Author: fgt

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell was interviewed by Long Island’s rock station 102.3 WBAB and he confirmed another Leppard album is in the works.

Speaking about their new single “Just Like 73” featuring Tom Morello, Campbell said, “Well, there is [a plan to release an album], actually. I mean, ‘Just Like 73’ was actually left over from Diamond Star Halos. The song just wasn’t quite finished a few years ago. Plus we had an abundance of songs for ‘Diamond Star’. And yes, we are constantly writing music, and yes, there will be another record.”

Join Sweetwater in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Def Leppard’s Pyromania with an exciting opportunity to show off your best cover for a chance to win loads of sweet Def Leppard gear.

Fans are invited to showcase their musical talents and love for the band by submitting cover versions of songs from the album Pyromania for a chance to win thousands of dollars’ worth of gear, including guitars personally spec’d by Def Leppard’s own Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen.

Have you or your band got a killer version of “Foolin’”? Maybe you’ve got an amazing rendition of “Rock Of Ages” the world simply needs to hear? Sweetwater invites you to grab your camera and capture your best take for a chance to win big! Whoever submits the most compelling cover, as chosen by members of the band and Sweetwater, wins.

Aren’t feeling up to a cover-song challenge? You can also enter to win one of several signed Def Leppard Pyromania 40th anniversary reissue vinyl LPs! Enter your Pyromania cover song here for a chance to win!

Def Leppard have shared the video below, along with the following message:

“In episode 2 of Behind The Summer Stadium Tour the show gets turned upside down in Chicago as a massive storm hits the town, the guys celebrate 46 years since their first gig and rock Detroit to the ground.”

Def Leppard and Journey’s co-headlining North American tour continues August 2 Toronto, ON . Tickets for all remaining dates on The Summer Stadium Tour 2024 are on sale here. Dates are listed below.

July
30 – Cleveland, OH – Progressive Field ^

August
2 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre ^
5 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park *
7 – Flushing, NY – Citi Field *
12 – Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field *
14 – Houston, TX – Minute Maid Park *
16 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome *
19 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field *
23 – Phoenix, AZ – Chase Field *
25 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium *
28 – San Francisco, CA – Oracle Park *
30 – San Diego, CA – Petco Park *

September
4 – Seattle, WA – T-Mobile Park ^
8 – Denver, CO – Coors Field ^

* with Steve Miller Band
^ with Cheap Trick

Iron Studios has launched the preorder for a deluxe statue of Iron Maiden mascot Eddie from their 1992 album Fear Of The Dark. The statue will be ship in the first quarter of 2025. Preorder at ironstudios.com.

A description reads:

“Emerging from the trunk of a sinister dead tree, under the pale moonlight, a Nosferatu-like creature made of vegetation with eyes red as fire and a mouth full of sharp teeth appears. With long arms extending like branches, hands and fingers shaped like claws, legs covered in tendrils, and feet resembling roots blending into the dry wood, the monster rises from a base of stone bricks, emerging from an ancient well that leads into the depths of the unknown. Just as darkness brings fear of the unknown, Iron Studios proudly brings its first piece inspired by the album art of one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time: the ‘Fear of the Dark Eddie – Iron Maiden – Deluxe Art Scale 1/10’ statue, featuring the eerie zombie mascot of the legendary band inspired by the cover of their ninth studio album.

“After receiving a teaser on World Rock Day, Iron Studios brings its first statue of the Iron Maiden symbol character, expanding its line of music icon-derived franchises. The statue Fear of the Dark Eddie – Iron Maiden – Deluxe Art Scale 1/10 measurements are 12.2 inches (H) x 7.2 inches (W) x 6.3 inches (D) – 1.4 lbs, which ensures an impressive display of the figure in any environment.

“Just like all the other statues manufactured by Iron Studios, the statue Fear Of The Dark Eddie – Iron Maiden – Deluxe Art Scale 1/10 is made with high-quality materials such as Polystone, and may contain parts in resin, PVC, metal, and fabric. In the finishing, the hand-painted statue ensures a unique and exclusive artistic touch to satisfy any collector.”

Sick Drummer Magazine has uploaded a drum playthrough video of Jason Bittner drumming Category 7’s “In Stitches”.

Bittner states: “This is the play-through video for the first Category 7 Single, ‘In Stitches,’ recorded in my studio with some GoPro and Q2 gear. I used my new Pearl Masterworks Birch Kit with a gray finish and black hardware. Jeff Porcaro gray, to be exact. I also used Zildjian Cymbals, including the new Z Customs, DW Pedals, Promark Sticks, Remo Heads, and Cympads.”

Category 7, the new heavy metal outfit boasting the all-star lineup of John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax), Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob, Sonic Universe, Noturnall), Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Kerry King, Vio-Lence), Jack Gibson (Exodus), and Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Overkill) released their self-titled debut full-length on July 26 via Metal Blade Records.

John Bush spoke to Robert Cavuoto for Metal Rules about the new Categpry 7 album, future plans with the band, and revealed Armored Saint has five songs completed for a possible album reelease in 2025. Check out the interview below.

On the new album

Bush: “It sounds really powerful, it sounds really heavy. It sounds like something people will really connect with in the metal community. It’s one small step; we’ll see what happens. We’ve put out three videos – we’ve made five in total – and there was a really cool buzz about it. It’s kinda fun to watch and see how things develop.”

Named after the numerical designation for the most powerful windstorms, Category 7 came together from a batch of musicians who strived to play music they loved and weren’t hearing elsewhere and wanted to do so with bandmates they enjoyed being with. Together, the band has created an album that is fresh and familiar; a new breed of metal that lives up to the storied histories of its members. The mixture of NWOBHM, thrash, punk-metal, and traditional metal is cohesive and sonically rewarding, establishing an eclectic musical backdrop for vocalist John Bush’s instantly identifiable vocals. At the same time, the diversity of styles creates its own template that’s ideal for headbanging, moshing, and voluble sing-alongs.

“It’s all about big verses and big songs, and it has a lot of the elements we’ve explored in our other bands,” notes guitarist and main songwriter Mike Orlando.

Category 7 was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Orlando at Sonic Stomp Studios with art and layout by Carlos Fides at Artside Studio (Angra, Evergrey, Kamelot).

The record will be available on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:

– Storm Surge (US + EU)
– Sable Smoke (EU – Ltd. 300)

Find pre-orders here.

Category 7 tracklisting:

“In Stitches”
“Land I Used To Love”
“Apple Of Discord”
“Exhausted”
“Runaway Truck”
“White Flags And Bayonets”
“Mousetrap”
“Waver At The Breaking Point”
“Through Pink Eyes”
“Etter Stormen”

“Exhausted” video:

“In Stitches” video:

Category 7 are:

John Bush – vocals
Phil Demmel – guitar
Mike Orlando – guitar
Jack Gibson – bass
Jason Bittner – drums

Reaper Entertainment has announced the October 18 release of Tankard – Reaped CM-Years, featuring three albums on CD and coloured vinyl, and as a CD or vinyl bundle.

Tankwart – Himbeergeist Zum Frühstück:

In 1996, the Hessian metal icons Tankard infiltrated the German pop scene as  Tankwart and released their second album under this pseudonym with Himbeergeist Zum Frühstück. Popular German pop songs and “evergreens” are put through the thrash metal mincer and refined with a good dose of punk rock. The result is a snotty, cheeky album that encourages you to sing and dance along without leaving your eyes (or throat) dry. Now that the album is almost 30 years old and has not been available on CD or vinyl for years, Reaper Entertainment has given the classic a complete facelift. The album was remastered at Pearlsound Studios and given new artwork by Kai Brockschmidt, which now shows the real gas station attendant in front of his pump for the first time.

Tankard – Disco Destroyer:

In 1998, Frankfurt thrash metal icons Tankard released another cult album. Defiant to the core, they declared war on all sissies and non-alcoholic beer drinkers on their self-explanatory Disco Destroyer. The immortal slogan “From Frankfurt to Frisco we destroy every disco” joins equally iconic partisan poetry such as “Are you tired of bands that look better than your girlfriend?” or “At war with breakdancers”, directed at Venom’s “At War With Satan”, which even Metallica laughed their heads off when they read it on a poster somewhere. Now that the album has been around for over a quarter of a century and has not been available on CD or vinyl for years, Reaper Entertainment has given the classic a complete facelift. The album was remastered at Pearlsound Studios and given a new artwork by Kai Brockschmidt, on which the Tankard Alien, the band’s popular mascot, also celebrates a resurrection

Tankard – Kings Of Beer:

In 2000, Tankard released their ninth and defining album Kings Of Beer, which would also become responsible for the band’s nickname. It was also the beginning of a new era: Andi Gutjahr not only joined the band as a new guitarist (replacing founding member Bulgaropulos), but also as a new songwriter who shaped and developed the sound of the thrash metal legends. Now that the 25th anniversary is just around the corner and the album has not been available on CD and vinyl for years, Reaper Entertainment has given the classic a complete facelift. The album has been remastered at Pearlsound Studios and has been given new artwork by Kai Brockschmidt, which pays tribute to the deceased original cover model “Bomber”, who was a very good friend of the band, and shows him in heaven.

The favourite drumming patterns of five legendary drummers have been turned into a series of limited edition prints to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. 

The five drummers – Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, King Crimson/Porcupine Tree’s Gavin Harrison, Paul McCartney’s Abe Laboriel Jnr, Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders and Simple Minds’ Cherisse Osei – all contributed patterns to the One Two Three Four project, which were then turned into typographic posters by renowned graphic artist Anthony Burrill.

“Music is a vital part of being human,” says Burrill, whose work is on permanent display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Design Museum in London, and at the Cooper-Hewitt in New York. “It connects us, brings us joy and creates a feeling of community. As a teenager my love of music helped shape my character and introduced me to the creative world.” 

“I was obsessed with record sleeves and went to art school to learn how to make them. Working with this select group of musicians has been an incredible and unique experience. I hope through our combined efforts we can shine a light on the amazing work of the Teenage Cancer Trust.”

“Rudiments play an important part in drumming as they are groups of sticking patterns that make the drummer unique and creative,” says project curator Mike Dolbear. “In Matt Helders’ pattern, you can see the sticking patterns he used to develop the main groove to Brianstorm. In Gavin and Abe’s patterns, you can see the use of flams (both hands coming down together but one sticking the drum just before the other). These are important as they become the drummer’s unique vocabulary.”

Each of these artworks has been produced as a limited edition of 100 screen prints, each autographed by Burrill and the respective drummer, which are available exclusively from the Teenage Cancer Trust store. Each design is also available in t-shirt form. 

When Jason Bonham first met Alex Van Halen, things didn’t go well.

Bonham — who is currently on tour with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony on the Best of All Worlds tour — recalled the incident during a recent interview with KSHE 95 (audio below).

“It’s 40 years since I saw Mike play at Donington,” he said of his visit to the U.K. festival in 1984. “My wife and I went to Donington – Monsters of Rock – AC/DC, Van Halen. And I got to meet Alex that day… Leonard [Haze] from Y&T introduced me. He came up – this is a classic – and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Alex Van Halen!’

“He goes, ‘Hey Leonard!’ [Haze says:] ‘This is Jason Bonham.’ And he goes, ‘So what?’ He just went, ‘So what?’”

READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Got ‘No Response’ From Alex Van Halen About New Tour

Years later, Jason become friends with Anthony and asked him why Van Halen may have been so dismissive. “I said, ‘Mikey, why was Alex such a dick?’” the drummer recalled. The bassist suggested it could have been payback for the time Van Halen met Jason’s dad, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

John Bonham’s Angry Reaction to Alex Van Halen’s Greeting

Anthony harked back to the moment in the late ‘70s when Van Halen had tried to meet the elder Bonham. “He goes, ‘Well, we heard your dad was in (Sunset Strip bar) the Rainbow, and we were playing Gazzarri’s next door. We kind of ran around the Rainbow and tried to say ‘hi’ to him.”

Van Halen was excited to meet his idol, but Bonzo didn’t reciprocate the enthusiasm.

“Alex kind of like jumped over the [barrier] and went to put his hand out… And your dad took a swing at him!’” Anthony explained to Jason. “Maybe that’s why he was a little pissed!”

Listen to Jason Bonham’s Interview

Sammy Hagar Solo and Band Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Whether on his own or with Van Halen, Montrose, Chickenfoot or HSAS, he rarely takes his foot off the pedal. 

Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening

More From Ultimate Classic Rock

July 31, 2024, 6 minutes ago

news classic rock fleetwood mac

Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage Tour ’82 album, out September 20, features live recordings from the band’s Mirage Tour, captured at The Forum in Los Angeles on October 21-22, 1982.

The set includes the classic Mirage singles “Gypsy” and “Hold Me”, along with six previously unreleased tracks including “Don’t Stop”, “Dreams”, “Oh Well”, “Landslide”, “Never Going Back Again” and “Sara”.

Available on 2CD, 3LP & digitally, pre-order your copy here.

Tracklisting:

“Second Hand News”
“The Chain”
“Don’t Stop” *
“Dreams” *
“Oh Well” *
“Rhiannon”
“Brown Eyes”
“Eyes Of The World”
“Gypsy”
“Love In Store”
“Not That Funny”
“Never Going Back Again” *
“Landslide” *
“Tusk”
“Sara” *
“Hold Me”
“You Make Loving Fun”
“I’m So Afraid”
“Go Your Own Way”
“Blue Letter”
“Sisters Of The Moon”
“Songbird”

* Previously Unreleased

Anyone who tuned in to the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony on Friday hoping for big pop music performances like Celine Dion’s and Lady Gaga’s was probably not prepared to see Marie Antoinette, beheaded and bloody, singing the 19th-century French anthem “Ah! Ça Ira” with the French heavy metal band Gojira, reports Rolling Stone. The quartet took the reins from the decapitated queen with aplomb, ending her reign with double-kick bass drums, pneumatic rhythm guitar, and frontman Joe Duplantier’s growled interpretation of the lyrics, which insist that after revolution, everything will be just fine.

Each member of the band – Duplantier; his brother, drummer Mario; lead guitarist Christian Andreu; and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie – performed their parts in a different window of Paris’ Conciergerie palace with fire spraying every which way in front of them and mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti gliding by on a ship, singing the song as opera. The performance ran only about two and a half minutes, but between the jaw-dropping surrealist visuals and Gojira’s bang-your-head-until-it-falls-right-off aggression, it became one of the most talked-about moments of the night. There’s been backlash from some right-wing commentators, who were quick to denounce the performance as satanic propaganda. But for metalheads, it was a different kind of validation – recognition of the genre on a world stage.

For Duplantier, it was a huge responsibility. Gojira have spent nearly 30 years perfecting their metal grooves, earning the respect of genre leaders like Metallica as well as the media; Rolling Stone named their 2005 album, From Mars To Sirius, one of the greatest metal albums of all time and their most recent album, 2021’s Fortitude, one of the best that year. As Duplantier tells Rolling Stone over a Zoom from his dad’s house in the southwest of France on Monday, he’s still making sense of it all.

Rolling Stone: How are you feeling about the performance today?

Joe Duplantier: “It’s a bit unreal. It’s been in the works for months. Ever since we were contacted by the Olympic Committee and the composer, Victor le Masne, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen just because it sounded completely unreal. The amount of people that would see us live kind of eclipsed the moment. I wasn’t thinking about what it was going to be because it was just too mind-bending to think about. So the reality of the moment was absolutely mind-blowing from where we were, up there at the Conciergerie and the view we had of the scenery and all the Olympic teams, passing by on boats. It was pretty surreal.”

Rolling Stone: Did you think much about the responsibility of representing metal on the world stage?

Duplantier: “I try not to think too much about that because it continues to blow my mind [laughs]. The Olympic Committee could have asked literally anybody to play. I’m thinking of bands like Metallica or AC/DC that are household names and powerhouses in our genre that we all revere and are our heroes. We never considered ourselves the biggest band in the world that would be worthy to play the Olympics or anything like that. It’s so weird.

“The way I think about it is it’s a challenge in 2024 to give hope to people, to show something original. People have seen everything from landing on the moon to AI. So it was a challenge for Paris and the Committee to express something fresh, new, and original [by booking us] and also show what France is all about.

“At least for our part, the fact that metal and opera had never been seen together on TV and in front of so many people before is a statement for the country of France. It’s saying, ‘Hey, look. We’re still pushing the boundaries in the world.’ So congrats to France for putting this together.”

Read more at Rolling Stone, and watch Gojira’s Olympics performance below:

HEAVY BIRTHDAYS

Happy 43rd
Matthew Charles Sanders (Matt Shadows; AVENGED SEVENFOLD) – July 31st, 1981

Heavy Releases

Happy 43rd
JOURNEY’s Escape – July 31st, 1981
Billboard chart numbers: “Don’t Stop Believin'” (#9), “Who’s Crying Now” (#4) and “Open Arms” (#2). A reason why it has sold over 12 million copies worldwide! 

Happy 17th
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s The Way Of The Fist – July 31st, 2007
WHITECHAPEL’s The Somatic Defilement – July 31st, 2007

Happy 12th
WELICORUSS’ Kharna – July 31st, 2011

Happy 11th
NACHTMYSTIUM’s Silencing Machine – July 31st, 2012
EVOKEN’s Atra Mors – July 31st, 2012

New Sepultura drummer Greyson Nekrutman – replacing Eloy Casagrande, who left the band to join Slipknot  – has shared live drum cam video of “Propaganda”, shot during the Sepultura’s recent 2024 Latin American Tour. Check it out below. 

As part of their massive “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour, metal legends Septultura will be hitting the North American roads; you can witness the ambassadors of Brazilian metal with a career-spanning set that will honour the band’s 40 years of existence.

Joining them on this momentous tour will be Florida-based death metal veterans Obituary, iconic New York hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front, and Sao Paulo’s death/thrash metallers Claustrofobia. Together, this package will unleash an electrifying display of power, passion, and raw emotion.

Andreas Kisser comments: “We are so excited to announce the North American concerts of the ‘Celebrating Life Through Death’ farewell tour. We are having a blast doing these shows and celebrating 40 years of history, and now it is your turn! Happy to share the stage with our brothers from Obituary, Agnostic Front, and Claustrofobia! Do not miss this! See you all on the road!”

Fans can purchase pre-sale tickets and VIP upgrades are on sale now through Soundrink, here. General sale will start Friday, June 7, June at 10 AM, local time, here.

Dates:

September
17 – Chicago, IL – ConcordMusic Hall
18 – Minneapolis, MN – UptownTheater
20 – Denver, CO – The Ogden Theater
21 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
22 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
23 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox SODO
25 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
27 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues
28 – Tucson, AZ – RialtoTheatre
30 – Dallas, TX – The Factory

October
2 – Tampa, FL – JannusLive
3 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater
4 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
5 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
6 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
8 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora Ballroom
9 – Toronto, ON – Rebel*
10 – Montreal, QC – L’Olympia*
11 – Worcester, MA @The Palladium
12 – New York, NY – The PalladiumTimes Square

* – Harvest to open and no Claustrofobia