Weekly Music News 05.10.25
"Alter Bridge" are releasing the second single from their upcoming eighth album, which bears their name and is due out on January 9, 2026, alongside a major tour with "Sevendust" and "Daughtry". The new single, "What Lies Within", follows September's lead single, "Silent Divide", and its message is "a cautionary tale about the darkness within humanity".
"Black Label Society" led by Zakk Wylde have shared a new single and video, "Broken And Blind". Following last year's "The Gallows" and this year's "Lord Humungus", "Broken And Blind" offers another glimpse of the "BLS" album planned for 2026. Believe it or not, Zakk Wylde says: "The song is about peanut butter and chocolate, and what happens when you don't have any... My soul is broken and I'm blind with rage if I don't have peanut butter and chocolate..."
Wow, wow, and wow again!
This week, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson dropped a "nuclear bomb" on us and announced a reunion of "Rush", including a summer 2026 tour called "Fifty Something" that will celebrate the memory of the late, legendary drummer Neil Peart. The tour will visit seven cities in North America (the United States, Canada and Mexico), beginning on June 7 in Los Angeles and ending in September in Cleveland. To fill the place of the late Neil Peart, the two announced the addition of German drummer Anika Nilles, certainly a surprising, brave and unconventional choice. Lee and Lifeson spoke about the emotional difficulty of the decision, especially in the shadow of Peart's loss, and about returning to the stage as a tribute to the legendary drummer. They also announced that several "guests" will join the tour, including a keyboardist who will give Geddy Lee more freedom onstage alongside Alex, so they can fully experience the reunion together. They also say audiences can look forward to a pool of 35 possible songs in a setlist that will change each evening and always include tributes to Neil Peart.
Following the dramatic tour announcement, the band have already added a substantial number of shows due to high demand for tickets. Below is the updated list of shows, with the added dates highlighted in yellow. Tickets go on sale on October 17:
"Loves me, loves me not, loves me, loves me not..." Since yesterday we've been pulling petals from the roses of "Guns N' Roses" and wondering what on earth Axl Rose thinks of us, after the band's October 7, 2025 show in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, where he draped himself in a Palestinian flag bearing the words "I Don't Need Your Civil War". Was the flag thrown to him? Did he understand what he was holding, and did anyone tell him that the war in Gaza is not a "civil war"? Does he understand how unfortunate the timing was? Honestly... we have no idea. What is certain is that from now on we won't be able to listen to this timeless song as we did before... So spare yourselves his shrill performance and skip straight to 7:15 in the video below:
"Believe it, don't believe it, believe it, don't believe it..." We've already been excited and disappointed so many times (almost as often as the announcements of an approaching hostage deal). Since we're already talking about "Guns N' Roses", this week Slash said a new album by "Guns N' Roses" is "on the way" during an interview for "Guitar World". Slash and Duff McKagan returned to the band in 2016, and although they've released several "reworked" tracks from the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, they still haven't released a full album of entirely new music. Slash said: "There's so much material at this point. It's a matter of discipline, sitting down and getting into it... But the thing with Guns is, in my experience, you can never plan ahead... We're going to take that time, and we're going to do it." Slash also shared that the band have a fairly spontaneous creative process, and that everyone in the band has been thinking about releasing a new album. "So it's coming," he promised. "It'll just happen when it happens."
(Photo: Alejandro Melendez)
Guitarist Ace Frehley, who spent most of the year touring to promote his excellent album "10,000 Volts", recently announced that he had to cancel a California show after falling in his home studio. This week he announced that he had canceled his entire remaining 2025 tour. Frehley posted a short statement on social media, saying without sharing details that "due to ongoing medical issues, he has made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of his 2025 tour." We wish Ace good health.
(Photo: guitar-compare.com)
Another member of "Kiss" who needs our wishes for a speedy recovery is Gene Simmons, who crashed into a parked car this week after apparently losing consciousness. Police reported that Simmons crossed several traffic lanes before hitting the parked vehicle. Simmons was discharged from hospital, and his wife said the accident was probably caused by a combination of dehydration and a recent change to his regular medication. So, wishes for a speedy recovery to our dear חיים ויץ as well.
(Photo: Credit : Mark Weiss)
Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is announcing a short tour for "Blackmore’s Night" in the United States. Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, Candice Night, are returning to the stage with their Renaissance-inspired folk show. The East Coast tour begins on November 9 in Virginia and ends on November 29 in New York. It also includes shows in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
(Photo: courtesy of Chipster PR)
The legendary (and wrecked) house from the "Duality" video by "Slipknot" is going up for auction again. For what is probably the band's best-known video, "Slipknot" invited a group of fans to take part in filming. It included a chaotic scene in which the band perform inside a house in West Des Moines while fans smash their way through doors and glass windows, jump from the roof onto parked cars and cause total chaos. According to reports, bids on the house will be accepted as part of an October 14 foreclosure auction.
"Testament" are releasing their 14th album, "Para Bellum", today, their first with drummer Chris Dovas. On January 21, 2022, the band and longtime drummer Gene Hoglan announced on their social media accounts that he had left "Testament" again. About a month later, it was announced that drummer Dave Lombardo had rejoined the band for the North American leg of "The Bay Strikes Back" tour. Later, the band even discussed the possibility of recording a new album with Lombardo, but in April 2023 he announced that he would not join "Testament" on their 2023 tour. He was officially replaced by former "Seven Spires" drummer Chris Dovas, who had filled in for Lombardo at several US shows the previous fall and also recorded the current album with them.
Listen: Spotify
During the week, "Trivium" announced the departure of their drummer of nine years, Alex Bent. Alex posted on Instagram: "I'm grateful for the last nine incredible years with Trivium, filled with unforgettable moments, music and friendships that I'll always carry with me. I'm so proud of every album and tour we've created together." Immediately after the announcement, "Trivium" welcomed Greyson Nekrutman of "Sepultura" as their new drummer. "Sepultura" confirmed that Greyson will return to the band next year and has only "temporarily joined" "Trivium".
Guitarist "John 5" is releasing his 11th album, "Ghost", today. For more than 30 years, John 5 has been one of the most in-demand guitarists on the planet. In addition to being a songwriter and session guitarist, John 5 has played guitar for Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Rob Halford. He has also worked with an impressive range of artists from across music, including k.d. lang, Rod Stewart, David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper and more. In October 2022 he joined "MÖTLEY CRÜE" after Mick Mars decided to retire from touring, and he continues to tour with them, including their Las Vegas shows last month.
Listen: Spotify
"ARCH ENEMY" are releasing the expanded edition of "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)" today, including three bonus tracks, one of which, "Lachrymatory", was previously unreleased. "Blood Dynasty" originally came out in March this year with 11 songs in its original edition.
"Foo Fighters", who surprised us last week with a new live EP, have been looking back quite often recently, apparently to mark their 30th anniversary. Thanks to a devoted fan named Russ C, the band discovered that the video for "Times Like These (U.S. Version)" had never been officially uploaded to YouTube. After locating the video and converting it to HD, they uploaded it this week, accompanied by a post inviting fans to thank Russ and look for themselves in the video:
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