On the heels of the two recent No. 1 singles at Active Rock radio, “Distance” and “Don’t Back Down”, a Grammy nomination (“Best Rock Song” for “Distance”) and two iHeart Radio Award nominations (“Rock Artist Of The Year” and “Best New Rock Artist”), MAMMOTH WVH has released an official music video for “Epiphany” — the third single from its self-titled debut. “Epiphany” is currently in the Top 15 at Active Rock radio and moving towards bringing band mastermind Wolfgang Van Halen his third Top 10 single. The single version of “Epiphany” was recently released on Spotify. The music video is a live performance compilation that was filmed at two headline shows last October and one of the shows opening for GUNS N’ ROSES last September. The video showcases the MAMMOTH WVH live band that consists of Wolfgang Van Halen on vocals/keyboards/guitars, Frank Sidoris and Jon Jourdan on guitars, Ronnie Ficarro on bass and Garrett Whitlock on drums.

“‘Epiphany’ is the song that I always say best represents the core sound of MAMMOTH WVH,” explains Wolfgang Van Halen. “The song was easily the biggest unreleased track and has resonated most with the fans since the album was released last June. That was why it made sense to be a single now. It is also one of the most fun to play live and I can’t wait to get back out on the road and play it on the ‘Young Guns’ tour.”

MAMMOTH WVH is teaming up with DIRTY HONEY to bring their high-octane rock’n’roll out on a 33-date co-headline North American run dubbed the “Young Guns” tour. The trek will kick off on February 20 in Denver, Colorado and run through April 12, when it will wrap up in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour will make stops in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; New York; and Orlando, Florida, to name a few cities, and will see the bands alternating the closing slot nightly.

MAMMOTH WVH’s debut album was released in June 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Writing all the songs and performing all the instrumentation and vocals for the debut album, Wolfgang Van Halen set out to establish his own musical identity. From the rocking opening guitar riff on album opener “Mr. Ed” to the driving bass and drums on album closer “Stone”, “Mammoth WVH” showcases the various musical influences that have inspired Wolfgang. Songs like “Resolve”, “The Big Picture” and “Think It Over” are all sonically different from each other but unique to what MAMMOTH WVH is.

MAMMOTH WVH made its television debut in February 2021, performing “Distance” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and running through an exclusive acoustic arrangement on “Today”.

Photo credit: Bryan Beasley

Video footage of Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH) and John Moyer (DISTURBED) performing the MEGADETH classic “Angry Again” with several campers at last month’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida can be seen below.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp was created 26 years ago to provide real people the once-in-a-lifetime experience of connecting and jamming with their musical heroes. The Camp has provided unforgettable memories, advice and feedback for attendees worldwide. Camp events span over four jam packed days where campers join a band mentored by today’s top touring musicians, and work up to final performances with the headliner rock stars at legendary venues from Abbey Road Studios in London, to Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go, to the Atlantic resort in The Bahamas.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp was the focus of the tremendously successful 2021 documentary “Rock Camp: The Movie”. “Entertaining”, “inspiring” and “moving” are how critics, audiences and industry leaders described the documentary. The film follows four real people who attend Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp and how it transforms their lives. These “rock campers” share the stage with superstar counselors including Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, JUDAS PRIEST, Sammy Hagar and many more. “Rock Camp” was directed by Doug Blush, who has worked on over a hundred documentaries (including Oscar winners “20 Feet from Stardom”, “Icarus” and “Period. End Of Sentence.”).

“Rock Camp: The Movie” has generated great word of mouth and buzz, scoring a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has been featured on “The Today Show”, “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” and on ABC News. The Washington Post called “Rock Camp” “an eye-opening treat,” and The Chicago Sun-Times described it as “infectiously upbeat.” Music industry critic and influencer Bob Lefsetz raves, “I couldn’t turn it off. Rock and roll is a religion.”

David Fishof, Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp founder, has had a successful career as a sports agent, producer, promoter, and manager and is the founder and CEO of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Fishof produced the “Happy Together” tours, the MONKEES 20th-anniversary reunion tour, “Dirty Dancing Live” tours and “Classic Superfest” and others. He also created and produced RINGO STARR & HIS ALL-STARR BAND tours for 15 years.

KROKUS frontman Marc Storace has shared audio samples of the songs that appear on his first-ever solo album, “Live And Let Live”. The effort was made available in Switzerland in December and was released in North America earlier this month.

“Live And Let Live” track listing:

01. Live And Let Live (3:41)
02. High On Love (3:57)
03. Lady Of The Night (4:44)
04. Carry The Burden (3:16)
05. Broken Wings (3:41)
06. No Place To Hide (3:22)
07. Don’t Wanna Go (4:40)
08. Love Over Money (3:53)
09. Time Waits For No One (4:14)
10. Paradise (2:59)

The official music video for the “Live And Let Live” can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice, Storace said about how his solo album came about (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Twenty years ago, I wrote the title song of the album, ‘Live And Let Live’. ‘Live And Let Live’ was written with this guitar player who was a neighbor of mine. I used to go over to his place, a little studio, on cold or rainy days and icy days. We spent hours writing songs, and we came out with about 20 of ’em. And this is one of ’em which fits for the album. And it’s the opener. It’s a great song.

“Anyway, so many years later, we did the [KROKUS] reunion, and I’ve been busy with KROKUS,” he continued. “And as soon as lockdown started, I first did some stuff which I put on YouTube and Facebook, some karaoke stuff which I found. I did duets with my daughter, Giuliana. After that phase with Giuliana, I kind of fell in a hole of the lockdown boredom, and I thought, ‘No way. I’m gonna get creative.’ I opened my drawer [and out came] a pile of lyrics — bits and pieces, leftovers, new stuff. And I thought, ‘Well, I’ve got enough material. And I need a guitar player.’

“This guy I got in touch with, he’s in Newcastle, in England,” Marc added. “We started communicating about ideas — he’d send me ideas, and I’d send him feedback, and I’d fit lyrics and build songs and stuff. So we built quite a few. And then I already went in contact with a couple of musicians whom I got to know when I was doing this big event, film series for television in 2019. And this thing came out during lockdown. But while we were filming this, I also started thinking, ‘Well, we’re on a farewell tour, and I don’t really wanna stop.’ And this thing came out during lockdown, which helped reduce the boredom, and in between I was writing songs. And then I got to know these two other guys — a drummer and rhythm guitarist — and they also produced the whole music side of [the TV series]. And they asked me during the filming stuff, in between, ‘You should do a solo album now. It’s gonna be over with KROKUS. What are you gonna do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know yet. It’s not over until it’s over. And I’m still enjoying it. So I’m not thinking that far. I’m taking it — carpe diem. Day by day.’ Cause you never know what tomorrow brings. And too much planning sometimes you’re doing for nothing. Overthinking is unhealthy anyway.

“So, anyway, I came to that point. And then I called them. I said, ‘Guys, you wanna do it? ‘Cause I really enjoyed working with you.’ … So we started. And at the end of last year, they already sent me two ideas, and at the beginning of this year, they sent me some more. And I got busy working, working, and we did demos and stuff. And here we are — it’s ready. It’s all recorded, and it’s in the mix.”

Asked about the musical direction of his solo album, Marc said: “It’s energetic, heavy, melodic hard rock. And there’s also a couple of ballads. I’m a singer — we love ballads. And then there’s something out of the ordinary — it’s a blues song, which is not the typical blues song. It’s something I saw as a challenge. When they sent me that music, I thought, ‘What? It doesn’t really fit.’ But then I thought blues is always inside the rock family — a body of rock always has blues in there, as opposed to jazz maybe, although that’s also integrated sometimes. And then there’s this one song — I think it’s gonna be the last one on the album — which is quite acoustical and more light-hearted.

“I’m saying it’s great, because I’ve worked for it and I’m emotionally involved with it,” he continued. “But people around us and around me have been telling me I’m on the right track, and the results are good. So, now I’m nervous and excited for the release date.”

KROKUS released a new CD/DVD, “Adios Amigos Live @ Wacken”, in February 2021.

Back in April 2020, KROKUS was forced to postpone its last-ever concerts in USA and Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe. The 13-date trek was originally scheduled to kick off at Canton Hall in Dallas, Texas on September 18, 2020 and conclude at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California on October 10, 2020.

In September 2018, KROKUS announced that it was going to embark on a farewell tour dubbed “Adios Amigos” before calling it a day. At the time, they said their final show would take place on December 7, 2019 at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. However, in June 2019, Storace posted a message on Facebook indicating that the band would play additional concerts beyond the Zurich date.

When KROKUS first announced its decision to embark on a farewell tour, the band explained in a statement: “KROKUS shows have always been special and should stay that way. That’s why we decided to stop when it’s still really good. That’s how the fans should remember us.”

In a new interview with Thomann, KORN guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer discussed the inspiration for the band’s new album, “Requiem”, which was written and recorded entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We’re so used to having the world as our playground to go and explore. We’ve been doing this for 25 or more years [now]. And all of a sudden somebody says, ‘You can’t do that anymore.’ We’re, like, ‘What? What do you mean? I don’t know what to do. I’m fucking going crazy.’

“That’s how we started the record,” he continued. “We were literally going crazy. And I called up my guys and I was, like, ‘Yo, Jonathan [Davis, vocals], Head [guitar], can we get over there? Can we get an engineer in there? Can we get a guitar tech just to start coming up with ideas and write some songs?’

“Originally it was supposed to be an EP,” Munky added. “And then we were, like, ‘well, we have enough songs now to put out an album.’ It was, like, nine [songs]; that’s not really an album and it’s not really an EP.”

“Requiem”, was released on February 4 via Loma Vista Recordings. The band celebrated the LP’s arrival with a special record-release event on February 3 at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California. “Requiem Mass” saw the Southern California heavy music pioneers perform an intimate set in front of a 300 attendees.

“Requiem” was produced by Chris Collier and KORN.

KORN kicked off a short run of shows with SYSTEM OF A DOWN on January 31 in Phoenix, followed by dates in San Diego (February 1) and Los Angeles (February 4 and February 5). KORN’s headlining tour with CHEVELLE and CODE ORANGE will launch March 4.

How does a band survive for 40 years without ever sounding like anything else? Their earliest records aside, VOIVOD have been ferociously original throughout the last four decades; a unique and unassailable benchmark for progressive heaviness. Perhaps uniquely, they negotiated the tragic loss of talismanic guitarist and creative mastermind Denis “Piggy” D’Amour with grace and intelligence, locating the exact right man to replace him. Since recruiting Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain, VOIVOD have been back to the astonishing levels of creativity and skewed ingenuity that informed cherished classics like “Dimension Hatross” and “Nothingface”. 2018’s “The Wake” was widely and rightly acclaimed as the best thing the Canadians had done in decades, and so “Synchro Anarchy” arrives amid high expectations. The good news (and there is no bad news) is that it is, almost inevitably, brilliant.

Audibly exhilarated by their own mad ideas, VOIVOD have never sounded more vital than they do here. Opener “Paranormalium” crams a ridiculous number of grotesque riffs and syncopated, rhythmic tricks into its five-and-a-half minutes, but the band’s knack for wonky hooks lifts everything to that sublime, psychedelic metal realm that only this band have ever truly explored. The title track is even better, with mischievous time signatures and some of Mongrain’s weirdest riffs colliding with Denis “Snake” Bélanger’s sonorous melodies, which are elegantly woven through the avant-prog chaos. Recent single “Planet Eaters” is a gem, with strong echoes of VOIVOD’s early ’90s psychedelic transformation, but more sophisticated and unashamedly proggy; “Mind Clock” is a bewildering sprawl that morphs from downbeat dirge to jagged, fidgety intensity. Even at their most straightforward, VOIVOD defy convention: “Sleeves Off” is an infernally catchy four minutes, with a gritty punk edge and scabrous, JESUS LIZARD-like riffing. Equally succinct, “The World Today” is all snotty, noise rock spikiness and KING CRIMSON-esque ebb and flow.

Always revered in the metal world, VOIVOD have become increasingly cherished in prog circles too. As with “The Wake”, “Synchro Anarchy” showcases a band reveling in the freedom to do whatever they want, and while none of this could be mistaken for any other band, everything from the tense, slow-build clatter of “Holographic Thinking” to the lysergic thrash fractals of “Quest for Nothing” sounds more evolved and effortless, as if VOIVOD have connected with some all-powerful cosmic mainframe and are simply pissing genius as a result. By the time you reach “Memory Failure”, another eccentric but lethally effective cocktail of everything discerning folk love about VOIVOD, the possibility that (a) this is another masterpiece, and (b) that we are really not worthy of this band, will be impossible to ignore.