What’s up Radicals? Damn, has this been a good week for new music or what?
Five Finger Death Punch will release its seventh full-length studio album, And Justice For None, on May 18th. The long-awaited set is available for pre-order as a standard 13-track physical CD, a deluxe physical CD featuring three bonus tracks and exclusive artwork, and a vinyl set also containing the three extra tracks and special gatefold artwork. Fans who pre-order the LP will also receive an exclusive ticket pre-sale code for Five Finger Death Punch’s just-announced North American summer co-headlining tour with Breaking Benjamin.
Singer Ivan Moody told us a while back how he feels on the day the band releases a new record: “It’s Christmas, you know. You wake up, you’re anticipating, you know, how the fans are going to react to it. You read all the publications, you know, the radio stations, stuff like that . . . so it’s a huge deal, man.”
The release of And Justice For None was delayed for the better part of a year as a result of legal wrangling between Five Finger Death Punch and its now-former label, Prospect Park. The arrival of the record will fulfill the band’s contractual obligation to the company.
The group signed a new North American recording deal with Rise Records in 2016, which will begin with the album after this one. The band’s co-headlining run with Breaking Benjamin will start on July 16th in Seattle, finishing up on September 9th in Cleveland. Nothing More and Bad Wolves will serve as special guests on most dates. Ticket pre-sales are already in progress and general sales begin this Friday, March 16th. Prior to that, Five Finger Death Punch will hit a handful of festivals and play around a dozen dates with Shinedown this spring.
#CantDenyMe. #PearlJam pic.twitter.com/BeEtn8Flr2
— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) March 10, 2018
Pearl Jam has confirmed that its new song “Can’t Deny Me” is from the band’s upcoming 11th studio album and first since 2013’s Lightning Bolt. The song, with lyrics by singer Eddie Vedder and music by guitarist Mike McCready, was co-produced by Pearl Jam and longtime collaborator Brendan O’Brien. The track was recorded in Seattle last month and released as a surprise early download to fan club members last Saturday.
McCready told us that the band never has a plan when it makes a new LP: “When you sit down to write a record, it’s not — we kind of never go, ‘This is what our thoughts are on what it should be.’ The recording process itself and the songs will tell you as it goes on what it is, so we don’t know exactly what we have when we first start out.”
“Can’t Deny Me” has since been made available for purchase at PearlJam.com and via all digital stores and streaming services. The song appears to take direct aim at Donald Trump — although without mentioning his name. A release date and title for the full album have yet to be revealed. Pearl Jam is kicking off a South American tour this week and has shows scheduled for Europe and North America in the coming months.
Some 20 years after he first came out publicly as a gay man, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford said in a new interview with Noisey that the struggle for true equality continues. Halford explained, “The battle goes on for me; as a gay man,” adding, “I shall not be happy until I see equality across the board. That’s vital. I don’t think it’s right that there’s one set of rules for one individual and another set of rules and laws for another individual. That’s not the way the world should work.”
Halford said he was encouraged over the years by the response he got from fans after coming out, remarking, “The moment I came out as a gay man, I never really thought of the consequences . . . you then get these beautiful messages back from your fans around the world saying that because you’re able to step forward and proclaim your sexuality in a strong way, in a proud way, that that’s helped them in life, and you go, ‘Wow.’ So as a gay guy in metal, I welcome this opportunity to reinforce that statement.”
Halford first proclaimed his sexuality in a 1998 interview with MTV, although it had been an open secret in the music industry for years. In a 2017 interview with Fox Sports 910 AM, Halford admitted that he felt exasperated about the discrimination that the LGBT community still faces despite the broad social acceptance of homosexuality, saying, “I always kind of felt, as I was going through my teen years and my 20s and 30s, things would be better, but they’re not. There’s still a long way to go in America, and in my home country.”
Halford and Priest are enjoying a renewed burst of recognition this year with the band’s nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — although they did not win enough votes for induction — and the release of their 18th studio album, Firepower, their most acclaimed effort in years. The LP features the single “Lightning Strike,” which is Number 22 on the rock radio chart this week and Priest’s first charting track since 2005’s “Revolution.”
Ozzy Osbourne and family have released the second episode of the Osbournes podcast, with this one featuring the male nanny who was hired to look after Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s son Jack and daughter Kelly during their younger years.
The introduction to the episode stated, “Imagine the excitement in getting a call one day and being offered a dream job: flying out to L.A. to work for the Godfather of Heavy Metal! Now, imagine your subsequent disappointment when you discover that the job actually consists of babysitting his kids, Jack and Kelly. Luckily, Big Dave, a tough New Yorker turned ‘Manny,’ made it through alive! Now, Dave’s here to tell his tales of abuse from two crafty and vicarious kids, and how he became an essential part of the Osbourne family.”
The 10-week podcast was launched to discuss the making of The Osbournes, the groundbreaking reality show that ran on MTV from 2002 to 2005 and followed the Osbourne clan’s daily lives. The podcast premiered on March 5th — the 16th anniversary of the show’s MTV debut — and features Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly, plus special guests, discussing the show and its legacy. The Osbournes became the highest rated original program in MTV’s history, chronicling events such as Sharon’s battle with cancer, as well as Kelly and Jack’s stints in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.
Ozzy will turn his attention later this spring to a farewell tour that’s set to last at least two years. He also plans to work on a new album.
