Tommy Lee Talks “Rebirth” of Mötley Crüe and Their New Energy With John 5

Tommy Lee doesn’t have much use for the past these days. Instead, the Mötley Crüe drummer is immersing himself in right now. Indeed, both the present and the future look bright for Lee and the rest of the Crue. Last month, the glam metal legends dropped “Dogs of War,” the band’s first piece of new material since former lead guitarist Mick Mars stepped down from touring in 2022. Former Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 came aboard the same year, taking Mars’ place. Lee recently spoke about why the band needed to capitalize on the “new energy” John 5 brought.

[RELATED: Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx Admits To Feeling “Bad” About Taking John 5 From Rob Zombie]

Tommy Lee Sounds Off About Bringing John 5 Aboard Mötley Crüe

Speaking with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito, Lee underlined the importance of recording with Mötley Crüe’s newest member. Inspiration struck during their co-headlining World Tour with Def Leppard and Alice Cooper.

“Going to record was, yes, it was really important to us because during that [early 2023] tour, we felt all this new energy,” said the 61-year-old drummer. “Having John 5 in the band really, really inspired us to share with our fans what we’re feeling. This new energy is like a rebirth in many ways, and so we started writing some music.”

“Dogs of War” is the band’s first song since John 5 joined, although the guitarist had previously co-written three Mötley Crüe tracks.

Lee struggled to summarize the band’s latest musical direction, ultimately calling it “a time stamp on the energy that we’re all feeling.”

“It’s just a culmination of so many things that were happening with us, with having John 5 as our guitar player, all this new energy, and everybody was feeling all the stuff, going on ‘The Stadium Tour’ and around the world, and there was so much excitement that we felt, like, ‘We have to record this. It would be silly not to,’” the legendary drummer said.

Mötley Crüe’s Legal Battle With Mick Mars Continues

Founding member Mick Mars, 72, announced in 2022 that he was retiring from touring amid a years-long battle with ankylosing spondylitis. This chronic form of arthritis mainly affects the spine and pelvis.

Less than 24 hours later, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee declared publicly that Mars was retiring from the band entirely — not just touring. The rockers further confirmed that John 5 would replace Mars.

In April 2023, Mars sued his former bandmates, alleging he had been illegally ousted from the group. He scored a legal victory against his former Crue members earlier this year.

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