[Cover photo credit to Vito Geraci]
Carmine Appice and his reformed band Cactus will be releasing new Blues Rock album, Temple Of Blues II, on April 3rd, 2026 via Cleopatra Records. It will arrive digitally and in physical formats.
It’s been two years since Cactus first released Temple Of Blues, a 15-track collection of Blues Rock with a subtitle ‘Influences And Friends,’ that indicated that they’d brought in many special guests.
Now, with a second collection, collaborators from the first album return, such as Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot, Dee Snider and Pat Travers, but they are joined by Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and many more.
The original Cactus grew out of Appice’s past experiences with Vanilla Fudge and Beck Bogart, debuting in 1970 with a self-titled album. And Temple Of Blues II takes us back to their birth. That summer, Cactus were among the main attractions at the Isle of Wight Festival in England, and the new album’s “Purple Haze” reunites them with both another of that bill’s audience favorites, Melanie, and its overall headliner, Jimi Hendrix.
Elsewhere on this collection, Pat Travers returns for “Moanin’ At Midnight,” Joe Lynn Turner joins Morse, Carmine’s Guitar Zeus bandmate Tony Franklin and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater) for “Bad Stuff,” Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) and Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) take on “The Little Red Rooster,” and Ted Nugent and Bob Daisley (Rainbow) join forces for “Spoonful.”
Track List:
1. Back Door Man Pt. 1 & 2 feat. Eric Gales & Billy Sheehan
2. 300 Pounds Of Joy feat. Ty Tabor
3. Moanin’ At Midnight feat. Pat Travers
4. Down In The Bottom feat. Dug Pinnick
5. Token Chokin’ feat. Bumblefoot
6. Bad Stuff feat. Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Derek Sherinian
& Tony Franklin
7. Tail Dragger feat. Rudy Sarzo & Alex Skolnick
8. The Little Red Rooster feat. Dee Snider, Tracii Guns, Jimmy
Haslip
9. Purple Haze feat. Melanie
10. Spoonful feat. Ted Nugent & Bob Daisley
BONUS TRACK [CD ONLY]
11. Feel So Good feat. Billy Sheehan & Britt Lightning
