To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sold-out show featuring KISS at Anaheim Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hosted a KISS-themed evening featuring an appearance and ceremonial first pitch by the band’s founding members — Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The Angels played against the Kansas City Royals, and won the game for the hometown crowd, 1-0. Aside from the game, it was a night of all things KISS, including KISS-themed in-stadium entertainment, such as KISS music played throughout the evening, giveaways, a live band performing KISS songs, and a post-game KISS-themed fireworks show.
The highlight, of course, was the appearance of Simmons and Stanley, who both threw out ceremonial first balls and were there to promote the release of their upcoming live album box set, KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 — recorded here in 1976. After a few warmup pitches, Simmons and Stanley each took a spot at the pitcher’s mound and threw to an Angels player, to a loud ovation from the still-arriving crowd.
I spoke briefly to both Simmons and Stanley, and they remarked that the 1976 show was very humbling for them. They added that their popularity among fans at that time gave them a feeling of finally “making it big” in the entertainment business. Stanley said the release of the 1976 album Destroyer elevated the band to a “superstar status,” which they’ve maintained to this day. The Anaheim Stadium concert was held August 20, 1976, before 42,000 fans. Other acts on the bill included Ted Nugent, Montrose and Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. KISS ruled the day as headliners, as KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 reveals.
Fans of both KISS and the Angels enjoyed themselves, as they, to paraphrase the famous KISS song, “rock and rolled all nite (sic)…” Many stuck around for the post-game fireworks display that let fans “shout it out loud” on a perfect summer evening in Anaheim.
It’s been a big week for Crossbone Skully, the excellent Def Leppard-alike band led by Alice Cooper axe slinger Tommy Henriksen, who’ve just triumphed in our latest Tracks Of The Week tournament. So congratulations to them, and to Phil Collen, who joined them on the open-top bus victory parade.
Congratulations also to Jack J Hutchinson, whose fancy new song Rise Again pipped The Pineapple Thief’s New World Order in the battle for the minor medals. And now we start again, with eight new candidates lined up to assume Tracks Of The Week Hall Of Fame status. We hope you enjoy them.
Green Lung – Black Magick Radio
Gallop your way into the week with these gothy London rockers, and this heartily good fun slice of their forthcoming album Necropolitan. Teamed with one of their best videos yet, it sucks you into an FM radio-powered kaleidoscope of cultish mischief, monstrously moreish riffs and ’70s living room furniture. “Black Magick Radio is our love letter to occult rock itself, and a promise to spread its gospel as widely as we possibly can,” the band say. “All together now… Eko Eko Azarak, Eko Eko Zomelak…“
Spiders – Creature Of The Night
With a simple but very effective, toe-tapping verse riff, infectious levels of energy and a touch of Blondie in the chorus melody, the nostalgic Swedes’ latest rock’n’roller makes an appetising case for their next album, Crystal Eyes. Catchy and fast-paced, its rawness laced with glitter, sweat and leather, it was written about “a person or being so irresistible that they take pleasure in ruining relationships and destroying people’s lives, watching them burn to the ground…” Lovely.
Royal Blood – Ten Over Ten
Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher return with a heavy, pummelling yet light-footed bang with this first new release following 2023’s Back To The Water Below. “After putting the Royal Blood engine in neutral for a couple of years, we’ve been building up the revs and are playing faster and harder than ever with this album,” the band say of Ten Over Ten’s parent record (coming out in full in November), Dead Company. “Written and recorded with the stage in mind, we cannot wait to play it live for years to come.”
Castle Rat – Dragon
With such a heavy boot in the medieval fantasy camp – where swords and chainmail aren’t so much fashion choices as a way of life – New York doomsters Castle Rat had to write a song with such a title at some point. And so they did, and it rocks. A heady fusion of Sabbathian sludge and treacly 60s/early 70s psychedelia, elevated by Riley ‘The Rat Queen’ Pinkerton’s sumptuous pipes, this newly released single/video version (featured on last year’s The Bestiary album) is just the shot of riffy, escapism we needed to banish those last bits of heatwave brain fog.
Sari Schorr – Mr. In The Middle
Kicking off with a killer, stabbing lead guitar blast that fans of contemporary blues six-stringers like Joe Bonamassa will lap up, Sari Schorr’s new single pounces straight out of the speakers with one apparent aim: to put the ‘rock’ in blues rock. Also, quite a bit of ‘roll’. And so it does, Sari’s vocals on powerful form as slickened Stevie Ray Vaughan vibes keep on punching out around her. Tasty guitar solo, too.
Battlesnake – Mud Apocalypse
On this new single, Aussie ensemble Battlesnake opt for a lo-fi alt rock approach, with a surprisingly gentle, folky… Just kidding, it’s a ridiculous (yet tight, on-the-money) feast of blood-spurting, skull-crushing, organ-squelching bravado, accompanied by down-tuned riffs the size of mythical monsters, Queen-glittered twin lead guitars and a level of metal-studded swashbuckling of which Rob Halford would be proud. There’s even a horse neighing in there somewhere, for some reason.
These Wicked Rivers – Sing Another Song (feat Kezia Gill)
Something with a dulcet, countrified sway now – country rock’n’roll by way of Derbyshire, if you will, courtesy of These Wicked Rivers and guest co-vocalist Kezia Gill. Think Lynyrd Skynyrd rugs, gospelly backnotes and heart-warming harmonies between Kezia and rough-crooned frontman John Hartwell. Need something a little gentler and sweeter to accompany your morning cuppa? Try this guy.
The Sixsters – Can You Believe It
And finally, something a little more day-glo. The Sixsters are an all-female Ukrainian rock band who relocated to Essen, Germany, following the 2022 Russian invasion of their homeland. Formed in 2018 in a town near Kyiv, the group was founded by drummer Kateryna Kuziakina when she was just nine years old. Eight years on, they’re producing a beguilingly effervescent mix of punk rock and pop rock, and Can You Believe It is more fun than a litter of puppies on a trampoline. The band’s fifth album, Ghost, was released earlier this year.
He hadn’t played with Deep Purple since leaving under a cloud after a show in Helsinki, Finland, in November 1993.
But after 33 years he finally made peace with singer Ian Gillan with whom he has had a frosty relationship since that split in the 90s.
After the performance in New York, Blackmore tells Guitar Player: “It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately.
“I couldn’t warm up, but I wasn’t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends I hadn’t seen in 40 years and we’re all getting older. I think we realised it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”
The guitar icon admits his performance wasn’t perfect, but adds that wasn’t really the point.
“It was tricky.” he adds. “I didn’t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple.
“I still lost my place at one point, but it’s not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds – but there weren’t any wounds.
“Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.”
There’s no indication whether Blackmore may perform with the band again, but he insists any tension with Gillan is in the past.
He says: “We’re two alpha guys. I’m used to running a band, and I think he’s used to running a band. So we clashed in the old days. But all that changed.”
NUBIWXRLD (born Christopher Grant Kauffman in 2003) is an independent artist and producer based in Texas who began releasing music on SoundCloud on March 9, 2018 under the name Yung Newbie. That original era of his music (2018-2021) was mostly filled with songs that were made for fun. Though many of those songs were taken […]
XMusic, Australia’s dedicated hard rock label, is taking over Brisbane venue Soapbox for three nights this September, becoming your alternative showcases for rock, hard rock and metal. The label celebrated its 5th Anniversary earlier this year and the celebrations aren’t finished yet. With Brisbane becoming the centre of the Australian music industry for the week, […]
Our Top 10 Songs of The Zombies list takes a look at a band from the 1960s that was part of the legendary rock and roll British Invasion of rock bands that traveled from England to the United States during the decade of the 1960s. Along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and many other bands, The Zombies electrified American audiences with a sound completely different from the music the 1950s had spawned. The legend of The Zombies has been defined by a small catalog of albums that had a huge impact. Songs like “Time of the Season,” “She’s Not
With Bloodstock now done for the year and August nights starting to draw in, thoughts turn to Newark and the annual – and essential – Stonedead show. Back for its eighth year, the concept of recreating the vibes of the old Monsters of Rock shows has found an enthusiastic audience, meaning a guaranteed sell-out almost as soon as the tickets go on sale for the following year. That there’s even a waiting list for resale must be heartening for the organisers and confirmation that they’re doing something the public wants more of.
This year’s line-up is another stellar one from the Stonedead team, with one of Sweden’s most iconic hard rock acts, Europe, taking the headlining slot. Formed as Force by Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum back in 1979, it was the change of name to Europe in 1982 that started the ball rolling for the band. The self-titled debut and Wings of Tomorrow sophomore record laid the groundwork for the multi-platinum behemoth that was 1986’s The Final Countdown. Five singles over two years and That intro solidified the band in the pantheon of Eighties Rock.
Yet the one thing the band somehow didn’t get was the recognition of being a killer live outfit. I caught them on Bon Jovi’s Milton Keynes bash in 1989, a year after Out of this World attempted the impossible task of follow up the band’s defining statement. I spent the next twenty-years telling whomsoever would listen what an awesome live band Europe is, and it took until the festival shows of 2009 that people started to believe.
I cannot image the intervening seventeen years will have blunted that cutting edge and, although they haven’t had the monstrous success of The Final Countdown since, they do have a new record locked and loaded in the shape of Come This Madness, scheduled to arrive in September. Expect some new stuff in the set but expect a whole heap of the now-forty-year-old Countdown too.
German heavy metal pioneers, Accept, hit fifty-years of age in 2026 and have been issuing albums on a reasonably steady basis since 1979’s self-titled debut, hiatuses notwithstanding. Cited as being hugely influential for bands as diverse as Slayer and Pantera and Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue, classic metal anthems like Balls to the Wall and Fast as a Shark show the breadth of Accept’s range.
Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has steered the ship through the entire length of the band’s journey, seeing members come and go, seeing musical styles change, but always keeping the band on a direct Heavy Metal bearing. Iconic vocalist Udo Dirkschneider fronted the band up to 1996’s Predator album, before the reigns were passed to New Jersey native, Mark Tormillo, whose pipes can be heard to this day.
It’s been a couple of years since the well-received seventeenth record, Humanoid, but the band are nothing if not savage road-dogs. Expect fireworks and one of the most Metal shows of the year when these Germans storm the Newark stage.
The tragic passing of founding Magnum member, Tony Clarkin in January 2024 put a significant question mark over the future of the band. Tony’s guitar tech, Brendon Riley was able to stand in for the great man on the 2025 tribute tour and still fills that role to this day.
Formed in the early Seventies in a Birmingham that had already given us Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and many more, Magnum’s brand of melodic hard rock caught the public’s attention on the 1978 Kingdom of Madness debut and the Magum II follow up.
The fantastical covers of Chase the Dragon and Eleventh Hour suggested here were albums full of fantasy and wonder, and songs like The Spirit and Sacred Hour were filled with magic. Yet, Soldier on the Line would be a more grounded tune and would find the band putting anti-war tunes on many of their subsequent albums.
It was the 1985 classic, On a Storyteller’s Night, that would see Magnum at their peak, with every aspect of the band in perfect tune with each other. How Far Jerusalem, Just Like an Arrow, the title-track and Les Mort Dansants, all wrapped in that Tolkien cover art.
Changes in the music scene meant the momentum Magnum has created into 1990’s Goodnight LA record slowed considerably as Grunge hit the airwaves. But they carried on regardless, issuing albums up to 2024’s Here Comes the Rain, a matter of weeks after Tony’s death.
Always a killer live band Magum will bring that touch of magical fantasy to the fields of Newark.
Finland’s Battle Beast have been delivering high-quality Power Metal since 2008, have issued seven albums, including last year’s Steelbound opus, and have been playing on sizable stages for some time now. They headlined the Thursday tent at Bloodstock back in 2017 with an energetic show a driving, symphonic metal and Stonedead will be the first-time new vocalist, Marina La Torraca, will be able to stand before a big British crowd and unleash the devastating combination of scorching guitars and orchestra keyboards. Having recently renewed their contract with Nuclear Blast Records, Battle Beast is poised to take the heavy metal world by storm.
Rising out of the early Eighties Metal scene, Californians Armored Saint were already causing major ripples on the back of their self-titled EP, and the one-two-three punches of March of the Saint, Delirious Nomad and Rising Fear albums, all released by Chrysalis Records between 1984 and ’87. Though the band have been through ups and downs, and have extensive hiatuses in their history, they have always regrouped and come back stronger, with killer albums showing a developing sound. Singer John Bush spent most of the Nineties and into the noughties fronting New York thrashers, Anthrax, appearing on four albums, including The Sound of White Noise and We Have Come for You All, both able to stand toe-to-toe with the band’s classic-era records. Armored Saint came back together with the reformation of the Belladonna-fronted Anthrax line-up meaning John was out of a job, and have issued albums worthy of their reputation since, beginning with 2010’s La Raza. Newest record, Emotion Factory Reset was issued back in May and showed the band have lost none of the fire or bite, or desire to create awesome heavy metal.
Canadian classic rockers, The Damn Truth is considered one of the most exciting names in the scene at the moment, following the release of their fourth and self-titled record. With a history stretching back to the independent release of debut album, Dear in the Headlights in 2012, they have more recently broken into Top 40 in their homeland on three occasions and been voted #1 Best Band in both 2023 and ’24 by the Montreal alternative press. Singer/guitarist, Lee-la Baum, was part of Alex Lifeson’s All Star Band at Toronto’s Massey Hall in 2025, and the band have played alongside such artists as Sammy Hagar, Bad Company and Alice Cooper. Stonedead is one of many festivals the band will be gracing across Europe this summer.
Out of Pottsville, PA, Crobot come to Newark, bringing their brand of dirty groove rock with them. Infused with the Blues and a sprinkling of country vibes, recent single Gun to My Head from the band’s sixth record, 2026’s Supermoon, is built around a driving rhythm and some big harmonica. Comparisons have been made with Wolfmother, Queens of the Stone Age and Soundgarden, with singer, Brandon Yeagley receiving praise for powerful vocals and a commanding stage presence. The Showgrounds certainly appears to be in for a treat when this quartet hit the early afternoon stage.
Harrogate heavy metallers, Asomvel, have a history dating back to 1993 of playing rampant biker-friendly anthems and the kind of driving rhythms and confrontational tunes usually available under the Motörhead moniker. Born to Rock n’ Roll hit the shelves a couple of years back and has so-far spawned four singles, including the very recent Lone Wolf. Expect a full-force rock experience when these Yorkshire lads hit the stage.
Opening the show in 2026 is Poll Winners, Aethoria, an alternative rock band out of Suffolk who’ve been garnering attention due to their cinematic, atmospheric narratives, emotional vocals and dynamic range. It’s powerful and modern and filled with ripping solos and represents the future direction of the classic rock sound. Get there early to catch their set.
There’ll no doubt be the obligatory fly-over by some classic British aeroplane and a chilled-out atmosphere had by a whole range of ages across the field. So, it’ll be business as usual at Stonedead 2026.
NUBIWXRLD (born Christopher Grant Kauffman in 2003) is an independent artist and producer based in Texas who began releasing music on SoundCloud on March 9, 2018 under the name Yung Newbie. That original era of his music (2018-2021) was mostly filled with songs that were made for fun. Though many of those songs were taken […]
XMusic, Australia’s dedicated hard rock label, is taking over Brisbane venue Soapbox for three nights this September, becoming your alternative showcases for rock, hard rock and metal. The label celebrated its 5th Anniversary earlier this year and the celebrations aren’t finished yet. With Brisbane becoming the centre of the Australian music industry for the week, […]
