Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Arrest Warrant For Former Pearl Jam Member
(hennemusic) It has been discovered that there is an outstanding arrest warrant for former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzzese that was issued in September of last year in Texas on drug charges.

hennemusic reports: The drummer was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance under 28 grams and the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, according to the Denton County Crime Stoppers website.

Abruzzese joined Pearl Jam in 1991 after drummer Dave Krusen checked himself into rehab following the completion of the group's debut album, "Ten." Read more here.




Metallica To Headline Rock In Rio
Metallica have announced that they have been selected to headline this year's Rock In Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary this September.

The band had previously announced that they would be a headliner for the inaugural U.S. based version of the festival which will be taking place in Las Vegas on May 8-9 and May 15-16. They will be headlining the World Stage at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds on May 9th.

The band had the following to say about headlining the Brazil flagship festival, "One Rock In Rio in a year is just not enough! We're very excited that we have been invited to be a part of the original Rock In Rio 30-year celebration by headlining one night during the festivities taking place September 18-27, 2015 at the City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"This will mark our eighth (!) Rock In Rio appearance including the upcoming May show in Las Vegas. It promises to be quite the party as we join a stellar festival line up including Faith No More, System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot and many others."

The band also advised fans that this would be their only concert in South America this year.




Coverdale Revisits Deep Purple On New Whitesnake Album
Whitesnake have revealed that their forthcoming album will find frontman David Coverdale revisiting and "re-imagining" some of the classic songs that he performed in the Mk III and Mk IV eras of Deep Purple.

The new album, entitled appropriately "The Purple Album", is set to be released in North America on May 19th in a standard edition, double LP vinyl version and a deluxe edition that will feature two bonus tracks, four music videos and a Behind The Scenes featurette. You can preorder the various versions here.

The band has also released a music video for "Stormbringer," the first single from the album. You can watch the video here. Coverdale had the following to say about the album, "It's a tribute. A homage. It's a huge thank you from me to Deep Purple for the opportunity I was given over 40 years ago

"As I said to Ritchie, you guys set me on an incredible journey that continues today and I couldn't have asked for better teachers. The University of Deep Purple was an extraordinary, amazing school to learn from. We can't wait to play these songs in concert!"

The current lineup of Whitesnake, Coverdale, Reb Beach, Joel Hoekstra, Michael Devin, and Tommy Aldridge, has already revealed North American tour dates in support of the album and will soon announce dates for other parts of the world. Check out the tracklistings and the tour dates here.




Hinder Announce New Album And Tour Dates
Hinder have announced that they will be releasing their new studio album, "When The Smoke Clears," on May 12th and they have revealed a series of North American tour dates.

Drummer Cody Hanson had the following to say about the new album, "We can cross genres whenever we want. We don't want to be a band that can only do that one thing. We have something for everyone. We've always been that way. Having the ability to do our own production, having our own studio, gives us a chance to experiment and try new things."

The band will be hitting the road prior to the album release for a spring tour that will be kicking off on March 13th in Traverse City, MI at Ground Zero and concluding on April 21st in Abilene, TX at the Taylor County Expo Center.

In addition to the tour, they will be playing special CD release shows. The first will take place on May 7th in Tulsa, OK at Vanguard and second is set for May 9th in Hinton, OK at the Sugar Creek Casino Event Center.

The group has also announced appearances at the Loudwire Music Festival on June 28th in Grand Junction, CO and an appearance at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston, OR on August 14th. Check out the tracklistings and the tour dates here.




Coverdale and Blackmore Discussed Deep Purple Reunion
(Classic Rock) David Coverdale has revealed that he and former Deep Purple bandmate Ritchie Blackmore discussed the possibility of getting back together after the death of Jon Lord in 2012.

And although the idea didn't come to fruition, it may have informed Coverdale's decision to record an album of his Purple-era tracks with Whitesnake.

The singer - who fronted the MkIII and IV version of Purple from 1973 to 1976 - confirmed the launch of The Purple Album yesterday, describing it as "a huge thank you from me to Deep Purple for the opportunity I was given over 40 years ago."

Coverdale says in the latest edition of Classic Rock, on sale now: "The tragic loss of Jon made me finally realise that life is too f***ing short to hold animosity, bitterness and resentments.

"So I decided to reach out to Ritchie to share the sense of grief and loss of Jon with him, and to express my gratitude to him for bringing me on board Deep Purple. During the conversation we did discuss the idea of getting back together in some way, which was Jon's wish."

He says he didn't pursue the idea because "After several discussions with Ritchie's manager I felt I didn't share their vision of the project. I sincerely wished them well and respectfully withdrew." Read more from Coverdale here.




Pete Townshend Remasters Solo Albums For Reissue Campaign
(hennemusic) Pete Townshend of The Who has announced that he will release 11 albums from his solo catalog digitally on February 25th as part of an extensive reissues program.

The 11 releases cover 1972's "Who Came First", his collaboration with The Faces' Ronnie Lane "Rough Mix", his musical version of Ted Hughes's "The Iron Man", his collections of demos "Scoop", "Another Scoop" and "Scoop 3", as well as the albums "Empty Glass", "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes", "White City", "Psychoderelict" and the live album "Deep End Live!" featuring David Gilmour.

All 11 records will be remastered and reissued on CD later this year as part of an extensive reissue program for Townshend's solo material that will run into 2016.

Townshend and The Who recently played the first run of UK dates for their 50 anniversary farewell tour, "The Who Hits 50!"; the band will launch a North American leg in Tampa, Florida on April 15. Check out the reissue album details here.





The Scorpions Reunite With James Kottack Following Rehab
(hennemusic) The Scorpions have welcomed drummer James Kottack back into their lineup following his 2014 arrest and jail time in Dubai and a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse.

"It was like a disaster," frontman Klaus Meine tells TV Rock Live. "He did make a mistake - he crossed the red line, definitely. This was not rock'n'roll and it was not funny. We said to James that he was pretty much out of the band. We told him, 'You have to go to rehab. You've got to take care of yourself and take it seriously.'We've set the doors wide open but it's really up to you.'"

Kottack returned to live duties late in 2014 and was on hand to record the group's new album, "Return To Forever." "He recorded the album in Stockholm at the end of last year, and we played two shows with him," adds Meine. "It was fantastic - it's great he's back in the family." Read more here.




Global Release Day For All New Music Moving Closer
(Classic Rock) The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is expected to announce that singles and albums hoping to enter charts are to be released on Fridays all round the world.

While Friday is already release day in Australia, Germany and other countries, it's traditionally been Monday in the UK and Tuesday in North America.

The IFPI hope a global release day will capture increased sales as a result of trade being more busy as the weekend begins. Boss Frances Moore tells Music Week: "The whole dynamic of the global release day consultation has been driven by one thing and one thing only - how best to serve the music consumer.

"We've had a long consultation involving retailers, artists and record labels. No one has seriously questioned the concept; the only debate has been about the day." Read more here.



Paul McCartney To Headline The Firefly Festival
(Radio.com) The final headliner for Firefly Festival has been revealed, and it does not disappoint. Paul McCartney will be holding that spot come June 18-21 when the festival takes place in Dover, Del. Macca will be joined by the Killers and Kings of Leon.

McCartney's addition to the lineup isn't too surprising, though; he was long rumored as the headliner ever since the poster, with its blurred-out major headliner, first went live.

In smaller print on the lineup, you'll find acts with just as much recognizability like Morrissey, Modest Mouse and Spoon. Also playing will be Cage the Elephant, Run the Jewels, Gary Clark Jr., Charli XCX, Kid Cudi, Snoop Dogg and Foster the People, among many more. Read more here.




Sun Kil Moon, Blackberry Smoke Lead Led Zeppelin Tribute Album
(Radio.com) This week, Led Zeppelin reissued their 1975 classic double album Physical Graffiti in a number of formats with the usual treasure trove of alternate versions of songs.

To celebrate, the excellent British magazine MOJO has compiled a track by track tribute to the album by a lineup showcasing the diversity of Zeppelin's influence.

The lineup includes Southern rock revivalists Blackberry Smoke, singer/songwriters Laura Marling and Michael Kiwanuka, Malian hard rock band Songhoy Blues, Mark Lanegan collaborator Duke Garwood, Sun Kil Moon and more.

The current issue of MOJO is now on newsstands in the U.K., and will likely be in the U.S. in a week or two. The tribute album is included with the magazine as a CD, but there's also a limited edition vinyl version. Find out how to order that and check out the tracklisting here.




Mastodon's Troy Sanders Says Killer Be Killed Could Play Again
(TeamRock Radio) Mastodon's Troy Sanders hopes supergroup Killer Be Killed will play live again after their run of shows at Australia's Soundwave festival. He hit the stage for the first time this weekend alongside Max Cavalera, Ben Koller of Converge and Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

And although no other appearances are planned when Soundwave comes to an end, there could be more on the horizon. Sanders tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show of their first set: "It was pretty rare and amazing. There was a handful of positive anxiety - the good nerves, not the band ones.

"There was a lot of smiles going on. 'Wow, dude - you're Max, you're Juan from Torche, you're Ben from Converge and you're Greg from Dillinger - and we're all jamming together.'"

He jokes that the advantage of working with two other frontmen is "we all get to do 66% less of the work!" Read more here.




Coal Chamber Expand Reunion Album Tour Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Coal Chamber have announced an 11-date UK tour in support of comeback album Rivals. The band's fourth album is released on May 19 via Napalm Records and the tour begins the following day. The band aresupported by Soil, American Head Charge and Dope.

Mainman Dez Fafara recently said of the follow-up to 2002's Dark Days: "This record was over 13 years in the making, and I promise it won't disappoint. Rivals is solid through and through.

"There's maturity and growth in the music, while still maintaining the true Coal Chamber sound, and delivering track after track of killer tunes. We had a great time working together on this record and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do." Read more including the new dates here.




Swervedriver Announce Spring UK Tour
(Classic Rock) English alt-rockers Swervedriver will tour the UK in May, the've announced. The 14 dates have been lined up to support I Wasn't Born To Lose You - their first album since 1998's 99th Dream.

It launches on March 3 via Cobraside and despite the 17-year period between releases, guitarist and vocalist Adam Franklin says the recording process happened quickly.

He tells Brazilian site Bem Parana: "The actual physical time recording the album was quite quick. Mikey Jones got all this drums down in about three days and Steve George recorded the bass with the drums. Jim Hartridge and I then took a bit more time with the guitars." Read more and see the dates here.




New Found Glory Open To Collaborating With Paramore
(TeamRock Radio) New Found Glory are open to a collaboration with Paramore, guitarist Chad Gilbert has confirmed. The couple have been together since 2008 and were engaged on Christmas Day last year.

And when asked by Spin Or Bin if both bands could get together to work on material, Gilbert says: "There is a very good chance." New Found Glory launched their eighth album Resurrection last year - their first without guitarist Steve Klein. And despite coming through the pop-punk scene in the late 90s, Gilbert insists the band have always had their own unique style and continue to do things their way.

He says: "We've never tried to fit what was popular in the mainstream. When we came out, we just created the music that we played. We never wanted to sound like any other bands. We sounded nothing like Blink-182 or Green Day. We were our own style and we got popular.

"When music started changing and things got poppier or things got a little bit more gothic, a lot of bands changed with the genre - but we created our genre, so we never changed because we started our style of music. "

He also weighs in on the current Blink-182 situation. Read more here.




Al Jorgensen Working On 'The Fastest Music In The History Of Music'
(TeamRock Radio) Ministry mainman Al Jourgensen has revealed his next musical project will be called Surgical Meth Machine - and it's set to feature "the fastest music in the history of music."

He's currently appearing at Australia's Soundwave festival with the final incarnation of Ministry, following the death of guitarist and close friend Mike Scaccia in 2012.

And while there are some more live shows to come from the band he's best known for, he's confirmed 2013 album From Beer To Eternity was their studio swan song.

Jourgensen tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show: "We're going to do one last tour as Ministry, maybe even another tour, because people seem to want to see it.

"As far as future studio releases, since Mikey's death, I decided it's not the same. It would be like Zeppelin playing without Bonham or the Who playing without Moon or something like that. Me playing without Mikey doesn't seem right."

Instead, he's working on a Surgical Meth Machine album with longtime engineer Sam D'Ambruoso. "We decided to cut out the middle-men," Jourgensen says. "Me and him are doing this music that's just eyeball-popping. There's nothing under 220pbm on there. It's not for the faint of heart."

He compares the material to a track on From Beer To Eternity: "Mikey's Middle Finger is one of the last things Mike did before he died. Imagine a whole album of that - this is what we're going for now. Straight mayhem." Read more here.




Dave Mustaine Hires Megadeth Guitarists To Challenge Him
(TeamRock Radio) Dave Mustaine has joked that he plays tracks by his former band Metallica for fun when he's sitting around the house. But he's also admitted that every guitarist he brought into Megadeth were hired because they challenged him.

Mustaine tells Pensado's Place: "Each guitar player I've worked with over the years, I've gotten because they were better at soloing than I was. I'm pretty confident with my rhythm playing.

"I didn't want someone who sounded just like me - I wanted the two to dovetail together. If you add white and white it's still white. If you add white and black you can start to change the colors. As you add colors into the palette you change the songs."

And he's as passionate about playing guitar as he ever was. "The guitar's helped me say things I can't say with my mouth," he explains. "I say it with my hands. When you play a piece of music and someone else can go, 'I feel what you feel,' you've made a really good bond with somebody." Read more here.



Panic Room Exceed Their Crowdfunding Goal For New Project
(Prog) Welsh outfit Panic Room have exceeded their Kickstarter target set up to help them record an acoustic album. And they say they're "humbled" by the response to their first-ever crowdfunding drive and have thanked fans for their support.

The band say: "We couldn't have reached this target without all of your incredible pledges - we are high-fiving each and every one of you right now. We were Kickstarter virgins so we had no way of knowing exactly how successful or positive this project would be. But you have well and truly 'broken us in.'

"Your support since we announced this acoustic album has been truly amazing, and we couldn't be more proud, excited and humbled to have fans like you."

The record will feature reworked material from all four of their albums: 2008's Visionary Position, 2010's Satellite, 2012's Skin and last year's Incarnate. Read more here.



Steve Hackett Recruits The Flower Kings' Roine Stolt
(Prog) Steve Hackett has discussed his pleasure at appointing Roine Stolt a full-time member of his band. The Flower Kings mainman and Transatlantic member will play bass and 12-string guitar on Hackett's UK tour, after a guest appearance at his Royal Albert Hall concert in October 2013.

Hackett says: "I'm really pleased Roine will be joining the band on bass, 12-string - and, for some songs, doubling on electric guitar with me. Roine is a truly impressive and versatile player and I particularly like his work with other bands and artists.

I've enjoyed playing with him live on more than one occasion and I'm thrilled he's going to join the team. It's marvellous to have both Swedish talents Roine Stolt and Nad Sylvan as part of the band for these Hackett solo/Genesis Revisited shows." Read more here.



Allan Holdsworth Calls On Fans To Help With 'Tales From The Vault'
(Prog) Allan Holdsworth has launched a Pledge campaign to crowdfund his album Tales From The Vault. The record will feature material he's written in recent years and includes guest appearances by colleagues Jimmy Johnson, Chad Wackerman, Gary Husband, Virgil Donati, Jimmy Haslip and many others.

Holdworth tells fans: "It's been quite some time since I've released new material. Rather than going the traditional route, I've teamed up with PledgeMusic to engage you in the release of Tales From The Vault.

"These previously unreleased tracks have been compiled over the last few years and feature many of the phenomenal musicians you've come to know from my tours and recordings." Read more here.




Nightwish's Hietala Discusses Working With Floor On New Album
(Prog) Nightwish bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala has hailed Floor Jansen's work ethic after she became the first frontwoman to attend studio sessions from the day they began.

The band, who released a promo for track Elan this month, are poised to release eighth album Endless Forms Most Beautiful - their first with Jansen at the helm, and with Troy Donockley as a full-time band member.

Hietala tells FaceCulture: "When we got together for the rehearsals, she was the first vocalist to come in on day one and start doing her stuff. It gave us a better view of the songs.

"You head the structures, the vocals, the lyrics and all that, and you can start going through them and what kind of punch they have, and have them play according to those dynamics.

"I could also start working on all kinds of harmony parts. We nailed down a lot that way. That was really a good thing." Read more here.






Scott Weiland Releases Cover Of Rock Classic
Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts have released a cover of T. Rex's 1973 classic "20th Century Boy," which comes from their forthcoming album Blaster.

The album is set to be released on March 31st and "20th Century Boy" is the fourth track that the band has revealed from the project. Earlier this week they released the song "Modzilla," which followed the release of "Way She Moves" and "White Lightning".

Weiland told Entertainment Weekly the following about their version of the T. Rex classic, 'It's just the coolest, most current take on a classic glam-rock song, 'Sounds like it could be playing on the radio now ' it should be!"





Veteran Guitarist Fears The 'Ageing Out' Of Rock
(Classic Rock) Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French says the rock genre is in trouble because it's an "ageing cultural phenomena." His comments come as it was revealed the 10 best-selling musical artists of 2014 had an average age of 38 - some distance from the classic perception that rock music is made for teenagers by teenagers.

And he's concerned that, while no young rock bands are exploding into the big-time, it's not the same case in the world of pop, country and hip-hop. French tells The Metal Voice: "Rock is over 50 years old and it's not regenerating with the youth.

"When I was 17 years old I would see Led Zeppelin, the Stones, the Who, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. They were 24 years old. Now there are no rock bands coming up that are that enormous and that young - but you've got plenty of hip-hop artists, country artists and pop artists that are.

"What's happening is, you're watching the ageing-out of a genre of music." Read more and watch the full interview here.




Aerosmith's Brad Whitford Talks DVD, Tour Plans, Guitars and More
(Gibson) Things are simmering in the Aerosmith camp, with the announcement of a cross-country summer tour expected any day now. In addition, this Thursday (Feb. 26), a special one-night concert film event will be broadcast in more than 300 theaters nationwide. Titled "Aerosmith Rocks Donington 2014," the show features the band performing a 19-song set list during their headlining appearance at last year's Download Fest at Donington Park in Leicestershire, UK. A 90-minute DVD of the show will be available this spring, with the tour to soon follow.

To get the scoop on these happenings and more, we spoke with longtime Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford. The veteran rocker shared his thoughts on a range of topics, including his favorite guitars, his primary influences, his musical interaction with Joe Perry, and whether or not fans can expect a new Aerosmith studio album anytime soon.

What made the Donington show an especially good choice for the theater concert broadcast and DVD? We've always felt it's a great festival and a great event. And we've always associated it with a lot of our favorite bands and musicians. Plus the crowd is incredibly enthusiastic. It's an honor to be included in that festival. It felt like a no-brainer to immortalize that show.

Joe has said he thinks of Aerosmith primarily as a live band. Do you agree? I understand his view, although we've certainly made some great recordings and come up with some great music in the studio as well. Still, I tend to agree--our true passion is to get on-stage and perform.

You're formally schooled and Joe is self-taught. Has that figured into how the two of you work together? It's hard to say. Joe comes from a place where music is inside him, and he just has to get it out. His approach is intuitive, whereas I may stop and think about what we're doing a little more. We've never sat and had a lot of discussion about what we should play. It's very organic. He'll start playing something, and I'll immediately find a counterpoint for it. That's how we've always worked. We find things to complement one another's ideas.

Which players influenced you as you were coming up? I was totally blown away by the British Invasion. Like most of my contemporaries, seeing The Beatles and getting into their music was huge-a revolution, really. And then all these other British bands came along--groups that were really different, who had their own sound. I'm still infatuated with Cream, with Eric Clapton's work in that band. Hendrix, Zeppelin, Jeff Beck-it was a wave of incredible talent. Guys like Joe and me were profoundly affected.

You've said elsewhere that "Sunshine of Your Love" affected you in a special way. I'm still amazed at the feel of that song. Everything Clapton did there is incredible. It's amazing how far back on that beat that guitar part is. And the solo is stunning. It's still one of my favorites--his tone, his choice of notes. It was great instruction about touch and technique. I was amazed at Clapton's vibrato, how smooth and subtle it was. It was a great lesson in how to make a solo stand out.

You've had a strong hand in the writing of some great Aerosmith songs, and you've also done great lead guitar work. Does it ever rankle that more people don't recognize that? In the past it did, but not anymore. I remember being in London years ago and reading review of the Rocks album. There was this great review of the song "Last Child," that credited all the guitar work to Joe. That made me angry, because all the guitar work on that song was mine. But these days I think our individual styles and approaches are well recognized. I enjoy my place in the band and my standing with the public. I wouldn't want to change anything about that.

Is there any talk of Aerosmith going into the studio to make another album? Not at the moment. Steven has wanted to do his own album for the past 20 years, and finally he's blocked out some time for that project. That may inspire him and the rest of us to get back into the studio together, but it probably wouldn't happen until after we've finished the tour we're doing this summer. Right now we're not under the gun of a recording deadline, with record contracts and stuff. Who knows--that might give us even more inspiration, where we do it just because we want to do it.

Are there any surprises you can reveal about the summer tour? We're hoping to bring some songs out of the closet, musically. Of course we'll still be playing the bulk of the hits as well, but one goal is to maybe do some songs people have never heard us do before live. That's our goal. I'm hoping we can pull that off. I know we can--it's just a matter of staying committed to the idea. We feel it's time to bring some new music into the fold.







Black Star Riders Release Acoustic 'Charlie I Gotta Go' Video
(hennemusic) Black Star Riders vocalist Ricky Warwick and guitarist Damon Johnson teamed up to deliver an acoustic performance of the track "Charlie I Gotta Go" from the band's newly-released second album, "The Killer Instinct."

The duo dropped by The Orchard to play the tune as they make the rounds to promote the new record. "The Killer Instinct" was recorded in Nashville with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, The Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains, Mastodon).

The project is available in multiple formats: CD, Limited 2 CDs Digibook with a bonus disc that features 2 extra songs and acoustic versions of 4 tracks from the album, Limited Gatefold Black Vinyl and Limited Gatefold Clear Vinyl (available for mail orders only).





Joanne Shaw Taylor Releases 'Outlaw Angel' Video
(The Blues Joanne Shaw Taylor has released a video for her track Outlaw Angel. It's taken from her fourth album, The Dirty Truth, which was released in September via her label Axhouse Music.

Taylor recently said: "I wanted to retain the same vibe that we captured on the first album. The new one is a combination of rock and blues - I think it's exciting, and hopefully my fans will love the rockier edge."

She appears at the inaugural Ramblin' Man Fair, sponsored by The Blues Magazine, on July 25-26 at Mote Park, Kent, alongside Gregg Allman, Seasick Steve, The Temperance Movement, Blues Pills, Randy Bachman, VerseChorusVerse, Mick Ralphs, Aaron Keylock and others.





35th Anniversary Of U2's Big Break
(Gibson) Today (February 26), marks the 35 year anniversary of the gig that landed U2 their record deal. The band had been gradually building up a following in Ireland and the UK over the past few years, and had recently won five categories in a Hot Press readers poll. In order to make the most of this minor success, U2 manager Paul McGuinness booked the band (who was essentially broke) on a headlining tour to try and get that ever elusive record deal.

By this time U2 had been a band for a few years, and had gradually started to find their sound. On a trip to New York with his family, The Edge had bought a Gibson Explorer. "It was the zig-zag shape that set it apart but the sound and the feel were great too. Everyone was playing the same kinds of guitars and I thought, we sound different, let's look different," said The Edge in U2's autobiography U2 By U2. Armed with his new guitar, The Edge soon started fiddling around with echo units, and was developing what would become his signature sound.

The band needed a recording contract that came with touring support as well, because without it they could never afford to finance a US tour, and would be stuck touring the neighboring European countries, not getting the chance to make it Stateside. For the culmination of their headlining tour, McGuinness had booked the band to play Dublin's National Stadium. It was a brave move, seeing how the venue could hold over 2,000 people, and was regularly used for established Irish acts, as well as visiting bands from the US, and the UK.

Having exhausted many of the major record labels, U2's manager turned his attention to Island Records. The (at the time) rather small label had made a name for itself by releasing reggae music, most prominently Bob Marley & the Wailers, but McGuinness was starting to exhaust all his options, and figured it was worth a shot. It didn't hurt that Island's publicist Rob Partridge happened to be a fan of U2. So for the National Stadium gig the band had invited Island Records A&R man Bill Stewart in hopes that a deal could be struck. Read more here.





Fozzy Found New Audience With War
(TeamRock Radio) Chris Jericho reckons Fozzy's mix of styles on last year's Do You Wanna Start A War helped them appeal to a wider audience. The frontman and wrestler says it's been their most popular record - and he puts that down to doing what they wanted with their music.

Jericho tells Examiner.com: "We wanted to focus on writing great songs and not worry about if they're too heavy, too poppy, too dancy or too ballady. I think a lot of bands put themselves into a box: 'We're a heavy metal band, so we must play heavy metal,' or, 'We're a pop band so we must play pop.'"

He continues: "When you think of some of the greatest bands of all time, whether it be the Beatles or Queen, they always had records with a lot of diversity - but they'd still sound like the Beatles and Queen." Read more here.




Carcass Frontman Says Bands Should Have Humble Goals
(TeamRock Radio) Carcass frontman Jeff Walker has suggested many bands in today's metal scene are driven by money and not by creativity. And he tells newer groups not to expect to make it in a crowded genre - especially when classic acts haven't yet retired.

He tells Rock Overdose: "I think if you're going to play music, your reason for doing that should be solely that you want to be creative and enjoy it. You should be realistic. We never formed this band to get rich, famous or big. You should have very humble goals.

"Too many people are creating bands as a career choice. 'Should I be a football player? Should I be an actor?' Everyone wants to be famous but I think your motives have to be pure."

He continues: "The reality is that the older bands are not going anywhere - they still exist. It's like a club and there's more and more people joining but no one's leaving. The old guard is still there, Priest, Maiden." Read more here.




Moonspell Continue To Challenge Themselves With New Material
(TeamRock Radio) Moonspell mainman Fernando Ribeiro admits they band are facing a challenge as they prepare to perform material from upcoming album Extinct. But he believes the struggle will prove worthwhile.

Ribeiro tells Metal Kaoz: "We definitely want to take another route in our music. Even for us to write it was challenging. To play it is challenging. Now, to make it happen live is also a challenge - but we don't mind, because we feel the songs are great."

The Portuguese outfit's challenge extended to keeping up with producer Jens Bogren's hectic schedule. "He is a very involved guy; he's restless - he never gave us a day off," Ribeiro recalls.

"He's all work, work, work because he wants everything to shine through. He gave a bit of discipline to us all. It was a complete production, and a very cool and intense process." Read more here.




Singled Out: Prophet Omega's The Day The Radio Died
Today Prophet Omega mastermind Joe Magistro tells us about "The Day The Radio Died" which is the first single released from the forthcoming album "Going Out To Slab City" (out March 14th). Here is the story:

The Day The Radio Died is the third track on the latest Prophet Omega album Going Out To Slab City. The song fits into the larger tapestry of the album but centers around one specific event; a good old-fashioned American close encounter with folks not from our cosmic neighborhood. It's inspired by an actual event. That mind blowing encounter lasted 20 minutes or so. This song is not nearly as long.

Some people would assume that beings from an unimaginably advanced civilization wouldn't have the occasional existential crisis. the nerve!
"What did they believe in? What'd they hope to find? Where were they going? How many empty miles behind"

"they just kept going, since the day they came, thought we'd change forever but our lives remained the same"
Hey little buddy was that trip through the space-time continuum worth it?

The Day The Radio Died was recorded and mixed at home in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. I'm usually making the Prophet Omega music at home on my own which tends to give it its own flavor but sometimes it's nice to bring in a friend to add a little something something on top, a little extra personality. This song has guest appearances from two of my favorite people. Adam Widoff plays one of the two guitars (the really good one) and Burnell Pines chimes in on "nah nah nah" vocals. These guys bring a little space madness to our terrestrial road-trip.