“It is with great sorrow and pain that we say goodbye to our friend, family and overall great person. Jorge Caicedo, our bass player, has passed away this morning with family by his side. We are devastated beyond belief. This past tour was bittersweet, but I’m glad I hung onto all the memories real tight. We all knew what we was struggling with, but kept his condition private. Watching him enjoy himself last year was a gift that I’m proud we were able to give him. I’ll leave you with this image of Jorge chatting with RJ from Luicidal/Suicidal. He was so happy. That smile is how I will remember him from now on. RIP brother, RENEPALM“
During a recent interview with Spin, ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) opened about his relationship with the band’s guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. According to him, he “really [does] love those guys.”
Mustaine had the following to say when asked about Megadeth’s decision to record a cover of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning” for their upcoming album:
“It was to complete the circle and pay respect to my partners, James and Lars, and make clear that, to anybody that has any doubts, I believe that James is an exceptional guitar player, and that Lars is an exceptional songwriter. I’ve always thought that. It wasn’t doing a cover song, because I wrote it with James and it was our creation.
One thing I’ve always believed is when you do a song from someone else — even if it’s your band from an earlier time period — do it as good or better. We were thinking of songs we were going to do, and our management said, ‘Why don’t you do ‘Ride The Lightning’?’ At first, I thought people will think that’s kind of strange for me to do that. We talked about it a little bit, and it just became clearer that it was a good idea. We sped it up just a teeny bit, and we made sure that we beefed up a couple of the parts.”
He also added the following about his current relationship with Hetfield and Ulrich:
“James and I were talking about something, and I said, ‘Well, there’s your version, there’s my version, and then there’s the truth. I believe that the truth is the only one that’s accurate, because I don’t really remember everything.’ And he had said, ‘We don’t remember stuff and we’d like to go over it.’
We’re constantly working on improving our relationship, me and James and Lars. I really do love those guys. That’s why we fought so much — it was that I missed them. And the idea of leaving the band, it was just hard to fathom.
You try and put things into perspective as you get a little bit older. I think about where I am at in my journey: I’m on the backside of the mountain, and I want to make sure that every day counts and that the people that I encounter, that I’m not obnoxious to them if they don’t deserve it. If they deserve it, man, you got it coming, and here it comes.”
Sacred Reich, Incantation, and Dawn Of Ouroboros have been added to this year’s Milwaukee Metal Fest. As previously reported, that event will take place at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI on June 5-7. A pre-party is also set for June 4.
Here’s the updated lineup:
June 5:
Acid Bath
Obituary
Agalloch (retrospective set)
Iron Reagan
Incantation
Pallbearer
Hirax
Nunslaughter
Master
Morta Skuld
Polkadot Cadaver
Dawn Of Ouroboros
Dusk
Jeffrey Nothing
Cardiac Arrest
Thanatotic Desire
Eyes Of The Living
Misery
Dirt
June 6:
Killswitch Engage
Suicidal Tendencies
Power Trip
Agalloch (“Ashes Against The Grain” Set)
After The Burial
NAILS
Armored Saint
Sacred Reich
Havok
Prong
Macabre
Weekend Nachos
Internal Bleeding
Belushi Speed Ball
Sworn Enemy
Castrator
Casket Robbery
Human Artifacts
Brick By Brick
Threnody
The Suffering
Striking 13
June 7:
Ministry
John Bush (Anthrax set)
All Shall Perish
Integrity
UADA
Cyco Miko
Waking The Cadaver
Deadguy
Visceral Disgorge
Incite
9 Dead
Gored Embrace
Lecherous Nocturne
The Crosses (performing Die Kruezen)
Dead By Wednesday
Texas Toast Chainsaw Massacre
Trip To The Morgue
Dark Horse Prophet
Green Day will be performing during the opening ceremony at this year’s Super Bowl. That event will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on February 8. The band’s set is expected to feature a medley composed of their greatest hits.
Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong commented:
“We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard! We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”
Tim Tubito, the NFL’s senior director of event and game presentation, added:
“Celebrating 60 years of Super Bowl history with Green Day as a hometown band, while honoring the NFL legends who’ve helped define this sport, is an incredibly powerful way to kick off Super Bowl LX. As we work alongside NBC Sports for this opening ceremony, we look forward to creating a collective celebration for fans in the stadium and around the world.”
In other news, Green Day will also be playing a pre-Super Bowl concert with Counting Crows at Pier 29 in San Francisco, CA on February 6. That invite-only show will be sponsored by FanDuel and Spotify.
Poison’s Rikki Rockett is planning to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Look What The Cat Dragged In” during a tour with his Rockett Mafia project. This news comes after the drummer recently revealed that Poison’s touring plans were scrapped due to a financial dispute. Rockett commented:
“Playing Poison’s first album with The Rockett Mafia is a full-circle moment for me. It’s raw, it’s fun, and it’s exactly how those songs were meant to be heard. Celebrating the 40th anniversary is really about giving the fans a chance to relive that moment with us.”
Time for the next edition of Metal Anarchy’s “new music showcase,” the feature where I introduce you to bands that readers of this site may find interesting. This time I have a Q&A with Alun Davies of Before The Sirens.
METAL ANARCHY: Tell me a little about your band:
DAVIES: Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Alun from Before the Sirens, a classic metalcore band from Hertfordshire, UK. We’ve been playing together in various bands since we were at school (so in some cases nearly 30 years!) but have been playing in this band together since 2021. We have previously been called a classic metalcore band and to be honest this is the closest definition I have heard when trying to place us in a genre. But we have been described as heavy metal, melodic metalcore, hard rock and, my personal favourite, the heaviest rock band you will ever hear!
METAL ANARCHY: Who are your main influences?
DAVIES: Our music stems from our influences in early 2000s metalcore and those ‘Kerrang’ era Nu-Metal bands that form the foundation of our sound. We list ourselves as ‘for fans of Killswitch Engage, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin & Metallica’.
METAL ANARCHY: What is your latest release and why should readers of this site check it out?
DAVIES: Our new EP ‘As It Is Above, So It Is Below’ is released in December last year. We really feel like this EP builds on the sonic foundation laid by (our debut EP) Desolate Seas & Darkened Skies. The new EP feels like a step up for us in terms of musical ambition. If you like your music heavy with plenty of hook laden riffs, buckets of vocal melody and s good smattering of vicious breakdowns, this might just be worth a listen.
METAL ANARCHY: What can people expect when they go to your live shows?
DAVIES: We love playing live together and we hope that is infectious when people come out to see us at a show. But we are there to have a good time and to entertain, so in amongst the unbelievably loud heavy music we play, we bring a lot of humour and positive energy.
METAL ANARCHY: Where do you see your band heading in 5 years?
DAVIES: We’ll continue to write the music we love writing. Our predominant agenda with this band is enjoy making the music we want to make. It’s heavy, it’s aggressive, it’s got bucket loads of melody in the vocals, but it has to sound like us. To be honest, we want to continue to be the band we are and get out on the road to see as many of you as possible as that is where we are at our best.
Metal Anarchy 
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