1978) and THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (1989). ARMORED SAINT's current lineup of singer John Bush, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and Vera has been together since 1989 — not including a few hiatuses while Bush served as ANTHRAX's lead singer. At various points in the 1980s, Bush and Vera each had offers to audition for spots with fellow heavy metal giants METALLICA but decided to stay with ARMORED SAINT. In July 2023, ARMORED SAINT was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. In May 2023, ARMORED SAINT's long-awaited documentary, "Armored Saint: Band Of Brothers", had its world premiere in the band's hometown at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Hollywood, California.

SKILLET's JOHN COOPER Is Still 'Proud To Be A Jesus Freak'

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:57:47 +0000

In a new interview with CCM Magazine, John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock group SKILLET, spoke about how the band's music — which has a uniquely Christian message — was able to reach a plethora of people outside of the faith-based realm. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think when somebody says, 'What would you say is the reason you've been able to do it?' I usually just say, especially if who I'm talking to is not necessarily a person of faith and they don't understand providence, and I just say, 'Look, I do think we were very authentic. We've always been authentic. We've always been very open about who we are.' "I made the decision, when we were making that crossover, going into interviews… I knew there was going to be some people that were, like, not down with the Jesus stuff," John explained. "And I just made the decision on the front end, because there had been a few bands that have crossed over, and they ought to do what they believe is right. And I'm not being critical towards them by any means, but as a Christian music fan, I know what I want to see a Christian artist say in that interview. And so I just decided, if they say, 'Are you a Christian band?' I'd [say], 'Absolutely. [I am] proud to be a Jesus freak.' It's like on the front end. It's sort of like you're smacking the bully. If somebody makes fun of you on that first day of school, you gotta make fun of their mama so bad so that they never make fun of you again. You gotta smack the bully. "When we just started, I remember going into one of my first interviews. Our song 'Monster' was beginning to hit at radio. And we sat down, and I was so thankful that they interviewed [me]. And [the interviewer] said, 'Okay, now some people are saying you guys are, like, Christians or something. That can't be true, right?' And I said, 'Oh, absolutely. We're Christians. Being a Christian is so much more important to me than being a rock star. I play music to express my love for God.' And [his] jaw dropped." Circling back to SKILLET's crossover appeal, John added: "I think it's that authenticity, and I do think that at the time there wasn't as much of a... I used to always say I think that people would like SKILLET if they just could hear it, and we don't know how to get to those fans. And I don't really know if they really care if you're Christian, atheist, Buddhist. I'm not sure they care. I think they just wanted to hear some rock music. And I think they connected with the songs. And we meet people every show. They're, like, 'I'm not really into the Jesus stuff, but your music makes me feel good.' Sometimes we meet people that say, 'I wasn't into the Jesus stuff, but your music brought me to God. Your music got me into rehab, and in rehab I met Jesus and my life changed.' But it's all that stuff. That's all providence of God stuff." SKILLET will release a new independent six-song EP, "After The Storm", on October 9. The band now averages more than 12 million monthly Spotify listeners, while its six-times-platinum anthem "Monster" has surpassed five billion global streams and earned a place in Spotify's Billions Club, Earlier this year, SKILLET's European headline tour drew the largest international crowds in the band's history, including record-breaking ticket sales at Zénith in Paris. Produced by David Cowell (SLEEP THEORY) and the band's own Korey Cooper, "After The Storm" marks both a return to SKILLET's heavier musical roots and one of its most personal creative statements to date. Inspired by seasons of betrayal, grief, perseverance, and ultimately hope, the EP finds John Cooper writing from one of the most vulnerable places of his career. SKILLET will support "After The Storm" with a nationwide U.S. Live Nation headline tour beginning this October. With more than 23 million albums sold, two Grammy Award nominations, a Billboard Music Award, three Top 5 Billboard 200 debuts, and music featured by the NFL, WWE, ESPN, Marvel and countless film and television productions, SKILLET continues to expand its reach across generations.

JOHN CORABI Says His Latest Departure From THE DEAD DAISIES Had Nothing To Do With GLENN HUGHES's Return For One-Off Live Show

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:11:32 +0000

In a new interview with Joseph Suto of Rock Show Critique, former MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who released his latest solo album, "New Day", in April via Frontiers Music Srl, spoke about his latest departure from THE DEAD DAISIES, which was announced less than two months ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): You know what? Honestly, I don't wanna get into a bunch of mudslinging, but at the end of the day, I was told, and my bass player were told, 'cause Michael [Devin, now-former THE DEAD DAISIES bassist and current member of Corabi's solo band] actually played with me in THE DAISIES as well, and we were told that we were taking a year off We did record [a live album] last year, [at] the last show that we did, [which] was called 'Live At Stonedead'. And in the same conversation, the manager said, 'We're taking a year off,' and he said, 'Hey, we recorded the last show. We're gonna create a link. We're gonna put it on Spotify for all of our fans who weren't there or couldn't be there,' a kind of a free thing to the fans And I don't know what changed. I couldn't tell you what's in his mind, the manager. But there were some issues that he did speak to my manager about. And then [my solo band and I] went over to Europe in February, and we got back from there. And it was weird — it was right around the time I put my record out for pre-sale. It was shortly after that I started noticing THE DEAD DAISIES were asking me to collaborate on their presale. And I looked at Michael and I said, 'Did you know about this record that they're doing?' And he goes, 'What?' He had no idea. I had no idea." Corabi continued: "Again, without going into details, a lot of people think that I left because [THE DEAD DAISIES] were doing shows with [former THE DEAD DAISIES vocalist] Glenn [Hughes again]. I could give a shit less about that, could care less. This was about the fact that for some reason, whatever it was, they said, 'We're taking a year off.' They decided to put that link out that they were gonna give to everybody for free. They decided to make vinyl out of it. And they decided to put the record out at the exact same time as mine. And my record came out April 24th, their record came out May 1st, and I just said, 'You know what?' Honestly, did I leave the band? I said, 'Yes.' … 'Cause they kept moving the goalpost. So I wrote [THE DEAD DAISIES founder/rhythm guitarist] David Lowy a letter and I said, 'I don't understand why you guys are doing this. You said this, you said this, this and this, and the complete opposite is happening, so I don't do business this way. I'm out. Talk to you later. Bye.' And that was it. Done. And whatever. They put out a press release that said that I was leaving. Whatever." John added: "There's so much more to this story, and I probably already said too much. My parents always said, 'If you don't have anything nice to say about somebody, say nothing at all.'" Corabi's latest exit from THE DEAD DAISIES after a three-year run with the band was officially announced on July 14 in a statement from THE DEAD DAISIES to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "It has come to our attention that John Corabi has decided to leave THE DEAD DAISIES," the statement read. "We'd like to sincerely thank John for his incredible contribution to the band over the years and wish him nothing but success with his solo career and all his future endeavors." John's departure from THE DEAD DAISIES came a little over a month after the band reunited with Hughes for a show on May 30, 2026 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois. Glenn joined guitarist Doug Aldrich, drummer Tommy Clufetos and Lowy for this rare performance — under THE PURPLE DAISIES banner — delivering a 50/50 split set, kicking off with 10 of THE DEAD DAISIES' favorite tracks followed by almost as many iconic DEEP PURPLE classics. Following the positive response to the sold-out St. Charles concert, THE PURPLE DAISIES announced that they would perform a second show on October 2, 2026, at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California. That concert ended up being canceled after Hughes announced his retirement from touring and live performances. Hughes left THE DEAD DAISIES in May 2023 after a four-year run with the band. He was later replaced by a returning Corabi. It was Corabi's second stint THE DEAD DAISIES. He originally joined in 2015 and departed four years later to make way for Hughes. Last November, THE DEAD DAISIES digitally released a recording of the band's closing performance at the Stonedead festival on August 23, 2025. THE DEAD DAISIES' latest collection of original material, "Light 'Em Up", came out in September 2024 via Germany's SPV and Japan's Ward Records. The LP was helmed by Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others. THE DEAD DAISIES were touring last year in support of their first full-fledged blues album, "Lookin' For Trouble", out now via Fame / Malaco Records. Tracked live at FAME Studios, the album's singles — "Boom Boom", a take on the John Lee Hooker classic, and "Crossroads", a tribute to Robert Johnson — have earned praise for their energy and authenticity. Corabi joined THE DEAD DAISIES in early 2015 and remained in the group until January 2019, during which time he recorded three studio albums with the band: "Revolución" (2015),"Make Some Noise" (2016) and "Burn It Down" (2018). In the summer of 2019, THE DEAD DAISES announced that they were being joined by Hughes, who appeared on two of the band's studio albums, 2021's "Holy Ground" and 2022's "Radiance".

KITTIE: 'We Enjoyed' Live Concerts 'More Before' Advent Of Smartphones

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:28:05 +0000

Drummer Mercedes Lander and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Jenkins of KITTIE joined Oran O'Beirne at this year's edition of the U.K.'s Bloodstock Open Air festival to talk about the band's return, new music and what comes next. Following the release of the "Fire" album in 2024, Mercedes and Ivy discussed the possibility of more new KITTIE music and how it feels to be writing and performing together again. They also talked about returning to the road following the band's reunion, getting back in front of the fans and where KITTIE goes from here. Asked if they feel the audiences at their shows are more " vibrant and present today" than they were back in KITTIE's earlier days, Mercedes said: "I don't know. I feel like people are a little more self-aware... And not as — this is gonna sound a little funny, but not as macho, like 'roid rage', I feel like. I feel like the mosh pits are a little more inclusive, maybe a little more 'helpy'. Like, if somebody falls down, they get picked back up instead of — I'm sure back then you were trampling over people and stuff like that. I feel like I've seen some really brutal pits back then. And I've seen a lot of people get hurt. And I don't see that as much now, which is kind of nice. So I would prefer it that people don't get hurt. So, yeah, I don't know. I think it's a little different. I think people are just more self-aware, maybe a little more aware of their surroundings and aware of how their actions can have consequences, maybe." Ivy chimed in: "That's some people. And then there's lots of people who are definitely just staring at their phones instead of at the show. And that's also a bummer." Added Mercedes: "We were, like, 'Oh, maybe we should ban phones from our headliners [headlining gigs].' That would be nice." Ivy continued: "I don't care if people take pictures or whatever. But I feel like you don't get the same experience when you're just staring behind your phone. You need to be present in the moment. And I don't know. I think that we enjoyed shows more before phones." KITTIE recently completed its first full North American headlining tour in over 10 years. The 16-date trek, dubbed "Legacy Of Fire Tour: 30 Years Of Kittie", celebrated three decades of uncompromising metal and marked a milestone moment for the band, honoring 30 years since KITTIE's formation in 1996 while riding the momentum of the band's recent triumphs, including 2024's critically acclaimed comeback album "Fire" and 2025's "Spit XXV" re-recorded and reimagined anniversary EP. Support on the tour came from KINGDOM OF GIANTS and GORE. Jenkins sat out the "Legacy Of Fire Tour: 30 Years Of Kittie" tour due to a family commitment. Filling in for her was Rachel Gonzales of the Las Vegas band NEON KNIGHTS, who previously played with KITTIE on this year's ShipRocked cruise in February. "Fire", KITTIE's first new material in 13 years, reached No. 13 on U.K. Rock & Metal Albums charts and No. 20 on Billboard Top Album Sales, while single "We Are Shadows" became the band's highest-charting song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart at No. 20. The album earned the band a 2025 Juno Award nomination for "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year".