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JANE’S ADDICTION drummer Stephen Perkins recently teamed up with steelpan players from eight different countries to record a quarantine cover version of THE WHO classic “Baba O’Riley”. Check out the video below.

Perkins is perhaps the only rock drummer to use steelpan in a Top 40 rock band. He told Pan Magazine that he first fell in love with steelpan due to its “beautiful, hallow, haunting sound.”

In 2017, world-renowned steelpan player Tracy Thornton launched PAN ROCKS PROJECT L.A., joined by Perkins (on drums) and fellow rock legends Billy Sheehan of MR. BIG (on bass), Tracii Guns from L.A. GUNS (on guitar), and producer Matt Starr, drummer for MR. BIG. The project produced recordings of JANE’S ADDICTION’s “Been Caught Stealing”, KISS’s “Detroit Rock City”, LED ZEPPELIN’s “Kashmir”, the holiday favorite “Carol Of The Bells” and an original tune by Thornton called “Dain Bramage”.

Born in Los Angeles in 1967, Stephen met future bandmate Dave Navarro in high school and they started a heavy metal band called DIZASTER. After graduation, Stephen and Dave formed JANE’S ADDICTION.

JANE’S ADDICTION was signed to Warner Bros. after garnering critical claim for their release on the independent Los Angeles label XXX. Under their Warner Bros. deal, they recorded two more critically lauded but sometimes controversial albums, “Nothing’s Shocking” and “Ritual De Lo Habitual”. Stephen’s side projects have included PORNO FOR PYROS and BANYAN.

JANE’S ADDICTION released its last album, “The Great Escape Artist”, back in 2011.

What a great musical collaboration- honoured to keep the beat for steel pan players around the globe- @TheWho @pananimal @dwdrums https://t.co/yF3mWlFqui
— Stephen Perkins (@stephenperkins) June 28, 2020

GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall spoke to the “Music Mania” podcast about what it’s like to be a conservative voice on social media despite the stereotype of the musical community as a haven for liberals. He said (hear audio below): “My parents were full-blown liberals. I’ve never been into politics at all. I’ve just always kind of considered myself hopefully sensible. And when things are so out of whack that it makes no sense at all even to the most illogical person, I feel like I have to say something, ’cause I really want my grandson to grow into a regular-type world and not one that’s dangerous or whatever.

“I try not to get too outrageous, but I do get a little bit upset,” he continued. “I’d rather promote helping alcoholics, to tell you the truth. Lately, I’ve been laying back a little bit on it, ’cause I don’t really feel like I’m gonna change the world or whatever, but I just think it’s getting a little too dangerous out there, getting a little too out of control. There’s gotta be a better way to do it.”

Kendall also touched upon the racial unrest in the United States following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and many other black people who have died at the hands of the police.

“I wish everybody could come together,” he said. “I know there’s two sides or whatever, and I totally get that — it’s always been that way. But I don’t think leveling our country is the answer. I don’t want people to be mad at me. I hate to see innocent people losing their businesses and losing their livelihood, and they really have nothing to do with anything except they’re just trying to make a living. I don’t think that’s fair, and I don’t think that’s out of whack to feel that way.

“We all saw what happened to the George Floyd guy, and we were all sickened by that. But I just don’t feel that we have to just destroy our country and turn it into Afghanistan over it. I like the idea of maybe doing police reform, doing things that… maybe body cams.

“I have a buddy who’s a detective in Reno, and what he told me is, he goes, ‘If some guy that’s not quite there mentally, but he skates through the academy, usually they’ll fail the mental test.’ Like, they might ask him something like, ‘What if you found out your partner’s gay?’ And he’d say something like, ‘Before or after I kicked his ass?’ That guy would not be a police officer — [he’d be] outta there in a second. But occasionally a bad apple slips through. They’ll usually get him early, but somehow this guy that did what he did obviously needed to be dealt with earlier. But I just don’t think every cop is bad or whatever. And again, I’m just trying to be logical.

“I try to treat everybody well, so I’m not out there trying to injure anyone by speaking my piece. I want things to go well for everybody. But I’m a little concerned about what’s going on out there right now.”

Last month, Kendall made political headlines when President Donald Trump retweeted a video Mark posted of a man being assaulted by a group of protestors in Dallas after he had initially charged at them with a machete while reportedly trying to protect a store. Kendall reportedly labeled the Dallas incident — without proof — as the work of Antifa. Through his publicist, Kendall declined to say what basis he had for his Antifa claim, according to The Dallas Morning News.

On Twitter, Kendall lauded the president for vowing to treat Antifa as a terrorist group, writing: “Democrats & progressives support Antifa financially who are destroying our country day by day.”

GREAT WHITE is currently working on material for its next album. The effort will mark GREAT WHITE’s first collection of new songs with singer Mitch Malloy, who joined the group in 2018 following the departure of Terry Ilous.

Ilous, frontman of ’80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012’s “Elation” and 2017’s “Full Circle”, before Terry was dismissed from the group.

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE, which features original GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell alongside Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar, Dan McNay on bass, Tony Montana on guitar and Dicki Fliszar on drums.

What Obama meant to say is, Trump blew my 8 yrs away as president in 18 months!!Congratulations President Trump, you’re doing it my good man,
keep up the great work???…

— Mark Kendall (@MarkKendall_GW) September 7, 2018

In 2019, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield donated his car collection to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. James has always been a car guy and shares his car journey to one of the coolest custom car collections around. Hetfield has described seeing cars in the same way he sees music: as forms of freedom and expression that convey the passions of their creator.

Best known as a co-founder, songwriter, singer and guitarist for the heavy metal band METALLICA, Hetfield has also gained recognition in the automotive world for his unique collection of entirely bespoke vehicles. While the vast majority of collectors acquire vehicles by purchasing pre-existing examples, Hetfield elected instead to build his from scratch, channeling creativity often reserved for his music into the production of rolling sculptures.

A newly released 27-minute video tour of Hetfield’s collection can be seen below.

Hetfield made his first major public appearance since entering rehab on January 30, when an exhibit featuring 10 of his classic custom cars opened with a ticketed reception at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Hetfield took part in a chat and helped auction two of his ESP guitars at the event. He said he was proud to have his work on display at the museum. “There’s no other place like this,” James said. “The Petersen is the pinnacle. It’s the best place to have your vehicles. They weren’t doing me much good sitting in my garage. I loved looking at them. The best part is they’re all together. I didn’t want to auction them off and [have them] go all over the world. It’s a collection. It marks my life.”

Hetfield has been largely out of the public eye since last fall when METALLICA canceled an Australian tour and announced that Hetfield was returning to rehab to battle his addictions. The singer/guitarist first got treatment in 2002, a process that was chronicled in the 2004 documentary “Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster”.

Among the cars on display at “Reclaimed Rust: The James Hetfield Collection” are Voodoo Priest, based on a ’37 Lincoln Zephyr, a ’36 Auburn roadster named Slow Burn, a Delahaye inspired ’34 Packard, a ’36 Ford in bare metal called Iron Fist, a purple ’56 Ford F-100 pickup truck and Skyscraper, Hetfield’s 1953 Buick Skylark.

As previously reported, a book about Hetfield’s cars, “Reclaimed Rust: The Four-Wheeled Creations Of James Hetfield”, will be released on July 28 via Insight Editions. In the book, Hetfield opens up his garage for an exclusive tour of the highlights of his incredible collection of restored and customized classic cars.

A few years ago, Hetfield said that he approaches building hot rods the same way he approaches writing music. “Building cars is always an escape,” he explained. “It’s the same with music. I don’t know what I’m gonna make. Cars are like people to me; they like love. They love to be touched, they love to be handled, they love to be driven… they love to be admired… This is a form of expression and freedom, and you can get away with driving something like that but still have your personality show through. It’s just like looking at art. You look at a piece and you go, ‘I don’t get it.’ And you look at something else and say, ‘That is amazing. I wish I thought of that.'”

Tommy Lee has unveiled a couple of new face tattoos.

The MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer took to Instagram this weekend to show off the fresh ink, courtesy of Mario Barth Tattoo Studios. One of the new tats, inked on his right cheek, appears to be a Japanese word or phrase. Lee also added fading dots over his left eye as well as what appears to be an upside down backwards treble clef and a bass clef making a heart on around his left temple.

Lee’s CRÜE bandmate reacted to the photos of Tommy’s new tattoos, writing on Instagram: “Looks awesome. I need a tune up with some of my ink too. Great” ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 also weighed in, writing: “That’s so cool. I love it.”

Last year, SLAYER and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt said that he was alarmed by the number of younger rap artists having face tattoos. “That’s what dudes looked like when they passed out on the bus — we’d Sharpie the fuck out of you,” Gary said. “And now that’s what they look like on purpose. It’s crazy. They’re all fucking Sharpied up.”

Post Malone recently added a new inking of a buzzsaw dripping with blood. He also has the phrase “Always Tired” tattooed under each of his eyes.

Earlier this year, Malone opened up about his many face tattoos, telling GQ Style that there’s more to it than aesthetics.

“I’m a ugly-ass motherfucker,” he said. “[The face tattoos do] maybe come from a place of insecurity, to where I don’t like how I look, so I’m going to put something cool on there so I can look at myself and say, ‘You look cool, kid,’ and have a modicum of self-confidence, when it comes to my appearance.”

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frontman Ivan Moody sports a couple of tattoos on his head: a mohawk tattoo made to look like reptilian scales and feathers on his scalp, and a phoenix in flight, which marks his first year sober.

Back in 2014, Moody’s FIVE FINGER bandmate Jason Hook got the word “Driven” added to his right temple.

KORN bassist Fieldy has a couple of face tattoos: a crucifix on the left side of his face, and the word “love” in Hebrew on the right side. KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch also has several symbols on his face, including stars, teardrops, music notes and a cross.

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@mariobarthtattoo ??
A post shared by T?ɱɱ¥ ᒪEE (@tommylee) on Jun 27, 2020 at 11:06pm PDT

AXS TV recently announced that the network has acquired all three seasons of the popular reality series “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour”. The series is set to join AXS TV’s Thursday night summer lineup, starting July 2 at 9 p.m. ET. A+E Networks, Osbourne Media, and T Group Media are the production companies for the series.

A newly released AXS TV clip from “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour” in which Ozzy Osbourne gets “knighted” with the help of “King Arthur” at Glastonbury Abbey, England can be seen below.

“Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour” follows father and son duo — and heavy metal royalty — Ozzy and Jack Osbourne on the trip of a lifetime, as they embark across the United States and around the world. Armed with nothing but an RV and a bucket list packed with iconic sites and unforgettable activities, the pair hit the road to learn the history of legendary landmarks with the help of knowledgeable experts, and explore quirky local hotspots ranging from a funeral museum and medical oddities collection, to an abandoned penitentiary, a Sin City summit with Billy Idol, a dip in the Fountain Of Youth, and much more. The series also features appearances by Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly Osbourne, and his beloved grandchildren, adding to the fun and humor associated with this well-known TV family.

Highlights include a trip to The Alamo, where Ozzy relives one of his more infamous moments; a trek to Roswell, New Mexico and the alleged extraterrestrial crash site just outside of Area 51; international odysseys to the U.K., where the pair checks out Superhenge; Japan, where they craft a kitana blade and Jack gets a souvenir that will last a lifetime; and Cuba, where Jack and Ozzy visit Ernest Hemingway’s estate and try to score some Cuban cigars; as well as a visit to Mar-a-Lago; a high-speed chase down a NASCAR track; a cruise aboard a life-size Noah’s Ark replica; a New Orleans excursion headlined by a tour of one of the country’s most haunted houses; a Missouri mining adventure; and an out-of-this-world Space Camp retreat, among others.

“‘Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour’ is the perfect summer series, packed with fun, adventure, and some truly incredible sights,” said Sarah Weidman, head of original programming, development and multi-platform content for AXS TV. “We’re excited to be able to provide our viewers with unique programming that celebrates the celebrity lifestyle, taking fans beyond the stage and into the personal lives of some of their favorite entertainers, as we show them a side of these larger-than-life figures that few ever get to see. ‘Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour’ complements this mission exactly, allowing viewers to get to know Ozzy on a much deeper level as a devoted father and grandfather, and passionate history buff. Though travel may be limited right now, viewers can still enjoy jet-setting along with heavy metal’s first family as they explore legendary landmarks and undiscovered gems — across the country and around the world.”

Video of MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn’s latest “Acoustic Happy Hour”, which was originally livestreamed on Facebook Live this past Friday, June 26, can be seen below. The session includes covers of SLIPKNOT’s “Snuff”, PEARL JAM’s “Black”, DEFTONES’ “Change” and STAIND’s “Outside”, as well as acoustic renditions of MACHINE HEAD tunes “Is There Anybody Out There?” and “Circle The Drain”.

Flynn told Kerrang! magazine about “Acoustic Happy Hour”: “It’s just basically a free show on Facebook. I try to learn two new songs every Friday. I take requests, and I try to play MACHINE HEAD songs that have never been played live acoustic. Last week I covered MUSE, TOOL and LYNYRD SKYNYRD. It’s been fucking awesome. The first three or four were horrible — I knew they were — but I knew that if I kept sucking for six weeks I would get past it.

“For the first 20 years of my career, I never took singing lessons. Then I did some about 10 years ago. With these acoustic shows, I’ve been back in contact with my old singing teacher to try and figure out why I can do a three-and-a-half hour MACHINE HEAD show, but this clean singing is kicking my ass. It’s been an opportunity to un-learn all the wrong shit and get an opportunity to do things right.”

On June 17, MACHINE HEAD released “Civil Unrest”, a two-song digital single featuring A-side “Stop The Bleeding” and B-side “Bulletproof”. This pair of fierce protest anthems were both written days after the back-to-back murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. “Stop The Bleeding” features a guest appearance from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, with Flynn and Leach trading lyrical lines that spit anger and frustration at current events.

MACHINE HEAD is donating a significant portion of the streaming proceeds from “Stop The Bleeding” to Grassroots Law Project, the organization representing George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

Last week, BRING ME THE HORIZON released “Parasite Eve”, the first song from a series of EPs the band will drop over the coming months. The track was produced by frontman Oli Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish, with additional production from “Doom” and “Doom Eternal” composer Mick Gordon. A big fan of the computer game, Oli reached out to Mick and asked if he would be involved. Once on board, they worked remotely on the track to add a truly unique and cinematic element to the single. BRING ME THE HORIZON also enlisted the help of producer Dan Lancaster (BLINK-182, 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER, LOWER THAN ATLANTIS) for the new single. Lancaster last worked with BMTH on 2015’s “That’s The Spirit”.

Speaking to Kerrang! magazine, Sykes said: “Like [2019’s] ‘Amo’ [album] was very collage-y in terms of it spanning from ballads to poppy songs to heavier songs to electro, we wanted this next record to be a mood. As the pandemic unfolded and everything changed, the mood I had in mind started to not feel right. Basically, I had this idea to make some records — I didn’t know how many, but more than one — that all fell under a blanket name of ‘Post Human’. Each record would have its own theme and its own message. The first was going to be about compassion and self-love because I wanted to build up to a record about changing ourselves and changing our future because we need to self-evolve. We can’t just say, ‘We are humans. This is how it is,’ because as humans, we’ve already stepped outside of the food chain by bringing technology into our lives. We need to continue to modify ourselves until we can be proud of what we do on this planet and live harmoniously, not just with ourselves but other creatures. That’s the message I wanted to put out there, but I know the world’s not ready for that on the grand scale. First, we need people to love themselves. There’s too many people out there that hate themselves, and I always think, ‘If you don’t have compassion for yourselves, how’re you going to have compassion for other people?’

“But as the pandemic unfolded, I didn’t think the world was ready for that record. Just like everyone else, I’m pissed off, I’m scared, I’m angry… we need to write a record that embodies that. Before we get to compassion, we need to get out the frustration and anger. This first record’s going to be battle songs, like a recruitment record — songs of anger and hope. It’s not going to offer a solution, it’s going to be more about asking people to come and find a solution with us. This first music is to get you back up, get your blood pumping, get you pissed off and thinking about what’s going on. The record will follow a similar tone of ‘Ludens’ and ‘Parasite Eve’ and that’s going to be the first record of four. We’re going to release four different records over the next year, all under this name ‘Post Human’, and they’ll all be very different. There’ll be a thread, and the lyrical themes will progress as a story, but in terms of the tone, it’ll be quite different.”

BRING ME THE HORIZON has spent the last few weeks writing and recording new music remotely, releasing a series of videos that show how the band has managed to work on the songs during the coronavirus pandemic.

BRING ME THE HORIZON’s acclaimed sixth album, “Amo”, came out nearly a year and a half ago.

Millions of words have been written about the bands that mastered, pioneered and defined a genre. The bands that are jacks of all trades and scratch the right itches in multiple corners of a genre can often get lost in that shuffle. MAGICK TOUCH definitely falls within the throwback-metal tag. But while some bands fall firmly into NWOBHM-worship or pure retro-thrash, this Norwegian power trio infectiously explore every corner of what could have been classified as melodic heavy metal between the years of 1983 and 1987. Their third record, “Heads Have Got To Rock’n’Roll”, seems to serve as an audio guide to that era similar in manner to a Cliffs Notes guide from the same time period.

The opening track is a galloping ripper that would have fit snugly on a 1983 record store shelf alongside the British imports that Lars Ulrich was scooping up by the handfuls. MAGICK TOUCH’s strengths are omnipresent fairly early into “(This Isn’t) Your First Rodeo”. The vocal portions of the songs — with lead passages being traded off between guitarist HK Rein and bassist Christer Ottesen — are primarily built around catchy harmonized choruses, backed by drummer Bård Heavy Nordvik. Rein often takes the same approach with his guitar work by stacking multiple layers of riffs to equate the harmonized highs achieved by the band’s vocals. Many bands would be content to figure out that they are effective at cloning the gallop of the early ’80s British scene and ride that out for the next 35 minutes, but thankfully the trio proves to be explorers.

While the harmonized vocals and guitars still carry the majority of the songs, MAGICK TOUCH seamlessly weaves its way through heavy metal’s mid-eighties history. “Watchman’s Requiem” has a slightly heavier crunch, to the point where if the guitars were slightly downtuned and the song’s tempo was slightly slowed-down, it would have been a catchy slab of stoner-doom. Those of you with a yearning for fist-pumping arena-metal anthems will be satiated by “To The Limit”. Here, the band shows a flair for the call-and-response heights of rockers that had a brief fling in MTV’s daytime rotation, while still keeping their riffs grounded in just enough ominous darkness to not fall into the realm of bands that were made fun of by dudes in MOTÖRHEAD t-shirts. “Love is a Heart Disease” does slide a little bit more into the hair-metal realm with its cowbell-driven rhythms, but the group’s mastery of balancing that songcraft with a dirty aura of heaviness — most notably on Rein’s shredding guitar solos — once again result in a winning track.

The remainder of the record sees MAGICK TOUCH continuing to explore multiple paths that will please plenty of old-school leaning rockers. “Ready for the Quake” sees the band capably replicating the sleazy blues-rock of Bon Scott-era AC/DC, and the adrenaline-fueled arena anthems come back in full force one more time on “Daggers Dance”. The trio takes another side trek into mid-tempo doom with the heavy stomp of “Phantom Friend”, and revisits that heavy trudge with the album-closing “Doomsday I’m in Love”.

There are plenty of bands that are good at replicating one aspect of heavy metal from previous eras. The fact that MAGICK TOUCH proves adept at exploring different corners of that history, while seamlessly weaving their way from one end of the road to the other and keeping it catchy and infectious, gives plenty of reasons to keep clicking play for repeated listens to “Heads Have Got To Rock’n’Roll”.

TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick has blasted people who politicize mask wearing, calling it “the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Earlier today, Skolnick took to his Twitter to respond to a news report about a woman in California who railed against “Democratic pigs” and screamed at employees after they asked her to wear a mask while inside a Trader Joe’s store.

After one Twitter used shared video of the woman’s rant, Alex posted a short message in which he poked fun of those individuals who feel like wearing a mask is an infringement of freedom.

“‘Our freedom. You can’t tell me to wear a mask,'” Alex said, mocking people who have adopted the mask-as-submission rallying cry.

“I’m sorry. I have to vent to you guys. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

“You’re gonna make it political, wearing a mask? Wearing a mask and going indoors to restaurants and breathing on everybody, making that political? I have to say it’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard since Freedom Fries,” referring to the “patriotism” fad from the early 2000s — refusing to eat french fries to protest France’s opposition to the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

Skolnick lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, which was one of the hardest-hit areas in terms of COVID-19 cases.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Surgeon General urged people to wear face coverings, saying they will promote freedom during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Some feel face coverings infringe on their freedom of choice- but if more wear them, we’ll have MORE freedom to go out. Face coverings [leads to] less asymptomatic viral spread [leads to] more places open, and sooner!” Dr. Jerome Adams wrote on Twitter.

In a study published earlier in the month, researchers from Texas A&M University, the California Institute of Technology and the University of California San Diego, concluded “that wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission.”

In early April, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention issued new guidelines that Americans should wear face coverings in public.

Public Service Announcement:
WEAR A F**KING MASK! pic.twitter.com/A9pXDE9Lik

— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) June 27, 2020