Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA played their first show in two years last night (Saturday, February 12) at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The concert was also notable for the fact that singer Derrick Green wore a brace on his left leg after apparently breaking his foot not long ago.

A short time after the gig, Green shared a few pictures of the concert on his Instagram and he included the following message: “Incredible feeling to play our first @sepultura show again after two years, even with a broken foot!! Muito obrigado Rio de Janeiro!! #sepultura #riodejaneiro #circovoador #metal #grateful”.

SEPULTURA’s current lineup comprises Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

Cleveland native Green went from fronting hardcore band OUTFACE in Ohio to relocating to New York and then living in São Paulo, Brazil for nearly two decades.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, the members of SEPULTURA refused to sit back and feel like animals trapped in a cage. Therefore, in early 2020, the legendary Brazilians, along with their American vocalist, seized the moment to start their own weekly “SepulQuarta” video podcast in which they invited other famous musicians from all over the world to not only discuss important topics but also perform a track from SEPULTURA’s massive catalog together with the band. The resulting full-length compilation was released last August, with the album containing 15 classics featuring internationally renowned guests and friends.

SEPULTURA’s latest studio album, “Quadra”, was released in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was created at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios with renowned producer Jens Bogren.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Derrick Green ??! (@derrickgreenofficial)

During an appearance on the “In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie” video podcast, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner confirmed that he has used some of the coronavirus downtime to work on a solo project. He explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I haven’t really spoken much about it publicly, but there is something I’ve kind of been [putting] together during the COVID period. I mean, I know we’re still going through it but there’s been a lot of downtime. So I’ve used that time to kind of get some songs I’ve been working on, get them together, polish them up, get some people together that I respect in the music business and record some stuff. And I haven’t spoken a lot about it. It’s in the process of being finalized, and we’re looking for deals and stuff. We’re looking for deals at the moment, we’re looking for record labels, so I don’t wanna get too far ahead of myself.”

Asked if the album will feature guest musicians or it will be presented as a complete solo effort, Richie said: “Well, I’ve always been into the band. It’s never been like RICHIE FAULKNER’S RAINBOW or anything like that. I’ve always been into the band — with the band name and the four or five guys or girls in it rather than a solo project. But also, when I joined PRIEST, I didn’t wanna sort of get the gig and then, straight away, ‘Oh, now listen to my solo thing.’ PRIEST, they welcomed me in, they gave me a voice, they gave me an opinion, and I felt like this was my band. They’ve made me a part of it and I gave back a thousand percent. So I didn’t wanna sort of then do my own thing and abuse that opportunity, if you know what I mean. But 10 or 11 years in, I feel that fans know that I’m not gonna abuse that opportunity. I’ve given 10, 11, almost 12 years [to PRIEST] now, so I felt, with the pandemic as well, with a bit of downtime, maybe put some stuff into that.”

As for the musical direction of his solo album, Faulkner said: “As far as stylistically, it’s always hard to tell, really. You just do what you do. You can hear where the roots are, from PRIEST, but I think it’s different enough to be its own monster. And then hopefully someone else interprets it in their own way and hears something completely different to what I hear, hopefully.”

Faulkner joined PRIEST in 2011 as the replacement for original guitarist K.K. Downing.

Richie was once the guitarist in the backing group for Lauren Harris, daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

Faulkner and his girlfriend Mariah Lynch, daughter of former DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch, welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Daisy Mae, in July 2020.

Last September, Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during PRIEST’s performance at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health – Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

If you’ve been lusting after Kemper, Fractal, or Line 6 amp modelers but fear they’d be overkill for your brain or wallet, the Boss IR-200 is among the most stacked—yet relatively simple and straightforward—alternatives you could consider.Boss IR-200 Review by premierguitarRecorded with a Schecter Ultra III’s TV Jones Magna’Tron bridge pickup into IR-200, then an Audient iD44 interface feeding GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.0:00: Bogner Überschall w/IR of Vintage 30-loaded 4×12 miked with a Royer, an SM57 & a Sennheiser0:16: Bassman 4×10 w/ IR of close-miked Sennheiser MD-4210:25: Bassman w/ IR of close-miked Royer R-1210:34: Bassman w/ IR of close-miked Neumann U 870:44: Bassman w/ IR of distance-miked Neumann U 870:53: Bassman w/ IR of close-miked AKG C451B1:03: Bassman w/ IR of distance-miked AKG C451B1:12: Bassman w/ IR of close-miked Shure SM571:21: Bassman w/ IR of distance-miked Shure SM57The high points: 128 presets, eight core amp models (including Fender, Marshall, Vox, Bogner, and Roland homages), 244 cab and mic IRs (including Shure, Royer, AKG, Sennheiser, and Neumann nods), three reverbs (hall, studio, room), and stereo, MIDI, effects-loop, USB, headphone, auxiliary-input, and footswitch/expression-pedal connectivity. (IR loader software is available for Windows and iOS.)If your budget has never allowed you to tinker with pricey microphones, it’ll be a treat to hear the sorts of tonal nuances the IR-200’s virtual microphone locker can avail.The IR-200 interface is, for the most part, very intuitive, with top-mounted controls for traditional amp functions—gain, level, bass, middle, treble—two footswitches for advancing patches, menu and exit buttons, and four slightly larger dual-function knobs for navigating memory slots and editing amp, cab, microphone, ambience, and other parameters.Upon power-up, opening presets like “Natural 1” and “JC-120 1” may not excite tube-amp addicts, and factory noise-suppressor settings are a bit stringent—which can work against the feeling of “realness” in otherwise really good amp models—but thankfully the latter is a cinch to tweak, thanks to simple screen prompts and smart architecture. No matter what the preset, the same sequence of three button/knob pushes accesses threshold and release settings. Once you’ve tailored these and other subtleties to your preference, you’ll find that the tones inspired by the aforementioned classic amps are damn impressive. And if your budget has never allowed you to tinker with pricey microphones, it’ll be a treat to hear the sorts of tonal nuances the IR-200’s virtual microphone locker can avail—particularly when mics are used in complementary pairs.Test Gear: Schecter Ultra III, Audient iD44, KRK Rokit7 G4 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro headphones

In a new interview with Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about how she gets inspiration for her lyrics through her interactions with the band’s loyal fanbase. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “There was a lot of things personally that saved me [during the pandemic], and one of them was our community that we have with our fans. I know everybody says this, but we absolutely have the best fans in the world. I stalk them even when I’m not responding, and, obviously, they tag me in everything. And any given moment, I will go online or any of my socials, and somebody will say, ‘Hey, I’m kind of struggling today’ or ‘I’m having a dark time,’ and everybody will literally pounce on them, just like, ‘Hey, DM me.’ ‘Hey, you’re not alone. I’m going through this too. Let’s talk about it.’ I can’t tell you off the top of my head how many lives have probably been saved by this community. They’ve done that all themselves; I’m just the host of the party.

“There is one specific song [on HALESTORM’s upcoming album ‘Back From The Dead’], and I won’t necessarily say the title yet because I kind of want her to figure it out for herself,” she continued. “But there was a very trying situation that I was in. It wasn’t my situation — it was this young girl; she’s in eighth grade and she’s a fan of ours. And she just came out as gay and her parents were having a very hard time with it. So she was brave enough to kind of open up to a couple of different people on my socials, including myself. And as hard as it is for me to say it, I have to say it. I guess the parents’ response to her coming out as gay was, ‘Well, death would be better.’

“I know how I felt in eighth grade as a weirdo that loved Alice Cooper when everybody loved the BACKSTREET BOYS; I know what it’s like to already have that. But then to not have the support of your parents for something that you truly are was ridiculous,” Lzzy added. “So I ended up taking this conversation into one of our writing sessions and we wrote this song that is not a ballad — it is a banger, because I wanted to write her this anthem that not only says, ‘Please take everything that nobody understands about you and make it into your superpower.’ But also, I am just like you — I am just like you, and I went through it, and I have come out on the other side. I still have dark times and dark days and everything, but if I can do it, so can you. You are in eighth grade; I’m 38. [Laughs] It’s, like, there is another side to that tunnel.

“But it’s important for me, because the inspiration comes full circle,” Hale said. “It’s, like, yeah, sure, I’m the one that gets up there and writes songs and sings and plays and has a good time and is, like I said, the host of the party, but these kids and the letters that they write to me, I would have never thought I’d be in that position when I was 13 all those years ago when I just wanted to rock. So it’s just such a beautiful thing to be a part of.”

“Back From The Dead” will be released on May 6 via Atlantic. The follow-up to 2018’s “Vicious” was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, MASTODON, ALICE IN CHAINS) with co-production by Scott Stevens (SHINEDOWN, DAUGHTRY, NEW YEARS DAY).

Earlier in the month, HALESTORM revealed “The Steeple”, the second single from “Back From The Dead”. “The Steeple” followed the album’s title track, “Back From The Dead”, released last summer. That track marked HALESTORM’s sixth No. 1 at rock radio, and met rave reviews: Rolling Stone called it “a biting, cathartic howler about overcoming obstacles — even death,” and Consequence praised Hale’s “powerhouse pipes” and lead guitarist Joe Hottinger’s “blistering solo.” Revolver declared it a “raucous, hard-rock rager about staying strong in the face of crushing adversity.”

Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a “Best Rock Performance” Grammy Award for its song “Uncomfortable”. Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of “Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance” for “Love Bites (So Do I)”.