Entertainment

During a recently appearance on “That Jamieson Show”, legendary heavy metal drummer Vinny Appice spoke about how his first name ended up getting misspelled as “Vinnie” in the credits on the back of his first album with BLACK SABBATH, 1981’s “Mob Rules”. “I’ve got some gold records and things on the wall that are spelled that way too — V-I-N-N-I-E,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “But if you look at that album, I’m first listed. I don’t know why. They put me first. Then, on the next album, the band was starting to break up. And this has nothing to do with me; this was between Ronnie [James Dio, vocals], Geezer [Butler, bass] and Tony [Iommi, guitar] why the band was breaking up. And on the next albu...

QUEEN‘s 1981 “Greatest Hits” collection, which was recently re-released for its 40th anniversary, could return to the No. 1 position on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart for the first time in four decades. “Greatest Hits” currently has a sales advantage of more than 3,500 copies over its closest competitor. More than 80% of its sales total comes from physical retail. First released in 1981, “Greatest Hits” stands alone as the first and only album to have sold over six million copies in the U.K. (6.75 million sales to date), with global sales in excess of 25 million. Added to that, in the U.K., the collection has now spent over 900 weeks on the album chart and has been certified a staggering 22 times platinum. According to the Official Charts C...

It has been nearly 50 years since Neal Schon, then not yet 20, co-founded the band that would come to be called JOURNEY. And almost 50 years later he knows that somewhere at this very moment, someone is singing at the top of their lungs a song he played on, sang on, probably co-wrote, too. A song that climbed the charts like King Kong atop the Empire State Building; a song that ruled radio like a benevolent monarch. A first-dance song. A first-kiss song. A lighters-in-the-sky song. Merely mentioning the title of a JOURNEY song is enough to summon a half-forgotten remembrance that roars back like an old friend or a lost love. “Wheel In The Sky”. “Lights”. “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'”. “Patiently”. “Stone In Love”. R...

Canadian prog-metal stalwarts VOIVOD have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help them finance their official documentary film. From unlikely origins in northern Québec at the height of the Cold War, VOIVOD‘s post-apocalyptic sci-fi aesthetic fueled by a youthful obsession with their instruments took them from underground success to sharing tours and stages with IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and METALLICA. There were, of course, high and lows throughout those 40 years, from major-label support and Billboard recognition to seismic lineup changes and an event many critics claimed to be the end of VOIVOD: the death of co-founding guitarist and composer Dennis “Piggy” D’Amour. VOIVOD has now joined forces with metal film director Felipe Belalcázar to make the band’s official ...

The new, self-titled album from the reunited expanded classic lineup of German power metallers HELLOWEEN has landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. All chart entries: Germany: #1 Spain: #1 Finland: #1 (physical) + #2 (overall) Sweden: #1 (physical) + #3 (overall) UK: #1 (rock) + #24 (overall) Switzerland: #2 Austria: #3 Scotland: #4 France: #5 (physical) + #15 (overall) Czech Republic: #5 Portugal: #5 Italy: #5 (physical) + #14 (overall) Japan: #6 Australia: #8 (physical) + 135 (overall) Belgium: #11 Netherlands: #12 Poland: #13 Slovakia: #29 Norway: #36 USA: #58 (Billboard Top Albums) + #3 (Current Hard Music) The cover artwork for “Helloween” was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously wo...

In a new interview with Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind, Yngwie Malmsteen was asked if he and legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio ever tried to collaborate on original music. He responded: “Ronnie and I had many late-night talks about that. We knew that we were both too hard-headed and born leaders. I think we would have complemented each other well. We had such mutual respect for each other. “The first time I ever saw him perform was with RAINBOW when I was a little kid in 1976,” he continued. “I go way back with him. When I played with STEELER, he used to come and check me out all the time. I don’t know what he was thinking at the time. “We played on stage together and in the studio more than once,” Yngwie added. “It was always gre...

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary on Sunday, July 4. Sharon commemorated the occasion by sharing two photos of her and her husband from their wedding day, and she wrote in an accompanying message: “Thank you for 39 years. For the most incredible life together. The crazy, wonderful and insane times. Yes, pain and sorrow too, but we got through it. We worked so hard for years professionally and personally. We succeed together. You are my soul, my life. What a fantastic life we have lived so far, the best thing is there’s more to come. Every day is an adventure, every day I love you more and respect you more. My soulmate, my love and my friend here’s to our next adventure! Love you always.” Ozzy added in a separate post: “Happy Anniversary My...