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Builder Jon Sullivan of Sully Guitars has introduced the Michael Sweet signature MS Revolution to the company’s model lineup. Designed by Sully Guitars in collaboration with STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet, the MS Revolution will be available in the Conspiracy Series (made in South Korea), with a limited-edition U.S. Custom Series to be offered later in 2021.

Says Sullivan: “Michael joined the Sully Guitars artist family last summer, and we’re both very excited to launch the first in the series of Michael Sweet signature models. Many of the guitars he played over his career are iconic and I’m very honored to offer my contribution to that tradition.”

Michael adds: “I’ve worked with a number of guitar companies over the years. Obviously, quality is incredibly important, but even more so, passion and respect is so important. I believe that Sully makes the best guitars available today, and he’s an amazing guy with a passion for building like no other. That’s why I’m honored to work with Sully Guitars and to be a Sully artist. I couldn’t be more excited about the launch of the MS line, starting with the MS Revolution.”

The Sully Guitars Conspiracy Series MS Revolution is a set-neck instrument with a 25.5″ scale length, mahogany body with a radiused top, mahogany neck with 24 medium jumbo stainless steel frets, ebony fretboard with a 12-16″ compound radius, “hollow block” inlays, hipshot locking tuners, bridge configurations of Tone Pros tune-o-matic/string through the body or FU-2 locking tremolo from FU-Tone (complete with L-shaped brass block, titanium saddle inserts, noiseless springs, brass spring claw/screws, and a trem stopper). The electronics feature Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers, volume and tone control with a push-pull coil split, and a three way toggle switch. Naturally, the yellow and black graphic completes the look. The guitar ships in a custom, form fit hard shell case.

The guitars are available for pre-order at sullyguitars.com with an expected availability this summer. Pricing begins at $1499 USD.

Sully Guitars artists also include Stevie D (BUCKCHERRY), Roman Surman (WEDNESDAY 13), Wednesday 13, Andee Blacksugar (KMFDM, BLACK SUGAR TRANSMISSION), Dee J Nelson (DEATH POP RADIO, solo artist, Doug Marks (“Metal Method” instructor), Perfecto De Castro (solo artist, Arnel Pineda, Rivermaya), Adam Nañez (solo artist), Caitlin Montclare (MONTE), Rodrigo Burotto (solo artist), Zaria (solo artist), Greg Marra (solo artist, Plenty Heavy), Christian Dryden (The Ritualists), Justin Hold (Stareview, Dropsy), Brett Aveni (solo artist) and Shane Lively (VII).

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Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA have collaborated with PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix on a cover version of the CREAM classic “White Room”. The track, which can be heard below, was produced by Howard Benson at West Valley Recording Studios in Woodland Hills, California and mixed by Chris Lorde-Alge.

Says APOCALYPTICA: “We were really looking forward to this release. Doing a cover of such a legendary song, originally by CREAM, was great fun and having Jacoby Shaddix as featuring artist is a big pleasure for us! We hope you like the song just as much as we do.”

“White Room” is the first release from APOCALYPTICA since “Talk To Me”, which arrived last August. That song was a collaboration with HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale.

APOCALYPTICA’s latest studio album, “Cell-0”, came out in January 2020. The effort was the band’s first fully instrumental record in 17 years.

2015’s “Shadowmaker” was APOCALYPTICA’s first album to feature just one singer — former SCARS ON BROADWAY guitarist Franky Perez — instead of guest collaborators. The disc was recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES, MASTODON).

Prior to enlisting Perez, APOCALYPTICA released eight albums that melded the classically trained cello mastery of the three core bandmembers with the harder elements of the rock world, including drums and guest vocalists, such as Gavin Rossdale from BUSH, and Corey Taylor of SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR fame.

Back in 2018, APOCALYPTICA’s Eicca Toppinen stated about the band’s decision to make an all-instrumental album at this point in the group’s career: “On the previous ones, we always combined the instrumental songs with the vocal songs, and it was great to have the featuring artists, it was great to work with Frank Perez for the ‘Shadowmaker’ album. But then, on the other hand, it became a bigger interest for us, like, okay, it would be interesting to make a full instrumental album, so there’s no compromise with anything.”

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After a string of chart hits and live triumphs, one of rock music’s most exciting new bands DIRTY HONEY is keeping the momentum going with the April 23 release of their self-titled debut full-length. The Los Angeles quartet has dropped a new single, “California Dreamin'”, with a news feature and video that premiered today via Rolling Stone.

A bold opener with towering chorus hooks and slipshod grooves, “California Dreamin'” features smoking guitar solos bookended by massive riffs and hooks. Lyrically, the single puts a different spin on the idea of California as the promised land: vocalist/lyricist Marc LaBelle drew on the tough times he faced after moving west in the early 2010s to craft a bittersweet cautionary tale that hints at personal and emotional turbulence.

“Lots of people come out to California, chasing a dream, and sometimes, people just don’t make it,” said LaBelle. “California isn’t always the ‘land of milk and honey,’ dreams don’t always come true here, and that’s the perspective this song and video take. The video is a dream through California that showcases the good, the bad and the ugly.”

DIRTY HONEY — LaBelle, guitarist John Notto, bassist Justin Smolian, and drummer Corey Coverstone — planned to record the album with producer Nick DiDia (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, PEARL JAM), who had produced the band’s 2019 EP; but the day before the band was due to fly to Australia to track the album, Los Angeles entered lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and traveling was off the table. Still keen to work with DiDia, they came up with a Plan B: record the full-length at Henson Studios in Los Angeles studio with DiDia beamed into the proceedings via the magic of modern technology.

Having to switch gears delayed the start of recording slightly, although this extra time ended up being a boon. DIRTY HONEY rented a rehearsal space and demoed the album’s songs in advance, meaning the tracks were in good shape when DiDia came onboard. “If we had gone when we were supposed to in March, we wouldn’t have had as many songs,” Smolian says. “We did a lot of rehearsing and got tighter as a band. Except for Marc’s lyrics, everything was pretty much written by the time we got into the studio, there really wasn’t a lot of, ‘Let’s try this, let’s try that.’ It was more about capturing takes.”

Adds drummer Corey Coverstone: “Because of the pandemic, we had a lot more time to write and prepare, which was great. It meant that we were able to workshop the songs a lot more, and I think it really made a difference.”

The DIRTY HONEY album does sound effortless and captures the lightning-in-a-bottle dynamics and energy of the band’s live sound. The collection boasts airtight songwriting that plays up their strengths: sexy, bluesy, nasty rock ‘n’ roll. LaBelle reaffirms his status as one of contemporary rock’s best vocalists on “The Wire”, while the gospel-tinted “Another Last Time” is a midtempo, organ-fueled album-closer bursting with soul.

Although the pandemic has thrown some obstacles in the way, DIRTY HONEY knows that pushing through those tough times will only help them come out stronger on the other side. “When you finally come through on those moments, that’s where the real magic comes in,” Notto says. “What makes all of our songs fun to play and listen to is we don’t allow ourselves to stop short of getting the best possible results out of each one of them.”

In fact, if anything, all of the four band members are determined to better themselves going forward. “As a guitarist, I’m always inspired by the everlasting pursuit of the perfect riff,” Notto adds. “I also wanted to extend the artistic statement that we’ve already made. We weren’t looking to sound different, or prove our growth, necessarily. It was more about, ‘Oh, you thought that was good? Hold my beer.'”

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Another previously unreleased 2014 live jam rehearsal recording by former MEGADETH members Nick Menza, Chris Poland and James LoMenzo can be heard below.

The clip was edited by Menza himself and features the trio in an all-out original, free-for-all intense heavy jam session.

The unnamed trio was assembled by Menza and LoMenzo in 2014, and later on joined by Poland to handle rhythm and lead guitar.

Before joining forces with Poland, Menza and LoMenzo released two demo versions of their cover of the METALLICA classics “Creeping Death” and “Motorbreath” with a guest appearance by guitarist/vocalist Davor Garasic from the Croatian thrash metal band SUFOSIA.

Menza, Poland and LoMenzo’s first jam session took place on November 1, 2014, at Menza’s Disintegrator Studios in Studio City, California, where they cracked through some of the old MEGADETH catalog along with some of their favorite METALLICA and LED ZEPPELIN songs.

Regarding the project’s musical direction, which was described by some as LED ZEPPELIN meets METALLICA,” Nick said: “It’s got some elements of that, but I’d say we’re just so far beyond everything that’s been heard already. It’s gonna be a conglomerate of styles. It’s gonna be what we like to do best. Have fun and play. Our material is gonna be really out there, It’s gonna be different. It’s gonna pumped, it’s gonna be heavy, but it’s gonna be us.”

The trio then rehearsed handful of times before disbanding later that year due to other musical commitments, Menza went on to join Poland’s band OHM:, and was playing with the group live on stage when he died behind his drum kit of natural causes in May 2016.

The unnamed project will be a highlight in the recently announced official Menza documentary film “This Was My Life – The Story of Nick Menza”, featuring video footage and audio recordings of Menza himself discussing the project’s rhythm section, future recording and touring plans.

The film will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza’s legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as “an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic ‘Rust In Peace’ lineup.”

“This Was My Life” will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick’s archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.

Menza’s longtime personal manger Robert Bolger said: “I am very excited to be working with Screaming Butterfly Entertainment on Nick’s official documentary.

“There’s a lot of published misinformation out there about Nick that isn’t true and I am very happy to bring the truth forth.

“Nick loved his fans and always said without the fans none this would be possible. I really think Nick’s fans will enjoy this journey through his life.”

Executive producer Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment added: “As both a filmmaker, and fellow metalhead who deeply values the metal community, I am honored and excited to go on this journey alongside all of you.”

Menza’s official autobiography, “Megalife: The Autobiography Of Nick Menza” by J. Marshall Craig, was released in December 2018 via Post Hill Press.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino “Pag” Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal’s fiercest drummers during MEGADETH’s 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.

Poland is best known for his work on MEGADETH’s first two albums “Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!” (1985) and “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?” (1986).

LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group’s studio albums, 2007’s “United Abominations” and 2009’s “Endgame”. He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

In addition to MEGADETH, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION. For the past six years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty.

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STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox underwent the first of his brain surgeries on Thursday, March 4 to treat one of the tumors that were found in his head — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain — when he suffered his first seizure in August 2018 while performing with SIN CITY SINNERS at Harrah’s in Las Vegas.

More than two years after the tumors were discovered, both had grown and were posing a serious health risk to the guitarist, who turned 59 last June. Specifically, the tumor behind the ear, if it continued to grow, could have caused hearing loss, balance, vision and spinal problems, while the tumor in the back of Oz’s brain was in the area where left side of his arms, hands and body operate. Removing it could have affected the upper left motor function and potential ability to recognize faces and objects.

Late Thursday night, Oz’s wife, Annie Lobért, issued the following update on his condition: “He is out of surgery & in ICU! I’m getting ready to see Oz.

“LIGHT at end of the tunnel!

“Dr. Just came down before to see me and shared: Oz did great during surgery with guitar playing & talking up a storm about favorite tv shows!

“We have a few complications/concerns.

1. Dr. had to leave a small 1-2 inch piece of the wall of tumor that blended in with the rest of his brain. Affected his playing functions so they couldn’t remove it. In a few days he won’t be able to play with his arm, but after the swelling goes down, hopefully he will be back to normal.

2. Breathing not good during surgery. Airways closed up halfway thru so they had to give him a breathing tube. He will be on it tonight and hopefully they can wean him off of it in the next 24 hours. They will also try to figure out what’s wrong with his airway in his throat in the next few days.

“Thank you for all your prayers!”

She later shared an update, saying that the breathing tube has been removed and that Oz was breathing completely on his own.

Fox discussed his health during a January 17 interview with SIN CITY SINNERS manager Jason Green. Speaking about his upcoming procedure, Oz said: “They’re gonna take me in. And I’ve got a great team of people, great team of doctors that are very specialized. They do hundreds of these procedures a year. They’re gonna open up the skull. The good thing is the [first] tumor [they will operate on] is towards the outside of the head, towards the outside of the brain, which it’s easy access — they don’t have to go too deep to get to it. And they did all testing on me to make sure that wherever they go in there, they won’t damage any of my functions. They did some really extensive testing — something called an fMRI, Functional [Magnetic Resonance Imaging], and they had me think about things, they had me actually act like I was playing guitar, and I had to hum backgrounds while I was playing, ’cause I couldn’t move my head or my jaw. I had ’em play a STRYPER song, and I just kind of played to it and acted like I was playing guitar and tried to imagine what I was playing. And then they would see where the brain functions were while I was doing all that. And after they checked everything and went through it, they figured out that all of my activity for playing and singing and all that was nowhere near the tumor. So there’s a good chance I’ll retain all of that. But there’s still always a risk. You never know with the brain. They seem to think I’m gonna be okay after the procedure, but it’ll take time to recover, ’cause you may have some bleeding, some brain swelling — all that kind of stuff.”

Asked if the surgeons would only work on one of his tumors during the initial procedure, Fox said: “They have to work on the right-brain low-grade tumor — they’re gonna work on that first — and if all goes well with that, [there will be a] six-week recovery time, and then I can start working on the left one [behind the ear]. For the other side, it will be a bit different. They have to go into a different part of my skull here. They’ll have to cut a portion of my skull out to get into that area, and then, of course, replace it again. I’ll have steel titanium plates in my head and all that crazy stuff. The only thing about this one is it’s so close to the audio nerves that I could lose my hearing. They say it affects nerves on the side of my face here, so that could be a problem. I’m already feeling numbness around my mouth.”

Oz went on to say that his medical team initially tried “doing some other things that were non-invasive” without the desired results. “We were trying to get the tumors to shrink by using different methods that they say are proven to help do that,” he explained. “But that didn’t work — they still grew. And so now we’re, like, we’d better go in and take some action — get working on cutting them out. Otherwise, if [the tumors] get too big, they won’t be able to help me. Again, the left ear, when they work on this tumor, there’s a good chance I could lose my hearing, or the nerves going to my balance part of the ear, the cochlea. If that happens, then I will have to really recuperate in a way where my right ear would take over for my balance, which it’s amazing that the brain can do that.”

According to Oz, he may be out of commission for several months after his second operation.

“It’s gonna be a journey,” he said. “I may be recovering for a while — maybe through summer. Hopefully I’ll be recovered by the end of summer. If anything happens where I’m not, then, oh, well. We’ll see how it goes.”

Fox said that he is realistic about the risks involved with the operation and the likelihood of any complication, including death.

“The worst thing that could happen is something could go wrong and I could pass,” he said. “Well, if that ever happened, in whatever situation — I could die driving a car, getting in a wreck somewhere or somebody running into me. But because of my [Christian] faith, I know where I’m going, and I have a belief in eternity with my soul. And because I’ve followed Christ for so long now, and I have a full-on relationship — I’ve surrendered my entire life to him — the promises that he gives in his words are that I have a better place to go to after this. I’ll basically be changing addresses with my soul. That’s the mindset I have.

“Nobody wants to ever leave their family or things that they invested in years, but when it’s your time, it’s your time,” he reasoned. “So that doesn’t scare me. I mean, we could go down in a plane. [Laughs] So, you never know. And I’m certainly not afraid of that — I’m not afraid of death. The only thing I think I’d be… Well, I don’t even wanna say it… There’s not fun ways to die, let’s put it that way. [Laughs] If it’s quick, it’s better. [Laughs]”

Last October, Fox was briefly hospitalized after suffering another massive seizure.

Within weeks of Fox’s original August 2018 seizure, STRYPER toured Australia and Japan as a three-piece, and later recruited Howie Simon (JEFF SCOTT SOTO, GRAHAM BONNET) to fill in while Fox was unable to go on the road.

Formed 38 years ago, STRYPER is the first overtly Christian metal band to go mainstream. The group’s name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

STRYPER’s albums include “To Hell With The Devil”, “Second Coming”, “No More Hell To Pay”, “Fallen” and the band’s latest effort, “Even The Devil Believes”.

He is out of surgery & in ICU! I’m getting ready to see Oz.

LIGHT at end of the tunnel!

Dr. Just came down before to…

Posted by Annie Lobert on Thursday, March 4, 2021

I got to see my Ozziebears!!!

The breathing tube is OUT!

Your prayers are working!

We want to thank everyone who…

Posted by Annie Lobert on Thursday, March 4, 2021

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EVANESCENCE has released a new single called “Better Without You”. It is the next single from the band’s upcoming album, “The Bitter Truth”, which will arrive on March 26 via BMG.

An “F-you” to the forces that have attempted to hold her back, “Better Without You” is bandleader Amy Lee’s unapologetic declaration of independence. With mammoth vocals and a metal heart, the song follows previous singles “Wasted On You” and “Use My Voice”.

“Better Without You” was teased with an interactive digital puzzle that fans were challenged to solve in order to hear a snippet of the song.

“The Bitter Truth” is EVANESCENCE’s first album of original music in ten years, and its songs have already earned accolades from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Elle, Billboard, and many more.

Fans can pre-order a “The Bitter Truth” digital version, CD, vinyl and a limited-edition deluxe fan box set featuring a bonus CD, journal, poster and special cassette of exclusive audio from the making of “The Bitter Truth”. Every pre-order will automatically come with downloads of already-released songs “Wasted On You”, “The Game Is Over”, and “Use My Voice”, as well as “Yeah Right”.

“The Bitter Truth” is an epic, guitar-driven collection inspired by the (often-bitter) realities of the 21st Century and our world. The already-released songs have received early accolades from Elle, Billboard, SPIN, American Songwriter, and more, and showcase the “ferocious and hymnal” (The New York Times) sound that made EVANESCENCE a household name, as well as the drama and powerhouse vocals that made Amy Lee “one of rock’s definitive voices” (Rolling Stone).

EVANESCENCE’s new music was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked on 2011’s self-titled LP.

On the topic of “The Bitter Truth” album title, Lee previously told Rock Sound: “As the lyrics had started to form, and just my feeling in this moment in general, there’s a big theme of disillusionment for me. Just growing up and seeing that fairy tales aren’t really real. And it’s hard to be a grownup — it really is. Because somebody else isn’t in charge, we really have to be able to make our own decisions, find out our own information, protect ourselves. People die — we’re all going to. There’s no magic castle. So that sounds like a lot of doom and gloom when I say it, but there’s a choice to accept that truth and live in it and embrace it and choose to live and choose to live in a moment, and the choice to just give up. And there’s a struggle there, but my choice is most definitely to take that pill.”

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Alexi Laiho’s cause of death has been revealed. According to his former SINERGY bandmate Kimberly Goss, to whom he was still legally married at the time of his passing, the ex-CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman died of “alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue.” Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system.

Alexi 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.

In January, Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported that Laiho tied the knot with Goss in February 2002, and the couple never officially divorced.

Although Laiho filed for divorce in November 2002, he quickly withdrew the petition and never filed another.

At the time of his death, Alexi was reportedly married to Australian-born music publicist Kelli Wright. However, according to Finnish law, Laiho and Wright would not have been able to wed, as Laiho and Goss had never terminated their marriage.

In December 2017, Wright shared an Instagram photo of what she called her and Alexi’s “wedding day,” and described it as “full of love and magic”.

In announcing the cause of Alexi’s death on Instagram, Kimberly wrote: “The loss of this extraordinarily talented and beautiful soul is a tragedy that was entirely preventable. He had so many good years left in him. Imagine all the amazing music we could still be getting if he had just accepted help.

“I plead with anyone who is struggling with alcoholism or any other substance abuse problem, to please seek support. You do not have to meet this same fate. If people are trying to help you, remember that they are doing it out of love and concern, so please do not push them away. Please do not surround yourself with enablers who promote your addictions. Let this be a cautionary tale that no one is invincible.

“I do not want his death to be in vain. My hope is to eventually start a memorial foundation or charity in his native, Finland to help others struggling with these same demons. This needs to be an open conversation, not a source of shame. We are all human, we all suffer, but help is out there. If his story can save even ONE life, then something good can come out of this horrible loss we have all endured.”

In a 2019 interview with Beatroute, Laiho said that the first single from CHILDREN OF BODOM’s final album, “Hexed”, was written about his dangerous relationship with alcohol.

“‘Under Grass And Clover’ is about severe alcohol withdrawal, which is something I have definitely written about before, but not in recent years,” he said. “I don’t really drink like that anymore, but back in the day it was pretty hardcore. [While writing ‘Hexed’], I sort of went back in time and started remembering what it felt like to go through withdrawal and go through detox. It was just about remembering those horrible times. I don’t even drink on the road anymore. I cut back a ton, so I don’t get those feelings. I don’t want to fuckin’ feel like that ever again. I’d wake up and take a couple shots, not to get drunk, but just to keep an even keel and feel normal. It’s just fuckin’ sad. But in the beginning I didn’t think anything of it — it was normal.”

At the time, Laiho said that he no longer drank on tour and only consumed alcohol socially with friends at home.

“It still takes some willpower,” he said. “I know myself well enough to know I have an addictive personality. It doesn’t necessarily have to be booze — I can get addicted to walking, which I do a lot. Sometimes I work too hard, stuff like that. With beer, I just need to keep an eye on it.

“I think that’s the most important thing: admitting it,” he continued. “If you stay in denial, that’s not going to take you anywhere good in life. Admit it to yourself, know yourself, and keep an eye on yourself. I’ve been there, and I’ve seen people ruin their lives because of alcohol or drugs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fuckin’ saint, and I’m not trying to preach here — people should do whatever the fuck they want. This just worked for me, that’s all. It’s actually pretty fucking great, not feeling so fuckin’ shitty every day.”

When Alexi’s death was first announced on January 4, Kelli called him “the most loving and magnificent husband and father.”

At the time of Alexi’s death, Goss was at her current home in Chicago, Illinois, while Wright was in Australia.

Goss moved to Finland in 1999 and stayed in the country for a number of years before moving back to the United States in 2012.

Laiho reportedly spent the last 10 months of his life in Finland.

Alexi and drummer Jaska Raatikainen 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.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in “100 Guitars From Hel” — a massive concert piece he composed.

BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT made its live debut last October at Rytmikorjaamo in Seinäjoki, Finland. The 17-song show consisted entirely of CHILDREN OF BODOM material.

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A post shared by Kimberly Goss (@kimvoxrox)

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METALLICA’s non-profit foundation All Within My Hands has donated $75,000 to Feeding America to ensure food banks in the communities affected by recent winter storms in the southern United States have access to the food they need. Feeding America is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a nationwide network of 200 food banks.

Feeding America is working with national donors to transport food and supplies to the most heavily impacted locations, with a focus on supporting communities in Texas and surrounding areas that dealt with the most significant power outages and water shortages.

METALLICA said in a statement: “The winter storm that struck Texas last month was beyond anything the state’s residents could imagine preparing for. As temperatures dropped well below freezing and widespread power outages swept the area, families suffered. Grocery chains did the best they could to support their communities, but their supply was hit hard. While temperatures have risen and electricity has been restored in many areas, residents are still very much in the throws of a struggle.

“Texans running low on food are finding empty grocery store shelves. Food pantries are running out of supplies. And the freeze has wiped out substantial portions of the state’s citrus and vegetable crops. As part of our commitment to fighting food insecurity, All Within My Hands has donated $75,000 to Feeding America to be distributed to Texas food banks.”

Feeding America estimated that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans would not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

All Within My Hands is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation established in 2017 as a way for the METALLICA family to give back to communities that have supported the band. In 2020, AWMH donated $645,000 to COVID-19-related relief funds including Feeding America, Direct Relief, as well as to charities assisting those in the entertainment and hospitality industries suddenly without work. The foundation also donated $350,000 to aid those affected by the West Coast wildfires.

METALLICA and All Within My Hands are committed to running an organization of the highest integrity where expenses are kept to a minimum and are paid for entirely by the band, the board, and friends who have worked with the band over many years and are excited to help in this mission.

As part of our commitment to fighting food insecurity, the @AWMHFoundation has donated $75,000 to @FeedingAmerica to be distributed to Texas food banks. Learn more and find out how you can help at https://t.co/kpdSIxhWkt. #MetallicaGivesBack #AWMH https://t.co/CejXJkJhnV
— Metallica (@Metallica) March 5, 2021

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Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), Phil Demmel (VIO-LENCE, ex-MACHINE HEAD), Jason Christopher (Corey Taylor, ex-PRONG) and Brandon Pertzborn (HO99O9, Corey Taylor) have joined forces to record a quarantine cover of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS’ “Dead & Bloated”. Check it out below.

Christopher shared a video of the performance on his Instagram and wrote in an accompanying message: “I hope you enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it.

“I would like to thank the homeys: @jayruston For taking time out of his busy schedule to do this sweet mix, @rarebirdlit for the studio, @dirtyern12 for making this rad video, and @ra_diaz for the company. And my brothers in arms: @phildemmel @shavoodadjian @brandonpertzborn . I love you guys so much and thank you for absolutely crushing this!! I hope we did @stpband justice”.

Hired gun Christopher has spent his musical career as an unsung hero, playing an important live role for many influential bands and artists who need a bassist or guitarist.

Jason’s a left-handed guitarist who plays a regular guitar upside down and back to front. Not being able to afford a left-handed model in his teenage years, it’s testament to his tenacity that he made do, “figuring it out for himself.” Not only a gifted musician, Jason has turned his hand to writing about his life and experiences of “making it” in the industry. In 2018, he released the first instalment of his engaging work, “The Rogue To Nowhere”, part one of a three-part novella series documenting tales of growing up in Woodstock, New York and moving to Los Angeles, California in search of his musical dream.

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