Fan-filmed video of QUIET RIOT’s February 18 performance at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut can be seen below. Also on the bill were Stephen Pearcy (RATT) and SLAUGHTER.

QUIET RIOT’s current touring lineup includes bassist Rudy Sarzo who recently rejoined the band after an 18-year absence.

Rudy was one of the members of QUIET RIOT’s “Metal Health” lineup. He played bass on the classic LP, which sold over ten million copies and spawned the hits “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Metal Health” and on the follow-up record “Condition Critical”.

Sarzo appeared in the most notable music videos in the MTV age and toured with the band until 1985 and again from 1997 to 2003. During his years out of the band, Sarzo was a member of OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, DIO, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, QUEENSRŸCHE and THE GUESS WHO.

Joining Sarzo in QUIET RIOT’s current lineup are guitarist Alex Grossi, vocalist Jizzy Pearl and drummer Johnny Kelly.

Drummer Frankie Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on “Metal Health”, died in August 2020 after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer. A month after Banali’s death, QUIET RIOT announced that it would carry on.

Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before founding singer Kevin DuBrow passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010.

When QUIET RIOT’s 2022 tour dates were first announced in January, Grossi said in a statement: “We can’t wait to get back out there and see everyone. The first few shows with Rudy back have gone over really well and the audiences are very excited to see him perform these songs again.”

Added Sarzo: “I’m excited to be back home and celebrate the QUIET RIOT legacy, which began 40 years ago next year with the recording of ‘Metal Health’, the first heavy metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard top 200 albums chart.”

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of “American Idol” finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.

For a complete list of upcoming QUIET RIOT shows, visit QuietRiot.Band.

Sarzo discussed his return to QUIET RIOT in a recent interview with Adika Live!. He said: “My decision, in addition to [it] being Frankie’s request that I return to the band, was a decision that I had to meditate on it, because it is that important. Not meditate whether it was the right decision to make or not — no, that wasn’t the point — it was to meditate about the timing of it. Because it could not be an abrupt decision that you drop everything you’re doing and you change the band.

“Regina [Frankie’s widow] and I, we sat and we talked about it, and we said, ‘Okay, the best thing to do is to let everybody fulfill their commitments.’ Because I have commitments to the band that I’ve been playing in for the last five years, THE GUESS WHO. And I wasn’t about to tell them, ‘Hey, I’m outta here, guys. Good luck.’ I’ve never done that. So I have commitments with them. And QUIET RIOT has commitments with [longtime bassist] Chuck Wright. And we felt that the only thing that we can do, really — [we felt] that all these commitments must be fulfilled so our agreements with everybody is fulfilled.”

Rudy went on to say that he has been “making the transition” and “embracing again the whole QUIET RIOT consciousness” by going “back and playing the songs” again. “And actually, it’s been wonderful because, I’ve gotta tell you, to be able to go back to something that you did 40 years ago with the musician I am today, I’m looking at the songs a little bit different, as far as my own contributions,” he said. “Of course, it’s not gonna be something that is gonna turn into completely something else, but there are certain note choices that I can improve on.”

Read more »

Two short video clips of DEICIDE rehearsing with its new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) can be seen below.

Earlier in the month, Nordberg spoke about how he landed the DEICIDE gig in an interview with “The Zach Moonshine Show”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE in the U.S. And we got to know the guys and got along really well. And I actually found out that Glen [Benton, DEICIDE frontman] lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, where we live. So Jeramie and Glen became good buddies and they ride bikes all the times. It’s a funny little thing, thinking about that. But long story short, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I believe he’s the head of A&R at Dean Guitars so he’s focusing on that for right now. I heard that they needed a guitar player, so I learned a couple of songs, made a couple of videos, and Glen saw ’em and liked what he saw. So we had a couple of practices, and bing bang boom, here we are.”

Asked if he has worked on any new material with DEICIDE or if he has just been focusing on getting the old songs down, Taylor said: “Well, when they first asked me to start learning songs, they said, ‘Start learning [the] ‘Legion’ [album], because this year is the 30th anniversary of ‘Legion’. So later on in the year, we’re gonna be playing it start to finish live. So that’s been the main focus over the last couple of weeks — just hammering down those ‘Legion’ songs, which that’s been a blast to just delve into those tunes and that songwriting… Right now, we’re focusing on the ‘Legion’ stuff and then, obviously, me just trying to learn a full set. Otherwise, there is new songs that we’ve been working on. Like I said, we’re kind of just focusing on the ‘Legion’ stuff for right now, but there’s definitely a ton of killer new material on the way. I don’t know what the time frame is — when we’ll record or anything like that — but there is new music, and it’s killer so far.”

Cannella amicably left DEICIDE last month after a three-year run.

When Benton first announced Nordberg’s addition to DEICIDE, he said in a statement: “We are pleased to announce and welcome Taylor Nordberg to the DEICIDE family! An amazing and accomplished guitarist who takes our sound to the next level and brings a profound level of professionalism that completes and compliments the DEICIDE machine!”

Cannella said in a separate statement: “Yes, it is true. I am no longer in DEICIDE. There is no drama and we all kept it quiet as to not lead into drama or speculation.

“I have all the love and respect for Glen, Steve and Kevin. I had so many great times over the last three years I cherish for a lifetime, especially the friendship.

“Cheers to all and thanks for all the love and support. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Cannella joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

DEICIDE’s latest album, “Overtures Of Blasphemy”, was released in September 2018 via Century Media.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deicide Official Instagram (@deicideofficial)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deicide Official Instagram (@deicideofficial)

Read more »

Reunited Canadian metallers KITTIE have announced that they will perform at this year’s Blue Ridge Rock Festival, set to take place September 8-11 at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

The Blue Ridge announcement comes just weeks after it was revealed that KITTIE would play at Las Vegas’s When We Were Young festival in October. Joining guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander and her sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, at those shows in the fall will be guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana “Ivy” Vujic.

Asked in a recent interview with the “Talk Toomey” podcast what led to Vujic returning to KITTIE for the upcoming dates, Lander said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Ivy played on two of our albums, the last two albums that we did. She left the band right before the very last big tour that we ended up doing; she did the Soundwave Festival [in Australia] with us in 2012, and those were the last shows that we did with her. And she just kind of settled into her life, started a family, got married, and so that’s sort of been what she’s been up to. But Ivy’s a metal girl at heart and she’s always been super, super easygoing about stuff. I just sent her a message and I was, like, ‘Hey, can we talk?’ And we had a really, really great phone call and I just sort of explained the situation, explained what was going on. I asked her if she’d be into doing it, and she was, like, ‘Yeah. Sounds great.’ … It’s very much one of those things where you don’t talk that often anymore, you don’t see each other that often, but then, when you all get together again, that chemistry and that vibe is always there.”

Morgan continued: “I feel like that lineup of KITTIE in particular was always very super pro, super chill — no stress, no drama. Just, like, ‘You know what? We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna sound amazing.’

“She’s an incredible bass player. I don’t think that Ivy gets enough credit. She is absolutely incredible. So it’s gonna be great.”

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band’s fifth studio CD, 2009’s “In The Black”. She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE’s sixth album, 2011’s “I’ve Failed You”.

When We Were Young will be held on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip on October 22, October 23 and October 29.

Officials said the “emo” festival will feature the same lineup on all three dates, with the exception of Alex G replacing Wolf Alice on October 29, and La Dispute will not perform on October 29.

The lineup also includes MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, PARAMORE, AFI, THE USED, BRING ME THE HORIZON, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, ALKALINE TRIO, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, AVRIL LAVIGNE, WOLF ALICE, STORY OF THE YEAR, JIMMY EAT WORLD and many others.

When the lineup for When We Were Young was first revealed, KITTIE said: “Thanks for your patience with our silence friends. The truth is we’ve been in full on crisis mode the past week and weren’t sure if we’d actually be able to make this happen but it’s true and we’ll be there to melt your face off and we hope you got your tickets.”

After the third When We Were Young date was announced, KITTIE wrote: “Third show added! Super stoked that @whenwewereyoungfest has decided to add yet another date! October 29th 2022. We’ll see you there…tickets on sale January 31st”.

KITTIE has not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band’s native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group’s documentary “Kittie: Origins/Evolutions”.

Last month, the original lineup of KITTIE — Morgan, Mercedes, Fallon Bowman (guitar) and Tanya Candler (bass) — reunited for an online chat to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its gold-certified 2000 debut album, “Spit”.

Candler left KITTIE after the release of “Spit” in order to finish high school and was replaced by Talena Atfield.

Bowman exited KITTIE in 2001 and started her own industrial/electronic project, AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT.

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for 2011’s “I’ve Failed You” album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, “Origins/Evolutions”, which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

“I’ve Failed You” sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Morgan Lander (@dialmformorgan)

Read more »

Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti has announced that he is battling prostate cancer.

The 68-year-old guitarist/vocalist revealed his diagnosis in a social media post on Friday (February 18). He wrote: “After numerous blood tests, an extensive MRI, and last Friday’s biopsy, I have been diagnosed with Prostate cancer. My doctor says we caught it early and the likelihood of surviving this is very high. Over 90% of patients with this type of cancer (thankfully mine is relatively slow growing) are cured and live out their life expectancy. Having spent a lifetime of staying on top of my health, and having caught this early, may be the reason why I should fully survive this.

“I urge everyone to listen to your bodies & get regular checkups. I know plenty of people that didn’t do that, and it has been the difference between an extended life and death.

“Concerning how this affects upcoming shows, the Santa Cruz and Tracy Theatre shows will be unaffected by this and will go on as planned. But because of my lengthy treatment schedule, coming after those shows, we must cancel the Phoenix, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and San Juan Capistrano shows. Check the Y&T tour dates page for updates. We’re expecting all other shows to remain intact.

“Though I’m generally not a person that believes entertainers need to share their medical issues in public, I felt it was just too hard to keep everyone in doubt…especially since many of you have been with us for Y&T’s almost 50-year career and are like extended family.

“Regardless of this news, I am doing fine, feeling well, and look forward to getting this behind me and continuing to bring the music to you for many years to come.”

Earlier in the month, Y&T rescheduled two shows due to Meniketti having to undergo what at the time was described as a “critical medical procedure” on February 11.

Meniketti is the only surviving member of the Y&T lineup — then known as YESTERDAY AND TODAY — that recorded the band’s self-titled debut album.

Original Y&T rhythm guitarist Joey Alves died in March 2017 at the age of 63. Two founding Y&T musicians — Haze, 61, and Kennemore, 57, who both had left the lineup — died from complications of lung cancer: Kennemore on January 7, 2011, and Haze on September 11, 2016.

Y&T’s current lineup is rounded out by guitarist John Nymann, drummer Mike Vanderhule and bassist Aaron Leigh.

The iconic Bay Area rockers’ latest studio album, “Facemelter”, came out in May 2010 via Frontiers.

In 2019, Y&T released its long-awaited documentary, “Y&T: On With The Show – The Documentary”, on DVD and on Blu-ray.

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who have sent nice thoughts my way after hearing I had to move shows for a…

Posted by Dave Meniketti on Friday, February 18, 2022

Read more »