Nick Barker, who is known for his work with Brujeria, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Lock Up, etc., has shared another health update amid his battle with chronic kidney failure. The drummer “hopes to get a new kidney sometime later this year.”
Barker told Almarok the following:
“Well, as many of you probably know, I went through kidney failure. I’m stage five chronic kidney disease, which means my kidneys have totally failed and I have to have dialysis four times a week for four hours each time. And this is basically what is keeping me alive right now. I’m on the transplant list, so I hope to get a new kidney sometime later this year. And this means that I cannot tour or make music or travel, because of my dialysis schedule. So, I have a GoFundMe page, which helps me, basically because I cannot earn any money because I can’t work anymore. So, it’s for fans to donate anything if they feel like it. And I appreciate all the help from everyone, and I hope to be back playing the drums very, very soon.”
[via Blabbermouth]
During an appearance on the Everblack podcast, Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall discussed the band’s current writing sessions. According to him, the material is “probably the most intense-sounding music that [they’ve] created in a very long time.”
McCall said the following about new music:
“Yeah. That’s what we’re doing right now, writing new stuff… It’s going real good. I’m very excited. It’s gonna be a while. We’re in the writing stage, but at this point in time it’s a very, very awesome writing stage. It’s nice when you do some stuff and you’re, like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna make people’s heads explode.’ When you do something, you kind of sit there and you’re, like, ‘Oh, shit. Okay. Cool.’ [It’s a] nice feeling.”
He continued when asked if the band work separately at home or in a jam space together:
“A bit of both. [We] do stuff at home and then we bring stuff together at our space and just chip away at it. And we’re just rolling on momentum at the moment. While stuff’s going, we just keep working. We’ve got a lot of stuff that we’re working on, like lots of — I’m gonna say material, but by material I just mean melodies and ideas and concepts and riffs and all of that. And we’re just smashing things out, and we just keep rolling, like, ‘Cool. Awesome.’ Just keep the momentum going. Once something’s done, you move on to the next one… Lots of good stuff. Sweet.”
He also discussed the musical direction:
“It’s the most powerful PARKWAY has been in a… Thus far we want it to make an impact, and it’s probably the most intense-sounding music that we’ve created in a very long time, which is great. [Laughs] There’s some stuff where we’re, like. ‘All right. What’s the fastest we’ve played? Let’s play it faster than that.’ [Laughs] ‘Let’s make it the heaviest thing we’ve done.’”
McCall also added the following when asked about the group’s plans for 2026:
“Just writing music. That’s it. Writing music. There’s a few things here and there, but we’re writing music. That’s it. We wanted to have an album written quite some time ago. And the Opera House [career-defining Sydney Opera House show in June 2025, where PARKWAY DRIVE performed alongside a full symphonic orchestra for the one-night-only event] opportunity popped up, so that’s gonna be coming. We’ve got the live Opera House album is gonna be dropping, as well as the film for it will be hitting cinemas. And the live album sounds absolutely mental — like fucking mental, man. I got the masters back for it a couple of days ago and I was, like, ‘Holy shit.’ So I’m very excited for people to hear that, ’cause for the people that weren’t in the room at that point in time — even for the people that were in the room, who would’ve just been hit by shock and awe for two and a half hours, it’s absolutely stunning. So I’m really, really proud of that. So that will be coming. And we’re still working another album at the same time. So you’re gonna get some new PARKWAY things.”
[via Blabbermouth]
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) has announced a European/UK tour. Here’s the dates:
06/04 Solvesborg, SWE – Sweden Rock Festival
06/04 Nurnberg, GER – Rock im Park
06/06 Nurburg, GER – Rock am Ring
06/08 Berlin, GER – SO36
06/09 Warsaw, POL – Klub Stodola
06/11 Nickelsdorf, AUT – Nova Rock
06/12 Hradec Kralove, CZE – Rock For People
06/14 Castle Donington, UK – Download Festival
06/15 London, UK – Electric Brixton
06/16 Paris, FRA – Bataclan
06/18 Dessel, BEL – Graspop Metal Meeting
06/20 Clisson, FRA – Hellfest
06/22 Nijmegen, NET – Doornroosje
06/24 Copenhagen, DEN – Copenhell Festival
06/26 Oslo, NOR – Tons Of Rock
06/27 Bilbao, SPA – BBK Music Legends Festival
Shinedown’s Barry Kerch has blasted Ludacris for pulling out of Kid Rock’s Rock The Country Festival. The rapper reportedly cancelled his appearance after facing backlash for performing alongside right-wing artists like Rock, Jason Aldean, and more. However, according to Kerch, it was “coward” move.
Kerch told The Vinyl Road podcast the following after being asked if Shinedown have faced backlash for their decision to take part in the festival:
“There’s been tons. The knives come out when they don’t like it, especially now politically. And we are an apolitical band. But the knives have come out. It’s crazy. And to be honest, I had no idea, and neither did Brent [Smith] — I think Zach [Myers] maybe had a clue — I had no idea this was Kid Rock’s thing. It was just, ‘Hey, here’s an offer. It looks like a cool lineup, and it’s a mix of country and rock. Okay, we’ll play it.’ We took the offer and played it, and then all of a sudden we find out, ‘Oh, this has got some political leaning to it.’
I don’t care. I’m just gonna go play a show. I really, really don’t care. You can keep your politics to yourself. I have no opinion one way or the other on Kid Rock. I love his music. This is about music. Ludacris wasn’t tough… I mean, it’s not like he needs the money, Jeez. If he’s not tough enough to stick it out, that’s just silly. That’s him being a coward, in my opinion.”
He continued when asked if Shinedown would ever scrap a festival appearance for political reasons:
“I would hope not, but [Shinedown] is a democracy. There’s four of us to vote. My vote would be no, but if three of the other guys vote against it, then, again, it’s a democracy. I can’t change their vote. But I would hope not. ‘Cause I like to stick by my grounds. And listen, I don’t do politics when it comes to the business of Shinedown. I have my own beliefs. I keep those to myself, and so do the other three guys. I just wanna go play a rock show with some country bands ’cause it looks like fun.”
[via Blabbermouth]
Weedeater and Conan have announced a spring U.S. tour. You can find the dates for that run below.
Tour Dates:
03/30 Louisville, KY – Green Lantern
03/31 Murfreesboro, TN – Hop Springs
04/01 Atlanta, GA – 529
04/02 Orlando, FL – Conduit
04/03 Pensacola, FL – Handlebar
04/04 Houston, TX – Bad Astronaut
04/07 Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit
04/08 Hollywood, CA – The Whisky A Go Go
04/09 San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
04/10 Portland, OR – Nova PDX
04/11 Eugene, OR – John Henry’s
04/12 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04/14 Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High
04/15 Denver, CO – Marquis
04/16 Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
04/17 Rock Island, IL – Wake Brewing Co.
04/18 Flint, MI – Machine Shop
04/19 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall
04/20 Brattleboro, VT – Stone Church
04/21 Providence, RI – Alchemy
04/22 Brooklyn, NY – Monarch
04/23 Boston, MA – Sonia
04/25 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
04/26 Harrisonburg, VA – Gold Pony
04/27 Greensboro, NC – The Pyrle
Suicidal Tendencies have officially recruited Xavier Ware as their new drummer. He will be replacing Jay Weinberg, who recently exited the group.
The band issued the following statement:
“We’re SToked to introduce you to X, the new SxTx drummer! Breedxdrums
X has already recorded some tracks for the new Cyco Miko album and is ready to officially jump on board with ST STarting with the ShipRocked Cruise.
This will be ST’s 3rd time doing ShipRocked and each time keeps getting better.
Looking forward to seeing you there and or any of the shows/ festivals coming this year.So please welcome X and look out for lots of new annoucements coming soon from ST and the Cyco Family for 2026 and beyond!”
Metal Anarchy 
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