Today's Day In Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Duff McKagan Recruits Izzy Stradlin and Jerry Cantrell For New EP
(TeamRock Radio) Duff McKagan's upcoming book will be issued alongside a companion EP featuring Izzy Stradlin and Jerry Cantrell. The former Guns N' Roses bassist's How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions) is released on May 12 via Da Capo Press - and he'll release that a three-song EP called How To Be A Man on the same day.

McKagan, ex-GnR bandmate Stradlin and Alice In Chains mainman Cantrell are joined by Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga on the release. It's available for pre-order from May 5.

The book, originated from his Seattle Weekly column, follows his first title It's So Easy (And Other Lies). The publishers say: "Duff takes the reader into the life of an international rock musician, and shares the solid life lessons he's learned along the way to success in both his family life and his career." Check out a video Duff posted here.




Van Halen To Play Rarities and Deep Tracks On Upcoming Tour
(hennemusic) Van Halen are currently in rehearsals for their summer tour of North America and the band are sharing video snippets of a pair of rarely-played, deep tracks from their catalog.

"Working on setlist ideas right now," tweeted bassist Wolfgang Van Halen recently. "Which 'deep cuts' or 'b-sides' would you like to hear on this upcoming #VanHalen tour??"

This week, the bassist posted some short video clips from rehearsals on Instagram. "Trying something new today at rehearsal..." he wrote as the band could be heard playing "Dirty Movies" from 1981's "Fair Warning" album.

Wolfgang followed the first clip up with a second, writing, "Another day, another rehearsal, another tune to try out..." as his father, Eddie, played the introduction to "In A Simple Rhyme" from 1980's "Women And Children First."

Van Halen will launch a North American tour in Seattle on July 5 in support of "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert", their first live release with David Lee Roth. Check out the videos here.




Slipknot's Corey Taylor Announces Book and Solo Tour
Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has set a July 7th release date for his latest book "You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look at the Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left" and he will be hitting the road to support the release.

Taylor will not only be doing book signings but he also announced a series of solo shows that will feature unplugged performances, fan Q&A and readings from the new book. Fans can preorder the book here.

The book signing events will launch on July 6th in Ridgewood, NJ and includes events in New York City (July 8th), Huntington, NY (July 9th), Edina, MN (July 12th) and Los Angeles on July 18th.

The solo shows will kick off on July 7th in New York City at the Gramercy Theatre and will include stops in Ashbury Park, Detroit, Chicago, St. Paul, Rock Island, Lawrence, Denver and conclude on July 19th in Los Angeles.

"You're Making Me Hate You" is Taylor's third book, following his previous works "Seven Deadly Sins" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven." See all of the date here.




Rush Final Tour In Part Due To Neil Peart's Chronic Tendonitis
(Classic Rock) Alex Lifeson has revealed Rush drummer Neil Peart has chronic tendonitis - and it's a contributing factor in their decision to end large-scale touring. Peart has mentioned the condition before, and his bandmates have previously said the physical nature of his performance makes it challenging to continue into his 60s.

The Canadian giants recently announced their upcoming North American tour was likely to be the last of its kind. Lifeson tells Global News: "I have mixed feelings about it. In one way I feel relief - I think 40 years is a long time to be touring the way we tour.

"I still love playing. But in Neil's case, for example, his job is really tough. Playing the way he does is very, very difficult on his body. He has chronic tendonitis in his arms and he's had problems with his shoulders.

"It's getting to the point, no matter how much we love doing it, that it's much more demanding and much more difficult." Read more here.




Slayer Found Slam-Dunk Replacement Just Like AC/DC
(TeamRock Radio) Slayer have compared the addition of guitarist Gary Holt to AC/DC's hiring of Brian Johnson. The Exodus axeman has been a touring member since Jeff Hanneman took ill in 2011 and stayed on board after the co-founder's death in 2013. He makes his first studio appearance with the band on their upcoming 11th album.

Mainman Kerry King tells Metal Hammer: "It's one of the best fits in music history. It's like Brian Johnson joining AC/DC - it's a slam-dunk replacement, and you don't get those very often.

"He was my first choice, and luckily I've been able to use my first choice since day one. Also, he's from my own era. He's been doing this for the exact same time that we have."

Frontman Tom Araya believes the fact that Hanneman and Holt were friends made it easier on him. Read more here.



Halestorm Took Inspiration From Pink Floyd's David Gilmour
(TeamRock Radio) Halestorm guitarist Joe Hottinger says he took inspiration from David Gilmour on their track "Dear Daughter." The song appears on the band's third album Into The Wild Life which was released earlier this month - and Hottinger said he deliberately wanted to inject a little Pink Floyd into the music.

He tells Music Radar: "I got my '57 Hardtail Custom Shop Reissue Strat out and tried to channel Gilmour without ripping him. I played a few licks and producer Jay Joyce said, 'Seriously, you're going to play the Gilmour licks of all Gilmour licks?'

"Jay kicked my ass on guitar solos. He had me questioning my sanity. I'm not a shredder. I kinda know the blues scale and I build from there and have some fun places to go. But Jay would say, 'Why are you playing like a sh*tty blues player here?' He really made me work." He wasn't the only one to discuss influences. Read about Lzzy Hale's here.




Neal Schon Releases Song From New Solo Album
(hennemusic) Journey guitarist Neal Schon has released "El Matador", the lead track from his forthcoming instrumental solo album, "Vortex." Due June 23, the 2CD set sees Schon regroup with keyboardists Jan Hammer and Igor Len and former Journey drummer Steve Smith to mix elements of rock, jazz, classical and world music over an 18-song package.

"Jan is all over this album," says Schon of the follow-up to 2014's "So U." "I wrote the material to give Jan room to stretch. There are not many three-minute ditties. It's all huge, epic, bombastic…futuristic."

"This is an evolutionary album for me," continues the guitarist. "I've always aspired to be a better player and push musical boundaries. And sure, I've sold 80-million records with Journey, and I'm proud of that, but this album is really me - all based on my guitar, which is my 'voice.' It's bold. There's love, and there's definitely fire and an element of danger. And the energy level is off the hook."

Schon and Journey kick off their first Las Vegas residency on Wednesday, a run that will see the band perform 9 shows at The Joint inside The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino between April 29 and May 16.





Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel Recruit Lynch Mob Singer
(TeamRock Radio) Red Dragon Cartel have named Lynch Mob and Jason Bonham man Chas West as their third singer in a matter of weeks. He'll front the band for their upcoming shows following the departure of Michael Beck, who'd only joined Jake E Lee's band after they split with DJ Smith in March.

Smith's performance during RDC's debut show in 2014 was marred when he appeared drunk and under-rehearsed, although Lee later laughed off the incident.

But earlier this month, Beck suffered his own debut nightmare when he sang the lyrics to one song while the band played another. Bassist Anthony Esposito, who replaced Greg Chaisson last month, tells Rock Music Star: "Greg offered a singer to Jake, and that would be Michael. I don't think Jake ever heard him sing - he went on Greg's word." Read more and watch the video interview here.




Muse Release 'Dead Inside' Video
(Classic Rock) Muse have released a video for "Dead Inside", taken from the band's new album "Drones," which was produced by Mutt Lange, best known for his work with AC/DC and Def Leppard.

"This is where the story of the album begins", says frontman Matt Bellamy. "The protagonist loses hope and becomes vulnerable to the dark forces introduced in Psycho and the next few songs - before eventually defecting, revolting and overcoming these dark forces later in the story."

A lyric video for "Dead Inside" was published last month, ten days after a clip for "Drill Sergeant," the first track to be released from the new album. Watch the official video here.



New Ronnie James Dio Tribute Album Coming, First Song Released
(hennemusic) A Ronnie James Dio tribute album, "A Light In The Black", will be released on May 22. Crystal Ball's version of "Sacred Heart" is the first track released from the project.

The 2-disc set features 20 tracks by the metal legend redone by a dozen different acts from the Massacre Records stable, including Crystal Ball, Messenger, Gun Barrel, Gloryful, The Order, Metal Inquisitor, Circle Of Silence, Burden Of Grief, Love.Might.Kill, Rebellion, Iron Fate and Wizard.

"Ronnie James Dio was a hero and inspiration to many musicians, such as Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Doro Pesch and Axel Rudi Pell, and rumour has it that he's the main reason why every metal head worldwide is familiar with the sign of the horns," says the German-based label. "Now it's time for us to pay tribute to him as well: 12 of our bands covered Ronnie James Dio songs to honor this exceptional musician!"

The cover art for "A Light In The Black" was created by Jan Yrlund of Darkgrove.net, who made an effort to pay tribute to the singer.

"I decided to go for an old school type of hand-painted look, like the classic Dio covers, but I still wanted to keep it original," he explains. "You'll find many hints and details that refer to well-known Dio themes: The mountain has two peaks as if they were devil's horns, and of course the Dio mascot Murray is featured too, merging from the fire."





Robert Fripp and David Cross Revisit 'Starless' On New Album
(Prog) King Crimson mainman Robert Fripp and ex-member David Cross have recorded an album exploring classic track Starless. Entitled Starless Starlight, the eight-piece work is based on a melody Cross wrote for the original, which appeared on Red in 1974.

Fripp recorded two improvised takes in 2006 and Cross has reworked them and added violin parts. Cross says: "It's a piece in which we all managed to express ourselves and get our personalities across. This little theme that Starless Starlight is based on has a kind of journey, and it emerges different but still surviving. I've always been very impressed with that."

He continues: "Somehow the piece manages to embody some very simple ideas - quite romantic and sentimental, but at the same time angry and dark." Read more here.




Slipknot's Jim Root Says Band Won't Follow KISS
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot guitarist Jim Root has backed frontman Corey Taylor's recent comments that it is unlikely the band will ever appear on stage without their masks.

In February, Taylor said: "I don't think you'll ever see a Slipknot 'unmasked' tour." And Root agrees, saying if they were to ditch their iconic headgear, it would probably mark the end of the road for the band.

He tells News Press: "For one thing, Kiss has already done that. And two, that's something you do when maybe the career's in the pot. The masks are more of a way to present ourselves live. It's always been about the live show for us - we're having Halloween onstage every night." Read more here.




Elbow Streaming New Song From Forthcoming Movie
(Prog) Elbow have released a stream of their movie track What Time Do You Call This? It's taken from Simon Pegg comedy Man Up, and was written specifically for the production.

Director Ben Palmer says: "The band saw an early cut in Manchester and, thankfully, loved it. A couple of days later, Guy Garvey had already penned the lyrics - and we were blown away. It was the perfect fit and a dream climax to the journey."

What Time Do You Call This? is available now via iTunes. Man Up is released in the UK on May 29 and the soundtrack album will be launched four days earlier. Stream the song here.





Magnus Karlsson Recruits Ex-Black Sabbath and Deep Purple Stars
(TeamRock Radio) Former members of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple are set to appear on Primal Fear and former Allen/Lande guitarist Magnus Karlsson's next solo album.

Karlsson's last solo effort was 2013's Free Fall which featured guest appearances from Russell Allen, Tony Harnell and Mark Boals among others.

Karlsson is now working on the follow-up, Free Fall II, and has confirmed former Sabbath singer Tony Martin and ex Deep Purple and Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner will be involved. Drummer Jaime Salazar is also on board. Read more here.



Black Peaks Release 'Crooks' Video
(Prog) Black Peaks have released a music video for their new single, 'Crooks'. The Brighton-based quartet have been busy working on their as-yet-untitled debut album, which will be released later this year.

Their last single, Glass Built Castles, is also expected to feature on the full-length effort. Vocalist Will Gardner recently told TeamRock: "There's a hell of a lot of really progressive stuff on there.

"We've done some mega heavy tracks, like really disgusting songs, and it's really satisfying! It sounds a lot more developed and I think we've pushed ourselves as individuals." Watch the video here.



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Frank Wyatt Calls On Fans To Kickstart Pedal Giants Animals Project
(Prog) Happy The Man multi-instrumentalist Frank Wyatt has launched a Kickstarter campaign for his latest Pedal Giant Animals project. He's collaborating with a host of artists including his Oblivion Sun bandmate Stan Whitaker. They're aiming to raise $7500 to fund the work.

They say on their Kickstarter page: "This recording project started out as an idea for a Happy The Man reunion CD, but evolved to include many other musicians - so another Pedal Giants Animals project was born.

"The music will be produced in the studios of the respective artists and at Crafty Hands Studio using state of the art recording technologies as well as some old school hardware and techniques." Read more here.




The Tangent Star Doesn't Think Prog Heroes Don't Support Newer Acts
(Prog) The Tangent mainman Andy Tillison says he regrets the way prog's founding fathers all-but ignore younger bands - and it inspired one of his songs.

The concept lies behind Codpieces And Capes, which appears on eighth Tangent album A Spark In The Aether, launched earlier this month. Tillison tells ProgReport: "The old heroes don't really support us. They don't come and stand alongside us, or give us gigs.

"I've been operating The Tangent to a reasonable level of success over the past 12 years - and not once has any musician from the 70s said, 'I like what you're doing,' or, 'This is really good.' Not a word from any of them. I think that's a little bit sad."

Namechecking The Flower Kings, Big Big Train and Magenta, he adds: "We're their legacy. We're what they've left." Read more here.




Spin Doctors Announce 'Song From The Road' Release
(The Blues The Spin Doctors are the latest band to prepare a Songs From The Road live album - the DVD/CD set is released on May 19 via Ruf Records. The album was recorded in Germany in October 2013.

It follows their 2013 blues album If The River Was Whisky, which emphasized the background they'd grown from before finding mainstream fame with Pocket Full Of Kryptonite in 1991.

Drummer Aaron Comess recently said: "Blues clubs were our bread and butter in the 1980s. I think a lot of people might still come out and see us because of the hits - but then they get there and they're like, 'Holy sh*t, these guys have a whole other thing I didn't know about.'" Read more here.




Sweet Billy Pilgrim Release 'Just Above Midtown' Video
(TeamRock Radio) Sweet Billy Pilgrim have premiered their video for "Just Above Midtown" with Prog. It's taken from fourth album Motorcade Amnesiacs, due on May 25 via Kscope.

Frontman Tim Eisenberg admits he came close to splitting the band following the launch of 2012's Crown And Treaty. He says: "For all the years of hard work and commitment, our progress seemed painfully slow. We had very little to show for our efforts

"Then it dawned on me that I'd be recording songs even if no one bought them. It wasn't something I did - it was something I was. Progress was more than Facebook likes and album sales."

He adds: "Cynicism kills creativity. I could moan about the state of the music industry. I could complain about Spotify not paying me anything. Or I could make an amazing record with people I love, and play it to people who care - or even play it to people until they care."






The Kut Kicking Off 'Rock Paper Scissors' Tour This Weekend
British rockers The Kut will be kicking off their UK tour this weekend in support of their brand new EP 'Rock Paper Scissors' which was released on April 20th.

The band will be launching the tour on Saturday (May 2nd) at the Hell Fire Club in Redhill, Surrey and have announced dates that stretch to September 5th where they will be playing at the Unicorn in London.

They will also be playing a special acoustic show on July 4th. To get a taste of what to expect at the upcoming dates, the group have released a video for the track 'I Want You Maniac' from the EP. Watch the video here.

Frontwoman Maha had this to say about the new EP. It "probably has the closest resemblance to the material we've been playing out on the live sets this last year." See the dates here.




Leprous Streaming New Song 'Rewind'
(TeamRock Radio) Leprous have premiered their latest track "Rewind" with Prog. The track is taken from fifth album The Congregation, set for release on May 25 via InsideOut.

The Norwegian band say: "Rewind is of the more dynamic songs on the album. It kind of shows everything that Leprous is about within seven minutes, while still having a powerful and focused foundation. Not to mention that it's rather catchy."

The follow-up to 2013's Coal will be available in standard CD, mediabook CD, double-vinyl and digital versions. Leprous tour the UK in October. See the dates and listen to the new song here.




Singled Out: Victorian Halls' Tonight Only The Dead
Today Victorian Halls vocalist Sean Lenart tells us about "Tonight Only The Dead" from their upcoming sophomore album, "Hyperalgesia," which will be released by Victory Records May 19th. Here is the story:

This was the last song written for the new record. To a certain extent it was an afterthought. We had the final track listing, but felt the record was missing a certain element. I now appreciate that instinct. While not necessarily reflective of the record as a whole, it offers another layer of intrigue.

This song started off with simply the tone and timbre of the guitar. I found it to have an alluring bell like quality. When I listen now, it comes across more so as a piano or synths, either way I felt it was charming and a great starting point. From that point, I took more of a don't screw it up approach. I added synths, drums, all kinds of layers, and then ultimately, stripped it down significantly. I brought it back closer to the original idea. I think that bare bones version is pretty interesting; maybe we'll release that at some point.
Occasionally, I labor over words; that was not the case here. The lyrics came easy, as I felt more as if a journalist reporting on an event, then a lyricist "crafting" words. It was about a particular fleeting situation that I feel is somewhat universal in everyone's life. More so, it's about knowing you're in that moment when you are in it. That kinda of awareness is difficult, but when you find it, it can be pretty special.

The tag, "tonight only the dead are safe and sound" I felt embodied all that was the song. This is the carelessness of the moment. I feel it is a light track and is spelt out through symbolism. Most importantly, it eerily slips into the track perfectly. While recording, we asked out friend Aubyn to add the feminine element the song so desperately needed. The coupled falsetto vocals float above the lead, and it really comes across as intended. When listening to the track I wanted it to read as slow motion. Again, getting back to knowing when you're in the moment: deep breaths.

So what we did from there is we took that original idea, and worked it for the video. We shot over a couple days in Malibu and some of the Californian desert. The landscape definitely gave it the cinematic element we were looking for. Best part had to be driving around the desert in a late 60s Oldsmobile convertible light headed from the gas fumes... I felt we were near turning it into Fear And Loathing; the tone like the video is light. After filming the second night, we celebrated with the cast and crew. I think everyone was proud of what they'd done in a very short amount of time. Needless to say it made for a miserable flight back to Chicago.