Author: Logan Rocker

Developers who bulldozed the former home of AC/DC have claimed they were never informed of the property’s cultural significance, claiming the house was destroyed by accident, reports News.com.au.

The number 4 house on Burleigh Street in Sydney’s inner west was the childhood home of talented Aussie musicians Malcolm, Angus and George Young, with the two youngest brothers going on to found AC/DC at the home in 1973.

Despite being listed on the National Trust List of Historic Homes in 2013, the property was quietly bulldozed in recent weeks after being purchased by developers in February 2023 for $5.8 million.

In a statement to the media, Burwood Square Pty Ltd general manager Leon Kmita said they only learned of the home’s history after it was destroyed.

“We regret that the previous long-term owner did not share this vital part of the property’s background with us,” he said. “Learning about this connection after our plans were already underway has shocked us. We are genuinely sorry for this oversight.”

Mr Kmita said his team was now working to salvage materials from the site to create a “special space” such as a cafe or bar where fans can “gather to celebrate the band’s enduring legacy”.

“On behalf of the team at Burwood Square, I want to convey our heartfelt regret … we now recognise how deeply this location resonates with the AC/DC community and fans worldwide,” he said.

“We feel a strong responsibility to honour AC/DC’s legacy and to make amends to all the fans who hold this band in such high regard. While we cannot change the past, we are dedicated to celebrating this significant part of their story. To the global fanbase of AC/DC, please know that we hear you, appreciate your deep admiration for this legendary band, and are devoted to making this right.”

Read more at News.com.au.

Australia’s Blunt is reporting that AC/DC are tipped to return to Australian shores in late 2025, marking their first Australian tour in nearly 10 years.

Citing the Herald Sun, the report suggests that tour insiders predict the band is likely to include Australia as part of their global Power Up tour, with performances expected in the back half of 2025, sparking excitement among fans who have been waiting since 2016 for the band’s homecoming.

While exact dates and venues remain unconfirmed, speculation points to major stadiums such as Sydney’s Olympic Park (ANZ Stadium), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Adelaide Oval, and Optus Stadium in Perth.

Read more at bluntmag.com.au.

AC/DC return to the road in North America for the first time in nine years on the 2025 Power Up North American Tour.

Much to the delight of millions of fans across North America, the legendary Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-inducted band will perform in 13 stadiums coast-to-coast next spring. This run kicks off on April 10 in Minneapolis, MN at US Bank Stadium, canvases the continent, and concludes on May 28 in Cleveland, OH at Huntington Bank Field. Along the way, they will play some of the most iconic and historic stadiums in the world, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on April 18 and Soldier Field in Chicago, IL on May 24.

Tickets for all shows, featuring support from The Pretty Reckless, are on sale now, here.

The tour shares its name with their 2020 album, Power Up, which bowed at #1 in 21 countries. In 2024, AC/DC completed a European leg of the Power Up Tour, packing the biggest stadiums on the continent in the process. Power Up notably notched their third #1 debut on the Billboard 200 and exploded as one of the best-selling albums of 2020 worldwide. Plus, it garnered Grammy Award nominations in the categories of “Best Rock Album” and “Best Rock Performance” and “Best Music Video” for “Shot In The Dark.” Power Up is available here.

AC/DC played their very first show on the 31st December 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. They are one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide. The band’s Back In Black LP is the “bestselling album by any band ever” and the “third bestselling album by any artist” with global sales of 50 million and counting. AC/DC was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. The band continue selling out stadiums on multiple continents, sell millions of albums annually and generate streams in the billions.

To continue their reign as the world’s greatest rock and roll band, AC/DC – Angus Young on lead guitar, vocalist Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and bass player Chris Chaney – are back to play to their legion of dedicated fans, which grows with every passing year.

Tour dates:

April
10 – Minneapolis, MN – US Bank Stadium
14 – Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium
18 – Pasadena, CA – Rose Bowl
22 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place
26 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium
30 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field

May
4 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Acrisure Stadium
12 – Landover, MD – Northwest Stadium
16 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
20 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
24 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
28 – Cleveland, OH – Huntington Bank Field

BravePicks 2024 – The Scribes Speak!
Carl Begai

Top 20 Of 2024
1) JUDAS PRIEST – Invincible Shield (Columbia / Epic)
2) ROTTING CHRIST – Pro Xristou (Century Media)
3) NILE – The Underworld Awaits Us All (Napalm)
4) FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – I Am The Weapon (AFM)
5) ENSIFERUM – Winter Storm (Metal Blade)
6) KITTIE – Fire (Sumerian)
7) BODY COUNT – Merciless (Century Media)
8) SEBASTIAN BACH – Child Within The Man (Reigning Phoenix)
9) BRUCE DICKINSON – The Mandrake Project (BMG)
10) AMARANTHE – The Catalyst (Nuclear Blast)
11) EVERGREY – Theories Of Emptiness (Napalm)
12) POWERWOLF – Wake Up The Wicked (Napalm)
13) DARK TRANQUILLITY – Endtime Signals (Century Media)
14) CHARLOTTE WESSELS – The Obsession (Napalm)
15) THE END MACHINE – The Quantum Phase (Frontiers)
16) ANVIL – One And Only (AFM)
17) AD INFINITUM – The Abyss (Napalm)
18) IMPELLITTERI – War Machine (Frontiers)
19) DEVIN TOWNSEND – PowerNerd (InsideOut)
20) HONEYMOON SUITE – Alive (Warner)

Top 5 Concerts
ROTTING CHRIST – Hirsch – Nuremberg, Germany
KAMELOT / AD INFINITUM / BLACKBRIAR / FROZEN CROWN – Turbinenhalle – Oberhausen, Germany
IN FLAMES / ARCH ENEMY / SOILWORK – Schleyerhalle – Stuttgart, Germany
DREAM THEATER – Uber Eats Music Hall – Berlin, Germany
DANKO JONES – E-Werk – Erlangen, Germany

Top 3 Brave Embarrassments
EXIT EDEN – Femmes Fatales (Napalm Records)
It didn’t work the first time, and the addition of original songs alongside the done-to-death covers isn’t a saving grace. Decidedly meh-diocre.

LEAVES’ EYES – Myths Of Fate (AFM Records)
If you’re a fan the album will check all the boxes, but that’s the crux of the matter. Leaves’ Eyes has been a test case for just how badly drama and baggage can harm a band, and since firing founding vocalist Liv Kristine in 2016, the diehard fans that gave them a foundation have abandoned ship in droves. At this point its a miracle the music keeps them afloat at all. Change the name, step up your game.

LINKIN PARK – From Zero (Warner)
I’m all for Emily Armstrong’s entry into the band – she puts in a solid performance – and From Zero would be a fine tribute to the memory of Chester Bennington if not for the soulless production. The band’s trademark sound is intact, but the record is so damn polished that any hint of balls has been smoothed out of existence.

Thoughts On 2024
In late October, I went on a touring vacation through Germany, taking in several concerts (all killer) and meeting up with old music industry friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in years. During a stop in Essen, I met up with former Sodom guitarist Andy Brings, and we spent a solid four hours on a restaurant patio drinking peppermint tea and talking metal. 

A large portion of that conversation was focused on the majesty of Judas Priest’s latest album, Invincible Shield. We were / are both of the mind that it is one of the best metal releases – if not the best – in ages (and it would seem my BraveWords brothers and sisters agree judging by our #1 Brave Pick).  

Invincible Shield is an album that grabs you and takes you on a whirlwind journey, never letting go, never stopping, and your only recourse once it’s over is to hit repeat. It is such an intense and fulfilling experience that it’s easy to forget the previous record, Firepower, was a solid outing. But, in actual fact, it pales in comparison.

Painkiller will forever be the Holy Grail, but if there is one album that left a lasting impression on me in 2024, it’s Invincible Shield. Just like the classic Judas Priest albums of old, but on a much higher plane.

Who / What Needs To Stop In 2025
Grant me one wish and it would be to put an end certain ticketing companies. It has taken a while to catch on, but the obscene concert ticket prices that have plagued Canada and the US for the last few years have now migrated to Europe and beyond. The absolute bullshit of service charges on service charges, fees for using a specific ticket distributors, hidden Fuck The Little Guy costs put into play by the Suits & Ties sipping diet kombucha in their corner offices has to stop. 

Sadly, that’s where politicians need to get involved and lay down new laws, and we know how that often goes when art and entertainment are in the spotlight. It’s an old rant, but I will never understand how things got this far. Whether we choose to blame the ticketing agencies, the promoters, or the artists themselves, the music industry continues to screw itself over by hurting the fans. Don’t blame the War Of The Week for rising costs; blame straight-up greed.

Metal Predictions For 2025
– Gene Simmons will make a point of talking about how much money he makes in every interview he does for the new solo phase of his career.
– Some folks will continue to push for a Skid Row reunion. Stop it.
– We will watch as the frightening influence of AI on music continues to grow, and that should scare the hell out of all of us.

Read our BravePicks 2024 countdown where Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield conquered the throne at #1 here.

More Scribe Speaks:
Mark Gromen
Aaron Small

January 7, 2025, 38 minutes ago

news heavy metal rarities paradise lost y&t five finger death punch def leppard children of bodom autograph

HEAVY BIRTHDAYS  

Happy 45th
Ivan Moody (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) – January 7th, 1980

HEAVY RELEASES

Happy 46th
DEF LEPPARD’s The Def Leppard EP – January 7th, 1979

Happy 22nd 
CHILDREN OF BODOM’s Hate Crew Deathroll – January 7th, 2003

Happy 14th Birthday
AXENSTAR’s Aftermath – January 7th, 2011
LEGION OF THE DAMNED’s Descent Into Chaos – January 7th, 2011

Happy 9th 
AUTOGRAPH’s Louder – January 7th, 2016

Professional opera singer and vocal coach Elizabeth Zharoff, who also hosts the YouTube channel, The Charismatic Voice, continues to explore the world of rock and metal. Join her as she listens to and gives a vocal analysis of the JOurney classic, “Faithfully”.

Elizabeth: “Why was I so sheltered? I swore up and down that I had heard a majority of Journey’s catalogue, but truth be told… I barely seem to know any of their songs – and Steve Perry’s voice is just infectious. So what do we do when I’m craving more?  We listen to more!” 

Elizabeth has previously shared vocal analyses of Metallica, Dream Theater, Rush, Heart, Tenacious D, Sabaton, Motörhead, Ayreon, Faith No More, Black Sabbath, Arch Enemy, Epica, Deep Purple, Myles Kennedy, Scorpions, Heart, Blind Guardian, Devin Townsend, AC/DC, Triumph, Whitesnake, Queen, KISS, Guns N’ Roses, Opeth, The Cult, Powerwolf, Toto, Van Halen and ZZ Top.

Professor Of Rock recently shared the new video below, along with the following message:

“Coming up next, one of the greatest living guitarists, Journey’s Neal Schon, tells the story of two of the ’80s most famous solos: One he played the hell out of, but it was cut from the song ‘Who’s Crying Now’ when it was climbing the charts to the Top 5. But angry fans called radio stations and complained so they put it back in. And another song, ‘Faithfully’, was so inspiring that one of the greatest guitar players and geniuses of the ’80s, Prince, actually called Journey because he had written one of his greatest songs, ‘Purple Rain’, but he was afraid he might’ve subconsciously ripped off the guitar part and asked them if they would listen to it and see. Journey graciously said it was similar, but a whole new song. We have Neal Schon with us to tell the story of these two amazing songs next on Professor of Rock.”

German high-speed power metallers, Sculforge, have released their new single, “Towers” – and no, it’s not just any old single release. Singer and guitarist Polly T. Wood sums it up: 

“This song is a collection of superlatives! It’s our fastest and shortest track ever. But that’s not all because we’ve got an extra gimmick to take even more of your precious time. Our guitarist Fabz, normally lazier than a rock, has taught himself how to program a video game. This means that not only do you get a classic Sculforge DIY video, but you also get to play the very first Sculforge video game. Cheers, legends!”

Get ready to have your ears blown off and master a few levels. You can get into the mayhem at here. Check out the “Towers” video below.

Sculforge recently announced a few live dates for Germany. Their schedule is as follows:

March
15 – R’n’P – Wiesloch, Germany

April
10 – Café Central – Weinheim, Germany
13 – Live Club – Berlin, Germany

Tickets are available here. More shows will be announced soon.

After a small line-up change, Sculforge retirned late last year with a new single and video entitled “The Journey”. The track is available as a digital single on all download and streaming platforms, and at the same time in the form of a brand new video clip, which can be viewed below.

Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has reflected on the one night he played guitar for Ozzy Osbourne.

Skolnick, 56, briefly replaced Zakk Wylde as the guitarist in Osbourne’s solo band in June 1995, but was dismissed from the lineup less than a month later. During his tenure he played one show with the Black Sabbath singer, which took place at Rock City in Nottingham.

Reflecting on his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Osbourne stint in the new issue of Metal Hammer, Skolnick says, “I don’t know why their separation happened, but I guess Zakk was doing other stuff and there was this search for a new Ozzy Osbourne guitarist.”

He continues, “I was just honoured to be in the running because I’d heard about some pretty well-known players that never got past the audition phase. I actually got to the point of doing a show and Ozzy hired me – he said he wanted me to do the gig.

“It was an unannounced show at Nottingham Rock City and it was great.”

Skolnick adds that him not hanging about in Osbourne’s band was likely a “management decision”, but isn’t bitter about it.

“It was a great motivation at a time when I didn’t really know what to do next,” he says. “That was when I enrolled in the university called The New School in New York, and studied with these greats like [jazz musicians] Cecil McBee and Reggie Workman.”

In a 2016 Loudwire interview, Skolnick spoke about the Osbourne concert, revealing that it was repeatedly cancelled and rescheduled at the last minute.

“I heard that we’re doing this unannounced show,” he remembers, “then I heard, ‘We’re not doing the show now because he’s got a sore throat. Oh, we’re doing the show again!’ And it was on and it was off and it was on and it was off.”

He also elaborated about why he didn’t continue with Osbourne after that night, implying it was because of The Prince Of Darkness’ wife/manager Sharon.

“There was one person who didn’t congratulate me [after the gig],” he added. “A lot of hints had been dropped – things like, ‘Maybe you could lower the guitar,’ or, ‘Maybe you could stand like this.’ I realised, ‘Oh, I think she wants me to be Zakk Wylde.’”

Skolnick’s Ozzy membership was during his time away from Testament, whom he left in 1992 but rejoined in 2005. The thrashers are expected to release their next album at some point this year.

As well as the interview with Skolnick, the new Metal Hammer contains conversations with both Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine as the bands gear up for a co-headline world tour. It also details the 50 albums you need to hear in 2025. Order your copy online now and get it delivered directly to your door.

“Like a cross between ABBA, swervedriver and Kraftwerk,” is how Mogwai guitarist Stuart Braithwaite considers the sound of the band’s new single, Fanzine Made Of Flesh, which the band have just shared a new video for.

“Fanzine Made Of Flesh was written in Brooklyn when I was staying at Alex Kapranos’s house in autumn 2023,” Braithwaite explains. “In my head it sounds like a cross between ABBA, swervedriver and Kraftwerk though that might be ludicrous. It originally has a straight vocal but we ended up vocoding it on the last day of recording. It’s pretty different and I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

Fanzine Made Of Flesh is taken from Mogwai’s upcoming new studio album, The Bad Fire, which will be released through Rock Action on January 24 (and through Temporary Residence Ltd. for North/South America).

The new album, the follow-up to 2021’s chart-topping Love Conquers All, was recorded in Lanarkshire, with Grammy Award-winning producer John Congleton, is named after a Scottish colloquialism for Hell, referring to the band’s personal lives at the time of recording.

“We’ve dealt with a lot of loss and in Barry’s case a serious family illness with one his daughters,” the band reveal. “Getting back together to write and record this record felt like a refuge and with John Congleton we feel that we’ve made something special. We often hear from people that our music has helped them get through hard times in their lives and for once I think it applies to us as well.”

Mogwai are set to embark on a world tour in support of the record throughout 2025.

The Bad Fire is available to pre-order and pre-save now in various formats, including vinyl box set, CD box set, black LP, clear vinyl LP, CD and cassette.

Pre-order The Bad Fire.

System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian has responded to claims that Glenn Close once drummed for the nu metal icons.

Onstage at the Golden Globes this weekend, the legendary actress presented the award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Host Nikki Glaser jokingly introduced her, in addition to her status as a three-time Golden Globe winner and decades-spanning box office draw, as a “former drummer for System Of A Down”.

Yesterday (January 6), Malakian ‘confirmed’ Glaser’s comment in an Instagram post.

“Bet you didn’t know!!!! Bet you didn’t know!!!!!” he wrote. “Somewhere between our first drummer [Andy Khachaturian] and John [Dolmayan], Glenn Close was tearing shit up on the drums for us!!!!!”

Malakian’s post also contained video footage of Close’s introduction. Watch below.

System Of A Down released their Rick Rubin-produced debut album in 1998, shortly after Dolmayan replaced Close behind the kit. Its follow-up, 2001’s Toxicity, topped the US Billboard 200 charts and went on to be certified six-time Platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA).

The band went on hiatus in 2006, one year after releasing their Mezmerize and Hypnotize albums, and came back in 2011. They put out double A-side single Genocidal Humanoidz and Protect The Land in 2020, but have otherwise been a live-only band since returning.

In the spring, System Of A Down will headline their first full-length tour since 2018, when they play seven dates across South America. They’ll then co-headline six stadium shows in North America in August and September: two each with Korn, Deftones and Avenged Sevenfold.

There’s seemingly been no progress on a new System Of A Down album, but singer Serj Tankian recently told The Sun what their next record would sound like if they did make it.

“I would say if System ever decided to make a record, it would be a fresh start in a brand new way, in a beautiful new direction,” he said.

Tankian also teased that the band have a few unreleased “hidden gems” in their vault.

As for Close, she’s set to appear in two Netflix productions in 2025: action comedy Back In Action, which stars Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx and comes out on January 17, and Knives Out sequel Wake Up Dead Man.