SKID ROW has parted ways with singer ZP Theart and has replaced him with ex-H.E.A.T. vocalist Erik Grönwall (pictured). Grönwall will make his recording debut with SKID ROW on the band’s upcoming album, “The Gang’s All Here”, due on October 14 via earMUSIC. The LP’s first single, the title track, will be made available on Friday, March 25.

A snippet of “The Gang’s All Here”, which received its world premiere earlier today (Wednesday, March 23) on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, can be heard below.

SKID ROW said in a statement: “It’s a new era for SKID ROW. With a new album, a new single and a world tour, we’ve added a new voice. Welcome powerhouse vocalist Erik Grönwall, formerly from the band H.E.A.T. from Sweden.”

Grönwall added: “Ladies and gents. I hereby declare the circle of all fucking circles complete. You’re looking at the new singer of @officialskidrow #skidrow #erikgronwall”.

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW’s “18 And Life” via all streaming platforms. At the time, he said about his version of the track: “This song was basically the starting point of my professional career as an artist. I performed this song during my ‘Swedish Idol’ audition back in 2009. 12 years later it’s time to give this bad boy a try again. Here’s my version of the SKID ROW song ’18 And Life’.”

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC’s live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Grönwall sang on H.E.A.T.’s last four studio albums — “Address The Nation” (2012), “Tearing Down The Walls” (2014), “Into The Great Unknown” (2017) and “H.E.A.T II” (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Theart, a former member of DRAGONFORCE, joined SKID ROW in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER).

As previously reported, SKID ROW has replaced QUEENSRŸCHE as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS’ “Sin City Nights” Las Vegas residency. The run of shows, which was originally slated to take place in July 2020 and was later pushed back to May 2021, will now happen starting on March 26 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Last August, SKID ROW celebrated the 30th anniversary of its classic second album, “Slave To The Grind”, by performing it in its entirety at The Amphitheater at Rolling Hills Casino And Resort in Corning, California.

Sebastian Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY.

In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarists Dave “Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger.

SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by Theart, the South African-born, British-based singer who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

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Ladies and gents. I herby declare the circle of all fucking circles complete. You’re looking at the new singer of @officialskidrow #skidrow #erikgronwall

Posted by Erik Grönwall on Wednesday, March 23, 2022

The official music video for DEF LEPPARD’s new single, “Kick”, will make its online debut this Friday, March 25 at 7:00 a.m. PDT. The clip was helmed by Anuk Rohde, a Berlin-based director with Spanish roots, who has demonstrated her capacity for creating a distinctive visual language in music videos she has directed for Alice Merton, SE SO NEON, RAMMSTEIN and others.

“Kick” is the first single from DEF LEPPARD’s upcoming album, “Diamond Star Halos”, which will arrive on May 27 via UMe. The follow-up to 2015’s self-titled LP is available for pre-order now in multiple configurations, including a deluxe edition, 2-LP vinyl, digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched.

“Kick” thrusts into an anthemic stadium-ready frenzy kickstarted with driving guitars and bombastic drums woven into its musical fabric. Meanwhile, the chorus has all the makings of another iconic LEPPARD hit with its skyscraping vocals and melodies the band has become synonymous for. The artwork for “Diamond Star Halos” is art in itself. The design follows pedigree with their instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the U.K.-based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band’s influence through their eyes today.

Over the past two years, DEF LEPPARD recorded “Diamond Star Halos” simultaneously in three different countries with Joe Elliott (vocals) in Ireland, Rick Savage (bass) in England, and Phil Collen (guitar), Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) in the United States. Without the pressure of timelines or a fixed schedule, they poured all of their energy into crafting 15 meaningful tracks with a mixture of classic spirit meets modern fire. Thematically, they nodded to their earliest collective influences such as David Bowie, T.REX and MOTT THE HOOPLE, among others. The title itself notably references T.REX’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”. However, they didn’t embark on this journey alone. The multi-Grammy Award-winning and legendary artist Alison Krauss lent her instantly recognizable and angelic voice to “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”, while David Bowie pianist Mike Garson performs on “Goodbye For Good This Time” and “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”.

“Kick” can be streamed below, with “Diamond Star Halos” now available for preorder on the DEF LEPPARD web site in a variety of formats, including a deluxe edition, two-LP vinyl, digital and more.

“Diamond Star Halos” track listing:

01. Take What You Want
02. Kick
03. Fire It Up
04. This Guitar (feat. Alison Krauss]
05. Sos Emergency
06. Liquid Dust
07. U Rok Mi
08. Goodbye For Good This Time
09. All We Need
10. Open Your Eyes
11. Gimme A Kiss
12. Angels (Can’t Help You Now)
13. Lifeless (feat. Alison Krauss)
14. Unbreakable
15. From Here To Eternity

DEF LEPPARD’s “The Stadium Tour” with MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hear early ’90s death/doom legends Celestial Season continue their impressive rebirth.
The post Track Premiere: Celestial Season: “The Golden Light of Late Day” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

In a new interview with The SDR Show, former GUNS N’ ROSES and current SIXX:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba weighed in on the notion that rock is dead, promoted mostly in recent years by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In my honest opinion, and I could be wrong… Everybody’s, like, ‘Rock’s dead. Rock’s dead.’ Rock isn’t dead at all, but I think it would be thriving way harder right now if we would all just kind of open our minds and be willing to collaborate with different genres. You know, METALLICA doing a song with Dolly Parton. How fucking random and cool [would that be]?

“Everything always comes back in cycles. It’s just not gonna come back as the rock we grew up on. It could sound like GDM,” he added, referencing his recently launched dance/rock hybrid called Guitar Dance Music. “I’m not saying [it will], but it could be some form or mash of different influences. And it might sound a little different to us, but it’s what the new kids [will embrace as their version of rock].”

Last December, Ashba performed at the Las Vegas Bowl’s “ONEVEGAS” presented by Toyota, an event that brought the sports and entertainment community together at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to celebrate their collective year in sports while showing support for the Southern Nevada Sports Hall Of Fame and the Las Vegas Bowl philanthropic community partners. Ashba played his new single “Bella Ciao”, a modern-day EDM-driven makeover of the Italian folk classic fueled by his signature guitar work.

“Bella Ciao” marked Ashba’s first release of 2021 and followed a series of tracks that were released in late 2020 through Edgeout Records/UMG/UMe, including “Hypnotic”, “Let’s Dance” and “A Christmas Storm”.

In December 2020, Ashba told “The Mark And HooGie Show” that he isn’t concerned about getting any pushback from his rock fans over the musical direction of his new venture: “Honestly, I’m at a point in my career where I could give two fucks,” he said. “I could care less. If people don’t like it, kiss my ass. Go listen to SIXX:A.M. If what I’m doing right now isn’t rock enough, I’ve got a rock band. They can go listen to that then.

“My fanbase, thank God, has been, throughout my whole career, just very, very accepting,” he continued. “They know me — they know I’m always trying to really push myself as an artist outside the box.

“If I had to live within this box, I’d rather honestly not play music. Playing music is a form of art, and if I can’t truly be an artist and be true to what it is inside — whatever that is that keeps me going… I have to stay inspired. You can only write so many three-chord rock songs. So, to me, this is something that I’m kind of more doing for myself, and I feel like I kind of have earned that at this point in my career. And I’m just having fun.

“Surprisingly… It was weird. I was totally expecting for all my fanbase just to hate it — not get it,” Ashba added. “‘Cause I really, really go deep down in EDM — I stayed very, very true to the EDM sound — and I really thought they were gonna hate it, and I was okay with that. ‘Cause in my mind, I’m writing this for the EDM, the young kids that go to those festivals. This is full-on festival music. And surprisingly, I got no pushback. My rock fans really, really were freaking out on it, which kind of freaked me out. I was expecting them to really not get it or maybe push it aside. But they’ve been nothing but supportive. I’m very thankful that they gave it a chance.”

ASHBA’s “Let’s Dance” single featured a guest appearance by James Michael, co-founder and lead singer of SIXX:A.M., which he and DJ formed with Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Ashba told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the musical approach of his new effort: “I would go to a lot of EDM concerts, and their shows are so over the top and, you know, all these young kids just losing their minds, right? And the one thing that I’ve noticed is … it lacks guitar, you know, and I saw an opportunity, like five years ago, going, ‘If I could take what I do and somehow inject it into this world.’ A lot of kids are not being exposed to a lot of guitar in that world.”

Although Ashba initially started work on the project as a collaboration with Michael — under the band name PYROMANTIC — it has since evolved into an Ashba solo venture, with Michael announcing in 2018 that he was stepping away from the group.

SKID ROW will release a new single, “The Gang’s All Here”, on Friday, March 25. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming album, which is tentatively due on September 16.

SKID ROW’s new LP was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others. The effort will mark SKID ROW’s first release with South African-born, British-based vocalist ZP Theart (DRAGONFORCE, TANK, I AM I), who joined the band in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER).

Unlike 2014’s “Rise Of The Damnation Army – United World Rebellion: Chapter Two” and 2013’s “United World Rebellion: Chapter One”, SKID ROW’s forthcoming release will be a full-length record.

SKID ROW’s new LP will be released via earMUSIC, the recorded music label of German entertainment group Edel AG which boasts a roster of global artists including DEEP PURPLE, Alice Cooper, BABYMETAL, THUNDER, STATUS QUO and many more.

SKID ROW guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo recently told Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio about the band’s new LP: “We’re excited about it, obviously. It’s a record that’s been taking a while to do. But the prospect of working with a guy like Nick Raskulinecz was just something that… You go along in this business and all of a sudden it gives you a gift. And that gift was Nick. And Nick is someone that we had a high regard for before we even met him. His resume speaks for itself. I just never realized how talented of a musician he is, a producer, a songwriter, an engineer. He’s proficient in so many areas. It’s not like he’s a jack of all trades, master of none; he’s a jack of all trades and master of all. It’s pretty wild. And being in a room with a guy like that, he’s constantly challenging you, but not in an abrasive, condescending way at all; more like in a very encouraging way, like, ‘Come on, dude. You got this. Let’s go further. I know you’ve got more in you.’ And you find yourself going, ‘You know what? I do. And we do.’ And we wanna collectively push as far as we can go to make the song and the performance something that he goes, ‘Yeah. That’s it.’ You wanna please the guy. And at this stage of our lives, in our careers, it’s really rare that you get to meet up with somebody like that who has such a positive influence on you. It really shows you — it helps you to see who you are at your core. And that worked for us as individuals as well as collectively.”

Sabo continued: “Sitting in a room, everybody jamming together and having him walking around the room and listening to everything that we’re doing and then throwing out ideas and trying out ideas, that just spurs creativity; it’s infectious. And all of a sudden everybody’s coming up with [ideas], like, ‘Why don’t we try this?’ And everyone’s involved in the process. And it’s so creatively satisfying when you’re all building toward something that’s greater than the sum of the parts, if you will. And then to hear that come to fruition in the recording of it, everything sounds so good and so fresh to me.

“Everybody says that about their records, though,” Snake added. “No one’s gonna sit there and go, ‘Wow. We just made a shitty record.’ But for me, this process was so valuable. To me, as a creative musician, as a songwriter, as a guitar player, as a person in a band, it was tremendously, like I said, challenging, but really, really satisfying in so many ways. And to have a growth spurt in the 36th year of your band is pretty amazing. Usually all the growth is gone by then. And so this was a well-needed and well-timed collaboration.”

SKID ROW previously collaborated with several outside songwriters on its new material, including Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) and Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of HALESTORM, a group that covered the title track of “Slave To The Grind” on its “ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP” in 2011. SKID ROW also worked with songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow.

As previously reported, SKID ROW has replaced QUEENSRŸCHE as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS’ “Sin City Nights” Las Vegas residency. The run of shows, which was originally slated to take place in July 2020 and was later pushed back to May 2021, will now happen beginning on March 26 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Last August, SKID ROW celebrated the 30th anniversary of its classic second album, “Slave To The Grind”, by performing it in its entirety at The Amphitheater at Rolling Hills Casino And Resort in Corning, California.