Month: March 2021

For the first time ever, Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM are selling an official range of branded socks. The socks offer slight compression paired with CHILDREN OF BODOM’s original album graphics.

A short video of CHILDREN OF BODOM drummer Jaska Raatikainen “testing” the band’s new socks can be seen below.

Former CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho passed away on December 29, 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. The 41-year-old had reportedly suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Alexi and Jaska founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, to be released in April.

Raatikainen, Henri “Henkka T. Blacksmith” Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) announced their departures from CHILDREN OF BODOM in October 2019. Two months later, they confirmed that they were the rightful owners of the CHILDREN OF BODOM brand.

CHILDREN OF BODOM’s last album, “Hexed”, came out in March 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records.

In a new interview with Tom Leu of the “Sound Matters” show, former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate was asked which album from his career he thinks is the best representation of who he is as a singer, songwriter and an overall artist. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Wow, that’s a tough one. I’m really, really partial to the last album that QUEENSRŸCHE did together with me [2011’s ‘Dedicated To Chaos’]. That album had something incredibly special about it. It was an album that everybody in the band contributed so much to, and we were really in a high-level writing mode at the time. And I love the way the album sounds. I think Kelly Gray did an amazing job on the production on that record. And I think it’s a well-rounded record; it has a lot of different kinds of songs on it. It shows the depth of the writing of the band, and really where we were at that point.”

Other members of QUEENSRŸCHE have disputed Tate’s claim that “Dedicated To Chaos” was a collaborative effort, with guitarist Michael Wilton telling Guitar World magazine in 2011 that he and his bandmates ” had a couple of different ideas” for the direction of the album, “and then the lead singer kind of changed the direction” of the sessions. Wilton added that his contributions to the LP were done “kind of through the mail.”

Guitarist Parker Lundgren has also been critical of “Dedicated To Chaos”, saying that “it almost felt like there was a battle between what songs to use, mainly the producers. It was almost like they wanted to cut the band out of it, even being a part of the process. That’s how I felt. There were songs that ended up on the record that I never even heard. The record comes out and I’m, like, ‘I never heard that song when we were in the studio.’ It was just bizarre.”

Bassist Eddie Jackson has previously said that “Dedicated To Chaos” was QUEENSRŸCHE’s “most criticized effort to date. It was not well received,” he said. “This was a band direction Geoff Tate insisted on taking even though the rest of us had disagreed.”

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Jackson responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums “Operation: Mindcrime” and “Operation: Mindcrime II” in their entirety live.

QUEENSRŸCHE has released three albums thus far with Tate’s replacement, ex-CRIMSON GLORY frontman Todd La Torre — 2013’s “Queensrÿche”, 2015’s “Condition Hüman” and 2019’s “The Verdict”.
Listen to “107: Geoff Tate from Queensryche & Sweet Oblivion” on Spreaker.

In a new interview with Forbes, Sammy Hagar admitted that he hasn’t been very prolific during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I have a million ideas,” he said. “But I’m having a hard time with lyrics because I’m not a negative person and there’s so many negative things. It seems like a negative time and I don’t like to write about that. I really don’t like writing about being locked down. So with my band we did the ‘Lockdown Sessions’ of cover songs, one new song. And that’s about as creative as I’ve been on that level.”

He continued: “What I’ve done is I’ve turned this time off into being able to deal with all of my different business ventures that sometimes get neglected. Other people have to do the work. They call me up and say, ‘What do you want to do about this?’ I say, ‘I don’t know. I don’t have time for that.’ ‘Then why’d you start the damn business?’ ‘Cause I’m an idiot.’ [Laughs] You give me five minutes off and I start a new business. So I really have been massaging all those things and being able to do stuff like this for Beach Bar Rum and for my Santo Tequila and for my Cabo Wabo Cantina. All these places needed attention. I really focused and have got so much done. [But] I’m so happy to start touring again and tell all these people, ‘I don’t have time for that today. I got a show tonight.'”

SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE released their massively popular “Lockdown Sessions” as an album collection titled “Lockdown 2020” on January 8.

“Lockdown Sessions” began in March 2020, when the COVID-19 shelter-at-home order went into effect. With time on their hands and their upcoming tour in limbo, the band’s legendary drummer Jason Bonham challenged Hagar, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson to record a warmup jam they’d been playing backstage before concerts for several years. Equipped with iPhones and their respective instruments, they each laid down their individual tracks from the den, music room, closet and even showers of their homes, and “Funky Feng Shui” and the band’s “Lockdown Sessions” were born.

“When we first start doing these lockdown sessions, it was only meant to stay in touch with the fans until we could get back out on the road again,” Hagar explained. “But as the weeks and months drew on, it also became a fun way to keep the band together, musically and creatively.”

Over the next eight months, their “Lockdown Sessions” became a hit with critics and fans alike, producing 10 tracks and reaching an online audience approaching 30 million. The sessions gave the band the opportunity to throw down raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they’d jammed to backstage but never planned to record, including THE WHO’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”, AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and more. When plans for an album came to fruition around the holidays, the band came together to record one more track, a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” which they’d offer as an instant download or single purchase.

“With the addition of ‘Heroes’, it made sense to help those who are struggling from the effects of COVID-19,” Hagar said. “It probably wouldn’t have happened without it.”

Ted Nugent says that Donald Trump came up with the title of his next studio album.

The outspoken conservative rocker, who was a fervent supporter of the former U.S. president, discussed his plans for a new LP during a Facebook Live stream on Saturday.

Insisting that he loves making music more than ever, Nugent said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I play my guitar every day. I love what I’m doing. I love my new songs.

“A lot of people go, ‘How come you don’t make albums?’ Two years ago, 2019, I made a killer record. It’s called ‘The Music Made Me Do It’. [Editor’s note: The album actually came out in November 2018.] It’s got monster, killer songs on it. But there’s no music industry. You’ve gotta be some dirtbag on parole, singing garbage pop music, or what they call country music, [which] isn’t even really country music; it’s pop music —like cartoon music. I can’t stand the new music.

“I like soulful, high-energy, defiant, sexy, grinding rhythm-and-blues rock and roll,” he continued. “And me and Greg Smith and Jason Hartless, we still make that shit. And we’re gonna do another record coming up in May and June.

“President Donald Trump titled my new record. My new record will be called Ted Nugent ‘Handsome Devil’.”

Leading up to last year’s presidential election, Nugent teamed up with Donald Trump Jr. on the campaign trail.

Ted has called Trump “the greatest president in our lifetime,” and has said that the billionaire real estate mogul represents “the heart and soul of the best American families out there.”

Released via Round Hill Records, “The Music Made Me Do It” was Nugent’s first studio album in four years. Accompanying the CD was a bonus DVD, “Live At Freedom Hill”, a full-length concert captured at Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Nugent has carved a permanent place in rock ‘n’ roll history as the ultimate guitar-shredding showman, selling more than 40 million albums and performing nearly seven thousand high-octane live shows. As a budding musician, Nugent was strongly influenced by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and knew he wanted to pursue that type of sound and attitude. Early bands THE ROYAL HIGHBOYS and THE LOURDS paved the way for the AMBOY DUKES — and their psychedelic “Journey To The Center Of The Mind” kicked young Ted’s career into hyper drive. The axe maniac soon broke out as a solo artist, where the guitarist’s prodigious talent, ear-shattering volume and over-the-top stage antics quickly earned him the moniker of Motor City Madman.

Cranking out hits like “Cat Scratch Fever”, “Just What The Doctor Ordered”, “Free For All” and the iconic “Stranglehold”, Nugent garnered international acclaim and truly hit his stride, becoming one of the top-grossing tour acts in America. His no-holds-barred career now spans six decades of multi-platinum hits. The ultimate Road Warrior, touring and recording continue at Ted’s breakneck pace. Nugent and his inimitable sound have been featured on VH1’s “Behind The Music”, A&E’s “Biography” and more. He was named “Detroit’s Greatest Guitar Player Of All Time” by readers of MLive.

SWITCHBLADE GLORY, the American hard rock band composed of internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Lukas Rossi (ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA, STARS DOWN, THE HALO METHOD), legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, CHICKENFOOT, John Fogerty), songwriter/guitar player Steve Polin and bass player Josh Esther (Austin Mahone, Rihanna, Flo Rida) has returned with its sophomore album, “Human Toys”, after a multi-year hiatus.

The official music video for the LP’s title track and first single, “Human Toys”, which is described in a press release as “a perfect crossover in the hard rock genre that flirts with an alternative rock influence,” can be seen below.

Rossi states stated about the single and accompanying visual: “The music video is based on self doubt and our insecurities and how sometimes we focus too much on our outer beauty when all that matters is the beauty inside, and therein lies a dysmorphia of self-worth and image. We are all beautiful, original, and one of a kind for a reason — to share our beautiful differences with each other.”

SWITCHBLADE GLORY’s self-titled debut release in 2011 shot out of the gate with memorable guitar riffs and amazing melodies driven by Rossi’s powerful vocals.

Last summer, Rossi released a music video for “Summertime” from his ninth studio album, chock full of celebrity cameos, including his former ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA bandmate Tommy Lee, Matt Pinfield, Joey Fatone, RUN-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, members of P.O.D. and THREE DAYS GRACE, actor Paul Schulze, Tiffany, comedian Big Jay Oakerson, and Chris Perez. Rossi was also featured on two tracks from Lee’s “Andro”, which came out last October.

During an appearance on “The Jasta Show”, the podcast hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, Phil Demmel reflected on his 16-year stint with MACHINE HEAD and his decision to leave the group in October 2018.

“I loved being in that band — I did,” the guitarist said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I loved being in that band. It’s the band that I wanted to be in since [guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn] started it. And being in it was a life dream come true. And it just got to a point to where he was going one way, and we were going another way. And it’s okay — it’s totally okay.”

Looking back on his last album with MACHINE HEAD, 2018’s “Catharsis”, Phil said: “I wrote some heavy stuff for that — I wrote ‘Heavy Lies The Crown’, which is a fucking banging fucking song. I wrote parts that I was really proud of. And [Robb] was just in a different spot going in another direction.

“The dude has been in this band for 20-plus years now, still relevant, still fucking killing it. And that says a lot — that says a whole fucking lot. I can’t say that it sucks. I can say that I didn’t like it. And I bailed — it’s as simple as that. I didn’t like not being able to do things, though. I didn’t like not being able to talk to the press. I didn’t like not being able to do endorsement stuff.

“I’ve gone through a lot since we parted, we broke up or whatever,” he continued. “And even Jose [Mangin, SiriusXM personality] and [Chris] Jericho [who hosts his own podcast], and a bunch of dudes were, like, ‘We wish we could have talked to you earlier.’ And I get it — I get it. There’s a bubble you live in in that world. And, dude, I was in the bubble for a while, and it was fucking awesome — until it wasn’t. I like jamming with other people, I like doing all these different things, and for that role, it wasn’t allowed. And so that’s where you just move on. And now I’m able to. And everybody’s happy.”

Demmel admitted that it’s “still emotional” for him to reflect on his exit from MACHINE HEAD. “Because of the way that it ended, and the awkward [final] tour, and the goodbyes. I wanted to sever and just go, and I couldn’t bail on the [North American] tour [which was scheduled to take place in the fall of 2018],” he said. “I quit, and then I came back the next day and said, ‘Hey, it’s a dick move to bail on the tour. If you’re gonna have to cancel the tour, then we should figure out a way to do it.’ So it wasn’t the clean break that I wanted, but none of my breakups in the past have been very fucking clean [laughs], so I’m kind of used to that.”

Demmel reiterated that he has many more fond memories of his time in MACHINE HEAD than the bad experiences that preceded his exit from the group. “I spent 16 years in that band,” he said. “I said it a bunch, and I’ll say it again. I don’t want the two percent to ruin the 98 percent of good that it was. ‘Cause it was amazing, dude. And how can you frown on that? A couple of dudes don’t get along anymore. I’m not gonna bash… I think that I have praised [Robb] more than I ever have praised him since we broke up. The dude is a phenomenal talent, he writes amazing songs, he’s got a great ear for notes and phrasing, he’s driven beyond driven, and I won’t fault him for that.”

During his time with MACHINE HEAD, Demmel played on five of the group’s studio albums: “Through The Ashes Of Empires” (2003), “The Blackening” (2007), “Unto The Locust” (2011), “Bloodstone & Diamonds” (2014) and “Catharsis” (2018).

Demmel spent most of 2019 and early 2020 playing sporadic shows with the reunited VIO-LENCE, which recently inked a deal with Metal Blade Records. The band’s new EP — featuring the first all-new VIO-LENCE music in more than three decades — is currently being recorded for a tentative late 2021 release.

Although Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE’s classic incarnation and played on the band’s debut album, “Eternal Nightmare”, he wasn’t approached about taking part in any of the comeback shows.

As the band’s latest single “Scarlet Cross” continues to move up the Active Rock radio chart (currently in the Top 20 at the format), Los Angeles rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES have announced their first-ever virtual acoustic radio tour. Happening in conjunction with eight local radios stations, the band will perform its latest single and other favorites from its catalog. The shows start on March 23 for WEBN in frontman Andy Biersack’s former hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio and wraps on April 2 for KCJK in Kansas City, Missouri. Other markets include Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Monmouth Ocean, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; and Madison, Wisconsin. Each performance will be unique and a different set for each station. All shows are streaming free and local performance information is below:

March 23 – WEBN/Cincinnati – 6:30 p.m. EST
March 24 – WRKZ/Columbus – 10 a.m. EST –
March 25 – WIYY/Baltimore – 7 p.m. EST
March 26 – WRIF/Detroit – 5 p.m. EST
March 29 – WRAT/Monmouth Ocean – 7 p.m. EST
March 30 – KUPD/Phoenix – 8 p.m. PST
March 31 – WJJO/Madison – 7 p.m. CST
April 02 – KCJK/Kansas City – 8 p.m. CST

In November, BLACK VEIL BRIDES released “Scarlet Cross”, which will appear on the band’s upcoming album, “The Phantom Tomorrow”, tentatively due this summer. The track was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, DANCE GAVIN DANCE, BUSH) and guitarist Jake Pitts and was accompanied by a music video directed by longtime collaborator Patrick Fogarty and based on a concept written by Biersack.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES celebrated the 10th anniversary of their debut, “We Stitch These Wounds”, with a brand new, reimagined, re-recorded 2020 edition of the album titled “Re-Stitch These Wounds”, released last July via Sumerian Records.

In November 2019, BLACK VEIL BRIDES announced the addition of bassist Lonny Eagleton to the group’s ranks. He joined the band as the replacement for Ashley Purdy, who exited the group earlier that month.

Eagleton previously played with Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) on his solo tour.

Biersack’s memoir, “They Don’t Need To Understand: Stories Of Hope, Fear, Family, Life, And Never Giving In”, arrived in December via Rare Bird Books.

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES have canceled their previously announced summer 2021 European tour due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The band, which consists of AEROSMITH’s Joe Perry, actor Johnny Depp and legendary rocker Alice Cooper, was originally set to play the shows in September 2020 but pushed them back to August 2021. They have now confirmed that these rescheduled dates won’t happen.

In a statement, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES said: “We are beyond disappointed to announce that the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES must cancel our rescheduled UK/European tour this Summer. We kept trying to make it happen, but unfortunately due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 travel restrictions, it is just not possible.

“Full refunds will be monored through your original point of purchase. Thank you for understanding, and we WILL be back rocking with you once the world returns to normal!”

The three legends first came together to record in 2015, bonding over a shared love of their favorite songs and a desire to celebrate their “dead, drunk friends” by playing the songs of the fallen heroes. Riotous performances ensued around the world.

In 2019, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES completed a triumphant seven-city North American tour which included a sell-out show at the famous Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and were voted the “best performance” of 2018 at London’s Wembley Arena.

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES’ sophomore album “Rise”, produced by Tommy Henriksen and the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, was hailed as one of the purest, most unapologetic and enjoyable rock and roll albums of 2019, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form. Unlike their 2015 debut record, the latest album consisted mainly of original material, written by the band. There are however, in the spirit of the VAMPIRES’ original mission, three covers of songs originally written and recorded by legendary rockers who died far too young.

pic.twitter.com/CdMdwdIoEA
— Hollywood Vampires (@hollywoodvamps) March 22, 2021

Ukraine’s modern metal juggernaut JINJER has entered the studio to start working on its fourth album on Napalm Records. The recording sessions are once again taking place at the Kaska Records Studios in Kiev, Ukraine with producer and good friend Max Morton.

Bassist Eugene Abdukhanov commented: “Those of you who keep an eye on us must have already heard that JINJER have been working on new material pretty much since the beginning of the pandemic. It is one of those situations where even the most negative and terrible predicament can sometimes have a positive outcome. Deprived of live touring, we managed to focus all our creativity and frustration and turn it into new songs which are, in my opinion, the best music we have ever written. It’s complex but yet catchy as hell, groovy but with such a palette of notes, sounds and most importantly: feelings… This new album might take the whole genre of extreme music to a whole new level and raise the bar of musicality even higher for this band and the metal scene in general.”

Check out video footage from the studio below.

JINJER’s latest live album “Alive In Melbourne”, was released in November via Napalm Records. The live album and the accompanying videos were filmed on March 5, 2020 during JINJER’s debut Australian tour, with the pandemic hot on the heels of their “Macro” world tour, which would sadly, along with the rest of the musical landscape, come to a screeching halt a week after the Melbourne set was captured for on film. Still, with JINJER’s sheer will, drive, determination and never give up attitude they were able to turn the madness of last year into a positive.

“Alive In Melbourne” features stunning artwork by gifted JINJER fan Gabriel Nicoletti and includes 17 tracks in total.

Photo credit: Alina Chernohor