KILL THE LIGHTS, the band featuring former BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bassist Jason “Jay” James and drummer Michael “Moose” Thomas, has released a brand new song called “Dead From The Start”.

“Dead From The Start” is described in a press release as “a stadium-sized banger that showcases the band’s seamless blend of classic and modern metal and hard rock. It kicks off with an arena-sized chant, while galloping riffs, finger-burning solos, and reach-for-the-stars vocals elevate the song.”

Commented singer James Clark: “‘Dead From The Start’ attempts to give the listener an insight into the types of thoughts and feelings that someone living with mental health issues endures daily,” says singer James Clark. “Being able to talk openly about mental health is the first step in ensuring those that need help receive the support and resources readily available to them. Millions of people are fighting alone each day in darkness, and it’s time to remove the social stigma around mental health.”

KILL THE LIGHTS released its debut album, “The Sinner”, in 2020 on Fearless Records. The band and record were lauded for “statement songs” (Distorted Sound) and for being “broad in scope and technically accomplished in its execution” (Sonic Perspectives).

KILL THE LIGHTS is:

James Clark (ex-THROW THE FIGHT) – Vocals
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) – Guitar
Michael “Moose” Thomas (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) – Drums
Jason “Jay” James (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) – Bass
Travis Montgomery (ex-THREAT SIGNAL) – Guitar

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE announced Jay’s departure in February 2015 during the recording sessions for the group’s fifth album, “Venom”, and recruited Jamie Mathias as his replacement in May of that same year.

In July 2015, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck told Revolver: “We parted ways with [Jay] a long time before we announced it. We wanted to make sure we were comfortable making that decision, and comfortable with making that statement publicly. We wanted to get the album ready to be recorded before we said anything…”

Tuck described the split with James as “the most difficult thing we’ve ever had to do, and not just in the band or in our careers, but in our lives, personally. It was awful. Losing a long-term member — and our best friend, which was much more important to us — was a very powerful moment that we’d never been through before, and it was a decision that we deliberated over for, like, three months; we kept fighting and fighting to find valid reasons for him to stay, but eventually it was just impossible.

“I’m not going to go into detail,” Tuck continued, “but it was in Jay’s best interest personally, more than ours, that he was not in the band. People can read into that what they want, which they will anyway; but it was just stuff going on that was jeopardizing the band’s career, and it had to stop. And, unfortunately, it came to the point where enough was enough, and we just had to make that call.”

In December 2017, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE announced that it was officially parting ways with Thomas and replacing him with Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, AXEWOUND). Bowld had toured with the group since November 2015, filling in for Thomas, who had taken a leave of absence as he and his wife were expecting their first child.

In February 2020, Thomas told the “No Fuckin’ Regrets With Robb Flynn” podcast that he didn’t leave BULLET FROM MY VALENTINE of his own accord.

“We’d done the last album [in 2015], which was ‘Venom’, which was kind of more back-to-the-heavier-roots type of thing, which I was a lot happier with; I think everyone was,” Thomas explained. “And it was on that album we left — Jay, and then I left a year later. So we finished ‘Venom’ and then started touring ‘Venom’. It was on the European tour cycle of ‘Venom’ that I left and didn’t return. I would have gone back [on tour], but no one answered my e-mails.”

The third in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ upcoming album, titled “4”, can be seen below.

Due on February 11 via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG, “4” is Slash’s fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass, vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar, vocals).

In October, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS released the official music video for the LP’s first single, “The River Is Rising”, shot on location in downtown Los Angeles with Gibson TV director Todd Harapiak.

For “4”, Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band’s desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

The band’s previous albums over the last decade — “Apocalyptic Love”, “World On Fire” and “Living The Dream” — have continued on an upward trajectory, all achieving Top 5 Billboard charting debuts in the U.S. and reaching the Top 10 on 12 major charts across the globe. To date, the three SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS albums have now garnered 10 consecutive Top 5 Radio singles, spawned sold-out world tours, and have earned Slash and the band the best critical acclaim of their career with their latest album “Living The Dream” (2018) singled out by the Los Angeles Times, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Loudwire, LA Weekly, and more, as their best songs to date.

The new album “4” has the added history-making distinction of being the first-ever album to be released on the new Gibson Records label, which is headquartered in the iconic American instrument brand Gibson’s hometown of Music City, Nashville. In light of the 30-year partnership between Gibson and the Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Slash, it makes sense the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ album “4” will be released via Gibson Records.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS will kick off a North American headlining tour on February 8, in Portland, Oregon and hit 28 major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and more, before wrapping up March 26 in Orlando, Florida.

All ticket options for Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest at the Fillmore Philly on June 10-11, 2022 are officially on sale. The time to buy is NOW!
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SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor says that he hopes something like the recent Astroworld concert tragedy never happens at any one of his band’s concerts.

Ten people, including a 9-year-old and two teenagers, died while many more were injured after a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s performance at the Houston music festival in November. The rapper has since been criticized for appearing to keep the show going despite pleas of help from the crowd. Although he paused a few times, many are saying this response was not enough. In the weeks the incident, dozens of lawsuits have been filed and a slew of questions remain unanswered about what went wrong.

Taylor addressed the deadly event in a recent interview with Fox News. He said: “It’s one of the things that scares you as a performer. The last thing you want is for anything to happen to your audience. We as a band, as an organization, we’ve always gone above and beyond to try and make sure that our fans are okay. Even back in the day when we were crazy and kind of doing insane stuff, if anything ever happened to our fans, we immediately stopped the show and made sure they were okay. We never carried on. We always made sure that security was the priority. Number one. That hasn’t changed to this day. It’s the one thing we try to focus on.”

Corey also touched upon the “security issue” which caused the cancelation of SLIPKNOT’s November 2019 appearance at the Knotfest Meets Forcefest in Mexico City. According to reports, the stage barricade broke during BEHEMOTH’s set and it was impossible to fix it in time for either of the two scheduled closers — SLIPKNOT and EVANESCENCE — to perform.

Taylor said: “The issue that arose at Knotfest Mexico was because there was an unsafe situation in the audience. We and our security did not feel comfortable going back out there knowing that people might get injured. There was a broken barricade that we couldn’t fix. We physically couldn’t fix it. So we had to shut down. And because we did that, most people left. There was a riot, but nobody got hurt. They were taking it out on the instruments and the grounds and whatnot. But that’s the difference between us and a lot of other bands. We wouldn’t have felt good carrying on, knowing that our fans might be in danger. It really comes down to what your priorities are.”

He added: “Obviously, I don’t know any of the people involved [in Astroworld]. And I don’t know anything more than what I’ve read in the news online. So I can’t make any judgments. All I can talk about is where we are [as a band] and where I am. And I can just say that I hope that something like this never happens at any one of our concerts.”

All ten Astroworld victims’ cause of death was listed as “compression asphyxia,” according to documents from the Houston medical examiner’s office. One victim had a contributing cause of “combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine, and ethanol.” All deaths were ruled accidental.

In late December, it was reported that Live Nation Entertainment, the concert promoter behind Astroworld, was under investigation by a congressional panel.

The House Oversight Committee announced that it is launching a bipartisan investigation into “the roles and responsibilities for Astroworld Festival, security planning for the event, and the steps Live Nation Entertainment took after being made aware that law enforcement had declared the event a ‘mass casualty event.'”

SLIPKNOT made headlines last November when a bonfire was started in the mosh pit at the band’s concert in Phoenix, Arizona. SLIPKNOT was performing at the Ak-Chin Pavilion as part of its “Knotfest Roadshow” when attendees set fire to a stack of lawn chairs, with the scene captured in various social media posts from fans who attended the concert. As a result, SLIPKNOT’s performance was stopped for roughly 30 minutes in order to allow the fire department to put out the blaze. Due to the delay, SLIPKNOT was reportedly forced to drop “Duality” and “Spit It Out” from its set.

A Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson told the Arizona Republic Engine Company 40 “responded to the pavilion and found a large contents fire… possibly started by bystanders at the event.”

The engine company established a water supply, extending handlines off the truck to the “for an aggressive fire attack,” the spokesperson reported.

“The fire was thoroughly extinguished without any extension to the major structure and no injuries were reported at the incident. The exact cause of the fire is currently under investigation and no persons were displaced at this incident.”

The “Knotfest Roadshow” tour, featuring support from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE, kicked off following SLIPKNOT’s Knotfest Iowa hometown show in Des Moines on September 25. It wrapped up at Knotfest Los Angeles on November 5 at Banc Of California Stadium.