In a recent interview with “The Five Count” radio show, legendary drummer Carmine Appice looked back on his involvement with “Stars”, the 1985 charity single for famine relief released under the HEAR ‘N AID banner.

On May 20 and May 21, 1985, 40 artists from the metal community gathered at A&M Records Studios in Hollywood, California to participate in the making of a record called “Stars” as a part of a very special fundraising project spearheaded by Ronnie James Dio. The “Stars” single and a video documentary on the making of the record was used to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. These 40 artists — including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, QUIET RIOT, TWISTED SISTER, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and even SPINAL TAP — along with hundreds of other volunteers, donated their time and talent over four months to make HEAR ‘N AID a reality. “Stars” was a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.

Speaking about his experience recording “Stars”, Appice told “The Five Count” (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “That was fun. I was out on the road with KING KOBRA when Ronnie did that. ‘Cause my brother [Vinny] played with Ronnie, Ronnie really had no family, especially when him and [his wife and manager] Wendy broke up. So Ronnie was always involved with coming to my family’s Christmas parties and birthdays and Thanksgiving and all that stuff. So we were really close to Ronnie. So when Ronnie did that thing, they definitely requested that I be in it. I was on the road, so my brother Vinny cut the tracks with Frankie Banali [QUIET RIOT]. And then they flew me in, or I flew in — I think I flew in at my own expense; I was in the Midwest and I flew back to L.A. — and spent two or three days in the studio doing that. And at the time, ‘We Are The World’ was big, with Michael Jackson and all that stuff, so this was like the heavy metal version of ‘We Are The World’. So I definitely wanted to be involved in it, ’cause I’ve always been involved in different charities and all that stuff. In 1983, when I got fired from Ozzy [Osbourne’s band], one of the reasons I got fired was because I was doing masterclasses and getting a lot of press and Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager] didn’t like that. But those masterclasses, at the end of it, I gave fifty thousand dollars that year to UNICEF. I always like to be involved in charities and help people and all that. I [spent] one day flying out there, [another day] in the studio with them, doing that stuff, I sang on the background, I did an interview for the video, and then the next day I flew back. So it was three days. Luckily, I had off on those three days from playing gigs. But the rest of KING KOBRA was out on the road.”

Due to contract differences with the labels, the “Stars” song and album weren’t released until New Year’s Day, 1986, and were only ever made available on vinyl and cassette. But Wendy Dio has said in recent years that she is continuing her efforts to correct that.

Wendy previously revealed that one of the reasons the HEAR ‘N AID reissue was taking so long to come out was the “legal stuff” that needed to be taken care of. “You can always get the bands to do something, but it’s the legal licensing of talking with the record labels they’re on and the management and so on, to get something off the ground,” she said. “So we’re hoping to do that.”

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A LAMB OF GOD fan who registered for the Be The Match bone marrow registry campaign after listening to the band’s “The Duke” EP has become a match with a 65-year-old leukemia patient.

Released in December 2016, “The Duke”‘s title track was inspired by the plight of a LAMB OF GOD fan named Wayne Ford, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010 and died five years later at the age of 33. As part of the EP’s release, LAMB OF GOD teamed up with the nonprofit Be The Match, the national marrow donor registry which doctors search every day looking for matches for their patients, to bring awareness to the need for bone marrow donors.

Earlier today, Blythe took to his Instagram to share the story of Todd Seaman, a LAMB OF GOD fan from Arkansas who registered with the campaign five years ago after listening to “The Duke”. He wrote: “In 2016 @lambofgod released a song ‘The Duke’ I wrote in honor of Wayne Ford, a fan who died of leukemia. With the release we had an awareness campaign for @bethematch, a free bone marrow registry that matches donors with blood cancer patients. 5 years ago, a LAMB OF GOD fan from the great state of Arkansas named Todd Seaman (@tseams) registered w/ @bethematch after hearing ‘The Duke’. 9 months ago he received an email saying he had matched with a 65 year old male leukemia patient here in VA.

“2 days ago, Todd & his Dad Scott flew into DC, & I drove up to meet them. We went into the city & I showed them the sights- we walked 11 miles, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to the White House, then had a nice dinner. There was a great & peaceful holiday feeling in the air. Yesterday morning, we got up at 6 am & I drove them to a clinic. Todd wore his best Big Lebowski socks, got hooked up to a machine for 4 hours, & donated one bag of healthy stem cells & one bag of plasma.

“As you read this, the leukemia patient is receiving Todd’s donation. RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND, that man is receiving the best Christmas present ever- a 2nd chance at life.

“To say that I am honored to have been a small part of this is a massive understatement. Yesterday Todd said ‘Dude- LAMB OF GOD saved someone’s life today’- I said ‘No, YOU saved someone’s life today. LAMB OF GOD just helped you a little.’

“Thank you Todd, for letting us know that what we do matters. These were two of the greatest days of my life.

“There is much sadness in the world right now. Many people feel powerless to make things better. But you are not- YOU HAVE AGENCY & the ability to help people. One way to do this is to register with @bethematch— it’s painless & it’s free. You can do this RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND- you might even save someone’s life. I watched it happen yesterday with my own two eyes.”

For people with life-threatening blood cancers — like leukemia and lymphoma — or other diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The Match Registry, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after transplant. Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research through its research program, CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research), so more lives can be saved.

To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.

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METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has described the band’s 40th-anniversary concerts as an “otherworldly experience.”

METALLICA’s two 40th-anniversary shows, which were held in at San Francisco’s Chase Center on December 17 and December 19, featured different setlists. They were part of METALLICA’s “San Francisco Takeover”, a four-day citywide celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.

On Wednesday (December 22), Ulrich took to his Instagram to share a few photos from the weekend, and he included the following message: “Overfuckinwhelmed!!

“It’s taking me two days just to start coming down from this otherworldly experience…

“Over the course of the last week, you’ve heard me do a few speeches and say a lot of things, so since I don’t wanna repeat myself (too much!), I’ll keep this one on the short side.

“THANK YOU!

“METALLICA is not me or you. METALLICA is all of us. It’s a state of mind that we all share, it’s a destination we all seek out, it’s an element that keeps us alive, it’s our common purpose.

“You keep this real. You keep us inspired and alive. It is because of you this thing exists.

“40 years?! Who would’ve fucking thought that this, whatever this is, could live and breathe this long, could still connect people, could still be somewhat relevant and still exist forty years later??!!

“Thank you to each and everyone of you for making it happen. Thank you to each and everyone of you for believing in the possibility of music. Thank you to each and everyone of you for being METALLICA.

“#Metallica40 #wanna”.

The 40th-anniversary shows marked METALLICA’s return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 “S&M²” concerts that also served as the venue’s grand opening. Those two shows grossed more than $4.1 million over the course of its two nights, according to reports submitted to Pollstar’s Boxoffice, and the band ranked at No. 4 on Pollstar’s worldwide touring chart that same year with a global gross of $175 million.

Fans who missed METALLICA’s pair of 40th-anniversary concerts this past weekend can enjoy rebroadcasts of both shows on-demand exclusively on The Coda Collection this Christmas weekend in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime internationally.

The shows will be available to stream from Friday, December 24 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT / 2 a.m. JST through Monday, December 27 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET / 4:59 a.m. GMT / 1:59 p.m. JST.

For information on how to stream both shows, click here.

Following the initial viewing period, both concerts will return to the The Coda Collection and Prime Video with enhanced bonus footage and additional exclusives as part of an extensive partnership between The Coda Collection and METALLICA, which will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band’s career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022.

Formed in 1981 by UlrichJames Hetfield, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band’s several multi-platinum albums include “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning”, “Master Of Puppets”, “… And Justice For All”, “Metallica” (commonly referred to as The Black Album), “Load”, “Reload”, “St. Anger”, “Death Magnetic” and “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.

On December 16, San Francisco mayor London Breed presented Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo with a special declaration marking the day as “Metallica Day” in the city.

“When you talk about San Francisco,” Breed said at the news conference, “you talk about cable cars and then you talk about METALLICA.”

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Enslaved’s The Otherworldly Big Band Experience delivered an epic live stream this week. If you missed it, check out their performance of “Bounded By Allegiance.” You can also watch the full livestream through December 24.
The post Video Premiere: Enslaved – “Bounded By Allegiance” (Live) appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Swedish metallers SABATON have released a teaser for the official music video for their next single, “Soldier Of Heaven”. The track is taken from the band’s tenth studio album, “The War To End All Wars”, that will be released on March 4, 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the concept album of 11 brand-new songs once again dives deep into the atrocities, miracles, and events tied to the early 20th century’s World War I. The tenth album of the Falun-based five-piece will be available in an impressive variety of exclusive formats, including CD, vinyl, and cassette, with most available in limited editions.

“The War To End All Wars” track listing:

01. Sarajevo
02. Stormtroopers
03. Dreadnought
04. The Unkillable Soldier
05. Soldier Of Heaven
06. Hellfighters
07. Race To The Sea
08. Lady Of The Dark
09. The Valley Of Death
10. Christmas Truce
11. Versailles

In a recent interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice, SABATON frontman Joakim Brodén said about the musical direction of the band’s new material: “It’s very much a SABATON album in that way. We’ve been an evolutionary band always and not a revolutionary band. There’s always surprises on a SABATON album but we’re never gonna flip the coin and do something totally different on every song on a new album. There’s gonna be surprises on every album. I’m actually listening to and approving the master of the new album right now.

“It’s always subjective,” he continued. “I think it’s pathetic when an artist goes, ‘It’s the best album we’ve ever made,’ and they keep promoting the same tired line. I say it’s up to the listener to decide that, but I know for a fact that everybody in the band, without even sitting in the same room together, because I sort of shipped out the pre-mixes to everyone, and everybody — this is the only time in our history this has happened — everybody came back with, ‘Fuck. That sounds great.’ Everybody is super happy with the production. We were always happy before, but it was, like, ‘Maybe this, maybe that.’ Now it was more like, ‘Okay, yeah, I have some suggestions and ideas, but wow.’ We’re really happy with the sound.”

SABATON is considered to be one the most important bands to emerge from the Swedish modern metal scene, having been honored with five Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (including “Best Live Band” three different years) and nominated several times for the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards, the Grammis. In 2016, SABATON’s “The Last Stand” album debuted at No. 1 in three different European countries and cracked the Top 3 in four others. Joakim Brodén (vocals), Pär Sundström (bass), Chris Rörland (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums) and Tommy Johansson (guitar) curate a festival of their own, Sabaton Open Air, that started back in 2008, as well as their own forward-thinking Sabaton Cruise which has been held since 2009.

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METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo discussed the band’s two 40th-anniversary concerts, which were held in at San Francisco’s Chase Center on December 17 and December 19, during a recent SiriusXM Mandatory Metallica and Liquid Metal live call-in roundtable, hosted by Jose Mangin, Steffan Chirazi and Spider Dan. Speaking about what it was like to go up on stage for the first of the two shows, Robert said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Here’s something that’s very helpful, and a lot of people may not know this. But James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and I actually, before the show, a couple of hours before, we went up in the nosebleed seats and we watched all of the film content that was transitional into the songs for the evening. So we saw all the film content — it was like a half hour of content — and we were so excited by what we saw that when we got on the floor preceding the show, there was a certain feeling of confidence, I think, and a bit more of the right kind of relaxation. And what I usually do is all the fans that are kind of behind me in my area, I [give them] fistbumps and all that kind of stuff, so I’m getting their energy already and we’re already communicating with the crowd in that way. It’s kind of like an athletic event — you’re getting ready to take the pitch, getting ready to take the field — so you get that nervousness, but it’s a good nervousness. And fueled with the idea that we had seen the transitions on film and we knew what we were gonna celebrate was really, really cool, and that helped James and I immensely. We talked about it a little bit. We were kind of, like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’ ‘Cause you see how it was put together and how well the edits are and the flow and the celebratory aspect of it was really, really cool. Now you’re excited, now you’re, like, ‘Yeah! Let’s do this.’ I think that helped us a lot. And then once we got up there, we were pretty confident in at least having a great time.”

Robert admitted that one of the most “challenging” parts of the event was “the sound.” He explained: “At least from where we are on stage, you get to certain pockets, like on the outer edges of the stage, some of those mics in the corner, the sound is bouncing around, so if you’re going to sing a backup part, you don’t hear your voice very well. So that was a little weird. There’s not time to find the sweet spots, so you’ve gotta kind of roll with it and just do the best you can and try and have a great time. And we did.”

METALLICA’s two 40th-anniversary shows featured different setlists. They were part of METALLICA’s “San Francisco Takeover”, a four-day citywide celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.

The 40th-anniversary shows marked METALLICA’s return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 “S&M²” concerts that also served as the venue’s grand opening. Those two shows grossed more than $4.1 million over the course of its two nights, according to reports submitted to Pollstar’s Boxoffice, and the band ranked at No. 4 on Pollstar’s worldwide touring chart that same year with a global gross of $175 million.

Fans who missed METALLICA’s pair of 40th-anniversary concerts this past weekend can enjoy rebroadcasts of both shows on-demand exclusively on The Coda Collection this Christmas weekend in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime internationally.

The shows will be available to stream from Friday, December 24 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT / 2 a.m. JST through Monday, December 27 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET / 4:59 a.m. GMT / 1:59 p.m. JST.

For information on how to stream both shows, click here.

Following the initial viewing period, both concerts will return to the The Coda Collection and Prime Video with enhanced bonus footage and additional exclusives as part of an extensive partnership between The Coda Collection and METALLICA, which will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band’s career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022.

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band’s several multi-platinum albums include “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning”, “Master Of Puppets”, “… And Justice For All”, “Metallica” (commonly referred to as The Black Album), “Load”, “Reload”, “St. Anger”, “Death Magnetic” and “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.

On December 16, San Francisco mayor London Breed presented Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo with a special declaration marking the day as “Metallica Day” in the city.

“When you talk about San Francisco,” Breed said at the news conference, “you talk about cable cars and then you talk about METALLICA.”

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NIRVANA has filed a motion to dismiss the recent lawsuit filed over the cover of the band’s iconic album “Nevermind”.

This past August, Spencer Elden, the man who claims he was the baby featured in the image, sued the surviving members of NIRVANA as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain. Elden alleges the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and argues child sexual exploitation.

But NIRVANA, as well as Kurt Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, are asking the court to throw out the lawsuit, saying Elden’s claim that the photograph on the “Nevermind” cover is child pornography is “not serious” and insisting that his claim is “barred by the applicable statute of limitations.” Federal child pornography law has a 10-year statute of limitations, beginning when a victim “reasonably discovers” the violation itself or the harm caused by it.

“Elden has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed ‘Nirvana Baby’,” reads the motion which was filed on Wednesday (December 22). “He has reenacted the photograph in exchange for a fee, many times; he has had the album title ‘Nevermind’ tattooed across his chest; he has appeared on a talk show wearing a self-parodying, nude-colored onesie; he has autographed copies of the album cover for sale on eBay; and he has used the connection to try to pick up women.

The motion adds: “Elden’s claim that the photograph on the ‘Nevermind’ album cover is ‘child pornography’ is, on its face, not serious. A brief examination of the photograph, or Elden’s own conduct (not to mention the photograph’s presence in the homes of millions of Americans who, on Elden’s theory, are guilty of felony possession of child pornography) makes that clear.

“The ‘Nevermind’ cover photograph was taken in 1991. It was world-famous by no later than 1992. Long before 2011, as Elden has pled, Elden knew about the photograph, and knew that he (and not someone else) was the baby in the photograph. He has been fully aware of the facts of both the supposed ‘violation’ and ‘injury’ for decades.”

The motion goes on to say: “In addition to his child pornography claim, Elden has alleged that the creation of the photograph for the album cover art entailed the sex trafficking of Elden when he was a baby. Setting aside that this premise is absurd, the statute Elden invokes to cover conduct in 1991, became effective on December 19, 2003 and has no retroactive application to conduct by a defendant that pre-dates its effective date.”

Elden recently amended his lawsuit against NIRVANA to include the allegation that the photographer hired to take the photo, Kirk Weddle, also shot images of Elden styled to look like Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The new filing also drops former NIRVANA drummer Chad Channing as a defendant in the case.

According to Rolling Stone, Elden’s updated complaint cites personal journal entries from late NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain, which were published by Riverhead Books in 2002, in an apparent attempt to prove the claim that the photographer intended the cover image to be sexual in nature.

“Undated journals written by Cobain sketch the album cover in a sexual manner, with semen all over it,” the document states. “In several instances, the journals describe Cobain’s twisted vision for the ‘Nevermind’ album cover, along with his emotional struggles: ‘I like to make incisions into the belly of infants then fuck the incision until the child dies.'”

The documents also repeat the claim that Weddle intended to “trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer” by activating “Spencer’s ‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer’s exposed genitals.” The documents add: “Weddle soon after produced photographs of Spencer dressed up and depicted as Hugh Hefner.”

When Elden first filed his lawsuit against the surviving members of NIRVANA as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain in August, he alleged the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and argued child sexual exploitation.

A month after filing his lawsuit, Elden, who is now 30, requested his genitalia be removed from “all future album covers” on the 30th anniversary of the project.

“Today, like each year on this date, our client Spencer Elden has had to brace himself for renewed unwanted attention from the media and fans alike throughout the world,” his attorneys told USA Today. “This is a choice that he has never had.”

The attorneys said that they plan on continuing the legal proceedings in order to “bring long-awaited privacy and dignity back to our client.”

“We implore the NIRVANA defendants to right the wrongs of their past, by acknowledging the harm they have perpetrated and redacting the image of Mr. Elden’s genitalia from further reproductions of ‘Nevermind’ because behind every cover is a person pleading for their privacy back,” they added.

A deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue of “Nevermind”, featuring its original cover artwork, was made available on November 12.

In Elden’s complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, he claimed that his “identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day.”

According to the suit, the defendants “knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so. … Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking.”

Elden claimed that his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of the photos, which were taken in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990. He alleged that the band promised to cover his genitals with a sticker, which was never incorporated into the album art.

The suit further alleged the defendants “used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews.”

Elden is seeking damages of either $150,000 from each of the defendants or unspecified damages to be determined at trial, attorney fees, an injunction to prohibit all parties “from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein,” and a trial by jury.

“The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter,” the lawsuit stated.

Elden’s parents were reportedly paid only $200 for the photos, and the shoot lasted around 15 seconds.

In a 2016 interview with Time magazine, Elden said: “It’s a trip. Everyone involved in the album has tons and tons of money. I feel like I’m the last little bit of grunge rock. I’m living in my mom’s house and driving a Honda Civic.

“It’s hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was involved,” Elden added. “I go to a baseball game and think about it: ‘Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis,’ I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked.”

“Nevermind” has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was certified diamond by the RIAA for sales in excess of 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

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Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing spoke to Front Row Report about his songwriting approach while composing the material for the debut album from his new band KK’S PRIEST. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The minute I sat down to do this, I just wanted to pretty much go on autopilot. Because the whole album — there is kind of a message in there, but there’s lots of emotions and sentiments and rejoicement about everything in my life, really, and the evolution of metal as we know it today, when it came out of the blues and progressive blues to rock, hard rock, heavy rock, heavy metal. And I’ve been on that journey. And this album really is a rejoicement and a tribute to all of that. And hopefully we’re gonna try and sustain everything that we’ve loved and enjoyed about this type of music to take us into the future and try to continue to encourage fans old and young and musicians to wanna be able to be a part of this as well.”

He continued: “We’re not the only band [playing classic rock and metal] — we’ve got great bands out there who are releasing product and [going] on tour, obviously. [IRON] MAIDEN and SCORPIONS and SAXON and ACCEPT and, obviously, JUDAS PRIEST — just about everybody, really. So many bands are out there doing it. And so we’ll keep on going. But, obviously, we can’t hold back time forever, and at some point there will be a change where people that were a big part of this — myself included — and that came from the ’60s and ’70s, at some point things will move on. So we have to make sure that when we hand over the baton that it’s gonna be good and healthy and thriving, and true and classic metal is gonna be hopefully as big as it ever was.”

Downing is joined in KK’S PRIEST by former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals), along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK’S PRIEST’s debut album, “Sermons Of The Sinner”, was released on October 1 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording “Sermons Of The Sinner” and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the ’80s.

K.K. formed KK’S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band’s upcoming 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as “a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music,” while the second was “angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties.”

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was “a key reason” he wasn’t invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton’s decision to retire from touring.

Photo by George Chin

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Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of the classic AEROSMITH lineup — Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer — a new book, “Aerosmith On Tour: 1973-1985”, exhaustively chronicles for the first time the band’s career on the road, from early gigs in high school auditoriums and ratty clubs to headlining arenas and stadiums. Written by Julian Gill, “Aerosmith On Tour: 1973-1985” unveils its tale via local reviews, eyewitness reports, press accounts and interviews with key insiders.

You’ll join the “Bad Boys from Boston” as the band earns their stripes on the rock and roll battlefield the hard way opening for acts like THE KINKS, HUMBLE PIE and the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, enjoying breakthrough success with albums “Toys In The Attic” and “Rocks”, imploding in the late ’70s, a result of internal turmoil and substance abuse issues, before ending triumphantly with their successful “Back In The Saddle” 1984 reunion tour. The 612-page book is further augmented by a feast of visual material (concert and record ads, vintage reviews, and photographs) lending an engrossing portrait of America’s greatest rock and roll band.

“Aerosmith On Tour: 1973-1985” is available via Amazon.

Since AEROSMITH’s founding 50 years ago, the group has gone on to sell more than 150 million albums around the world; produced genre-defining music videos such as “Amazing”, “Crazy”, “Janie’s Got A Gun”, “Livin’ On The Edge” and “Love In An Elevator”; launched extravagant record-shattering global tours, most recently with their ongoing smash hit Las Vegas residency. The band has broken numerous boundaries, including becoming the first rock band with a massive commercially successful hip-hop collaboration with RUN-DMC on “Walk This Way” and the first hard rock band to appear during a Super Bowl Halftime Show with their 2001 performance, and in 1999, AEROSMITH became the first band to have their own themed attraction at Disney World in Florida, and later Paris with the launch of the Rock ‘N’ Roller coaster starring AEROSMITH.

With broad cultural influence, AEROSMITH has prominently appeared in films, television shows and video games, as well as influencing multiple generations of rock bands, both as style icons and acclaimed multi-instrumentalists. MusiCares honored the band in 2020 as Person Of The Year for their many artistic achievements and dedication to philanthropy, including Steven Tyler’s initiative Janie’s Fund initiative, which supports young women who’ve suffered the trauma of abuse and neglect.

Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, AEROSMITH is tied for the most RIAA album certifications by an American group with 25 gold, 18 platinum, 12 multi-platinum and one diamond. As the band was founded in Boston in 1970, April 13 has been declared “Aerosmith Day” in Massachusetts by former governor William Weld.

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