WENDY DIO Says There Weren't Any Problems Between RONNIE JAMES DIO And OZZY OSBOURNE

Ronnie James Dio’s wife and manager Wendy Dio spoke to Trevor Joe Lennon about the legendary heavy metal singer’s just-released memoir, “Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography”, which she, along with writer Mick Wall, completed after Ronnie’s death. Asked if there was “peace” between Ronnie and the man he replaced in BLACK SABBATH, Ozzy Osbourne, in the later years, Wendy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t think there was ever really a lot of problems there. They both did their own thing, and they both were successful at it. Maybe Don Arden [Sharon Osbourne’s father and former manager for both Ozzy and BLACK SABBATH] had some problems there in the beginning when Ronnie was in BLACK SABBATH, but I don’t think there was any bad blood between [Ronnie and Ozzy].

“The press tries to make bad blood all the time about everybody — they’re trying to get people to fight with each other, ’cause it’s good for press or whatever,” she continued.

“No, I don’t think [there were any issues between Ronnie and Ozzy]. We just didn’t run in the same circles.”

This past April, former BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL drummer Vinny Appice told “Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley” that not all SABBATH fans embraced Ronnie when he first joined the band. “Ronnie had to put up with people in the front, like ‘Where’s Ozzy?’ signs and all this ‘Where’s Ozzy?’ stuff, and he had to do that,” he said. “And he hated singing those songs — he hated singing ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Sweet Leaf’ and the Ozzy songs. That’s why eventually [SABBATH reformed as] HEAVEN & HELL years later, so we didn’t play the old [Ozzy-era] stuff anymore.”

In a 2009 interview with U.K.’s Absolute Radio, Ronnie said that BLACK SABBATH’s decision to reunite as HEAVEN & HELL in 2006 with him on vocals was done in part “to differentiate us from the SABBATH that had come before. What it really did was this — it allayed this: ‘Hey, play ‘Iron Man’,” he explained. “We didn’t have to worry about that or feel bad about not playing those songs — about playing ‘Iron Man’ or ‘Paranoid’ or ‘Black Sabbath’ or ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ — we didn’t have to do that, because we tried to differentiate ourselves by a timeline and by a name that, of course, that spoke so much of… You think of HEAVEN & HELL, you usually think of that song, so now you think of this band. And I think it was wonderful that it worked so well.”

Asked if ever felt an obligation to play some of the Ozzy-era SABBATH songs, especially at various European festivals, as a way of letting the audience know, “This is what we’re famous for,” Ronnie said: “Well, it’s not what I was famous for, and I’m part of this band. I mean, I don’t hear Ozzy doing ‘Heaven And Hell’, so why should I do the other songs? And I think that’s very sensible. We come from different generations of SABBATH — the two generations that were most important, I think. And no, I think we tried so hard to call this band a different name, that why go back and relate to that? It makes us really seem [like] hypocrites, I think, to do that.”

Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the “Heaven And Hell” and “Mob Rules” albums, plus “Live Evil”, before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called “Dehumanizer”, and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called “The Devil You Know” in 2009.

Ronnie passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

“Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography” was released on July 27 via Permuted Press.

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SWALLOW THE SUN Announces New Studio Album 'Moonflowers'

Finnish death doom metallers SWALLOW THE SUN will release a new album called “Moonflowers” on November 19. Along with some of the album formats, there will also come a full bonus album featuring very special instrumental versions of all the regular album tracks. This instrumental album has been composed for strings and recorded at Sipoo Church in Finland. The strings were performed by the group called TRIO NOX from Finland.

Starting today, all these instrumental songs will be launched as animated videos, which were created by Dronicon Films — one by one every week, leading up to the first single release of the main album.

Guitarist Juha Raivio comments: “I know well that I should not say this, but I deeply hate this album. I hate where it takes me, how it makes me feel and what it stands for me personally. I wish it wouldn’t. But for all its honesty, I got no option than also love it. That is all that matters to me with the music anyway and it doesn’t matter how it makes me feel, as long as it does. For me this album is like a mirror of a deep self-disappointment. Even I still want to believe that there is and could be more than this in me. But I don’t need or want to talk more about it. After all music means so different things to each one of us by how we have walked our own paths, and that is a beautiful thing about music. There is no right or wrong.

“After I had finished writing all the music for this record in the fall of 2020 I started to write these small instrumental versions of the album songs for the violin, viola, cello and piano. Mostly because I was wondering how it would feel like to hear all these songs first as these intimate versions instead of a full band album. It was really beautiful to see and hear these songs come alive in this way and form, recorded live in this big church in Finland. To be able to hear the echoes of this music reflecting from the church walls and feel the very soul of these old wooden instruments played by real people in this sacred place. Something about hearing the strings breathe this fragile beauty into these songs that carry so much pain otherwise. Now looking back, maybe I wrote these versions just for myself to be able to hear and feel at least some kind of a beauty and solace in these songs, maybe…

“I wanted to create the cover art of this album myself this time, so it would stand as brutally honest for me as the music is. So I painted the moon on the ‘Moonflowers’ cover with my own blood and I decorated it with the flowers I picked up and dried on the spring of 2016. Maybe it isn’t the most outstanding looking piece of art ever made in this world, but for me it is everything. I wasn’t going to write any new music before I would have moved towards the right direction in my life, but finally all this music just forced itself out of me during the long nights of this hope crushing and neverending lockdown prison. Something grew out from that void eventually and writing these songs made me think a lot about moonflowers that bloom at the darkest hour of the night, so that name felt right to call the album also.”

“Moonflowers” track listing:

01. Moonflowers Bloom In Misery
02. Enemy
03. Woven Into Sorrow
04. Keep Your Heart Safe From Me
05. All Hallows’ Grieve (featuring Cammie Gilbert)
06. The Void
07. The Fight Of Your Life
08. This House Has No Home

Raivio further states: “In other news, unfortunately our busy brother Jaani will step aside from the band at least for this new album cycle, but we are happy to tell that you can hear Jaani’s backing vocals on the new album anyway.”

Jaani Peuhu adds: “Sadly, coronavirus messed up everything, including the release schedules of my bands. Both the MERCURY CIRCLE and SWALLOW THE SUN albums are being released at the same time, making it impossible for me to tour with both bands. For this reason, I decided that it’d be better for me to solely focus on MERCURY CIRCLE for this release cycle. That being said, the upcoming SWALLOW THE SUN album will be amazing, and I am so happy we could still do it together. I wish the best of luck to SWALLOW THE SUN on their tour with it!”

SWALLOW THE SUN is:

Juha Raivio – guitars
Matti Honkonen – bass
Mikko Kotamäki – vocals
Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Juho Räihä – guitars

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BUTCHER BABIES Are Not Offended By 'Female-Fronted' Label: 'We Have A Club'

In a new interview with Heavy New York, Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey of BUTCHER BABIES’ discussed whether they feel the term “female-fronted,” which is used to lump together disparate bands based on the presence of a female vocalist or frontperson, is empowering or restrictive. Carla said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think it discounts the men in the band. Just because you have a female vocalist doesn’t mean you’re a female metal band. But it is what it is. And if it brings someone in the door and they find our music because of that, then whatever.”

Added Heidi: “You’re absolutely right about that, Carla. That’s something that always bugs me, because Henry [Flury, BUTCHER BABIES guitarist and Heidi’s boyfriend] is one of the very few good eight-string guitar players in metal at all — in any genre, really. And he doesn’t really get that recognition that he deserves because people are so focused on, ‘Oh, it’s female-fronted.'”

She continued: “I don’t necessarily hate the term — I don’t really care anymore. When we first started, of course, we were, like, ‘Don’t say that.’ Now I don’t look at it as a negative thing; I look at it as this is, and has been, a movement that we’ve been a part of for 12 years now. So I’m not looking at this kind of offended that people would say ‘female-fronted.’ To me, like I said, it’s a movement. So, that’s fine. We sound different than DOROTHY. DOROTHY sounds different than ARCH ENEMY and all these girls that are in the industry. Even though we sound different, we have created this little girls’ club where we support each other. Even the female guitar player Nita Strauss, she said something to me one time that really hit me hard was, ‘Queens straighten each other’s crowns.’ And I’ll never forget that, because that’s the reality of how it’s been for us our entire careers. We’ve all gotten along with the girls in the bands and always been the supportive ones cheering each other on. And that’s a beautiful thing. So I’m not offended by the term ‘female-fronted,’ because I look at it as such a positive thing. We have a club. We all sound different, but we have a club, and we support each other.”

Last month, BUTCHER BABIES announced a headlining tour, “Butcher Babies Vs. Goliath”, which will feature the band performing its debut album, “Goliath” — released in 2013 via Century Media Records — in its entirety along with recent hit singles and new material. The tour will stretch from August 28 to October 8 and will see the group stop at several of the largest U.S. rock festivals, including Rocklahoma, Louder Than Life, Aftershock and more. Shepherd and Harvey will continue to showcase fellow leading ladies by enlisting support from female-fronted acts INFECTED RAIN and STITCHED UP HEART. KALEIDO will also appear on select dates.

Hailing from the City of Angels, BUTCHER BABIES have released two EPs and three albums to date, with their latest 2017 LP, “Lilith”, debuting at #1 on iTunes Metal chart and #7 on iTunes Rock chart. The band kicked off 2021 by independently releasing a handful of newly energized singles produced and co-written by Matt Good (FROM FIRST TO LAST), including the most recent track “Last Dance” in April. Along with previously released singles “Yorktown”, “Sleeping With The Enemy” and “Bottom Of A Bottle”, all are to be featured on their upcoming self-released EP.

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METALLICA Shares Previously Unreleased 1992 Live Recording Of 'Through The Never'

METALLICA has shared “Through The Never (Sacramento, CA – January 11, 1992)”, taken from the “Live At Arco Arena” 3CD included in the remastered deluxe box set of its self-titled fifth album — also known as “The Black Album” — due on September 10 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. The track was recorded live at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California on January 11, 1992. Check it out below.

The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time. Its 1991 release not only gave METALLICA its first No. 1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S., its unrelenting series of singles — “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Wherever I May Roam” and “Sad But True” — fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status. The album’s reception from the press was similarly charged, building over the years from the top 10 of the 1991 Village Voice Pazz & Jop national critics poll to becoming a constant presence in the likes of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The album’s impact and relevance continue to grow — as proven by one indisputable fact: The Black Album remains unchallenged as the best-selling album in the history of Nielsen SoundScan, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30 years.

To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified Black Album is receiving its definitive re-release. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, The Black Album remaster will be available in multiple configurations including 180-gram double vinyl LP, standard CD and 3 CD expanded edition, digital, and limited-edition deluxe box set (containing the album remastered on 180-gram 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four tour laminates, three lithos, three guitar picks, a METALLICA lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card).

Much more than a mere tribute album, “The Metallica Blacklist” celebrates the enduring influence of this musical milestone with one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived by the METALLICA team: An unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.

“The Metallica Blacklist” offers up new dimensions of the record whose gravitational pull first drew the mainstream to METALLICA — and provides new insights into the universal and timeless appeal that kept it there: the boundary-smashing influence these 12 songs have had on fans and musicians of all stripes. “The Metallica Blacklist”‘s 53 tracks find singer songwriters, country artists, electronic and hip hop artists sharing their love of these songs alongside punk rockers, indie darlings, icons of rock, metal, world music and many, many more… and for 50+ good causes: Profits will be divided evenly between charities of the artist’s choice and METALLICA’s All Within My Hands foundation.

“The Metallica Blacklist” is a fitting and limitless homage, one that features bands who’ve shared stages with METALLICA alongside artists who are younger than the original album. It’s a truly staggering, at times mystifying assemblage of musicians, dozens of whom have little to nothing in common other than the shared passion for the music that’s united them for this album: 1 Album. 12 Songs. 53 Artists. Unlimited Possibilities.

“The Metallica Blacklist” will be available in formats including digital, four-CD and a limited-edition seven-LP vinyl pressing.

All profits from “The Metallica Blacklist” will be split evenly between the All Within My Hands foundation and 50+ charities chosen by the artists who play on the album. All Within My Hands was founded by the band in 2017 as a way for the entire METALLICA family to give back to communities that have supported the band by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services.

“The Metallica Blacklist” features the following tracks:

* ALESSIA CARA & THE WARNING – Enter Sandman
* MAC DEMARCO – Enter Sandman
* GHOST – Enter Sandman
* JUANES – Enter Sandman
* RINA SAWAYAMA – Enter Sandman
* WEEZER – Enter Sandman
* SAM FENDER – Sad But True (Live)
* JASON ISBELL – Sad But True
* MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND FEAT. LA PERLA & GERA MX – Sad But True
* ROYAL BLOOD – Sad But True
* ST. VINCENT – Sad But True
* WHITE REAPER – Sad But True
* YB – Sad But True
* BIFFY CLYRO – Holier Than Thou
* THE CHATS – Holier Than Thou
* OFF! – Holier Than Thou
* PUP – Holier Than Thou
* COREY TAYLOR – Holier Than Thou
* CAGE THE ELEPHANT – The Unforgiven
* VISHAL DADLANI, DIVINE, SHOR POLICE – The Unforgiven
* DIET CIG – The Unforgiven
* FLATBUSH ZOMBIES FEAT. DJ SCRATCH – The Unforgiven
* HA*ASH – The Unforgiven
* JOSÉ MADERO – The Unforgiven
* MOSES SUMNEY – The Unforgiven
* J BALVIN – Wherever I May Roam
* CHASE & STATUS FEAT. BACKROAD GEE – Wherever I May Roam
* THE NEPTUNES – Wherever I May Roam
* JON PARDI – Wherever I May Roam
* SEBASTIAN – Don’t Tread On Else Matters
* PORTUGAL. THE MAN FEAT. AARON BEAM – Don’t Tread On Me
* VOLBEAT – Don’t Tread On Me
* THE HU – Through The Never
* TOMI OWÓ – Through The Never
* PHOEBE BRIDGERS – Nothing Else Matters
* MILEY CYRUS FEAT. WATT, ELTON JOHN, YO-YO MA, ROBERT TRUJILLO, CHAD SMITH – Nothing Else Matters
* DAVE GAHAN – Nothing Else Matters
* MICKEY GUYTON – Nothing Else Matters
* DERMOT KENNEDY – Nothing Else Matters
* MON LAFERTE – Nothing Else Matters
* IGOR LEVIT – Nothing Else Matters
* MY MORNING JACKET – Nothing Else Matters
* PG ROXETTE – Nothing Else Matters
* DARIUS RUCKER – Nothing Else Matters
* CHRIS STAPLETON – Nothing Else Matters
* TRESOR – Nothing Else Matters
* GOODNIGHT, TEXAS – Of Wolf And Man
* IDLES – The God That Failed
* IMELDA MAY – the god that failed
* CHERRY GLAZERR – My Friend Of Misery
* IZÏA – My Friend Of Misery
* KAMASI WASHINGTON – My Friend Of Misery
* RODRIGO Y GABRIELA – The Struggle Within

Back in 2017, METALLICA announced that it was preparing deluxe remastered versions of its “…And Justice For All” (1988) and “Metallica” (1991) albums and reached out to its hardcore fans for help to get content for the new editions. “…And Justice For All” has since been reissued for its 30th anniversary in 2018.

METALLICA’s self-titled LP in 2014 became the first album to sell 16 million copies since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.

“Metallica” was already certified 16 times platinum on December 13, 2012 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for shipments in excess of 16 million copies in the U.S.

The album in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN’s 1997 record, “Come On Over”, as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era.

“Metallica” was the first of four collaborations with producer Bob Rock, with whom the band clashed throughout the recording of the disc.

METALLICA performed “the black album” in its entirety at a number of European festivals in 2012.

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BABYMETAL: New Revelation From The Fox God

Japanese pop-metal band BABYMETAL released a legend map depicting its entire 10th-anniversary year. It was also revealed that as the grand finale of BABYMETAL’s 10th anniversary year, on Sunday, October 10, the group’s 10-year legend since 2010 will be “sealed” from the world.

BABYMETAL’s 10th anniversary year began on October 10 of last year and since then, they have accomplished two major feats: BABYMETAL released their greatest hits album, “10 Babymetal Years”, and successfully completed a series of 10 performances called “10 Babymetal Budokan” at the Nippon Budokan between January to April 2021. The third and final feat to conclude their commemorative year will be “10 Babymetal Legends”, a series of projects looking back at BABYMETAL’s 10-year accomplishments.

Together, following the successful completion of the ten Budokan performances, it was announced that “Metal Resistance” 10th and final episode came to a close after a 10-year battle and BABYMETAL departed from this world to become a living legend.

Today’s announcement from the Fox God — the divine entity credited with creating BABYMETAL — reveals that on October 10 of this year, BABYMETAL will be “sealed” from the world. Since their last performance at the Nippon Budokan earlier this year, no future plans have been announced but it seems that BABYMETAL will disappear from sight for a while.

As the finale of BABYMETAL’s 10th anniversary, they are scheduled to release “10 Babymetal Budokan” on Blu-ray, DVD and CD formats on Wednesday, September 29 in Japan. Internationally, the “10 Babymetal Budokan” live album will be released digitally and on 2CD on October 1 via Babymetal Records, with a 2LP vinyl release near the end of the year.

“10 Babymetal Budokan” track listing:

01. Babymetal Death – Shin ver. –
02. Ljime, Dame, Zettai
03. Gimme Chocolate!!
04. Doki Doki Morning
05. GJ!
06. No Rain, No Rainbow
07. Distortion (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
08. PA PA YA!! (feat. F.HERO)
09. Megitsune
10. Karate
11. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
12. The One
13. Road Of Resistance

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HARDCORE SUPERSTAR To Release New Single 'Catch Me If You Can'

“Catch Me If You Can”, the explosive new single from Sweden’s self-coined “street metallers” HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, is scheduled to be released on all digital platforms on August 20 via Golden Robot Records.

“Catch Me If You Can” picks up the pace and builds on the momentum created by the band’s 2018 release “You Can’t Kill My Rock ‘N Roll”. This saw the band travel across the globe from America to Australia, playing to some of the largest audiences of their career and including an unforgettable night, where they broke attendance record for a headline act on the opening night of the world-famous Sweden Rock Festival.

Loud, aggressive and totally unrelenting, “Catch Me If You Can” bursts out the speakers with an onslaught of attitude, combined with a pounding backbeat and a chorus that hits like a freight train. This single sets the tone perfectly for the band’s upcoming album “Abrakadabra”, which is scheduled for release in March 2022.

Recorded at both Osterlycken and Bombastik in Musikhens Hus in Gothenburg, the band returned to their roots to work with acclaimed producer Johan Reiven, who they previously collaborated with on their 2005 Black Album. The result is an intense and hard-hitting collection of songs that drummer Magnus “Adde” Andreasson describes as a “natural follow-up to the Black album” and definitely “an album for the fans that is best shared with good friends, cold beer and very loud speakers.”

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JOHN CORABI Is 'Not A Fan' Of MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Generation Swine' Album: They 'Were Trying To Reinvent Themselves To Be Current'

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi has reflected on the making of the band’s 1997 album “Generation Swine”. CRÜE began recording the album with Corabi as lead singer, but ended up bringing original vocalist Vince Neil back into the fold and releasing the record with Neil’s vocals.

Speaking to Rob’s School Of Music, Corabi said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We worked on that record for, God, almost two years. Now, the difference is I’m not a fan of the record that came out. ‘Cause you’ve gotta understand we had recorded a bunch of those songs, and they brought Vince back. Then they went back into the studio with him for, like, another year. And they switched things around, then they started playing with sound effects.

“I don’t mean this in any disrespect to MÖTLEY at all, but the bottom line of it is we did a record and it didn’t sell well — per their standards,” he continued, referencing 1994’s “Mötley Crüe” LP. “I mean, it went gold, but it didn’t sell well. The tour was a disaster. And I think, to be honest with you, Tommy [Lee, drums] and Nikki [Sixx, bass] and Scott [Humphrey, co-producer] were trying to reinvent themselves to be current. And at the time, bands like MARILYN MANSON, NINE INCH NAILS, ROB ZOMBIE, MINISTRY, PANTERA — all these bands were heavy, a lot of ’em were industrial, and they were just trying to figure out how to be relevant again. Which kind of led to a little bit of my demise, because I was just, like, ‘This is fucking bullshit. Just do what you do. You’re MÖTLEY.’ And I’ve done the same thing. Even after I got out of MÖTLEY and I was in RATT, then I decided I was gonna do a solo record, I would record a few songs and I would do ’em and I’d go, ‘Man, I’ve gotta be relevant. I’ve gotta be relevant.’ So everybody gets caught up in it. But the bottom line of it is it took a manager, or a friend mine, to just sit there and go, ‘You know, Crab, listen, man. Fuck that. You are what you are. You’re a bluesy kind of BEATLES, [LED] ZEPPELIN, AEROSMITH… That’s who you are. Don’t try to be something that you’re not. Stop looking at trends and just do what you do. There are people out there that like what you do.’ And at that point, once I just said, ‘You know what? Fuck it. I’m just gonna do my own thing,’ then I was a lot better off.”

Circling back to the musical direction of “Generation Swine”, Corabi said: “I’m not real happy with the record the way it came out, because I think they went so far left… We wrote a song, and then they turned it into a song called ‘Glitter’. And if you listen to some of the guitar parts that Mick’s [Mars] doing, it’s like this weird random noise. One song, I don’t remember which one it is, but there was a guitar solo on it; it sounded like a chainsaw. And I’m, like, ‘Why the fuck…?’ Mick Mars has got the most awesome guitar tone; he’s a very underrated guitar player. Why would you do that to his tone? So, it is what it is.

“A lot of that record was written while I was in the band,” he confirmed. “And there was a bunch of other songs that are probably in a vault somewhere that we wrote.”

When interviewer Rob Spampinato suggested that it would be cool for MÖTLEY CRÜE to one day release the demos for “Generation Swine” with John’s vocals, Corabi said: “To be perfectly honest with you, I think they were panicked. It was the first time for Tommy and Nikki to actually really produce a record. And to be perfectly honest with you, my vocals, if they were ever to release any of that shit, I would wanna go back in and re-sing. Because I was so mentally… I couldn’t figure out what they wanted. Normally, when you go in with a producer, if you sing something, and they go, ‘Well…’ Like Marti Frederiksen, for example — I’ve done three records with Marti with THE DEAD DAISIES, and we’re working together on my solo album. And I’ll sing something for Marti, and he’ll go, ‘Eh. That’s really good, dude. But what about…’ And he’ll maybe sing 70 percent of what I was singing, and then he’ll just twist a note or two, and now I go, ‘Oh, shit. I would have never thought of that.’

“The thing that I was struggling with Tommy and Nikki and Scott, as far as producing was, they would say, ‘Nah. That’s not it,'” he recalled. “Then I’d go, ‘What are you hearing?’ And they wouldn’t sing me anything back. They really didn’t know what they wanted. They would give me these random bands… Like, Nikki would say, ‘Something on the lines of MANIC STREET PREACHERS and old David Bowie.’ And then Scott would go, ‘CHEAP TRICK.’ And then Tommy would go, ‘No, dude. Like, heavy. Like PANTERA. But lush, like OASIS.’ And I’m sitting there going, ‘Half of these bands I’ve never even fucking heard of before. Who are the MANIC STREET PREACHERS? Never heard of ’em.’ And I’m trying to process, how do you blend PANTERA with OASIS or CHEAP TRICK or Bowie? I was trying to process it, so my singing was not peak, let’s put it that way. So I would definitely wanna re-sing a lot of that shit.”

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.

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BRUCE DICKINSON Kicks Off U.K. Spoken-Word Tour In Brighton

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson kicked off his first-ever U.K. spoken-word tour Sunday night (August 1) at Theatre Royal in Brighton. A one-minute video featuring Bruce’s impressions of the evening, as well as commentary from several of the fans who attended the event, can be seen below.

Dickinson is considered one of the world’s most storied musicians after decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in IRON MAIDEN. A true polymath, his accomplishments include: pilot and airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and Sunday Times best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor, sports commentator and international fencer….to name but a few.

So there’s plenty to be entertained by throughout the evening’s cornucopia of fascinating tales and derring-do exploits, all delivered by Bruce with characteristically infectious enthusiasm and wry wit.

Split into two parts, the first section of the show sees Bruce taking a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, as told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs, videos and sometimes even erupting into song a capella, to illustrate a point.

The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to a question-and-answer session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. The more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be.

Speaking about what fans can expect from his spoken-word tour, Dickinson said: “Mainly it’s a sideways look at my life, which in some ways is pleasantly ridiculous. The show that is now the show has moved on quite a long way from what is just in [my autobiography]. Yes, it’s a bit autobiographical but there’s an awful lot more stuff. Part two gets interesting because it’s, dare I say, a bit improv. I give you cue cards upon which you can write whatever you want — insults, advice, questions perhaps. And I then rearrange those like some sort of bizarre crossword puzzle into what becomes the third third of the show. So, basically, that’s it — the last third of the show is created by you, with a little bit of help from me.”

Dickinson’s autobiography, “What Does This Button Do?”, landed at No. 10 on the New York Times “Hardcover Nonfiction” best sellers list. It was released in the U.S. in October 2017 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

“What Does This Button Do?” is Dickinson’s third book. He has previously published two satirical novels, “The Adventures Of Lord Iffy Boatrace” about the English upper classes and “The Missionary Position” about televangelism.

Dickinson, who will turn 63 later this week, joined IRON MAIDEN in 1981, replacing Paul Di’Anno, and made his recording debut with the band on the 1982 album “The Number Of The Beast”. He quit the band in 1993, pursuing several solo projects, and rejoined in 1999.

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K.K. DOWNING Says Songwriting Process For KK'S PRIEST's Debut Album Was 'Very Automatic'

During an appearance on “The Adventures Of Pipeman” podcast, former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing discussed the songwriting process for “Sermons Of The Sinner”, the upcoming debut album from his new band KK’S PRIEST. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The coolest thing for me, on this new record, is when I sat down on my own to put as much material together as I possibly could, first of all, it came very automatic. It was easy and natural. And it was kind of interesting for me to listen to, really, doing it on my own, especially doing it so fast. Because I had the backbone, in four or five days, of all the songs. And then I was able to compare, while I was listening to everything I had done previously, and I’m thinking, ‘Okay, this all sounds quite familiar. It all sounds extremely familiar,’ which I think I was really pleased about, really, to be honest. And I’ve already started writing… I had a session at the end of February — just a few days; two or three days this time — and I put down a whole another bunch of songs. And it all kind of just sounds like a continuation of this record, which I’m really pleased about as well. Now I’m joking with everybody — I’m going, ‘That’s it. I’m not gonna make individual albums ever again. It’s just all gonna be one long album.’ I’m interested to do that. And maybe — maybe — if anybody says, ‘K.K., let’s do a box set of the albums for KK’S PRIEST,’ if it has to be an MP3 or some new technology, it’ll just be one long record. That would be really cool to do that.”

KK’S PRIEST also features former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

“Sermons Of The Sinner” will be released on October 1 (postponed from the previously announced August 20) via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band’s upcoming 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as “a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music,” while the second was “angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties.”

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was “a key reason” he wasn’t invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton’s decision to retire from touring.

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FLOOR JANSEN: 'I Would Like To Find A Way To Combine A Solo Career With NIGHTWISH'

During an appearance on a recent episode of the “Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian” podcast, NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen discussed some of the things she would still like to accomplish in her career, both with the band and away from it. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Short term, I’ve been working on a solo album since the beginning of the pandemic, or let’s say a little bit before that when the solo career [picked up] in the Netherlands. And it really kickstarted my own creativity that I haven’t really been able to use over the years. It’s nice that it gets out. And I would like to do more of that and actually finish that album and make those steps and find a way to combine a solo career with NIGHTWISH and my life at home, which I even more value after spending so much time here in this green heaven [in Sweden] where I live.”

She continued: “And long-term, my biggest desire is to keep doing this in a good balance between everything. And that maybe sounds a bit cheesy or, ‘Yeah, of course,’ but if I see how difficult that is for everybody that’s been doing this for a long, long time, to keep a certain mental health, to keep a certain connection to the rest of the world, but not ‘we’re in a tour situation’ world but the world outside of that bubble, that would be something I highly envision and to not lose my mind halfway being Mrs. Rock Star or whatever. And being a very, very high-sensitive person, I’d like to keep my sanity in the overflow of impulses and impressions that I get throughout these days. And, yeah, if I can still come home to where I’m coming home to now, that would be a long-term dream.”

Floor played her first pandemic-era solo concert last month at Het Zomertheater in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band’s lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.

Floor officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013 and made her recording debut with the group on 2015’s “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” album.

NIGHTWISH’s ninth studio album, “Human. :II: Nature.” , was released in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.

Last Year, Jansen released a Dutch-language song called “De Beelden Blijven” which she recorded for the documentary “Kinderen In Oorlog: 75 Jaar Later” in cooperation with War Child.

Before joining NIGHTWISH, Jansen served as the vocalist in the Dutch bands AFTER FOREVER and REVAMP. More recently, she released a one-off album with a duo called NORTHWARD, in which she was joined by Jørn Viggo Lofstad, the guitarist of Norwegian band PAGAN’S MIND.

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