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LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia has explained the band's decision to take part in an initiative dubbed "L'Ultimo Concerto?" (Last Concert) to highlight the increasingly uncertain future of music venues. Instead of delivering live performances as part of a scheduled free virtual stream on Saturday, February 27, each of around 130 Italian artists was filmed taking the stage at a different venue and then standing there in silence as a way of commemorating the one-year mark since the first Italian venues closed. Earlier today (Sunday, February 28), LACUNA COIL's social media was updated with a video message from Cristina, in which she said: "I know that a lot of you guys have been connecting to the web site ultimoconcerto.it expecting a live concert that never happened. What you saw was a video of us entering the venue Alcatraz in Milano and standing still on the stage, looking at an empty club. What we did was taking part in an Italian strike, and I'm here explaining it in English because a lot of you guys probably couldn't read what was written on the web site and couldn't figure out that this event was already really strange from the beginning, because more than 120 Italian bands playing from different clubs at the same time was already something very unusual — let alone the fact that we never really promoted it, we never really talked about it, we never reposted some of your posts, and if you think about [LACUNA COIL's September 2020] 'Live From The Apocalypse' [virtual concert], we always did that. "Of course, we couldn't say anything, because the purpose was to make noise," she continued. "So I absolutely understand your frustration, I absolutely understand your anger, and believe me, all of us [in] LACUNA COIL wanted to be on that stage to play a real concert for you. What you have to understand, though, [is] it is not easy to organize a concert, and there are costs behind [it] that you cannot imagine. So the point of the Italian strike that happened yesterday was to bring attention to the fact that clubs have been closed for a year because of the pandemic, and we don't know when they are gonna be reopening again. So I want to thank you guys, because even with your angry messages, even with your disappointment, you helped us to scream even louder. "Some of you guys wrote, it is useless to 'attack' or 'use the fans,' which is something that we never did intentionally. Well, think about the fact that the band is followed by a lot of journalists as well, so your angry comments are even more helping the music scene, because people will see this and will see that music without live clubs is missing a huge part. "So I'm here to thank you guys and to tell you that we're really hurt by some of the comments, but we know that this will be worth it," Scabbia added. "So we want to thank you. "[We'll] hopefully see you in a real club, in a real show very, very soon. And thank you for the understanding. We] love you guys." Organized by KeepOn Live, Arci, Assomusica and Live DMA, the "L'Ultimo Concerto?" campaign was announced last month when the venues shared images on social media of their year of foundation and the year 2021 with a question mark, suggesting that their closures due to the coronavirus pandemic could be permanent. Between March and June 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown by restricting people's movements to contain the pandemic. Thus, museums and cinemas closed and all cultural events were either canceled or rescheduled. Around 300,000 people working in theaters, music venues, cinemas and cultural spaces in Italy have been rendered jobless since they shut their doors due to the coronavirus crisis. Earlier on Saturday, Italy announced it was tightening restrictions in five of the country's 20 regions in an effort curb the spread of the coronavirus. There have been more than 2.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 97,500 deaths in Italy since the pandemic began. It is the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. ‼️ Important message from us ‼️ Please watch. Thank you L'Ultimo Concerto Alcatraz - Milano Posted by Lacuna Coil on Sunday, February 28, 2021

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, Todd La Torre, who has fronted QUEENSRŸCHE for nearly a decade, was asked how his appreciation of the band's music has changed now that his is also one of its curators. He responded (hear audio below): "I don't know that it has changed. I think that I have a unique perspective in that as a fan of the band before I joined the band, I think I have a good gauge for what the audience appreciates and really wants to hear from QUEENSRŸCHE. There were many years where the band's sound changed, and so being in the band, I really appreciate the greatness of especially those first five records that the band did and getting to know the people and the personalities that were behind those creations. But I don't know that I appreciate it much more, because just good music is good music. I just think I have a different perspective, moving forward, as to what QUEENSRŸCHE fans love and wanna hear as we create new music." The original lineup of QUEENSRŸCHE — singer Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield — achieved multi-platinum success with its 1990 album "Empire", which included the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit "Silent Lucidity". QUEENSRŸCHE underwent several lineup changes in the last 25 years, the most notable one being when then-CRIMSON GLORY vocalist Todd La Torre replaced Tate in 2012. To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released three studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche" (2013), "Condition Hüman" (2015) and "The Verdict" (2019). Currently the band is writing new material for a fourth release for Century Media Records. Todd's debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", was released on February 5 via Rat Pak Records. Todd created the LP with his songwriting partner Craig Blackwell and producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris. La Torre joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, with Toddeventually joining CRIMSON GLORY as the group's new vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013.

THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan "Dexter" Holland and guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman spoke to the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X about the band's upcoming tenth studio album, "Let The Bad Times Roll", which will arrive on April 16 via Concord Records. The follow-up to 2012's "Days Go By" was once again produced by Bob Rock, who also worked on the band's last two LPs. Asked if they think the "Let The Bad Times Roll" title track is the "most outwardly political song" in THE OFFSPRING's discography, Dexter said: "I don't consider us a political band, I'll say that first. And when you're talking about 'Let The Bad Times Roll', there really is a personal side of this [coronavirus crisis] — there's a personal cost to people that can't work or have gotten sick or have lost relatives and all that stuff. So it affects different people in different ways." Added Noodles: "We try to ask questions. It could be about society, about personal relationships, or it could be about what we see happening in the world. In this case, it's what we see happening in the world on both the political stage and on the personal stage. So it's more kind of an expression of ideas that pose a question. At least that's what we're hoping for — rather than try to tell people what to think." Continued Dexter: "When you say the word 'political,' that sounds like you're gonna try to force your opinion about something on someone, and that's not what we're trying to do at all. We're making observations and leaving it up to you to make your own conclusions." Holland, Wasserman, drummer Pete Parada and new bassist Todd Morse wrote and recorded "Let The Bad Times Roll" in the last few years at various locations, including the band's studio in Huntington Beach, California. In December, THE OFFSPRING released the official music video for its Rock-produced cover version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a rock song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album "A Christmas Gift For You" from Phil Spector. Last April, THE OFFSPRING jumped on the "Tiger King" bandwagon by recording a cover version of THE CLINTON JOHNSON BAND's "Here Kitty Kitty", a song made popular by Joe Schreibvogel — better known as Joe Exotic, the "Tiger King" — through the Netflix docuseries. Two years ago, bassist Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel, who hasn't performed with THE OFFSPRING since 2018, filed a federal lawsuit against Noodles and Dexter alleging trademark infringement and breach of partnership agreement over the rights to THE OFFSPRING name. In response, Holland and Wasserman filed a cross-complaint, denying basically everything Kriesel alleged and asking the court to appoint "three disinterested appraisers to appraise the fair value" of Kriesel's shares of THE OFFSPRING. THE OFFSPRING has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won countless awards, and has toured consistently, playing more than 500 shows in the last decade alone. Their music has had a lasting impact across film, television, and video games. Photo credit:: Daveed Benito

Vocalist Kyle Thomas of New Orleans-based thrash metal pioneers EXHORDER has confirmed to "The Dan Chan Show" that he and his bandmates are "in pre-production for a new album" at the moment. He said (hear audio below): "I'm writing at home. Marzi's [Montazeri, guitar] writing at home. Jason [Viebrooks, bass] and Sasha [Horn, drums] are writing at home. They work together as well. So everybody's kind of piecing everything together. We share the files, we make recommendations to each other and tweak it. We're just throwing it to the wall and seeing what sticks. But so far, we've got some really, really good stuff [in the works]." Asked if EXHORDER fans should expect to see the follow-up to 2019's "Mourn The Southern Skies" later this year, Kyle said: "If it's not released this year, it will probably be released in 2022. But Marzi's got probably close to 10 songs written on his own. Jason and Sasha put together about a half a dozen. Mostly what I do for EXHORDER songs is I write parts, and then I submit them, and then they might get used here and there. That's how it always was done in the past. There are some parts of mine that made it onto the old albums. But most of what I write, when I'm writing, ends up being more like the FLOODGATE stuff. On occasion, when there's something that I've written, they'll use. I'm not that worried about it. I just want great songs handed to me so I can do what I do. "My biggest part, outside of writing vocals and lyrics, is the arrangement — helping to piece the song into the format that it needs to be in," he explained. "And just the overall production side of it, especially vocally, I like having input on — what part here, the intro should be this… "EXHORDER's always been a team effort; it's never been one person writing all the music, one person writing all the vocals. It's not like that at all. It's always been a collaborative effort, and I think that's what makes us so good at what we do — you get all those different flavors melding into one dish, and then it's something special." Thomas is now the sole remaining founding member of EXHORDER, which released its debut album, "Slaughter In The Vatican", way back in 1990. In February 2020, EXHORDER parted ways with its original guitarist Vinnie LaBella, who wrote much of the material on "Mourn The Southern Skies". The remaining members of the group later issued a statement saying that they would fulfill their "touring and recording obligations for 2020 and beyond." Asked if it's "strange" for him to be the only remaining founding member of EXHORDER, Kyle said: "At this point, I've jammed with so many people over the years — so many different lineups for this and that, fill-ins and all this stuff. To me, it doesn't really matter as much who's there, as long as the material that's being played is being played within the spirit of that band in particular. And the stuff that we're writing now, it's amazing. I play it for a lot of people that are my confidants, people love the band, and they're gonna shoot me straight. And the new stuff that we're working on, everybody's, like, 'Wow. It sounds like EXHORDER to me.'" EXHORDER released two albums in the early 1990s through the Roadrunner label — the aforementioned "Slaughter In The Vatican" and 1992's "The Law" — before breaking up, with Kyle going on to form FLOODGATE and also briefly appearing live as the vocalist for TROUBLE, which he later joined on a full-time basis (and is still a member of). EXHORDER is cited by many as the originator of the riff-heavy power-groove approach popularized by PANTERA. Photo by: Stephanie Cabral

Alice Cooper says that his next studio album will be the first to feature the current lineup of his solo band. The legendary rocker spoke about his future plans just one day after the release of his latest LP. The Arizona resident's first full-fledged tribute to the city that helped shape him, "Detroit Stories" was recorded with producer Bob Ezrin, mostly in Royal Oak with Detroit musicians and featuring a mix of original material alongside covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder's DETROIT and OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY. During an appearance on the February 27 "After-School's Out Special" episode of the "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" video podcast, hosted by Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie, Alice revealed that he is already plotting his next move. "['Detroit Stories' is] out now," he said (see video below). "So now we've gotta think what's next. And what's next to me is showing off this band. And I think that the only way to do that is to take it on the road, write songs now but rehearse them during soundcheck on the road, and, at some point, on the road, record the whole album live in one of the venues that we're doing. "With this band, the whole idea is to show off how tight the band really is," he explained. "So if we write the songs, rehearse them on the road, record it on the road, and call the album 'The Road' or just 'Road', really, that would be the concept for the whole album. And stories about the road." Cooper was joined on "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" by his wife Sheryl, plus all the members of his current solo band: Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Nita Strauss (guitar), Ryan Roxie (guitar), Chuck Garric (bass) and Glen Sobel (drums). Also making a special guest appearance was Ezrin. "Detroit Stories" is the follow-up to 2017's "Paranormal", which marked Alice's first studio album in six years. Also produced by Ezrin, it featured collaborations with iconic guests such as ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons, U2's Larry Mullen, Jr. and DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover, as well Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Michael Bruce — the three original Alice Cooper band members. A year later, Cooper issued "A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris", a recording of his December 7, 2017 concert at the world-renowned Olympia venue in France. The effort captured Cooper and his current bandmates performing a choice selection of classic Cooper hits, in addition to some highlights from "Paranormal". Alice later said that he wanted to release a document of his band's onstage prowess because they "deserved a live album."

RAMMSTEIN keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz has confirmed that the band has recorded a new studio album during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to Motor.de, he said: "The fact that we couldn't perform live increased our creativity. We had more time to think of new things and less distraction. As a result, we recorded an album that we hadn't planned on." Last October, RAMMSTEIN revealed that it had returned to La Fabrique studios in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in the south of France. At the time, the band wrote in a social media post: "Sadly no tour this year - but it's great to be back in the studio!" RAMMSTEIN's seventh, untitled album came out in May 2019 via UME/Spinefarm in Europe and Caroline Records in the U.S. The band's first studio disc since 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" debuted at No. 1 on the album charts in 14 countries and was the band's tenth No. 1 in Germany. The LP was produced by Olsen Involtini with RAMMSTEIN and was mixed at a Santa Monica, California studio with Rich Costey, an American producer who has previously worked with MUSE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and FRANZ FERDINAND, among others. Last May, RAMMSTEIN postponed its 2020 North American stadium tour due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. The tour will now begin on August 22, 2021 in Montreal and end on October 1, 2021 in Mexico City. The band also announced the rescheduled dates for its European stadium tour. The 25th-anniversary edition of RAMMSTEIN's debut album, "Herzeleid", was made available in December via Vertigo/UMe. "Herzeleid (XXV Anniversary Edition - Remastered)" features the album's original track listing on a single CD, housed in a lavish, cross-shaped digipak with deluxe slipcase, and, for the first time ever, the remastered album with HD sound was made available digitally. In addition, there was a 2LP version with a slipcase containing two 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl discs with blue splatter effect. The creator of the original artwork, Dirk Rudolph, was also responsible for the "Anniversary Edition" packaging. The booklets also contain the original band portraits shot by Praler. Both the CD and vinyl editions are strictly limited. View this post on Instagram Sadly no tour this year - but it’s great to be back in the studio! Photo: @christophschneider_official A post shared by Rammstein (@rammsteinofficial) on Oct 7, 2020 at 8:47am PDT

On Saturday, February 27, LACUNA COIL was among around 130 Italian artists and venues who participated in an initiative dubbed "L'Ultimo Concerto?" (Last Concert) to highlight the increasingly uncertain future of music venues. Instead of delivering live performances as part of a scheduled free virtual stream, each artist was filmed taking the stage at a different venue and then standing there in silence as a way of commemorating the one-year mark since the first Italian venues closed. Organized by KeepOn Live, Arci, Assomusica and Live DMA, the campaign was announced last month when the venues shared images on social media of their year of foundation and the year 2021 with a question mark, suggesting that their closures due to the coronavirus pandemic could be permanent. LACUNA COIL explained its participation in the initiative in a statement released shortly after Saturday's virtual event. "You were expecting to see a live show while we just stood in silence," the group said. "It's not a bad joke. This is the situation of live clubs in italy. Places where we got to meet many of you. "It is with this bitter taste in our mouths that we're asking for your support. For them a live show with no music is not a live show. A silent live club is not a live club. "Thanks for being part of this, for your support, and for being there in this very moment which hopefully will be a turning point. "From now on, we just want to talk about the next live show." LACUNA COIL added in an Instagram post: "For those watching from all over the world, we're sorry you guys didn't get to see the show you were expecting. We just stood in silence, showing our support to the live club scene. "Unfortunately, live clubs in Italy and the rest of the world have been closed for a year now, and there's no sign of re-opening anytime soon. We believe they should get the right attention and recognition, because that is what they deserve: to be considered as cultural spaces. Hopefully, this initiative will bring their uncertain situation to everybody's attention." Between March and June 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown by restricting people's movements to contain the pandemic. Thus, museums and cinemas closed and all cultural events were either canceled or rescheduled. Around 300,000 people working in theaters, music venues, cinemas and cultural spaces in Italy have been rendered jobless since they shut their doors due to the coronavirus crisis. The organizers of "L'Ultimo Concerto?" said in their mission statement: "When will the last concert be? Or maybe it has already been? "Live clubs and concert halls carry the weight of almost a year of closure on their shoulders. Currently, despite the enormous role that these spaces have in terms of the creation, promotion and dissemination of culture and their indisputable social value, it can be said that they have been almost ignored by the numerous decrees that have followed one another in recent months. Provisions have mentioned cinemas and theaters in terms of entertainment but have not devoted due attention to these realities which risk [music venues] disappearing." Earlier on Saturday, Italy announced it was tightening restrictions in five of the country's 20 regions in an effort curb the spread of the coronavirus. There have been more than 2.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 97,500 deaths in Italy since the pandemic began. It is the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lacuna Coil (@lacunacoilofficial)

Former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson says that he doesn't understand why so many people are defiantly skeptical of mask wearing. While more than 500,000 Americans have died so far as a result of COVID-19, a number of people have come out against COVID-19 response measures, including lockdowns, physical distancing and mandatory mask policies, saying that they violate constitutional rights. Former president Donald Trump's own skepticism of mask wearing contributed to a politicization of the issue, causing many of his followers to see mask mandates as an attack on individual freedom. Asked in a new interview with Jamie Rodriguez where he stands on the issue of mask wearing, Pilson said (see video below): "I'm pretty cautious. I don't understand the thinking of not wearing a mask at all. Even if you were unsure, wouldn't you err on the side of caution? That's kind of the way I look at it. If you really don't believe this stuff, okay, but do your neighbors a favor. Do a little team thinking here, 'cause certainly all the evidence and science points to the fact that it helps. So I don't understand why you wouldn't. So I'm pretty cautious. "My wife's parents live down the street, and they're in their 70s and 80s," he continued. "So we try to be really careful around 'em, but we are around 'em without masks, 'cause we're family. And that's about it. We're really good beside that." According to the latest scientific brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face coverings can reduce the risk of coronavirus infection by more than 70%. Some people have even started "double-masking" to increase their odds of staying COVID-free, although very little scientific data points to any benefits or drawbacks of wearing more than one face mask. Pilson and the rest of FOREIGNER are next scheduled to perform at the Frontyard Festival at Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, Florida on March 23 and March 24. The new purpose-built, live entertainment event is designed to re-engage artists and guests in a safe, socially distanced setting.

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper has revealed to showbiz reporter Richard Arnold on Friday's (February 26) episode of "Good Morning Britain" that he is scheduled to receive his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this coming Tuesday, March 2. "I can't wait," Alice said (see video below). "To me, I hate shots more than anything in the world. But this is one I'll gladly get, just to get rid of [the virus]. "They do a lot of press on me getting my shot, because it encourages people to go ahead and do it," he added. "I don't know what they'd be afraid of. The shot doesn't even hurt." Earlier in the month, AZCentral reported that Alice and his wife got the first COVID-19 vaccine after previously contracting the novel coronavirus. In a video statement, the 73-year-old singer revealed that he and Sheryl Cooper received the vaccine at a facility in Phoenix. They got their shots through Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization that pairs military veterans with first responders to help in times of need. Arizona allows people 65 and over to make appointments to get the vaccine. Last March, Cooper told Arizona Republic that he felt "less vulnerable" in his house than he does in a different hotel every day. "You don't know who's been there, what they've touched," he explained. "When I was in Europe, I spent all day doing Purell, washing my hands. Every time you would touch something, you'd realize 'Well, how do you know that wasn't infected?'" As to whether he was concerned about the possibility of contracting COVID-19, Cooper told Arizona Republic: "I'm not scared of this thing. ... But you've got to consider everybody. You never know what the guy next door's health problems are." Alice's new studio album, "Detroit Stories", was released on February 26 via earMUSIC. Named for the city that launched the original Alice Cooper group on the road to success, "Detroit Stories" follows 2019's "Breadcrumbs" EP as a modern-day homage to the toughest and craziest rock and roll scene there ever was.

Ex-AMON AMARTH drummer Fredrik Andersson has apologized to his former bandmates for "the grievance" he has caused by publicly pleading for them to hand over what he believes is his "rightful share of the rights and publishing" to the AMON AMARTH recordings he appears on. Andersson was fired from AMON AMARTH in March 2015, just as the band was preparing to enter the studio to begin work on its 2016 album "Jomsviking". AMON AMARTH opted to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP), during the recording sessions for the disc, but hired Jocke Wallgren to join them on the road. Wallgren was named a permanent member of AMON AMARTH in September 2016. On Wednesday (February 24), Andersson took to his social media to write: "This will be my final post on the AMON AMARTH issue, and it's a positive one for me as I have come to a realization. I wrote to the members (got no reply) but want to close the book also publicly. As Einstein said, if you expect a different result you have to try a different approach. "And for the longest time I expected the guys would change their minds or regret their decision. I have now come to terms that they won't. They already made up their minds that they are right and are hell-bent on their position. It's pointless to try to change their minds. "Backstory: After [AMON AMARTH's second full-length album, 1999's] 'The Avenger' we had a deal that we would share everything equally. We shared all money equally so that it would never be a fight about who would have their songs on the album (on the avenger the split was 100% music to Olli [guitarist Olavi Mikkonen] and 100% lyrics to [singer Johan] Hegg). The idea was that the best material would always end up on the albums no matter who wrote it. Unfortunately most (not all) of my riffs and ideas were rejected, but with this deal it didn't matter so much to me, and they were obviously rejected cause they were not good enough. "Five years ago, after a year of fighting about royalty shares, publishing, rights and them asking for a non-disclosure, we sat down with our lawyers trying to come to an agreement. I tried to claim my 20%, but I could not prove which songs I had actually written - the drums are not legally part of the music -hence I lost my share of the rights and had my name removed as songwriter. They did offer me to keep my share of the songs I had written riffs for but being so few I told them to keep them too. I don't regret that, but I have to confess I never expected them to actually go through with removing me. They did. "Why I felt entitled to my share: I was never 'hired', I was asked to join the band when there was no income. There was no business. In fact the first five or so years in the band there was no income. The years 1999-2008 my average yearly income was $15000/year due to low income and lost income from my day-job because of time off for tours etc. No one in the band made big cash. This was the reason we could not record fate of norns together as a band; no one of us could afford to take three weeks off from work if we wanted to also tour on the album. "In 2007 we registerred our business, and started 'making it' around 2008. (With an average $30.000 yearly income) The band progressively got bigger from there on bit we kept a rather low payout and invested alot of our earnings back into the band. One could argue that the shares I claimed would be compensation for lost income/lost pension during the early years. And one could argue that my share from those albums are pretty small compared to what the band makes now. But me and the other members obviously have different opinions about this. Their standpoint is that we never actually said that any member would get to keep their shares of the music rights if they are no longer in the band. This is true, we never did. We also never said we WOULDN'T get to keep the shares after a departure. This is something I assumed. Both these facts are true, but they can't co-exist. So, I will back down now. "At one point I will know for sure as they will have to adjust their shares too if anyone else of the four members leaves the band or when they collectively retire. If they don't it will be obvious that they just wanted to rip me off of my share. But time will tell if they will get to keep their 25% each -for life- (and 70 years after death). Being the youngest I guess I'll outlive them. Until then, I give them the benefit of the doubt. "So, with all that being said and my final airing of the issues; I apologize to the members and to the fans for the grievance I have caused fighting a lost case. It was wrong of me to assume I should get to keep my share. I'm now closing the book and I wish the band a continued great success. "Please remember that my anger was never about losing my spot in the band, that has never been the case. I'm glad to not be in the band anymore, and I will gladly never be a part of it again. (Sorry to any fans wanting otherwise, but I think Jocke deserves all the attention he gets and I wish him all the best!) "I'm only disappointed it ended the way it did, and realize it could have ended differently if I had admitted being wrong earlier. Albeit that would've been to an even greater economic loss for me. "I will not, however, apologize for calling Johan Hegg a liar. The things he said about me in Sweden Rock Magazine are not true, and he has yet to apologize to me about it." In 2019, Andersson spoke to Greece's The Gallery about the circumstances that led to his departure from AMON AMARTH, Fredrik said: "There had been some friction between me and the other members for quite some time. It seemed to me like they were ganging up on me, even if they never really truly let me in to be 'one of them,' not even in the early years. But at least back then we could hang out together and we called each other friends. In later years, and I can only guess, but perhaps they started to feel that since we were splitting all money equally, either I should be more grateful and do what they told me to or they simply started to think it was wrong that I should get equally paid. I don't know. But in the end, whatever I did or say — it was wrong." He continued: "I specifically remember one of the last times I played in Greece. It was the last day of the tour, and we were flying home the next day. While I was warming up for the show, Olli came up to me and said my snare hits were not consistent enough. He said I played too soft during soundcheck and too loud during the show, or more specifically, he said the individual hits were either low or loud. Since I know for a fact this is bullshit, I got really pissed off. I might not be the most technical drummer, but if something, at least I'm consistent. I thought it was really untactical to come with these complaints five minutes before show, and it ruined the whole show for me. And there were lots of other occasions like this where they would just say I'm wrong about something, that my opinion were wrong or simply silly. It got very frustrating, and it built up to really strong friction." In a 2016 interview with Brazil's "Wikimetal" podcast, Mikkonen stated about AMON AMARTH's split with Andersson: "I don't really wanna go into details regarding Fredrik, but, basically, we just separated. It's kind of like a marriage that doesn't work, and you get divorced. And that's kind of what happened to our band." AMON AMARTH bassist Ted Lundström described Wallgren as "a super-solid drummer" who is "very professional" and "very on-the-spot all the time." He added: "It is much easier to play if you have a drummer who is [tight]. It makes our lives easier." This will be my final post on the Amon Amarth issue, and it's a positive one for me as I have come to a realization. I... Posted by Fredrik Andersson on Wednesday, February 24, 2021