CACTUS

track-list:
Back Door Man Pt. 1 & 2
feat. Eric Gales & Billy Sheehan
300 Pounds Of Joy
feat. Ty Tabor
Moanin’ At Midnight
feat. Pat Travers
Down In The Bottom
feat. Dug Pinnick
Token Chokin’
feat. Bumblefoot
Bad Stuff
feat. Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner,
Derek Sherinian & Tony Franklin
Tail Dragger
feat. Rudy Sarzo & Alex Skolnick
The Little Red Rooster
feat. Dee Snider, Tracii Guns, Jimmy Haslip
Purple Haze
feat. Melanie
Spoonful
feat. Ted Nugent & Bob Daisley
bonus track (CD only):
Feel So Good
feat. Billy Sheehan & Britt Lightning

Cactus are:
Artie Dillion – guitar, background vocals
Ed Terry – lead vocals, harp
Carmine Appice – drums, background vocals
Jimmy Caputo – bass

discography:

Two years after reopening the doors to their blues-soaked sanctuary, Carmine Appice and Cactus return with a second chapter that digs even deeper into the roots of heavy blues rock.
‘Temple Of Blues II‘, set for release on April 3, 2026, via Cleopatra Records, isn’t just a sequel – it’s an expansion of an idea that thrives on collaboration, legacy, and sheer musical firepower.
Where the first volume leaned on a circle of close friends and influences, the follow-up broadens the scope into a full-blown all-star affair.
Familiar names like Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan and Dee Snider return to the fold, now joined by a fresh wave of heavyweights including Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Tracii Guns, Rudy Sarzo and Alex Skolnick.
The result is a record that feels less like a conventional album and more like a summit meeting of rock history, where generations and styles collide.
The first glimpse of that chemistry arrives in the form of ‘Back Door Man‘, a two-part opener featuring Sheehan alongside Eric Gales and Artie Dillon.
It’s raw, muscular, and steeped in the kind of swagger that defined the band’s earliest days – yet it carries a modern weight that keeps it from drifting into nostalgia.
Another standout, ‘The Little Red Rooster‘, pairs Snider’s unmistakable snarl with Guns’ sharp-edged guitar work, injecting new urgency into a blues standard.
There’s a sense of history running through the album that goes beyond its guest list.
Often dubbed ‘America’s Led Zeppelin‘, Cactus emerged in 1970 from the ashes of Vanilla Fudge and quickly carved out their own identity on the live circuit.
That lineage echoes throughout ‘Temple Of Blues II‘, particularly on a striking take on ‘Purple Haze‘, which reconnects the band with the spirit of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix.
The track also features the late Melanie Safka, whose vocal performance adds both poignancy and depth.
Elsewhere, the album continues to reinterpret blues classics with a heavier, more contemporary edge.
Contributions from artists like Pat Travers and Bob Daisley ensure that each track carries its own distinct character, while still feeding into the album’s overarching identity:
a celebration of blues as the foundation of hard rock, pushed through decades of evolution.
At the center of it all remains Appice himself, whose drumming anchors the entire project with authority and groove.
His playing doesn’t just hold these collaborations together – it drives them forward, giving the album a sense of cohesion despite its ever-changing lineup.