There is nothing subtle about EVILE’s extremely welcome return to action. And that’s just the way we like it. The UK quartet’s Fleming Rasmussen-produced debut “Enter The Grave” (2007) swiftly established them as a major force in the ever-so-slightly cynical and label-led thrash metal revival that was happening at the time. Both “Infected Nations” and “Five Serpent’s Teeth” hammered their superiority home, and 2013’s “Skull” at least appeared to offer a fine and ferocious flurry of notes to go out on. The departure of frontman MATT DRAKE last year would have put a noisy period point at the end of most band’s stories, but the very welcome return of talismanic lead guitarist OL DRAKE, after a two-year absence, solves that problem instantly, particularly since the latter has now assumed vocal duties too.

Beyond that tumultuous but tidy shuffle of personnel, EVILE return sounding even more focused and bullshit-free than they did first time around. Several shades more brutal than anything the Brits have released before, “Hell Unleashed” embraces the more extreme, deathly side of thrash while maintaining unbreakable links to the classic, post-METALLICA classicism that made EVILE’s early albums so undeniable. One key factor is that OL DRAKE’s voice sounds closer to Cronos or Schmier than to his brother and former bandmate’s, which gives the relentless battery of songs like opener “Paralysed” and the seething “Disorder” an exhilaratingly German edge, as if EVILE have been newly possessed by the spirit of early SODOM and KREATOR, which can only be a good thing, as you will doubtless be aware. Unlike those primitive Teutonic influences, however, EVILE are tighter than a prairie dog’s turd-pipe and firmly entrenched in the punishing precision of modern metal.

“Hell Unleashed” is an album brimming with moments that sound precision built to send thrash metal fans into a state of hysterical ecstasy. The slamming, staccato insanity and sudden shifts of pace are enough to make Paul Baloff’s head spin. In particular, “The Thing 1982)” pays tribute to one of the greatest movies of all time at deranged full pelt, before dropping down to a brooding groove for the first half of a stunning solo from Drake. The second half of the solo is delivered over with faster-than-SLAYER insanity, before yet more on-the-head-of-a-pin athletics and a dead-stop finish that should have discerning folk leaping from their sofas in appreciation. Elsewhere, a cover of MORTICIAN’s “Zombie Apocalypse” is a stroke of mischievous genius, partly due to the novelty of actually being able to hear the lyrics in a MORTICIAN song, but also because — and who knew? — it’s a sublime chunk of sludgy thrash that fits perfectly with everything else here.

Wisely delivering a succinct, sub-40-minute slab of no-nonsense ferocity as their returning statement, EVILE reappear sounding every bit as commanding and unstoppable as they did over a decade ago. “Hell Unleashed” ends with its title track, and it’s a near-perfect 21st-century thrash anthem that rips with a fire and fervor that bodes extremely well for this reborn band’s future. Bow down to the thrashers, again.

RESURRECTION KINGS, the project featuring Craig Goldy (guitar), Chas West (vocals) and Vinny Appice (drums), will release its sophomore album, “Skygazer”, on July 16 via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2015’s self-titled debut picks up where that LP left off, offering a magnificent set of songs with big, heavy riffs coupled with loads of catchy hooks and melodies.

Today, the band has released the official music video for the title track.

Goldy says: “Once again, with the talent pool in which we have access to create, we all brought our ‘A’ game to the writing and recording of this album. With the freedom to utilize the music that we all were influenced by that started our musical endeavours to begin with, hopefully we expanded upon them in a way in which to inspire another generation of listeners to start a similar journey.”

Goldy is truly on fire here, hitting every note with passion and feel. West shows off his massive pipes, delivering an exquisite hard rock performance. Appice is, as always, rock solid behind the kit. Fans who loved the ’80s hard rock/metal vibe coupled with touches of ’70s legends of the band’s debut, will have much to celebrate with “Skygazer”.

Of the first single, the title track, Goldy says: “‘It started out with a drum groove sent to me by Vinny. His unequaled playing style automatically inspired the music and then Alessandro [Del Vecchio, Frontiers Music Srl’s in-house producer] wrote most of the melody lines and lyrics. Besides the music, I wrote the melody and lyrics for two pre-choruses that sum up the song’s meaning. It is a metaphor for the lengths to which our nations’ leaders will go to acquire, keep, or grab more power for their own ambitions. That leaves us in their wake asking what measures are needed to defend ourselves. All of this comes at what price though?”

The idea for RESURRECTION KINGS sprang from a set of demos Goldy recorded with West, a vocalist with an unbelievable set of pipes, who has worked over the years with Jason Bonham, FOREIGNER, TRIBE OF GYPSIES, and his own band, WEST BOUND. From there, Frontiers president and head of A&R Serafino Perugino became involved and prompted Goldy to put together a lineup which also included Appice. Produced and co-written by Del Vecchio, the resulting self-titled debut album was an impressive example of classic hard rock with contemporary production and edge, mixing a vibe of WHITESNAKE’s “1987” with DIO’s “Dream Evil” and adding a touch of classic LED ZEPPELIN and RAINBOW. An extremely fun, rockin’ record where the musicians were able to stretch their wings and really go for it in their performances.

Track listing:

01. Skygazer
02. World’s On Fire
03. Tears
04. Fight Against Our Pride
05. Angry Demons
06. Savior Of Souls
07. Don’t Blame Our Love
08. Is This The End
09. Troubled Soul
10. Set Me On Fire
11. Calling All Angels

Recording lineup:

Chas West – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitars, keyboards, bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Alessandro Del Vecchio – production, bass and keyboards

CRO-MAGS frontman Harley Flanagan has once again blasted the upcoming reissue of the band’s 1986 debut album, “The Age Of Quarrel”, saying that he and the other musicians who appear on the LP “have never gotten” any royalties since the record’s original release.

Last month, it was announced that “The Age Of Quarrel”, will be re-released as part of this year’s Record Store Day Drops, set for June 12 and July 17 at independent record stores nationwide.

Coming on July 17 via Rock Hotel/Astor Place is a vinyl version of “The Age Of Quarrel”, limited to 3,600 copies, featuring all 15 songs from the original LP, which was released on then-independent Profile Records in September 1986. It was subsequently re-released by Another Planet in 1994, along with CRO-MAGS’ second album, 1989’s “Best Wishes”, on the same disc.

In a recent interview with Goldmine, Flanagan stated about “The Age Of Quarrel” reissue: “Not only are we not getting anything, and have never gotten anything off the record, not even ‘Best Wishes’ for that matter, but we found out about this release the same way as everybody else. I found out from a friend of mine at a record store, which is even more outrageous as far as I’m concerned. I mean, all of us are very much alive and present and all over social media and I’ve been trying for years to get those records reissued.”

He continued: “I’m in the process right now of trying to sort this out, and if it gets sorted out, if it gets resolved, I can let you know that I will make that announcement the same way I made this announcement. I will make it very known.

“The CRO-MAGS were never asked if the record could come out again, and no one asked or called us about it. It is also important that people understand what we were dealing with when we signed our contract. I was 18 years old and I was living for the most part in squats and stuff like that. I had no money or people looking out for my best interests. I was not represented by an attorney. We did not have counsel, so you’re talking about a bunch of young kids who, basically, were surviving hand to mouth, day to day. We literally were stealing food from stores and shit like that. I was just excited. I was actually going to have a record out. Something I could actually hold in my hands and look at and say, Wow, look, mom. I have an album out.'”

Harley added: “The fact is we never got paid shit and we never got any accounting for anything and were not even represented by counsel. The whole thing is fucking criminal, but the way I see it is right now what they’re doing is wrong. But if we can come to some sort of an agreement and get the band paid, I would be very happy to get the record out again, whether with Rock Hotel or anybody. I would be thrilled if they came out. We’re talking about two records that are pretty much — arguably some people would say — classic game-changing, even historic records. I remember seeing them up online for sale for close to $1,000 and shit like that.

“We were just starving artists. I mean, there was literally times during those 35 years from when the record first came out where I was starving. Where I literally was on the street living like a hustler and, you know, all of us went through hard times over those 35 years at different points and the fact that these records were not even available and that people wanted them that badly, that they would pay a thousand dollars for a hardcore record. The whole thing is pretty fucking mind-boggling, and then I was literally on the street when I learned that it was coming out. I literally picked that up at a record store. The sales guy tells me that it sounds like the greatest hardcore record in history is coming out again. I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I am not just fighting for myself. I am fighting for the band.

“If things go as planned, or as I hope it, my goal that everybody in the band should be paid for their participation. If everything works out like I hope it does, in the not-too-distant future, everybody will get paid for those records and that chapter of the ‘Quarrel’ will finally be resolved. In the meantime, I’m still very busy. I put out two records in 2020. Unfortunately, I had a lot of shows booked all over Europe and Japan and while were trying to reschedule them, no one is sure of the status moving forward and what is actually going to be happening. I have recorded 16 new songs as of now. My point is I am always staying busy.

“If we were able to get ‘The Age Of Quarrel’ out, I would personally be overjoyed. If I was able to wrangle all those idiots up onstage, just honor that and give the fans one show or even a few shows just to honor it and really put the bullshit behind, and then just kind of reward all of us the way we should have gotten. I’m not trying to live in a time bubble either. What I have been doing is very much alive and moving forward, but I would do something with open arms and be happy, just because that version of the band never got rewarded for there work in that era, and that was a game-changing era, as far as I’m concerned, for music.”

CRO-MAGS’ latest EP, “2020”, received a digital release in March. The record itself is unintentionally 20 minutes and 20 seconds, and plays out more like a time-capsule look into the dumpster fire known as the year 2020.

CRO-MAGS feature Flanagan pulling double duty with bass and lead vocals, guitarists Gabby Abularach, Rocky George (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, FISHBONE), and drummer Garry “G-Man” Sullivan.

The history of the CRO-MAGS is integral to the history of hardcore, its evolution from punk and the development of alternative music genres such as hardcore, cross-over, thrash metal, post punk and grunge, to name a few. Numerous iconic bands from METALLICA to GREEN DAY, and individuals such as Dave Grohl have credited CRO-MAGS with having had a primal influence on their development.

Born out of the violence and depravity of the Lower East Side of New York in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the CRO-MAGS was the brainchild of a very young Flanagan (at the time 14 years old) when still playing with THE STIMULATORS. By 1982/83 he wrote and recorded the very first CRO-MAGS demos consisting of four songs that would become the blueprint for “The Age Of Quarrel”. He wrote all of the music, played each instrument and sang. Before long, he connected with Parris Mayhew and the two started writing music and auditioning band members.

In 2019, Flanagan reached a settlement with singer John Joseph and drummer Mackie Jayson regarding ownership of the CRO-MAGS name. Flanagan is now performing under the name CRO-MAGS while Joseph and Jayson are performing as CRO-MAGS “JM”.

Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum band KORN has announced an epic U.S. summer tour featuring very special guests STAIND on all dates. The tour will see both bands traversing the country this summer and will give fans the chance to see two of the biggest forces in rock perform on the same stage each night.

Produced by Live Nation, the coast-to-coast 28-city outing will kick off August 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida and make stops in Long Island, Detroit, Irvine, Phoenix, Austin and more, before wrapping up with a performance at Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion on September 21. Furthermore, both bands will perform at Louisville, Kentucky’s Louder Than Life Festival on September 23.

Fans will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning Thursday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m. local time, with general on-sale for tickets beginning Friday, May 14 at 12:00 p.m. local time at www.livenation.com.

KORN North American summer tour dates with STAIND:

Aug. 05 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Aug. 07 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds
Aug. 08 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Aug. 10 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 11 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 13 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 14 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Aug. 17 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 18 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 20 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 21 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Aug. 24 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Aug. 25 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Aug. 27 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
Aug. 28 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Aug. 31 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sep. 02 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Sep. 03 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Sep. 05 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO
Sep. 06 – Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater
Sep. 09 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Sep. 11 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sep. 12 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
Sep. 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Sep. 15 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Sep. 18 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sep. 19 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Sep. 21 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Sep. 23 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life*

* Festival date

A stunning paean to loss and darkness, KORN’s 2019 album “The Nothing” proved to be another historic release for the band. It marked their 14th Top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 and lifted them into rarified air giving them the fifth-most Top 10 debuts of any rock band in the history of the chart. Led by singles “You’ll Never Find Me”, “Can You Hear Me” and “Cold”, Noisey declared “The Nothing” “continues KORN’s mission of probing the hidden corners and harsh realities of life within a shroud discordant darkness.” Revolver crowned “The Nothing” “KORN’s best album in over 10 years,” while Metal Hammer affirmed the album “recaptures the genuine darkness of their earlier works” in a glowing 4.5-out-of-5 star review. The Fader added, “KORN have never shied away from innovation… the icons have always looked forward,” and Los Angeles Times applauded the “…deep and potent performances from the band, evoking their ever-present rage but also feelings of loss and isolation.” NME affirmed, “This urgent and important record will ensure the veterans don’t get lost in the shuffle.” Once again, KORN redefine, revitalize, and reimagine the scope of rock music as perennial outliers and enduring iconoclasts.

Formed in 1995, STAIND has released seven studio albums and eight Top 10 singles, selling over 15 million records worldwide. The album “Break The Cycle”, released in 2001 and RIAA-certified five times platinum, featured the smash single “It’s Been Awhile”, one of the most played songs in modern rock history, spending 20 weeks at No. 1. In 2019, after a five-year hiatus, STAIND reunited for some unforgettable festival performances, and a reunion show at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut where their new album, “Live: It’s Been Awhile”, was recorded.

French progressive metallers GOJIRA have made a stunning global chart impact with their new album “Fortitude”. The LP entered Billboard’s Top Albums chart at No. 1 this week, while also claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Current Albums, Current Rock Albums and Current Hard Music Albums tallies. The release also marked a career high debut on the Billboard 200 for GOJIRA, arriving this week at No. 12, with several career high chart positions and Top 10 debuts in countries around the globe including: France (No. 2), United Kingdom (No. 6), Australia (No. 3), Germany (No. 8), Belgium (No. 2), Netherlands (No. 4), Denmark (No. 3), Portugal (No. 4), Finland (No. 2) and Norway (No. 10).

This fall, GOJIRA will set out on U.S. headline tour in support of “Fortitude” which will feature special guests KNOCKED LOOSE and ALIEN WEAPONRY. The recently announced dates are set to kick of October 11 in Salt Lake City, Utah at The Union and continue through a performance at Cleveland, Ohio’s The Agora on October 29. The new headline dates will follow GOJIRA’s summer run supporting DEFTONES which gets underway August 12 at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota and includes two GOJIRA only headline dates on September 3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee and September 20 in Boise, Idaho.

“Fortitude” is highlighted by the singles “Another World”, “Born For One Thing”, “Into The Storm”, “Amazonia” and, most recently, “The Chant”, a slow-burning track featuring some of GOJIRA’s most melodic material to date. Just last week the band shared an official music video for “The Chant”, which was written/conceived by the band’s own Joseph Duplantier and directed by Russell Brownley. Filmed on location in India’s West Bengal region in December of 2019, the cinematic video examines the plight of refugee children from Tibet who fled their homeland in an attempt to preserve their culture following China’s invasion of the country in 1949.

Furthermore, GOJIRA recently concluded a month-long fundraising initiative in support of the indigenous-owned NGO The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) who advocate for environmental and cultural rights of indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Working with the social good-focused digital platform Propeller, the charitable campaign raised over $300,000 through an auction and raffle of one-of-a-kind items from the band and their friends in METALLICA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, Slash and more. All proceeds will be donated to APIB to support their work aiding the indigenous tribes of the Amazon who have suffered immensely — victims of deforestation, land loss, forced labor, violence, and harassment.

Recorded and produced by Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA’s Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), “Fortitude” is GOJIRA’s first album in five years and the follow-up to 2016’s Grammy-nominated LP “Magma”. A collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world and then make it happen, “Fortitude” has been earning widespread critical praise with Rolling Stone naming it one of their best albums of April 2021 and remarking “It’s all the rage of death metal mixed with the conscience of punk rock and the musicality of progressive rock.” NPR hailed “Another World” as “an apocalyptic banger,” and Paste called “Into The Storm” a “much-needed revolutionary anthem.” Stereogum declared, “hearing this band operating at their peak is a life-affirming thing,” while Revolver attested “Fortitude” “could spark a revolution.”

DC Comics and Loma Vista Recordings have announce the “Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack”. Executive produced by Tyler Bates (“Guardians Of The Galaxy”, “Watchmen”, “John Wick”), the soundtrack will be released digitally on June 18 and physically on July 16.

Just as the lauded DC “Dark Nights: Death Metal” series isn’t the typical superhero storyline, this musical counterpart isn’t the typical superhero soundtrack. Acclaimed composer Bates here unites an array of artists across various genres — including MASTODON, Denzel Curry, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, Chelsea Wolfe, IDLES and SOCCER MOMMY — forming his own musical super crew to create a first-of-its kind companion piece of original music, which adds further dimension to the acclaimed series through a multimedia experience including custom limited-edition comics, videos, and more.

MASTODON’s album-opening buzzsaw “Forged By Neron” is the lead single and sets the tone by name-checking a demon lord of Hell who appears throughout the series.

Says Brann Dailor of MASTODON: “We are super excited and honored to be part of the ‘Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack’! We’ve all been fans of DC Comics and the Batman universe since we were kids, so it really means a lot for us to be able to add something to that world.”

All artists involved took a hands-on approach with “Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack”, contributing songs — and in the case of a few, collaborating together for the first time — inspired by the text that depicts a hellish Earth twisted beyond recognition, wherein the Justice League is at the mercy of the Dark Multiverse and a diabolical Batman Who Laughs.

The soundtrack is available to pre-order on digital download, CD, and 2xLP — with exclusive Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman vinyl variant covers, 11 limited-edition character trading cards, and more.

Additionally, DC and Loma Vista Recordings will announce special edition soundtrack variants of “Dark Nights: Death Metal” issues 1-3, featuring RISE AGAINST, Denzel Curry and GREY DAZE (the late Chester Bennington’s pre-LINKIN PARK band) on custom comic covers, and released alongside each artist’s respective flexi singles.

“This soundtrack and motion-comic series was made by fans of comics, for fans of comics and music,” enthuses Bates, who is beloved for his previous soundtrack work on several of the most influential superhero/graphic novel films of modern times. “‘Dark Nights: Death Metal’ is next-level storytelling by two incredibly talented artists in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. The visual aspect of this comic is entirely compelling, and resonates throughout each song on the soundtrack.”

“Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack” track listing:

01. MASTODON – “Forged by Neron”
02. CHELSEA WOLFE – “Diana”
03. HEALTH, Tyler Bates – “ANTI-LIFE (feat. Chino Moreno)”
04. MARIA BRINK, TYLER BATES – “Meet Me In Fire (feat. Andy Biersack)”
05. GREY DAZE – “Anything, Anything”
06. RISE AGAINST – “Broken Dreams, Inc.”
07. MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA – “Never Ending”
08. DENZEL CURRY, PLAYTHATBOIZAY – “Bad Luck”
09. CARACH ANGREN – “Skull With a Forked Tongue”
10. STARCRAWLER – “Good Time Girl”
11. GUNSHIP, TYLER BATES – “Berserker (feat. Dave Lombardo)”
12. GREG PUCIATO, TYLER BATES, GIL SHARONE – “Now You’ve Really Done It”
13. SHOW ME THE BODY – “Stone Cold Earth”
14. IDLES – “Sodium”
15. SOCCER MOMMY – “Kissing in the Rain”

Tracii Guns has once again commented on last month’s out-of-court resolution of the legal dispute over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, he and singer Phil Lewis will continue to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Steve Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS will now operate under the new name RILEY’S L.A. GUNS.

Speaking to Robert Cavuoto of Sonic Perspectives, the guitarist said: “I could have spent more money and eliminate it. There is a saying, ‘Turn that country into glass.’ At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have gotten any compensation. When you sue a rock, rocks don’t have money. You have to be wise and know how far to take it. I’m satisfied where we ended up.”

He continued: “I will never understand why a professional musician would choose to use someone else’s name other than their own. It’s so humiliating. It would essentially be like me going out and using the name GUNS N’ ROSES. [Laughs] To take something that someone else created for a very minimal gain. You are completely selling your soul. It was so expensive, boring and a waste of time and energy to end up with what was mine.”

Tracii went on to say that Riley is “locked into” using the name RILEY’S L.A. GUNS for his new band. “That’s how the license works,” he said. “He can’t do anything else. The running joke in our camp is, you pull into a truck stop, and someone asks, are you musicians, and what band are you in? You respond, ‘L.A. GUNS,’ and they go, ‘Okay. Whatever.’ [Laughs]. A least we have closure.”

Guns also addressed the fact that Riley’s version of L.A. GUNS played at the M3 Rock Festival in 2019 and released a full-length album under the L.A. GUNS name, last year’s “Renegades”. He said: “Dude, when they did those couple of shows, we got so much angry e-mail from our fans. People were, like, ‘What the fuck? None of you guys were there!’ We would have to explain it’s a different band with the same name. When I say a lot, I’m talking over a thousand e-mails. Then they put out a record using the name L.A. GUNS, [and] the emails just escalated. That was the point where some from our family stepped who had unlimited funds, which we used to stop this. It was what we needed to do, and it is done. Can you imagine, now they have to make up their legal fees? In what reality is it worth it? For Steve Riley to spend $80,000, and they will never make that back with RILEY’S L.A. GUNS. There is no logic, and it’s so bizarre.”

RILEY’S L.A. GUNS features Riley alongside Orlando, Florida-based guitarist/vocalist Kurt Frohlich, bassist Kelly Nickels (a member of L.A. GUNS’ “classic” incarnation) and guitarist Scott Griffin (who played bass for the band from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014).

In January 2020, Riley was sued by Lewis and Guns in California District Court. Joining Riley as defendants in the case were the three musicians who performed in his rival version of L.A. GUNS; that group’s manager, booking agent and merchandiser; and Golden Robot Records. The complaint, which requested a trial by jury, alleged that Riley’s version of L.A. GUNS (referred to in the case docket as “the infringing L.A. GUNS”) was creating “unfair competition” through its unauthorized usage of the L.A. GUNS trademark. In addition, Guns and Lewis were seeking relief from and/or against false advertising, breach of contract and unauthorized usage of their likenesses.

FOO FIGHTERS, THE GO-GO’S, Jay-Z, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year. Additionally, LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads will receive the Musical Excellence Award. KRAFTWERK, Gil Scott Heron and Charley Patton will get the Early Influence Award, and Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant will be given the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The induction ceremony will be held at Cleveland, Ohio’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on October 30. It will be broadcast on HBO Max and streamed on HBO Max at a later date.

“This is our most diverse class in the history of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,” says chairman John Sykes. “It really represents the Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor the artists that have created not only rock and roll, but the sound of youth culture.”

Ballots were sent to an international voting body of more than 1,200 artists, including current living Inductees, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such as an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration.

FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl was previously inducted into the Rock Hall as part of NIRVANA in 2014.

Rhoads is one of the most influential hard rock/heavy metal guitarists of all time.

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

The Musical Excellence Award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN were on the ballot for Rock Hall induction this year, but failed to receive enough votes to make the class of 2021.

Having been eligible for induction for a decade and a half, IRON MAIDEN is one of the biggest bands on the planet. Since the arrival of its self-titled debut album, MAIDEN has released a further 15 full-length studio records, and sold over 100 million copies.

To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1995 or earlier.

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal groups like MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N’ ROSES in that band’s first year of eligibility.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other “criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock ‘n’ roll,” which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn’t get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn’t get inducted until 2016.