After 20 years of shredding, Five Finger Death Punch is just as ferocious as ever, proving so on the newly released single, “Eye Of The Storm”

Guitarist Zoltan Bathory linked back up with Abe Kanan recently for an Audacy Check In, discussing Five Finger Death Punch’s upcoming world tour, and the mission while making new music.

Bathory describes their new single, "Eye of the Storm," as a balance between the band's heavier and lighter styles, serving as a representative sample of their upcoming album. “We picked that song because that was one of the first ones that was ready from the batch,” Zoltan says of work on the new LP. “Ivan is actually in the studio right now, still recording vocals.”

“That was kind of the song that we thought that would represent the upcoming album the best,” he reveals. “This is kind of a song in the middle, right? We have heavier stuff and we have a little bit lighter stuff, so that was right in the middle and that's kind of like the idea there that ‘OK, let's pick this one because it is a pretty good indicator of what's coming,’ and it seems like everybody was super excited about it.”

“It's a little bit heavier, a little bit more guitar,” Bathory describes. “We're kind of dipping back into the beginnings, the 1st 2, 3 records, it has a similarity. Of course, you have to always progress, so we're not gonna go back and repeat that, but there is a little bit of that first, you know, 3 records aggression in this one.”

Zoltan also opened up about the band's songwriting process, which relies on a "vault" of riffs and songs accumulated over many years, such as "Wrong Side of Heaven" and "The Bleeding," which were written long before they became hits. Bathory explains that assembling an album is like a puzzle, requiring a balance between heavy tracks and ballads to avoid monotony.

“It has to kind of have the ups and downs,” he says. “It has to have the super heavy stuff and you it has to have a couple of ballads, so that's always been the thing, and sometimes it just simply, you know, ‘OK, we have already 2, 3 slow songs on this record, we have 5 more, but I can't put it on the same record because it's too much,’ right? So that's how it works.”

“Things are coming out of the vault, there are some new things, and then we look at what we have, and then assemble the record that we think is the right one for the times.”

For more from Zoltan Bathory including a tour of his castle, and the band's commitment to charity and helping the US Judo team, check out the full conversation above.

Adam Lambert is out on his own for his latest project, 'ADAM,' due out everywhere on July 10.

The 'American Idol' album and Queen vocalist recently joined us in our Los Angeles studios for an unfiltered conversation about what’s next, his path to becoming a gay icon, his time fronting a Classic Rock behemoth, and much more during an Audacy Check In with Bru.

“The takeaway from the album is it's kind of about looking in the mirror and accepting everything about yourself, the good and the bad,” Lambert admits about his upcoming LP, set to be released independently on his own label. “Two things can be true at once. You can have a good day and a bad day, and it can be the same day, you know what I mean? The separation between positive and negative, it's so tricky, and so sensitive, and I just thought this is a full portrait of who I am in 2026. I'm gonna call it ‘ADAM.’”

“I feel like I haven't introduced myself fully yet,” Adam adds. “I think this project too, I'm doing it myself. I released this on my own label. I'm funding it myself. I've hired all the people working on it. I feel like I have a lot of ownership over this one, and I've had bits of that in the past, but this one in particular, I feel like I'm really driving it as a business thing, and as a creative expression.”

According to Lambert, the sound of 'ADAM' is a departure from traditional Pop, heavily influenced by 90s Electronic and Alternative music, specifically citing Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Muse, and Daft Punk as influences, making more use of synthesizers to replace traditional guitar roles for a "gritty" and "progressive" texture.

“I moved from LA to New York last year. I had been in LA for 25 years, so it's my first time living in New York, making a big life change, big chapter change, and I think New York, just being, I'm on the Lower East Side, it's still a little grungy and gritty. I wanted to get some new flavor, and I do think that some of that energy and texture of the city is in the new music.”

Lambert also reflected on some of his previous chapters, like his iconic decade-long run with Queen, describing the experience as the "biggest honor" and a masterclass in performing on the world's largest stages. He also acknowledged his role as pioneer, being the first gay man some would see on TV during his 'American Idol' season.

“It's incredible how much change has happened,” he says. “When I first came out into the music scene, there weren't really any other gay men doing mainstream Pop music.”

“I'm just really proud of all the progress we've made as a community, And yeah, the pendulum is swinging and there's some ups and some downs and there's some setbacks and obstacles and that's just how it's gonna go. That's life and history, but I think we've done really well.”

“I've met a lot of people over the last decade or so, who come up to me and they're like, ‘you know, you were the first gay person I saw on TV in my family's household, and like whether or not it was a positive reception or not, you were the one that, that prompted the conversation,’ and that's pretty cool and completely terrifying at the same time, because I didn't ever think that that's why I was getting into this,” Adam remembers. “Quickly figuring out what it represented me being in this space, the ripple effect that it had, that's really cool and I'm really honored that it could help anybody. That's why I started getting more and more involved in charitable foundations and I started my own foundation. This is bigger than just my own thing.”

For much more from Adam Lambert, check out the full conversation above.

The picture of Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album, 'you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,' is becoming clearer, as the GRAMMY-winning singer recently shared the project’s second single, “the cure.”

Olivia joined us inside the Rockstar Suite at Hard Rock Hotel New York for another Audacy Check In, this time talking about her latest track, her first performances, and more insight into the upcoming release.

“It's my favorite song on the album. I think it's sort of the thesis statement of ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,’” she reveals. “It's just sort of about me realizing that, love doesn't solve all your problems, which I sort of thought that it would when I was younger. And [it] took me a long time to come to that realization.”

“Writing the song about it felt like a real moment of catharsis and self-growth, and I just love it. It really moves me.”

When asked by Mike Adam about the “final touch” to the track that made her feel like it’s complete, Rodrigo looked back on the screams of “I’m unraveled.”

“I kept wanting it to be louder and more screamy,” Olivia admits. “I screamed it a few times, and couldn't quite get it right but then finally landed on the right one.”

“Sometimes it is good to not be in like great vocal health when you're recording those songs because it feels a little raspy and rockstar or something like that. Don't show this to my voice teacher.”

Without sharing titles, Rodrigo did offer another glimpse into her third album that arrives in a few short weeks. “One of the songs on the record is like a real love song,” she shares. “It sort of reminds me of a song that people would play at their weddings, hopefully,” she adds with fingers crossed.

“It was the first time I've written a song like that that is just like pure romantic love, joyful vibes. I think that was a fun creative challenge for me as a songwriter to do something like that.”

For more from Olivia Rodrigo on inspiration, her first performances, check out the full conversation above. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love arrives everywhere on June 12.