Month: June 2022

Queen plans to share one more track featuring the late Freddie Mercury later this year. Roger Taylor and Brian May revealed the news while speaking with BBC Radio 2 ahead of their Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee concert performance over the weekend.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor said that the song in question was recorded during their sessions for the 1989 album The Miracle. Mercury had sung on the song during sessions in 1988, but when the album was released it was not among those that had made the cut for the record.  Said Taylor: “We did find a little gem from Freddie, that we’d kind of forgotten about. It’s wonderful, actually. It was a real discovery. It’s from The Miracle sessions, and I think it’s going to be out in September.”

May added:  “It was kind of hiding in plain sight. We looked at it many times and thought, ‘Oh no, we can’t really rescue that.’ But in fact, we went in there again and our wonderful engineering team went, ‘OK, we can do this and this.’ It’s like kind of stitching bits together. But it’s beautiful, it’s touching.”

Following Mercury’s death, May and Taylor have continued to keep the band’s music alive, spending five years with Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers fronting their live performances. In 2011, American Idol’s Adam Lambert took over the lead vocals for Queen, and has remained with the group ever since.

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Shinedown has released their latest song, “Daylight,” from the band’s forthcoming album Planet Zero due out July 1st on Atlantic Records.  The group earned a record-breaking 18th No. 1 single with the title track to Planet Zero which dropped earlier this year.

The band will also be hitting the road on The Planet Zero World Tour, kicking-off in Bonner Springs, KS on September 3rd with special guests Jelly Roll and John Harvie. They will also be performing at festivals including Louder Than Life on September 23rd in Louisville, KY and Aftershock on October 9th in Sacramento, CA. The group will also embark on a UK and Europe run with Iron Maiden in June, and Canadian dates with special guests Pop Evil and Ayron Jones in July and August.

Take a listen to “Daylight” – here.

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Anthrax have shared a video for their brand new single “Aftershock”, from their forthcoming 40th anniversary concert package, “XL”. The new package was captured during a special livestream event on July 18th, 2021 at the Los Angeles soundstage/studio. It will be released in North America on July 15th on Blu-Ray/CD/Digital. A Blu-Ray release (including 2CD + 1Blu-Ray) will follow on July 22nd.

Drummer Charlie Benante said:  “Forty years doesn’t feel like 40 years. Sometimes I have to remind myself about how long this strange trip has been. I enjoy playing these songs, they’re such a huge part of my life, and I know for a lot of our fans, they play a big part in theirs as well.”

Said vocalist Joey Belladonna:  “Even though we were performing in a studio with just the crew there, we played that set like we were in front of 50,000 screaming fans. I felt like we made a full-on connection with everyone watching from their homes or wherever, and that they connected with us. It was quite an intense experience.”

Watch the video for “Aftershock” – here.

Anthrax Announce Blu-Ray and CD Release of 40th Anniversary Livestream Concert

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Guitarist Max Karon has rejoined Bad Wolves in place of now-departed guitarist Chris Cain.

Said Bad Wolves: “It’s with great excitement that we announce our new permanent guitar player: Max Karon. The funny thing is that Max isn’t new to us, he started the band with founder John Boecklin in 2014 and was a major writer/player on all three Bad Wolves albums. Being a key ingredient to the Bad Wolves sound, this was a no-brainer decision. There is no other person on this earth that would be a better fit for Bad Wolves than Max.”

Added Karon: “Words can hardly express how thrilled and grateful I am for this opportunity, and how right it feels to be here. Having been part of Bad Wolves since the very beginning, I’m so proud to be joining in full. It’s amazing how far this band has come, and I’m so excited and driven to see how far we can go. I’m looking forward to everything about this new chapter. I’ll see you out there!”

Bad Wolves will return to the road this July in North America to kick off the “Rockzilla” tour with co-headliners Papa Roach and Falling in Reverse, and fellow support act Hollywood Undead. For touring and ticketing info, head here.

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Original Bon Jovi bassist Alec John Such has died at the age of 70. The news was confirmed by Bon Jovi via their social media, who paid tribute to the musician.

The statement read: “We are heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of our dear friend Alec John Such. He was an original. As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band. To be honest, we found our way to each other thru him. He was a childhood friend of Tico [Torres] and brought Richie [Sambora] to see us perform. Alec was always wild and full of life. Today those special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We’ll miss him dearly.”  Details surrounding the cause of Such’s death were not provided.

Such officially exited the band in 1994; Hugh McDonald, who had previously performed with the band on “Runaway,” became the unofficial replacement before being confirmed as a full-time member in 2016. Such is credited on the band’s self-titled debut in 1984, as well as 7800° Fahrenheit in 1985, Slippery When Wet in 1986, New Jersey in 1988 and 1992’s Keep the Faith.  The bassist was with the band in 2018 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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