“It is with heavy, broken hearts that we share that our beloved Bo Lueders has passed away,” a statement by the band declares. “For those struggling with depression or urges to self harm, help is always available. We’re not in this alone.” The statement concludes with a phone number for Americans suffering with mental health crises.

Lueders’ passing comes at a difficult time for deaths in the rock world. Both Manowar’s Ross “The Boss” Friedman as well as Motörhead’s Phil Campbell have passed on in preceding weeks, all of them influential guitarists.

Lueders had been a member of Harm’s Way since its formation in 2006 and stayed with them throughout their career. Now signed to Metal Blade records, their first three albums were released through independent punk labels and saw experimentation with the classic modern hardcore sound being fused with metal and industrial, as well as more alternative sounds. Their fourth, 2018’s ‘Posthuman’, was given 8/10 by Metal Injection and saw the band flirt with Slipknot-esque nü metal and Deftones-flavoured soaring pop. Their most recent album, 2023’s ‘Common Suffering’, was a more political effort and also saw discussion of mental health.

In the day following the guitarist’s death, a GoFundMe was set up by his family in his memory to cover the costs of his funeral and living support for his loved ones, which has now raised over $164,000. His podcast co-host, Colin Young, speaking of the meeting of the goal, issued another statement. “With the donation goal automatically updating throughout that duration, I quickly rounded down the current amount to end the goal… and then you all just kept donating. We cannot thank you enough for this beautiful outpouring of love and support for our sweet Bo throughout these darkest of days.”

In a statement shared by the band’s singer, James Pligge, the frontman said that “I met Bo 24 years ago, we were just young hardcore kids searching for our place… from then on we created a bond that not many people can ever say they have with someone. I was able to play music, eat expensive food and see some of the world’s most beautiful places with him. We spent hours together in hotels rooms, in the drivers seat or shotgun just talking about the Sopranos or listening to Crowbar.”

Lueders’ career took an interesting side road in 2022 when he began his podcast, Hardlore. What began with excerpts of discussions of live on the road and hardcore anecdotes soon became lengthy interviews with legends of the genre. In 2024, they went so far as to establish a record label promoting metal and hardcore. He also played with another hardcore band, XweaponX, based out of Kentucky.

The conference’s ambition, alongside music and art, will be making room for artists and musicians in the changing global culture economy, particularly significant at the current moment given the widespread boom in AI technology. Perhaps the foremost figure in the event is Greater Manchester Mayor and former Labour MP Andy Burnham. He has been announced to be hosting a special session on the uses and impacts of AI on the music world. Burnham said that the festival “is a vital opportunity for the sector to come together and address the challenges and opportunities facing music and content creation.”

The event has announced that it aims to “convene leading voices from music, media, technology and the wider creative industries for a programme designed to connect ideas, unlock collaboration and accelerate sector growth”.

Picking Manchester was no accident. Given the region’s uniquely growing economy, much of which is concentrated around the cultural sector, the festival seems to think that the North West could have certain lessons for the musical world. “Beyond The Music”, they say, “seeks to expand Manchester’s resoundingly successful year of musical development into the wider region; bringing Salford and its centenary year celebrations together with central Manchester to solidify the region’s identity as a central destination for music, creativity and content; no longer a local market but the core of a major, global shift in the digital industries.” This also exists as a means to move the cultural conversation away from London, seeing how the capital usually dominates the music industry in Britain.

However, the festival is not just high-minded discussion of policies or strategy. The festival will feature musical acts across the grassroots music venues of Salford. The lineup is yet to be confirmed publicly, but no doubt it will feature a plethora of young, up-and-coming artists.

This is the third incarnation of the festival. In the past, it was held at Aviva Studios and was attended by several corporate, political and musical leaders. Manchester Council’s leader Bev Craig, Warner Music’s Tony Harlow and rapper Aitch, originally from the area, all attended the last conference in 2024.

The festival’s co-founder, Sarah Pearson, says that “the ethical and economic foundations of the music and content industries demand urgent attention and bold reform. We have some of the most pioneering and innovative minds in the world, so when we gather – united, in one place, at one time – we have the power to venture beyond the music and help redefine the future of the creative economy. It is our responsibility to protect creativity in order to ensure it doesn’t just survive but thrives. Things may feel difficult, but they are still possible.”

The band have announced that their debut album will arrive in June through the record company MNRK Music Group. Their first single, entitled ‘Sleep Eternally’, will be released tomorrow.

“Formed by Dee and Blakk”, according to their press release, “and completed by longtime collaborators and friends, Lex Legion is built on both legacy and longevity. What began as a long-discussed idea between close-knit musicians has evolved into a serious project, fueled by over 40 years of shared history and a renewed creative focus free from the constraints of their earlier careers.”

Drummer Dee and guitarist La Rocque were with King Diamond, also known as Kim Bendix Peterson, from around the time he split from his original band, the hugely influential Mercyful Fate in 1985. Both played on his debut solo album, ‘Fatal Portrait’, the following year. The first album to feature all the instrumentalists of this new band was the occult concept album ‘Them’, released in 1988. By 1990, Dee had left and that ‘classic’ lineup began to disintegrate. Only one member of the band remains with the metal singer, La Rocque.

The band’s experience would be vast even with the exception of their contributions to King Diamond’s highest rated albums. Dee spent over two decades in Motörhead and, since the band’s end in 2015, is now in the Scorpions. LaRocque played on arguably the most influential death metal album of all time, Death’s expansive and progressive ‘Individual Thought Patterns’, released in 1993. Guitarist Blakk has his own band, Blakk Totem, and bassist Patino was in traditional metal band Force of Evil among others.

Their newly recruited singer, the Norwegian Rue, has been in the aforementioned Pagan’s Mind since 2000 and engineered for power metal band Eidolon.

Speaking of the band’s musical direction, the supergroup have announced that “with a sound shaped by classic influences but sharpened by decades of experience, Lex Legion aim to fill a gap in modern metal—and signal that their long-awaited arrival has been worth the wait.” The self-titled album will be “built on lean arrangements, strong melodies, and virtuoso performances, the album reflects the band’s commitment to writing music on their own terms.”

With an announcement on YouTube, Blakk said that “we got the old crew back together… we’ve got ourselves a new singer, Nils, an awesome singer. So check out our website and there will be more information coming out soon”. Rue said that “it’s such an honour for me to able to present this band to you guys… I grew up with posters on my walls of these guys [his new bandmates], so again it’s such an honour, I’m really looking forward to the future with these guys.”

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/ex-king-diamond-bandmates-unite-in-new-group/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/manowars-ross-the-boss-friedman-dead-at-72/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/manowars-ross-the-boss-friedman-dead-at-72/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:50:20 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=118384 Former Manowar and The Dictators guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman has died at the age of 72, according to a post shared by the Metal Hall of Fame on Friday.

The statement says that “earlier this year, Ross publicly shared his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), facing it with the same courage and honesty that defined his life and career. Ross’s impact on music is immeasurable.” Having noticed in the months leading up to the diagnosis, his struggle seemed brief. This was publicly known, with Friedman announcing at the time that “I’m absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all.”

Born in 1954, Friedman founded punk rockers The Dictators in 1972 aged 18, releasing what many consider to be among the first examples of punk on their 1975 debut ‘The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!’. After leaving the band in 1978, he did some session work before meeting bassist Joey DeMaio in 1980 and forming Manowar. After eight years and six albums, DeMaio fired Friedman, which the guitarist later dubbed “the worst possible mistake ever made”. The reason he gave for his dismissal was that what DeMaio “wanted in his band was puppets… Money and greed, and him not having to have a partner like me, 50 percent partner [is the reason I was fired]. I don’t like airing that out.” Although he later attempted to redact these remarks, they showed the extent to which their feud ran deep.

Ross was part of the Manowar lineup who drew broad attention when, in 1984, they smashed a Guinness World Record for ‘Loudest Performance’. The albums they released after his exit were infrequently highly rated, with several hits emerging but none on the scale of their pre-1988 output.

Following his sacking, Friedman embarked on a long solo career to some success. Occasionally he would be invited to perform individual shows with Manowar or perform the band’s songs under his own name, though this was rare. The Dictators reformed and he toured with them from the late 1990s onwards.

Manowar, though often tongue in cheek and deliberately preposterous, were a landmark band in the evolution of heavy metal in the 1980s. Taking their queue from the developing speed metal and power metal subgenres, they infused riffy aggression with Eric Adams’ soaring vocals and lyrics detailing battles, mysticism and, above all, a love of metal itself. The incarnation of the band who are still touring are yet to release a statement on Friedman’s death.

“Ross will always be the Metal Hall of Fame’s ‘Global Metal Ambassador’ to the world”, the Metal Hall of Fame announced in their statement. “His powerful playing, unmistakable tone, and uncompromising spirit helped shape generations of musicians and fans around the world.” Friedman’s guitar playing was both blues inflected and showcased traditional metal rhythm guitar strength.

The album’s title refers to a Scottish funeral song that has been referenced in rock on several occasions, through Jethro Tull, Eternal Tears of Sorrow and Hate Eternal all writing songs around it at various points in their career. Hellripper has often incorporated elements of Scottish history, folklore and traditional music into a sound which has marked him out as one of the most exciting young prospects in British metal. Most tracks on the album are in some ways connected to this history, with the single ‘Hunderprest’, for example, telling Scottish vampire stories set to his usual thrashing ferocity.

A new sonic addition for this evening is something of a gothic sensibility alongside the blistering thrash and Scottish influence. On opening track ‘Hunderprest’, a sparkly piano melody pairs with a spoken word passage that is reminiscent of ‘90s Cradle of Filth at their most blasphemous, another band who take black metal influences and meld them with Priest-esque dual guitars and traditional metal flavour.

In giving the album four stars out of five, Kerrang!’s reviewer Olly Thomas writes that “‘Coronach’ is a reinforcement of Hellripper’s compelling vision, 45 minutes of scything magnificence both ancient and timeless. It might hail from the grimiest reaches of the underground, but it deserves to be celebrated by metal maniacs everywhere.”

Hellripper first exploded out of the underground in 2015 with an EP and in 2017 dropped their debut album ‘Coagulating Darkness’. This in turn was followed up by ‘The Affair of the Poisons’ in 2020, settling into a comfortable three year album title. McBain is joined live by a trio of musicians, with Andy Milburn on bass, Joseph Quinlan sharing guitar duties with the frontman and Max Southall laying it down with double-bass madness on drums.  Combining the aforementioned Scottish influences with an old-school blackened-thrash style akin to early Sodom or Kreator, they also take influence from hardcore punk. They are at the vanguard of a retro-revival movement within British metal thrash but stand apart through their unique influences.

In her review found in Distorted Sound Magazine, Lucy Dunnett gave the album 10/10, commanding that you “hide all breakable objects in sight, blast the volume to a level you know is medically ill-advised, and succumb to the biting blackened speed metal power of HELLRIPPER as you listen to Coronach again. And again. And again.”

Hellripper have a busy touring schedule ahead on the back of the release of the album. Starting tonight, the band are touring across the UK beginning with dates in their native Scotland before reaching out into mainland Europe for festival season. The tour officially ends on 26 September with a date in Germany’s ‘Coastrock Festival’, the European rhythm interrupted partially by some trips to Mexico.

In terms of the sound on this album, longtime singer John Bush said that they have synthesised “all our influences through the years, diverse music that we listen to and love, and let that seep in and bring something new out of us. It leads to something more adventurous.”

The album was released with a new single, ‘Close to the Bone’. Bush commented that “The first track on the record sounds like vintage Armored Saint. Yet vintage that comes out in 2026! How did we do that?” Expanding on Bush’s sentiment, bassist Joey Vera has said that “Musically, this song was inspired by my love and appreciation for metal that was coming out around the time of the NWOBHM [New Wave of British Heavy Metal], which is right when Armored Saint was formed. As always, I try to reimagine my early influences by giving them a slight modern twist.”

The track, beginning with a picked, trebly intro, explodes into a thundering riff, in contrasting ways both very traditional and assuringly modern with a slick production. A typically anthemic chorus backs this up and shows the dynamism that the band was known for in the early ‘80s, mixing galloping metal with strong songwriting.

Metal Blade is a natural home for California’s biggest trad-metallists. They started their career there, with the label releasing their three-track eponymous EP in 1983. Despite taking a break from the label during their initial period of success, from 1988 every album they have released has been through Metal Blade, their last release being 2021’s ‘Symbol of Salvation: Live’. That live release was their 1991 ‘Symbol of Salvation’ album in its entirety.

The band were part of a fresh Californian metal scene in the early 1980s, with the band forming a close relationship with Los Angeles thrashers Metallica. Both Bush and Vera were invited to audition for Metallica at various points throughout the 1980s. They have played with that band many times over the years, as well as with bands such as Judas Priest, Aerosmith and Dio. Between 1991-2000, they took a brief hiatus as Bush departed to take up vocal duties among New York thrashers Anthrax, following in the wake of the death of rhythm guitarist Dave Prichard in 1990.

Speaking of the album’s title, guitarist Phil Sandoval said that “to me, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’ means to reset yourself back to clarity. Take a pause and breathe before you respond or react. You can’t control outside events, but you can control your mind”. Adding to this, his brother Gonzo linked it to the technological revolution taking place through the advent of artificial intelligence, saying that “the world is going through a technological upswing/awakening. I look at our planet as the factory and in the most positive way we need to realign, reimagine, reset for our better selves.”

The death metal singer, whose band Six Feet Under has been touring since his departure, says that it wouldn’t be him saying no, rather that his former bandmates would resist the idea. In a recent interview with Loaded Radio, he said that “I’ve always been ready to do that. [Cannibal Corpse] wouldn’t do that, though, because that’s just how they are”.

When asked to elaborate, he said that “they don’t like me, and they also feel – not to be boastful or conceited at all – I’m just being truthful — they feel threatened by my presence as far as a vocalist and my contribution to the band.” This is part of a series of wider attacks on the death metal titans in the last few months, having declared himself to be the best singer they ever had.

He also spoke of how the band feel of his period in the band in retrospect after thirty years of absence. He said that “because it’s been a shadow over – my contribution to the band – has always been a shadow to what they’ve tried to keep going and take on themselves.” Despite all of this, the singer claims that “I’ve never had a problem with that. I’ve never been bitter about that at all.”

Barnes left Cannibal Corpse in 1995 following their 1994 album ‘The Bleeding’, which was seen at the time as a more commercially-minded effort, chasing the groove metal of bands like Pantera and Sepultura, albeit with their death metal credentials intact. His departure was explained through personal differences with the rest of the band, claiming that he didn’t like working with them at that point.

After splitting, he dedicated more time to his side band, Six Feet Under, with the band becoming his main focus thereafter. Their first few albums showcase the same groovy sound that ‘The Bleeding’ had indicated his ex-band moving to. They became champions of the style of ‘death n roll’ which melded more traditional hard rock songwriting with death metal brutality, popularised by Swedish masters Entombed.

Speaking of his exit in 2008, Barnes said that “It just wasn’t working out. None of us were on good terms. I came back from my tour with SFU. and that’s when I was given notice. It was a good transition, they wanted me to change into something I’m not. They wanted me to sing faster and more Slayer-oriented and that’s just something I’m not into.”

This is Neurosis’ first album without longtime vocalist Scott Kelly, who publicly resigned from the band in 2022, when he publicly confessed to “emotional, financial, verbal and physical abuse” towards his family. He had actually been fired in 2019 for undisclosed reasons, which came to light through his public admission of abuse. In his place, the album features Aaron Turner of fellow post-metal architects Isis and Sumac on vocals.

Speaking of his feelings towards the new project, Turner said that “from the moment I first heard Neurosis over 30 years ago, I felt this was the music my heart and mind had been seeking but not yet heard”, declaring that he feels happy with the band’s trajectory.

The general theme of the album is the climate crisis and humanity’s impact upon the earth, suitable for a band who have made a career out of grand soundscapes which carry natural undertones. Speaking of the album’s theme, Neurosis released a statement declaring that “it is enough to cause you to completely lose your mind if you can’t find release or catharsis. This strange emotionally charged music has always been our method of trying to survive this and this is what we’ve always been singing about… this was now or never”.

The album sonically fits in well with their wider discography, with huge sonic experimentation and emotional vulnerability paired with heavy riffs and abstract, occasionally sludgy, effects. Beginning with a distant piece, the title track, which contains only vocals, the album fully kicks in with track two and the dense riffage of ‘Mirror Deep’. Across the hour-length run time, the band continue with a modern version of their classic sound.

Neurosis began life as a markedly different band. Their first album, 1987’s ‘Pain of Mind’, is a crust punk release. By 1992’s ‘Souls at Zero’, they had begun including more progressive and sludgy elements into the sound, taken to new heights on 1996’s ‘Through Silver in Blood’, often hailed as a landmark release in the evolution of the dreamy yet crushing post-metal that followed in the coming years. With Kelly’s departure, now known to have taken place in 2019, the band began a period of hiatus, saying that “in due course, when it’s appropriate, we will provide more information about our future musical endeavors, but that time is not now.”

With the release of the album and their return to music, the band have also announced their presence at this year’s Fire in the Mountains festival in Montana in aid of teenage suicide awareness. Steve von Till, the band’s guitarist, said that “last year’s Fire in the Mountains festival was the most profound music event I have ever been a part of. The weekend took on a healing, cathartic ceremonial nature that is difficult to put into words. Using emotionally heavy music to build community and collectively stare darkness in the eye is something we have always believed in”.

The guitarist and songwriter said that “the entire album will be offered in master format only for $2,000,000. This includes 10 songs mixed in master, final product format, all the master files of the artwork, related posters, and 10 separate vinyl and CD packaging art for each individual song”. The move comes three months after controversially deciding to release a single, ‘Ride The Serpent’, for $225. While speculation, it is possible that the news storm that whipped up contributed to this latest decision.

Vincent has said that the purchaser will be able to then release the album by their own accord through whatever means they choose, subject to the musician’s approval. “The price”, he said, “does not include any right, title, or interest in the copyrights and/or trademarks related to Vinnie Vincent or the product itself.” Crucially, he did not state the royalties he would expect if this was to happen. It is not, however, essential that the purchaser release the album, and it could be imagined that someone would want to keep the album for themselves.

The album is being released under the name of his post-KISS band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, who released their eponymous first album in 1986, two years after leaving New York’s resident hard rock horror-men. The single ‘Boyz Are Gonna Rock’ became an MTV hit, and the follow-up album, ‘All Systems Go’, featured the single ‘Love Kills’. That song was included in 1988 slasher flick ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master’. The band has not released an album since then, having essentially split up when bassist Dana Strum and vocalist Mark Slaughter left in protest of Vincent’s controlling nature, forming Slaughter and having a double platinum hit with their debut, ‘Stick It to Ya’.

In case you were worried the album would be out of your price range, Vincent has announced a cheaper option. Individual tracks can be bought for merely a tenth of the overall price, with each song fetching a cool $200,000 a piece.

“I wish it was not this way”, Vincent said, “but I’m honoured that it is. It’s a double-edged sword for me, but I sincerely hope that when you think it through you will understand the dilemma I face.” The “situation” the guitarist is referring to is the “desire” for his music to see widespread release.

Previously when discussing the album, he said that “unless I get compensated for my work, the album stays unheard. The praise from a fanbase is pointless unless I’m compensated FIRST.” He even went as far as to claim that the new record “is one of the greatest rock albums of all time,” comparable to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.

Vincent has long attracted both praise and derision. His top notch songwriting contributions to KISS essentially revived their career on 1982’s metal classic ‘Creatures of the Night’, spawning enduring anthems like ‘I Love It Loud’ and the classic power ballad ‘I Still Love You’. Following in the wake of their iconic ‘Spaceman’, the late Ace Frehley, he took on an ‘Ankh Warrior’ war paint style.

The next album, ‘Lick It Up’, coincided with them taking off their makeup in public for the first time in 1983. The big hit of that album, the title track, was co-written by Vincent and the band’s long serving rhythm guitarist and ‘Starchild’, Paul Stanley. He left the band following that album in a flurry of contractual trouble, briefly returning to the fold in 1992 for songwriting credits on ‘Revenge’.

Since then, he has fought publicly with Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons, although in recent years he has begun performing with his original KISS makeup again.

However, on 24 February, we learned that was not true. “Documenting one of the most iconic journeys in music history,” said the band’s press release that day, a documentary entitled ‘Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition’ “will be released in cinemas worldwide from May 7th 2026.”

The film’s title, unbeknownst to some, comes from a debut album era B Side, the second track from the single for ‘Running Free’. The song is not featured on the debut itself.

Yesterday, on 18 March, a trailer was released for the new film directed by Malcom Venville, probably most known for the suitably Maiden-esque ‘Churchill at War’. Clocking in at 2:28, the trailer is the band’s career in microcosm, from their beginnings on the East End pub circuit during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to their modern touring dominance, through their initial rise with Paul Di’Anno, then ‘90s slump with the advent of grunge and alternative rock.

The trailer is also not starved for side characters giving their personal story with Maiden, be they fans or other musicians from across various genres. Chuck D of Public Enemy features, as does Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Ulrich has a particularly deep connection with the British metal scene of the early ‘80s, having travelled over by himself at the age of seventeen to discover the underground bands causing commotion.

The trailer also surprisingly features contributions from Blaze Bayley, the band’s frontman during their ‘90s downturn, commenting on the situation when he joined the band. Speaking of that period in the film, bassist and Maiden general Steve Harris says “any long career’s going to have ups and downs, and you just kind of ride with it”.  Bayley, once and future Wolfsbane frontman, says that “the press were saying Maiden are dead”.

Though the trailer forecasts that the documentary may discuss sensitive themes around the band’s history, like ex-frontman Paul Di’Anno’s substance abuse, current singer Bruce Dickinson’s throat cancer and their poor record sales in the ‘90s, they are treated with the optimism and wit the band are known for. “We were just up against it”, says Harris, “but I like that, it’s a challenge”.

The trailer ends on a triumphant note with a heartfelt tribute to the fans. “It was always about the fans”, says Dickinson. Chuck D is on hand to explain their appeal: “this band created its one universe”. “They belong together”, says manager Rod Smallwood in tribute to the band.

Iron Maiden’s place in the history of metal cannot be questioned. They consolidated the form birthed by Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, pairing these influences with a progressive streak and a focus on simultaneously catchy and epic song structures. Despite number one singles and albums, they always remained connected to their fans and their rapport has sustained them creatively over their now five decade career.

‘Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition’ showcases in cinemas across the UK on 7 May, and tickets are available now.