DEMONS & WIZARDS, the side project of ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer and BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, kicked off its first tour in nearly two decades Friday night (May 31) in Saarbrücken, Germany. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. After the show, DEMONS & WIZARDS took to social media to ...
Posted in: News
Video footage of Lita Ford's May 26 performance at Buffalo Rose in Golden, Colorado can be seen below (courtesy of Decibel Geek TV's Rockin' Ron). Earlier this year, Lita Ford told The Metal Voice that she was putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to 2012's "Living Like A Runaway" album. Helming the new project ...
Posted in: News
DEMONS & WIZARDS, the side project of ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer and BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, will be joined by other members of ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN when it kicks off its first tour in nearly two decades on May 31 in Saarbrücken, Germany. The DEMONS & WIZARDS touring lineup will be ...
Posted in: News
OVERKILL vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth recently spoke with Michael Francisco of Sonic Perspectives. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On turning 60: Bobby: "I'm still energetic. I've always said I'd do this as long as I can do it at a high level, or ...
Posted in: News
Prior to DISTURBED's performance at the recent Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio, guitarist Dan Donegan spoke with Ronni Hunter of the city's 99.7 The Blitz radio station. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the fact that the band's debut, "The Sickness", ...
Posted in: News
Some voices are simply undeniable. You may need to be a prog metal aficionado to truly appreciate the significance of this ongoing collaboration between two founding members of FATES WARNING, but regardless of historical context, "Winter Ethereal" provides a timely reminder that John Arch has one of the greatest voices in metal history. As an ...
Posted in: CD Reviews
CHEVELLE is preparing to enter the studio to begin recording its new album. "We go in in [about] a week to start tracking," frontman Pete Loeffler told Ronni Hunter of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station at this past weekend's Sonic Temple festival. "So it's been about a year and a half of writing. And ...
Posted in: News
SATANS TAINT, the band featuring former OVERKILL guitarist Bobby Gustafson, will release its new album, "Destruction Ritual", this summer via Megaforce Records. In addition to Gustafson's signature sound and razor-sharp riffs, "Destruction Ritual" features various friends and musicians with whom Gustafson has worked and whose work he has admired. The new release includes contributions from ...
Posted in: News
Prior to OVERKILL's April 30 performance in Detroit, Michigan, vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke with Chuck Marshall of Metal Wani. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On how American and European metal crowds differ: Bobby: "There's obviously differences in culture, but the world's become much smaller ...
Posted in: News
Ronni Hunter of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station conducted an interview with IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth at this year's Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, which is being held May 17-19 in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the title ...
Posted in: News
Guitar virtuoso Michael Angelo Batio has confirmed that the NITRO reunion has come to an end. Back in November 2016, Batio and glass-shattering vocalist Jim Gillette announced that they had resurrected NITRO with LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler. It was later revealed that they were working on album with producer Kane Churko, who has ...
Posted in: News
"Tethered", the new video from ARCH/MATHEOS, the project featuring founding FATES WARNING members John Arch (vocals) and Jim Matheos (guitar), can be seen below. The song is taken from ARCH/MATHEOS's second album, "Winter Ethereal", which is being released today (Friday, May 10) via Metal Blade Records. In progressive metal circles, the names of Jim Matheos ...
Posted in: News
OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth was recently interviewed by the "Talking Metal" podcast. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On certain rock and metal bands using backing tracks during their live performances: Bobby: "I understand the presentation of it — that's perfection — but my ...
Posted in: News
DEMONS & WIZARDS, the side project of ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer and BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, recently released remastered versions of its first two albums on all digital platforms. Remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ICED EARTH, QUEENSRŸCHE, SANCTUARY), "Demons & Wizards" (2000) and "Touched By The Crimson King" (2005) will also be released ...
Posted in: News
In a brand new interview with The Offering webzine, OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth was asked if he is surprised by thrash metal's continued popularity and relevance. He responded (see video below): "It [doesn't] surprise me, because I always thought it had value. I always thought that the coolest thing about this was that it ...
Posted in: News
Original FATES WARNING vocalist John Arch recently spoke with Heavy New York about "Winter Ethereal", the second album by ARCH/MATHEOS. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the origins of "Winter Ethereal": John: "[It was done] pretty much in the same fashion as Jim ...
Posted in: News
ARCH/MATHEOS, the project featuring founding FATES WARNING members John Arch (vocals) and Jim Matheos (guitar), will release its second album, "Winter Ethereal", on May 10 via Metal Blade Records. The disc's second single, "Wanderlust", can be streamed below. In progressive metal circles, the names of Jim Matheos and John Arch are spoken with due reverence. ...
Posted in: News
The family of Phil McCormack, the frontman for rock band MOLLY HATCHET, has called him "a multi-layered person" who "left us too soon." Phil died Friday night (April 26), according to close friends and bandmates. No cause of death has been revealed. He was 58 years old. On Sunday, Phil's siblings Dan McCormack, Kathi McCormack, ...
Posted in: News
Phil McCormack, the frontman for rock band MOLLY HATCHET, has died. No official cause of death has yet been revealed, but the 102.7 WSNR radio station has reported that it "looks like a heart attack." He was 58 years old. MOLLY HATCHET issued a statement on McCormack's passing earlier today, saying: "It is with great ...
Posted in: News
SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian's cover version of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT's classic "Godzilla" can be heard below. The song will appear on the upcoming soundtrack album for "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters". According to Rolling Stone, the members of DETHKLOK, from the show "Metalocalypse", including Brendon Small and TESTAMENT drummer Gene ...
Posted in: News
DEMONS & WIZARDS, the side project of ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer and BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, will embark on the "A Magical Encounter With Demons & Wizards" North American headline tour in the summer. The band will hit the road starting August 17 in Los Angeles and will wrap up the trek with ...
Posted in: News
The world has changed, but Axel Rudi Pell hasn't. For three decades, the Bochum, Germany-based guitarist has ticked and worked like a Swiss clock, consistently releasing critically acclaimed, hard-rocking albums. Like his anniversary offering, a live document of his most recent tour. And it will come out on the same record company as his debut ...
Posted in: News
Vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of veteran New Jersey thrashers OVERKILL was asked by Metal Insider in a new interview if there is anything that he misses from the way his band marketed itself in the pre-Internet days that he wishes he could add with today's promotion. "I don't, because I've taken it with ...
Posted in: News
Original RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer says that he doesn't know what his next musical project will be. Blotzer has spent the last few years battling with his former bandmates over the rights to the RATT name. Starting in late 2015, Blotzer spent about a year and a half playing shows under the name RATT with ...
Posted in: News
Diamond Oz of Metal Underground conducted an interview with frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL prior to the band's March 21 show at Islington Academy in London, England. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On how the band's latest studio ...
Posted in: News
DEMONS & WIZARDS, the side project of ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer and BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, has released remastered versions of its first two albums on all digital platforms. As of today, the two acclaimed albums "Demons & Wizards" (2000) and "Touched By The Crimson King" (2005) are finally available again. Remastered by ...
Posted in: News
On May 31, BMG will release SLADE's "Feel The Noize - The Singlez Box", a strictly limited-edition box set comprises of 10 rare internationally released seven-inch singles, including an extremely rare seven-inch promo copy in a lift off lid box. "Feel The Noize - The Singlez Box" features five U.K. No. 1s ("Coz I Luv ...
Posted in: News
According to The Blast, original RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer's wife has filed for divorce. Michelle Blotzer filed Tuesday in Los Angeles to end her marriage to the rocker. The two were married in 2013 and have no kids. This is the 60-year-old drummer's second marriage. His first marriage to Jenni Blotzer ended in ...
Posted in: News
Bret Michaels says that POISON will return next year with "an incredible tour" and "hopefully" at least one new song. In 2018, POISON completed the "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour with CHEAP TRICK and POP EVIL. POISON's last album of new material was 2002's "Hollyweird". An album of covers, "Poison'd", followed in 2007. During ...
Posted in: News
In progressive metal circles, the names of guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist John Arch are spoken with due reverence. With the former having been a driving force in FATES WARNING for 35 years, and the latter the original frontman of that band, they also have a single seminal work under the ARCH/MATHEOS banner, 2011's "Sympathetic ...
Posted in: News
