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SYSTEM OF A DOWN's JOHN DOLMAYAN: 'Every Show We Play Is Always Special For Us, Cause There's So Few Of Them'

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 20:26:25 +0000

In a new interview with Strefa Music Art, SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan talked about the band's massive summer 2026 European stadium tour, which included two shows in Poland, on July 18 and July 19 at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Every show we play is always special for us, cause there's so few of them. It's by design though. We like to tour very limited. We like to be home most of the time. But when we tour, what's interesting is how big the venues have become, especially on this last tour in Europe. Like last time we came [to Poland], it was probably — I don't know, 15 [thousand], 20 thousand people — and now it's... What does that stadium [in Warsaw] hold? 50 [thousand]? [And we are playing] two shows. "But the fans are amazing here," John continued. "And what I've noticed on this tour is so many people travel. So there were people from Poland at other shows. And then other people are coming from different countries to the Poland show. Which is interesting. I hadn't seen that much of that in the past. But people are doing it. And we're ready to play." Speaking about his early years when he first became a musician, John said: "It was a huge effort to learn how to play drums, but to also get the wealth of musical influences. It was a lot of work to get my body to understand the physics of drumming, like the muscle memory and just the rudimentary stuff. But really, it was about listening to as much different music as possible and taking influence from as many different places as possible so that I had the advantage of having a lot of different spices to be able to pull from when I was creating the beats for the songs. So, I pulled from everything from ethnic music to bossa nova to straightforward rock to jazz. And fortunately, I was lucky enough to get in a band where that was not only something that I could exploit but it was also necessary for the music." Asked how often he practices right now, John said: "Never. Right now, my focus art-wise... 'Cause we don't make records. And I know how to play these songs just fine. So I've refocused my artistic abilities to writing. So that's what I'm practicing every day and getting better at, and that's kinda like my artistic focus. Should we wanna make another record at some point, then I would have to redirect my efforts and enter that world again mentally… It's a little bit of a different... They're both art and they're both expressive, but in different ways." Support at SYSTEM OF A DOWN's European stadium shows came from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and recently reunited Louisiana sludge metal legends ACID BATH. SYSTEM OF A DOWN went on hiatus in 2006, with all four bandmembers pursuing side projects before reforming in 2011 for a run of European festival dates, followed a a series of festival and occasional headline gigs over the next decade and a half. SYSTEM OF A DOWN has only managed to record two songs in the last 20 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000. SYSTEM OF A DOWN hasn't made a full-length of new material since the arrival of the band's 2005 double release, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize". Over 500,000 tickets were sold for SYSTEM OF A DOWN's nine-date spring 2025 South American "Wake Up!" tour, including 70,000 sold for the band's May 14, 2025 show at Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo, Brazil, which grossed $6,536,040, according to the box office report submitted to Pollstar. SYSTEM OF A DOWN also sold 100,000 tickets across two nights at São Paulo's Allianz Parque, May 10-11, 2025, grossing $11,561,914. Each of SYSTEM OF A DOWN's albums debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, with 2001's "Toxicity" and "Mezmerize" hitting No. 1. Photo credit: Clemente Ruiz

BRUCE DICKINSON's Upcoming Solo Album Will Include Collaboration With His Son AUSTIN: 'It's Gonna Be One Of The Key Tracks On The Record'

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 19:03:14 +0000

At this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson revealed to Steve Harkins of TalkShopLive that his upcoming solo album will include a collaboration with his son Austin. Bruce's oldest son, the 35-year-old Austin is a musician best known as the former frontman for the metal bands RISE TO REMAIN and AS LIONS. Bruce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm really lucky that my kids, in particular my oldest son Austin, is a writer. So the conversations that we have, he bounces ideas off me, I bounce ideas off him. And he's a musician as well, and he's a great singer. He had three albums. He was in a band called RISE TO REMAIN. They did a couple of albums. And then he [sang in] a band called — it was his band, actually — AS LIONS, and they had a bit of a hit and stuff. But it's tough trying to make a living [playing an up-and-coming band]. I mean, he toured the States and everything and had radio hit. So he got into script writing, which he's very, very talented. But, of course, that's no guarantee of success. You just gotta keep plugging away. But he wrote a tune for me on my new record. And when we were recording it, he came round the studio and was just loving it. And it's gonna be one of the key tracks on the record. And I'd love to work with him again. I mean, he's what I would describe as a pure creative. His whole life is doing stuff. And you've gotta put it somewhere." Dickinson went on to say that the follow-up to "The Mandrake Project", which came out in March 2024 via BMG, will arrive in early 2027. "Tracks will be out this year, a little bit, so people can hear a little bit of it," Bruce said. "At some point this month, I'm shooting four or maybe five videos for it." He added: "I'm pretty busy in '27. And I think everybody's gonna be very happy with what I'm busy with —in every sense of the word." This past April, Bruce revealed that he recorded 16 songs for his new solo album over a three-week period earlier this year. Dickinson's eighth solo album was recorded this past January and February at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California. In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bruce touched upon his upcoming LP while discussing his health and various physical ailments. He said: "I got two metal hips, I got a busted Achilles I had stitched back together five years ago, various contusions and lumps and bumps. But I'm still running around like a lunatic, and the voice is doing great." He added: "I just finished a solo record: We did 16 tracks in 21 days, all 100 percent live. It's like the anti-A.I. generation." Dickinson's upcoming album was recorded with his touring band, consisting of keyboardist Mistheria, drummer Dave Moreno, bassist Tanya O'Callaghan, and guitarists Chris Declercq and Philip Näslund. In February, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser shared photos of him with Bruce at Studio 606 and revealed that he plays percussion on Dickinson's new LP. Bruce and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005. Last August, Bruce told Metal Hammer that his new solo material would include "bone-crushingly heavy" songs as well as moments that "are just like tugging at the heartstrings". "If it's heavy, it's heavy," he added, "but if it just happens to be acoustic, it's acoustic. That's the deal, you know? It's whatever the song dictates, whatever the story is you're trying to tell, but it's really exciting. I'm so stoked about these tracks. I played the demos to a few people in the record label and stuff, and everybody is like, 'Wow!'" Dickinson previously told Charlie Kendall of Charlie Kendall's Metalshop that he would record his next solo album with Brendan Duffey, who "did an amazing job" remixing Dickinson's second solo album, 1994's "Balls To Picasso". "The amazing band that is gonna record the new record with me is gonna be the same band that toured in Europe with me, and it's gonna be the same band that's gonna tour with me in 2027 when we release the new record," he said. "Or at least that's the idea anyway, to release a new record [in 2027]." Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour was once again his 2024 backing band, featuring Moreno,Mistheria and O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Roy is not part of the touring lineup. "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour kicked off in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues on August 22, 2025 and took the band across North America, including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky). The tour also included a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town festival at the City Of Light in São Paulo. Prior to the April 12, 2024 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent four solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998),"Tyranny Of Souls" (2005) and "The Mandrake Project". O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson in 2023 as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America. Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others. Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra. Dickinson's reworked version of his classic 1994 album "Balls To Picasso", now titled "More Balls To Picasso", arrived in July 2025. Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

Watch: NEUROSIS's New Lineup Performs Live For First Time

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:00:58 +0000

NEUROSIS played its first show in seven years Saturday night (July 25) on the traditional lands of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana as part of Fire In The Mountains festival by special invitation of Firekeeper Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to reducing youth suicide in Indian Country. Fan-filmed video of the show, uploaded by the Jackal Today channel on YouTube, can be seen below. The setlist for the concert was as follows, according to Setlist.fm: 01. We Are Torn Wide Open 02. Mirror Deep 03. First Red Rays 04. End Of The Harvest 05. The Tide 06. Lost 07. Seething And Scattered 08. Distill (Watching The Swarm) 09. Blind 10. Untethered NEUROSIS's first new album in a decade, "An Undying Love For A Burning World", came out in March 2026 via Neurot Recordings. The LP sees the band — vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till, drummer Jason Roeder, bassist Dave Edwardson and keyboard player Noah Landis — joined by Aaron Turner (SUMAC, ISIS),a musician whose legacy is intertwined with NEUROSIS's own and a true kindred spirit. In a recent interview with The New Scene, Von Till addressed the fact that he and his NEUROSIS bandmates had silently split with co-founder Scott Kelly in 2019, keeping Scott's domestic abuse and emotional manipulation and subsequent dismissal quiet to respect Kelly's family's wish for privacy, before Scott finally copped to the damage three years later. Von Till said: "Well, I don't wanna feed too much oxygen into a certain situation as we're looking forward. But we weren't sure. We had to walk away and put it on ice. We had to get perspective. You can imagine that the entire mixed emotions that we had of having essentially our life's work pulled out from under us… It was heartbreaking and devastating and shameful, seeing what our name was associated with. "Everything we had to say about that, we said in that statement that we did at that time, and we still stand by exactly those words," he continued. "So when we were finally free to talk about things openly in 2022, when we did speak that, then we finally could at least… I don't even know how to put it. "So 2019 to 2022 was purgatory. Couldn't talk. Couldn't say," Steve recalled. "Just tend to a rotting corpse. 2022 we were at least able to finally say, and that's when we could emotionally mourn it, move on, process the ego death, process the humiliation and wonder how and what and why. And so, really, it took a while to — for me the 'why'. Ego's not enough. Just because we want it is not enough. And so finally, I think, late 2023 or so — I don't remember the dates exactly — but the four of us got together and started making some noise, not knowing, not having a plan, not having a purpose, not knowing what was happening. And we could instantly feel that everything we've always been is still there. Our desire is still there. Our unique voice will always be what it is, just because of our communal process. But it still wasn't clear. It wasn't clear until we brought Aaron in as the much-needed element and the much-needed kind of new energy and interesting perspectives. 'Cause we had a lot of different ways we perceived maybe reinventing ourselves sonically in different ways and manipulating sound. But Aaron was the missing piece that we needed to bring in to really make it jell and make it clear. And it instantly felt right. And the music started coming and the music that started coming was really inspiring. But it wasn't until this crystallizing moment where we sat down together in Aaron's yard, on the island he lives on, in front of the little shack we were playing in, and, 'Are we doing this? If we're doing this, we're making plans tomorrow.' And that was September [of 2025]. And here we are… We had another rehearsal session or two, and then it was recording the first third. 'Cause we weren't prepared to record and rehearse it all at once. It was just too much material. So we just said, 'Let's break it into bite-sized chunks.' We only have weekends. We're all working class. We all have to go to work like everybody else. And so we just decided we're just going to focus on zooming in on one third and really deconstructing it, putting it back together into its most essential form that we felt right and then two weeks later record it. Two weeks later, rehearse the second third, two weeks later record it. Two weeks later rehearse the last third, two weeks later record it. Two weeks later mix it. Have the mastering engineer on standby, waiting for the files from Scott Evans. And we were approving test pressings weeks ago before the [late March 2026 album] drop." Regarding how Aaron came to join NEUROSIS, Steve said: "Well, we've been friends for a long time. ISIS toured with NEUROSIS when they were a young new band. And Aaron had done artwork for a NEUROSIS EP, and we had put out some ISIS stuff and some of his side-project stuff on Neurot Recordings. So we'd been in contact over the years. I've paid attention a lot to what he's doing with SUMAC. I was really always impressed by his not falling back on what he had done before, but pushing the envelope and really finding interesting and unique ways to approach heavy music, emotional, heavy music, and art. And at first, we didn't sit down with a bunch of names and think. We were just thinking, 'What's the right energy?' And his name kept coming up, as we were thinking about it. Our only initial hesitation was, it's so frickin' obvious, it can't be right. That's too obvious. And we'll never hear the end of the fucking NEUR-ISIS jokes… And honestly, again, being apprehensive and I guess just lacking confidence in what we were doing and how we were going to come back, if we were going to come back. It was never sure. All we knew is we never declared we were done, and if we had something to say, we'd say it. We weren't gonna say something until it was 100% clear. So, really, we thought maybe he was too busy. He has a lot going on. He's got a young family. He's got his musical projects. And it's a lot. Committing to a band like NEUROSIS is a lot, just energy-wise. We're not a currently working band out there in the world. But once you make plans to, you would imagine it's a lot of work, and it takes a lot of bandwidth. And so, really, I think I was sitting right here with my friend Randall, setting up a vocal sound for my last solo record, and he's, like, 'Man, I think he'd do it. You should just ask him.' And he was threatening to text him himself. I'm, like, 'Dude, do not do that. I need to talk to my brothers first.' And so our next time I said, 'I think Aaron's the guy. What do you guys think?' And they instantly kind of thought about the energy he has, and having seen SUMAC recently, the energy that they brought. And we actually took SUMAC on tour back — I don't know; 2017, '18; I don't know; I'm bad with the years, but one of SUMAC's earliest tours, we took them out. So they knew the energy, and they were, like, 'Yeah, that seems right. And let's ask him.' And so we basically said, 'Hey, you wanna join our dysfunctional old-man band?' And he said, 'I wouldn't even consider this for any other thing in my life right now. I've got too much. But, yeah, let's have a conversation and let's try it.'" On the topic of the songwriting process for "An Undying Love For A Burning World" and Aaron's musical contributions to the album, Steve said: "I believe that was May 2024, was our first kind of jam together. And 2024, we could only get together, I think it was three times over the year, 'cause people were already busy and scheduled with stuff and had different stuff going on. But basically we just kind of — beforehand we asked him to learn a few old songs, just so we'd have something to jump in and play. I mean, we need to play — just shake the rust off and just dive in on something. And so we relearned the songs. I showed him some of the guitar parts online. We had a couple of Zoom meetings where I showed him some of the fingerings and where things were and which guitar part was which. So we came in and we jumped right in on a few songs, and it just felt really good and natural. I mean, obviously he grew up with our music, and so we didn't have to tell him the deal. We didn't have to explain the vibe. That was all ingrained. We already had some new ideas that we had kind of worked on a little bit, and we showed him some of those and he instantly started contributing. 'Cause we didn't have all the parts written for those; they were just very skeletal ideas. And our communal process is most of the time everybody — unless somebody had a really great brainstorm at home, it's mostly people are contributing their own parts; they're writing their own parts for everything, or at least augmenting them and manipulating them into something that works. And, yeah, he instantly started contributing, instantly had great ideas. I think he went away really inspired, and the second time he was bringing ideas, bringing his own ideas in. And except for the first few ideas that we had before him, which he added greatly to, including adding his own riffs and entire parts… Our process is very meat grinder. We build everything up and completely destroy it and then reform it from the ashes of what the original idea was until we're happy with it. And it's everybody's unique feedback and filters that make it what it is and make it make it stronger than any individual's ideas could have ever been." "An Undying Love For A Burning World" was recorded by Scott Evans (KOWLOON WALLED CITY, SUMAC, GREAT FALLS) at Studio Litho in Seattle during three weekends this winter, and mixed in three days just six weeks before release at Evans's Antisleep Audio in Oakland.

Watch: METAL CHURCH's New Lineup, Featuring Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON And Singer BRIAN ALLEN, Performs In Reading

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 17:29:37 +0000

The new lineup of METAL CHURCH performed last night (Saturday, July 25) at Reverb in Reading, Pennsylvania. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below. Setlist: * Ton Of Bricks * Start The Fire * Fake Healer * Gods Of Wrath * F.A.F.O. * Badlands * Date With Poverty * Watch The Children Pray * Dead To Rights * The Human Factor Encores: * Beyond The Black * Metal Church The new lineup of METAL CHURCH made its U.S. live debut on July 17 at Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, New Hampshire. METAL CHURCH's current lineup consists of founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof alongside longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist David Ellefson (MEGADETH),drummer Ken Mary (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, FIFTH ANGEL, ALICE COOPER, HOUSE OF LORDS, TKO, CHASTAIN) and new vocalist Brian Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS). The new lineup of METAL CHURCH made its live debut on May 17 at the San Luis Metal Fest at Teatro del Pueblo in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. On a recent episode of "The David Ellefson Show", Ellefson stated about his first gig as a member of METAL CHURCH: "You rehearse to do this one show — and it was just a matter of timing of the calendar that we got this offer to go do this festival in San Luis, Mexico. [And] ARMORED SAINT was there. It was a cool two-day festival, I think. So it gave a perfect opportunity to just sort of ramp up, get rehearsed. We had photo shoots, all the big stuff when you're launching a tour. And then we did only one show, 'cause the rest of it now starts up here in mid-July. So I'm glad that it's up and running, 'cause as I pick up the bass now, the songs are right there. It all comes back. So part of that is just that ramp-up, learning the parts, rehearsing it, playing. Once you play something live with your band, whatever the venue, to 10 people or to 10,000 people, it doesn't matter, once you've gone through it and you've performed it, it now sticks in a different way." Ellefson continued: "But it was great. We ended up closing the festival. We were the last band to play on — I forget if it was Sunday night, maybe. And this was back in May. And it was great. The band played great, sounded great. I was very impressed with Brian Allen as a frontman. "It's funny — performers, especially probably singers, some guys script everything out, and then other guys are just kind of like a wild wolf," David added. "Once you hit the stage, the adrenaline hits, and you turn on the charisma. So he had it, and it was great. So it was fun. "I told Kurdt Vanderhoof after — I went over to his right side of the stage and rocked out with him a little bit. And even when I was doing it, I'm going, 'Dude, how fucking rad is this? I'm jamming with Kurdt Vanderhoof and his band METAL CHURCH, man. How cool is this?' And I told him afterwards, I said, 'Dude, that was a real honor, man, just to stand up there and rock out with you.' And so [there was] just kind of mutual respect. So it's good. It's big boy time. Everybody's on their game and been doing it for a while, so it's good professionalism as well." Last month, Kurdt told Australia's Metal Mal about the Mexico show: "That went amazing. It really, it really did. Other than that's when I really realized, 'Okay, I gotta go go back to Phoenix to this doctor.' 'Cause it had been a long time, so the first four or five songs I was fine. After about four or five songs, it started in again. I was, like, 'Oh, fuck.' So that's when I, like, okay. We got back from Mexico and I'm, like, 'Hey, doc, I'll be right over.' you know. So and, and after one treatment I'm doing a lot better. But the show went great. It went absolutely amazing. We didn't play perfectly 'cause it was our first show, but right out of the box to headline a festival, that was pretty cool. It was, like, 'Okay, this'll work.' Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of fun after not being on stage for a couple of years to be out playing again. And especially kind of watching Brian and wondering how he's gonna… Is he gonna front the band? You always wonder. He always had a great reputation. I'd never heard VICIOUS RUMORS before, so I didn't know. But he did it, man. He was selling it and he was fronting the band. And I was, like, 'Okay. Well, there we go. Looks like we got ourselves a rock and roll band,' to quote Ted Nugent. [Laughs]" As for the setlist for the gig, Kurdt said: "Well, [we were] focusing mainly on the classics — mostly [the stuff that was originally recorded with late METAL CHURCH singer] David Wayne, first two albums. Good chunk of Mike Howe [later METAL CHURCH singer] stuff, and then two songs from the new album. We only had an hour. But we're adding more songs for our headline set. So we're adding more stuff, early stuff, and maybe one more from the new album. The new album's getting such a great response, which is great, but people still wanna hear the old stuff. You can't get away from it. I'm the same way [with my favorite bands]." Last November, it was announced that METAL CHURCH was returning with a "revitalized" lineup consisting of Vanderhoof alongside Van Zandt, Ellefson, Mary and Allen. The announcement came nearly two years after METAL CHURCH canceled its 2024 tour dates due to "an ongoing back issue" suffered by Vanderhoof. METAL CHURCH's new album, "Dead To Rights", was released on April 10 via Rat Pak Records. The LP was produced by Vanderhoof and mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z. During a December 2025 appearance on "The David Ellefson Show" podcast, Vanderhoof stated about how the latest version of METAL CHURCH came to be: "Well, it was a couple years ago, after we just did our Australia run. And when we came back, things just really fell apart. Stet [Howland, former METAL CHURCH drummer] quit, Stet left, 'cause he wasn't happy with the way business was going. The other two guys kind of felt the same. I felt the same for different reasons, and for me, it was, like, 'This isn't any fun and this is no good.' And at my age, at this many years of doing this, if it's not fun. I'm out. If there's just drama and stuff like that, I'm just not interested. So I let everyone know, 'Hey, I'm shutting this down. Sorry. I'm done with this. This is not working.' And, basically, I thought we were done. And then about a year and a half later, just out of the blue, these opportunities [came up] with people that were interested that would be a good fit if I was to resurrect the band, and it kind of resurrected itself. We ended up getting Brian Allen, the singer, who came through his friend, and our friend as well, Todd La Tore from QUEENSRŸCHE. He had pushed Brian to send some kind of audition tapes or something to me and to Joe [O'Brien] at Rat Pak [Records, METAL CHURCH's record label]. And he did, but I didn't know it at the time. And all of a sudden Joe sends me a couple of MP3 files. He goes, 'Hey, check this out.' And it was 'Start The Fire' and a song off 'The Human Factor'. And I started playing 'Start The Fire', and I was, like, 'Is this an unreleased vocal track of David Wayne?' I was, like, 'Wow. All right.' And then I listened to the other one, and it's, like, 'Well, he's singing the Mike Howe stuff too.' Again, at this point, I really hadn't made any decisions on what was gonna happen. Again, I thought we were done. And so that was very inspiring. That was kind of, like, 'All right. Well, okay. That just came out of nowhere to me. What are you trying to tell me?' And then after that, it was through Rat Pak — Dave was in contact with Rat Pak because of the ELLEFSON-SOTO record. And the discussion just kind of started." Kurdt continued: "So, I guess to make a long story endless, I had really no intentions of starting up the band again, but the band resurrected itself through those kind of channels, and it was just something that just kept going step by step. Again, very similar to what happened a few years ago with the 'Congregation Of Annihilation' [2023] lineup. Again, I didn't really plan on it. It's the band that wouldn't die. So I'm embracing it, and it's really great. And to have somebody like Dave, and then also to bring Ken Mary on, and then to have Brian, who's just really nailing the METAL CHURCH sound. It's, like, 'Well, this is definitely worth doing.' And with the new song and the reaction to the new video, it seems to be a good thing to do. So that's kind of the long and short of it, basically. Again, it just kind of happened." Elaborating on how the material for the new METAL CHURCH album came together, Kurdt said: "Like I said, I'm sitting here and all of a sudden these great people just became available and were interested in doing this. And I had to literally stop, 'cause I was, like, 'Wait. What? I hadn't planned on this.' I wrote a bunch of metal stuff and a bunch of riffs and stuff, which I do anyway. "When everything fell apart, I went on to make other records," he explained. "I did the HALL AFLAME record, the new PRESTO BALLET record, which are different styles, but I'm always writing something. So there was this pile of stuff, and it was already kind of right there. So as this thing kind of fell into place, it was definitely ready to go. And also [former METAL CHURCH drummer] Jeff Plate was initially gonna be involved [with the new METAL CHURCH lineup] when we decided to go forward, and he started, but then as the thing started, the SAVATAGE reunion just took off, and I couldn't be happier for him. So he wasn't able to really see it through. But kudos to Jeff… 'Cause they're [SAVATAGE] kicking ass right now and it's doing great. So he couldn't be involved. And then Ken Mary became available. And Ken and I have a history, 'cause we're both from Seattle and we did shows together way back in the day, in the mid-'80s, with TKO. And while we were in the studio with [producer] Terry Date, he was in the studio with FIFTH ANGEL, with Terry Date. Terry was playing our stuff to him and he was playing [their] stuff to us, and so there's this big incestuous kind of thing. So Ken Mary being available and interested in doing it just made perfect sense." Born out of the explosive West Coast metal scene of the early '80s, METAL CHURCH quickly established themselves as one of the genre's most formidable and musically sophisticated bands. After signing with Elektra Records, the group released two landmark albums — their self-titled debut "Metal Church" and its follow-up "The Dark" — both of which remain essential listening in the heavy metal canon. As the U.S. metal wave surged, METAL CHURCH hit the road with labelmates METALLICA, further solidifying their reputation for precision, power, and uncompromising intensity. The band continued to evolve into the late '80s and early '90s, tackling political and social themes with vocalist Mike Howe on the acclaimed albums "Blessing In Disguise" and "The Human Factor". While many peers shifted toward the era's commercial trends, METAL CHURCH stayed true to their heavy roots — a commitment that earned them a loyal global following. In 2016, the band reunited with Howe for their eleventh studio album "XI", which debuted at No. 57 on the Billboard Top 200 and charted internationally, marking one of the strongest comebacks in modern metal. Its 2018 successor, "Damned If You Do", continued that momentum with additional worldwide chart success and reaffirmed the band's enduring relevance. Singer Marc Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. Lopes's first and only studio album with METAL CHURCH, "Congregation Of Annihilation", came out in May 2023 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe). The LP was produced by Vanderhoof. METAL CHURCH made its live debut with Lopes on June 3, 2023 at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.

Watch: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Performs Previously Unreleased Title Track Of Upcoming 'Legacy' Album Live For First Time

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:49:44 +0000

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH performed the previously unreleased title track of the band's upcoming tenth studio album, "Legacy", live for the first time at the kick-off concert of the group's summer 2026 North American tour on July 20 at Camden, New Jersey's Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH also played two other songs from "Legacy" which were already made available as singles, "Eye Of The Storm" and "De Oppresso Liber". Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of Concert Cowboys channel on YouTube). Featured songs: 00:01 Intro 01:36 Welcome To The Circus 05:20 Legacy (unreleased; live debut) 08:50 Eye Of The Storm (live debut) 13:20 Wash It All Away 18:18 Jekyll And Hyde 22:04 Under And Over It 28:34 Bad Company 32:43 De Oppresso Liber (live debut) 37:20 Burn It Down 40:35 Drum Solo 42:46 Burn MF 44:58 The Agony Of Regret 50:00 Wrong Side Of Heaven 54:09 IOU 58:47 Never Enough 1:03:42 Lift Me Up 1:08:18 Sham Pain 1:13:59 The Bleeding In a recent interview with Finland's Chaoszine, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory spoke about "Legacy", which will be released later this summer. The digital version will arrive on July 31 while the CD, vinyl and cassette versions will land on September 18. Asked if he and his bandmates had a firm plan going into the songwriting and recording process for "Legacy", Zoltan said: "You gotta have an idea of where you're going. And we construct everything with that in mind. So it's a well-contained nuclear explosion, Ivan [Moody, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer] being the explosion, and [the rest of us] are being the containers. [Laughs] Well, basically what it is, is that it's eye of the storm. We actually live in the eye of the storm. There's stuff around us always crazy, and a peaceful moment is really the show. When you walk on stage, the same way how you disconnect the audience from everyday life, we are also disconnected. So you're not thinking of anything else. That's the show. That's kind of our meditation in some way, because everything else falls away. You have to have a plan. We always do. I like that part, the architecture of things, the chess game of life. I love that part. And so, of course, I have a plan. But I have to be flexible. I have to be able to adapt. So wherever something happens, you have to pivot, and you have to kind of go with the punches, so to speak... It's like success. Everybody goes, like, 'Okay, I wanna be successful.' And success goes from here to here. That's the line. It's never a straight line. You're just driving the car and dodging whatever is coming at you, the proverbial car. But, basically, that's what it is. So, do we have a plan? Yes, absolutely we have a plan. Do we roll with the punches? Yeah, we absolutely have to. So that's kind of like you have to have the balance of you know where you're going, but you have to be flexible. Darwin never said 'the strongest survive.' That's a misquote. The most adaptable survive. So that's really what it is, that you have to adapt to whatever comes." Regarding how FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH arrived at the "Legacy" album title, Zoltan said: "Well, obviously we had various ideas for the title. The obvious would have been the big [Roman numeral] 'X', [signifying that it's album number] 10, but everybody has done that anyway. So we would be just another band [doing that]. But it was kind of the moment where we re-recorded our greatest hits, and that was the first moment when we were, like, 'Wow, man, all these things that we have done, all this history we have done.' And so we were kind of reflecting on that. And we were also talking about how every record that you make has a purpose. So literally every single record in any band's career, not just ours, any band's career, there's a position that record is in and what it's supposed to do. Like your first record — your first record is there to kick down the door. That's your introduction. So your first record is introducing the band and here you go. If it's successful, then possibly you can make a second record. And if it was successful, then everybody's looking at it, like, 'Okay, was it a one-hit wonder? Can they do it again?' So that's your second record, is you have to prove that the first one wasn't a fluke. If the second record is successful, now it's, like, 'Okay, here comes the big third. Can they still do it?' Then the fourth record, like, 'Okay, now they earned a right to be here, so do they have anything else to say?' Fifth record is when people are, like, 'Okay, now we heard this band four times. Can they give us something new?' And then if you do that, there's the sixth record. And so every single one of these records has a position and what it's supposed to do. And you have to kind of navigate that. You don't wanna move away from your sound, because you have a sound. If you're a band who has a sound — actually, that's also not easy to achieve, but if you're recognizable, like AC/DC. Why would they move away from that? That's their sound. That's what comes out of AC/DC. Same with IRON MAIDEN. Same with all these big bands. And DEATH PUNCH has a sound. So the navigation is, like, how do we keep that sound? Because this is what comes out anyway, so this is natural. But at the same time, you have to kind of progress. You have to kind of do different things. And there's a limit to that too, because if I was, like, 'Okay, let's take half the record and we're gonna experiment with things,' that is a very different record. If you have — let's say, I don't know — 12 songs, you can sacrifice two, three maybe to, 'Let's do something interesting,' before you start to sway the record into a totally different direction. So it's kind of [like] cooking. How much salt, how much pepper. You have to kind of know what's happening. And this was 20 years, 10th record, so it was really, like, well, I think we do have a legacy now. If somebody writes a book about hard rock, heavy metal 20 years from now, they're not gonna leave us out of the book. We were here, and we did something in an era." Zoltan continued: "I always say this, that there's a big difference between being famous and having a legacy. [Like] the 'Hawk Tuah' girl or whatever the hell it was. That's being famous for a minute. And the Internet blows up, and you're a meme for a minute, and then it disappears. That's not legacy. A legacy is something that you have to work at. You have to constantly build something that is here to stay… And so that's kind of how it felt. And in your life and your career, different things are important. As I said, every record has its [purpose in terms of] what it's supposed to do. And right now we are at that phase, we are thinking about our legacy. We've been around for this long, and as people, your mind starts shifting and you think differently, and that's kind of how we looked at it, like, 'Wow, this is our legacy now. It's maybe time to do a documentary. It's maybe time to do those kind of things.'" Asked if the process of making FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's recent albums, "Best Of - Volume 1" and "Best Of - Volume 2", which feature newly re-recorded versions of the band's biggest hits, influenced the songwriting process for "Legacy", Zoltan said: "Well, when you go to the studio, if you are a real band, you're gonna go to the studio and you know that you have a sound. The combination of these people, when you put them together, will result in something. Then that's what that is. So we're not going in a studio with the idea of, like, 'Let's do this,' or, 'Let's do that.' Just do your thing. Just play what you like. Do what comes out naturally. Because then that's your true sound. That's what you like anyway. Most importantly, it's not even about serving any demographic; it's about what you like. Because then whatever happens, we did something that we were happy with. Once I'm happy with what we did, then I don't care who says what. Because the reason of your existence is because I like doing this and I did what I like. So nobody can have a problem with that. Now, if the fans like it, that's awesome. If you have an audience for what you like, that's a great connector and that's a connection between you and the fans. But that's always the idea. Nothing's stupid. Bring any ideas, 'cause you don't know where something can go. That's one of the things. And we always do that, and so many times there's a crazy idea that's out there. And by the time the song is done, it's completely transformed. You don't even recognize it from the original idea. So those are the rules. Bring whatever ideas you have. We'll figure it out. Write everything that comes to you. Don't try to fill a quota. Don't try to fill an expectation. Just do what you wanna do. And then you live in that comfort zone of that whatever we did, we are happy with. So that's kind of how it goes. Now, with that said, going to the studio with this record, we were kind of looking at it how far we came and what happened before. So, it wasn't a consciously, like, 'Let's write this,' but it's more like we had more time, so this is the first time we actually have four years between two records. Usually it's just two. And so we had a little bit more time. We had more time to write, so we had more songs. So we had maybe like 25, 30 songs that were pretty solid music-wise. Like, okay, these are songs. And if anything was conscious, the conscious decision was which one of these 25, 30 ideas will make it? That was conscious. Like, let's pick the ones that will represent this band, what it is. So if you today ask me, 'Hey, give me one FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH record — one — that will represent the band,' actually, I would give you this one. I would say, 'Take this. This is FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. If you hear this record, this will give you the blueprint of what this band is.' So that part was conscious, but not in the writing, but more of the picking of what song is gonna make it. That way it was conscious." Two songs from "Legacy" have been released so far, "De Oppresso Liber" and "Eye Of The Storm". "'De Oppresso Liber' is more than just a motto," Bathory previously said. "It's a calling. It's a philosophy. It represents a willingness to stand between danger and those who cannot defend themselves. Throughout human history, there have always been people who were drawn to accept that responsibility. This song is our way of paying respect to that mindset." Revolver hailed "Eye Of The Storm" as "huge," going on to praise how "it mixes a flurry of battering metal chugs with a sense of melody, plus Ivan Moody's pensive-but-barked lyrics hinting at fears, regrets, burdens, blame, and the search for some kind of inner peace." Loudwire raved: "The song is a driving, furious banger that kicks off what's expected to be a new album cycle in grand fashion." FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has just embarked on the first leg of the 20th-anniversary world tour which will take the band all across North America with special guest Cody Jinks and EVA UNDER FIRE before hitting arenas in Europe with LAMB OF GOD and BLEED FROM WITHIN in early 2027. The 20th-anniversary world tour is both a celebration and a statement, honoring FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's journey from their 2005 formation and release of their debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", in 2007 to global arena headliners. The tour will showcase material from the new album, alongside classic anthems and No. 1 hits that defined the past two decades. Produced by Live Nation, the 48-city North American tour kicked off in Camden, New Jersey and will wrap up on October 23 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia. In addition to celebrating two decades of music, the band is once again using its platform to give back. Long recognized as one of the most charitable bands in rock, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has spent decades giving back to various causes, including U.S. military veterans and first responders and their families. In 2026, the band is continuing that tradition by supporting Team USA and aligning with the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games being held on American soil in Los Angeles in 2028. As part of the tour's commitment to championing America's next generation of athletes, a portion of the ticket sales from the 2026 North American tour will benefit high-performance programs for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they prepare for international competition. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's 2027 European tour leg with LAMB OF GOD and BLEED FROM WITHIN will kick off in the U.K. in Manchester on January 16 and will see the band perform in 21 cities across the continent, ending in Helsinki on February 22.

Watch: JUDAS PRIEST Kicks Off 2026 'Faithkeepers' European Tour At Germany's BOBFEST

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:23:25 +0000

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST kicked off their 2026 "Faithkeepers" world tour Saturday night (July 25) at Germany's BOBfest. The band's 17-song set at Monchengladbach's SparkassenPark included two 1970s classics, "The Ripper" and "Delivering The Goods", which hadn't been performed live since 2019. The "Faithkeepers" European tour launched less than a year after PRIEST teamed up with Alice Cooper for a 22-city North American co-headlining tour last fall. PRIEST is continuing to tour in support of its 19th studio album, "Invincible Shield", which debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart. According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the BOBfest show was as follows: 01. You've Got Another Thing Comin' 02. Metal Gods 03. Breaking The Law 04. The Ripper (first performance since March 21, 2019) 05. The Sentinel 06. Desert Plains 07. Lightning Strike 08. Turbo Lover 09. Steeler 10. Delivering The Goods (first performance since March 21, 2019) 11. Panic Attack 12. Victim Of Changes 13. Halls Of Valhalla 14. Painkiller Encore: 15. The Hellion / Electric Eye 16. Hell Bent For Leather 17. Living After Midnight "Invincible Shield" entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine". Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4. PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5. "Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10). "Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia. During the European leg of JUDAS PRIEST's 2025 "Shield Of Pain" tour, the band's setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", which celebrated its 35th anniversary last year. In addition to performing the "Painkiller" title track, PRIEST played "All Guns Blazing", "Hell Patrol", "A Touch Of Evil", "Night Crawler", "One Shot At Glory" and "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" from the same LP. When PRIEST first announced the 2025 "Shield Of Pain" tour in the fall of 2024, the band promised a "rare" and "unique set" which would include "beloved classics" and would "be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe".

GRETA VAN FLEET To Release New Single 'Saw You Stand'

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:40:26 +0000

Following the arrival of the new single "Play Your Games", an electrifying sold-out underplay performance at New York City's Bowery Ballroom and the upcoming release of another new single, "Saw You Stand", on July 31, GRETA VAN FLEET will play a rare intimate show at Chicago's iconic Metro on July 31. For a band whose reputation has been built upon commanding festivals and selling out arenas across the globe, their intimate underplays have become celebrations of a new creative era for the Detroit-born, Nashville-based four-piece, reconnecting with their audiences and creating unforgettable rock and roll memories that last a lifetime. As excitement continues to build around what's next for GRETA VAN FLEET, the Metro performance promises to be another unforgettable night and a defining stop in the band's highly anticipated return. This special performance continues the band's triumphant return, giving fans another chance to witness GRETA VAN FLEET in an intimate setting before they inevitably return to the world's biggest stages. Earlier this summer, GRETA VAN FLEET released "Play Your Games" to widespread acclaim, marking their first new music since 2023 and signaling the beginning of an exciting new chapter. Equal parts raw, ambitious and emotionally charged, the single has reignited anticipation around one of rock and roll's most dynamic bands. Recorded and co-produced in Tennessee by the band alongside acclaimed producer Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, TURNSTILE, Sheryl Crow), "Play Your Games" captures GRETA VAN FLEET at their most raw, irreverent and instinctive. Inspired by one of their oldest demos from the band's revisited archives, the track channels the spirit of their earliest days — loud, fearless and untamed. Written by the band, "Play Your Games" leads the charge with swagger, chaos and sharp-edged charm, feeling like a nod to the band's formative years performing in small clubs in their hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan. Guitarist Jake Kiszka explains. "It's this beautiful nature of seizing a moment." Prior to the Bowery Ballroom concert, GRETA VAN FLEET — brothers Josh (vocals),Jake (guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass, keyboards) and Daniel Wagner (drums) — hadn't played a live show since September 2024. In the meantime, Sam Kiszka and Danny Wagner played on "The Dreamin' Kind", the 2026 album from Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim. Jake Kiszka appeared in last year's Bruce Springsteen biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" as a guitarist in a band in a New Jersey club. Meanwhile MIRADOR, the band founded by Jake Kiszka and Chris Turpin from IDA MAE, recently released a new EP, "The Gathering At Badon Hill". GRETA VAN FLEET's most recent album was 2023's "Starcatcher". Since emerging from Michigan and exploding on to the global stage, GRETA VAN FLEET have become one of the defining rock bands of their generation: a group equally embraced by lifelong rock purists and a younger audience rediscovering the power, freedom, and spectacle of the genre. Their ascent has been marked by platinum-selling records, Grammy wins, huge international arena and stadium tours, and a reputation for delivering live performances with the kind of musicianship and emotional release that plays into the history books and cultural mythology of the legendary bands before them. In an era increasingly dominated by algorithms and disposable culture, GRETA VAN FLEET continue to stand apart as a band committed to the timeless ideals, transcendence, theatricality, musicianship, rebellion, and human connection that comes hand in hand with rock and roll. Press photo credit: Moonbase (courtesy of High Rise PR)

ANDY LA ROCQUE On His Exit From KING DIAMOND: 'We Mutually Decided To Part Ways In A Respectful And Friendly Manner'

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:25:09 +0000

Andy La Rocque has commented on his decision to leave KING DIAMOND after more than four decades. Earlier today (Sunday, July 26), the 63-year-old Swedish-born guitarist, whose real name is Anders Allhage, took to his social media to write: "Hi everyone ! Just a short heads up: as many of you have seen I've left the KING DIAMOND band. "Leaving a 'family' after more than 40 years full of great music, friends and lots of good memories is not an easy decision but we mutually decided to part ways in a respectful and friendly manner wishing each other the absolute best for the future! "Now is the time for me to move on with full focus and write some more music and play live with LEX LEGION. "Thanks for your support, See you out there!" La Rocque's exit from KING DIAMOND was announced by the band on Friday, July 24. At the time, the group's namesake frontman said in a statement: "After 40 years KING DIAMOND the band and Andy La Rocque have mutually decided to part ways. "Looking back, we do so with nothing but pride, gratitude, and respect for everything we have achieved together. All the countless memories we have created along the way are forever. Our friendship and respect for each other will always remain the same, and we all sincerely wish each other the absolute best for the future!" Also on Friday, KING DIAMOND announced the addition of guitar virtuoso Gus G. (FIREWIND, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) to the band's lineup. Gus G. joins as guitarist and will compose, record, and tour with KING DIAMOND going forward. La Rocque is currently focusing on LEX LEGION, the new band featuring four-fifths of KING DIAMOND's classic late '80s lineup, which recently released its self-titled debut album via MNRK Music Group. In addition to La Rocque (guitar), LEX LEGION includes Mikkey Dee (drums), Pete Blakk (guitar) and Hal Patino (bass) — alongside vocalist Nils K. Rue (PAGAN'S MIND). Earlier this year, Andy told The Metal Crypt that his contributions to LEX LEGION were not based on any "leftovers from the KING DIAMOND songwriting, if you know what I mean, from the library I have with KING DIAMOND. This is completely different and has nothing to do with KING DIAMOND in that sense," he explained. "KING DIAMOND is KING DIAMOND, and I write songs for KING DIAMOND, and then I write songs for LEX LEGION. I don't want people to believe that, 'Oh, he has some songs that were intended for KING DIAMOND that he's using here.' No, not at all. It's not the other way around, either. It's two very different and separate things." Just last month, La Rocque told Rock Hard Greece that he had no idea when KING DIAMOND's forthcoming horror trilogy, part one of which is titled "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920", would see the light of day. He said at the time: "I can't really tell you too much about it because we have some songs. I wrote songs, like, four or five years ago that we will have, a few of them, for this upcoming album. And I already started with the right guitar tracks on it. I think Matt [Thompson, KING DIAMOND drummer] even played drums on one of my songs. And we've been playing that live too, actually, for a while, the 'Electro Therapy'. We played that live for a while. And we just need to put together some more songs before we can start recording. And, well, we actually have the songs, so I don't know. I can't really tell you how long it's gonna take to do that. Nobody knows. [Laughs] Nobody knows. We'll see. But all I can say is that we're working on it." In May, Andy was asked by Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation if fans could expect "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" to arrive anytime soon. Andy said at the time: "That's a question [that should be put] to [KING DIAMOND's namesake frontman] King [Diamond]. As you probably heard, we've been working on that for ages. But my part of it is that back in 2022, I had a bunch of songs, pre-production with the right recording guitars, some keyboards from [early KING DIAMOND collaborator] Roberto Falcao, actually. I asked him to do a few things on my songs. So I had, like, eight songs that I sent off to all the members in the band — pretty much ready to start recording, with vocals and the real proper drums and bass from Pontus [Egberg, KING DIAMOND bassist] and stuff, even though I played some bass on it, and [I used a] drum machine [for the demos] and all that stuff, just like a guideline. And we talked about it, and King wanted to use, like, three of those songs. And so I guess now he's finishing up his part of it, which is gonna be, like, five or six songs on the album. So that's what we're waiting for." Image courtesy of ESP

Ex-ACCEPT Bassist PETER BALTES Hospitalized In Germany After Suffering Three Rib Fractures In 'Serious Fall' From Stage (Video)

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:38:02 +0000

Former ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes has been hospitalized after suffering "three rib fractures" due to a "serious fall" from the stage during DIRKSCHNEIDER's July 25 concert at Pyraser Classic Rock Night at Pyraser Landbrauerei, a brewery in the Thalmässing district of Pyras, Germany. Earlier today (Sunday, July 26), U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER, which are both fronted by ex-ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider, released the following statement via social media: "Notice about the Pyraser Classic Rock Night "During our performance at the Pyraser Classic Rock Night, Peter Baltes and [U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER guitarist] Alen Brentini suffered serious falls due to insufficient safety conditions on stage. Alen suffered several severe contusions and other injuries. Fortunately, despite this, he is in a condition to continue performing. Peter suffered three rib fractures and is being treated at a hospital in Nuremberg. He is likely not to be able to perform for a longer period. Our thoughts are with him, and we wish a speedy and complete recovery. "Despite these difficult circumstances, DIRKSCHNEIDER will continue to perform the scheduled shows as planned. "We will release more information as soon as it is available. "Thank you very much for the support and for all the messages of well-being sent to Peter and Alen." Fan-filmed video of Peter's fall from the stage during the Pyraser Classic Rock Night concert can be seen below. Peter exited ACCEPT in 2018 after spending more than three decades with the Wolf Hoffmann-led outfit. In June 2023, the now-68-year-old Baltes told Rock And A Hard Place about his departure from the band: "I wasn't the happiest person in ACCEPT before. In my life, every day counts. When you reach my age, I wanna enjoy my life and I don't wanna do anything I don't like. I have that right now." Baltes was replaced in ACCEPT by Martin Motnik. Baltes first started playing bass for U.D.O. on the group's fall 2022 European tour when U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany. Brentini joined U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER in October 2025 as the replacement for Andrey Smirnov, who announced his exit from the two groups earlier that month. DIRKSCHNEIDER is the name of Udo's band which performs ACCEPT material exclusively. Although Udo announced 11 years ago that his initial DIRKSCHNEIDER tour would mark his final time performing ACCEPT songs, he has continued to play select shows under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner for more than a decade. U.D.O.'s latest album, "Touchdown", came out in August 2023 through Atomic Fire Records.

See AC/DC's Entire Concert In San Antonio During 2026 North American Leg Of 'Power Up' Tour

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 20:58:28 +0000

The Patrick Zapata channel on YouTube has uploaded video of AC/DC's entire July 24 concert at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Check out the footage below. According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the show was as follows: 01. If You Want Blood (You've Got It) 02. Back In Black 03. Demon Fire 04. Shot Down In Flames 05. Thunderstruck 06. Have A Drink On Me 07. Hells Bells 08. Shot In The Dark 09. Stiff Upper Lip 10. Highway To Hell 11. Shoot To Thrill 12. Sin City 13. Jailbreak 14. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 15. High Voltage 16. Riff Raff 17. You Shook Me All Night Long 18. Whole Lotta Rosie 19. Let There Be Rock Encore: 20. T.N.T. 21. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) AC/DC kicked off the 2026 North American leg of the "Power Up" tour on July 11 at Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. As was the case with the San Antonio concert, the band opened the 21-song set with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and ran through classics like "Back In Black", "Thunderstruck", "Highway To Hell", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "T.N.T." before concluding with "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)". They also played two tracks from the band's latest "Power Up" album, "Demon Fire" and "Shot In The Dark", both of which appeared early in the set. The Charlotte concert was the first stop of AC/DC's 18-date North American trek, with additional dates taking place in Columbus, Madison, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Edmonton, Vancouver, Atlanta, Houston, South Bend, St. Louis, Montreal, Toronto, East Rutherford and Philadelphia. Support on the tour is coming from THE PRETTY RECKLESS. It marks the second stretch of U.S. dates on the AC/DC "Power Up" tour, which visited over a dozen North American cities in the spring of 2025. The "Power Up" world tour takes its name from AC/DC's 2020 album, which reached No. 1 in 21 countries. It began with the band's long-awaited return to the stage at Power Trip in California in 2023 and has since sold out dozens of stadiums across four continents. AC/DC kicked off its 2025 North American "Power Up" tour on April 10, 2025 at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AC/DC performed in 13 stadiums coast to coast in the spring of 2025. This run concluded on May 28, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio at Huntington Bank Field. Along the way, they played some of the most iconic and historic stadiums in the world. Support on the trek came from THE PRETTY RECKLESS. After the North American leg of the "Power Up" tour, the Grammy-winning rock band returned to the road in Europe for 12 dates across 10 countries beginning on June 26, 2025 in Prague, Czech Republic. The tour included AC/DC's first-ever show in Estonia and a return to Scotland for the first time in a decade. AC/DC played the 24th and final concert of its 2024 "Power Up" European tour on August 17, 2024 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The trek was the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at 2023's Power Trip festival in Indio, California. The 2024 "Power Up" European tour marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup, consisting of longtime singer Brian Johnson, founding member and lead guitarist Angus Young, as well as rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (who officially joined the band in 2014, replacing his uncle Malcolm Young, who retired due to dementia),drummer Matt Laug (who joined in 2023, replacing longtime drummer Phil Rudd) and former JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Chris Chaney, who came on board in 2024 replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams. Williams retired from AC/DC after the conclusion of the 2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, although he did return to the fold briefly for the 2020 "Power Up" album and an appearance at Power Trip. Prior to "Power Up", AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office. AC/DC's latest album, "Power Up", came out in November 2020. The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust". AC/DC's current tour came eight years after Johnson bowed out a 2016 run of shows due to a hearing condition. The band has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including "Back In Back", which ranks as one of the top-selling LPs of all time.

MICHAEL KISKE: 'We Already Have 90%' Of Next HELLOWEEN Album 'Done'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 20:10:33 +0000

In a new interview with Brazil's Rock Mania, HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske reflected on the making of the band's latest album, "Giants & Monsters", which arrived in August 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). Asked if the follow-up to 2021's "Helloween" was "an enjoyable album to write and record", Kiske said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[It was] easy. It was much easier than the one before, which I explain, because we've been [back] together now for a number of years, the insecurities are not there anymore that you have in the beginning. So I think the latest record was more organic somehow. And we had way too many songs. It was not so easy to decide what goes on the record. And we already have, I would say, like, 90% at least already done for the new record. It's not gonna be long. Which shows how creative the band is and how productive [we are]. "I'm the kind of person, when I finish something, even with my solo records, whatever it is, when it's done, I usually don't listen to it anymore," Michael explained. "So I was just checking the mixes when we did the 'Helloween' record, the first new one, and 'Giants & Monsters', I was listening to it when we did the mix, just to check the mix and whatever, which I would have done different anyway. But then I didn't listen to it again. And I have actually now, when we were doing the festival things, in the plane, I listened to both records, and I had a real fresh impression, and I really liked it. "I think it's perfect when you haven't been listening to it more than once, like a while ago, or two years ago, or three years ago with the first one," Kiske added. "It's almost like a fan would listen to it because you haven't been listening to it. And I was excited. It's relevant. It's not just copying what we've done in the past. It has a new vibe, and it has an interesting energy and creativity. I mean, I like them both, but I think the second one is a bit more organic. I think it's not that overloaded, like the first one we did." "Giants & Monsters" was mixed at the legendary Wisseloord Studios (IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, DEF LEPPARD) in Hilversum, Netherlands. "Helloween" was the first HELLOWEEN album to feature the band's expanded lineup, consisting of returning members, Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen, along with singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble. Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. HELLOWEEN released a live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The effort immortalized HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan. HELLOWEEN is: Michael Kiske - vocals Andi Deris - vocals Kai Hansen - guitars, vocals Michael Weikath - guitars Sascha Gerstner - guitars Markus Grosskopf - bass Daniel Löble - drums

DARK FUNERAL Is Putting Finishing Touches On Songwriting For 'Killer' New Studio Album: 'I'm So Excited', Says LORD AHRIMAN

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 19:11:54 +0000

In a new interview with Ed Hackimer of This Day In Metal, Mikael Jan Svanberg, better known as Lord Ahriman, the Swedish musician and composer best known as the primary guitarist, songwriter and sole founding member of black metal band DARK FUNERAL, spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the group's latest album, "We Are The Apocalypse", which was released in March 2022. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're in the end of the writing process. So we almost got it. But when I to talked to Heljarmadr [DARK FUNERAL vocalist Andreas Vingbäck] about it, he was, like, 'Don't fucking jinx it. We're not there yet.' But I guess it's just because I'm so excited. And I know he is too, but he was, like, 'Take it easy.' But, yeah, it feels great. We've been talking over the past couple of days a lot about how the songs developed, and he is on fire as much as I am. So this feels great. Of course it sucks that we're not gonna be able to show this for you until next year, but the good thing is that it's coming, a new studio record, and it's gonna fucking be killer, that's for sure." Lord Ahriman also talked about his vision for DARK FUNERAL's upcoming live show, explaining: "Well, that's always been part of the black metal movement. There's always a musical, spiritual and visual side. The visual part of the music style, that's always been a great part. And I like to be creative both with music but also the visual stuff. When I write music, I see everything as a movie. When I write a song, I see a movie playing in front of me. So that's why I also wanna bring as much as we can, bring that kind of visual side on stage as well. "We are from the early '90s era of black metal, and that's who I am," he explained. "But at the same time, you don't just wanna keep on repeating yourself. You still wanna be inspired and find new ways how to do this and present it. And I think we're planning probably the biggest step we've done over the years for the next touring cycle. We have lots of great ideas. We just need to finalize everything. But we came up with some cool ideas how to keep the old school but still kind of bring it into the future but with thought and not just do it without any purpose, because I feel like many bands, they're just doing it because — because of what? For me, it's gotta be a deep thought behind it. Why are we doing this? Because if there is, then the impact is gonna be stronger, and you can work on it in a much more interesting way when you're creative. And I think we have some really cool ideas. It's been done in certain ways, but I have never seen anybody do it the way I hope we manage to pull it together. And when I presented it to our booking agencies, I was, like, 'This is really cool. This is something new, and it's totally on another level.' So, yeah, I like that part of being in DARK FUNERAL too. Not just the music — I like the visual, creative side of that too. But, of course, everything is super expensive. We're still not a super-rich band. So there's a budget that limits us from going all in. But we're working on trying to do as much as we can of all the crazy ideas we have… That's one of the thing that also keeps this interesting for us. As I said, I don't wanna just keep on repeating and do the same thing like I've done for 30 years. It's gotta be interesting and inspiring for me also and the other guys to keep doing this." DARK FUNERAL will release a new live album, "A Beast To Praise", on August 21, 2026 via Century Media Records. The LP was recorded at Fållan in Stockholm in 2022 and it captures DARK FUNERAL's live performance in support of "We Are The Apocalypse". In March 2025, Lord Ahriman underwent his third hernia surgery. 1993 was the year it all began, Lord Ahriman and Blackmoon (1993-1996) founded the infernal war machine we now know as DARK FUNERAL, one of the most intense and prominent black metal acts ever. In January 1994, the legendary self-titled and independently financed debut mini album were recorded at Dan Swanö's Unisound Studio. It was released upon the unexpecting masses on May 4 the same year. The band quickly established themselves as a band to watch. Since then, a lot of things have happened. The band has released seven albums, the lineup has changed, and DARK FUNERAL has toured no less than 45 different countries with acts as DIMMU BORGIR, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEICIDE, GOATWHORE, ENSLAVED and many more. The band's album "Diabolis Interim" was also nominated as best metal album at P3 Guld awards and "Where Shadows Forever Reign" was awarded twice, by Swedish P3 Guld and Germany's Metal Hammer Award. A reworked version of DARK FUNERAL's debut album was made available in August 2024 via Century Media. "Dark Funeral (30th Anniversary Edition)" was remixed by David Castillo and remastered once again by Thomas "Plec" Johansson.

SABATON's PÄR SUNDSTRÖM: It Is 'Not Necessary' To Be Fresh 'To Be Successful In Heavy Metal'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 18:11:56 +0000

In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, SABATON bassist and manager Pär Sundström spoke about the factors that were involved in making the Swedish act one of the most commercially successful European heavy metal bands in recent history. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that the success of SABATON lies in a combination of a lot of things. We've always been a hardworking band, and we've always been a do-it-yourself band, a band that is driven by people saying 'it cannot be done'. We're driven by people saying that 'you can't do that, you can't do that.' Me and [SABATON singer] Joakim [Brodén] always [were], like, 'Yeah, then let's do it and prove those people wrong.' We're both happy to have met each other. I mean, he's a great songwriter, fantastic singer, and this. And I could do the other part, which was more natural for me. And together, it became very good as a team there, 'cause we complete each other very well. And I think that the success of SABATON cannot be attributed to a single thing. It's attributed to a lot of things. And since 2012, the lineup is sort of complete with Thobbe [Englund, guitar], Chris [Rörland, guitar] and Hannes [Van Dahl, drums]. And they have all given their heart and soul to this band, and we are such a unit, and we are here. And I think that the success of SABATON is attributed to a lot of this. And to the great team that is sitting, working in our office. So, all the people around us. It's not just any single thing that can take the glory for that. It's all of us. But I would say that the main cause is that we believed always in doing things our way." Elaborating on how SABATON has never allowed outside influences to affect the way he and his bandmates run their business, Pär said: "Yeah, we never had a management to tell us anything how to do or how to do things and this and that and that. We always invented the wheel over and over again — how we tour, how we do that, how we do that. I mean, last year we were doing, I would say, the biggest tour in Europe or something, with over 200 crew members. It was all put together by me and my best friend from childhood who is our production manager for the last 20-something years. And nobody ever told us how you pull together a 200-crewmember touring party that goes around like a small town building up these things. We were doing everything without any external professional people coming and tell us how you do it. We did it our way, and this is part of how we always [were]. Even though we make mistakes, we're okay with that. We are totally fine with making mistakes. We learn from them and we move on. We don't let the negative things weigh us down so much. They do happen to everybody, and then we just move on with it." Asked how challenging it is "to keep SABATON fresh after more than 25 years" of writing and recording music, Pär said: "Yeah, I think it is not important to be fresh. [Laughs] A lot of bands before us have proven that to be a functional thing in the heavy metal industry. So, being fresh is not necessary to be successful in heavy metal. We know that. So for us it was never about that. We just do what we do, and sometimes we have a lot of ideas that maybe can be considered very fresh or unique thinking. Like we started our own festival — now it's on pause, but we still ran it for 13 years. Our own cruise was for 14 years. We were not the first one to run our own magazine, but we did it our way and we started it up and it's this free magazine that we are running now for several years. And we are operating our mailorder in a way that I wouldn't say I see in other bands how we do that. Because we don't really look at what others are doing. We just think what we wanna do and then we do it. I mean, SABATON history channel, it was something we wanted to do. I don't think anybody else has produced over 130 documentary movies about history like that, how we are working together with museums all around the world, these kind of things. [It is] just a lot of stuff that we just do." This past June, SABATON announced a second part to the European "The Legendary Tour", set to take place in April/May 2027. Last year's leg of "The Legendary Tour" brought in an audience of over 260,000 people in 13 different countries, with 420 tons of equipment marking the biggest ever arena tour production ever seen from a rock band. The spring 2027 run takes in 15 different countries, including shows at Dublin's 3ARENA, Glasgow OVO Hydro and Birmingham NEC. Four months ago, SABATON announced the new dates for its previously postponed North American tour. The band called off the original shows in order to allow Sundström sufficient time to heal from "inflammation in his arms". SABATON's North American tour was scheduled to kick off February 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and hit venues across the U.S. and Canada, including major stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston before wrapping April 20 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The new dates will launch on September 23 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and conclude on December 12 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. SABATON kicked off the European leg of its "The Legendary Tour" on November 14, 2025 at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. The band teased the 20-city European trek as "a huge celebration of SABATON's music, storytelling and the incredible bond they share with their fans", featuring "The Legendary Orchestra and other surprises," resulting in "something unprecedented." "The Legendary Tour" was SABATON's first headlining tour in support of the band's eleventh studio album, "Legends", which arrived on October 17, 2025 via Better Noise Music. Throughout the aptly titled "Legends", which blends rock and history for fans of all ages, SABATON delves into some of history's greatest and most loved characters such as Jeanne D'arc (also known as Joan Of Arc),Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar and the legendary swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi. "Legends" is available across various different physical formats and retailer exclusives, including CD, 2CD digibook, 2CD earbook (both including the exclusive Storyteller Edition),11 unique vinyl editions (including a special vinyl color and exclusive artwork each),additional exclusive vinyl colors and a limited box set (including another exclusive vinyl color, the 2CD earbook, and a colored cassette as an exclusive format). Among 11 unique vinyl editions, each one portraying one legendary figure, "Legends" is available as the "Hannibal Edition" and the "Miyamoto Musashi Edition", which are linked to the song releases for "Lightning At The Gates" (Hannibal) and "The Duelist" (Miyamoto Musashi). "Legends" is a rock odyssey that transcends time and borders, with melodic guitar riffs, goosebump-inducing choirs, and epic choruses. It marks a bold evolution in storytelling, plunging headfirst into the heart of history's most formidable and enigmatic figures. These are not just rock songs, they are battle hymns carved from the blood and legacy of warriors, kings, strategists, and revolutionaries. SABATON have always had a signature focus on writing songs about historical battles, wars, and acts of heroism that have solidified their impact with their loyal and longtime fans. They've collaborated closely with its network of specialists, developed over the years since the launch of the Sabaton History Channel on YouTube, to make sure this new album is once again as close to reality as possible. SABATON continues to work with graphic artist Peter Sallai to create the striking album artwork, and producer Jonas Kjellgren is once again behind the boards from his Swedish Black Lounge Studios to create the classic SABATON sound the band is now known for. In the more than two decades since the band's launch, SABATON has headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts worldwide, and gained a legion of loyal fans by carving out a reputation for being one of the hardest working bands in the business. Since their 2005 debut album, they've earned gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications in territories around the world with their 10 studio albums. Eight of their albums scored Top 10 international chart status, and six claimed the Top 5. SABATON has earned eight Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards nominations, taking home the award for "Breakthrough Artist" in 2011 and "Best Live Band" in three different years, and a Grammis nomination (Swedish equivalent to the U.S. Grammy Award) as "Best Heavy Metal" band. They've accumulated more than three billion streams across all streaming platforms and two billion views on YouTube. Guitarist Thobbe Englund originally joined SABATON in April 2012 and amicably parted ways with the band in July 2016 to focus on his personal life and expand his creativity. He rejoined SABATON in February 2024.

ENTHEOS's CHANEY CRABB Offers Advice To New Metal Bands: 'Don't Quit' And 'Stay True To Your Vision'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 15:11:15 +0000

In a new interview with Kevin Powell, ENTHEOS vocalist Chaney Crabb was asked what piece of advice she would give to up-and-coming metal bands looking to break into the music business. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The only advice that I can really give is just don't quit. Stay true to your vision. "When you start a band especially, it's hard to start making money doing this," she continued. "It's hard to make a living doing this. And none of us get into it for that. But there does come a point where it's, like, in order for this to be a viable thing that I can do for the rest of my life, there does have to be some kind of money involved. There does. So the staying true to it through that part, it's, like, you have to bridge the gap. You just have to believe in your vision and believe in yourself and keep pushing and not give a fuck what people try to tell you to do. Because if I would've quit playing music when people told me that I was never gonna make it or that I needed a real job, quote-unquote, or any of that shit, man, I would've quit when I was 18 years old. It's, like, no one sees things like this." She went on to say: "If you have a dream, it's very rare that people see it as a viable option for you in life, and the most important thing is just fucking believing in yourself and moving past all of that because no one's ever gonna believe in you as much as you believe in yourself. That's it. I mean, no matter how far you get, you have to stay true to your vision. You have to fully feel the power of what you have going on, and if there's any part of you that doesn't believe in yourself, people are gonna see that. People can see through you. So just stay true to yourself, believe in yourself. And that might be cliché, but it's the fucking truth. It's mind over matter." Chaney added: "I don't know if you've ever seen the show 'Alone'. It's a show where individuals go out into the parts of the wilderness. So my favorite season is in the Alaskan wilderness, and they try to survive on their own. And it's like survival of the fittest. Whoever stays the longest wins the money at the end. And you start to see the people who you think in the beginning they have all of the tools and they know how to hunt and how to do everything to get by, you think those are the ones who are gonna win, but at the end of the day, it's the people who have control of their minds, who don't let the emotional aspects of life or missing people or any of those things get to them. The minute you let that shit in, you're home. So it's all about your mind. Surviving is all about your mind and how long you can stick with something. It's all about your mind. It's mind over matter, always." ENTHEOS will release its new studio album, "Empty On The Inside", on October 23, 2026 via Metal Blade Records. The official music video for the LP's first single, "Golden Crown", can be seen below. "Empty On The Inside" is the most ambitious and fully realized album of ENTHEOS's career. Featuring Crabb (voice actress for Jill Valentine in "Dead By Daylight") and multi-instrumentalist Navene Koperweis (ex-ANIMALS AS LEADERS, ANIMOSITY),alongside guitarists Scott Carstairs (FALLUJAH) and Michael Stancel (ALLEGAEON),the record captures the band at their most collaborative and creatively unified. The result is a record that delivers the jaw-dropping musicianship and progressive intensity the band is known for while embracing tighter songwriting, stronger hooks, and a deeper melodic presence — channeling the raw, visceral energy of 90s rock and metal into something wholly modern and entirely their own. "Empty On The Inside" was produced by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, FALLUJAH, WHITECHAPEL) and mastered by Justin Sturtz at Sterling Sound. The album's striking visual artwork was created by Zac Shiffer (NINE INCH NAILS, BEHEMOTH, SOUNDGARDEN). ENTHEOS recently supported JINJER on the North American "Duél" tour alongside CRYSTAL LAKE. It was ENTHEOS's highest-profile run to date, following their 2025 first-ever North American headlining tour which saw multiple sellouts and venue upgrades throughout. The reception on the current run has been outstanding, with All Music Magazine praising Crabb's "seamless blend of ferocious gutturals, piercing screams, and melodic textures" and noting that "every intricate riff and rhythmic shift landed with precision," while Metal Insider declared simply: "ENTHEOS crushed it. A blast to see live." The JINJER run continued through July 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ENTHEOS is: Chaney Crabb - vocals, lyrics Navene Koperweis - drums, guitar, synth Michael Stancel - guitar, synth Scott Carstairs - guitar

MASTODON's TROY SANDERS On 'Marrow Deep' Album: 'It Feels Like The Next Proper Step Of Our Own Evolution'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:33:12 +0000

In a new interview with Jai "Jaimunji" Setright of Australia's link textMetal On Tap, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders spoke about the band's long-awaited new album, "Marrow Deep", which will arrive on August 28 via Loma Vista Recordings. The LP marks MASTODON's first full-length to feature guitarist Nick Johnston alongside significant contributions from keyboardist João Nogueira. "Marrow Deep" was co-produced by MASTODON at the band's own West End Sound in Atlanta with Patrik Berger (Lana Del Rey, Charli XCX) and Kurt Ballou (HIGH ON FIRE, CONVERGE) and was mixed by Andrew Scheps (Adele, BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA). Troy said about the making of "Marrow Deep" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're excited for this thing to come out. It's been maybe five years since our last record, 'Hushed And Grim'. We spent a year working on the demo portions of this, and then another year really honing in, the writing and recording. And we finished it, like, eight or nine months ago, so we've been sitting on it for a while, so we're all very, very excited to let go and get it out there. So anyone that cares can have a listen." He continued: "I've been asked before, like, '[Is there] any album of your career that you would take back if you could change something about it?' And there's always a — well, of course, because, like, 'Oh, the bass could've been sounding better,' or 'that intro could've gone way longer,' whatever. Always. But at some point you gotta relinquish the power and be, like, like when do you tell an artist who's oil on canvas, like, when do you tell him to put the brushes down? So, yeah, you could keep writing it for — I don't know — whether it's [being a] perfectionist or just, like… you could always keep going. There's another layer. You could try that again and try to have a better performance vocally or get a better bass tone or whatever it is. You could just keep chasing probably for infinity. So, yeah, you gotta put the brushes down." Regarding the songwriting process for "Marrow Deep", Troy said: "Our guitar player, Bill Kelliher, he brings a Pro Tools rig on the road with us, and he is constantly writing. And I think it kind of really picked up around 2024. We did a North American tour with LAMB OF GOD. We called it the 'Ashes Of Leviathan' tour, and during that tour is what I remember, like, starting to really put more attention on writing, 'cause we knew we needed to stop touring on 'Hushed And Grim' and get going with some new stuff. And then, of course, in the first half of 2025, we spent a lot of time demoing songs. We had, like, 32 skeletons of songs, which was awesome, but it was too much. And we're, like, 'How do we dwindle this down?' And we started demoing in Bill's basement. He's got a small studio in his home, and we just demoed a whole bunch of stuff, which led to honing in on that even more. We ultimately started recording the album in September of '25, so it's been nearly a year since we started recording this thing. So the writing was kind of hit or miss. It was constant for the past couple of years, because someone's always collecting riffs, lyrical ideas, et cetera. But the writing really ramps up as you're gearing towards, 'We need to record.'" Inspired by the Three Fates of Greek mythology and the fragile threads connecting life, loss, and destiny, "Marrow Deep" channels the intense personal experiences of the intervening years into some of the most expansive, adventurous, and emotionally resonant music of MASTODON's storied career. Troy said: "Our drummer Brann Dailor had the idea to get into some mythology on this record and have the three fates be the overlying theme, if you will. [It's] probably a coincidence that there's the three core guys in myself, Bill and Brann. But it kind of perfectly encapsulates everything that we're feeling and thinking and doing, from the past, the now and the moving forward. So to me, it makes perfect sense, and it's genius the way that Brann kind of put those pieces together. And on top of that, we've got our keyboard player that's been touring with us for five years. His name is João Nogueira. He's all over the new record, and he collaborated on tons of this stuff. And our new guitar player, Nick Johnston, we've been touring the world with him for a year and a half now. He had a lot to contribute to this new record with riffs, solos, full songs. And ultimately it felt very... To me, it felt kind of triumphant that we had five guys in the studio with really a renewed sense of energy and purpose, and all five people very aligned, present in the room, waiting to collaborate or chip in or record this bit or change that, and just be a part of this collective. I do feel like this is obviously a different record in our career because we've been a four-piece forever, and now we're a five-piece with a new guitar player. And just having the energy involved making it was probably my most proud moment of the record. It's not anything per se on the album, but just the energy of making it through all this up and down and all this unknown. I didn't feel that way while it was happening, but it took a little while after to realize, like, 'Oh yeah.' We were all in that studio for the five weeks all together, all on the same page and very aligned. It was pretty special. Ot took me a minute to see that." After Setright noted that "it's nice" to see MASTODON getting new members Johnston and Nogueira involved in the making of "Marrow Deep", Troy said: "Anyone that's got a good idea and if they're excited about it, then, like, let's explore that, because energy and excitement is where good things can happen. "Some bands, they can find this really cool formula and they can kind of repeat that, and that's awesome," Sanders explained. "The three of us did not wanna be, like, 'Hey, this is a new album. The three of us are gonna kind of put this album together.' Thankfully it wasn't like that because we want these extra layers and these extra textures and sounds and involvement. So having piano and keys and organ all over the record takes it to another level. Having all the guest vocalists and percussionists on the album helps add these other flavors. Of course Nick's playing, it's very MASTODON-ish, but it's different, and it feels like this next proper step of our own evolution. So it's cool. It was cool to see it unfold, as a member of the band and a fan of the band. It was pretty exciting, actually." MASTODON will celebrate the "Marrow Deep" release with the upcoming "The Poisonous Weapons Tour", a nationwide run of dates with support from DEAFHEAVEN and ALCEST. Kicking off September 16 in Orlando, the trio of bands will cut their way across the full country before closing out October 24 at Sick New World Dallas. Founding MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds departed the band in March 2025. Brent passed away in a motorcycle accident five months later. He was replaced by Johnston. Since 2000, Hinds had served as lead guitarist and vocalist for MASTODON, alongside Sanders, Dailor and Kelliher.

See GENE SIMMONS And His Solo Band Perform In Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:21:39 +0000

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and his solo band, GENE SIMMONS BAND, performed this past Friday, July 24 at Xcite Center at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Front-row fan-filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below (uploaded by Tito Santana on YouTube). GENE SIMMONS BAND consists of Gene on bass and vocals, Jason Walker on guitar and vocals, Brian Tichy on drums and vocals and Brent Woods on guitar. In a recent interview with Whittier Daily News, Gene stated about his solo band: "My side band, they're killers by the way. They're multi-instrumentalists, and all sing lead. It's really a terrific idea. We don't have a manager. There are no trucks, no nothing. We just set up and play. We have the flexibility of doing requests someone may yell out. Or if we're asked if we know 'Tush' by ZZ TOP, we'll look at each other, it's the key of G, let's go and boom, you're off to the races." He added: "We're going to do material KISS that has never done. We're going to do some stuff that maybe has never been recorded. The other thing we can do that KISS never did is pull fans up from the audience. Do you want to be a rock star? I may pull you up if you can play an instrument. Or, if it's a kid that looks like he can hold his own on stage, I'll pull him up. No rules." During an August 2024 appearance on the Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast, Simmons stated about his performances with his solo band: "[We're] just having a lot of fun." He continued: "By the way, I designed a business model that is just semi-genius. I show up with my guitar pick. That's it. There's no manager, no roadies, no trucks, no equipment. Everything is provided by the promoter. The flights, the hotels, all the amplifiers, the drums, everything is rented locally. That's the promoter's cost, and whatever six-figure or more amount there is, I pocket. And I literally make more money per gig being Gene Simmons and the GENE SIMMONS BAND than I did in KISS — not counting the ancillaries and all that — because you don't have a 60-man crew, three double deckers, private jet that's on call seven days a week and 20 to 24 tractor trailers." Simmons was born Chaim Witz in August 1949, at Rambam Hospital in Haifa to Jewish immigrants from Hungary. He was the son of Holocaust survivor Flora Klein and a father, Feri Witz, who soon abandoned his family, leaving them penniless prior to emigrating to America in search of a better life.Simmons is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and media mogul. He has achieved success that reaches far beyond his music career, extending into television shows, films, publishing, merchandising, worldwide restaurants, consumer products, and more. Gene was inspired to become a rock star when he first saw a televised performance by THE BEATLES. He formed several bands and then met fellow KISS co-founder Paul Stanley in 1970 and they formed the group WICKED LESTER. In the winter of 1972, with a desire to create the "ultimate" rock band, not just "another" rock band, Simmons and Stanley formed KISS with original band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Inspired by his love of comic books and horror films, Simmons conceived the concept of his face paint. The addition of elaborate costumes, frenetic stage performances and ostentatious concert effects, catapulted KISS to international stardom and a coveted position as one of the most recognized rock and roll bands in the world. Since their inception, KISS has developed millions of fans around the world, also known as the KISS Army. With over 100 million CDs and DVDs sold worldwide, KISS sold out stadiums and arenas around the world for five decades, breaking box-office records set by Elvis Presley and THE BEATLES. KISS was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014 and in 1999 received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Merchandising giant Simmons's keen business acumen has expanded the KISS brand beyond the stage. With more than 5,000 licensed/merchandised items, KISS has generated more money from merchandising and trademark deals than any other band in music history. More recently, Gene launched Gene Simmons MoneyBag soda — a new line of sodas made with all natural flavors, colors, and pure cane sugar, and packaged in painted bottles. Simmons is renowned and sought after worldwide as a notable and opinionated media commentator on a diverse range of topics from politics to business.

ADRIAN VANDENBERG Says His Upcoming 50th-Anniversary Album Will Be 'Very Special'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:03:24 +0000

In a new interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (WHITESNAKE) discussed his plans to celebrate his fiftieth anniversary as a musician in 2027. Among the projects in the works to mark the occasion are a documentary, a new album and a biography. There will also be a special concert in April 2027. Speaking about his recent shows where he celebrated his iconic years with WHITESNAKE during a special tour called "My Whitesnake Years", Adrian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, last year it was 35 years ago that with WHITESNAKE we headlined the legendary [Castle] Donington festival. So, a guy from my management said, 'Wouldn't it be cool to celebrate that fact for 35-year anniversary and do a tour under the banner of 'My Whitesnake Years'?" And I thought it was cool, because I hadn't played those songs in such a long time. We always had, like, two or three WHITESNAKE songs in the set, of course. But to do a full set with just a couple of VANDENBERG, classic VANDENBERG songs sneaked in was great. And it goes down really, really great. And it puts a big smile on my face too, because, as we all know, music is the soundtrack of your life. So those 12 years with WHITESNAKE were amazing. And I'm still in touch with a couple of the guys. So it's a great thing to celebrate it. And next year is gonna be an even weirder year — way weirder, actually; this one isn't even weird — but next year is 50 years ago that I put my first rock band together and got signed right away, got an album and started touring when I was 19, through Germany, France, Belgium, and all that stuff, while I was still a student at art college. So those were wild times. So next year, that's 50 years ago, so what we're gonna do is do at least one very big show, exclusive show, in Holland with a couple of very special guests, and do some material actually from going back all the way to the band TEASER that I was talking about just now and VANDENBERG, classic VANDENBERG stuff, of course some WHITESNAKE stuff, some [VANDENBERG'S] MOONKINGS stuff. And it's gonna be a very special celebration. And right now there's some talk to take it across the borders also, because a lot of people seem to be excited about it. Not as excited as I am, but — I don't know. We're gonna see. It's gonna be a weird thing. And I'm working on an album with a couple of songs in the WHITESNAKE vibe and a couple of songs in the VANDENBERG vibe, and a couple of songs in the MOONKINGS vibe, and MANIC EDEN, which, you may remember was the band that Tommy Aldridge, Rudy Sarzo, Ron Young and I had in 1994. So, that's gonna be very special." Earlier this year, Adrian continued celebrating his iconic years with WHITESNAKE during a special tour called "My Whitesnake Years". In 2025, it had been 35 years since WHITESNAKE toured the world with the "Slip Of The Tongue" album, and "My Whitesnake Years" is looking back on highlights such as the legendary WHITESNAKE "Live At Donington" 1990 show. Vandenberg joined WHITESNAKE in 1987 and played the famous guitar solo on worldwide hit "Here I Go Again". He also co-wrote the entire "Slip Of The Tongue" album and toured with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Before his WHITESNAKE years, Vandenberg made his international breakthrough with his own band VANDENBERG, known for the hit "Burning Heart", and shared the stage with rock greats such as OZZY OSBOURNE, KISS and SCORPIONS. After his WHITESNAKE period, he launched the successful VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS and made a successful comeback in 2020 with his renewed VANDENBERG band. Vandenberg was a member of WHITESNAKE for 13 years at the height of the band's fame. He was also part of supergroup MANIC EDEN, and more recently released a number of albums with the aforementioned VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS. Vandenberg's namesake band released its comeback album, titled "2020", in May 2020 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. A follow-up LP, "Sin", arrived in August 2023. The group's fifth full-length offering, "Sin", was produced by Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE, ALICE COOPER, ROB ZOMBIE).

ANTHRAX's CHARLIE BENANTE Explains How ACCEPT's 'Fast As A Shark' Inspired Him To Play Fast Double Bass

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:30:51 +0000

At this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante once again said that his work with the 1980s hardcore/metal project STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH (S.O.D.) set the template for extreme metal and hardcore blast beats. A type of fast drum beat characteristic of extreme heavy metal styles such as black metal, death metal and grindcore, a blast beat is basically a single stroke roll broken up between the snare drum and the bass drum, with the hi-hat/ride hand playing unison strokes with the bass drum. Speaking to told Steve Harkins of TalkShopLive, Benante said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The blast beat was something that — I mean, it was around, but it was never called that. Back in 1985, Scott [Ian, ANTHRAX guitarist] and I did this side project called the STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH, and on the record, we had this song called 'Milk'. And our bass player, Danny Lilker, said, 'Try doing this [fast] beat.' And I'm, like, 'Okay, that sounds like fun.' 'Cause the song called for it. And it became a thing that people were, like, 'What are you doing in that song?' And I'm, like, 'Well, I'm just doing...' It was like a one-foot blast through the whole song. And a couple of years later — not a couple of years later, years later, the black metal, especially those drummers in Norway and Sweden, they'd kind of picked up on that kind of beat. It started something, and it just became this thing now, the blast beat. So that was, I think, the first time it ever appeared on record, was on that first S.O.D. record." Regarding how he first became inspired to play double-bass drums, Benante said: "Double-bass drumming was something that I loved. There was these bands, who were — everybody knows these bands nowadays, of course: MOTÖRHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST. And then there was this band from Germany called ACCEPT, and I learned how to play double kick from listening to those bands: JUDAS PRIEST, MOTÖRHEAD and then ACCEPT had this song in 1983 called 'Fast As A Shark', and at the time, it was the fastest double kick at the time, and I loved it. It was just something that I was, like, 'I'm gonna learn how to play it.' So I got another kick drum, and I just taught myself. And it was just the music that drove me to kind of play like that. And then once I got into the band ANTHRAX, probably around '83, when those guys came over my house to do the audition, and I'm, like, 'You guys aren't gonna make me play 'Fast As A Shark'.' And then Scott and, at the time, the bass player Danny looked at each other and they were, like, 'Can you play it?' I'm, like, 'Yeah, yeah, and let's play it.' So we played it. Yeah, that was it. That was it. Sealed the deal. Thank you, ACCEPT. [Laughs]" Benante previously discussed his role in developing the blast beat during a March 2024 interview with Drumeo. He said at the time: "There was this one [STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH] song called 'Milk', and the riff was really fast and Danny Lilker, the [STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH] bass player, he said he wanted it to be more of a fast kind of paddling… So it's basically a one foot blast. And when we recorded it, we had so much fun doing it. And then when we would play it live, it would kind of evolve into — instead of a one-foot blast, it became [what is known as the blast beat today]." Charlie continued: "The blast was something that — I think it's the first time it appears on a record. I think D.R.I. had something similar on the 'Dirty Rotten' EP. But I think this specific song and this specific band influenced a lot of bands to come. And I revisited the blast beat on [ANTHRAX's] 'State Of Euphoria' record in a song called 'Misery Loves Company'. And then on the ANTHRAX record 'We've Come For You All', there's a song called 'Black Dahlia' where the blast beat is in that, too. But I believe that the S.O.D. record was the first time it was ever recorded." Asked where he started hearing the blast beat pop up in other bands and other records after the release of the STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH album, Charlie said: "I think the first time I heard it was maybe Pete Sandoval [of] MORBID ANGEL. And then CANNIBAL CORPSE, Paul [Mazurkiewicz] was doing it. And then, of course, the black metal band started to pick up on it. They did it a little differently — more of the two-foot, more independent. I think the best one for me was on the DIMMU BORGIR record with Nick Barker, the first one with Nick. I think that's when the blast beat became, like, 'What the fuck is that?' Especially for me, hearing that record for the first time, I was completely blown away by his playing and just the style and just the band itself. And then it started to become very popular. And then it started to get into the drumming, kind of the vernacular. And now you've got little kids and their mothers doing the blast beat." STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH was a satirical 1980s metal band which consisted of Benante, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, NUCLEAR ASSAULT/ex-ANTHRAX bassist Dan Lilker and M.O.D.'s Billy Milano (vocals). STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH are commonly credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes called "crossover thrash." The track "March Of The S.O.D." from the group's debut LP, "Speak English Or Die", was the "Headbangers Ball" intro song for many years. STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH was formed shortly after Ian finished his guitar tracks on the ANTHRAX album "Spreading The Disease". He would draw pictures of the face of a character known as "Sargent D," and the pictures would be accompanied by slogans such as "I'm not racist; I hate everyone" and "Speak English Or Die." Ian would then wrote lyrics about this character. He decided to form a hardcore band based on Sargent D, so he recruited Benante, Lilker and Milano. Back in 2021, Benante was asked by "Drum For The Song" about his comment that he was "tired" of not being recognized as a pioneer of the blast beat. He said: "I have to clarify this. I didn't say I invented it. It was the first time that it appeared on a record; it was on the S.O.D. record. And other people had said that yes, of course, it's the first time it appeared on a record. And basically, what it was was the bass player in the band S.O.D., we had this song called 'Milk', and we basically collaborated on this drum beat, and it turned out to be called the blast beat. There was another band from New York, a hardcore band called NYC MAYHEM, and they would have these short bursts in their songs — kind of like D.R.I. or this other band called ADRENALINE OVERDOSE [A.O.D.] from New Jersey. And, yeah, they were doing something similar. And then on the first S.O.D. record, on the song 'Milk', is where that beat is. And it became very popular to this day. And that's it." He continued: "But I never actually said that I was sitting in my room and I… We just kind of created this thing and we put it on the record, but other people were doing little bursts like that too. And it's funny — someone put a picture or they showed a video of a jazz drummer back in 1964 or something doing something similar, and it's, like, all right, dude, I get it. Do you think all of a sudden everybody was doing these blast beats because of this jazz drummer? No. A lot of it was because of that S.O.D. record. So, that's it. I just wanted to clarify it." Benante also discussed his role in developing the blast beat during an August 2019 interview with Drumtalk, the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch. At the time, he said: "There's this style of beat called 'blast beat,' and I will say that the first time ever that type of beat was recorded and played on a record was on this S.O.D. record that we did in 1985. And I'm tired of people not crediting that that was the first time. And, of course, people perfected it and play it way better, but that was the first time that a blast beat was on record. If you can prove me wrong, prove me wrong, but I believe that that was the first time. And, like I said, other people have mastered it and done it way better, and I never took it any further — that was it. It fit in that song 'Milk'. Like, when we would play it live, the more I played it, the more I started to develop a different way of playing it. Because I would always play it with a single kick drum, and I would either reverse it, which I think Paul [Mazurkiewicz] from CANNIBAL CORPSE played more of that style of blast beat. I would play it either with the ride or I would play it with the hat, reversing it. When S.O.D. would play more and more shows, I would always develop it and not just do a single kick — I would throw in a double. And then I discovered that some of the black metal bands, later on, were doing it [slightly differently]. So it was being developed even more. And then when I heard the DIMMU BORGIR record 'Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia', Nick Barker's drumming on that record was, to me, one of those moments where another door opened and he took the blast beat style to a whole other level." Asked if it felt like he was doing something new when he first came up with the drum beat for "Milk", Charlie told Drumtalk: "I remember when that song came out, 'Milk', with the blast beat in it, and many people were saying, 'What are you doing here? What are you doing?' And there was a part of me that was, like, 'I can't really tell you what I'm doing.' [Laughs] When we would play it, I would always see people watching me play it. And S.O.D. didn't play many shows, of course, but when we did play, we played the whole record. And it was never at the same speed that the record was recorded — it was live and it was just fast, so it was always moving forward."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's JESSE LEACH: 'What I'm Manifesting Through My Body Language Is Love And Acceptance'

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:46:30 +0000

In a new interview with Loud & Clear With Belgian Jasper, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach touched upon how politicians use polarization as a strategic tool to secure power and mobilize loyal voters by framing elections as existential conflicts. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've made a point to say it every night on stage: the biggest weapon that the powers that be, the nameless powers that be — not the people we see on social media and television; those are the puppets — I'm talking about the real Dr. Evils of this world that we don't see. Those people benefit and weaponize our separation, whether it be what God you pray to, who you make love to, who you vote for. None of that matters to any of us. What matters is the humanity. And we do have so much more, incredible amounts of similarities as humans. Our differences are very small, and it's just the focusing on those differences and weaponizing those differences to create the divide-rule-and-conquer thing. It is revolutionary to be accepting, to be compassionate, to be tolerant, and hopefully open up discussions, not arguments about our differences. I've done that personally as I travel. I've met people I don't agree with, and I don't shun them and block them and cancel them. I wanna hear what they have to say. And hopefully I can get some point across. But half the time I'm learning something from them, too. 'Oh, that's why you think that way.' It's kind of like people's interpretation of life. It's an interpretation, and I'm open to being wrong and incorrect and changing what I think if it serves the greater purpose and makes sense." He continued: "So opening the dialogue for — compassion, I think is the best word to use, 100%, that is my goal. That is my prayer before I hit the stage. That is my meditation. That's what I'm manifesting through my body language, is love and acceptance. I want people to have fun and enjoy what we're doing, but I also want them to leave with a message, to take that light, if you will, and spread it, 'cause the world needs it." Asked if he sometimes catches himself "being somewhat addicted to outrage as well", especially in a "social media-dominated world" which rewards emotional posts with algorithmic visibility, social feedback and peer validation, Jesse said: "I wouldn't say I'm addicted to it. In fact, I would even say in my younger years I avoided it, and I think that's unhealthy. I think either way, I think obsession with anger is unhealthy, but I think avoidance of anger is unhealthy too. If anything, I've learned that anger, just like any other emotion, is rooted in something, and I think the root of anger is fear. I think fear of what might happen to me, fear of what might happen to other people. So I think the real enemy, and that ties in to be very sort of like Yoda and 'Star Wars', hatred. Hatred and fear are... I think hatred is rooted in fear as well. I think fear is the real enemy of us. That's what creates all of these uglier emotions. So getting to the root of why you might feel that way or why you're enraged, getting to the root of it and contemplating it, walking through that anger, then you can have a perspective that can teach, a perspective that has compassion because you understand that at the root of all of us, we're people that just wanna be loved. We wanna be heard. We wanna be understood. So again, I'm gonna throw that word compassion back out there, 'cause that's what I have to do to sort of combat the anger that's in the Internet. And I think there's enough people spouting hatred and anger. There's enough of that. And I can relate to it, but that's not my gift. I'm not the person that can stand on the front lines screaming at somebody because I don't like what they're doing. I'm the one going, 'Hey, we should all figure this out together.' I think there needs to be more voices like that. And that's just my gift. I'm not very good at arguing and getting angry with people. I lose myself through that, and I don't like that. So I like to stay sort of centered in love and use that as my weapon to combat against whether it be anger, hatred or fear." KILLSWITCH ENGAGE recently completed a U.S. tour with support from MACHINE HEAD, IRON REAGAN and HAVOK. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's latest album, "This Consequence", came out in February 2025 via Metal Blade. "This Consequence" was KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's ninth LP overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012. "This Consequence" arrived alongside a hugely successful winter/spring 2025 tour, yielded a Top 10 single with "I Believe" and landed the band on the covers of Revolver and Outburn. In the summer of 2025, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE completed the massive "Summer Of Loud" tour, co-headlining alongside BEARTOOTH, I PREVAIL and PARKWAY DRIVE. Fans got their first taste of "This Consequence" with pulverizing track "Forever Aligned", swiftly followed by "I Believe". More recently, the group shared videos for "Collusion" and "Aftermath".

SICK OF IT ALL Frontman LOU KOLLER Dead At 59

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 23:38:17 +0000

Vocalist Lou Koller of New York hardcore legends SICK OF IT ALL has died after a long battle with an esophageal tumor. He was 59 years old. His bandmates made the announcement on social media, saying, "It's with unbelievable sadness that we announce to our worldwide hardcore family the passing of our brother Lou Koller. The level of loss that we feel at this time is overwhelming. "This year would have marked SICK OF IT ALL's 40th anniversary as a band, and Lou's camaraderie, commitment and enthusiasm were always steadfast throughout the years. "We have lost a beloved friend and an iconic frontman. Lou had the power to raise everyone's spirits at our shows with a smile and a sarcastic comment, and he won people over wherever we played, from every culture and every corner of the world. "At this time of intense grief, we must again acknowledge the great help and support offered by everyone who donated to Lou's medical fund. You all helped Lou feel very special and very loved as he battled away these last two years. His battle is over now and he can finally rest. Hopefully he can somehow still see and feel the beautiful, positive mark he left on the world." Koller announced in September 2025 that his cancer had returned just four months after celebrating being declared cancer-free. When Koller first announced that his cancer had returned, he said in a video message: "I was having a really hard time with my recovery. I was having a tough time gaining weight and keeping food down. So I had some scans done, and sure enough, [the cancer] is back. But we're gonna take it day by day and see what happens." A benefit concert supporting Koller's battle with esophageal cancer was held on November 23, 2024 at Irving Plaza in New York City. The "I'm In The Fight With Lou" event featured performances by VISION OF DISORDER, LIFE OF AGONY and MUNICIPAL WASTE, as well as veteran New York hardcore acts KILLING TIME and CROWN OF THORNZ. After Lou went public in late June 2024 with the news that doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his esophagus, his brother, SICK OF IT ALL guitarist Pete Koller set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover some of the costs of his cancer treatment and assist with living expenses while the group is off the road and unable to tour. That campaign has since raised more than $380,000, with fellow artists AFI, RANCID and DROPKICK MURPHYS contributing $5,000 apiece, and bands such as SNAPCASE and HOT WATER MUSIC also making generous donations. The long-running New York hardcore band subsequently canceled its previously announced European tour dates. When Lou first posted about the diagnosis on social media, he said: "[Doctors] found a tumor in my esophagus that goes into my stomach, and I'll have to be getting treatment all summer — and of course, with full support of the band. As soon as they heard it, they were, like, 'Forget the tour. Just get healthy.' … They're all behind me staying home and us staying home." Koller ended the message by saying: "I'll hopefully beat this thing and see you at the end of the summer … or maybe the winter." SICK OF IT ALL's European tour was supposed to kick off in the Czech Republic on July 4, 2024. SICK OF IT ALL's latest album, "Wake The Sleeping Dragon!", was released in November 2018 via Century Media.

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Japan's BROKEN BY THE SCREAM Releases New Single 'Hanakabura'

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:55:51 +0000

Exploding out of Japan's heavy music underground with a sound that seamlessly collides idol-style vocals, blistering metalcore precision and unrelenting extreme metal intensity, BROKEN BY THE SCREAM continues its rapid ascent with the release of a new single, "Hanakabura". The track marks BROKEN BY THE SCREAM's first offering for Metal Blade Records. Featuring the dynamic four-vocalist lineup of Tsubaki Nanaougi, Shizuku Mikogami, Yayoi Takayashiki and Io Nozukidaira, "Hanakabura" captures the band's signature contrast of soaring melodies, vicious screams, and punishing metallic aggression while pushing their sound to even greater heights. BROKEN BY THE SCREAM found inspiration for the track after its signing to Metal Blade, which the bandmembers viewed as a new beginning for the group. "Everyone in BROKEN BY THE SCREAM is truly excited and honored to release music through Metal Blade Records," the band comments. "In ancient Japan, there was a special type of arrow called a 'Kaburaya' which was traditionally used to signal the beginning of a battle. The title 'Hanakabura' is our own original word, inspired by the image of a Kaburaya arrow cutting through falling cherry blossom petals. We feel it is the perfect song to mark the beginning of our own battle and a new chapter for the band." Already renowned for their electrifying live performances and genre-defying approach, BROKEN BY THE SCREAM will bring "Hanakabura" to audiences across their upcoming European tour this summer, highlighted by a mainstage performance at Wacken Open Air, further cementing their reputation as one of the most unique and explosive acts in modern heavy music. The producer and mastermind behind BROKEN BY THE SCREAM is Katsuya Kumamoto, who goes by the alias Electro Sonar. He is the founder, main composer, arranger and guitarist for the group. BROKEN BY THE SCREAM is: Tsubaki Nanaougi - vocals Shizuku Mikogami - vocals Yayoi Takayashiki - vocals Io Nozukidaira - vocals Photo by Keiju Takenaka

MADBALL Shares Music Video For 'Don't MisStep' From 'Not Your Kingdom' Album

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:29:27 +0000

New York hardcore kings MADBALL have released the official music video for their song "Don't MisStep". The track is taken from the band's tenth studio album, "Not Your Kingdom", which came out on July 24 via Nuclear Blast. At just 1:34, "Don't MisStep" isa lightning-fast, hard-hitting reminder that MADBALL hasn't slowed down a bit. Delivering the exact high-octane energy MADBALL is famous for, it's a track practically built for two-steps and floorpunches. The music video was co-directed by MADBALL frontman Freddy Cricien and Dave Causa, with Causa also handling filming and editing duties. Additional filming and footage was completed by Drew Stone and Leon Rockel. On "Not Your Kingdom", MADBALL delivers its trademark tales of survival, but with a deeper, more introspective edge. The lyrics offer a raw look into Cricien's perspective on the current state of the world and the human condition, marking their most personal release to date. "Not Your Kingdom" track listing: 01. Tethered 02. Flammable 03. Rebelude 04. Rebel Kids 05. Don't MisStep 06. What Say You 07. Stab Wounds 08. Sunrise 09. Life's A Mural 10. Family First 11, Clockwork 12. IWI 13. The Ride 14. Chase A Dream "Not Your Kingdom" was tracked at The Boneyard Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, with additional interludes recorded by Jeff "Stress" Davis and Chuck Treece at Chop Shop Studios. The album was produced and engineered by the team of Andrew Baylis, Aiden Thompson and Grady Saxman, with final mixing and mastering handled by Lee Rouse. The striking cover art features photography by the legendary Cornell Capa, courtesy of Magnum Photos and the Cornell Capa Estate. MADBALL is: Vocals - Freddy Cricien Guitar - Mike Gurnari Drums - Mike Justian Bass - Paul Delaney In August 2023, longtime MADBALL bassist Jorge "Hoya Roc" Guerra announced his departure from the band. Cricien later said that there was "no bad blood or animosity" between him and Guerra, explaining that they were "simply moving in different directions". MADBALL originated in the late 1980s, as a side project of AGNOSTIC FRONT. The band developed after AGNOSTIC FRONT frontman Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother, Freddy Cricien, take the microphone and perform lead vocals during AGNOSTIC FRONT shows. MADBALL's previous album, "For The Cause", was released in June 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The record was mixed and mastered by renowned producer Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studios in Denmark. It was co-produced by Tim Armstrong (RANCID),who is also featured on the album. Photo credit: Dave Causa

HOLE To Reissue 'Pretty On The Inside', 'Live Through This' And 'Celebrity Skin' Albums On Vinyl

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 20:43:11 +0000

Multi-Grammy Award-nominated iconic rock band HOLE has announced new physical reissues of its influential first three albums — "Pretty On The Inside", "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin" — out September 18, 2026 via UMe. These records will be available in multiple configurations, including 1LP black vinyl, 1LP exclusive color vinyl, 1LP zoetrope vinyl, CD and more. HOLE's seminal debut "Pretty On The Inside" returns in multiple formats, including a limited 35th-anniversary-edition 2LP "Starbelly Splatter" vinyl available exclusively D2C, featuring new gatefold artwork, a lithograph of a rare band photo, and a newly remastered 12-inch vinyl of the original "Teenage Whore" single complete with bonus tracks "Burn Black" and "Drown Soda". Additional formats include a newly remastered 1LP 180g black vinyl and 1CD. Previously unavailable on streaming platforms, the bonus tracks make their DSP debut alongside the release. "Live Through This" returns newly mastered for vinyl, available as a 1LP 180g black vinyl with the original booklet or a 1LP zoetrope vinyl featuring animated loops drawn from the album's original music videos alongside previously unseen footage from the video shoots with the original booklet. "Celebrity Skin" is also newly mastered for vinyl, available as a 1LP 180g black vinyl and 1LP zoetrope vinyl with animated loops from the album's iconic music videos. In addition, exclusive Record Store Day Essential color vinyl editions of all three albums will be available at independent retail on October 23, 2026. For years, fans have demanded the return of HOLE's long out-of-print catalog to vinyl, and the band have answered the call. To create the definitive editions of "Pretty On The Inside", "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin", HOLE guitarist and co-founder Eric Erlandson personally spearheaded the curation, overseeing every aspect of the reissue project. "Pretty On The Inside" and the original "Teenage Whore" 12-inch single have been newly remastered, while "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin" have been newly mastered for vinyl. Each release also features faithfully reproduced artwork, restored packaging, and sought-after collectible exclusives. Thirty-five years ago, the world officially met HOLE with the arrival of the band's debut, "Pretty On The Inside", in 1991. The original lineup — Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Jill Emery and Caroline Rue — recorded the album at Music Box Studios in Los Angeles with co-producers Don Fleming and Kim Gordon of SONIC YOUTH. To this day, it continues to inspire a cult following, fueled by standout tracks including the title track and "Teenage Whore", which has generated more than 16 million Spotify streams. Then came the platinum-certified "Live Through This". A game-changing sonic exorcism of rock, punk, noise, and pop, the 1994 landmark remains one of the defining albums of its era. With the late Kristen Pfaff on bass and Patty Schemel on drums, HOLE recorded the album at Triclops Sound in Marietta, Georgia alongside producers Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade. Highlighted by "Violet", "Doll Parts", "Jennifer's Body" and "Miss World", it has influenced successive generations while continuing to grow in stature. "Live Through This" appears on countless "Best Of" lists, including Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time", Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" and NME's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". Pitchfork also awarded it a rare perfect 10.0 score. Its influence extends beyond music, inspiring the title of the 2009 cult horror comedy "Jennifer's Body", while Miley Cyrus delivered a celebrated cover of "Doll Parts" on "The Howard Stern Show". HOLE capped off the decade with "Celebrity Skin" in 1998. Welcoming Melissa Auf Der Maur on bass, the group worked with producer Michael Beinhorn at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Upon release, the album debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, was later certified platinum, and earned four Grammy Award nominations, including "Best Rock Album", "Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group" for "Celebrity Skin", as well as "Best Rock Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group" for "Malibu". In a recent retrospective, Pitchfork awarded the album a 9.0 rating, writing, "Though HOLE's sound had expanded, their bite remained razor sharp." Doja Cat has also performed her own rendition of "Celebrity Skin". To date, the album has amassed nearly one billion cumulative streams. In 2026, HOLE's music remains as incendiary, irresistible, and inimitable as ever. There was never a rock band quite like HOLE, and there never will be another. Album track listings "Pretty On The Inside" LP01 - Side A 1. Teenage Whore 2. Babydoll 3. Garbadge Man 4. Sassy 5. Good Sister / Bad Sister LP01 - Side B 1. Mrs. Jones 2. Berry 3. Loaded 4. Starbelly 5. Pretty On The Inside 6. Clouds 12" Bonus Single - Side A 1. Teenage Whore 2. Burn Black 12" Bonus Single - Side B 1. Drown Soda "Live Through This" Side A 1. Violet 2. Miss World 3. Plump 4. Asking For It 5. Jennifer's Body 6. Doll Parts Side B 1. Credit In The Straight World 2. Softer, Softest 3. She Walks On Me 4. I Think That I Would Die 5. Gutless 6. Rock Star "Celebrity Skin" Side A 1. Celebrity Skin 2. Boys On The Radio 3. Hit So Hard 4. Malibu 5. Reasons To Be Beautiful 6. Dying Side B 1. Awful 2. Use Once & Destroy 3. Northern Star 4. Heaven Tonight 5. Playing Your Song 6. Petals

SLADE Guitarist DAVE HILL Shares 'Play It To The Crowd' Single From Upcoming 'Dirty Foot Lane' Solo Album

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 19:14:30 +0000

Dave Hill, founding lead guitarist of SLADE, has released "Play It To The Crowd", the first single from his eagerly anticipated debut solo album, "Dirty Foot Lane", due out October 30. Inspired by the return of live music after the pandemic, the anthemic track celebrates the unique connection between artists and audiences, capturing the excitement, energy and emotion of stepping back on stage. Written during the COVID-19 lockdowns, "Play It To The Crowd" reflects what Hill missed most while the world stood still — the shared energy between performers and their fans. "I wanted to capture what I'd missed most during lockdown — the buzz of performing live and the connection between the band and the audience," says Hill. "It's a two-way process. I wanted the song to sound and feel like a live performance, as though you've just walked into a packed arena and — bang — the band starts playing. That excitement is something you can't replace." The single was developed in collaboration with Hill's longtime musical partner John Berry and producer, songwriter and musician Rob Childs, with contributions and final production and mastering by Django Holder. And, of course, Dave Hill on lead guitar. The result is a powerful arena rock anthem, an uplifting track that recreates the anticipation and exhilaration of a concert night, complete with crowd ambience and handclaps that immerse listeners in the live experience. John takes the thunderous lead vocal, which he does on four of the album's ten tracks, while Hill handles the lead vocal on the remaining six. "Play It To The Crowd" introduces the musical scope of "Dirty Foot Lane", an autobiographical collection of songs inspired by Hill's remarkable journey from his working-class upbringing to international success. Blending hard rock, blues, folk and atmospheric textures, the album explores themes of ambition, family, resilience, mental health, gratitude and a lifelong passion for music. "Dirty Foot Lane" marks an exciting new chapter in Hill's extraordinary career, revealing an artist who remains as creative and passionate as ever after more than five decades at the forefront of British rock. With "Play It To The Crowd", Dave Hill delivers a heartfelt tribute to the performers and audiences who make live music such a powerful shared experience. "Dirty Foot Lane" track listing: 01. Thanks For The Good Times 02. Back In The Air Again 03. Dust My Axe 04. She Had A Troubled Heart 05. Sweet And Tender 06. Fast Train 07. Only Fools And Horses 08. Play It To The Crowd 09. Reasons To Succeed 10. Dirty Foot Lane "Dirty Foot Lane" is a rich, autobiographical collection of songs reflecting a lifetime of music, creativity, and personal discovery. Best known as a founding member of SLADE, Hill steps into a new artistic space with a record that blends rock, blues, folk, and atmospheric soundscapes. The album captures both the energy of his live-performance roots and a more reflective emotional depth shaped by recent years. "Dirty Foot Lane" is deeply rooted in Hill's personal history. The title itself refers to a real place not far from where he grew up and still lives today, underscoring his identity as a true local lad. More than just a location, Dirty Foot Lane serves as the emotional and symbolic heart of the album, representing the center of Hill's family memories and formative experiences. This is an intensely personal body of work, tracing Hill's journey from childhood to global success. The album explores his upbringing, the influence of his parents and family, his early ambition to become a musician, and his rise to international fame. It also addresses more challenging chapters, including struggles with mental health and the profound impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns, ultimately arriving at a place of reflection and appreciation for life. Leading the production is Django Holder, who also plays a key role in engineering and shaping the album's sound. As the son of Noddy Holder, his involvement adds a meaningful generational connection to Hill's musical legacy. A key contributor to the album is Hill's longtime collaborator John Berry, whose career includes work with MUD and THE SWEET. "I've known John for over twenty years," says Hill. "He's incredibly talented, honest, and always gives you his very best. That's invaluable." Berry plays a particularly important role on some of the album's heavier tracks, while Hill performs the majority of the lead vocals. Producer and musician Rob Childs also contributes to the project. Songs like "Play It To The Crowd" and "Back In The Air Again" capture the exhilaration of live performance, written during lockdown as a response to the absence of touring. "I wanted to recreate that feeling of walking into a packed arena — the energy, the buzz, the connection with the audience," Hill explains. In contrast, "Dirty Foot Lane" also explores more personal and complex themes. "She Had A Troubled Heart" stands out as a deeply moving track addressing love, loss, and mental health, inspired by real-life experiences. "It's about what happens when love becomes one-sided," says Hill. "And the impact that can have on people's lives." The album draws on every stage of Hill's journey. "Thanks For The Good Times" serves as a tribute to fans, collaborators, and shared success, while "Reasons To Succeed" reflects his lifelong ambition. "Only Fools And Horses" revisits the unpredictable early days of the music industry, and "Fast Train" captures the intensity of SLADE's rapid rise. Elsewhere, "Dust My Axe" channels a blues-driven response to modern life, while "Sweet And Tender" offers a heartfelt tribute to his mother. The title track, "Dirty Foot Lane", stands as the emotional centerpiece of the record. Reimagined with Django Holder, it blends folk and ambient elements into an intimate, atmospheric soundscape. "It's my story — my family, my home, my journey," Hill says. "Everything connects back to that." Stripped back and deeply expressive, the track encapsulates both the personal and artistic essence of the album. Together, the songs form a narrative that is both intimate and universal, grounded in memory, resilience, and a lifelong passion for music. "Dirty Foot Lane" marks a significant step forward for Dave Hill — an artist still driven by creativity and curiosity after decades in the industry. "I've always been driven," he says. "And I'm still looking for the next challenge. This album is part of that journey." Hill is best known as the lead guitarist of SLADE, one of the U.K.'s most iconic rock bands. With a career spanning over five decades, he continues to record, perform, and connect with audiences worldwide.

LINKIN PARK, SMASHING PUMPKINS And RAMONES To Receive Stars On 'Hollywood Walk Of Fame'

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:40:04 +0000

A new group of entertainment professionals in the categories of Motion Pictures, Television, Live Theatre/Live Performance, Radio, Recording and Sports Entertainment have been selected to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame by the Walk of Fame Selection Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. These honorees were chosen from among hundreds of nominations to the committee at a meeting held on May 15, 2026 and ratified by the Hollywood Chamber's Board of Directors on July 22, 2026. Walk Of Famers Ming-Na Wen and Sheila E. and Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ron Frierson announced the new honorees at a live press conference via www.walkoffame.com on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at Funko Hollywood, located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard. Walk Of Fame selection chairman Peter Roth said: "The Walk Of Fame Selection Committee is proud to welcome the Class of 2027 to one of the most enduring symbols of achievement in entertainment. These 32 extraordinary individuals have each made a lasting impact on audiences around the world through their talent, creativity, and dedication to their craft. We are honored to recognize their remarkable contributions and look forward to celebrating them as they take their place in Hollywood history." The Hollywood Walk Of Fame class of 2027 are: In the category of Motion Pictures: Cheech & Chong, Idris Elba, Sam Elliott, Elle Fanning & Dakota Fanning (double ceremony), Kate Hudson, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell and Ted Sarandos In the category of Television: David Alan Grier, Lisa Kudrow, Bill Lawrence, Pedro Pascal, Adam Scott, Jeff Probst, Keke Palmer, and Raven-Symoné In the category of Recording: Karol G, David Guetta, Waylon Jennings (posthumous), RAMONES, Joseph Saddler (Grandmaster Flash), Marc Shaiman, Sia, SMASHING PUMPKINS, LINKIN PARK and Lil Wayne In the category of Live Theatre/Live Performance: Jo Koy, Nicole Scherzinger and Roberto Bolle In the category of Sports Entertainment: Jimmie Johnson In the category of Radio: Lenard "Charlamagne Tha God" McKelvey The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and its Walk Of Fame Selection Panel congratulate all the honorees. Dates have not been scheduled for these star ceremonies. Recipients have two years to schedule star ceremonies from the date of selection before they expire. Upcoming star ceremonies are usually announced ten days prior to dedication on the official website www.walkoffame.com. The Hollywood Walk Of Fame is a celebration of art, entertainment, and all things Hollywood. Star ceremonies are broadcast worldwide, connecting fans with their favorite artists. The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce administers the Walk Of Fame on behalf of the City of Los Angeles. Honorees are selected by a committee of their peers. Sponsors fund the star, the ceremony, and the maintenance of the legendary attraction. The Walk Of Fame is free to all. To learn more and find your favorite stars, visit walkoffame.com. Founded in 1921, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to advancing the economic vitality, cultural richness, and civic well-being of Hollywood. Representing nearly 700 member organizations that collectively employ more than 148,000 people, the Chamber is Hollywood's largest and most influential business organization. As the leading advocate for Hollywood's business community, the Chamber convenes leaders across industries to champion initiatives that strengthen the local economy, enhance quality of life, and elevate Hollywood's position as the world's premier destination for entertainment, tourism, investment, and innovation. The Chamber is also the proud steward of two of the world's most recognizable cultural landmarks — the iconic Hollywood Walk Of Fame and the legendary Hollywood Sign — preserving and promoting these global symbols on behalf of Hollywood and its residents, businesses, and visitors. Ron Frierson serves as president and chief executive officer, Dan Halden serves as chief operating officer and Jerry Neuman serves as chair of the board for the 2026-2027 term.

KING DIAMOND Parts Ways With Guitarist ANDY LA ROCQUE, Welcomes GUS G. To The Band

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:18:16 +0000

KING DIAMOND has announced the addition of guitar virtuoso Gus G. (FIREWIND, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) to the band's lineup. Gus G. joins as guitarist and will compose, record, and tour with KING DIAMOND going forward, marking an exciting new chapter in the band's storied history. The band extends their deepest gratitude and utmost respect to Andy La Rocque, whose extraordinary 40-year contribution to KING DIAMOND has left a permanent and irreplaceable mark on the band's legacy and on heavy metal as a whole. Andy's musicianship, dedication, and artistry have been an essential part of what makes this band what it is, and that will never be forgotten. Comments KING DIAMOND's namesake frontman: "It's a big honor for me to welcome Gus G. as our new guitarist. Gus will still continue with all his current projects, FIREWIND, solo project, etc. No restrictions, just careful planning. We are already working with Gus and I simply can't wait for you to hear all the new KING DIAMOND music with him playing guitar on it! STAY HEAVY." One of heavy metal's most celebrated and in-demand guitarists, Gus G. — born Konstantinos Karamitroudis in Thessaloniki, Greece — has built one of the most impressive resumes in the genre. As founder and driving force behind FIREWIND for over two decades and ten studio albums, and as Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist from 2009 to 2017 — contributing to the Grammy-nominated album "Scream" (2010) — Gus G. has proven himself to be one of the most versatile and technically gifted players in metal. A celebrated solo artist with six albums to his name, he has also appeared as a guest on records by Bruce Dickinson, ARCH ENEMY, Doro Pesch, IN THIS MOMENT and many more. He has graced the covers of Guitar World, Total Guitar, Metal Hammer and Young Guitar, and earned accolades including Metal Hammer's Golden God Award for "Best Shredder". His addition to KING DIAMOND represents a pairing of two of heavy metal's most iconic forces. King Diamond and Gus G. are already deep in the creative process together, working on what promises to be one of the most anticipated new chapters in the band's career. Fans can expect new music from the full lineup in the future. Stay tuned for further announcements. KING DIAMOND is quite possibly the most recognizable and prolific personality ever in heavy metal. Revered by icons as big as METALLICA and PANTERA and inspiring newer upstarts globally, King Diamond, the man and the band, have left an indelible mark on the history, and now again, the future of heavy metal. In August of 2008, King Diamond joined METALLICA on stage at Ozzfest in Dallas to perform the MERCYFUL FATE medley made famous from the "Garage, Inc." album. Additionally, King Diamond was featured, alongside MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy Kilmister, as a playable character in "Guitar Hero: Metallica" in 2009. By 2012, KING DIAMOND was prepared to return to the stage for a select number of shows. The band's triumphant return were the highlights of both the Hellfest and Sweden Rock festivals in France and Sweden. Fans were treated to the largest and most involved stage production in the band's storied history. KING DIAMOND continued to hit the stage from 2013 to 2018 including performances at Rock Hard Festival (DE), Copenhell (DK), Graspop Metal Meeting (BE), Bloodstock Open Air (UK), Loud Park (JP), Wacken Open Air (DE) and Psycho Las Vegas (US), among many others. In 2019, after the release of KING DIAMOND's first new single in twelve years, "Masquerade Of Madness", the band hit the road with a series of live shows across Europe and North America. In 2024, KING DIAMOND completed a massively successful North American headlining tour, during which they premiered new material live for the first time in years — including the brand-new track "Electro Therapy" — before an ecstatic fanbase. On December 17, 2024, the band released "Spider Lilly", their first new single in five years and the first single and video taken from their forthcoming new horror trilogy, of which part one is titled "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920". Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk and directed by David Brodsky of My Good Eye Visuals — with footage filmed at the notoriously haunted Pennhurst Asylum outside of Philadelphia — the single features a special guest appearance by Danish vocalist Myrkur. Written entirely by King Diamond, "Spider Lilly" was met with an enthusiastic global response, reaffirming the band's place at the forefront of heavy metal and whetting fans' appetites for the full trilogy to come. KING DIAMOND's 40-plus-year musical career is one of the most storied in the history of heavy metal, but the tale is not yet over. The most recent album, 2007's Grammy-nominated "Give Me Your Soul…Please", stands as one of the most critically acclaimed albums in an already iconic discography. Future albums will feature entirely new horror stories, concepts, haunting orchestrations, and the band's signature brand of heavy metal. Many more albums, tours, and ventures lay ahead. KING DIAMOND 2026 is: King Diamond - vocals Gus G. - guitars Mike Wead - guitars Pontus Egberg - bass Matt Thompson - drums Gus G. photo by Akis Douzlatzis

Founding MY DYING BRIDE Members Join Forces In TOWARDS THE SINISTER

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:05:32 +0000

Unceremoniously dismissed in 2025 from the band he co-founded and fronted for 35 years, former MY DYING BRIDE singer Aaron Stainthorpe has returned with TOWARDS THE SINISTER, a new project featuring three of his ex-bandmates, Calvin Robertshaw (guitar), Ade Jackson (bass) and Rick Miah (drums). The new outfit also features second guitarist Chris Revett, keyboardist Mark Deeks and violinist Emma Allington — all with the intent of faithfully paying homage to MY DYING BRIDE's classic first four studio albums of utterly dark, dreary and miserable doom metal. The band's immediate plans include a handful of small warm-up gigs in their native England, accompanied by European festival slots by the time next summer comes around. TOWARDS THE SINISTER brings together key architects of MY DYING BRIDE's classic era to celebrate and resurrect the dark, mournful atmosphere that helped define the death-doom genre. The lineup features Stainthorpe, founding MY DYING BRIDE members Robertshaw and Miah, and original bassist Jackson, performing material drawn primarily from the band's seminal early releases including "As The Flower Withers", "Turn Loose The Swans", "The Angel And The Dark River" and "Like Gods Of The Sun". It is a rare opportunity to witness the musicians who helped create this music returning to the songs that established MY DYING BRIDE as one of the most influential and enduring names in gothic doom metal. Regarding how TOWARDS THE SINISTER came together, Aaron told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "I've not seen Calvin, Rick or Ade for a decade. They don't live a million miles away. I ran into Calvin a couple of times at a festival in Scarborough up the northeast coast called Fortress Fest. I bumped into him a couple of times there, but that's really about it. It was only when, I think, MY DYING BRIDE issued this statement 'firing' me that these guys came out of the shadows with loads of support, which was wonderful. It was great to hear from them. They suggested, 'Let's get together for a drink for old times' sake.' We met in a pub. Martin [Powell], our old violin player, tagged along. Dave Pybus, who used to be in ANATHEMA and worked for Peaceville Records, tagged along. We all had a really good catch-up. It was great fun. This was in October of last year. We didn't discuss anything about reforming. We took a photo of all of us. I popped it on the socials, and that got people talking. And that got us talking. Honestly, we were talking about the old times. The ridiculous times. We did this festival, we did that gig, we got drunk here, we fell over there. It was brilliant. Then we were complaining about arthritic knees and all that stuff. The Internet sort of decided, 'I wonder if they're getting together?' I got messages from Rick and Calvin, saying, 'Should we have another get-together and discuss what the Internet is discussing?' I said, 'All right. Why not?' We got together, and after a few more drinks, we sort of thought about the idea. No single person instigated it. As I said, I think the Internet instigated it. We mulled it over. Could we pull it off? Do we want to, more importantly? Rick was so keen to get behind the drum kit. Chomping at the bit, really. It's been a long time for him. Calvin has had his own project, MANY SUFFER, which is great. You've got to remember: We, back when we were kids, helped write those early MY DYING BRIDE albums. We're on them. We penned them. And we thought, 'Yeah, let's play them again.'" As for which MY DYING BRIDE songs TOWARDS THE SINISTER is planning on performing, Aaron said: "[It will be material from] the first four albums. That's the songs these guys wrote. They're not interested in performing songs they didn't help write. It's the first four-album period, which we'll concentrate on and which is the best period, according to the fans. I don't see it myself; I've been writing MY DYING BRIDE songs for years and years. The rest of the boys, they're not interested in playing stuff they didn't write. The focus is the first four. We'll do all of the classics. Obviously, we can't do them all at the same time, but we have a decent setlist. You know what it's like: There will be people in the audience screaming for songs that aren't in the setlist, but they will be the next time we come around. We plan to play as many of them as we can, even some that have never been played live. We're going to look into all of them." Regarding the possibility of TOWARDS THE SINISTER writing and recording new music, Aaron said: "Yes, there will be new material. Calvin never stops writing. I think he's working on his second MANY SUFFER album, but he has written some stuff that won't fit with MANY SUFFER but will work with us. I don't think MANY SUFFER is a great deal like MY DYING BRIDE; it's certainly more death metal. You have to remember, MY DYING BRIDE did a lot of death metal. It wasn't all doom. A lot of that was Calvin's riffs. We've got some new stuff. Like, a couple of songs that Calvin's mooted to us, saying, 'Would these work?' They're definitely going to work. But we're not in any rush to do that." Last October, MY DYING BRIDE announced that it had officially parted ways with Stainthorpe. The news came less than a year after MY DYING BRIDE recruited singer Mikko Kotamäki (SWALLOW THE SUN) to front the band for its live appearances in 2025 and beyond. At the time of the announcement, MY DYING BRIDE stated about the split with Stainthorpe: "Please understand that this decision does not come lightly, hence our initial and painful silence while we gathered our thoughts and carefully considered our response to the disengaged, eerily abandoned state we suddenly found ourselves in. "Our collective decision to move forward without him is not something we thought we would ever be forced to say, but to ensure a continued legacy for what we hold dear to our hearts, we simply have to move past this. Whilst change can be difficult, we are doing our best to bring this new chapter forward with powerful positivity." MY DYING BRIDE's latest album, "A Mortal Binding" — featuring Stainthorpe on vocals — came out in April 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records. Aaron's recently formed band HIGH PARASITE released its debut album, "Forever We Burn", in September 2024 via Candlelight/Spinefarm. The LP was produced by Gregor Mackintosh of PARADISE LOST. Photo credit: Jonny Hunter

BERNIE MARSDEN: 'Stage' Live Album To Be Released In August

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:54:49 +0000

The fifth and final album in Bernie Marsden's "Inspirations" series, "Stage", will be released on August 21, 2026 through Conquest Music. Available in a limited-edition 2LP, gatefold sleeve set and 2CD deluxe digipack with a 16-page booklet, the album represents the arena where perhaps Bernie shone the brightest — on stage. Marsden's charisma, warmth and, of course, beautiful playing and singing was best demonstrated with the input of an always appreciative audience. "Stage" features four different concerts, with each dedicated a side of vinyl, so the listener can appreciate the different Bernie experiences which were on offer. "The Radcliffe Centre, Buckingham 2008" illustrates a gentle acoustic presentation, complete with strings. "Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea, 2019" has Bernie in full electric mode with a brass accompaniment that swings as the boat sways. "Notodden Blues Festival, Norway, 1996" features a stellar lineup including Snowy White, Tony Ashton, David Levy and Henry Spinetti. "Under The Bridge, London, 2020" sees a full six-piece band and very special guest Joe Bonamassa. As a taster for "Stage", a digital EP is available now and is led by an amazing live version of "Walking By Myself" from the "Under The Bridge" show. Bernie's close friend and collaborator Joe Bonamassa joined him onstage and their guitar duel on this song was jaw dropping. The EP also contains four more live tracks that will not appear on "Stage". EP track listing: 01. Walking By Myself 02. Wheels Within Wheels 03. Hold On (I Feel Our Love Is Changing) 04. Working For The CSA 05. Funny People A crowd shot video was compiled to illustrate the electric performances on "Walking By Myself". Check it out below. Bernie always wore his influences on his sleeve, whether through his live set or on his albums. In addition to 2023's "Working Man", his latest album of original songs, Bernie also released four solo albums with Conquest Music since 2021 in "Kings", "Chess", "Trios" and "Icons" as part of his "Inspirations" series. In these albums, he paid tribute to the artists that helped shape his taste in music and distinctive guitar style. Conquest Music's Alan Bambrough comments: "Bernie Marsden was such a charismatic and witty person. In his understated way, he would manage to have any audience engaged and involved within a couple of songs. We felt that his 'Inspirations' series would be incomplete without including a glimpse of that magic that he conjured up on stage. There were so many great live recordings in his archive that it was tough to limit the album to just two discs sampling four different shows." The booklet with the CD includes some very moving sleeve notes from Steelhouse Festival founders Max Rhead and Mikey Evans. The "Stage" album can be pre-ordered from the special Bernie Marsden shop. Each order will also include an exclusive free Collectors' Card. It is also available from your usual retail outlets and streamed on the digital platforms. "Stage" album track listing: LP Side A 1. Till The Day I Die 2. The Time Is Right For Love 3. Out On The Western Plains 4. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City LP Side B 1. Boss Of The Blues 2. Reconsider Baby 3. Watch Out 4. Worried Life Blues LP Side C 1. Down Home Blues 2. I'm Tore Down 3. Love That Burns 4. Oh Well LP Side D 1. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues 2. I'll Play The Blues For You 3. Walking By Myself Marsden was one of the U.K.'s foremost rock and blues guitarists, famous for his time in professional bands since 1972 and a founding member of one of the biggest rock acts of all time, the mighty WHITESNAKE. But there was a lot more to this man, from his first band UFO to treading the boards of the National Theatre in London, on stage with Ringo Starr in Monaco, playing the Beacon Theatre in New York with THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, writing and playing with Joe Bonamassa and MOTÖRHEAD. His long-term friendships with so many top names in the guitar business, Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, Warren Haynes, as well as rejoining the new WHITESNAKE lineup of recent years and a solo career kept him both on the road and in the studio. He became interested in guitars as a teenager watching THE BEATLES, his fascination continued to his final days. Bernie also developed one of the most unique and expansive private guitar collections in the world. At a rough guesstimate, Marsden's name appears on a hundred albums — maybe more. In addition to a long-running solo career, the Buckinghamshire-born guitarist had been a recording musician since the early 1970s via membership of such groups as WHITESNAKE, UFO, WILD TURKEY, BABE RUTH, PAICE ASHTON & LORD, COZY POWELL'S HAMMER, ALASKA, M3 and many more. Though there's a tendency to pigeonhole him as a blues-rock guitarist, each of Marsden's acts had its own individual flavor.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD Surprise Releases New Four-Song EP, 'Statica'

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:22:39 +0000

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has surprise released a new four-song EP, "Statica". The effort, which consists of the tracks "Lights", "Statica", "Rejoice" and "Ashes", follows up the band's 2023 album "Life Is But A Dream…" and the standalone single "Magic", which dropped in December as part of Black Ops 7 Season 1 biggest seasonal content drop in "Call Of Duty" history. The "Statica" EP has a running time of 18 minutes and 7 seconds, and sees the band breaking new musical ground by employing robotic vocals, sci-fi synths and electronic dance beats. AVENGED SEVENFOLD has yet to publicly comment on "Statica"'s release, which was once again made available fully independently, continuing the ambition of the band's current work. "Life Is But A Dream…" was written and recorded over the span of four years. It was produced by Joe Barresi and AVENGED SEVENFOLD in Los Angeles and mixed by Andy Wallace in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. The album is a journey through an existential crisis; a very personal exploration into the meaning, purpose and value of human existence with the anxiety of death always looming. AVENGED SEVENFOLD and GOOD CHARLOTTE will join together this summer for a North American tour. Promoted by Live Nation, the 16-city trek will kick off July 25 in Ridgedale, Missouri, with additional stops in Shakopee, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, and more before wrapping August 27 at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Last September, AVENGED SEVENFOLD postponed its fall 2025 Latin American tour due to M. Shadows's vocal injury. The band was scheduled to to kick off the tour on September 25, 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina but ended up calling off the trek after M. Shadows was diagnosed with vocal fold hematoma, a condition where a blood vessel in the vocal cord ruptures and leaks blood under the lining of the vocal cord. "Life Is But A Dream…" reportedly sold 36,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. AVENGED SEVENFOLD's previous LP, "The Stage", debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart in November 2016. The surprise release of "The Stage" earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in eleven years. It sold 76,000 copies in its first week, less than half the tally of its previous two efforts. This past March, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance (real name Zachary Baker) spoke to the Nik Nocturnal Podcast about the band's musical evolution leading up to "Life Is But A Dream...". He said in part: "We always lean into heavy music, 'cause that's just what we love; it's in our DNA. But being huge fun fans of bands like [MR.] BUNGLE —I mean, just anything, really, anything. I love Western music. Matt [singer M. Shadows; real name Matthew Sanders] loves DAFT PUNK. Brian [guitarist Synyster Gates, real name Brian Haner Jr.] loves different pop bands. We love everything, and everyone's different. And so we just incorporate kind of everything, but our core DNA, from when we were 14 years old, it's METALLICA, PANTERA, BAD RELIGION, MISFITS, punk rock stuff, AFI, all the stuff we grew up really loving. That's always gonna be there. So we always kind of go back to that. And then we push the limits, we expand, we incorporate all sorts of shit — basically, anything that's gonna piss off fans and get their minds working in no matter what direction it is." He added later during the chat: "We still try and push the boundaries, and people are, like, 'Fuck this. Fuck this band.' And it's been like that every single album ever. And the funniest part is we did not have a blueprint. We wanted to be a hardcore band. I wanted to be a punk band. Then we wanted to be a metal band. Then we wanted to do GUNS N' ROSES rock shit. And then we wanted to be MR. BUNGLE. We wanted to be influenced by DREAM THEATER. It was just like anything and everything. Whoever was driving the van [in the band's early days] had control of the tape deck, and they would put the cassette tape in of what they wanted to listen to and torture us for the next 10 hours of a drive. And that's literally what shaped our sound. It was everyone adding their influence of what they wanted AVENGED to be and what they thought it should be, and respecting everyone else's opinions, and we put it all together. We didn't know what we were doing. And we just took it and ran with it, and people would love it, they would hate it. And all of a sudden it became kind of accepted as its own genre, because people that liked THE USED or liked MY CHEM[ICAL ROMANCE], it was okay to like us, or [people that] liked THRICE or AFI, it was okay to like us. And then the hardcore bands like EIGHTEEN VISIONS and BLEEDING THROUGH, they were kind, like, taking us under their wing too, and, like, 'Hey, it's okay for us to like you guys. We don't wanna beat you up anymore. This shit's cool.' And then, all of a sudden, it was just, like, off to the races. It was a weird thing. You went on Warped Tour, you played the best shows you could, the shows started getting bigger, you went from clubs to bigger clubs. And before you knew it, it was, like, MTV [picked up on it]."

NONPOINT Drops Two Versions Of New Single 'Red Yeti' From Upcoming 'The Last Word' Album

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:58:59 +0000

NONPOINT has unleashed a double release of its new single, "Red Yeti", offering fans two distinct versions of the track which will appear on NONPOINT's eleventh studio album, "The Last Word", due on September 18, 2026 via the band's independent record label 361 Degrees Records LLC. The first version showcases NONPOINT on its own and is available as an instant-gratification track with the album pre-save. Released simultaneously, a version of "Red Yeti" featuring Skye Sweetnam of SUMO CYCO delivers a collaborative take on the song, bringing Sweetnam's unmistakable energy and vocal presence into the mix. The two versions offer different perspectives on the same explosive new song while kicking off the next chapter of NONPOINT's ongoing evolution. Already making an impact at Active Rock radio, "The Last Word"'s first single, "Is It", was the No. 1 Most Added track when it came out and has quickly climbed into the Top 50 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart. NONPOINT singer Elias Soriano commented: "In a world that sometimes wants to put a timestamp on creativity, 'The Last Word' is our way of saying we're just getting started. We're pushing back against expectation and pushing forward into our own next chapter." Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "Is It", Elias said: "'Is It' is that internal conflict where you question getting too involved? Did I push too hard? Did I ask too much? It's that feeling of wondering if doing what you thought was right actually meant hurting the people around you." Elias explained the bold concept behind his design imagery on the cover, saying: "This album cover tells a piece of our story. After years of making music, we feel more aligned than ever — musically, visually, and creatively. We're writing some of the strongest material of our career, our live shows are as powerful as they've ever been, and the band feels focused and energized. The pencil on the cover represents what it's like to be handed one last tool and expected to fit everything you have left to say into it. Not because the ideas are gone, but because longevity often comes with assumptions and limits. 'The Last Word' isn't about accepting an ending. It's about challenging that narrative. If this is the pencil we're being handed, we're going to use it — and make sure the words written with it still matter." This past March, Soriano told Super Cool Radio about the musical direction of NONPOINT's upcoming full-length album: "The overall vibe of the record is very, very heavy, very, very new feeling, especially with the addition of Jason [Zeilstra, guitar], addition of some of the textures and layers that we're playing with sonically just in the general mix of our music, keys and strings and stuff that we played with on our [2018] 'X' record that we fooled around with a little bit during the 'Heartless' [2023] and 'Ruthless' [2021] era. So, we're really gonna bring all those in the fold. But I think I took steps way, way back and really started to pay attention to what people were asking of me of the collabs that I was doing with them and having that epiphany of, 'Hey, maybe this is what people wanna see me do more on my record. So let me lean in that direction' and go really back to basics and go back to a lot of my cadence play, a lot of my lyric play, a lot of metaphors and double and triple entendres and things that make people hopefully want to re-listen and dig in and find a meaning in there somewhere." He added: "It's all fun and games and great in the pit, and I love to excite people with trigger words, but at the end of the day, I want them to read further and have their own epiphanies." Elias also talked about the NONPOINT songwriting process, explaining: "Well, from what the guys usually send, there's a song in there within the song. Sometimes it's just there. When it comes to what I see and what I translate into a song and lyrics and meaning, [it] usually comes from how the music paints itself in the room mood-wise — [how] aggressive [it is], how much of a rollercoaster it is. If it's more linear, then that's where I have to be the rollercoaster. If I can't find something that's more, maybe it rests on me to do that. So I like to allow the players and the other guys in the band to play and write stuff that they like themselves… That way they spend all the time, beat their heads against the wall, rewrite the riff a dozen times, and then finally get to this point. And then sometimes what they feel like might be a verse, may feel like a chorus to me, and I write a vocal line over top of it that, [which] now has them flipping their thinking on what they wrote because they expected it to be a chorus. There's this dance that comes with, 'Hey, write whatever you wanna write. But at the end of the day, it's my turn next to then be inspired by it enough to then lay something down that feels even exciting for me to wanna present.' And sometimes in its first incarnation, it doesn't always present itself that way. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it's just, like, 'Yeah, that's a verse. Yeah, that's a chorus.' It's really letting the current kind of take things where they're gonna go, and then me just steer to the most beautiful shore I can find." Also in March, Elias told Rev. Tom Brice of Sportzwire Radio about his expectations for NONPOINT's upcoming full-length album: "I think people are gonna have fun with it. It's different than what's on the radio. It's different than what people are dropping right now. It's not what anybody else is doing. That's the best way I can describe it. It's NONPOINT. It's NONPOINT and it's only NONPOINT." Soriano also talked about how he feels about the supposed nu metal resurgence in recent years, partly thanks to a whole new wave of exciting revivalists. He said: "I think people remember how fun it was back then. The music right now leans — it's decorating a time that's kind of sad. There's a lot of struggle and a lot of money problems in the world and war problems in the world, and mental health because of post-pandemic generation, and that is what paints new inspiration. So music, I think people are starting to remember, is for getting away from all that. So when you go to the playlist to find something, a lot of it doesn't inspire you to get creative, to get out of your funk, all that stuff. And sometimes you just wanna do it all for the nookie, you know what I'm saying? Gimme something to break. Put that fucking finger up your ass. That kind of whole time of music in the early 2000s was a spectrum of power and excess. I think fans and everybody, we all miss that. So, we definitely are trying to bring that back to this new music." Elias added: "I think people are gonna hear our new record and they're gonna have fun. I really feel like they're gonna have fun again, in the way that we intend it to be, I feel, which is empowering, which is retrospective, which is painted with a little bit of self-awareness, a little self-growth and then some initiative and drive and motivation peppered throughout." NONPOINT is: Elias Soriano (Lead Vocals) Robb Rivera (Drums) Rasheed Thomas (Guitar, Backing Vocals) Adam Woloszyn (Bass) Jason Zeilstra (Lead Guitar) Photo credit: Drew Johnston