Month: August 2021

According to Deutsche Welle, RAMMSTEIN frontman Till Lindemann was questioned by Russian police prior to his scheduled appearance at a festival over the weekend.

The festival, which was slated to take place on August 29 in the city of Tver, 180 kilometers northwest of Moscow, was eventually canceled due to reported pressure from authorities.

Although some media outlets claimed that Lindemann was arrested when he was visited at his hotel room by Russian police Friday night, Bild stated that the singer was merely warned by Russian police that he should comply with certain COVID-related conditions while performing at the event.

According to Interfax, Lindemann’s manager, Anar Reiband, faces charges for having violated migration laws because he entered Russia under the claim that the purpose of his trip was tourism.

Lindemann is also scheduled to appear next weekend on the Red Square in Moscow at the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival.

Earlier in the month, a museum in Russia threatened legal action against Lindemann over the “unauthorized” sale of a non-fungible token (NFT) bearing its imagery.

Till’s first-ever NFT was set to include footage of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was originally shot for Lindemann’s “Beloved Town” video. The famed museum, which has been itself minting official NFTs of its famous artworks, issued a statement that Lindemann’s use of its works “was not and could not have been agreed with the museum.” It also said that it has given Lindemann a “license violation warning” over what are claimed to be “illegal tokens.”

According to Russia Beyond, Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky described the behavior of Lindemann and his team in an interview with Forbes Life as “rude and pigheaded,” adding that it’s a matter not only of intellectual rights, but of “intellectual aggression.”

К вокалисту Rammstein Тиллю Линдеманну, который сейчас находится в России, приехала полиция. По словам очевидцев, силовики в штатском зашли в номер к музыканту, чтобы «побеседовать».
В Россию Тиль Линдеман приехал, чтобы выступить на концерте в поддержку партии «Родина». pic.twitter.com/TOLrMUVPPI

— ФедералПресс (@FederalPress) August 28, 2021

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, has released a new single, “Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)”. The song is available now on all digital platforms. An accompanying music video can be viewed below.

“Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)” was produced and co-written in Corabi’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, with Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE) and is the first of several new singles to be made available.

“Cosi Bella’ came about from a writing session I did with Marti for THE DEAD DAISIES’ ‘Burn It Down’ record,” states Corabi. “I had the initial verse idea, and a chorus that didn’t quite work for the tune. I played it for Marti, and he liked the idea but gave me a better idea for the chorus. We recorded the rough idea on my phone, with both of us just scatting the melody. THE DAISIES heard the idea but felt it didn’t quite fit their format, so I put it to bed for a bit. After leaving the band in 2019, I started to revisit old ideas I had and sat down and recorded the track. Being new to Pro Tools, I took the song as far as I could and sent it to Marti to produce. I explained the song was musically inspired to a degree by ‘Penny Lane’ by THE BEATLES and ‘Killer Queen’ by QUEEN, so Marti and his son Evan recut the drums and bass, and added some horns, and sprinkled their magical fairy dust on the track to give it that shiny polished sound. I wrote the lyrics, and after singing the song, I felt ‘So Beautiful’ was kind of an average title, so I looked those words up in a translation app and found it in Italian (‘Cosi Bella’) and felt it had a nice ring to it. It’s not what some people truly expect from me, but I LOVE the way the song turned out, and it’s just a happy little upbeat love song with a twist! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.”

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Corabi in 2016 said that he would avoid talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE in the future because he didn’t want his comments about Sixx to descend into a feud.

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, Nikki said that writing the “Mötley Crüe” LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it “a very unfocused record” that was “painful for me, because John Corabi can’t write lyrics, and I had to do all that work.”

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE’s entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. “Live ’94: One Night In Nashville” documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track “10,000 Miles”, which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the “Quaternary” EP.

KORN singer Jonathan Davis is “still struggling with COVID after-effects,” two weeks after it was announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As a result of his infection, the band was forced to postpone six dates on its current U.S. tour.

Earlier today, KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch released a video message in which he offered an update on Davis’s health. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Shoutout to Indianapolis/Noblesville, Indiana… My God, you guys gave us so much love last night. We appreciate you so much. Jonathan Davis is still struggling with the COVID after-effects. He’s physically weak and having a mental battle. And any type of love, light and energy you can throw at him — prayers, all of it. We have shows coming up, so all of you guys, check the dates. Whatever show you’re going to, throw him some love and energy, man — he needs you more than ever.”

A few of KORN’s shows had to be canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

KORN’s first concert following Davis’s COVID-19 diagnosis took place on August 27 in Tinley Park, Illinois.

In the past month and a half, a number of other high-profile hard rock and heavy metal artists — including IRON MAIDEN’s Bruce Dickinson, TESLA, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, SHINEDOWN and LIMP BIZKIT — have also called off shows or played concerts without members who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The cancelations and the increased number of COVID-19 infections are driven in large part by the fact that the delta variant of the coronavirus, now the most common strain circulating in the United States, has a supercharged transmissibility, driven in part by how the mutated virus behaves in the body after infection.

New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 illness are spreading in the United States and other countries. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. However, some variants might cause illness in some people after they are fully vaccinated.

Even though vaccines offer different ranges of protection, experts say getting fully vaccinated is crucial.

In a new interview with Australia’s “Scars And Guitars” podcast, bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker of British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS spoke about the fact that his band’s first two albums, “Reek Of Putrefaction” (1988) and “Symphonies Of Sickness” (1989), have influenced a generation of new bands to combine similarly graphic and consciously provocative lyrics with savage and deeply disturbed melodies.

“That’s why it’s kind of funny when people [say] they wish we’d go back to that style,” Jeff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “And I’m thinking there’s been 30 years of bands emulating that style. Go listen to them. They did it so much better anyway. What would be the point in us attempting? We couldn’t falsify doing that anyway. There’s lots of bands doing that stuff, which is great. But it’s not our band.”

When interviewer Andrew McKaysmith suggested that CARCASS’s fourth album, 1993’s “Heartwork”, was an influence on bands like AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILLITY, who are part of what is now widely now widely known as “the Gothenburg sound,” a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines death metal with the melodious and harmonic elements of the new wave of British heavy metal, Jeff said: “I don’t think those bands — and I use this word in a true sense — would ever admit to any CARCASS influence. They were running parallel at the same time. So I don’t think that’s fair to say that we had influence on those bands… I don’t think we inspired them either. I think ‘Heartwork’ was as much a maligned album as [1996’s] ‘Swansong’, in all honesty, back in its time. I don’t remember getting rave reviews. I don’t remember it being a very positive time. There was a lot of pushback against ‘Heartwork’ from our own fans.”

CARCASS’s seventh studio album, “Torn Arteries”, will be released on September 17 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP title references an old demo created by original drummer Ken Owen back in the 1980s.

In 2019, CARCASS released its first single in over five years, “Under The Scalpel Blade”, followed by a four-song EP titled “Despicable” (October 2020).

CARCASS’s comeback album, 2013’s “Surgical Steel”, sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart.

During a chat with EMP at this month’s Bloodstock Open Air festival, NAPALM DEATH frontman Mark “Barney” Greenway spoke about his adoption of a vegan diet. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 14 years old. So 38 years I’m a vegetarian. Vegan for just over 10 years now. To be honest, I was pretty much always vegan. There was just a couple of things in my diet, but then I was just, like, ‘Why do I need to eat these things?’ So I cut it out.

“Obviously, principally, I did it for humane purposes, but I’m also into that health side of it as well,” he continued. “The humane side is always my start point, but I think the health side of it, for me, is also really important. So I incorporate that into physical exercise and stuff. I have no reason to ever revert at all.”

Barney went on to suggest that more and more people are replacing meat and other animal-based foods with plant-based options as a way to lean into a healthier, more humane and sustainable way of eating.

“Everybody finds their own way,” he said. “But the bigger point to it is that I think now people have more of an intergral understanding of basically preserving the environment — the very environment that we live in. Intensive farming is not sustainable; it can’t continue. So I know the whole planet is gonna have to adapt to a more plant-based diet.”

The vegan diet means eliminating all animal products from your diet — as in meat, fish, poultry, dairy and eggs.

According to Vox, 2020 sales figures showed that plant-based food retail sales grew much faster (27 percent) than the total U.S. retail food market (15 percent).

Plant-based meat sales grew by 45 percent and plant-based milk sales were up 20 percent from 2019.

This past spring, NAPALM DEATH signed a new deal with Century Media Records, extending the long-running co-operation between the parties once more.

NAPALM DEATH released its latest studio album, “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism”, in September 2020 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2015’s “Apex Predator – Easy Meat” was again recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.

In a new interview with BODS Mayhem Hour, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello discussed the progress of the writing sessions for the follow-up to 2016’s “For All Kings” album. Speaking about when fans can expect to see the new record released, Frank said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “If you think about it now, what’s going on, because we don’t know what’s gonna be closed down. Because everything’s crazy right now still with this new variant and all that stuff. So we have to play it right. So, from what I’m hearing, the promoters and everything else, tours and all that stuff… We’re doing periodic shows; I think we’re doing some festivals this year. But for touring, as far as that goes… You wanna release a record when you can tour, so you can support it. So that’s the plan for next year. So hopefully everybody’s healthy, we can all get out to shows and we can all stand next to each other. I’m hoping that all happens. So the plan is to release it next year and have everything followed up with a tour right away. That’s the way to do it right. ‘Cause you wanna support that record. You can’t just throw it out there and not have anything behind it, because how will people know you have a record out? There’s no radio or anything like that.”

According to Frank, promoting an album with a tour is an essential part of the record cycle and it’s something that he and his bandmates are looking forward to experiencing once again.

“There’s nothing like an energy with the live show,” he said. “We just did a livestream, and that was fun. It was great. It went over really well. A lot of people watched it, and it was a great, great thing; I enjoyed it. But there still is nothing like feeling the energy from the crowd feeding us. We’re feeding you, and we have this one big energy together creating this vibe. There’s nothing like that in the world. So, for me, I can’t wait to get back to that.

“We had a show last [month] in Cadott, Wisconsin — we played a festival — and it was great,” he continued. “It was great to get back to it. It was also a hundred and fifteen degrees on stage, it felt like. ‘Cause the sun was right on us; it was blaring. But it was still fun, it was still great to get back on and taste it a little bit. And for all of us, just to give everybody a little hope, it’s right there. We’ll get there. It’s right there. And hopefully we’re gonna get over this hump, and everybody gets healthy soon.”

ANTHRAX is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the “Big Four”.

“For All Kings” was called by some critics ANTHRAX’s strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX’s inclusion on the “Big Four” tour, and continuing with the 2011 release of comeback LP “Worship Music”.

According to TMZ, longtime IRON BUTTERFLY drummer Ron Bushy has died at the age of 79. The only member of IRON BUTTERFLY to appear on all six of the band’s albums, he passed away this morning at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after a battle with esophageal cancer.

IRON BUTTERFLY is the American psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, which features a punishing heavy drum solo from Bushy at its core.

In July of 1968, IRON BUTTERFLY released its debut LP, “Heavy”, and went on the road with the likes of THE DOORS, CREAM and THE WHO, while the album stayed on the Billboard chart for nearly a year. Their second release in July 1968 was the monumental “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. The 17-minute title track helped the album sell more than 30 million copies, and a three-minute version of the song became a Top 40 hit.

Back in 2012, guitarist Larry “Rhino” Reinhardt, who was in IRON BUTTERFLY during the 1970s and 1980s, died. Later that year, Lee Dorman, who played bass on their seminal records, also passed away.

Bushy is survived by his wife, Nancy, their three daughters and six grandchildren.

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was famously covered by SLAYER on the “Less Than Zero” soundtrack.

Former GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell has urged everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying “it’s no big deal.”

Russell — who exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis — offered his opinion on the hot-button topic in a new interview with Michael’s Record Collection.

Asked if he has been able to return to the road with his current band, JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE, in the months since the U.S. began easing restrictions on large concerts and sports events, Jack said: “Yeah, we have, actually. We’re getting ready to go out this weekend again. We’ve done a handful of shows — we’ve done about 15 shows so far — and we’re on our way to be working most weekends. That’s what I want. So it’s getting there. They’re starting to come in. I think the more people realize the band is actually out and doing shows, the more people are coming to the table. So it’s a good thing. More bands are playing.

“I’m just concerned about — and I know I’m gonna ruffle some feathers right now — but there are so many people that are anti-vaxxers, and what’s gonna happen is when the cold and flu season comes around again this fall, we’re gonna have another episode of COVID, and it’s gonna put everybody right back to square one,” he continued. “The restaurants are gonna close, the venues are gonna close, ’cause [people are gonna be] getting sick again.

“Get your vaccines, man. C’mon, people. It’s no big deal. It’s a no-brainer. You’re not gonna die. It’s not gonna kill you. They’re not putting radio tracking devices in you. Just get your vaccines, man. And let’s get back to normal here.”

Russell went on to criticize people who question the CDC recommendation that vaccinated people remain masked in indoor public spaces to help stop viral transmission.

“People don’t understand that,” he said. “And they say, ‘Okay, well, you have to wear a mask if you’re out in public if you’re not vaccinated.’ Now, c’mon — anti-vaxxers haven’t worn masks from the get-go. Why are they gonna put masks on now?

“Just get your vaccinations,” he reiterated. “It’s not a big deal. I got mine as soon as I could… It took me a while to find a place [to get vaccinated]. I had to drive four hours each way — twice. But I did it. It was, like, hey, this is how important it was to me.”

When Russell split with GREAT WHITE a decade ago, he largely blamed his injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by guitarist Mark Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist’s self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

More than three years ago, GREAT WHITE announced the addition of new singer Mitch Malloy to the group’s ranks. He replaced Terry Ilous, who was fired from the band in July 2018.

Russell, who celebrated the fifth anniversary of his getting sober in September 2020, had been living on a 45-foot boat in Redondo Beach, California for nearly a decade before recently moving to Colorado with his wife.

Gene Simmons says that the situation with COVID-19 has become so ” life-threatening” that he favors vaccine mandates.

As cases rise nationwide due to the high number of unvaccinated Americans and the highly transmissible delta variant of the novel coronavirus, the KISS bassist/vocalist says that he supports mandatory vaccines as a potential solution.

Gene, whose bandmate Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, forcing the postponement of at least three KISS shows, discussed the hot-button issue in a new interview with Marci Wiser of the 95.5 KLOS radio station. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s shocking that people still believe — there are enough people out there who still believe it’s a hoax and schmoax. And they prefer to listen to politicians of a certain political party instead of doctors and the CDC. It’s fucking nuts. It’s crazy.”

Simmons went on to blast one of the most common arguments raised by dissenters — that vaccine mandates infringe upon unvaccinated people’s human rights and civil liberties.

“The idea that somebody says ‘it’s my body and my choice’ is so idiotic,” he said. “It is not your choice, it is not your body when you come to a red light in your car. You don’t have the right to go through it just ’cause you feel like it and ‘don’t tell me what to do.’ And here’s why: because the rest of the world goes on green and stops on red. Just ’cause you feel it’s your right doesn’t give you the right. You don’t have the right to speak on a cell phone in your car, you don’t have the right to not put on a seat belt — you don’t have that right. You actually do not have the right to stand up in a movie theater and yell ‘fire’ just because you think it’s freedom of speech. You don’t have that right. That’s called incitement to riot. There are all sorts of rights you don’t have.”

He added: “Should there be a mandate, which means a law, that you must get vaccinated? Yes, there should be.”

Asked if he thinks a vaccine mandate is taking away freedom for people to make their own decisions about medical and health care matters, Simmons said: “What freedom? The freedom to infect everybody else? Seven hundred thousand Americans — close to it — are dead because of COVID. Of course it should be a law. As soon as you endanger other people. You do not have the right to smoke in a restaurant or in buildings — you don’t have that right. You know why? Because you’re endangering other people.

“Always listen to the CDC and the doctors — not stupid politicians. Not all politicians — evil, self-serving politicians of a certain party who are more interested in getting re-elected than actually saving lives. I can’t tell you how furious I am. The politicians in Texas and Florida — evil, self-serving, just moronic. That includes the president of Brazil.

“You must wear a mask at all times when there are other people around,” he continued. “Clearly, if you’re in the pooper and you’re by yourself, you’re okay. But if you’re in a room where there are other people, even sneezing can spread something 10 feet. Wear a mask. It’s not all about you; you’re trying to protect other people. Wash your hands.

“In simple terms, before COVID, if you sneezed, it wasn’t life-threatening. Wouldn’t you cover your mouth? When you yawn, don’t you, as a courtesy, cover your mouth? And that’s with non-life-threatening stuff. As a courtesy to other people. Hey, when I’m alone in bed and I’m tired and I yawn, I don’t cover my mouth. Nobody’s around.”

In the past, Stanley has also criticized people who refused to wear a mask in public spaces to protect others from possible infection. Last December, he took to his Twitter to write: “Frankly, I’ve had enough of the self-serving & politically motivated mask misinformation & BS about this pandemic. I don’t want to hear about ‘my freedom’ & ‘my rights’ that then infringe on so many other’s. Those ‘rights’ & choosing to gather at Thanksgiving got us here. Wake up”. Three months earlier, Paul tweeted out a CNN article about an Idaho pastor who was hospitalized with COVID-19 after calling himself a “no-masker” during a service and repeatedly questioning the veracity of coronavirus case reporting. Stanley added in a message: “YOU figure this one out. I can’t. A hoax and non-existent virus has put this guy in the ICU. If you’re so concerned with a loss of your freedom , Why do you stop at red lights? Don’t let the government control you!! Drive right through!!! PUT YOUR MASK ON.”