Month: December 2025

Perry Archangelo Bamonte, The Cure’s longtime guitarist and keyboardist, has died following a short, undisclosed illness at the age of 65.

The band confirmed Bamonte’s death on their website Friday, writing: “It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas. Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of the Cure story. ‘Looking after the band’ from 1984 through 1989, he became a full time member of the Cure in 1990, playing guitar, six string bass and keyboard on the Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, Acoustic Hits and The Cure albums, as well as performing more than 400 shows over 14 years. He rejoined the Cure in 2022, playing another 90 shows, some of the best in the band’s history, culminating with the show of a Lost World concert in London 1st November 2024. Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.”

Bamonte worked with the band in various roles from 1984 to 1989, including as roadie and guitar tech, a well as serving as a personal assistant and technician for frontman Robert Smith. He officially joined the band in 199 (when keyboardist Roger O’Donnell quit) and became a full-time member of the group, playing guitar, six-string bass and keyboard — until he was let go in 2005 by Smith, who was reconfiguring the Cure as a trio.

In 2019,  he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band; and in 2022, he joined the Cure on their ‘Shows of a Lost World’ tour.  He was also expected to perform with the band in 2026.

Bamonte is survived by his wife, Donna.

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O.A.R. will embark on the O.A.R. Three Decades Tour in 2026, with the North American run celebrating the band’s three-decade career and a lineup of special guests including Gavin DeGraw, Phantom Planet, Lisa Loeb, and KT Tunstall.

The milestone tour kicks-off June 19th in Vail, CO at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, traveling across the country before wrapping up November 15 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL.  In celebration of the tour announcement, O.A.R. released the new single “Where We Are Right Now,” stream: HERE.

Frontman Marc Roberge shared: “When we started playing songs together in a basement in Rockville, Maryland in 1996 we had big dreams of being a real deal touring band. We imagined playing our songs throughout the country, living life on the road, telling our stories to the world. The fact that we’ve gotten to live that life for the last 30 years is a testament to the power of our audience. This tour is our way of saying thank you – to every fan who made our dreams come true. We can’t wait to see each and every one of you out there on the Three Decades Tour.”

In addition, O.A.R. celebrated the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album ‘Stories of a Stranger’ this year with Stories Of A Stranger 20th Anniversary Edition, featuring four bonus tracks. The special edition also features their hit singles like “Love and Memories,” “Lay Down,” and “Heard the World.”

The reissue is available in 2 LP and digital formats, with the vinyl housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Alongside the standard vinyl edition, an exclusive Cloud Swirl color pressing will be available via the band’s official store.  Fans can also bundle a commemorative tee, poster & sticker set, created just for the 20th anniversary edition.

For ticketing and tour information, head to: www.liveoar.com.

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Puscifer have announced their fifth album titled Normal Isn’t, marking their first full-length project since 2020’s Existential Reckoning.

The outfit will release Normal Isn’t on Feb. 6, and are previewing the 11-song project by releasing the video for its lead single “Self Evident”, filmed during a special August performance at Exchange L.A., where the group previewed the album in full. Watch the “Self Evident” video – HERE.

Frontman Maynard James Keenan shared in a press release that Normal Isn’t will delve into Puscifer’s collective post-punk influences, blending their dark electronics and gallows humor with more aggressive, guitar-driven sounds: “We’re definitely leaning into our early influences. It’s the place where goth meets punk. It’s where I came from.”  Of the album’s lyrical content, Keenan added: “‘Normal Isn’t’ reflects this time we are living in. As storytellers and artists, our job is to observe, interpret and report. We take in our environment and share what we see, and what we see around us does not appear normal. Not by a long shot.”

The band wrote the album while touring in support of last year’s Sessanta EP. Puscifer guitarist and co-producer Mat Mitchell said: “From the outset, we had discussed an element of rawness and edge, which guitar brings,” We got rid of the guard rails and made the music more aggressive.”

Puscifer will also embark on a North American tour in 2026, kicking-off March 20 with stops in Dallas, Boston, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco, and more before concluding on May 14 in Los Angeles. Comedian-musician Dave Hill will provide support on tour. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.

For addiitonal info head to: www.puscifer.com.

Preorder Normal Isn’t: HERE.

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Kings of Leon surprise released their first new EP in 20 years, simply titled EP #2.  The new EP follows the band’s most recent album, Can We Please Have Fun, which dropped in 2024.

The EP includes four new tracks, titled ‘All The Little Sheep’, ‘To Space’, ‘Pit To The Ring’, and ‘The Wolf’, and follows their recent collaborations with Zach Bryan, “We’re Onto Something” and “Bowery.”

The new four-track project marks the Tennessee band’s first independent release on their own label, Love Tap Records, via Virgin Music.

The band will also perform two New Year’s Eve shows to close out 2025. Kings of Leon: Live in Las Vegas will run December 30-31, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Head HERE for ticket information.

Stream ‘EP #2’ – HERE.

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As Megadeth prepare to release their final, self-titled studio album on January 23, the metal legends have released the video for their latest single “Let There Be Shred!” Directed by Keith Leman, the video features frontman Dave Mustaine participating in a mixed martial arts battle alongside live performance footage; check it out – HERE.

Mustaine said in a statement: “When Megadeth started we said we would be fast and furious … we said so on the flyers we handed out. This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one. It’s the second video from the new record that we made with Keith [Leman], who also directed ‘I Don’t Care.’ It was a blast to make and it’s a tribute to my first Sensei, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez and my Professor, Reggie Almieda. Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!”

Megadeth is gearing up for a busy start to the New Year, with a number of events leading up to the album’s release, as well as their final tour. The cinematic event ‘Megadeth: Behind the Mask’ will debut on screens worldwide Thursday, January 22nd (one day before the album’s January 23rd release); and the group will be holding an exclusive, day-long immersive celebration, Let There Be Shred: The Ultimate Megadeth Immersive Listening Event on Saturday, January 17th, in La Vergne, TN, just outside Nashville. The band will host fans for look inside their world, that will offer attendees the opportunity to get closer to the band, the music, the stories, and their legacy.

The band will embark on a multi-year final tour, named This Was Our Life World Tour, in 2026. The band will head to Canada early in the year for a string of dates, starting on February 15th in Victoria and wrapping on March 6th in Québec City. The group will follow with a Latin American run set for the spring. Megadeth will also support Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives Tour throughout North America in August 2026. Anthrax will support select dates.

The group previously released the track Tipping Point, as well as the video for I Don’t Care, from their upcoming final project.

Preorder the album – HERE.

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Iron Maiden has shared details for the North American leg of their ‘Run for Your Lives Tour’ across stadiums and major amphitheaters throughout the United States and Canada in celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary.

The heavy metal legends will make stops in Toronto, Montreal, Harrison, Boston, Bristow, Charlotte, Hershey, Louisville, Shakopee, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Antonia between August 29 and September 28, which includes a headlining gig at Louder Than Life, the nation’s biggest rock festival, on September 17, 2026 at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky.  Megadeth and Anthrax will serve as support in Montreal, Harrison, Los Angeles and San Antonio, with just Megadeth opening the remaining shows.

Singer Bruce Dickinson shared: “This whole tour has been such great fun. I really enjoy belting out all these great old songs, and the whole band are loving playing them too! We’ve got all the big ones from that early period including Hallowed, Run To The Hills, Trooper, Number Of The Beast, Killers, Powerslave, 2 Minutes… and some of them we haven’t played in the US for over 20 years!! Plus there’s some real epics including my particular favourite ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ and Seventh Son… We are doing them all and more. I mean, who wouldn’t for a 50th birthday party!”

Bassist Steve Harris added: “We are greatly looking forward to bringing this Run for Your Lives Tour to North America and hope the fans enjoy seeing the show and hearing the set list as much as we do playing it. It’s an added bonus to have a few of our good friends on the tour with us. MEGADETH are playing all the shows and it’s an honour to have them join us on their last ever tour. We also have Anthrax with us on the bigger shows, we had a great time with them when they came out with us on Ed Force One around the world in 2016. We’re delighted to have both bands with us for this tour and know our fans will enjoy seeing them.”

For ticket information, head HERE.

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