Nerved are excited to announce the release of their new remake of “Takin’ Its Toll,” available today on all major streaming platforms.
Says Nerved: “This version features the incredible talents of Thobbe Englund, who recently returned to Sabaton, and the dynamic Russian rap artist MAD-A. This release is a significant part of our celebration of 20 years of Concrete Metal – a journey that has defined who we are as a band.”
Stream/download the single here, and check out a lyric video for the song below.
For more info, visit the official Nerved website here.
“Sometimes Love Is Hell”, the third single from the new studio album by Babylon A.D., is being released to radio. The second single, and title track, “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day” reached #27 on the Mediabase Classic Rock Chart (#33 Archived) and #3 on the Mediabase Classic Rock Daily Chart. The single saw support from the likes of Alice Cooper on his nationally syndicated radio show Alice’s Attic and Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Hair Nation. Stations with spins on the single included WDRV (97.1 The Drive) in Chicago, KSAN (107.7 The Bone) in San Francisco, KSLX (100.7) in Phoenix and WCXS (94.7) in Detroit.
Stream “Sometimes Love Is Hell” here, and watch the video below.
Derek Davis, lead singer, discussed the meaning of track: “’Sometimes Love Is Hell’ is the universal love story of every man and woman that have ever lived since the days of Adam and Eve. Love alway starts out peaches and cream and then the daily grind of everyday life sets in and the beautiful movie that began with two people joining their souls together slowly becomes a struggle for what they once had. Can you get back to the beginning? Will you make it to the end? How strong is the bond that has been forged? Can you survive the struggle and stay in the fight to be with the one you love Forever? This is what the song is about. It’s every man and woman’s journey of hope, desperation, desire and the truth that, “Sometimes Love Is Hell! But it can be Heaven Too! It’s how bad do you want it!”
Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day is available via Perris Records. Order/purchase the album here.
Tracklisting:
“Wrecking Machine” “Pain” “Sometimes Love Is Hell” “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day” “Looking For A Heartbeat” “I Will Never Break Again” “White Hot Bullet” “Crashed Into The Sun” “Face Of GOD” “Shut Up” “Super Beast”
“Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day” video:
“Wrecking Machine”:
Album details:
Produced, Mixed, Engineered by Derek Davis @ The BADMOFO’s Recording Studio, Pleasanton, CA. Drums recorded by Gabriel Shepard @ 25th Studios Oakland CA. Mastered By David Donnelly, DNA Mastering Los Angeles CA. Photos – Angela Probst – Studio A Vintage Artwork Concept Design – Derek Davis
Band Members:
Derek Davis – Vocals, Keyboard, Guitar Ron Freschi – Lead Guitar, Background vocals John Mattews – Lead Guitar Craig Pepe – Bass, Background vocals Dylan Soto – Drums / Background vocals
Background vocals on “I Will Never Break Again” – Lane Borchard
Tour dates:
August 25 – Monster On Mountain – Gatlinburg, TN
September 20 – Feather Falls Casino – Oroville, CA 21 – Horsefest – Newark, CA
October 26 – Vinnie’s Bar & Grill – Concord, CA (107.7 Bone Night Out)
September 2025 5-8 – Hard Rock Hell Sleaze Festival at O2 Academy – Leicester, England
About Babylon A.D.:
Formed in 1987, Babylon A.D. hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Original members, Derek Davis vocalist/songwriter, guitarist’s and music writers John Mathews and Ron Freschi drummer James Pacheco and bassist Rob Reid met in high school before they began playing together as “The Persuaders” making a name for themselves with their powerful live performances and catchy songwriting skills becoming one of the top drawing original Hard Rock bands in the Northern CA.
In 1989 the band changed their name to “Babylon A.D.” and caught the attention of Arista Records President and industry music mogul “Clive Davis”, who signed them at a live showcase in Los Angeles thanks to their impressive three song demo and a home made video. John Mattews departed the band and was replaced by another high school friend Dan De La Rosa just before their self-titled album Babylon A.D. was released in 1990. The album included their hard rock classic hits “Bang Go The Bells”, “Hammer Swings Down” and “The Kid Goes Wild”, which featured Screaming “Sam Kinison” and was the trailer song and promotional video for Orion Pictures (Robo Cop 2). The band scored three #1 songs at Metal Radio and reached Gold status on their first release, which spent 38 weeks on the Billboard top 200, peaking at # 46. Their sophomore effort (Nothing Sacred) was produced by the legendary “Tom Werman” and released in 1992, it produced two more top-ten metal rockers. “Bad Blood” and “So Savage the Heart”. Constant touring throughout the early 1990s and several MTV videos made them one of hard rock fans favorite bands.
In 1999 the band and released Live In Your Face on Apocalypse Records, a compilation of live tracks recorded at various cities’ across America. Their next release American Blitzkrieg soon followed in 2002 and both records were well received by critics and fans alike. In 2008 the band released Babylon A.D. In The Beginning on Perris Records, a compilation of songs from the original demo tapes that secured them their recording contract with Arista Records.
After a long hiatus the band started playing and recording again in 2014. Touring across the States and Europe releasing the four song EP Lost Sessions. in 2018 John Matthews rejoined the group and the band signed with Frontiers Records for their forth studio release Revelation Highway. Four singles/ videos and more touring followed through the beginning of 2020. In 2022 original members James Pacheco and Robb Reid left the band for other pursuits remaining connected to the bands legacy and part of a brotherhood of friendship that has lasted for over 30 years!
Present Day…
Fast forward to 2023, Babylon A.D. announced new members Craig Pepe (bass) and Dylan Soto (drums) and a new live concert album Live Lightning from Perris Records. The new album included their top-ten rock-radio classic hits from their debut album as well as songs from “Nothing Sacred”, “American Blitzkrieg”, and “Revelation Highway”.
As 2024 begins the band is set to release their fifth studio album on Perris Records titled Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day on May 17. The 11 track album is classic Babylon A.D. firing on all cylinders, showcasing great songwriting talent, performances and the hard rock sound the band is known for. New videos and singles are coming and the band is currently booking and playing select live shows across the states in support of the new album.
Between 1977 and 1979, Thin Lizzy were at the height of their powers. Journalist Harry Doherty knew the band better than most, and was invited to join them on the road several times during that period. He found a band whose talents were matched by their ambitions – but whose demons would soon catch up with them.
The winter of 1977 was fierce on the East Coast of the USA. A thick layer of snow engulfing the territory between Boston and New York, the freezing environment that was to be the killing ground for two of Britain and Ireland’s biggest rock bands: Queen and Thin Lizzy.
The two bands were on the road together. Queen were at the height of their creative powers, having captured the world with Bohemian Rhapsody and A Night At The Opera, now consolidating their position with Someone To Love and A Day At The Races.
Thin Lizzy, too, were no slouches. The Boys Are Back In Town and its parent album Jailbreak had finally given them chart status, and this was sitting well with an awesome live reputation. Don’t Believe A Word and Johnny The Fox emphasised their intention to stay around a while. Live And Dangerous, which would turn out to be rock’s definitive live album, was just round the corner.
It was bad luck and happy circumstance (on Lizzy’s part) that led to them touring the US with Queen. An earlier tour had been cancelled when Phil Lynott contracted hepatitis just as they were nudging coast-to-coast fame, and when the time came to cross the Atlantic again, guitarist Brian Robertson, a young Scot with an unfortunate attitude, decided to pick a fight with the wrong man in the Speakeasy the night before they were due to fly out. The upshot: a broken bottle slashed the tendons on Robbo’s right hand. Tour off.
Forced to stay in the UK, they went to a party at Advision Studios, where Queen hosted a playback of A Day At The Races. Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham and Phil Lynott ended up in deep conversation with Brian May and Roger Taylor. Queen were big fans of Thin Lizzy. During photo sessions with Mick Rock, they insisted that Vagabonds Of TheWestern World, Lizzy’s last album as a trio (Lynott, drummer Brian Downey and ex- guitarist Eric Bell), was played to help them relax. Now, at Advision, both bands talked enthusiastically about touring America together.
With Gary Moore returning to the Lizzy fold in place of Robertson, both bands found themselves in Boston, a city that was special to Queen and especially to Brian May. The band were big mates with Aerosmith, and it was in this city that they prepared themselves for US tours. Lizzy were the support band on the tour, playing an hour-long set compared to Queen’s one hour and 45 minutes. As openers, they were under the usual restraints: no thunderflashes, no wandering into restricted areas of the stage marked only for Queen use. One night Gary Moore broke out of Lizzyland and into Queendom, delivering a blistering solo in the process that brought the crowd to its feet. He was warned not to do that again. There was no animosity between the bands, though. Lizzy saw it as a bit of a learning curve.
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“There were about a dozen bands that wanted to do this tour with us,” said Roger Taylor. “We thought that Lizzy suited our audience better than any of the others, and they’re probably better than any of those bands anyway. I mean, there’s no point in making it easy for yourself. We wanted a good all-round show. It’s a good tour for both bands anyway. Lizzy playing to tremendous audiences, 10-20,000 a night. I’m probably biased, but this is the best line-up around. As a rock’n’roll fan, I would come and see this show if it came to my town. Definitely!”
Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham was pleased with the match. “It’s a good one for us because we’re playing in a lot of places we’ve never played before and we’re playing in places where they haven’t even played our record, so that’s the challenge. Obviously there’s a bit of competition, but our aim is not to blow the ass off Queen. We got out to blow the asses off the audience and win them over because it’s Queen’s audience, though I’m sure we’ve sold a lot of tickets.”
(Image credit: Fin Costello/Redferns)
I’d joined the Queen/Lizzy tour in New York and was taking in Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, Syracuse Civic Center and, finally, the Boston Garden. As an avid Lizzy and Queen fan, it was a dream job. Never having caught Gary Moore during his earlier (brief) stint with Lizzy, I was keen to see how he would fit into the setup. He was a hired gun this time, taking over from the popular Robbo, and now having to play Robbo’s set pieces and solos. How would this sit with Moore? I shouldn’t have worried. Moore’s input reflected his own effervescent style, adding a powerful injection of axe style. He was also an inspiration to Gorham, who seemed content to play second fiddle to Robertson but now came out of his shell.
“I thought it was going to be a real tough one,” Gorham considered when we sat down to speak. “It took Brian and me two years to get to where we were as dual lead guitarists, and when we decided that Brian was out, I was a little bit more freaked than anybody else. But after just 11 days rehearsal with Gary, it clicked. Brian was more into playing lead guitar, and after a while he lost some interest in the harmony things so we were starting to do less and less of it. But Gary likes it as much as I do, so that reintroduced the harmony guitar work into Thin Lizzy.
“Playing with Gary is the happiest I’ve been for a long, long time. It’s like breathing fresh air again. I guess it was kinda getting stale for a while. I know that on the last English tour, I was getting pretty depressed with a lot of those gigs. I would go back to the dressing room and I wouldn’t talk to anybody, and just go back to the hotel and lock myself in there.
“There was really a lot of heavy raving going on. People were losing control of themselves, and it wasn’t making for good music. It seemed sometimes that just a lifetime of noise was coming out, although we did have our nights when we came off and felt great. Brian was drinking pretty heavily, and I was going a bit crazy, too, and Phil, of course, still had hepatitis and he would get depressed.
“So this whole thing is just one big blast of fresh air, where everybody has perked themselves out of the staleness. We’ve got a new vibe in the band now. When we walk on stage, we have a great time again. It’s like a whole brand new thing, with 100 per cent more music coming out of it now.”
It was Thin Lizzy’s first tour of the American East Coast and you could smell the disappointment in the dressing-room after the first gig at Madison Square Garden when they felt that they didn’t do their music justice. They had, said Lynott, treated Madison Square Garden as just another gig. The disappointment was such that Lizzy wouldn’t go back on to do their encore; they didn’t feel they deserved it.
It was the same story at Syracuse, in New York State: Moore had difficulty with his guitar, damaged earlier in the day, and never settled down, while Scott Gorham was just a little too laid-back for comfort. Lizzy went down well at both places, but for this band, it’s the sub-standard gig that breeds the excellent one, and it was significant that on the nights following the Garden and Syracuse, Lizzy went on to play concerts full of controlled aggression and anger. They meant business and were taking no prisoners.
This was especially true of the gig at Nassau Coliseum, another one in front of 20,000 fans, and all staunch Queen followers. Lizzy were forced to work hard to win the support of the audience, a challenge they thrived on. They simply battered the crowd into submission, and fully earned their encore. The real clincher at the gig came with the drum solo of Brian Downey during the riffy Sha La La. The crowd wasted no time in showing their appreciation for Downey’s energetic wrestling bout with his kit, and from then on in, it was Lizzy’s gig, ending with Baby Drives Me Crazy, which thankfully evoked the right ‘baby baby baby’ response from the audience, instead of the embarrassing silence of the previous night at Madison Square Garden, and encoring with Me And The Boys Were Wonderin’ How YouAnd The Girls Were Gettin’ Home Tonight – still the best encore in the world and, with Moore adding his own touches, better than ever. The atmosphere in the dressing room was much more positive than the previous night, with Lynott triumphantly announcing: “We showed ‘em. We made an impression tonight all right. Follow that.”
Don’t Believe a Word – Thin Lizzy | The Midnight Special – YouTube
Three nights later they were in Boston, a city they’d never played before and which, apart from The Boys Are Back In Town, is unfamiliar with their music. This time, Lizzy took only five minutes, and, by the end of Massacre, the second number in the set, they sensed that it was their gig. Lynott, for one, was showing more aggression, and portrayed his tough man persona to the hilt. Playing in front of Queen audiences, there was no real danger that Lizzy would blow Queen off the stage. But they did make Queen work harder than they have ever had to. Queen had been getting a hard ride from the American rock critics this time around, the majority of whom had sided with underdogs Lizzy.
“The local press has been almost unanimously anti-us,” Brian May complained. “But it is very unpredictable, because usually the local guy who gets sent along from the local newspaper doesn’t really know what’s going on. Constructive criticism is healthy but I don’t like the fashionable easy slagging-off that tends to happen a lot, and a lot of these local journalists pick it up from the big guys and they want to be famous, too, so they go in and slag off the big band. I think it’s all on a very childish level.”
Nor are Queen worried that many critics attempt to play them off against Lizzy. They view that as “a false rivalry”. As Roger Taylor said, it was inevitable. May and Taylor, in particular, were close to Lizzy, and often went out drinking together after gigs. Taylor’s allegiance to Lizzy’s hectic lifestyle is obvious, as I witnessed when I went to his room at the plush Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Taylor had built a Scalextric racing kit through two of the rooms and – suitably lifted by champagne and whatever else was available – he was having the time of his life. The man was a born rock’n’roller. Brian May was a much quieter person and enjoyed hanging out with Lizzy because he is into that type of hard-rocking band. He and Lynott got on very well together, and May was keen to play on Phil’s solo album.
Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, on the other hand, kept themselves detached. Deacon had his wife and child on the road, and that, coupled with his natural tranquility, made him almost inaccessible. Mercury, meanwhile, was playing the star card to the max. At airports he didn’t mingle with the rest of the band or with Lizzy. Instead, Freddie would sit at another part of the lounge, accompanied by his friendly neighbourhood masseur and other friends. And, true to his adorable camp nature, he wouldn’t do interviews, as he explained to me at one after-show party. Eyeing me from the other side of the room, he sauntered over, gave my bum a gentle pat and whispered: “Harry, dahling, I’m so sorry about the interview. But I’m just not giving them anymore… no exceptions.” And with that, he disappeared into his fawning throng.
It’s always dodgy covering your favourite bands, especially if there’s a flavour of criticism. I found this out a couple of weeks after the article appeared in Melody Maker. I’d been to the Rainbow Theatre to see Elton John and spotted Queen’s May and Taylor in the audience. Up I went to say hello. Taylor was his usual affable self. Brian May, on the other hand, had seen my piece and wasn’t best pleased.
“Nobody blows us off in Boston,” came the opening salvo. “Boston is our town. Nobody blows us off and Thin Lizzy didn’t. You weren’t even there. You left with Lizzy before we came on.” Which I hadn’t, but what can you do? May apologised for the outburst later, but at least he was passionate in defence of his band. Queen went on to become bigger everywhere else in the world… except the States.
(Image credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Thin Lizzy never really broke America. Gary Moore threw a tantrum in the middle of the next American tour and left after one album, Black Rose. Phil Lynott learned one thing from the Queen tour. Having spotted how pampered Freddie Mercury was on the tour, he decided to have some of the same and got more and more spoiled with each subsequent Lizzy tour. Germany, 1979. The Big Man is ruffled. Here we are, 40 minutes into the set. This place should be in uproar. The seats should be reduced to matchwood. The audience is enthusiastic but, apart from a couple of extremists on the wings, remains fixed to the seats. Nevertheless, it’s claimed that they’re enjoying themselves. “Za Hamburg audience,” the promoter assures us, “it is very hard to getzem on ze feet.” Hamburg’s shyness plainly irritates Phil Lynott. Earlier, in an uncharacteristic fit of temper, he threatened to cancel the gig altogether when the local fire chief declared that Lizzy could not use their flash bombs within the hallowed interiors of the Musichalle.
“Tell your boss,” Lynott muttered at a harrassed emissary, “that if we can’t use them then we’re not goin’ on.” Phil’s peculiar outburst wasn’t exactly taken seriously by the rest of the band. Gary Moore was busy outside cavorting with a friend, Brian Downey sipped champagne, and Scott Gorham dozed on the couch – the night he’d popped 10 times the doseage of sleeping tablets that he intended to take. Lynott, though, persisted with the charade, determined to knock the fear of God into the Germans.
His anger had been fuelled by the news that there would be no soundcheck. It would be a late start, 10.30 pm – two hours later than any other night – because in an adjoining hall there was a piano recital and it was feared that this loud rock music might interfere with the audience’s enjoyment. At this announcement, Lynott turned reddish-black with rage. “A piano recital?” He heard right. “No sound-check because of a piano recital! Fook that. We’re usin’ the flashes, no matter what the fookin’ fire chief says. Okay, Finbar.”
Finbar is in charge of the lights and effects. One of his lackeys had just dismantled the fireworks, having been informed that they would not be needed. “A fookin’ piano recital.” Phil strode around the dressing room. “Jesus. We’re a rock’n’roll band, not a fookin’ showband. These people have come to see the full Thin Lizzy show, an’ they’re gonna see it.”
Lizzy went on and used their flashes. Perhaps the hall officials headed for the nearest bomb shelter, because they didn’t interfere with the show. But, by then Lynott had other things on his mind. You could almost hear his brain click: “Jesus, what do we have to do to get these people on their feet? But, by Cowboy Song – “We’re gonna try an’ rock you with this one” – he was obviously overcome by the situation. For a second he stepped out of the spotlight and out of tune. “It’s okay, amigos,” he sang sweetly. “YOU CAN LET YOURSELVES GO!” 10 minutes later, the audience looked as if they were actually enjoying themselves. The relief was palpable.
(Image credit: Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Backstage, Lynott applied the old football adage. “Wait’ll we get them at home,” he said. Next stop, Saarbrucken, is a sneeze on the road from Frankfurt to Paris, the sort of place you want to beam out of instead of waiting for the next train. If you want to measure Lizzy’s low-key reputation in Germany, consider that I came across Phil Lynott in the car-park, wondering when the audience was going to come, and from where. Lynott and company cast a single glance at industrial Saarbrucken and decided that, instead of staying put that night, they’d move on to Frankfurt 200 kilometres away, after the gig. Throughout the Lizzy organisation, it was generally felt that Saarbrucken might not recover from a night of Philip Lynott. The gig itself was a solid if unspectacular Thin Lizzy performance, most notable for an impromptu version of Whiskey In The Jar.
Ever since that old standard reappeared at Hammersmith Odeon on the last UK tour, its performance has seemed to be an indication of Lizzy’s pleasure with their audience. Later, sound engineer Pete Eustace approached the band about sound problems they’d suffered in the venue. “You and acoustic halls don’t mix very well,” Pete offered. “I thought I was going to get knifed out there. People were yelling at me to turn it down.” Gorham disagreed. “At the front they were lovin’ the hell out of it.”
“Yeah, but it’s cannon fodder to them.” Eustace counters, determined to impress his point upon the band. “At back the cotton wool was falling out of people’s ears.”
“That wasn’t cotton wool,” Gary Moore smartly comments. “That was their brains.”
Asked why they played Whiskey In The Jar, after fighting it off for so long, Lynott simply counters that Gary Moore knows the song. But doesn’t it indicate that Lynott’s attitude has mellowed recently? No, claimed Lynott. In the wake of the success of Live And Dangerous, won’t Lizzy find it harder to enforce the continual progression upon which they’ve always insisted? After all, their set was still leaning towards Live And Dangerous – Phil made no apologies for that. “I’m progressing the way I’ve always progressed,” he said. “When we started off, we’d sing everybody else’s numbers. Then, gradually, we introduced our own songs, dropping favourites as we went along, until half the set was original. And that’s what I’m doin’ now, only we’re not goin’ fast enough for certain people. But I’m bearing in mind that we have a very large following of loyal Lizzy supporters – and for us to have a radical change, which we don’t really want to do yet, would be stupid. We can’t totally ignore the fact that Live And Dangerous is our most successful album.
“The next tour we do will be another step away from Live And Dangerous. We’re gonna move away from that era with Brian [Robertson] and into another one with Gary… Dependin’ on how long we stay together. The pressure broke up the band before. It could easily break this one. I don’t think that we’re one of these bands that are gonna last for ever and ever. We could break up at any time… But don’t be writing our epitaphs yet because, as far as I’m concerned, we’re just starting now. Gary, for the first time, has given full commitment.
“I want to develop more as a songwriter and an artist of some sort. I want to get better and better at it, and I honestly believe that I am improving. But whether I actually move at the rate of speed that people want me to is another thing. Graham Parker hit it right on the head – Squeezing Out Sparks. That’s what it’s all about. What I can tell you is that the band is goin’ through a really creative period at the moment. Things are very positive for us.”
Thin Lizzy Don’t Believe A Word Live BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 1979 – YouTube
A standard criticism of Lizzy is that they lack the ambition to be a truly huge band. Phil refutes the implication outright. “The point is that we reach a climax with, say, VagabondsOf The Western World. The pressure of success cracks Eric Bell up. He doesn’t want to fly to Paris to mime to Whiskey In The Jar. We do another three albums and we finally get success with Jailbreak. With the success of that album, we just end up talking about drink, fights and love-lives, and I get hepatitis. We overcome that and meantime we’re recording and building again and we have success with Live And Dangerous, which was to seal an era.
“To some casual observer looking in from outside, they can disregard the kids that have followed us all the way through and have made Live And Dangerous a successful album. I’m not talking just about a double platinum album. I’m talking about an album that was artistically very good. Then people say, ‘Now Thin Lizzy have done that, now give its something different.’
“Well, man, if we were to go out and play a totally original set, that’d be a con. I’m not sayin’ that we’re pandering to the kids by goin’ out and playin’ Live And Dangerous every night, but they have made it platinum and we have to play it to them. But, at the same time, we’re sayin’ that we’re gonna do new songs to show that we are a new band; that by hook or by crook, we’ll be droppin’ the old numbers and they’ll he dropped fast and furious. The end of our set will always just be playtime. The serious part is the early part of the set, the first three-quarters, where we’re playin’ for the music.”
I casually enquire of Lynott where Lizzy might go from here. It is, it seems, the question of the year. “A lotta people are worried about where we’re goin’ from here, and constantly they seem to be sayin’ ‘Give us a new direction.’ ‘Do this.’ ‘Do that.’ ‘This is not what we want from Thin Lizzy.’ And I say, ‘Fuck ‘em, every one of them.’ It’s a well- known fact that when a band gets big, they go for the band. The knives get drawn.
“The point is that we have always controlled our own career. And that’s what we’re doing now. Everybody’s talkin’ about Lizzy as a band that’s been around long time, whereas I think that it’s just the start ‘cos Gary’s in the band now. I don’t feel that I should defend Black Rose. From nobody. Black Rose is the start of a change. I can hear a definite change on Black Rose. Our last recorded album was Bad Reputation. There’s a hell of a difference between that and Black Rose.
“Y’know the way people tell you that when you have millions, there’ll be millions of people there to tell you how to spend it? That seems to be the same with success. There seems to be a million people tellin’ us how to use our success. How we should find this ‘new direction’ and how ‘Phil has lost the humour in his writin’.’ I never thought Massacre was that funny a song, you know? I thought it was pretty vicious myself.
“People are sayin’ that they want me to be their joker. Well, I’m no dancin’ n**ger for them. Obviously I’m over-reacting because the press has had a field day on me and my private life. I don’t like guttersnipes that take photographs with telescopic lenses. ‘The people have a right to know.’ Bollocks!”
Cookie is a leading figure in the Frankfurt rock community. Once responsible for booking major bands into the city, by 1979 his interest was confined to a couple of clubs. Cookie first met Lizzy when he booked the band, as a four piece with Gorham and Brian Robertson, into the Zoom Club a now-defunct heavy joint in Frankfurt. Lizzy remembered the faith he showed in them, and renewed the acquaintance when they came back to Germany this time round. Cookie had a pool table in the front room of his city-centre home. At 6 am, after a night spent in his club, we’re invited there for a game. Three hours later, Lynott and I have breakfast before going to bed, shattered. I remember him mumbling something like “It’s gonna be a wild three days,” as we say good morning.
The latest Thin Lizzy album, Black Rose, featured a track called Got To Give It Up. It extols the virtues of clean living, with Lynott suggesting that he (or the character in the song) intends to give up drugs and drink, among other excesses. At 9am on a Monday morning, after a night like that, the song doesn’t carry such a sincere ring.
“I’m being a bit cynical with Got To Give It Up,” Lynott admitted later in the day. “How many times do you say you’re gonna give something up and you don’t? It’s that perpetual thing where you can’t break the habit. I mean, I’m trying to be really honest in the song. Like on With Love, too. I wanted to achieve total honesty and also write a love song, and I say ‘This Casanova’s days are over, more or less.’ It’s the ‘more or less’ that’s the honest bit. It shows the human elements, the wanting.
“When I was writing those songs, those were the moods I was trying to capture. I did mean what I said. It’s honest contradictions. If my life was a simple black and white” – he chuckles at the irony – “if it was just straightforward, it would be easy to write songs. I wouldn’t wrestle with lyrics at all. I would just have to say, ‘I love you, the sky is blue.’ But it’s not like that at all. It’s all so much more complicated. Got To Give It Up is to do with trying to give up bad habits – when you know that you don’t really stand a chance.”
But the song really lays the addiction on the line. There’s so much desperation in its tone.
“Yeah, but it’s not just me. It’s relevant to a lot of people. I try to give these things up. I really do try, with all the sincerity I can, for brief periods, to give it up. “I don’t condone drugs, really, but I know why artists take drugs. They take them to experience, to go to the edge. Why do people climb mountains? To go to the edge. People always want to go to extremes. And if you go to the edge, you must be prepared to fall off. And lots of guys have.”
So it’s inevitable?
“Well, some people don’t need it at all – but seemingly all the artists that I rate have, one way or another, gone to the extremes. Some made it back and wrote about that experience, and others didn’t. To this day I’d love to hear what Hendrix would have done, or what Elvis would have done after their experiences. Now, lest you are mistaken,” he says, “I myself don’t take drugs.”
Originally published in Classic Rock issue 83
Harry Doherty began his career at the Derry Journal in Ireland before moving to London in the mid-1970s, relaunching his career as a music journalist and writing extensively for the Melody Maker. Later he became editor of Metal Hammer and founded the video magazine, Hard’n’Heavy. He also wrote the official Queen biography 40 Years Of Queen, published in 2011 to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary. He died in 2014.
Finnish progressive metal outfit The Hypothesis have announced their upcoming new album Evolve, slated to be released on October 18 via Noble Demon. With the track “Stray”, The Hypothesis have unleashed the first single today. The song is released alongside a brand new music video directed by Andre Rodriguez and Juuso Turkki, which can be seen below.
Diving into the essence of the track, the band shared:
“An anxious traveller fights himself through struggles. Ghosts from the past are holding him down and heavy words from his past are echoing in his head. Finally he breaks free from the burdens of past and finds his way home.”
“Wanderer” “Here I Stand” “Watch The World Burn With Me” “Evolve” “Where The Dreams Come To Die” “From The Ashes” “Dead Cold Silence” “Thousand Skies” “Stray”
“Stray” video:
The Hypothesis are: Juuso Turkki – Vocals, Guitar Asko Sartanen – Guitar, Backing Vocals Markku Ruuskanen – Bass, Backing vocals Otso Tiilama – Drums
Rocket-fuelled Canadian act Spiritbox have today announced their biggest London show yet. The group will perform at the legendary Alexandra Palace on February 13, 2025. This will be Spiritbox’s only UK headline show in 2025.
Tickets are expected to fly as soon as they go on sale. The group’s last London shows – multiple nights at the iconic Roundhouse in Camden – sold out in minutes. Presales begin immediately, and tickets will go on general sale at 10 AM on Wednesday, August, 28. Set your alarm and don’t delay if you want to go.
Special guests are Periphery and Stray From The Path. Get tickets at livenation.co.uk.
The London show reveal solves a mystery plaguing fans since the band announced their headline European tour earlier this year, but left a blank space for the venue and city next to the February 13 listing. The complete European run is:
February 13 – London – Alexandra Palace 15 – Berlin – Columbiahalle 16 – Tilburg – Poppodium 013 18 – Paris – L’Olympia 19 – Koln – Palladium 20 – Frankfurt – Zoom 22 – Munich – Tonhalle 23 – Hamburg – Freiheit 36
It’s been a busy 2024 for Spiritbox, touring first with Architects and Loathe, and most recently with Korn, including a sold out Gunnersbury Park show in London earlier this month.
Last night, Spiritbox were delighted to accept the award for Best International Artist at the Heavy Music Awards 2024, celebrated at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London.
Spiritbox are also set to dominate Leeds Festival on Sunday.
Inferno Festival Norway 2025 has announced the next set of bands to the highly anticipated lineup, which will once again take place in Oslo (NO) from April 17-20 for another blasphemous Easter.
The festival now welcomes Kylesa, The Black Dahlia Murder, Dødheimsgard, Ponte Del Diavolo to the lineup.
They join the previously announced 1349, Behemoth, Blood Incantation, Gaerea, Lamentari, Rosa Faenkap, Aeternus, Seth, Abyssic, Spectral Wound, Angist, Bythos, Syn, Violent Magic Orchestra, Tsjuder, Tiamat, Necrophobic, Schwein, and Vorbid.
Inferno Metal Festival started in 2001 – and is the longest-running metal festival in Norway – and one of the most important extreme metal festivals in the world. Showcasing the best of Norwegian metal and bringing acts from all over the world to Oslo, it is the place to be every Easter.
Inferno Experience: Every year, hundreds of metal fans from all over the world attend the festival and explore Norway’s capital city Oslo. In previous years, the festival has hosted several experiences for metal fans to explore the city’s darkest, but also most beautiful places, as well as offer enthusiasts a glimpse of Norway’s natural beauty, which has inspired many Norwegian artists in the past and still does. Stay tuned for more.
Inferno Official Hotel: Clarion Hotel The Hub: The Inferno family: audience and artists, media and music industry will gather at the official festival hotel Clarion The Hub for happenings, partying and a good night sleep. The Inferno Music Conference will take place at the hotel in the daytime Thursday and Friday. For guests staying at the hotel, it will be Oslo’s best hotel breakfast until 11:00 (you don`t want to miss it) and free access to swimming pool and sauna.
The Hub boasts Oslo’s best location, right in the city centre, next to Oslo Central Station and the Airport Express Train – and only about a five minutes walk from the venues Rockefeller & John Dee, Salt, Kniven, Vaterland, Brewgata and Rock In. No expensive taxi rides! Extend your stay and experience Oslo!
Organizers recently checked in with the following update: “Hope everyone is having an amazing summer! We know you’re busy with holidays, festivals, and soaking up the sun, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of what we’ve been working on at IMC.
Confirmed panels:
– In Defense Of Valhalla – Smashing Through Walls: Metal In The Middle East – Festival Presentations
Exciting panels in the works include:
– Publishing 101 – The OG Metal Label Giants – Women In Live Music – Smells Like Team Audit: A Guide To Accounting” – Metal In Sync
… and many more.
Dive into an unparalleled lineup of sessions, speakers, and exclusive networking opportunities! This year, we’re enhancing your experience with more networking parties and a Metal Fashion Show, among other exciting additions. Already 90 delegates confirmed for Inferno Music Conference 2025.”
Paganfest returns after 10 years with the strongest lineup (Alestorm, Ensiferum, Týr, Heidevolk, and Elvenking) and the most and biggest shows ever.
Created by RTN-Touring (Rock The Nation) between 2008-2015 with seven editions in Europe and two more in the USA, Paganfest was the most successful festival tour of the pagan & folk metal scene. Since Paganfest was put on hiatus, many fans and bands have been asking for the next edition.
Now the time has come: Paganfest is coming back with a blast, in legendary venues all over Europe and UK.
Alestorm translates:
“Ahoy, ye scallywags and metal-hearted marauders! After a decade lost at sea, Paganfest be returnin’ with a thunderous roar, boastin’ the mightiest crew o’ bands ever to sail the seven stages! With Alestorm, Ensiferum, Týr, Heidevolk, and Elvenking at the helm, this here voyage be the grandest and most raucous yet!
“Back in the days of yore, between 2008 and 2015, RTN-Touring (that be Rock The Nation, ye landlubbers) unleashed seven legendary editions across Europe and two more in the treacherous waters of the USA. Paganfest, the most triumphant festival tour of the pagan and folk metal scene, set sail and captured the hearts o’ metalheads far and wide. But alas, the festival was cast into the abyss, leavin’ fans and bands alike yearnin’ for its return.
“But hoist the colors and mark yer maps, for the time has come to weigh anchor once more! Paganfest be blastin’ back into port with a vengeance, conquerin’ legendary venues all across Europe and the UK!
“This here festival be a vital chapter in the tales of many a band’s rise to glory, helpin’ to transform ’em from humble deckhands to mighty headliners. Now, five o’ these intrepid bands be joinin’ forces to hoist the Paganfest flag high once again. So grab yer horns o’ ale (and toss aside them landlubberly cans), and prepare to set sail on the wildest, most metal journey o’ yer life! Arrr!”
Ensiferum are special guests on the Paganfest MMXXV tour with their brand new record Winter Storm (coming October 18, 2024). Petri Lindroos sent a short message to the fans:
“I’m so happy to announce Paganfest returning after 10 full years. It’s gonna’ be a great package with Alestorm, Ensiferum, Týr, Heidevolk and Elvenking. Coming in January – February 2025. See you at the shows!”
Sami Hinkka adds: “New album, new year, old friends! We are super excited to join forces with the metal scene’s finest: Alestorm, Týr , Heidevolk and Elvenking. This tour will make it to the history books! Grab your swords, drinking horns and bottles of rum, because Paganfest is back!”
Týr as a cornerstone of the Paganfest history has a highlighted position now on Paganfest MMXXV – Heri Joensen talks about the recent news around the band:
“PAGANFEST returns at a very opportune time!
Our latest album, Battle Ballads, came in April this year. We’ve been on tour in North America, and we have played some fests in Europe this summer. Battle Ballads comes with a line-up change. Hans Hammer steps in on guitar for Terji Skibenæs. Our current line-up is the strongest we have had.
“Paganfest will be the perfect opportunity for us to play some new bangers, as well as our ancient heathen hits, for our fans on the continent.
“Paganfest used to be a reoccuring theme for us, and on those tours we met many of the bands we know and are friends with today, and Paganfest introduced us to a lot of new people around Europe and North America.
“It’s a powerful and nostalgic feeling to see the Paganfest banner again.
This can only be good! So get your tickets now, and we’ll see you somewhere in Europe this winter, for Paganfest MMXXV.”
Paganfest MMXXV is the first EU tour for the latest Heidevolk album Wederkeer. Band boss and bassist Rowan Roodbaert comments:
“We are beyond excited to announce our return to the legendary Paganfest, world’s premier folk and pagan metal mega tour! As veterans of multiple Pagan and Heidenfests, this festival holds a special place in Heidevolk’s history. We can’t wait to hit the road again and join forces with our friends in this killer line-up!
“The return of Paganfest perfectly echoes the spirit of our latest album, Wederkeer (which means “return” or “revive”). We’ll be bringing you the very best of our latest songs along with classic bangers that take you deep into Heidevolk’s legacy.
“Those who’ve experienced Paganfest before know this is a celebration you can’t afford to miss. Get ready for a night of raised horns, heavy music, and a unique heathen happening that unites old and new fans of the genre.
“Brace yourselves friends, for the Pagan Metal Brotherhood is on the rise!”
Last, but not least – as there are no fillers just killers on Paganfest MMXXV – Elvenking, who were sorely missed by the community from the previous editions, are finally here.
The Italian pagans are releasing their brand new album Reader Of The Runes – Luna (the grandiose final chapter of the RotR trilogy) right before the festival tour:
“Paganfest is where Elvenking fits perfectly. We always looked at the old festival line ups in the past and felt it would be the perfect package to tour with one day, both musically and conceptually. Finally we can be part of the resurrected brand and cannot be more excited. All other bands have participated in several editions of the tour and even if we are mostly opening the concerts, it will be amazing to be part of this. Our new album, last chapter of the Reader Of the Runes trilogy, is 100 % done and ready to be released so it will be great to play songs from this huge story plus some of our classics under the banner of Paganfest all over Europe. May the winds blow fair at your backs….”
Dates:
January 8 – Hamburg, Germany @ Grosse Freiheit 9 – Groningen, Netherlands @ Oosterpoort 10 – Stuttgart, Germany – Filharmonie 11 – Oberhausen, Germany – Turbinenhalle * extended show with special guests 12 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s Neue Welt 13 – Roskilde, Denmark – Congress Centre 14 – Bremen, Germany – Aladin Music Hall 16 – Birmingham, United Kingdom – O2 Academy 17 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom – O2 Academy 18 – Manchester, United Kingdom – O2 Victoria Warehouse 19 – London, United Kingdom – O2 Academy Brixton 20 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique 21 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof 22 – Paris, France – Zenith 23 – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7 Konzertfabrik 24 – Geiselwind, Germany – Eventzentrum * extended show with special guests 25 – Munich, Germany – Backstage 26 – Liege, Belgium – OM 28 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz 29 – Lyon, France – Transbordeur 30 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Salle Metropole 31 – Meisenthal, France – Halle Verrière
February 1 – Leipzig, Germany – Felsenkeller 2 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 Poppodium 3 – Hannover, Germany – Capitol 5 – Krakow, Poland – Studio 6 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja 7 – Zlin, Czechia – Hala Datart 8 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra *extended show with special guests 9 – Zagreb, Croatia – Tvornica
5X Platinum-selling and Juno Award-winning rock outfit, Finger Eleven, reveal the music video for their latest single, “Adrenaline”, a rousing, intense anthem about banding together, even in tough times, to push forward, released digitally earlier this month via Better Noise Music. Watch it streaming below.
“Adrenaline” was one of the Most Added tracks in the US and is quickly climbing up the Active Rock charts. In Canada, it achieved the #1 Most Added spot for two consecutive weeks and is currently in the Top 10 at #9 on the Canadian Active Rock chart, making it the most-increased song this week.
One of the best-selling Canadian bands of all time, Finger Eleven – Scott Anderson (vocals), James Black (lead guitar, backing vocals), Rick Jackett (rhythm guitar), Sean Anderson (bass), and Steve Molella (drums) – recently crossed 1 billion overall career streams, averaging 5 million streams per week. The Toronto-based band have released a series of consecutive hit albums and chart-topping singles including “One Thing,” “Paralyzer,” and “Together Right,” which topped the radio charts for five weeks in a row at #1.
Finger Eleven is currently on tour across North America with rock icons Creed on their “Summer of ‘99” tour which features additional interchanging support from Three Doors Down, Daughtry, Switchfoot, Tonic, and Big Wreck. The band will make a stop at Louder Than Life festival during the jaunt and will also appear as direct support to Creed back in Canada for two arena shows in November.
Mötley Crüe have released a cover of the Beastie Boys‘ hip-hop classic Fight for Your Right. Or, to give it its full title, (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!). The recording comes from a new three-track EP, Cancelled, which will be released on October 4. The EP also includes Dogs Of War, released as a standalone single in April, and the title track.
“It was really great getting in the studio and working on some tracks together,” say the band in a statement. “What started out as a couple of demo ideas turned into this EP produced by Bob Rock. We look forward to getting back into the studio again soon and writing more new music, as well.”
Mötley Crüe originally debuted their cover of Fight For Your Right at their “secret” show at London’s Underworld club in 2013. The performance took place on the eve of their co-headline show with Def Leppard at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium.
Fight For Your Right is the second Mötley Crüe release to feature John 5, who replaced long-standing guitarist Mick Mars in 2022, and it seems as though he’s fitting in well.
“John is such a great guitar player,” frontman Vince Neil told Classic Rock earlier this year. “People love him. The band loves him. He basically made me a better singer. I get to focus on just my singing. He knew all the songs before we even hired him. He can play anything. He’s an exciting, creative guitar player and he’ll definitely be involved in the new music. It’ll be really neat to listen to his ideas.”
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On August 11th, Swedish deathglam kings Deathstars performed at M’era Luna 2024 in Hildesheim, Germany. You can now watch professionally-filmed footage of the band’s full set, courtesy of ARTE Concert.
Setlist:
“Night Electric Night” “Death Dies Hard” “Tongues” “Midnight Party” “Synthetic Generation” “Metal” “Fire Galore” “Chertograd” “Everything Destroys You” “Blitzkrieg” “Cyanide”
Deathstars released their fifth studio album, Everything Destroys You, in late 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. The band released the video for the album’s title track, “Everything Destroys You”, which is directed by Damon Zurawski, who also did the video for “Midnight Party”. It was filmed in the cold, hard surroundings of an old, abandoned slaughterhouse in Stockholm.
Whiplasher comments the video: “‘Everything Destroys You’ is a video that literally destroys the band. We have killed the band in quite a few of our videos, and for those who want to see us dead once again this is another excellent opportunity to see that happen. On one hand you could see Nightmare busy behind swaying chains in the cellar, while Skinny is working on a double bass at the same time as I got electric shocks from a depraved nurse.”
The album is available in the following formats:
– CD jewel case with 16-page booklet – 1LP Sleeve + A2 Poster white – 1LP Sleeve + A2 Poster splatter dark green & yellow
“This Is” “Midnight Party” “Anti All” “Everything Destroys You” “Between Volumes And Voids” “An Atomic Prayer” “Blood For Miles” “The Churches Of Oil” “The Infrahuman Masterpiece” “Angel Of Fortune And Crime”