A longer promotional video for the Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP — which is available in Antique Natural and Silver Metallic finishes — can be seen below.

Gibson is truly honored to be working with Mustaine, a guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader who formed MEGADETH at the dawn of the American thrash metal movement. Mustaine has sold 38 million records worldwide, earned six platinum albums, and is a Grammy Award winner, cancer survivor, and a certified first degree black belt in Ukidokan Karate, and Songahm Taekwondo, an honorary fourth degree black belt and Goodwill Ambassador in the World Taekwondo Federation, and is currently on the way to a first degree black belt in Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu.

The Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP guitars are the first in the new Dave Mustaine Collection. These guitars deliver the powerful, heavy sounds and exceptional playing performance on the stage and in the studio that Dave demands. The 25.5″ scale mahogany neck has an ebony fretboard with a compound fretboard radius, 24 medium jumbo frets, mother of pearl “teeth” inlays, an Explorer-style headstock with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners with Kidney buttons, and a Graph Tech nut. The mahogany Flying V-style body is equipped with a Tune-O-Matic bridge, a Stop Bar tailpiece, and a pair of Dave Mustaine’s signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor pickups. The Flying Vs are available in both an Antique Natural and a Silver Metallic nitrocellulose lacquer finish which are complemented by black chrome hardware. A hardshell case is also included.

For more information about the Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP guitars, go to this location.

In February 2021, Gibson officially announced a new partnership with Mustaine, who joined the company as a Brand Ambassador. The new Dave Mustaine Collection will span acoustic and electric guitars across Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer.

Ranked No. 1 by Joel McIver in “The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists” book, Mustaine godfathered fast-heavy-metal guitar generations, first as the original lead guitarist for METALLICA, and then as the founder of legendary MEGADETH.

In 1983, Mustaine founded MEGADETH, and the band released its first album two years later, established Dave and his bandmates as pioneers in the thrash metal movement. The band has since sold 38 million albums worldwide, including five consecutive platinum or multi-platinum albums in the U.S., while garnering 12 Grammy nominations. MEGADETH also landed a 2017 Grammy for “Best Metal Performance” for “Dystopia”, the title track of the band’s 2016 album.

Prior to MEGADETH, Mustaine was an early member of METALLICA. Before leaving the band in 1983, he had co-written a half dozen songs that would appear on METALLICA’s first two albums.

In the video game arena, Mustaine composed the Grammy-nominated MEGADETH track “Sudden Death” for the 2010 release “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock”. The game also featured two other Mustaine-composed MEGADETH songs: 1990’s “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” and 2009’s “This Day We Fight!”

MEGADETH recently completed work on its 16th studio album for a tentative summer 2022 release.

ARCH ENEMY frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz has revealed to Metal Hammer magazine that she moved to southern Germany temporarily during the pandemic in order to work on the band’s upcoming album, “Deceivers”, which is scheduled for a July 29 release via Century Media.

“I ended up staying in Europe for an entire year,” she said. “I didn’t want to risk being far away from our hub, which is basically in Sweden and Germany, and not being able to get back to it. I rented a car and found a little home for myself in southern Germany; I stayed there for a whole year. I set up a studio down there and continued working on a lot of solo material.”

Asked if this means her long-in-the-works solo debut will finally arrive in the not-too-distant future, Alissa said: “Yeah, I’m working on that, but it’s gonna come out way after ‘Deceivers’. The ARCH ENEMY album is the one people should be looking forward to right now.”

Back in 2017, Alissa said that her debut solo album would feature collaborations with a member of KAMELOT and at least one of her bandmates in ARCH ENEMY.

The ARCH ENEMY frontwoman said that the idea for a solo project came about as a suggestion from the band’s former lead singer Angela Gossow, who has been managing ARCH ENEMY’s career for more than a decade and also oversees Alissa’s personal affairs.

“[Angela] was, like, ‘Well, you need something. You need something that you can do, because I know you’re a workaholic and you’re not gonna be able to just sit there like this waiting for the next ARCH ENEMY tour,'” Alissa told France’s Duke TV. “And she’s totally right — I needed something else to be able to work on. And also, I have a lot of ideas that maybe don’t sound like ARCH ENEMY and it would be kind of silly to just force them into ARCH ENEMY.”

According to White-Gluz, her debut solo album will be released under the ALISSA banner because she wanted to “keep it simple” and “make it very clear who it is and what it is.” In order to make the disc, Alissa “did a huge life overhaul,” which included building a studio and investing a lot of time and money into learning how to engineer and record, program drums and improving at playing guitar. “Of course, on the album itself we’re gonna have real musicians playing all of these things, but in terms of just getting the style down and the songwriting, it’s something that I need to start on my own,” she explained to Duke TV.

At the time of the Duke TV interview, half of Alissa’s solo effort had been written, and it contained some musical surprises. “It doesn’t really sound like ARCH ENEMY — it’s pretty different — but I think it’s pretty cool,” she said. “For example, a song that I’m writing with Oliver [Palotai, keyboards] from KAMELOT doesn’t sound like KAMELOT and it doesn’t sound like ARCH ENEMY, but it’s members of both.”

Former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis, who joined ARCH ENEMY in late 2014, didn’t have any of his songwriting ideas included on the latter band’s last album, “Will To Power”, but will play a prominent role on Alissa’s upcoming disc.

“Jeff didn’t write with Michael [Amott, ARCH ENEMY guitarist and main songwriter], because Michael was already writing so well with Daniel [Erlandsson, ARCH ENEMY drummer] that we just actually had too many ideas,” White-Gluz told France’s Loud TV in a separate interview. “But all of Jeff’s ideas are really good and I’ve heard them and they’re gonna be released, so people will hear them… Jeff is gonna be one of my collaborators on my solo project, because how can you say no to that? [Laughs]”

PROCOL HARUM frontman Gary Brooker has died at the age of 76. He passed away at his home on Saturday, February 19 after a battle with cancer.

PROCOL HARUM announced Brooker’s death in a group statement, writing: “From his earliest onstage duets with his musician father, through his youthful recording career with Southend’s THE PARAMOUNTS, Gary exhibited and developed a highly-individual talent. His first single with PROCOL HARUM, 1967’s ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’, is widely regarded as defining ‘The Summer of Love’, yet it could scarcely have been more different from the characteristic records of that era. Nor was it characteristic of his own writing. Over thirteen albums PROCOL HARUM never sought to replicate it, preferring to forge a restlessly progressive path, committed to looking forward, and making each record a ‘unique entertainment’. Gary’s voice and piano were the single defining constant of PROCOL’s fifty-year international concert career. Without any stage antics or other gimmicks he was invariably the most watchable musician in the show (he played several other instruments in the studio).

“Though sometimes regarded as ‘classical’, his roots were in the blues, Ray Charles and Little Richard. His voice was soulful, without vibrato, and his piano-playing robustly inventive. Blessed with hungry ears, he enjoyed and absorbed all kinds of musical styles, taking a Postmodernist’s delight in weaving unexpected threads into the fabric of his own compositions. Never prolific, he did not care to write to order, preferring to wait for inspiration to strike. His masterpiece, 1969’s ‘A Salty Dog’, derived its instantly-recognisable opening chord from a Swiss locomotive siren; yet as with all his finest pieces its harmonic structure evolves with intriguing, unpredictable logic, and carries its listeners on a thrilling emotional voyage.

“His influence far exceeds his output. PROCOL’s long suite, 1968’s ‘In Held ‘Twas in I’, is an acknowledged inspiration to many artists, not least THE WHO and QUEEN. PROCOL was the first rock band to perform live with its own choral and orchestral arrangements. Entirely self-taught, Brooker’s beguiling scores bristle with melodic interest, always serving the songs and never — as with so many later imitators — treating the contrasting resources as oppositional. The last of some forty PROCOL gigs involving the world’s most renowned orchestras and concert-halls was at the London Palladium; its predecessor was a notable live BBC Radio presentation. It was intriguing, as Gary pointed out, how PROCOL HARUM’s popularity, across the world, kept on growing. But music not written at the dictates of fashion has no cause to fall from favour.

“Brooker was much in demand as a collaborator: he played, wrote and sang for Eric Clapton’s band and with Bill Wyman’s RHYTHM KINGS. He toured with Ringo’s ALL-STARRS, and contributed to solo projects for Paul McCartney and for George Harrison, who guested on one of Gary’s four solo albums. Gary played and sang at the Albert Hall in 2003’s Concert for George. He also accepted commissions — a Danish Royal Ballet score, a piece for massed brass bands in Switzerland — and sang by invitation in Sir Alan Parker’s ‘Evita’ film.

“Musical celebrities from Gary’s bulging address book flocked to play at his own all-star presentations, always raising money for charity (work recognised by his 2003 MBE). He also fundraised with ‘No Stiletto Shoes’, a high-energy side-band that delivered the music of his earliest influences with raucous commitment. His last charity project raised over a million pounds for the Royal Marsden Hospital with a single concert — days before 2020’s first Covid lockdown — at London’s O2 arena.

“Gary’s charisma was by no means confined to the stage. He lit up any room he entered, and his kindness to a multilingual family of fans was legendary. He was notable for his individuality, integrity, and occasionally stubborn eccentricity. His mordant wit, and appetite for the ridiculous, made him a priceless raconteur (and his surreal inter-song banter made a fascinating contrast with the gravitas of PROCOL HARUM’s performances).

“But for all his other interests and skills — prize-winning angler, pub-owner, lyricist, painter, inventor — he was above all a devoted and loyal husband to Franky, whom he met in 1965 and married in 1968. Our thoughts must be with her, their families and friends at this extremely sad time.”

Gary Brooker – 29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022

We’re very sad to announce the death of Gary Brooker. The single defining…

Posted by Procol Harum on Tuesday, February 22, 2022

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN singer Greg Puciato will release his sophomore solo album, “Mirrorcell”, on June 17 via Federal Prisoner.

News of the hotly anticipated LP’s impending arrival comes with today’s premiere of “Lowered” and its Jim Louvau- and Tony Aguilera-directed video. Featuring a duet between Puciato and CODE ORANGE’s Reba Meyers, the four-plus-minute song is evocative of the album’s tone: a medley of raw insight and vulnerability juxtaposed against an exhilarating musical backdrop.

“When [Reba] came to the studio, we had, like, zero vocals for that song. I had been a little unusually stuck with that one lyrically and as far as vocal phrasings and melodies,” Puciato explains. “Reba and I had such an explosion of musical and personal chemistry right away, and we ended up writing and recording all of the vocals in about six hours. It was one of the purest collaborations I’ve ever done, in terms of feeling, just really natural and explosive. She really blew me away overall. The combined energy was instant. That song turned into something really special because of that energy.”

Puciato once again recorded all guitars and bass for the collection, and continued his long-running relationship producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, THE CURE, SNAPCASE). Chris Hornbrook (DHANI HARRISON, BIG BLACK DELTA) played drums on the nine-song album.

“Mirrorcell”‘s arrival caps what has been a particularly prolific period for Puciato. From THE BLACK QUEEN to his debut solo album (“Child Soldier: Creator Of God”), KILLER BE KILLED’s 2020 collection “Reluctant Hero”, Puciato’s contribution to Jerry Cantrell’s “Brighten”, and his recent collaboration with CARPENTER BRUT, the provocative frontman has shown just how diverse he is. Rolling Stone has said that “few singers live, breathe… their art like he does,” or as Kerrang! so neatly surmised, Puciato is “a gifted artist taken at different temperatures.”

“Mirrorcell” track listing:

01. In This Hell You Find Yourself
02 Reality Spiral
03. No More Lives to Go
04. Never Wanted That
05. Lowered
06. We
07. I, Eclipse
08. Rainbows Underground
09. All Waves to Nothing

“Mirrorcell” pre-orders are available now via Federal Prisoner’s web site with the album available on a variety of formats including multiple limited-edition vinyl variants, a cassette, CD and an accompanying merch collection. A pair of limited-edition “Lowered” vinyl singles, and cassette, are also available.

Photo credit: Jim Louvau

TOOL, which is currently on tour in support of its Grammy Award-winning album “Fear Inoculum”, will take it back to their beginning, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its first commercially available release “Opiate”, with a reimagined and extended version of the EP’s title track and an accompanying short film. “Opiate²” is available via DSPs on March 1, with the Blu-ray only visual companion available on March 18.

Visual artist Dominic Hailstone (“Alien: Covenant”, “The Eel”) worked with TOOL guitarist Adam Jones on the 10-plus minute film, which is the band’s first new video in 15 years. The clip continues TOOL’s knack for merging the aural and visual worlds, creating an all-encompassing experience for the listener that has been a hallmark of the outfit since their inception. Hailstone and Jones also collaborated on the filmed pieces featured on the current “Fear Inoculum” tour.

The physical release features a Blu-ray housed in a 46-page art book with behind-the-scenes and making-of photos as well as interviews and insights from special guests.

TOOL kicked off its 2022 tour in support of “Fear Inoculum” on January 10 at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. It marked the band’s first live appearance since March 2020 when TOOL’s trek was cut short following a gig in Portland, Oregon due to the burgeoning pandemic.

TOOL was honored with a Grammy in the “Best Metal Performance” category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in January 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. TOOL was nominated for “7empest”, a track from “Fear Inoculum”.

TOOL already had three previous Grammy Awards under its belt: “Best Metal Performance” in 1997 and 2001 for “Ænima” and “Schism”, respectively, and “Best Recording Package” in 2006 for “10,000 Days”.

TOOL formed in 1990 and has released five studio albums thus far: “Undertow” (1993), “Ænima” (1996), “Lateralus” (2001), “10,000 Days” (2006) and “Fear Inoculum”; two EPs: “72826” (1991) and “Opiate” (1992); and the limited-edition boxset, “Salival” (2000). The band has won four Grammy Awards: Best Metal Performance (1998, “Ænima”), “Best Metal Performance” (2002, “Schism”), “Best Recording Package” (2007, “10,000 Days”) and “Best Metal Performance” (2020, “7empest”).

GUNS N’ ROSES bassist Duff McKagan joined Eddie Vedder on stage Monday night (February 21) during the PEARL JAM singer’s concert at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington to perform a cover of THE PRETENDERS song “Precious”.

Vedder’s backing band, THE EARTHLINGS, consists of drummer Chad Smith, keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Josh Klinghoffer, bassist Chris Chaney, guitarist/vocalist Glen Hansard, and guitarist Andrew Watt. The newly formed group gave their live debut at Vedder’s own Ohana Festival last September.

Earlier this month, Vedder postponed his shows in San Diego and Los Angeles due to a COVID-19 outbreak in his touring party.

Eddie’s concert with his new band THE EARTHLINGS at The Magnolia in San Diego, originally scheduled for February 15, will now take place February 27, while the show at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, originally slated for February 17, has been pushed back to February 25.

Eddie’s new solo album, “Earthling”, was released on February 11 via Seattle Surf/Republic Records. The LP, which was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Andrew Watt, is Vedder’s first album since 2011’s “Ukulele Songs”.

“Earthling” illuminates every side of Vedder and includes collaborations with some of music’s most iconic legends including Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr, Elton John, as well as Watt, Smith and Klinghoffer.

Vedder has served as PEARL JAM’s frontman, in addition to a guitarist and primary lyricist, since 1990. Inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017 as a member of PEARL JAM, Vedder’s trademark vocal style inspired a generation. His energetic and unvarnished stage presence coupled with his honest conversations with the audience led PEARL JAM as pioneers in live performances and social justice.

Vedder’s signature ethos carries into his solo work. His first project came out in 2007 with the soundtrack album for the film “Into The Wild” and earned him a Golden Globe for the song “Guaranteed”. In 2012, Vedder’s sophomore solo album, “Ukulele Songs”, received a Grammy nomination for “Best Folk Album.” Most recently, he collaborated with Glen Hansard for the “Flag Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” and has released tracks off his forthcoming solo album “Earthling”.

Vedder’s lyrics address many of the key issues of our times including gun violence, racism, and climate change. In addition to the activism inherent to the music, Vedder is an outspoken advocate for several progressive, social, and political causes, most notably abortion access and the environment. A longtime supporter of Surfrider Foundation, Vedder has most recently been vocal in banning offshore drilling along the U.S. coast.

“Though some may think there should be a separation between art, music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest,” Vedder says.

In addition to his activism, Vedder and his wife Jill McCormick Vedder co-founded the EB Research Partnership, dedicated to finding a cure for epidermolysis bullosa, a family of rare genetic disorders that affects the skin. The Vedder family is active in supporting both the work of the organization and the children who are impacted by the disorder.

Vedder and his wife reside in Seattle with their two daughters.

MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, has released a new single, “Your Own Worst Enemy”. The song is available now on all digital platforms.

“Your Own Worst Enemy” comes six months after the arrival of Corabi’s previous single, “Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)”. That song was produced and co-written in Corabi’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, with songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Corabi in 2016 said that he would avoid talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE in the future because he didn’t want his comments about Sixx to descend into a feud.

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, Nikki said that writing the “Mötley Crüe” LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it “a very unfocused record” that was “painful for me, because John Corabi can’t write lyrics, and I had to do all that work.”

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE’s entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. “Live ’94: One Night In Nashville” documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track “10,000 Miles”, which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the “Quaternary” EP.

Corabi recently completed work on his autobiography. Titled “Horseshoes And Hand Grenades”, it was written with the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles, and is due in June via Rare Bird Books.