KORN’s touring bassist Roberto “Ra” Díaz celebrated his 38th birthday onstage during the band’s headlining concert Tuesday night (March 15) at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Video footage and photos of the celebration — which included Díaz getting pied in the face — can be found below.

A member of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES since 2016, Díaz is filling in for KORN’s original bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu who announced last June that he would sit out the band’s tour dates in order to “heal” after “falling back” on some of his “bad habits.”

Regarding how KORN ended up recruiting Díaz to fill in for Fieldy, guitarist Brian “Head” Welch told 97.9 GRD: “Well, there’s COVID and everything, so when we started talking about it, it was a thing where we wanted to be careful still and whatnot. ‘Cause it was a couple, a few months ago or whatever. So we just started brainstorming and hitting up friends and whatnot. We need the slap — we need the slap bass, we need the finger playing, we need someone, ’cause Fieldy is unique — very unique. So it just kind of happened that way, man, where Ra, he was open because SUICIDAL is not going out until [2022]. I think Mike Muir has a back surgery or something this year. So it just worked out, man. He came down, we jammed. He’s a really humble guy, and just very talented. He can play anything — from jazz to slap to anything. He played all the songs with, like, three mistakes out of 10 songs or something — little mistakes. I mean, not even mistakes — it was just, like, ‘I thought I heard it that way.’ They weren’t even mistakes. So we were, like, ‘Okay. You got it down.'”

In addition to playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, Díaz has been part of several recording projects, including a RUSH covers EP that he recorded during the pandemic with Charlie Benante, Brandon Yeagley and Alex Skolnick. Díaz was also involved in the making of Benante’s covers album “Silver Linings” which was completed fully remotely during the pandemic in 2020.

Last month, KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch told Spotlight Report that Fieldy was “just taking a little time to be with his family. He is a great dad,” Welch said. “He has so many kids. He has adult kids, teenagers and young kids. He is just taking time, and we are giving him the time. We want everyone to be healthy and happy.

“I guess we will go and tour this record,” Head continued, referencing KORN’s recently released album “Requiem”. “I don’t know a lot more other than that. We love him very much and we hope to communicate with him during the year at some stage, to see where everyone is at.”

Welch previously addressed Fieldy’s position in KORN during a November 2021 interview with U.K.’s Kerrang! magazine. At the time, he stated: “The best thing to do is stay at home, be with your family, and start processing. He’s got to find that healing. I still struggle with it. I had a few slip-ups with my ‘bad habits’ three to four years ago, so I understand it, but I dealt with it by hitting it head-on and stopping it from becoming a problem. I’m not concerned because I know he’s going to be okay.”

KORN singer Jonathan Davis expressed a more worried outlook on Fieldy’s predicament, saying: “I love him; he’s my brother. But I watched somebody I care about die and I’m not going to fucking do that again. I refuse to. I will feel guilt for the rest of my fucking life because of that. I tried my hardest but perhaps if I’d been a little bit tougher there’d have been a different outcome. I pray that he can figure it out and get better and come back and be a huge part of this band again.”

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We’re halfway through the week, and to get us the rest of the way there, Abhorrent Expanse are blessing (or damning) us with their latest video, “Frost Suffocation.”
The post Video Premiere: Abhorrent Expanse – ‘Frost Suffocation’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

In a new interview with Drew Stone of The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!, former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo was asked if he is working on any music at the moment. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I just pretty much had a new studio installed next door [to my house], and we’re working all kind of bugs out and whatnot. So I tell my guy, my engineer, I tell him, I said, ‘Just program some drums, man. Give me some drums. Give me a different drum beat every day — up beat, down beat, whatever. Give me something.’ So I’ll walk in, there’s a drumbeat, and I’ll just pick up any instrument and just go right off the cuff. And it is some of the worst music you can imagine.

“I don’t know, man,” he continued. “I’m this close, man [holds two fingers close together] — I’m this close. I’m feeling something. We’ll see what it is. I’ve got a couple of options. I just don’t know, man. If it’s gonna be metal, I wanna do it old school, man. I’ve been kind of feeling more [Rob] Halford lately, man, vocal-wise, just singing, using my range again. So, we’ll see. It’s gotta be right.”

Less than two years ago, Anselmo told Revolver magazine that Halford is “hands down” the greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time. “Absolutely,” he said and then hesitated for a few seconds before also giving major props to late BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and HEAVEN & HELL singer Ronnie James Dio. “Dio. Ronnie James Dio — my Lord, what a powerful presence. [Rob and Ronnie] both — if you were standing on the side [of the stage], they were the loudest freaking thing on that stage. If you went around the front, they were the loudest thing on that stage. So it was amazingly powerful.”

In a 2010 interview with Antiquiet, Anselmo said about Dio: “Ronnie James Dio was probably one of the coolest motherfuckers in the biz. A lot of people could say that and just be talking nice, but I’m being very sincere here. PANTERA first did a gig with BLACK SABBATH and Dio in ’93, I believe. It was in Italy. He was just the most down-to-earth motherfucker. He toked weed with us after the gig, he sent ‘War Pigs’ out to me. He was just a very, very engaging person. Really, really sweet, real down to earth. He kept in touch throughout the years, and DOWN ended up playing some shows with SABBATH and Dio a couple years ago. Once again, I just wanna let everybody know that this guy was just one of the true good guys of this entire fuckin’ business, man.”

Back in 2014, Anselmo told Rock Scene that Halford was a huge influence on him when he first started developing his singing style.

“I don’t think I started maturing as a vocalist till I was 15,” he said. “And then after I started to mature, everything happened really quickly, and my range grew mightily. And it was quick, it happened quick. By that time, I’d started jamming with older guys, whatnot, and I would come home from school every day and practice JUDAS PRIEST’s ‘Unleashed In The East’ front to back and do it the way Rob Halford did it.

“People who think Rob Halford uses falsetto are sadly mistaken; that’s a full-out voice, and that’s how I learned,” he continued. “And I never had falsetto; I’ve always sang full out. Eventually, when I found and wanted and needed to find my own identity, I purposely kind of abandoned that style because, in my mind, it had already been done before and done the best it could be.

“There’s only one Rob Halford,” he added. “I know there’s some other guys that could sing very well and whatnot, but that style, I thought, had been done to death, and heavy metal needed a new attitude, I guess, brought to it instead. And it was already there; there was already the first METALLICA record and SLAYER, for sure and whatnot. And don’t get me wrong, Tom [Araya] could hit those high falsetto notes, but that’s not what SLAYER was about; it was more about aggression, especially vocally. So it was all happening around me. I just needed to get that perfect blend, man, of hardcore attitude from bands like AGNOSTIC FRONT, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER… shit… obviously BLACK FLAG and… so many others. It’s unbelievable how many influences I used and incorporated. I even used death metal moments and whatnot, cup the mic, shit like that, for effect. So I always evolved.”

JUDAS PRIEST was rejoined by guitarist Glenn Tipton on stage during the band’s headlining concert Tuesday night (March 15) at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California.

As he has done a number of other times over the course of the last four years, Tipton appeared with PRIEST for the encore, performing “Metal Gods”, “Breaking The Law” and “Living After Midnight”.

Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s eight years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of JUDAS PRIEST’s latest studio album, “Firepower”. He was replaced by “Firepower” album producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently told Metal Pilgrim that Glenn is “still actively involved with JUDAS PRIEST, a hundred percent. Andy is still standing in that spot for Glenn with Glenn’s blessing… And my gratitude to Andy. It couldn’t have happened in a better way, if you wanna try and make something good out of it. It was a really important day when Glenn said, ‘I think it’s probably best if I step to the side and maybe we should let Andy come in.’ That was just a really beautiful act of selflessness. That’s Glenn treasuring PRIEST and PRIEST’s reputation, particularly in live concert more than anything else. So bless Glenn for that. And as a result, Andy stepped in and did amazing work on the ‘Firepower’ tour, and we’re looking forward to doing the same thing with him on this 50th-anniversary [tour]. And don’t discount the fact that Glenn can show up. He plays the guitar differently, but there’s no reason why Glenn can’t show up and do some work. I mean, I’ve said to Glenn, ‘Just walk out on stage and do that to everybody [flashes devil horns], and the people will just go fucking crazy, ’cause you are loved so much.’ But I’ve got a feeling that Glenn’s gonna be making the occasional appearance on this 50th-anniversary [tour].”

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

PRIEST’s current North American tour kicked off on March 4 at Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois and will conclude on April 13 at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Support on the trek is coming from QUEENSRŸCHE.

JUDAS PRIEST was forced to postpone around two dozen North American shows on its rescheduled 50th-anniversary tour in late September after Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during a performance at the Louder Than Life festival. He ended up undergoing a 10-hour life-saving surgery a short distance away at Rudd Heart and Lung Center at UofL Health – Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.

In a new interview with the 98.7 The Gater radio station in West Palm Beach, Florida, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen was asked if he and his bandmates have had a chance to begin rehearsing yet for their upcoming “The Stadium Tour”, which will finally take place this summer after originally being planned for 2020 and later being moved to 2021. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “No, but I have a really cool setup at home where I can listen to the whole band minus the drums. And when I close my eyes, I can imagine myself being on stage. So it’s great because it allows me to do all the homework I need to do, just to be prepared. I walk in on that first day, and I’m ready to go.”

Asked how long it has been since he and the rest of DEF LEPPARD have been in the same room, Rick said: “Actually, recently… I can’t really disclose too much, but we spent quite a bit of time in England and we worked on some really exciting projects that people are gonna get to hear about in the not-too-distant future.”

As for DEF LEPPARD’s setlist for “The Stadium Tour”, Allen confirmed that all of the band’s biggest will be included. “And there are gonna be songs from the new release also,” he said. “So that’s pretty exciting. That’s coming up.”

Earlier this week, DEF LEPPARD launched a new web site, DiamondStarHalos.com, featuring the band’s iconic logo and a countdown to a big announcement on Thursday, March 17 at 5:00 a.m. EDT. Beneath the countdown timer are the words “Meet Our Psychics” and drawings of all five members of DEF LEPPARD — Allen, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and singer Joe Elliott. When visitors click on a DEF LEPPARD bandmember, a small snippet of audio is revealed where the musician in question makes a prediction about the future.

Collen says: “Hi this is Phil from DEF LEPPARD, and your read today is ‘the truth begins to shine.'”

Savage says: “Hi this is Sav from DEF LEPPARD, and your read today is ‘there’s no time to reason why.'”

According to a tweet from the DEF LEPPARD fan forum Def Leppard Rock Brigade, DEF LEPPARD’s next studio album is titled “Diamond Star Halos” and will be preceded by a new single, which will reportedly receive its world premiere this coming Thursday, March 17 on BBC Radio 2’s “Zoe Ball Breakfast Show”.

Last June, Elliott confirmed to Cleveland.com that he and his bandmates have been trading ideas virtually during the pandemic and are “ahead of the game” with respect to the new LP’s progress. A month earlier, Joe told Download festival host Kylie Olsson that “there’s a lot of work to be done” before the completion of the new DEF LEPPARD album. “But we have not let the year go to waste,” he said.

“The Stadium Tour” will kick off on June 16 in Atlanta, Georgia and will conclude on September 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Unconfirmed New Def Leppard Album Cover.#PhilCollen #jacksonguitars #jackson #guitar #guitarplayer #acousticguitar #SteveClark #Sheffield #RickAllen #JoeElliott #Defleppard #Sav #explorepage #Explore #Tour #bassguitar #gibsonguitars #gibson #gibsonlespaul #viviancampbell pic.twitter.com/7g7agwmX7H
— Def Leppard Rock Brigade (@DefLeppardRB) March 16, 2022