QUIET RIOT’s Frankie Banali is recovering at home after recently suffering a stroke.

Banali, who has been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer for the past 16 months, offered an update on his health status in a social media post earlier tonight (Friday, August 14). He wrote: “Update: I spent the last three weeks in the hospital. Home now. Had two blood transfusions. I also had a stroke while there. I am rehabbing at home. Thank you for your concern and well wishes.”

Banali was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 2019 after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas.

He has been in treatment since the spring of last year and recently completed his 21st round of chemotherapy with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer.

In early June, Banali told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation” about his cancer battle: “I’m still fighting the good fight. I’m still doing the chemotherapy. I switched to a different chemotherapy a few months ago. And the side effects on this one are pretty brutal, and they pretty much last into the next round of chemo. So you kind of don’t get a break for about three weeks, and then you get about maybe 10 days off, and then the cycle starts again. But it’s part of what I’m doing.”

Asked if doctors are seeing positive results from the chemotherapy, Banali replied: “It really depends on any given cycle, whether things are going up or whether things are reducing. The situation that I’m in is not a sprint, really — it is the longest race I can possibly make out of my situation. So you have to be really, really careful how you read into some of these things, because something can look elevated, but then if you look at a scan — one of my internal scans — it’s not as bad as the numbers say. But it’s a deadly disease — there’s no question about it — and I know that that’s what eventually is gonna kill me. In the meantime, I’m just trying to put that day off as far back as I possibly can.”

Banali also talked about how his latest chemotherapy sessions caused him to lose his trademark hair. He said: “I knew that when we were switching from the first chemo formula that we were doing for almost a year to the new chemo formula, I knew in advance that the different formula was really gonna wipe out the hair. So right now you probably wouldn’t recognize me because not only did it take all the hair on the top of my head, but it took my beard, my eyebrows, my eyelashes. Let me put it to you this way: I have just really improved my Olympic swimming chances with the loss of body hair.”

Banali went public with his diagnosis last October, writing in a social media post that the cancer treatment had forced him to miss several live shows with the band. He was replaced at those gigs by either Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician’s availability.

QUIET RIOT’s shows last year with Kelly and Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup: Banali, singer Kevin DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Rudy Sarzo.

Banali played his first show with QUIET RIOT since he announced his cancer diagnosis in October at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The drummer resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of founding member DuBrow.

QUIET RIOT’s latest studio album, “Hollywood Cowboys” was released in November via Frontiers Music Srl.

Our cooped up correspondent pecks on the old school and the new school in extreme metal this week.
The post For Those About to Squawk: Waldo Pecks on Necrot, Incantation and Venom appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH), Biff Byford (SAXON), Gilby Clarke (GUNS N’ ROSES), David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Frank Bello (ANTHRAX), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Stephen Perkins (JANE’S ADDICTION) and Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE) are among the rockers who have reacted on social media to the passing of iconic bass player Pete Way.

The founder of UFO, WAYSTED and, more recently, THE PETE WAY BAND died earlier today (Friday, August 14) at the age of 69. He sustained life-threatening injuries in an accident two months ago but fought hard until finally succumbing to those injuries at 11.35 a.m. BST. His wife, Jenny, was at his side.

Way was a much-loved and highly regarded figure among rock fans, critics and fellow musicians alike. Best known for his work with UFO, Pete’s energetic live performances were at the heart of the band’s countless world tours. His melodic bass lines underpinned the catalog of enduring rock classics upon which UFO’s reputation and legacy were founded. Pete’s post-UFO work included collaborating with “Fast” Eddie Clarke from MOTÖRHEAD — the two putting together FASTWAY with HUMBLE PIE drummer Jerry Shirley — and playing bass for his longtime friend Ozzy Osbourne. He then put together his own band WAYSTED. Pete’s keen ear for song arrangements have also seen him serve as producer for popular hard rock acts such as TWISTED SISTER and the COCKNEY REJECTS.

Pete had recently finished a solo album, “Walking On The Edge”, with producer Mike Clink (GUNS N’ ROSES’ “Appetite For Destruction”, among many more). He had a biography published, “A Fast Ride Out Of Here”, in 2017, and an album, “Amphetamine”, which is currently out on Cargo Records.

Way had dealt with a number of health issues in recent years. In 2016, he suffered a heart attack, two years after he was given the all-clear following a battle with prostate cancer with which he was diagnosed in 2013. Way was diagnosed during a routine check on his liver, which had been damaged over the years through hepatitis. The abdominal scan picked up the tumor on his prostate.

Pete is survived by two daughters, Zowie and Charlotte, and his younger brother, Neill.

Image credit: Denim And Blether

“Oh my Dear Pete
You have left us.
I am so sad.
Your sweet existence has left us. I am in tears.
You were more than you…

Posted by Michael Schenker on Friday, August 14, 2020

This year keeps getting worse. Pete Way, one of the “characters” of metal and fellow @AVFCOfficial supporter has passed. He supported Deadland Ritual on the show in London. Very funny man. RIP Pete. pic.twitter.com/HtX2Iu152T
— Geezer Butler (@geezerbutler) August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way.. Thank you for inspiring me to always give it my all as a bass player-and being so great to me every time we saw each other. You will be missed..#peteway #ufo #legend #bass #inspiration https://t.co/cd4yISoJL0
— FrankBello (@TheFrankBello) August 14, 2020

We lost a legend today, #peteway you will always be the Coolest Rock Star ufo_band_official petewayofficial @ironmaiden @eddietrunk #onlyyoucanrockme https://t.co/9OJCuNNSoJ
— Charlie Benante (@skisum) August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way ⁦@UFO_rockband⁩ ~Lights Out -but still shining pic.twitter.com/oNINHCg1ig
— Stephen Perkins (@stephenperkins) August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way. So influential. Sad news. #rippeteway #ufo pic.twitter.com/ptvpR9jDsL
— Todd Dammit Kerns (@todddammitkerns) August 14, 2020

Rest In Peace Pete Way of UFO.
UFO was a huge influence on me. Played their songs repeatedly in my teenage bands and I have a white Gibson Thunderbird bass because of this guy. He and Michel Schenker together in the classic lineup were magic. Absolutely gutted! @PeteWayOfficial https://t.co/ySTHSCvbG5

— Andrew Freeman (@AndruFreeman) August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way. one of my favorite & coolest looking bass players ever. If I played bass I would play a Thunderbird on my knees also. thanks for all those great UFO records. Pete Way may u find peace with your Lights… https://t.co/zXYsjkQQrk
— Gilby Clarke (@gilbyclarke) August 14, 2020

Sad to hear of Pete’s passing I’ve known him a long time brill bass player lovely man and funny as hell a big inspiration for many musicians myself included RIP
biffx

Posted by The Real Biff Byford on Friday, August 14, 2020

View this post on Instagram

Very sad to hear of the passing of Pete Way today. The “Strangers In The Night” live album is hands-down one of my all-time favorites, and for me the highlight of the UFO lineup of that day. Pete and his girlfriend actually came to see Megadeth on the Clash of the Titans tour at the Birmingham NEC Arena in 1990 where Dave Mustaine and I had a brief conversation with him just before we took the stage that evening. It’s always impactful to know your heroes are in the audience for your show, the same way I was for his show with Waysted opening for Iron Maiden several years before at Irvine Meadows, CA. Pete’s look, his style, and his simple but powerful bass lines were a highly influential force to my own playing. He will be dearly missed….RIP! #ufo #peteway #waysted
A post shared by David Ellefson (@davidellefsonbass) on Aug 14, 2020 at 1:52pm PDT

The news none of us ever wanted to hear.
R.I.P. Pete.

Posted by UFO on Friday, August 14, 2020

Rest in Peace, Pete Way
– from your friends Cheap Trick pic.twitter.com/D34JJ6qD9S

— Cheap Trick (@cheaptrick) August 14, 2020

We are saddened to hear the news of our friend Pete Ways passing this morning.
Our condolences and thoughts are with Pete’s family & loved ones.

Biff, Paul, Nigel, Nibbs & Doug. pic.twitter.com/gQ9EvABTeH

— Saxon (@SaxonOfficial) August 14, 2020

Sad to hear one of my favorite bass players, Pete Way from UFO died today. UFOs live album “Strangers in The Night” is one of the best and I’m grateful that record helped me grow up in music and as a guitar player. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/7v6dK185PL
— Mike McCready (@MikeMcCreadyPJ) August 14, 2020

@FTMSeattle, my UFO tribute band, has played over 17 years raising money and awareness for Camp Oasis for kids with #CrohnsAndColitis. Stone and I have had many conversations over the years of our love for UFO. Pete was essential and will be missed. RIP 2/2
— Mike McCready (@MikeMcCreadyPJ) August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way. Have known Pete for years and worked with him when we were in a band together called ‘Damage Control’ with Robin George pic.twitter.com/sH9nTQV9Ez
— THE CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE (@SladeTimeline) August 14, 2020

Rest in Peace #peteway #UFO ufo_band_official Terrible News!! I know we All loved Him!!! My Fave Bassist in Classic Rock.. Coolist,& Raddest,Most Fashionista Bassist from the true rock days!!! Thoughts & Prayers to… https://t.co/WPlQMoiQDt
— BulletBoys (@TheBulletBoys) August 14, 2020

Our Sincere Condolences go out to Pete’s Family and Friends
Peter Way – 7 August 1951 – 14 August 2020. R.I.P.?
was an…

Posted by Girlschool on Friday, August 14, 2020

Iconic bass player, and a true rock’n’roll madman by all accounts. I can highly recommend his autobiography “A fast ride…

Posted by Michael Amott on Friday, August 14, 2020

Pete Way . UFO . Rest in Peace .

Posted by Simon Wright on Friday, August 14, 2020

Rest easy Pete, whenever I was in your company you always made me laugh !!

Posted by Ricky Warwick on Friday, August 14, 2020

RIP Pete Way Official

“I’m very sad today. My pal Pete Way has died. He was my hero when I was a kid I wanted to be…

Posted by Tesla the Band on Friday, August 14, 2020

I’m saddened to hear about the passing of Pete Way. He was a huge inspiration to Nikki Sixx, as well as many others!!!!…

Posted by John Corabi on Friday, August 14, 2020

View this post on Instagram

Pete Way was a huge influence on me , he was uncompromising musically , and he was a great performer . He had a unique feel and wrote some of my all time fave songs . My heart goes out to all his friends and family . PETE WAY R.I.P. ! ? #peteway ?by @rosshalfin
A post shared by Kirk Hammett (@kirkhammett) on Aug 14, 2020 at 2:39pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

RIP Rockstar. One of my main influences. Gotta go listen to some UFO tonight. Posted ? @withregram • @rosshalfin Pete Way RIP…. It is with the greatest of sadness I post this. Of all the people I’ve known and toured with, in his day Pete was the most fun and he remained a good friend. ‘Light’s Out In London’ really says it all. #rosshalfin #peteway #ufo
A post shared by Nikki Sixx (@nikkisixxpixx) on Aug 14, 2020 at 1:15pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Now we lose Pete Way, bass player and legend from one of the greatest bands of all time, UFO. Sad sad day. Time to go rage Rock Bottom, Doctor Doctor, let it roll, Mother Mary, reasons love, ect. FUCK! RIP, and 2020 go fuck yourself
A post shared by Gary Holt (@garyholt_official) on Aug 14, 2020 at 2:28pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

So sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Pete Way. He was the prototype badass early hard rock / metal bassist who surely inspired the likes of guys like Steve Harris and @nikkisixxpixx. UFO’s Strangers In The Night remains one of my favorite live albums of all time. #RIPPeteWay @petewayofficial @ufo_rockband
A post shared by Mike Portnoy (@mikeportnoy) on Aug 14, 2020 at 1:09pm PDT

During an appearance on the latest episode of “Ned’s Coffee & Quarantine”, which airs on Iowa’s Rock 108 radio station, STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos was asked when the last time was that he had a clean-shaven face. He responded (see video below): “As far as the beard, I think I started growing it in ’97, ’98, maybe. Obviously, once I hit puberty, I never had a clean-shaven face — ’cause I always had a moustache — but I shaved the moustache once. It’s funny, ’cause my baby sister had never seen me without my moustache, and I think she was, like, nine or 10 when I said, ‘Fuck it! Let me shave off the moustache.’ And she flipped out, like, ‘What the fuck? Who is this? What did you do to your face?’ And it was funny, ’cause I had this white strip of untanned skin, and I was, like, ‘Oh, I’m never doing this again.’ [Laughs] It was literally a strip of white. And I was, like, ‘Oh, man. This is dumb. I’m not doing this again.’ So, yeah, no more clean-shaven face for this guy.”

When host Ned told Tony that his beard has become his trademark, Campos said: “I don’t know. The beard, I have to give credit or responsibility — whatever you wanna say — I’ve gotta that to [SLAYER’s] Kerry King. He told me how to grow the beard. ‘Cause before I took his advice, it wasn’t like [it is right now] — it was a little smaller and a little shorter up front. Of all places, we were backstage at a QUEENSRŸCHE show — they were playing the House Of Blues in Anaheim. And we were both hanging out backstage. And he taps me on the shoulder. I was, like, ‘Hey, Kerry, what’s up?’ He was, like, ‘You’re growing that wrong.’ ‘Really?’ He was, like, ‘You’ve gotta grow it from back here.’ [points to the back of his chin] ‘Cause at that point, I was only growing it from the edge of my chin. He was, like, ‘No. You’ve gotta grow it from back here, down by your throat.’ I was, like, ‘Oh! Okay.’ So I took his advice, and here we go. So when people say I look like Kerry King, I say it’s his fault. He told me how to grow the fucking thing. So take it up with him. If he didn’t want me looking like him, he wouldn’t have gave me the fucking advice.”

STATIC-X released a new album called “Project Regeneration Vol. 1” in July. The first of two volumes features 12 brand new tracks, containing many of the final vocal performances and musical compositions of late STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static, along with the original “Wisconsin Death Trip” lineup of Campos, drummer Ken Jay, and guitarist Koichi Fukuda. Both volumes are being worked on by longtime STATIC-X producer Ulrich Wild.

Glory, Glory! The Vile Creature interactive live stream adventure/performance goes TONIGHT!
The post Ontario doom-duo Vile Creature host interactive record-release concert tonight! appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Iconic bass player Pete Way, founder of UFO, WAYSTED and, more recently, THE PETE WAY BAND, has died at the age of 69. He sustained life-threatening injuries in an accident two months ago but fought hard until finally succumbing to those injuries at 11.35 a.m. BST today (Friday, August 14). His wife, Jenny, was at his side.

Way was a much-loved and highly regarded figure among rock fans, critics and fellow musicians alike. Best known for his work with UFO, Pete’s energetic live performances were at the heart of the band’s countless world tours. His melodic bass lines underpinned the catalog of enduring rock classics upon which UFO’s reputation and legacy were founded. Pete’s post-UFO work included collaborating with “Fast” Eddie Clarke from MOTÖRHEAD — the two putting together FASTWAY with HUMBLE PIE drummer Jerry Shirley — and playing bass for his longtime friend Ozzy Osbourne. He then put together his own band WAYSTED. Pete’s keen ear for song arrangements have also seen him serve as producer for popular hard rock acts such as TWISTED SISTER and the COCKNEY REJECTS.

Pete had recently finished a solo album, “Walking On The Edge”, with producer Mike Clink (GUNS N’ ROSES’ “Appetite For Destruction”, among many more). He had a biography published, “A Fast Ride Out Of Here”, in 2017, and an album, “Amphetamine”, which is currently out on Cargo Records.

Way had dealt with a number of health issues in recent years. In 2016, he suffered a heart attack, two years after he was given the all-clear following a battle with prostate cancer with which he was diagnosed in 2013. Way was diagnosed during a routine check on his liver, which had been damaged over the years through hepatitis. The abdominal scan picked up the tumor on his prostate.

In a 2016 interview with Classic Rock, Way admitted that he “shoved half of South America” up his nose for the best part of three decades.

“I only have myself to blame,” he said. “I put my heart under a lot of strain. I know that.”

Still, Way said that he wouldn’t go back and alter anything about his experiences.

“Look, I have no regrets,” he said. “I can’t have any regrets. I’ve had a brilliant life. I wouldn’t want to change a thing.”

Pete is survived by two daughters, Zowie and Charlotte, and his younger brother, Neill.

If you’re looking for epic, pagan-inspired metal that you can still take seriously, then Havukruunu has the album for you.
The post Havukruunu Wages the War of Their Hearts appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Nikki Sixx says that he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves as a bass player.

The MÖTLEY CRÜE rocker addressed his standing on the list of low-end masters who seem to fall through the cracks of too many bass conversations while answering questions on Twitter.

Asked by one follower to name “the most underrated bass player ever,” Sixx replied simply: “Me”.

In a 2015 interview with For Bass Players Only, Sixx said that he was “drawn to the simplicity” of a bass guitar as a songwriter. “I love basically writing in the simplest form, and then I figure out what that means — ‘Is this a ballad? Is this a pop song? Is this a heavy metal song?'” he explained. “A lot of time some of our songs, our heavier songs, I’ll play them acoustically when I’m writing and really make sure that the melody line is really worked out, just acoustically and then get into the rough ‘n’ tumble of it. But a song has to be hummable and memorable at it simplest form, and that’s what bass does for me. I feel like the glue to everything.”

Asked where he finds your spot within what guitarist Mick Mars and drummer Tommy Lee are doing in MÖTLEY CRÜE, Nikki said: “I feel my spot is somewhere between a bass player and a rhythm guitar player. I play with a pick. I play very aggressively. I always have a distortion pedal in line, and I play less melodies and do more stuff against the guitars that create melodies. Song is king for me, so as long as the song is soaring, I’m in my pocket, and then I figure out what I can do to make the song better. In a song like ‘Too Young To Fall In Love’, for example, the bass moves from the A to the G to the F, and then towards the end it does the A to the B to the C and it walks up — the same melody line but we just kind of wrap it around a different way. It’s those simple little things that are what people remember.”

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “The Stadium Tour” with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS ” was originally scheduled to take place this summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

Me
— Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) August 14, 2020