Guns N' Roses Wife Hints At Reunion
Original Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's wife has helped spark more speculation that the band may be reuniting and an official social media page from the band dropped some cryptic messages online last week.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville was capture on video with Duff's wife Susan Holmes-McKagan outside a recent benefit for the City of Hope cancer center.
In the video clip, Glanville declares on camera "Guns N' Roses is coming back, motherf-ers!" and Ultimate Classic Rock reports that instead of correcting her longtime friend, Duff's wife responded with a "Whoo!" Watch the video here.
The clip follows a series of cryptic tweets that were posted on the official Guns N' Roses Twitter account on Sunday that read, "What ever happened to no news is good news? Of course today everyone is a journalist. If only they could read lips…Surely they'll read between the lines."
On the far-less-reliable-source-than-a-spouse anonymous "music insider" front, Dish Nation has published the following quote from one such unnamed person, "Slash and Axl have verbally agreed to get things together again and reform the original band.
"The live shows is where they can show the world what they had and also make the greatest earnings. Promoters are quietly working away to land opportunities.
"Details of the reunion are expected to leak out in the next few days. Everyone is expecting huge demand for tickets, but the boys are very humble and are not sure what to expect."
Motorhead Star Phil Taylor Dead At 61(hennemusic)
Former Motorhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor died Wednesday at the age of 61. Taylor played in Motorhead from 1975 to 1984 and from 1987 to 1992.
Old bandmate and guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke broke the news via Facebook on Thursday. "My dear friend and brother passed away last night," wrote Clarke. "He had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes. I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character. Fortunately we made some fantastic music together and I have many many fond memories of our time together. Rest in Peace, Phil!"
Motorhead issued a statement on Thursday, as well, writing: "Lil' Philthy...he who once shouted 'stop wincing about' on an album...he who fueled many a young boy's punk/metal hairstyles...he who played the drums with fury and intent...he who liked to call people 'wazzocks' once in a while...friend, Roman, Derbyshireman...rest in peace...with much love."
The drummer was featured on 11 early Motorhead records, including the band's 1975 debut, "On Parole", and their 1980 classic "Ace Of Spades." Taylor and Clarke reunited with Motorhead for a performance of "Ace Of Spades" at a show in Birmingham, UK last November. Check out video of the reunion here.
Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Queen Rule Classic Rock Awards(Gibson)
Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Queen and were among the artists who scored big at this year's Classic Rock Awards ceremony that took place earlier this week.
The event was staged on Wednesday (Nov. 11) at the legendary Roundhouse venue in London, with Iron Maiden taking home the album of the year honor for their new 2-disc effort "The Book Of Souls" and AC/DC winning the "Band Of The Year" honor.
The event saw Joe Satriani present Queen's Brian May with the "Living Legend Award" on behalf of his trailblazing band. Previous "Living Legend" recipients have included Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Gregg Allman and ZZ Top, among others.
Led Zeppelin nabbed the "Reissue of the Year" trophy thanks to the Page-supervised reissue of the band's catalog in Deluxe Box form. Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, was bestowed the "Classic Album" honor. Foo Fighters, Joe Satriani and former Slade frontman Noddy Holder were among the other honorees. See the list of winners here.
Lost Jeff Buckley Recordings Set For Release(Classic Rock)
A collection of lost Jeff Buckley recordings will be released under the title You & I, which will be released on March 11th in the UK and March 16 elsewhere.
It contains eight cover versions of other artists' music, along with alternative takes of Buckley tracks Grace and Dream Of You And I. Buckley drowned in Tennessee in 1997, aged 30, while working on his second album, planned to follow 1994 debut Grace.
Legacy Recordings president Adam Block says: "The vault, as it occasionally will, presented us with an unbelievable gift - this cache of studio recordings from the Grace period.
"We quickly realised how remarkable they were. They offer an incredible glimpse of an artist alone in the sacred space that is the studio. There's an intimacy and honesty to the performances that's literally breathtaking."
Hear his version of Everyday People, originally by Sly And The Family Stone, here.
Dio Supergroup Last In Line Part Ways With Claude Schnell(Classic Rock)
Dio offshoot band Last In Line have split with keyboardist Claude Schnell. The move comes ahead of the launch of debut track Devil In Me, which arrives next week, and the release of their album Heavy Crown in February.
Schnell was a member of the original Dio lineup alongside guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Vinny Appice. They reunited under the Last In Line name in 2013, and recruited vocalist Andrew Freeman to front the band.
Campell, also a member of Def Leppard, says: "The initial idea was to reunite the original Dio band to play the songs we wrote and recorded with Ronnie in the early 1980s. It was a limited ambition, but one that brought us great joy in reconnecting to this great music, to each other, and to our collective history.
"Our ambition at that time didn't extend to writing and recording any new music, but when we were offered the opportunity to do so by the Frontiers record label, we took that step forward."
Campbell adds that the band decided to mimic the procedure they undertook with 1983 Dio debut Holy Diver, which was written without keyboards in mind. He continues: "After Holy Diver was recorded we brought in Claude to embellish certain songs in a way that the guitar just couldn't do. From that time forward Claude became an essential part of the band's live shows.
"In retracing our footsteps, we again started to write as a four-piece, keeping the emphasis on guitar-driven songs. In the course of doing so we have decided to continue on that path, and remain a four-piece band." Read more here.
Randy Rhoads' Mother Delores Dead At 95(Classic Rock)
Delores Rhoads, the mother of legendary late guitarist Randy Rhoads has died aged 95. The news was confirmed by former Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo on his Facebook page.
He says: "The world today has lost one of the most gracious and sweetest ladies I'm blessed to have known, Delores Rhoads. Please keep her and the Rhoads family in your prayers."
Osbourne also paid tribute to Delores, saying: "I am deeply saddened to hear of Mrs Rhoads' passing. She was a wonderful woman and will be missed. I have no doubt she is reunited with her son, Randy."
She founded the Musonia School Of Music in Hollywood after graduating from UCLA with a Bachelor's degree in music. When son Randy received his first guitar, he learned to play and read music at the school.
According to CSUN, Delores said of that time: "He couldn't have been more than eight years old, maybe younger. But he would sit there and play his heart out because he enjoyed it." Read more here.
Eddie Van Halen Reveals His Favorite Guitar Riffs Off All-Time
Legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen revealed his picks for the best guitar riffs off all time during his interview for Billboard's Greatest of All-Time interview series.
Van Halen, who revolutionized rock guitar in the 1970s and 80s, stuck mostly to riffs from songs that predated his rise to fame and admitted compiling the list was difficult. "There are millions of riffs," Van Halen said. "I wrack my brain, trying to think. Obviously, I can't mention any of my own, right?"
But when he did come up with specific songs they included AC/DC's "Down Payment Blues" from their 1978 studio effort, Powerage, which Van Halen called "one of my all-time favorites".
He also cited Black Sabbath's "Into the Void" from their 1971 album Masters of Reality; Deep Purple's "Burn" (the title-track to the legendary band's effort that marked the debut of David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes); and Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" from their 1967 album Disraeli Gears. Check out the full interview clip here.
Halestorm Release 'I Am The Fire' Video(Classic Rock)
Halestorm have released a video for their song "I Am The Fire," which is a track featured on their third album 'Into The Wild Life,' out earlier this year via Atlantic Records.
Speaking about the track, guitarist Joe Hottinger told TeamRock: "We have a few really cool transitions on the record and this is one of my favourites. This was another step forward for us in terms of making a record that connects the songs.
"I remember when we came up with the title for this song, we were thinking about all the different things I Am The Fire could mean. I think the lyric that sums up the whole song best is, 'I am the one that I've been waiting for.' It's the idea that nobody is holding you back except yourself."
Halestorm are currently on tour in Canada and will head to Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe for further dates stretching into next year. Watch the video here.
Allman Brothers Band Expand 'Idlewild South' For 45th Anniversary(hennemusic)
The Allman Brothers Band will mark the 45th anniversary of their second album, "Idlewild South", with the release of a series of expanded reissues on December 4th.
The follow-up to their 1969 self-titled debut featured a pair of Allman concert staples, "Midnight Rider" and the epic "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed."
The album's title came from the band's nickname for a farmhouse it rented on a lake outside of Macon, Georgia during the project's recording, with its busy atmosphere reminding them of New York City's Idlewild Airport.
An updated series of the album will include a remastered edition on CD, vinyl and digital, a Deluxe 2CD set and a Super Deluxe 3CD/Blu-ray package.
The 2-CD Deluxe Edition adds 12 tracks, including a combination of outtakes, live and studio cuts, while a 3-CD and Blu-Ray Super Deluxe edition with 14 added tracks also includes the entire album (plus four additional outtakes, alternate takes or mixes) in Blu-Ray Pure Audio in 96kHz 24-bit 5.1 Surround & Stereo. Read more here.
Metallica's Robert Trujillo Release Jaco Film Trailer(Classic Rock)
The Jaco Pastorius documentary produced by Metallica's Robert Trujillo has received its first official trailer. Jaco focuses on the short life of the bass icon who is regarded as one of the most influential players of all time. He died aged 35 following a fight in a Florida club.
The movie, which was made possible thanks to a successful PledgeMusic campaign, features contributions from artists including Joni Mitchell, Geddy Lee, Flea, Lenny White, Bootsy Collins and Herbie Hancock.
Trujillo said: "The campaign has been an incredible ride and a sincere thanks to all of those that have participated and committed their time and money to being a part of our story. Our film has been a labour of love."
Trujillo and his partners at Passion Pictures have hooked up with Black Friday and Record Store Day organizers for the launch on November 27. Jaco will be released via on demand streaming services and digital download on the same day it's issued on DVD and Blu-ray. The soundtrack will also appear the same day. Watch the trailer here.
Pearl Jam's Performance Of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb Goes Online(hennemusic)
Pearl Jam delivered their debut live performance of the 1979 Pink Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb", during a show in Porto Alegre, Brazil on Wednesday and video of the performance has been posted online.
The tune was featured as part of the band's second encore during the 33-song, 3-hour show, the third stop on the group's South American tour in support of 2013's "Lighting Bolt." The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart upon its release with opening week sales of 166,000 copies.
Earlier in Porto Alegre the set, the Seattle rockers also performed Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive", an instrumental track from their 1967 debut, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn."
The South American run sees Pearl Jam performing nine shows, wrapping up with a November 28 stop in Mexico City. Watch video of the performance of the Pink Floyd classic here.
Anthrax, Motorhead, Quiet Riot Members In 'Hair I Go Again' Documentary(Classic Rock)
Members of Anthrax, Motorhead, Quiet Riot, LA Guns, Vixen and more will appear in an upcoming documentary. The film entitled Hair I Go Again will be released next year and follows friends Kyle Kruger and Steve McClure as they attempt to achieve rock stardom 30 years after their band Bullet In The Chamber failed to crack the US music scene.
The film is described as "a story about a lifelong friendship, insurmountable odds and dealing with the always present thought of 'what if?' It's a tale of rediscovery, determination, triumphs and failures."
It'll feature interviews with artists including Anthrax's Frank Bello and Joey Belladonna, Motorhead's Phil Campbell, Tesla's Jeff Keith, Operation: Mindcrime's Geoff Tate and members of Stryper, Quiet Riot, The Cult, Warrant, LA Guns and Vixen.
A trailer for the documentary has been released. View it here.
Director Reveals Details Of David Bowie's Stage Show Lazarus(Classic Rock)
Director Ivo Van Hove has given a snap behind-the-scenes look at David Bowie's upcoming stage show Lazarus. Already the fastest-selling show that Off Broadway New York Theater Workshop has ever produced, Lazarus opens on December 7.
It's described as a sequel to 1976 sci-fi film The Man Who Fell To Earth and stars Dexter actor Michael C Hall as Thomas Newton, the character played by Bowie in that film.
Van Hove tells the New York Times: "Lazarus focuses on Newton as he remains on Earth, a man unable to die, his head soaked in cheap gin, and haunted by a past love. We follow Newton through the course of a few days where the arrival of another lost soul might set him free." Read more here.
Mike Portnoy Makes The Winery Dogs Priority Over Other Projects(Classic Rock)
Mike Portnoy says that while he's happy to juggle multiple projects, The Winery Dogs are his main focus. The former Dream Theater drummer is know for his work with a variety of artists including Metal Allegiance, Twisted Sister, The Neal Morse Band and Flying Colours.
But as he, Richie Kotzen and Billy Sheehan prepare to head out on a European tour in January in support of second album Hot Streak, the sticksman says they are his top priority.
He tells Metal Assault: "I am as guilty as anybody for having multiple things, like the five or six different things I have currently going on, but all the other things I do are more part-time projects.
"They revolve around The Winery Dogs, which is the main thing in my life. We'll be on the road solid for the next year, doing over a hundred shows and traveling the world.
"I think we're definitely, finally proving that this is a real band and we're here to stay." Read more here.
Ghost's 'He Is' Inspired By Close Friend's Suicide(Classic Rock)
One of Ghost's Nameless Ghouls has revealed they wrote their track He Is in response to the suicide of a close friend. Selim Lemouchi, leader of Dutch occult psychedelic rock band The Devil's Blood, took his own life in March 2014, at the age of 33.
The Ghoul tells Loudwire: "There's various degrees of personal meaning in there. One of them is publicly known in our fan circles, about Selim. He chose to take his life.
"We were far apart geographically, but every time we met, we had something. We had a real blast." He adds that the song had existed in demo form for some time, but the lyrics "didn't really have a bite." It reached the stage where the band couldn't see past the demo lyrics, even though they knew the words were "bogus."
The Ghoul continues: "With Selim's passing the lyrics came, and it all made sense." Read more here.
Iron Maiden Would Have Recruited Judas Priest's Richie Faulkner(Classic Rock)
Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner might have become a member of Iron Maiden if things had worked out differently, he's revealed. He'd been working with Lauren Harris, daughter of Maiden mainman Steve, before joining Rob Halford's band in 2011, after the departure of KK Downing.
Faulkner tells GigsAndFestivals: "Steve was one of the first ones I told when I got the Priest gig.He's a great guy, and, like the guys in Priest, he's an idol and he's a teacher. He's one of these guys who's really supportive.
"I said, 'I've been approached by another band,' and he was over the moon when I told him it was Priest. He said, 'I would have had you in my band. If anything had happened to any of my guys, you were the guy that was going to do it." Read more here.
Intervals Streaming New Song 'I'm Awake'(Prog)
Intervals have released an online stream of their latest single I'm Awake. It's taken from the Canadians' second album The Shape Of Colour, to be released on December 4.
Guitarist and compose Aaron Marshall rebuilt the band after the acrimonious departure of singer Mike Semensky led to the rest of the lineup bowing out. He decided to continue without vocals, in a three-piece lineup featuring Protest The Hero bassist Cameron McLellan and drummer Travis Orbin.
Marshall tells RedBull.com: "The tune means a lot to me for many reasons. This year actually began with a pretty heavy surgery for me. When I came to, this riff was rolling around in my head. I tend to instinctually vibe off of stuff like that, so I knew I had to go with it." Stream the song here.
Trail Of Dead Frontman Conrad Keely Streams Solo Song(Prog)
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead frontman Conrad Keely has released a stream of a new solo track called In Words Of A Not So Famous Man.
The song comes from his solo album entitled Original Machines, out on January 22 via Superball Music. It was recorded in Montreal, Canada throughout the summer and features tracks written while he was travelling through Cambodia where he currently lives.
Keely will play four shows across the UK this month, starting in Leicester on November 14. A full album tracklist will be revealed in due course. Stream the song here.
White Zombie Box Set Details Revealed By Sean Yseult(TeamRock Radio)
A White Zombie vinyl box set is currently being complied and will be released next year, according to former bassist Sean Yseult. The band issued the albums Soul-Crusher (1987), Make Them Die Slowy (1989), La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One (1992), and Astro Creep: 2000 before Yseult, Rob Zombie, Jay Yuenger and John Tempesta went their separate ways in 1998.
Yseult tells Artisan News: "Jay and I, and Rob got in on it too, have been working on a box set with Numero Group. It's coming out in spring or summer. We've been working on it for over a year.
"There's 50 pages of liner notes - they've been interviewing us for months. They've done a beautiful job on the booklet. It's going to be all vinyl, all the early records."
"Some of the extra tracks I didn't even remember. When we were in the studio usually we used everything we recorded, but we had a couple of extra songs here and there, so there's going to be a few surprises." Watch the video here.
Dead & Company An Intense Ride For John Mayer(Radio.com)
Dead & Company, the ad hoc Grateful Dead reunion band, have been getting rave reviews on their Fall tour, which is in full swing following three shows at Madison Square Garden in New York, as well as stops in Albany, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.
Up until now, the collective, which includes Dead members Bob Weir, Billy Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along with guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge (formerly of the Allman Brothers Band) and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, has let the music do the talking. But Mayer recently broke the silence, sharing his thoughts on the first six shows of the tour.
Mayer posted a photo of the band on Instagram and wrote a long caption. At first he apologizes for "taking so long to post." The guitarist continued, "It's been a beautiful, intense and all-encompassing ride since the beginning of the @deadandcompany tour, and I didn't have the words to express what this has meant to me. I still don't, but I'm coming to grips with the idea that I have to try! Nothing I can say can add more depth to this than already exists."
Mayer added, "So here's the 'gist of it': thank you for accepting me. Thank you for letting me help take you to *that place*… I think this sums everything up: every time someone comes up to me and mentions having seen one (or more) of these shows, the question in my mind is never 'how was I?' but 'how were you?' Because I'm only here, with my five brothers-in-arms, to take you 'there.'" Read more here.
Machine Head's Album Success Leaves Them Debt Free(TeamRock Radio)
The success of Machine Head's latest album has left the band "debt free" according to frontman Robb Flynn. The vocalist says in a Facebook post that last year's Bloodstone & Diamonds gave the band their best ever chart positions around the world.
Flynn says: "With the worldwide sales from Bloodstone & Diamonds we have recouped the substantial advance we took from Nuclear Blast - no small feat in this day and age - which makes it the fourth record in a row for us where we recouped our advance and were basically debt free to our given record label.
"I can't even tell you how awesome it is to write the words 'debt free' and 'record label' in the same sentence. It wasn't always the case. Now if I could just figure out how to do that in my real life." Read more here.
Singled Out: Shumaun's AmbrosiaProg inspired hard rockers
Shumaun released their acclaimed self-titled debut album today (Friday, November 13th) and to celebrate we asked frontman Farhad Hossain to tell us the story behind the song "Ambrosia". Here is the story:
I find it very difficult to go into detail about the lyrical content of certain songs I write due to the intimate nature of the subject matter. Oddly enough, it just may be that I lack the self-confidence in my own ability to accurately explain and dissect particular lyrics that I've written. "Ambrosia" is one of those songs that touch on many subjects at once. The foundation of the song is about spiritual awakening and the internal conflicts that we face day to day as spiritual beings in a world bombarded with materialism. I use religious imagery at times to expand on the concept that our spiritual energies are all interconnected as one and that we should treat each other as such, but at the end of the day, all the words dissolve into the fact that "Ambrosia" is just a twisted love song.
This is definitely one of the heavier songs on the album. It has a sort of Tool meets Fates Warning vibe to it, with a big hook for the chorus to contrast the haunting melody on the verses. Travis Orbin tracked the drums on this song and, quite frankly, killed it in every possible way without overplaying. The guitar solo is one of my favorites on the album. The first section is a bit tricky because of the alternating time signatures, but it then opens up nicely on top of a layered bed of electric and acoustic guitars banging out chords while maintaining a 6/8 feel. The bridge after the guitar solo is also one of my favorite drum and bass moments, with Jose's bass giving Travis's drum patterns a nice melodic accompaniment.
"Ambrosia" was one of the songs that came together rather quickly; however, the vocal melody on the chorus had several iterations. This became the only frustrating part in completing the song. Eventually, I just chose the chorus that got stuck in my head the most. Ironically, the melody came to me in a dream. The irony stems from the lyrics that I had already written in the pre-chorus that end with the line "Find me in your dreams." Essentially, I just completed the song by taking my own advice.
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