I’m a member of the KISS Army. Loud and proud. Not the proverbial KISS Army, either. I’m enlisted. Despite my years of work for and alongside the band, I paid the fee and got the t-shirt, pin and membership package to gain first on-sale access to tickets for the band’s final show, December 2 at Madison Square Garden. This is where many people will insert their cookie cutter cynicism and cliche cracks about KISS commercialism and how this whole End Of The Road Tour is just the latest in a long line of empty retirement promises and ticket selling gimmicks. Go ahead, I’ll wait... Trust me, I feel ..read more

It's a sad day for Dream Theater and their fans. Former vocalist Charlie Dominici, who sang on the the prog-metal veterans' 1989 debut album, has passed away at age 72. The singer's death was confirmed in a memorial post by his former bandmates, who revealed they were "devastated" by the "unexpected" news, and warmly hailed Dominici's contributions to the Dream Theater legacy. "We are devastated to hear the news of the passing of former Dream Theater singer, Charlie Dominici," the band wrote on Instagram. "Charlie was the voice of DT on our debut album, When Dream And Day Unite, recorded ..read more

Last month, heavy-metal titans Judas Priest announced their first new album in six years, Invincible Shield, and dropped the ripping lead single "Panic Attack." Today, they're back with a second single, the epic "Trial by Fire." Once again, Rob Halford's voice sounds powerful as ever, and the rest of the band are firing on all cylinders. But in contrast to "Panic Attack," "Trial by Fire" represents a more slow-burning, dynamic approach for Priest, and features sci-fi synthesizer licks to complement the group's signature dual-guitar attack. The follow-up to 2018's acclaimed Firepower, Inv ..read more

Former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony have teamed with guitar shredder Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham for The Best of All Worlds tour scheduled for 2024. Satriani notably recorded and played with Hagar and Anthony in the supergroup Chickenfoot, while Bonham performs with the singer and. bassist in the Circle. "It's crazy to think that it'll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the '04 Best of Both Worlds tour," the Red Rocker commented. "With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We're going to touch on some h ..read more

This past summer, Pantera and Lamb of God linked up for a North American tour that marked the newly-reactivated Cowboys From Hell's first U.S. headlining tour in over two decades. Now, the two bands have revealed they will be uniting next year for round two. Throughout February of next year, Pantera and Lamb of God will be trekking through many U.S. cities — including NYC, Nashville and Baltimore — and a few locations up in Canada. The tour kicks off in Sunrise, FL, on February 3rd and carries on throughout the month before wrapping up February 27th in Quebec City. Notably, the itinerary inclu ..read more

When it comes to heavy metal, the Grammy Awards are best known for somehow honoring Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave over Metallica's ...And Justice for All with the first-ever Hard Rock/Metal Performance award in 1989 — and the Recording Academy's track record isn't much better since then. Even so, metalheads are still interested to see who the block of voters consider every new year's premier crop of heavy-music makers. Today (November 10th), the nominees for the 66th annual Grammys have been announced, and there's actually a diverse range of acts competing for the tit ..read more

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Piece of Mind, Iron Maiden have partnered with award-winning publisher Z2 to bring the landmark heavy-metal album to book form. Available November 21st, Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind is packed with comics, art and testimonials from acclaimed writers, artists, actors and musicians — and Metal Edge has an exclusive "The Trooper" edition featuring cover art by J.G. Jones (Y: The Last Man) and limited to 500 worldwide. Opening with an introduction titled "Piece of Mind at 40" by Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind features original stor ..read more

Bruce Dickinson sounds heavier than ever on the new teaser clip of "Afterglow of Ragnarok," the lead single from the Iron Maiden belter's first solo LP in nearly 20 years. A couple months back, Dickinson announced that he'd be releasing The Mandrake Project in 2024, which will mark his first non-Maiden album since 2005's Tyranny of Souls. Dickinson confirmed his return to longtime collaborator, guitarist-producer Roy Z, for the album, and today (November 6th) he's formally announced its first single and dropped a heavy-as-hell teaser. The 10-second clip features chugging guitars ..read more

Scorpions have announced their return to the Vegas Strip with a 2024 headlining residency show commemorating the 40th anniversary of their smash album, Love at First Sting. The band will be playing that classic record in full, plus more of their biggest hits.  "Scorpions - Love at First Sting Las Vegas" is set to kick off on Thursday, April 11th at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The new show follows the Scorps' "Sin City Nights" residency, which sold out all nine performances at the same venue last year. Scorpions singer Klaus Meine commented: "We're very ..read more

Mötley Crüe icon Mick Mars has released his debut solo single, "Loyal to the Lie." It's the guitarist's first music since his headline-making acrimonious split with Crüe, and it's the first taste of Mars' forthcoming solo album, The Other Side of Mars. “I wanted to do something that was just big and mean,” Mars commented. "People are going to hear my tone — my sound. I am what I am. Nobody else can do it. And like everyone, I’ve got a limited number of years. So, I'm gonna do all I can to do a lot of stuff. "When it comes to my playing, there’s the Mötley side and the Mars side. Eit ..read more