Month: March 2021

During a new appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn’s “No Fuckin’ Regrets With Robb Flynn” podcast, Brian “Head” Welch — who left KORN in early 2005, at the same time announcing that he kicked his addictions to drugs and alcohol by becoming a born-again Christian — spoke about the impact his new awareness has had on his life, his family and the influential rock act that he co-founded nearly 30 years ago. Asked if he thinks religion became his “new addiction” after his exit from KORN, Welch said (see video below): “The crazy thing is I had an experience with something from another dimension. And it wasn’t the religion — going to church and being a good boy — it was, like, I felt something come into my house, and I can’t explain it to this day. But I believe that it was Christ doing something in me. So that was real — that was very real. But yes, I think I went too far with it. And I got obsessed with it, just like I was obsessed with the drugs. I believe I did, for sure. And I had to come out of that and find normalcy, because there’s nothing worse than a freakin’ irritating religious person just shoving it down your throat — there’s nothing worse than that. And you saw it on the documentary [‘Loud Krazy Love’, which documents Brian’s journey towards sobriety], Jonathan’s [Davis, KORN singer], like, ‘I hate those motherfuckers.’ People can’t stand ’em. And for years, we’ve had those Christians outside of KORN concerts, saying KORN’s of the devil, and all this. It’s crazy — it’s a crazy thing. But I’m just glad I got through it. And I’m glad that I am who I am now, and I have a lot of peace and rest for my soul. I feel very leveled and at peace with myself.”

Less than a month after leaving KORN, Welch — wearing a white robe and sporting a long beard — was baptized in Israel’s Jordan River, along with about 20 other members of the Valley Bible Fellowship, the Bakersfield, California, church in which he spoke two weekends earlier. At the time, Brian told MTV News that he decided to be baptized in the Jordan after receiving a divine message.

“God told me … he didn’t say, ‘Hey Brian!,’ I just got a feeling in my heart that he was going to let me know something, I was going to be told something [in Israel],” Welch said. “Because the pastor is going to dunk me in the Jordan River, and when I come back here, I’m going to be a different person.”

Welch officially returned to KORN in 2013, one year after joining the band onstage at the Carolina Rebellion festival in Rockingham, North Carolina to perform “Blind”.

Since his conversion to Christ 16 years ago, Welch has been very open about how God changed his lifestyle and restored his relationship with his daughter.

In recent years, Brian has been preaching that people don’t have to wait until they die to see if having an encounter with the presence of God is real.

Both Welch and KORN bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu have had highly public, though separate, conversion experiences, ones that have been greeted with a certain amount of skepticism.

KORN’s latest album, “The Nothing”, was released in September 2019 via Roadrunner/Elektra. The follow-up to 2016’s “The Serenity Of Suffering” was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.

Welch’s LOVE AND DEATH project released its second album, “Perfectly Preserved”, on February 12 via Earache Records.

In a recent interview with RockSverige, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith looked back on his involvement with “Stars”, the 1985 charity single for famine relief released under the HEAR ‘N AID banner.

On May 20 and May 21, 1985, 40 artists from the metal community gathered at A&M Records Studios in Hollywood, California to participate in the making of a record called “Stars” as a part of a very special fundraising project spearheaded by Ronnie James Dio known as HEAR ‘N AID. The “Stars” single and a video documentary on the making of the record was used to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. These 40 artists — including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, QUIET RIOT, TWISTED SISTER, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and even SPINAL TAP — along with hundreds of other volunteers, donated their time and talent over four months to make HEAR ‘N AID a reality. “Stars” was a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.

Speaking about his experience recording “Stars”, Smith told RockSverige: “Well, I knew [then-DIO bassist] Jimmy Bain a bit from just hanging around in L.A. a bit, and he asked us to do it, and it was a charity, so we couldn’t say no. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to it. There were all these shredders there, and in those days, everyone was trying to outdo each other and play faster and play louder, and I just wasn’t interested in it. I did it because Jimmy asked and it was for charity.

“Dave [Murray, IRON MAIDEN guitarist] and I went there, and I said to Dave, ‘I don’t really wanna try and compete with these shredders,'” Adrian continued. “Vivian Campbell and Yngwie Malmsteen [were there], and I was, like, ‘Jesus!’ So I said, ‘Let’s do something melodic.’ We just played a melodic line on this chorus and Ronnie was standing there, and he was, like, really surprised. He said, ‘Thank god. I was dreading for you coming in and playing, like, a hundred notes per second over everyone else. I’m glad you did something musical.’

“I loved Ronnie. He was a lovely guy. It was one of those ones… it was like a scene out of a movie about rock music. [It] was all full of groupies in the control room. There must’ve been about 30 people in the control room while we were trying to work, which I hated. I just kind of gritted my teeth and got on with it. It was, like, chicks, people smoking joints… it was real old school. [Laughs] I actually said to Jimmy, ‘It’s a really good song you’ve got here.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I know. We should’ve put it on our [DIO] album.’ And he sort of regretted it a little bit that they didn’t put it on their latest album, but it went out for charity.”

Due to contract differences with the labels, the “Stars” song and album weren’t released until New Year’s Day, 1986, and were only ever made available on vinyl and cassette. But Ronnie’s wife and manager Wendy Dio has said in recent years that she is continuing her efforts to correct that.

Wendy previously revealed that one of the reasons the HEAR ‘N AID reissue was taking so long to come out was the “legal stuff” that needed to be taken care of. “You can always get the bands to do something, but it’s the legal licensing of talking with the record labels they’re on and the management and so on, to get something off the ground,” she said. “So we’re hoping to do that.”

In a new interview with Finland’s Kaaos TV, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz of veteran Floridian death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE was asked if he will get the COVID-19 vaccine to help stop the novel coronavirus from spreading. He responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t know. I’m not one for that kind of stuff, so I don’t know. I think we may have no choice, maybe, being who we are, kind of a thing. Before all this, obviously, going to certain countries, [they would tell us], ‘Hey, you need that vaccine, you need that shot,’ because of the diseases that may be happening — like in South America, or something like that — or you’re not going to that country. So you had no choice. So that may be the reason for us to have to get the vaccine, is, ‘Hey, you wanna come to Europe? Well, you have no choice.’ So it kind of stinks.

“In a personal sense, I don’t know if I would [get the vaccine], per se,” he continued. “It’s a good question. I’m not sure. The flu shot has been readily available, obviously, for years, and so many people always just got a flu shot, and I know a lot of them as well. But it wasn’t anything that I felt that I neeed to get. So, yeah, I’m just weird about being forced to take something. It’s a touchy subject, of course, so I don’t know if I will get one or not, unless, like I said, I have to.”

A new poll from the Pew Research Center showed that more than two-thirds of U.S. adults plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The poll, released on Friday, found that 69 percent of adults say they are going to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The Pew poll showed that 19% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 32% say they will definitely get the vaccine and 17% say they will probably get it.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America’s two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

As of late January, the CDC discovered that only 11 per 1 million people experienced severe reactions from the Pfizer vaccine, and only 2.5 per 1 million people who received the Moderna dose.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which became available in the United States earlier this month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.

METALLICA’s Lars Ulrich has poked fun at his receding hairline while sharing a new photo on Instagram.

Late Saturday night, the drummer posted what appears to be a selfie of him scuba diving, and he included the following caption: “Mega Danish forehead still shines bright at 50 feet under water…”

Back in 2013, Ulrich said that he didn’t mind people filming his diminishing hair. While discussing METALLICA’s warts-and-all documentary film “Some Kind Of Monster”, which was released in 2004, Lars said: “There was always this open door kind of thing. So, if the door’s open, its wide open so come in and be part of it, warts and all. Film away and we have nothing to hide, the receding hairlines and everything else, it’s all part and parcel of the package, It’s the way we do things around here and we’re proud of that. It’s not like, this is what we do when we are METALLICA, and this is what we do when we’re not METALLICA. There’s not multiple personalities, or multiple worlds or whatever.”

Last week, METALLICA celebrated the 35th anniversary of its classic third album, “Master Of Puppets”, by performing the song “Battery” on an episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”.

In January, Ulrich told Classic Rock that METALLICA was making “glacial” progress on the follow-up to 2016’s “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” album. Two months earlier, Ulrich said in an interview with Rolling Stone that METALLICA was nearly a month into “some pretty serious writing” sessions for its next studio album. That same month, Lars told Kara Swisher at the CNBC Evolve Summit that he and his METALLICA bandmates have been working on new music for “the last six [to] eight weeks virtually.” But he admitted that they have encountered a myriad of technical issues which have slowed their progress.

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QUIET RIOT played a socially distanced concert last night (Saturday, March 6) at The Landis theater in Vineland, New Jersey. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

QUIET RIOT’s current lineup includes drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE), who replaced Frankie Banali last year.

Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983’s “Metal Health”, died in August after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

The surviving members of QUIET RIOT said it was “Frankie Banali’s wish that the band continue and we keep the music and the legacy alive.”

Asked in a recent interview with the “Music Mania” podcast how Johnny came to be involved with QUIET RIOT, guitarist Alex Grossi said: “When Frankie got sick, one of the first phone calls he made to me was regarding getting a substitute drummer. And Johnny and I had worked together, and still work together, in that band HOOKERS & BLOW, that cover band we do for fun. And he just made perfect sense on so many levels, because he’s not totally intertwined in the L.A. music scene and doesn’t really get involved with the gossip and this and that. Because keep in mind, Frankie wasn’t public about his cancer until several months after his diagnosis.”

He continued: “Johnny, he’s family to me, and Frankie and him were friends. And he can definitely fill the role onstage and off; he’s a total pro and he’s a friend. It worked out great, because the first show that Frankie was gonna miss was in Dallas, Texas, which is when Johnny Kelly lives. So we were able to fly in, do one song for soundcheck, and then trial by fire, do the whole show. He had never played with us before. And Chuck [Wright, bass] and our singer had never even met him. So it was definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-type moment, but Johnny rose to the occasion, and we’re thankful he’s onboard to help us out.”

Speaking about the discussions that Frankie and the other members of QUIET RIOT had about continuing without him, Alex said: “There really wasn’t any one specific conversation. It was just, ‘Keep it going. Business as usual.’ We’re not gonna miss any dates. We’re not gonna make a thing of it. We’re gonna keep the band rolling.

“Frankie put so much of his life into building, helping to build, keeping the band going through good times, through bad — ’80s, ’90s, 2000s — if you think about it, and that’s his baby; that’s his legacy. And when the reality is that you’re not gonna be around anymore, you still want your baby to grow and your legacy to grow, and that basically was always this unwritten thing. And I’m really glad.

“I always tell people I wish I could have found a way to fix his ailments, if you will, but, obviously, no one can do that,” Grossi added. “But I take a lot of pride in knowing that we pulled it off last year and we’re moving forward the way he wanted to and delivering a great show to people. So that I find comfort in. So that’s been a positive.”

At some of QUIET RIOT’s 2019 and 2020 shows, Banali was replaced by Kelly or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician’s availability.

QUIET RIOT’s shows in 2019 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.

QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded “Metal Health”.

Wright has been a part of QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the “Metal Health” recordings (he played bass on the tracks “Metal Health” and “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”). Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before Kevin passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010.

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of “American Idol” finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.

Former WHITE LION singer Mike Tramp has failed in his bid to represent Denmark in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

“Everything Is Alright” battled seven other songs in Denmark’s national final “Dansk Melodi Grand Prix” on Saturday, March 6, with the winner going forward to compete in the Eurovision finals, due to be held in Rotterdam this May.

Three songs from the eight competing acts advanced to the “Dansk Melodi Grand Prix” super-final, determined solely by the public viewers through an app or SMS. Tramp came in fifth place, with FYR & FLAMME winning the overall competition with its song “Øve Os På Hinanden”.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s “Dansk Melodi Grand Prix” was performed without a live audience as it was in 2020, although an orchestra was present. It was the first time since 1999 that “Dansk Melodi Grand Prix” was held in a TV studio.

“In 2021, I can be 100% true to myself and not have to put on any mask – I am who I am,” Mike previously said. “All eight songs are there to win, but the moment you deliver and sing a song without compromising on yourself, only in that moment can you leave the stage as a winner — no matter what the jury thinks.

“As far back as I remember, my focus have always been to be the best me, and not a bad copy of someone else,” he added. “With each song I write, each album I record and the many shows I play. I come closer and closer to that goal, and today I feel I can honestly say, I have arrived. ‘Everything Is Alright’ confirms that in every way.”

Tramp shot to worldwide fame in the 1980s as the singer of WHITE LION, one of the only bands to tackle important issues in songs like “When The Children Cry” and “Little Fighter” (about the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior).

The “Everything Is Alright” single has been released via Target. It heralds the issue of a new best-of compilation album of the same name, which will follow on May 21.

In 1978, Tramp’s then-group MABEL placed 16th in a field of 20 at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Paris.

In a new interview with Rocking With Jam Man, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy was asked if he and his bandmates have been working on any new music during the coronavirus pandemic. He responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “No, we haven’t, but Eric [Peterson, guitar] is writing some music [on his own]. I haven’t heard anything yet. It all starts with Eric, so I just kind of wait. He’s gotta be in the right mood. And probably, being stuck at home with the pandemic, I would think he would be jamming and writing some stuff. So I think we’ll probably at least have a couple of new songs. ‘Cause it makes sense — if we write a couple of new songs, maybe we can do a repackage of the [latest TESTAMENT album, ‘Titans Of Creation’]. We’re talking about possibly writing a song called ‘Titans Of Creation’, ’cause there is no title track. So, we could have a song called ‘Titans Of Creation’ and maybe re-push it out there with the record again. [That would be] more of a marketing thing. I think that’s kind of what the talk is [that] might happen.”

Billy went on to say that he “probably” woudn’t feel comfortable enough to play shows in Texas and Mississippi, the two states which have lifted their mask mandates and increased capacity of all businesses and facilities to 100%. “I’d feel a little safer once I got a vaccine, I think, and maybe a little more people get vaccines,” he said. “But I don’t need to jump in there, and I don’t know about full capacities yet. I just think until it’s really under control with more vaccines, it’s a little bit safer. We’re not safe from everything, but I would wait till the vaccine’s out [to most people]. I think probably most of the bandmembers feel the same way.”

Billy, who was the first metal musician to go public with his COVID-19 diagnosis back in March 2020, was also asked if his battle with the novel coronavirus had any long-term effects on his body or singing. He said: “I haven’t toured, so I don’t know about singing, but I definitely did feel less breath and wind from it. There’s still some after-effects — still dry skin and a little bit of cough stil. But I’m all better. That’s about it.”

“Titans Of Creation” came out in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by Peterson and Billy, while Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios handled co-producing, recording and engineering. Andy Sneap was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Eliran Kantor stepped up once again to create new artwork for the cover of this release.

Early last year, TESTAMENT completed “The Bay Strikes Back 2020” European tour with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.

Renowned thrash metal titans SLAYER have teamed up with Pull The Plug Patches to bring you a series of exclusive woven patches, backpatches, and enamel pins arriving this spring.

Starting with a backpatch for their legendary album “Reign In Blood” which will be available from March 15, standard-size patches and enamel pins for “Seasons In The Abyss” will follow in early April. New patch designs featuring SLAYER’s infamous album art will be introduced throughout the coming year.

Founded in 2018 in Newcastle, Australia, Pull The Plug Patches has taken battle vest culture by storm. By introducing unique shapes and colorways into the global patch community, Pull The Plug Patches have given battle vests in every nook and cranny of the planet a shot of adrenaline. With sales extending to all of the word’s inhabited continents, a worldwide community of metalheads have been called to arms!

Dedicated to bringing the highest-quality and most unique woven patches to market, over 300 artists have joined the Pull The Plug Patches roster to date, including ARCH ENEMY, ATHEIST, BLOOD INCANTATION, BELPHEGOR, CARCASS, CRADLE OF FILTH, CRYPTOPSY, DEMILICH, DISMEMBER, ENSLAVED, ENTOMBED A.D., EXODUS, GORGUTS, GRAVE, GRUESOME, HAIL OF BULLETS, HATE ETERNAL, INCANTATION, KATATONIA, MASSACRE, MEGADETH, MESHUGGAH, NAPALM DEATH, NECROPHAGIA, NEVERMORE, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, SANCTUARY, SLAYER, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, UNDERGANG, UNLEASHED and many, many more.

Pull The Plug Patches is featured prominently in Banger TV’s new series “The Fabric Of Metal”, which takes viewers on a cultural tour of the mainstays of metal style — from battle vests to bullet belts.

For more information, visit the Pull The Plug Patches web site at www.pulltheplugpatches.com.

Legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin has teamed up with Rufus Publications for the publication of “Randy Rhoads By Ross Halfin”, a celebration of one of the most influential hard rock/heavy metal guitarists of all time. This extensive photo book features many classic and unseen shots of the former OZZY OSBOURNE and QUIET RIOT guitarist chosen by Ross from his personal archive.

Halfin announced the completion of “Randy Rhoads By Ross Halfin” in a tweet earlier today. He wrote: “Just finished this today . My new book on Randy Rhoads which will be coming soon via Rufus Books . I’ve gone through my archive to uncover loads of never before seen photos and I hope some very nice surprises for you . #rosshalfin #randyrhoads”

Rhoads and two others were killed on March 19, 1982 when the small plane they were flying in at Flying Baron Estates in Leesburg, Florida struck Osbourne’s tour bus, then crashed into a mansion. Rhoads was 25 years old.

In his “Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne” special, Ozzy stated about first meeting Rhoads after his departure from BLACK SABBATH: “I knew instinctively that he was something extra special. He was like a gift from God — we worked so well together. Randy and I were like a team.

“One thing that he gave to me was hope, he gave me a reason for carrying on,” Ozzy added. “He had patience with me, which was great. He was great to work with. He pulled the best out of me. We had a lot of fun.”

Rhoads’s death had a tremendous impact on Osbourne’s life. “I lost a dear friend in my life — I miss him terribly,” Ozzy said. “I just bathed my wounds with alcohol and drugs.”

“The day that Randy Rhoads died was the day a part of me died,” he added.

Just finished this today . My new book on Randy Rhoads which will be coming soon via Rufus Books . I’ve gone through my archive to uncover loads of never before seen photos and I hope some very nice surprises for you . #rosshalfin #randyrhoads pic.twitter.com/NeKUr7aeBv
— Ross Halfin (@RossHalfin) March 7, 2021