Metallica will release a super deluxe reissue of their 1997 album ReLoad on June 26th, featuring 15 CDs and four DVDs with live recordings, rough mixes, and songwriting demos. The collection includes concert footage, plus TV appearances and acoustic sessions. The seventh studio album explored hard rock, punk, and blues influences with hits like “Fuel,” “The Memory Remains” featuring Marianne Faithfull, and “The Unforgiven II.” Additional formats include double-LP vinyl, three-CD expanded edition, cassette, and digital releases. The package contains a hardcover book, posters, guitar picks, and memorabilia. Metallica launched the “#GetTheReLoadOut” competition asking fans to submit traditional covers or non-traditional interpretations like TikTok dances and artwork, with winners receiving signed box sets. (Story URL)
Kid Rock rode in an Apache gunship for approximately 10 minutes Monday at Virginia’s Fort Belvoir, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The former Fox News host called Rock “a patriot and huge supporter of our troops” in social media posts showing them posing before the helicopter. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Rock “participated in multiple troop touches with service members and filmed videos for Memorial Day, America’s 250th birthday, and for his Freedom 250 tour.” Rock also addressed troops at Pentagon headquarters, though his speech topic remains undisclosed. This follows controversy when Army helicopters flew over Rock’s Nashville home last month, leading to pilot suspensions that Hegseth quickly rescinded. The helicopter footage will be used for Rock’s upcoming Freedom 250 Tour starting Friday in Dallas. (Story URL)
Gene Simmons expressed regret for not staging an intervention during Ace Frehley’s decades-long battle with substance abuse. Speaking on the Inside Of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast, the KISS bassist called it “a stupid and shameful decision on all our parts.” Simmons described Frehley’s unreliability, including missing the Eurovision contest where 600 million viewers watched KISS perform as a trio. “When he’s straight—lovable, everything’s great. When the stuff started to take hold, it was Jekyll and Hyde,” Simmons explained. Despite their conflicts, Simmons continued collaborating with Frehley on new songs when asked. Frehley died last October at 74 from blunt-trauma head injuries after a fall at his New Jersey home. Simmons previously apologized for suggesting Frehley’s death resulted from “bad decisions.” (Story URL)
The New York Times released its definitive list of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters, featuring Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, and Bad Bunny among others. The unranked compilation resulted from hundreds of music experts submitting ballots to editors, who narrowed selections to artists whose “music has defined what half a century of national life sounds like.” Notable inclusions are Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Missy Elliott, Lionel Richie, Young Thug, Fiona Apple, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Lana Del Rey. Swift, Jay-Z, and Bad Bunny collectively hold 494 Billboard Hot 100 entries, including 20 number-one hits, and 45 Grammy Awards. Swift will soon join the Songwriters Hall of Fame as the youngest woman inductee, second only to Wonder who was 7 days younger at his induction. (Story URL)
CBS and the Recording Academy will honor Rod Stewart with a two-hour television special airing May 19th at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Forever Young: A Grammy Salute to Rod Stewart Live features the singer’s music and an exclusive interview about his life, family, and performing passion. The broadcast also includes rare archival footage and behind-the-scenes access as Stewart launches his “One Last Time” tour’s extended U.S. leg. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s iconic hits include “Maggie May,” “Tonight’s The Night,” “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” and “Forever Young.” The special captures Stewart “still at full throttle” with his band during the tribute. (Story URL)