
Hear Snippet Of New MEGADETH Song 'Life In Hell'
Dave Mustaine has debuted a snippet of music from MEGADETH’s upcoming sixteenth studio album.
The MEGADETH leader, who turned 60 in September, shared the clip while filming a new video message on Cameo, which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.
Addressing a fan named Gabe, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I will play you something that’s been recorded already and is special. How would you like to hear a little bit of the new album? This is song two from side one. It’s called ‘Life In Hell’.”
After playing the song snippet, Dave added: “There you go. A little special surprise for you, buddy. So I think that makes you the first person in the outside world — outside of the studio and the band and my family — that’s heard any music from the new record.”
Mustaine charges $299 for each of his Cameo videos for personal use $2,093 for a video for business use.
Earlier this month, Mustaine revealed that MEGADETH’s new album, “The Sick, The Dying And The Dead” has been mastered and is “super close” to being released. The follow-up to 2016’s “Dystopia” is tentatively due in the spring of 2022.
In a recent interview with American Songwriter magazine, Mustaine said “The Sick, The Dying And The Dead” title track is about the plague, but not solely centered around the current pandemic. A broader, more historical scope of the diseases that have plagued humankind throughout time, “The Sick The Dying And The Dead” covers the current virus, swine flu, and other epidemics from centuries past.
“The song itself was a historical journey of how the plague started and where it went, starting with rats on ships carrying the disease, coming ashore in Sicily,” Mustaine said.
According to Mustaine, the music for “The Sick, The Dying And The Dead” was assembled from riffs and music he has had archived for years, some as far back as his teens. “A lot of the riffs have been saved over time,” he said. “A brand new song can be made up of something I wrote when I was 15 or 55. If It’s a good riff, I’ll save it.”
Mustaine added that guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren were both involved in piecing together the songs on the album, which was recorded mostly in Nashville, with Loureiro working on his parts from his home in Finland.
Mustaine has yet to reveal who played bass on the new MEGADETH album after David Ellefson’s tracks were removed from the LP following his dismissal from the band in late May.
Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.
MEGADETH recently completed “The Metal Tour Of The Year” with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and HATEBREED.
For “The Metal Tour Of The Year”, MEGADETH was rejoined by bassist James LoMenzo for the first time in nearly 12 years.
LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group’s studio albums, 2007’s “United Abominations” and 2009’s “Endgame”. He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with a returning Ellefson.
Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest departure.
Read more »
Ex-GREAT WHITE Singer JACK RUSSELL Says Documentary About Fatal Nightclub Fire Will Receive Premiere In February
Former GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell, whose pyrotechnics ignited the deadly blaze on February 20, 2003 in Rhode Island, spoke to Tulsa Music Stream about the upcoming documentary about the infamous fire that killed a hundred people and injured hundreds more.
“We’re supposed to have a premiere of it at the [legendary club] Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood] in February — an invitation-only thing,” Jack said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I think it’s coming out on Reelz; I think they’re gonna put it out on Reelz. It’s not the way we initially wanted it to come out; we wanted it to be more of a movie. We took three years shooting this thing. I mean, it was a long time. A lot of footage — a lot of footage. I could have my whole biography done with just what’s on the cutting-room floor. But it’s really moving. I haven’t seen the finished product yet — I’ve just seen the trailer — but it is really moving, touching, and it’s a beautifully shot piece of film. It lets you know how beautiful music is and how music can heal everything, no matter what people think. There’s a certain thing in music that is very healing, and it’s helped a lot of people through the aftermath of the fire.”
Russell also said that he wanted the tragedy to serve as a reminder to remain alert about public safety.
“Honestly, I haven’t been asked a question about the fire in — I can’t remember how many years now,” he said. “It’s been a long, long time. The public has a short memory, unfortunately. It was something that I hoped that people would remember, just because of the nature of it and the fact that we need to take care of ourselves when we’re out at places; we need to be conscious of our safety.”
During the same chat, Russell spoke about the status of his long-awaited autobiography, “Dancing On The Edge”. He said: “We’re almost done with it. I found a writer. Her name is Kate Catalina. She’s Chip Z’Nuff’s wife. She’s a fantastic writer. We get along like peas and carrots. So it’s gonna be a really great book. What I’ve read is really great. We’ve got a lot of people that have done interviews for it. Even [A&R guru] John Kalodner came out of the closet [to be interviewed for it]. No, he didn’t come out of the closet — I didn’t mean the ‘closet’ closet.”
Four years ago, Russell told Psycho Babble TV about the upcoming documentary, which is tentatively titled “The Guest List”: “What it is is partly my life story, as a kid growing up, and then it goes off into the fire, unfortunately, and the aftermath of that, and testimonies… not testimony, but… talks by the victims and their families and how it affected them.”
Russell said that parts of the movie are especially hard for him to watch “because a lot of people blame me.” He then corrected himself: “I wouldn’t say a lot, but they’re very vocal.” Still, he said he understood why some believe he should be held accountable for what happened fifteen years ago. “I look at it like this: if it makes it easier for them to grieve the loss of somebody close to them, then my shoulders are big enough,” he explained.
The fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick began in an overcrowded club when pyrotechnics from Russell’s GREAT WHITE ignited illegal soundproofing foam lining the club’s walls.
“I’ve seen so many video tapes of pyro shooting off in that club with the foam — bigger stuff than we had — and it never happened,” Jack told Psycho Babble TV.” Why it happened that night… Who knows? I mean, it’s like a plane crash — it takes all these little things to fall in line for that one big thing to happen. So [the movie] gave me the opportunity to talk about how I felt and for me to apologize. Not a guilty apology, but because I just…
“I mean, I feel horrible that it happened,” he continued. “I lost a lot of friends that night — a lot of friends. People that I didn’t even know were even there. And people have said, ‘Well, he’s not remorseful.’ And they’ve gotta understand, when all this went down, my legal team, they said, ‘You cannot ever say you’re sorry, because it implies guilt.’ And I’m, like, ‘But I am sorry.’ [And they told me], ‘But you can’t say it.'”
According to Russell, at least one “really beautiful” thing came out of the tragedy. “There was a man named Joe; they call him ‘The Lizard Man,'” Jack said. “He was the worst, most badly burned of all the people. And he met his wife in the fire and they had a beautiful son. And his comment was, ‘If this wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have met the love of my life.'”
The singer said that the documentary, which he hopes will help bring him some closure, is “really well done. The guy [making it]… He’s done Disney movies. He’s actually from that town. So he had to be really unbiased, which he really was — he just told it. And it’s really, really informative, and it delves into people’s lives.”
Russell added that he is “glad” the film was made. “It may not be the best thing in the world for me, but it’s very cathartic,” he said.
At least one relative of a Station fire victim was angered by Russell’s plan to make a documentary about the incident and discuss it in the upcoming book.
“I think it’s ruining all the positive strides that we’re now making to heal here in Rhode Island,” Jody King, whose brother Tracy was a bouncer at the Station, told the Associated Press in 2015. “If he wants to help, stay away, shut your mouth.”
Russell’s bandmate Ty Longley (guitar) was one of the people who perished in The Station blaze, which became the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history.
In 2008, the band agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and families of the victims of the fire.
GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall founded the band with Russell in 1982. At the time of the fire, the group that was on the road was called JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE. Kendall later said he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help boost attendance.
Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.
Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist’s self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.
Russell previously discussed his book in a 2016 interview, saying: “I’m just dumping everything in this book. And there might be a couple of lawsuits out of it, I would imagine. I’m gonna have to have my lawyers check it out before I release it. But, I mean, I don’t really think that’s gonna happen. ‘Cause the book is about myself and what I’ve [gone through] and not so much about other people. But there are gonna be spots where somebody might raise an eyebrow and go, ‘Hmmm….’ It’s gonna make some people upset. But it’ll make more people laugh. If you’re the butt of the joke, that’s just the way it goes. [Laughs]”
Three years ago, Russell said that one of the main reasons he was writing a book was “because I want people to know that no matter how far down the ladder you fall you can always climb back up. You don’t have to stay down,” he told Daily Boom. “Whether you have a drug an alcohol problem or anything else for that matter, you can pull yourself out of it. You can accomplish so much in life if you just believe in it and visualize it. Nothing happens by chance, and I believe that everyone that you meet has some sort of message for you, if you listen closely enough. It might be a stranger that says something random to you that you shrug off, but if you sit and think about it, maybe they said something that you were supposed to hear. You just never know when you are being used as that voice of encouragement for someone else. I don’t believe that anything happens by coincidence; it’s all for a reason, both good and bad. Life isn’t random; it’s very well choreographed and we’re here to learn.”
Read more »
NONPOINT Drops Music Video For New Song 'Back In The Game'
NONPOINT has released the official music video for its new song “Back In The Game”. The track is taken from the band’s latest EP, “Ruthless”, which was also made available today (Monday, December 27).
With the roar of one word “independence”, NONPOINT has transcended the underground and taken its rightful place in metal history. Even now they continue to change the rules with their newest song “Back In The Game”, which keeps the NONPOINT tradition of inviting you in close, kicking you in the chest, then imprisoning an infectious lyric like “’cause you’re looking at a one-man death squad” into your mind knowing it will never escape. This song and official video go live across all streaming platforms December 27 at midnight along with the remaining songs from the “Ruthless” EP. This follows NONPOINT’s independent label plan of delivering music to its fans through more frequent releases and videos from the band.
NONPOINT singer Elias Soriano stated: “This song sums up our view on how we approached independence from the very beginning. We will be small but mighty. Like the song says, ‘I may be one man, but I’m a death squad.’ We give everything we’ve got with ultimate absolution.”
Now with the success of NONPOINT’s new independent label 361 Degrees Records, the band continues to add to its story as it partners with Amuse Music distribution, an independent music distribution company which helps independent artists stay independent with an unbelievable team that helps them grow beyond their reach.
In 2021 alone, NONPOINT’s song “Ruthless” reached #16 on Billboard’s Rock chart and was featured on the New Metal Tracks and Kickass Metal Playlist on Spotify with over 1.6 million combined subscribers, SiriusXM Octane’s Big Uns Countdown, LA Lloyd Top 30 and Loudwire Nights. “Ruthless” was also the featured track on AEW’s nationally televised event “Blood And Guts” on TNT in May 2021. “Ruthless” has reached over 3.5 million streams. Now NONPOINT’s fan-voted cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry”, at over 1 million streams, has quickly become a fan favorite, from the crowd applause at shows to their support and momentum online.
NONPOINT’s touring in 2022 continues with January dates throughout the country, along with an appearance on the ShipRocked cruise.
“Ruthless” EP track listing:
01. Back In The Game
02. Get Better
03. I Don’t Care
04. Ruthless
05. When Doves Cry
NONPOINT launched its independent record label 361 Degrees Records LLC in January of this year. They filmed the process of starting the label and making new music in a docu-series titled “A Path To Independence” that can be seen on the band’s YouTube and official web site.
NONPOINT’s songs “Bullet With A Name”, “Alive And Kicking”, “In The Air Tonight”, “Circles”, “Your Signs”, “Everybody Down” and many others have been featured in trailers, hit movies, television, iconic video games, as well as broadcasts from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WWF.
NONPOINT has toured with major acts like DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH, MUDVAYNE and SEVENDUST, to name a few. They have also been featured on the main stages and support stages of iconic festivals like Soundwave, Rock Am Park, Rock Am Ring, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville and many more.
Photo credit: Francesca Ludikar
Read more »
SLASH Recalls Jamming With AXL ROSE For First Time: 'That's When I Realized Where Music And Vocals Really Meet'
GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash recently took part in a “fan first” interview with Revolver magazine in which he shared his history as a fan of music, from encounters with THE ROLLING STONES and AEROSMITH to working with A-class vocalists like Axl Rose and Myles Kennedy.
Speaking about his working relationship with Axl, Slash said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’d worked with different singers, on and off, for a while, and then when I met Axl and we started jamming together, he was the only singer that ever brought an emotional content to it that affected me on an emotional level, on an energy level. A song all of a sudden went to a whole new level, and I felt it. And that’s when I realized where music and vocals really meet. Because prior to that, everybody that I’d worked with sucked and I had no use for it, and I would just rather play instrumentally. But that’s when I first really arrived at that poignant feeling that you get when things connect on a lyrical and the vocal level and the music level.”
GUNS launched its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with an April 2016 club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California’s Coachella festival.
GUNS N’ ROSES’ reunion tour features classic-lineup members Slash, Rose and bassist Duff McKagan backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.
In a 2020 interview with Guitar Player’s “No Guitar Is Safe” podcast, Slash spoke about what it felt like for him to step back out on stage with GUNS N’ ROSES for the first time in over two decades at the band’s concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.
“That was our first gig back,” Slash said. “I think probably the last time that we ever played there was in 1985. I don’t think we even played there in 1986. Probably ’85 was the last time we played there. “[The April 2016 concert was] our first show together after 20 years. We obviously had more gear and more crew than we did back in the day, I’ll tell you that much. And it was loud. But it was a lot of fun. It was an almost poignant moment to fucking stand there and look at that crowd in that sort of room and have that kind of nostalgic feeling.”
In 2019, Slash told Guitar.com that his first concert back with GUNS N’ ROSES was an “overwhelming” experience. “It was so cool,” he said. “Because it was a long time — we’re talking more than 20 years from the last show in 1994… it was 22 years since the last time we’d played together. And obviously I’d played with Duff [since then] but there’s a certain dynamic in the three of us together. It was awesome, and it’s a really great experience.”
Slash and his bandmates played the final show of their “We’re F’N Back” run on October 4 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
“We’re F’N Back!” came on the heels of the “Not In This Lifetime” run that became the No. 3 highest-grossing tour in the history of Billboard Boxscore.
As previously reported, GUNS N’ ROSES will release a new four-song EP, “Hard Skool”, on February 25, 2022. The effort, which is exclusive to the GUNS N’ ROSES official store, contains the two new songs the band released in the last two months — the title track and “Absurd” (stylized as “ABSUЯD”) — as well as live versions of “Don’t Cry” and “You’re Crazy”.
Read more »
METALLICA's LARS ULRICH Gets Birthday Wishes From ANTHRAX's SCOTT IAN, SATYRICON's SATYR
ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian and SATYRICON frontman Sigurd “Satyr” Wongraven are among the musicians who have wished METALLICA’s Lars Ulrich a happy 58th birthday.
Born in Gentofte, Denmark, on December 26, 1963, Lars is the son of the Danish musician, filmmaker and former tennis pro Torben Ulrich, who turned 93 in October.
Ulrich played tennis professionally as a teenager and could have gone on to a career as a tennis star, but chose music instead.
Ian shared an Instagram photo of him with Ulrich taken nearly 38 years ago, and he included the following message: “Two 20-year-old kids on the Tennent’s and Special Brew probably talking about how much we loved VAN HALEN’s 1984. This pic was taken in March of 1984 at a flat in London that METALLICA were staying in. They’d left the studio in Denmark (they were recording Ride The Lightning) to come to the UK for the Hell On Earth tour with THE RODS and EXCITER but the tour was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales! METALLICA couldn’t go right back to Denmark as the studio had been booked for the time they’d be in the UK. The label, Music For Nations got them a flat and set up some press as well as their first show in the UK at the Marquee. I was in London to do some promo for the just released Fistful Of Metal. I was only supposed to be in town a few days, but when my hospitable friends METALLICA got the flat they ‘twisted my arm’ to crash with them for a week or two – we got up to some awesome shit. And yes, it was during this shenanigan filled time that Cliff [Burton] and I got arrested, but I digress. The point of this post is to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARS!!! I hope you’re having a great holiday my friend and I also hope you still have that DIAMOND HEAD sweatshirt! Cheers! @larsulrich @metallica #tennentssuper #carlsbergspecialbrew”.
Wongraven shared what appears to be a relatively recent photo of him with Ulrich at an empty restaurant or a large dining room. He wrote in an accompanying message: “There’s always something to be said for the individual who is confident enough to be aware of his or her accomplishments while at the same time being down to earth. Gene Simmons once described Lemmy’s greatness by saying he was an unassuming type of person. Throughout the twenty years I have known Lars as the pivotal figure he is in the world of heavy music, he has only proved his nay sayers wrong. Because he is one of those unassuming type of persons while being a lot of fun at the same time. He is genuinely interested in YOU, he is warm and generous and he’s got an immaculate taste when it comes to art and music. The pandemic has been rough on a lot of us, but my sms exchanges with this fella, has been very helpful in keeping my head up high. Thank you for being you, brother and HAPPY BIRTHDAY”.
METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles, placed an ad in a local paper called the Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.
METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band’s first recording was “Hit The Lights” for the compilation “Metal Massacre”.
Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group’s name: he was debating between using “Metallica” and “Metal Mania” for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use “Metal Mania” so that he could use “Metallica” for his new band.
METALLICA’s first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.
“I went to see YESTERDAY AND TODAY [later known simply as Y&T], playing a show on, like, a Wednesday evening, at the Starwood in L.A. in December 1980,” Lars told Kerrang! magazine a few years ago. “I remember the band were having a great time. There was this vibe and energy thing between them and the audience. It was pretty chill, and I remember thinking, ‘This looks like so much fun.’ At the same time, I was starting to realize that if I wanted to really get anywhere playing tennis, I would have to spend eight hours a day on the court and there was this grind in front of me that didn’t have quite the same allure anymore. It wasn’t like the next morning the roof opened and a lightning bolt came down, but over the next couple of months, the tennis thing fizzled out and music started taking over.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Scott Ian (@scottianthrax)
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Wongraven (@wongravenwines)
Happy heavy #birthday to @larsulrich
Have a nice one!
??❤️?#Love, #Doro#doropesch#warlock@Metallica #allformetal#allweare pic.twitter.com/ap0jP96hO9
— DORO (@DoroOfficial) December 26, 2021
Read more »
BRUCE DICKINSON Admits He Doesn't 'Get' DRAKE's Music
IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson has admitted that he doesn’t “really get” Drake’s music.
The 63-year-old singer made the comment less than four months after the heavy metal legends were narrowly beaten to the No. 1 spot on the U.K. album chart by the Grammy-winning rapper.
Even though IRON MAIDEN’s well-received “Senjutsu” was ahead for much of the release week, Drake’s digital-only “Certified Lover Boy” landed at the top of the chart on 45,651 chart sales (43,623 from streams). “Senjutsu” ended with a total of 44,473 (including 39,032 physical copies). “Senjutsu” also made No. 1 on the vinyl albums chart.
Dickinson said: “We went head to head with Drake the week the album was released. I don’t really get what he does, though a lot of people do, but going head to head with him felt like, ‘No this is real music played by a bunch of old geezers who make no concessions to the times in which we live.’
“People say, ‘You’re dinosaurs.’ And we go, ‘Yeah and there aren’t too many of those left.’ This is who we are, it’s what we do.”
Bruce went on to say that he is pleased MAIDEN hasn’t relied on social media to grow its fanbase.
“By and large our audience as moved on with us,” he said. MAIDEN’s audience is like a table made of plywood; every year you just add a new layer and the table gets bigger and bigger. We’ve grown organically — not through social media or any of that stuff. We’ve grown by going out and doing it in front of people.”
“Senjutsu”, IRON MAIDEN’s first album in six years, was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Harris.
For “Senjutsu” — loosely translated as “tactics and strategy” — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.
“Senjutsu” bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band’s early classics like “Powerslave” and “The Number Of The Beast”. Nearly 90 percent of the LP’s 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” and 2010’s “The Final Frontier”, which both peaked at No. 4.
“Senjutsu” was MAIDEN’s 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.
MAIDEN’s first two Paul Di’Anno-era albums, “Iron Maiden” (1980) and “Killers” (1981), as well as with those recorded with singer Blaze Bayley, “The X Factor” (1995) and “Virtual XI” (1998), all failed to dent the Top 40 in the U.S.
According to Billboard, “Senjutsu” logged the second-largest week of 2021 for a hard rock album in both equivalent album units earned and in traditional album sales. It trailed only FOO FIGHTERS’ “Medicine At Midnight”, which debuted on the Feb. 20 chart with 70,000 units (of which 64,000 were in album sales).
“Senjutsu” topped the charts in several European countries upon its release, including in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.
Read more »
ACE FREHLEY And VINNIE VINCENT To Appear At Nashville's CREATURES FEST
Ace Frehley and Vinnie Vincent are among the scheduled performers at Creatures Fest 2022, set to take place Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-29, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Other Creatures Fest performers include VIXEN, QUIET RIOT, ENUFF Z’NUFF, John Corabi, RETURN OF THE COMET and PRETTY BOY FLOYD. More detailed information, including tickets and host hotel, will be made available in early January 2022.
Frehley, a founding member of KISS, recently said that he is up for a reunion of the original band, but only if the price is right. During an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Frehley stated about the chances of him playing with his former bandmates: “Anything’s possible — I’ve always said that. That’s the first question so many people have asked me over the years: ‘Would you ever consider doing a KISS reunion?’ I said, ‘I never closed the door on anything.’ If the money’s right and it’s presented to me in the right way, anything can happen.
“I’m on good terms with Paul [Stanley, guitar/vocals] and Gene [Simmons, bass/vocals], which is nice, because we created something really special in the early ’70s that has outlasted so many other bands. And God bless ’em. They’re still doing it; I’m still doing it. Peter [Criss, drums] is still around. I’m not quite sure why Peter hadn’t toured over the years as much as I have, but it is what it is.”
Vincent — who was a member of KISS when the band publicly “unmasked” in 1983 — made several public appearances in 2018 after spending the preceding two decades out of the public eye.
In 1983, KISS wrote and released “Lick It Up” — their first album without makeup — a recording on which Vincent co-wrote eight of 10 songs, including the title track, which remains a staple of the group’s live performances to this day.
Despite the album’s success, Vincent was fired by KISS after the “Lick It Up” touring cycle came to an end, allegedly due to a dispute over both the terms of his employment contract with the band and royalties. From there, Vincent founded VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, which recorded two albums.
In 1996, Vincent released a solo EP, “Euphoria”, which featured vocals by former VVI singer Fleischman and included material from sessions recorded around 1990. Soon after that, Vincent vanished from the public eye and remained off the grid for more than two decades.
In November 2019, KISS manager Doc McGhee claimed that all former members of the group have been contacted about possibly taking part in the band’s last-ever tour.
Prior to the “End Of The Road” launch, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons weren’t very enthusiastic about the prospect of an onstage collaboration with Vinnie Vincent. “Now Vinnie, that’s one exception, and for so many reasons,” Stanley told Guitar World. “I would say that’s not someone who I want to celebrate.”
Simmons also chimed in, explaining that “it’s worth stating that Vinnie has sued the band and lost 14 times. I’m not here to cast any aspersions. He’s a talented guy. That’s why he was in the band. But would I depend on him to get up onstage and do anything? Never. … Can he come to the shows? Of course! Anybody can. But onstage? Never.”
In April 2018, Vincent joined Simmons at the KISS bassist/vocalist’s “Vault” event in Nashville, Tennessee. He later said in an interview that he felt that got “a cold reception” and was “treated very indifferently” by Gene at the event.
Creatures Fest performers (so far)!
Posted by Neil Davis on Monday, December 27, 2021
Read more »
QUEEN's BRIAN MAY Is Still Feeling Effects Of COVID-19 More Than Two Weeks After Infection
QUEEN guitarist Brian May, who recently went public with his battle with COVID-19, says that he is still feeling the effects of the virus more than two weeks after infection.
In a series of posts and videos on Instagram, the 74-year-old has been documenting how he’s been affected by coronavirus in the last few days.
A week ago, May said that he and his wife, Anita Dobson, apparently contracted the virus after going to a birthday lunch with some friends. He explained that the lunch seemed like a “safe situation,” as he had taken a lateral flow test that morning and he and Dobson have both been vaccinated.
Very early Monday morning (December 27), May returned to Instagram to thank fans for a million views of his original post announcing his COVID-19 diagnosis and to offer an update on his condition. He wrote: “I’m still baffled … but THANKS folks for a million views on this post (about 10 posts ago) – I’m glad it was useful.
“Today I’m at day 16 after the event which infected me with (I’m presuming) the Omicron variant of Covid. I’m still congested with a slight cough, and still sleeping too much. But I’ve been consistently negative in lateral flow tests for a number of days now. I feel pretty much fine except for tiredness – but that may be partly due to the fact that most days I choose to do my cardio exercise on the bike rather than rest !
“So do not fear out there – it seems that in most cases there is life after Omicron. But DO be very careful. Even if the booster shot is shown to be little defence against Omicron, the previous variants are still out there – against which the shots are a proven good defence. And those previous variants are still deadly. My advice ? Don’t relax your guard. Minimise your contacts. Good luck !!! Bri.
He added: “‘NEO-COVID’ ? I have one more piece of random advice. It’s really pure speculation – I don’t have access to research data on infections. This is based purely upon what I have seen, and would rightly be judged to be anecdotal. But around clusters of definite Covid infections over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that there seem to be groups of people who suddenly get nasty colds, which do not ever produce a positive result in a lateral flow test. The particular ‘colds’ they get seem to exhibit almost identical symptoms to the cluster of positive Covid infected that they were close to. It seems like too much of a coincidence to me. I have this feeling that there might be a kind of ‘neo–Covid’ reaction out there, perhaps in people who have an immunity for one reason or another, or perhaps only receive a low viral load at the point of infection. Why would this matter? Well, if their symptoms are being caused by the Omicron virus but they are hidden, there must be a possibility that they can infect people around them with the virus. Right ? So my advice is stay away from people who suddenly, for no apparent reason, get nasty colds. And if you get one, think about your family and friends. Bri”.
A few days ago, May, who previously shared how he is vaccinated with “three Pfizer jabs,” speculated he was infected by the omicron strain of the virus. He wrote: “My deduction that it was Omicron is based on (1) the speed and pervasiveness of the spread of infection in that room … (2) the symptoms. I was badly congested, feverish and coughing for around two days, but I never lost my sense of taste or smell, and — much more importantly — never had difficulty with breathing in the lungs. So this new variant is a very different beast from the one which first put all our lives on hold nearly two years ago.”
May also said omicron is “completely out of control in the UK.”
The risk of infection, grave illness and death remains significantly lower among the fully vaccinated, health experts have repeatedly said.
In recent months, there has been an unprecedented number of hospitalizations all over the world, particularly among the unvaccinated, specifically because of COVID-19. Among these COVID-driven hospitalizations, many patients are being elevated to the intensive care unit, where they may require the support of a ventilator to assist with breathing difficulties.
May, who lives in London, had in the past attacked U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, telling The Independent: “I think it would have been impossible for anyone to make worse decisions than Boris. At every point he did too little too late. Hundreds, if not thousands, of our relatives died because of bad advice and because of the bad decisions that Boris made with [former health secretary Matt] Hancock and those other people.”
He continued: “If [Johnson] had taken the precautions of shutting down the borders a year earlier, we wouldn’t have been in the situation we were. And the fact that he’s willing to trade lives quite openly for economic gain, I find horrific… completely unacceptable.”
May compared it to “Winston Churchill going out in his garden and seeing the plans overhead and the bodies and going ‘the bombs are dropping! The bombs are dropping! Should we hide? No, actually let’s think of the economic consequences of hiding…'”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal)
Read more »
JOURNEY Among 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2022' Performers
JOURNEY will perform from New York City’s Times Square for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022”. This year marks the 50th anniversary of America’s go-to annual New Year’s tradition that celebrates the year’s very best in music. The most-watched New Year’s Eve celebration nationwide which features iconic performances of the year’s biggest songs airs live December 31 at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC.
According to ABC, JOURNEY will play “a special collection of notable and celebrated hits” at the event, which will be hosted by 17-time host and executive producer Ryan Seacrest (with co-host Liza Koshy).
Also scheduled to perform are Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker (“Sk8ter Boi”, “Bite Me”) and MÅNESKIN (“Beggin'”, “Mamma Mia”), among others.
The No. 1 New Year’s Eve programming special each year, last year’s program dominated the combined deliveries of its broadcast competitors by 7.0 million total viewers and by 63% with adults 18-49. Soaring by double digits year over year, last year’s late-night telecast attracted 18.4 million total viewers and ranked as the highest-rated musical special of 2020 among adults 18-49.
The ceremony is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET with the lighting and raising of the New Year’s Eve Ball atop One Times Square.
JOURNEY recently completed a month-long Las Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. Filling in on bass for JOURNEY for the six shows was Todd Jensen, a veteran musician who has played for various artists, including the bands SEQUEL, HARDLINE and HARLOW, as well as David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper and Paul Rodgers. Also part of JOURNEY’s current lineup is returning drummer Deen Castronovo, who shared the drum duties in the band earlier this year with Narada Michael Walden. Walden, bassist Randy Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined JOURNEY last year following the band’s acrimonious split with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory. Jackson — who previously played with JOURNEY during the mid-1980s — was forced to miss all the recent gigs because he is reportedly recovering from back surgery. Prior to the residency, Jackson had been replaced at JOURNEY’s 2021 shows by Marco Mendoza, who had played several shows in 2019 with Castronovo and JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon under the “Neal Schon’s Journey Through Time” banner.
In June, JOURNEY shared a new single, “The Way We Used To Be”. The song was the multi-platinum band’s first new music since 2011’s album “Eclipse”, and the first track released by the band’s revamped lineup. “The Way We Used To Be” marks Walden and Derlatka’s first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson’s first since 1986’s “Raised On Radio”. The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden at his Tarpan Studios, with co-production by Schon and Cain.
Since the group’s formation in 1973, JOURNEY has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their “Greatest Hits” album is certified 15 times-platinum, making JOURNEY one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified, and their song “Don’t Stop Believin'” has been streamed over one billion times alone.
JOURNEY was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, and 2018’s co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD was the band’s most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard “Legends Of Live” touring award. March 2019 saw the release of “Escape & Frontiers Live In Japan”, a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band’s first-ever performances of the albums “Escape” and “Frontiers” in their entirety. JOURNEY has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame. Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” about the band’s resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after founding member Neal Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube.
JOURNEY will team up with Billy Idol and TOTO for a North American tour in February, March, April and May.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Neal Schon (@nealschon)
Read more »
Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Drummer MATT SORUM Mourns Death Of ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
Former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Matt Sorum is mourning the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the human rights crusader who died in South Africa at the age of 90. He had reportedly been in ill health for years.
On Sunday (December 26), Sorum took to his Instagram to write: “Very Sad to hear of the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I had the honor of meeting him while on tour in South Africa with KINGS OF CHAOS in 2014. I received a call from a friend asking if we’d like to meet him for tea. Steven Tyler, Duff [McKagan], Billy Gibbons and Nuno Bettencourt along with our wives headed to his office walking through the Cape Town marina near The Nelson Mandela gate. We were greeted by his lovely staff and Archbishop Tutu. We sat with him for around 1 hour while he filled us with positive and uplifting hope for the future of Africa and the world. He was highly intelligent with a gentle tone . It was a spiritual experience being so close to a man who has dedicated his life to helping the oppressed especially during Apartheid when he was an instrumental figure along with Mandela. It was a day I will never forget and so glad I was able to be in the presence of such a great man. #rip @desmondtutu”.
In a statement confirming Tutu’s death on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to Tutu’s family and friends, calling him “a patriot without equal.”
“A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world,” Ramaphosa said.
One of South Africa’s most well-known human rights activists, Tutu won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving and ending apartheid. An outspoken critic of apartheid, he also supported the economic boycott of South Africa, while constantly encouraging reconciliation between various factions associated with apartheid. When Nelson Mandela was elected as the nation’s first black president, he appointed Tutu chairperson of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
Tutu has won a number of other awards, including the Pacem in Terris Award, the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award, the Lincoln Leadership Prize and the Gandhi Peace Prize.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden said they were “heartbroken” to hear that Tutu had died.
“His courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa,” the Bidens said in a statement.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Matt Sorum (@mattsorum)
Read more »