Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


AC/DC Announce Initial 2015 Tour Dates
(Classic Rock) AC/DC have confirmed three UK and Ireland stadium shows for June and July next year. They'll play Glasgow's Hampden Park on June 28, Dublin's Aviva Stadium on July 1 and London's Wembley Stadium on July 4.

The band launched 17th album Rock Or Bust this month - their first without mainman Malcolm Young, who's been forced to retire as a result of dementia.

AC/DC have been heavily rumored to be headlining the Glastonbury festival next year - and guitarist Angus Young recently light-heartedly said they'd accept an invitation if it was extended. Read more here.



Ozzy Osbourne Accused By Former Guitarist
(Classic Rock) Jake E. Lee says Ozzy Osbourne took all the songwriting credit for the Bark At The Moon album despite the fact he wrote parts of the 1983 record. And he claims manager Sharon Osbourne told him he would have to accept the decision or his guitar sections would be scrapped and re-recorded by another musician, despite the fact he'd previously been told his name would appear on the disc.

He tells Eddie Trunk via Blabbermouth: "Here's the truth. This is really gonna get me in more hot water, but whatever. I'm in hot water and I don't see a way out.

"I was told from the get-go, 'If you write part of the songs you'll get writing credit, you'll get publishing - that's part of your deal.' We recorded the album at Ridge Farm Studios and I kept asking because I'm getting really close to finishing all my stuff on the record. Once I laid down the final track they said, 'We have the contract for you.'

"In it, it said, 'Ozzy Osbourne wrote all the songs. You had nothing to do with any of the writing, you have no claim to publishing, and you cannot say so publicly.'

"I said to Sharon Osbourne, 'This isn't what you told me before. Why do you think I'm going to sign it?' She said, 'Because if you don't, we'll give you a plane ticket, you go back home and you stand in line and you sue us. In the meantime, we have all your tracks, we'll get another guitar player, he'll redo your tracks, and you'll have nothing.'"

And Lee says he didn't challenge the decision as it would have been a legal nightmare. He continues here.




Creedence Clearwater Revival Stars Explain Lawsuit
Creedence Clearwater Revival members Stu Cook and Doug Clifford have released a statement explaining their reasons for filing a lawsuit against their former bandmate John Fogerty.

Cook and Clifford say in the statement, "Because of recent inaccurate statements in the media regarding pending litigation, we want to set the record straight. We have never objected to John Fogerty performing any song he ever wrote, or performing any song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. That idea is ridiculous.

"Even when he refused to play those songs, and publicly called for a boycott of CCR music, we encouraged him to perform them whenever and wherever he wanted.

"The facts are that Mr. Fogerty, while proclaiming joyful rebirth in the press, repeatedly has his lawyers threaten us with lawsuits and demand unreasonable concessions of our rights.

"Last week, the threats and demands left us with little doubt that a lawsuit would be filed by him against us for the second time. This unfortunate situation required us to take unpleasant preemptive legal action. This action is about the need to defend ourselves and rights, Mr. Fogerty's failure to perform contractual promises and unlicensed uses of the trademark 'Creedence Clearwater Revival.'

"The trademark is not owned by him, but by the Creedence Clearwater Revival Partnership. We have a business relationship with him and, under prevailing circumstances, chose not to be bullied."




Saxon Drummer Has Brain Surgery
(Classic Rock) Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler underwent a second operation Thursday to repair a brain aneurysm. He was rushed to hospital in Newcastle on Monday, with the band having to postpone the remaining four dates on their UK tour.

It was discovered he was suffering from bleeding on the brain. His wife Gina gave an update on his condition via the band's official Facebook page Wednesday, saying the first operation was unsuccessful.

She says: "Nigel had surgery today for the brain aneurysm, but unfortunately it was not successful with the first option, so he will be undergoing another operation tomorrow." Read more here.




Rush Launching Hi-Def Audio Reissue Series
(hennemusic) Rush will reissue 14 albums with upgraded high-definition audio in 2015. The band are re-releasing material from their years with Mercury Records in chronological order each month throughout 2015, starting in January with 1975's "Fly By Night" and wrapping up in December with 1989's "A Show Of Hands."

All albums will be reissued on high-quality vinyl with a download card for a Digital Audio version and high resolution Digital Audio releases, while three titles will also be released on Blu-ray Pure Audio.

The 2015 series launches January 27 with "Fly By Night", which will be available in high-quality vinyl with a download code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped Digital Audio album download; high resolution Digital Audio editions in DSD (2.8mHz), 192khz / 24-bit, 96kHz / 24-bit; and an additional Blu-Ray Pure Audio version with 96kHz / 24-bit 5.1 surround sound and stereo. Read more here.



The Eagles Beat Bon Jovi In Top Rock Earning Chart
(Classic Rock) The Eagles have been named the top-earning rock band of the year, grossing around $100m between June 2013 and June 2014. Income totals were calculated using figures from touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise, endorsements and other ventures. Management, agent and legal fees were not deducted.

Income from their History Of The Eagles tour put them ahead of Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones - although rapper Dr Dre topped the list of all musicians with $620m and pop singer Beyonce came second with $115m.

But the Eagles were the only rock outfit to reach the $100m barrier in a year which industry analysts Forbes say has seen the continuing rise of dance and pop music."

Forbes report: "The History Of The Eagles tour helped the ageless rockers earn more than Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus combined." Read more and see the top rock earners list here.




Sex Pistols Frontman Says Simon Cowell Is 'Our Worst Enemy'
(Classic Rock) John Lydon has branded the X Factor a "cruel" show that churns out "cruise ship" acts. The Sex Pistols frontman was promoting his new autobiography Anger Is An Energy at an event at Oxford University when he took aim the reality TV show and its creator Simon Cowell.

According to the NME, Lydon said: "Simon Cowell, that's our worst enemy. I don't think people on the show are that awful, it becomes awful when they become trained into that cruise ship show band mentality, and that's the poison of it.

"He has got us all on his big cruise ship lollipop, and I ain't licking his lollipop.," Lydon said. "It's really bad, all of those shows." Read the rest of his comments here.




Stevie Ray Vaughan Tops Rock Hall Fan Vote
(Classic Rock) Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble have convincingly topped the public poll for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for the class of 2015.

The late blues icon drew over 18 million votes, nearly a third of the total, and put him ahead of Nine Inch Nails, Joan Jett, Bill Withers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Lou Reed and others.

The result means Vaughan will have an additional "fans' ballot" vote in his favour as the Rock Hall's panel of industry experts choose between 15 nominees.

While it's not a guaranteed result, previous fan vote winners Kiss and Rush were both given the honor. Read more and see the vote results here.




Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime Doesn't Include Sarzo
(Classic Rock) Robert Sarzo says he is not a part of Geoff Tate's post-Queensryche band - but insists there has been no falling out. The guitarist was part of Tate's version of Queensryche while there were two bands of that name in operation due to a complicated legal wrangle.

Tate was ordered to stop using the name earlier this year and he recently announced his band would be called Operation: Mindcrime - after the Queensryche albums of the same name to which he was granted sole rights in the legal settlement.

But Sarzo will not take part in the new project, saying his contract with Tate came to an end and that he is working on other endeavours.

Sarzo tells LA Rocks: "The reason that I was brought into Queensryche with Geoff Tate was to do the 25th anniversary of Operation: Mindcrime and also to do the greatest hits and we did the farewell tour. And I did it - every show; I never missed one.

"Nobody quit, nobody got fired. I was a member of that version of Queensryche and it ended. It was fun hanging out with Geoff, Kelly, Randy and my brother Rudy on tour." Read more here.




Morbid Angel Working On New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Morbid Angel will begin writing their ninth album next year, according to frontman David Vincent. It will be the follow-up to 2011's Illud Divinum Insanus - and Vincent says he has no set direction for their new material and is happy to see where the writing process takes them.

He tells Planet Mosh TV: "It's time to write. Whatever it ends up being is whatever it ends up being. I don't think about anything when I'm creating. It comes and that's what happens."

Their last album was Vincent's first with the band since 2005's Domination and wasn't well received by some fans when it launched three years ago. But the singer says he was happy with the finished product and credits guitarist Trey Azagthoth for the record's sound." Read more here.





Korn Frontman Reflects On Painful Beginning
(TeamRock Radio) Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has recalled the trials he endured while working on the band's debut album with producer Ross Robinson. And while he agrees that the deskman brought out the best in his performance, he still can't forget the turmoil that surrounded the sessions.

The 1994 title was recorded with a budget of just $14,000 - but it propelled the band to the big-time and remains an influential work 20 years later. Davis tells Rolling Stone: "I never felt like I was a metal dude to begin with. My favourite band was Duran Duran - I was a child of the 80s and I loved more of the gothic and romantic sh*t.

"I had to quit my job where I was making real money as a mortician, and had my own house, to having nothing - working at a pizza place and living under some stairs."

He remembers spending much of the time drunk and on meth, adding: "I was 23, I think. That's when you're Superman, when that sh*t doesn't affect you. I got sober when I was 28, around when I started getting the bad hangovers and could do that sh*t any more or I was going to die." Read more here.




Steve Hackett Reveals More New Album Details
(Classic Rock) Steve Hackett has revealed more details on his next solo album, Wolflight. The 10-track record launches in Europe on March 30 and is his first solo studio outing since 2011's Beyond The Shrouded Horizon. To mark the announcement, he's issued a short video message. View it below.

Hackett says about the album: "My new rock album Wolflight is at the ready and lying in wait. It reflects everybody's struggle for freedom on a journey travelling through both inner and outer space.

"It explores sounds from as far afield as Greece, Azerbaijan, the deep American South, Sahara desert and beyond - from all our yesterdays, evoking the ancient past."

Guest musicians on the album include Roger King, Gary O'Toole, Nick Beggs, Rob Townsend, Amanda Lehmann, Malik Mansurov and Sara Kovaks. Yes bassist Chris Squire appears on the track Love Song To A Vampire, while Hugo Dagenhardt is behind the kit for Dust And Dreams.

More details here.




Mother Of Murdered Goth Accepts Royal Honor
(Classic Rock) The mother of murdered goth Sophie Lancaster has been presented with an Order Of The British Empire honour by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Sylvia Lancaster set up a charitable foundation in her daughter's memory after Sophie was beaten to death in 2007. The 20-year-old sustained fatal injuries while trying to protect boyfriend Robert Maltby, who survived the assault. The pair had been attacked because they were wearing goth-style clothing.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation aims to tackle hate crimes by educating people about subcultures and spreading a message of tolerance. Sylvia, who was told she'd receive the honour earlier this year, tells ITV: "Prince Charles talked about Sophie and about gang culture. I'm sure she would be proud. It's not just about the work that we do - it's a validation of alternative subcultures as well." Read more here.



The Neal Morse Band Reveal New Album Details
(TeamRock Radio) The Neal Morse Band have released more details about their upcoming album The Grand Experiment. It launches on February 16 via InsideOut and along with a standard CD release it will also be issued as a 2CD and DVD special edition Digipak.

The second disc features previously unreleased live and studio tracks while the DVD contains a 'Making Of' documentary. The recording will also be released on 180g vinyl which comes with the double CD and DVD.

Earlier this month, mainman Morse said he, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette and Bikll Hubauer, began studio sessions without any material written in advance.

He said: "I wanted to see what it would be like to create freely in the room with no preconceived notions. It was quite a risk." Read more here.




George Lynch Frustrated By Singers
(Classic Rock) Lynch Mob mainman George Lynch says he has given up trying to understand the needs of singers. The band recently reunited with off-again, on-again frontman Oni Logan after a bout of what Lynch describes as lead singer's disease (LSD).

And after years of frustrations in regards to vocalists, Lynch says he's happy to work with whoever is interested, without trying to analyse them. Lynch tells The Classic Metal Show: "Lead singers - go figure. I don't know. I'm kind of done trying to figure it out, psychoanalyse the LSD syndrome.

"I've loved Oni's voice and I've loved his lyrics and I love things about him, things that he does, but again, I've been frustrated my whole life with singers in general. And I just got to the point now where I just kind of let it go.

"I'm not trying to control the universe. I just do what I do. If people wanna work with me, they work with me. If not, I try to do the right thing. I treat everybody fairly." Read more here.




Black Tusk Announce Tour With Black Label Society
(TeamRock Radio) Black Tusk have announced they will join Black Label Society on their 2015 European tour. The US rockers were dealt a painful blow last month when bassist Jonathan Athon died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash.

But they say they intend to carry on and will hit Europe next year, with eight UK dates included. Niche's Corey Barhorst will be on bass duties for the tour.

In a statement, Black Tusk say: "It's been an incredibly trying time for us over the past month and we want to thank everyone for their support. We had confirmed the tour with Black Label Society and finished the new album before Athon's accident and Athon, specifically, had been very excited about the opportunity to tour with BLS and we feel there's no way he'd want things to end on this note." Read more here.






New Star Wars Characters Revealed In Collectable Way
(Radio.com) Time to dust off that giant binder with those baseball cards because you're going to need those open slots for characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In a totally old-school move, director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy have unveiled the names of the new batch of characters by printing them on limited-edition Tops collectible cards, the same way Lucas did it in 1977.

Nearly forty years ago, Tops-style released five rounds of cards around the first trilogy, with each complete set a different color, red and blue being the first to roll out. According to Entertainment Weekly, Abrams and Kennedy have created two new sets of cards, red and blue, thereby revealing the names of the new characters featured in The Force Awakens teaser trailer.

Now we no longer have to refer to the little robot as "the little marble guy" or hooded scavenger as "the dude with the light saber cross thingy." See the cards that will hit the market first here.




Aerosmith's Joe Perry Releases 'Run Run Rudolph' Video
(Radio.com) Joe Perry's video for "Run Run Rudolph" comes right in the sweet spot of Christmas song season. Covering Chuck Berry's classic, the Aerosmith guitarist takes lead on this one, along with the rest of a festive EP, Joe Perry's Merry Christmas, which is available now. The track also boasts actor Johnny Depp on rhythm guitar.

Other holiday favorites found on the release, which was recorded in a span of three weeks when Perry found himself "living down the street from a studio" (via Billboard), are "Santa Claus is Back in Town" and instrumental renditions of traditional numbers "Silent Night" and "White Christmas."

The video captures the magic of children on Christmas morning, getting presents and checking their lists and the like. Watch the clip above, directed by The Enclave Hollywood.





Slipknot's Clown Explains The Devil In I Video Concept
(TeamRock Radio) Directed by Clown, Slipknot's video for "The Devil In I", first official promo clip from new album .5: The Gray Chapter, got a lot of fans talking due to its violent nature and depiction of death. Here we find out why.

Talking exclusively on Slipknot's YouTube channel, Shawn Crahan reveals the idea behind The Devil In I is to become one with your past devils then to do away with them.

As such the various members of Slipknot are killed in different but significant ways - Sid Wilson eats his own hands and fingers so he can no longer DJ, Chris Fehn (who has a genuine fear of birds) chose to be eaten alive by crows and Corey Taylor chose to have his head explode.

Find out why these decisions were made and more in the video here.




AC/DC Release Rock Or Bust Video Shoot Footage
(hennemusic) AC/DC are sharing behind the scenes footage from the video shoot for the title track to their new album, "Rock Or Bust." Filming took place at Black Island Studios in Middlesex in early October, with fans arriving from all over the world to be a part of the video.

"Seeing all the fans again," says singer Brian Johnson, "all the superfans, who have been so faithful over the last 40 years… it was a touching moment because Malcolm [Young] not being there….and they set off a roar for Malcolm that touched us, y'know."

Malcolm Young retired from AC/DC earlier this year following health issues related to a diagnosis of dementia. The group brought in Malcolm and Angus Young's nephew, Stevie, for their first album in six years.

Drummer Phil Rudd was not on site for the filming; headlines would later see Rudd arrested by New Zealand police on multiple charges stemming from an alleged incident the week before the London shoot.

AC/DC brought in Bob Richards (Shogun, Adrian Smith Band) to handle drum duties in Rudd's place. Check out the footage here.



Foreigner Premiere New Version of 'Urgent'
(hennemusic) Foreigner are premiering a new live version of their 1981 classic, "Urgent", from "The Best Of Foreigner 4 & More." Due for release in North America on December 16, the collection features most of "Foreigner 4" as well as some of the band's best-known hits recorded live the Borgata Hotel's Music Box theatre in Atlantic City in October.

"4" spent more weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts than any artist in the history of Atlantic Records, including AC/DC, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and went on to sell more than 9 million albums worldwide.

The lead single from "4", "Urgent", reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart. Check out the tracklisting and the new version of the song here.




Steven Tyler Performs Aerosmith's Dream On At Rehab
(hennemusic) Steven Tyler performed the Aerosmith classic, "Dream On", during a recent visit to the Recovery Unplugged Drug Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and video of the performance had been posted online.

Tyler teamed up with Recovery Unplugged Creative Director - and original Aerosmith rhythm guitarist - Richie Supa to perform songs for clients at the facility.

Tyler reportedly took photos with staff and clients following a presentation that saw the singer and Supa tell stories from their 40-plus years of shared history and friendship.

"Today was one of the best days of my life because at Recovery, I saw God here," explains Tyler. "I saw a bunch of kids that are going to take this program seriously because of Richie Supa."

"This was very, very special for me," he added, "because in recovery, the only way to keep it is to give it away and today was just as beautiful as beautiful gets."

The pair of rockers also performed Aerosmith's 1993 smash, "Amazing", which the two co-wrote. Check out video here.




KISS Star Paul Stanley Appears On The Queen Latifah Show
(hennemusic) KISS frontman Paul Stanley was a featured guest on The Queen Latifah Show on Thursday. On hand to promote his memoir, "Face The Music: A Life Exposed", Stanley and the host discussed a variety of topics, including parenting, lifestyle choices and a turning point in the singer's career path.

Published in April 8, the 432-page memoir chronicles Stanley's life and rise to global success with KISS, which he co-founded in January of 1973 with bassist Gene Simmons from the ashes of the pair's previous band, Wicked Lester.

The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list upon its release. Two days after the book was published, Stanley and the original lineup of KISS were inducted into the 2014 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in New York, alongside Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, and The E Street Band.




Christopher Lee Releases New Metal Christmas Song
(Radio.com) The 92-year-old wonder Christopher Lee just keeps going when it comes to his heavy metal hobby, particularly around the holidays. After a slew of previous holiday-themed singles set in the heavy metal vein, the actor and occasional singer's offering for 2014 is now here.

In a video that also calls back to his earlier Christmas tracks, Lee debuts "Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing," a redoing of the classic holiday/religious track "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Over a pummeling guitar riff, Lee alters the lyrics of the original, replacing them with metal-worthy wording.

"Christ, I like those heavy chords/ Christ, I want to hear some more," he sings in his Dracula-like delivery, preaching "glory to the metal kings."