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MÖTLEY CRÜE announces 'Cancelled' three-song EP, including BEASTY BOYS cover

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

26-08-2024

MÖTLEY CRÜE will release the “Cancelled” EP on October 4. The three-song effort contains the title track, MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s cover version of the BEASTIE BOYS classic “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” and “Dogs Of War”, which was made available in April. All three songs were recorded in April 2023 with longtime producer Bob Rock.

Watch “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” below.

“It was really great getting in the studio and working on some tracks together,” MÖTLEY CRÜE offered in a joint statement. “What started out as a couple demo ideas turned into this EP produced by Bob Rock. We look forward to getting back into the studio again soon and writing more new music, as well.”

MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s version of “Fight For Your Right” has quickly become a fan favorite since the band first debuted the song live during their secret 2023 club show at The Underworld in London, U.K. At its premiere, 450 lucky, sweat-drenched fans who came out to see a band advertised as DÖGS OF WAR got the surprise of a lifetime when MÖTLEY CRÜE took the stage with the BEASTIE BOYS classic in their set list.

The veil of speculation surrounding the DÖGS OF WAR pseudonym was finally lifted when the band released their first new single since 2019 by the “Dogs Of War” name in the spring of 2024. “Dogs Of War” subsequently became a Top 5 Rock Radio hit, accompanied by a highly acclaimed music video by director Nick DenBoer. The cutting-edge visual, which is entirely CGI-based, features the members of MÖTLEY CRÜE navigating an exhilarating post-apocalyptic world.

“Cancelled” EP track listing:

01. Cancelled (Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, John Lowery)
02. Dogs Of War (Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, John Lowery)
03. Fight For Your Right (Adam Horovitz, Rick Rubin, Adam Yauch

MÖTLEY CRÜE has released the official music video for its new single, “Dogs Of War” earlier this year, last April. The track was made available via MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s new deal with Nashville’s Big Machine Records. Created by Nick DenBoer, the visual features the rowdy quartet in an apocalyptic wasteland, full of classic CRÜE debauchery.

Watch “Dogs Of War” below.

“It’s always great getting back in the studio with the guys in the band,” CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx says. “We know you’re gonna like this one.”

Bob Rock, who produced the new single, as well as MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s famed 1989 album “Dr. Feelgood”, adds: “Working with the band on the new song was the easiest session I have ever had with them… The CRÜE is the best they have ever been! And they have plenty of new stuff in store.”

“We want to keep putting out new music, too, so we don’t get stagnant,” CRÜE singer Vince Neil told Billboard. “We recorded ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)’ by the BEASTIE BOYS and we recorded this song, too, and I thought it turned out pretty good.

“There’ll definitely be new music out next year, for sure,” Neil added, “’cause we recorded a couple of other songs, too. Maybe we’ll release one of those by the end of the year, but I can’t say. But we want to keep putting out new music — not, maybe, an album but a few songs here, a few songs there, and that’s good.”

Neil described “Dogs Of War” as “like old school meets new school. It’s got that old-school vibe about it, but it’s new music. Nikki came up with it and he sent me the music and I thought it was really cool. So I started singing it and we got in the studio and it turned into the song I think the fans are really gonna like it.”

MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s new deal with Big Machine Records sees the band working together again after making the 2014 project “Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe”, which featured CRÜE tracks covered by country stars RASCAL FLATTSFLORIDA GEORGIA LINEDarius Rucker and more. Big Machine also partnered with MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 for the release of his 2021 album “Sinner”.

MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s last studio album was 2008’s “Saints Of Los Angeles”, which was followed by a 2009 “Greatest Hits” compilation.

In 2018, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded four new songs for “The Dirt” movie, including the single “The Dirt (Est. 1981) (Feat. Machine Gun Kelly)”“Ride With The Devil”“Crash And Burn” and the band’s own spin on Madonna‘s “Like A Virgin”.

‘The Dirt’ movie got us a whole new generation of fans,” Neil said. “We want to keep putting new music out. We don’t want to stagnate.”

“We self-released ‘Too Fast For Love’ on our own Leathür Records label,” Neil added of the band’s 1981 debut. “It cost $3,000 to make and was done in three days. It was a glorified demo tape, but we were the record label until we got signed by Elektra. We haven’t been on a record label for 20 years. But Scott shares our philosophy and he’s a brilliant guy.”

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Live Nation)

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