When was the last time that you listened to Paul Simon’s Graceland? I revisited it pretty recently, and god, what an album. Just an incredible collection of songs. Graceland was a critical and commercial smash when it came out in 1986. But at the time of its release, the record also existed within a thorny landscape of racial politics. Simon was inspired by the township music of apartheid-era South Africa, and re recorded it partially in South Africa, with the help of a number of South African musicians. Before making his trip, though, Simon did not consult with the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, some of whom led a boycott of Simon in response. That’s the story of an upcoming movie from the Oscar-winning Chicago and Dreamgirls director Bill Condon.
Left To Suffer have revealed everything you need to know about their brand new full-length album.
It’s set to be called ‘Unwelcome Guest’ and will be released on October 09 via Hopeless Records.
The tracklisting looks like this:
1. Track One 2. Therapy 3. Gun In The Duffel Bag 4. STFU 5. WRONG NUMBER (feat. Alan Grnja of DISTANT) 6. 404 7. Unwelcome Guest 8. Honor Amongst Thieves 9. Unrequited Dread 10. Bleeding Out 11. Gaslit
Whilst the artwork is awesome and looks like this:
You can check out the previous released ‘Gun In A Duffel Bag’ right now, as you can the freshly released title track. A contorting, blistering, terrifyingly bold piece of horror-tinged heaviness, it showcases the depths that the band are willing to dive to.
Guitarist Peter Higgs had this to say about it:
“Unwelcome Guest is about the patience that comes before revenge. It’s for the people who thought your silence meant they got away with it while It was just timing. An eye for an eye.”
Music and culture journalist Rachel Brodsky will publish her first book, Lessons & Lace, on September 15 through Harmony/Penguin Random House. Rather than following a traditional timeline, the biography examines Stevie Nicks‘ life through a series of themes, with each chapter focusing on a lesson she learned and later shared through her career.
To support the release, Brodsky has scheduled a pair of launch events. On September 15, the book’s release day, she will appear at Book Soup in Los Angeles, where Los Angeles Times pop critic Mikael Wood will moderate the discussion. Two days later, on September 17, Brodsky heads to P&T Knitwear in New York City for another event, this time moderated by Rolling Stone senior journalist Angie Martoccio. Additional tour dates are expected to be announced.
According to the publisher, Lessons & Lace explores the experiences that shaped Stevie Nicks into one of rock’s most recognizable figures. The book covers the obstacles she faced throughout her career, including sexism within the music industry, the work that helped elevate a once-struggling rock band, her rise as a successful solo artist, and her battle with addiction. Throughout those challenges, she maintained the creativity, individuality and mysticism that became central to her identity.
Drawing from years of archival interviews and conversations with people connected to Stevie Nicks, the book presents a portrait of the artist as a songwriter, performer, fashion icon and romantic who consistently valued the freedom to live on her own terms. The goal is to show how her experiences and outlook continue to resonate with readers and music fans.
Discussing the project, Brodsky said: “Very few artists have maintained their cultural relevance and appealed to multiple generations like Stevie Nicks.
Lessons & Lace recounts Stevie’s path to becoming the wisdom-dispersing fairy godmother we know her as today. I think sometimes we forget how much skepticism she faced from the music industry and her peers (even her friend and collaborator Tom Petty!), the uphill climb she faced to be taken seriously as a true artist and writer, what it took to overcome her struggles with addiction, and how she inspired new generations of musicians to write with their own combinations of vulnerability and strength.
That is why I love Stevie. She is as layered in meaning as her most memorable songs. Like the book’s namesake, Leather and Lace, Stevie is soft and hard, romantic and practical, sensual and sensible. I genuinely hope readers walk away feeling inspired to live their lives with Stevie-style authenticity, bravery, and truth.”
Illustrated with full-color line drawings, Lessons & Lace continues that approach by celebrating Stevie Nicks as a prolific songwriter and cultural figure whose influence extends well beyond music. The book highlights the balance between her public image and personal journey while encouraging readers to embrace the same honesty and individuality that have defined her career.
The biography closes on a message that reflects the outlook at the heart of the book:
“Just dance. This will pass. Love will find a way. It always does.”
How in the world can you go wrong with an album titled Grits and Glory?
Albert Castiglia’s brand-new release is his fifteenth solo project, in addition to three Blood Brothers recordings with Mike Zito. Born in New York City to a Cuban mother and an Italian father, he moved to Miami at age five and began learning to play guitar at about age 12. He later attended college, graduating with a liberal arts degree before securing a job with the State of Florida as a social services investigator.
In 1990, Castiglia co-founded the blues band Miami Blues Authority, where he spent about seven years as lead guitarist and vocalist. In 1997, he was named Best Blues Guitarist by Miami New Times. He later moved to Chicago to join Junior Wells’ touring band, where he remained until Wells’ death in 1998. Castiglia recorded his first solo album, Burn, in 2002, followed by a string of successful releases. He also joined forces with Mike Zito to form Blood Brothers, a band that combined members of both of their groups. A multi-award-nominated artist and recipient of honors including Blues Rock Album of the Year and Blues Rock Artist of the Year, Castiglia continues to deliver exceptional guitar playing, singing and songwriting.
Grits and Glory is another admirable piece of work from Albert Castiglia and his band, which, by the way, is his touring band: Cliff Moore (bass) and Ray Hangen (drums). To make this album even more special, it was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in England.
“I’m Afraid to Fall Asleep” is a song whose title speaks to something I bet we’ve all dealt with at one time or another. Castiglia sings, “Sometimes I fail to say my prayers and God thinks I don’t care.” This tune comes out of the gate with some electrifying guitar work by Castiglia. It’s a great piece that makes us think about just how human and fragile we really are. I love the line, “Don’t let the angels take me home.” This one is full of vivid imagery and smoking guitar work.
On the third track, “Uncertainty,” hypnotic slide guitar opens the door for a rocking entry into this “love hurts” piece. Castiglia sings, “You say you love me and then you go and run around with other guys.” Can I get a witness on the subject matter here? That’s what I thought. He continues with, “Even though I’m broken, I keep coming back for more.” If this hasn’t been you or me, then we surely know somebody who comes right to mind.
A screaming guitar lead break showcases his musicianship and offers further proof of why Castiglia is considered one of the best guitarists in the blues world today.
On track four, “Michigan Avenue,” Castiglia opens with classic-sounding rock guitar and sings about the area around Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago. There’s lots more awesome guitar work in this one. He sings, “They were body snatching on Michigan Avenue” and “They ran them out of Michigan Avenue.” This tune is one of the heaviest rockers on the album, and I just love the term “body snatching.” What do you imagine when you hear that? I’ll leave that to your own imagination and interpretation.
This album also contains a couple of really well-done instrumentals that I’d like to mention before going further. Both are excellent showcases for just how great this band really is.
The ninth track on Grits and Glory is a funky number called “When the Coin Came Calling.” I love the picking Albert Castiglia delivers here, not to mention the great keyboard work. Castiglia sings, “But the road don’t wait, and I can’t stall it. I had to go when the coin came callin’.”
This song has to be about chasing a dream while missing funerals and birthdays. It ends with the line, “Ain’t no glory in that curtain falling. But I showed up when the coin came calling.” Then Castiglia cleverly adds, “I’m out of here. Got to make that paper. So long.”
This whole album is full of great musicianship, clever and relevant songwriting that invites interpretation by the listener, and Albert Castiglia’s dedication to being a bona fide, genuine, amplified, not confined, authentic blues music master.
You can find many samples of Albert Castiglia’s music on YouTube, including songs from this album. The band will be on the road in Europe as well as throughout the U.S. in July and August, and Albert Castiglia will also be performing with Mike Zito as part of Blood Brothers on select dates.
As I always suggest, try to make it out to a live show if you can. If not, buy their music. You won’t be disappointed, and our support is what allows these great blues bands to keep doing what they do.
The Review: 9/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– I’m Afraid To Fall Asleep – Uncertainty – Michigan Avenue – When The Coin Came Calling
16 Underground’s band name is a reference to “6 Underground,” right? It has to be. The LA group’s music directly hearkens back to the ’90s trip-hop moment that yielded the Sneaker Pimps’ hit. They’re good at reviving that sound too, as we heard on the early singles from their forthcoming Without A Trace EP. 16 Underground released a third advance track this week, meaning 60% of the music from this record is out there now, and you, the listener, should be happy about that.
Tommy Lee has finally talked at length about the legal war between Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars — and the picture he paints is more sad than vicious. Speaking to Billy Corgan on The Magnificent Others podcast, the drummer described the fight as awkward and hurtful, compared it to a divorce, and insisted he still has nothing but love for the guitarist he spent 41 years next to. He also revealed something nobody outside the band knew: on the 2022 Stadium Tour, he says he had to stop songs partway through and restart them, because Mars had begun playing a completely different one.
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What Tommy Actually Said
Let’s start with the emotional part, because it’s not what you’d expect from a guy whose band just won.
Lee told Corgan that “that whole thing was awkward and really hurtful” — and specifically pointed at the untrue things being said publicly as the part that got to him. His attitude, in his own framing: you go do your thing, we’ll go do ours, it’s all cool. He’s not built for public warfare. He compared it to a divorce, which sucks in any format, and left it there.
Then he did something that’s easy to miss in a story like this. He praised Mars. Straight up. Said there’s only one Mick, called him an insane player, and said it genuinely saddens him on a personal level to have watched what the disease did to him.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory arthritis that attacks the spine and pelvis, and in Mars’s case it fused him into a permanent hunch. Lee’s observation about that is the kind of thing only a bandmate would say — that at least Mick got locked forward instead of backward, so he could still see the neck of the guitar. Gallows humour, sure. But there’s real affection under it.
He wrapped that section by saying he’s always tried to put himself in Mick’s shoes, that he has nothing but love for him, and that when people are threatened or hurt, they fight back. That’s about as generous as it gets from the winning side of a lawsuit.
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The Part Nobody Knew
Now the detail that’s going to travel.
Lee told Corgan that during the 2022 Stadium Tour, he would count off “Live Wire” and Mars would start playing “Wild Side.” Not a flubbed part. A different song entirely. Lee says Mars had started losing track of where he was, and that he had to stop songs mid-performance — actually halt the band in front of a stadium — and restart them, because the guitarist was playing something else and didn’t know it.
Sit with that for a second. Those were the biggest shows of the band’s career. Stadiums. Def Leppard co-headlining. And the drummer is stopping songs to get everybody back on the same page.
This isn’t a new accusation in the abstract — the band’s manager described similar chaos to Variety back in 2023, saying sound engineers were covering for wrong-song moments in the mix. But hearing it from Tommy, in this much detail, with the actual song titles attached, makes it concrete in a way the earlier version never was.
And to be fair to Mars: he’s a man with a degenerative spinal disease who was in serious pain and, by every account including Lee’s, pushed through it for years longer than most people would have. That’s not a punchline. That’s a guy trying to hold onto the thing he built.
Lee’s read on the current lineup is blunt: John 5 coming in was the shot of adrenaline the band needed, because by that point it had genuinely become a struggle.
He also gave the reason he rates him, and it’s got nothing to do with chops. Lee’s position is that talent alone doesn’t earn his respect — plenty of brilliant players are miserable to be around. Talent plus being a genuinely good guy is what makes someone his favourite person. He points out that John 5 has been a Crüe fan forever, knows the catalogue inside out, and loves Mick.
That last part matters. The new guy isn’t out here trashing the man he replaced, and neither, in this interview, is the drummer.
Quick refresher, because this thing has been running for nearly four years.
Mars announced in October 2022 that his health meant he could no longer tour, but maintained he was still in the band. John 5 took the road gig. Six months later Mars sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming the others had moved to strip him out of the corporation and business holdings.
In January, the Crüe won a decisive arbitration victory. The arbitrator rejected every claim Mars made, upheld his removal as an officer and director for cause, and ordered him to repay more than $750,000 in unrecouped tour advances. The killer detail: the rule that stops a non-touring member sharing touring income was written into the band’s governing agreement back in 2008 — reportedly at Mars’s own request.
The most damaging part of the whole saga was Mars’s public claim that Nikki Sixx’s bass and Tommy Lee’s drums were pre-recorded, which he repeated under oath. His own expert witness — an NYU professor specialising in music technology, hired by Mars’s side — reviewed the footage and confirmed the band was playing live. Mars formally recanted under sworn testimony. His attorney called the ruling awful and said the band had never been fair to him.
That accusation is the thing you can’t un-ring. Say what you like about the money and the paperwork, but telling the world a band doesn’t actually play is an attack on the only thing musicians really own. Nikki Sixx called it a betrayal, and honestly, it’s hard to argue.
Forty-one years. It shouldn’t have ended in an arbitration room. But here we are.
TL;DR
Tommy Lee discussed the Mick Mars legal battle on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, calling it awkward and hurtful and comparing it to a divorce.
Lee says he had to stop songs mid-performance on the 2022 Stadium Tour because Mars had started playing a different song entirely — counting off “Live Wire” and getting “Wild Side.”
Despite the lawsuit, Lee praised Mars as an incredible player, said he has nothing but love for him, and spoke with sympathy about how ankylosing spondylitis affected him.
Lee credited John 5 with revitalising the band, noting that John 5 is a longtime Crüe fan who knows the catalogue and admires Mars.
Mötley Crüe won a decisive arbitration ruling in January 2026 that rejected all of Mars’s claims and ordered him to repay over $750,000 in unrecouped tour advances.
Mars had publicly claimed Sixx’s bass and Lee’s drums were pre-recorded and repeated it under oath, but recanted after his own expert witness confirmed the band played live.
FAQ
What did Tommy Lee say about Mick Mars?
Speaking on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, Lee described the legal battle with Mars as awkward and hurtful, compared it to a divorce, and said he has nothing but love for the guitarist. He also praised Mars as an exceptional player and expressed sympathy for how his health condition affected him.
Why did Mick Mars leave Mötley Crüe?
Mars announced in October 2022 that he could no longer tour due to ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine and pelvis. He maintained he was still a member of the band, with John 5 replacing him on the road, and filed suit roughly six months later after a dispute over his stake in the band’s business.
What happened with the Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars lawsuit?
A final arbitration award issued in January 2026 rejected every claim Mars made, upheld the band’s decision to remove him as an officer and director for cause, and ordered him to repay more than $750,000 in unrecouped tour advances.
Did Mick Mars really say Mötley Crüe didn’t play live?
Yes. Mars publicly alleged that Nikki Sixx’s bass and Tommy Lee’s drums were pre-recorded and repeated the claim under oath. His own retained expert, an NYU professor specialising in music technology, reviewed the footage and confirmed the band performed live. Mars then formally recanted the claims during sworn testimony.
Who plays guitar in Mötley Crüe now?
John 5, who replaced Mars on the road in 2022. Tommy Lee has credited him with bringing new energy to the band and noted that he is a longtime Mötley Crüe fan who admires Mars.
What is ankylosing spondylitis?
Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine and pelvis, and can cause vertebrae to fuse over time. Mars has spoken publicly about performing through significant pain for years before deciding he could no longer tour.
Crüe fans, this one’s genuinely complicated — after everything that’s been said under oath and on record, does Tommy Lee’s take change how you see the split? Let us know in the comments, and follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
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