Dave Grohl Pushed For Lemmy Tribute At Grammys(Classic Rock)
The tribute to late Motorhead icon Lemmy at last week's Grammys ceremony only took place because Dave Grohl pushed for it, says the producer behind the event.
Alice Cooper's Hollywood Vampires performed a version of Ace Of Spades to a surprised audience of pop and rap fans during the gala event in Los Angeles. But Ken Ehrlich - who was struggling to include an unusually large number of artists' deaths in the weeks beforehand - hadn't planned anything special.
Ehlrich tells Billboard: "I will confess I didn't have a lot of Motorhead on my iPad. The metalheads have Dave Grohl to thank for that, because when I asked Dave if he would introduce that segment, he said, 'I'll do it - if you do something for Lemmy.'"
Grohl said on stage: "Many of us play rock'n'roll but a rare few among us are rock'n'roll. Lemmy was rock'n'roll. He was a rebel, an outsider, one of a kind, and a way of life. He was Motorhead. He was a legend and I was proud to call him my friend." Read more here.
Former Singer Speaks Out About Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow(Classic Rock)
Former Rainbow frontman Joe Lynn Turner has described Ritchie Blackmore's new incarnation of the outfit as a "covers band." And he says both Blackmore and the fans deserve better than what will be delivered at his upcoming return-to-rock shows.
The former Deep Purple guitarist, who quit heavy music in 1997 to form Blackmore's Night, last year announced a handful of Rainbow shows featuring an all-new lineup.
Turner - who'd stated he was working on reunion plans with the axeman - tells SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk: "I was shocked. I wanted an authentic lineup. I was talking to Bob Daisley, Bobby Rondinelli, Roger Glover, Don Airey. There's a whole bunch of guys that were really willing to get involved.
"I spent a good year working that out with his manager. Everybody thought I was delusional, and I know I wasn't delusional at all - they were telling me this was going to happen. It made so much sense, especially with the deal that was presented to him."
The singer discovered he wasn't going to be part of Blackmore's plans via a press interview. "I thought it was a classless thing to do," he says, but adds: "I have no sour grapes about this, so let that be told.
"But I think a man of his status, an icon, really deserves a lot more. I really wish he had done it a different way for the fans - I think the fans deserve better than a cover band." Read more here.
Riverside's Guitarist Piotr Grudzinski Dead At 40(Prog)
Riverside guitarist Piotr Grudzinski has died, according to a statement on the Polish band's website. A cause of death was not revealed. Grudzinski was 40 years old, according to media reports.
In a short statement the band simply say: "In our deepest pain and disbelief we would like to inform you that our dearest friend and brother Piotr Grudzinski has passed away this morning. We kindly ask you to respect the privacy of his family and friends."
The band had been preparing for a Polish tour with support acts Lion Shepherd and Sounds Like The End Of The World. They are also booked to headline this year's RoSFest on the Saturday night. Read more here.
Suicidal Tendencies Recruit Dave Lombardo For Megadeth Tour
Suicidal Tendencies have announced that they have recruited former Slayer star Dave Lombardo to play drums for them on their upcoming tour with Megadeth, Children of Bodom, and Havok, which kicks off this week.
The band had this to say, "SxTx is beyond excited to announce the legendary Dave Lombardo will be playing drums for Suicidal on the upcoming Megadeth tour! You know what that means....it's gonna be CYCO and BRUTAL!"
Suicidal Tendencies will be joining Megadeth for the bulk of the trek beginning on February 26th in Las Vegas, NV at The Pearl and playing their last show on the tour on March 21st in Boston at the House of Blues
The full Megadeth tour kicked off this past Saturday (February 20th) in Dallas and is set to conclude on March 24th in Quebec, QC. Two Honolulu dates on March 2nd and 3rd will feature only Megadeth.
Suicidal Tendencies have announced their own headline shows for those dates. They will play Bend, OR on March 2nd at the Domino Room and Seattle at the Showbox the next night. See the tour dates here.
Rob Zombie And Korn Teaming Up For North American Tour(TeamRock Radio)
Rob Zombie and Korn have announced that they will be teaming up to launch a co-headlining tour of North America this summer, which will also feature special guests In This Moment.
The full dates and venue information has yet to be revealed but The Return Of The Dreads trek will hit 25 cities including Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, Las Vegas and more.
Shows will begin in July. Zombie says: "Together again! Back By popular demand. We are hitting the road this summer with our buddies in Korn. Is your city on the list?" Read more here.
Steely Dan Announce Summer Tour With Steve Winwood
Steely Dan have announced that they will be hitting the road for two legs of the "The Dan Who Knew Too Much" Tour which will kick off this spring and include a summer leg with Steve Winwood.
The short spring tour is scheduled to kick off with the first show of a two night stand at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on April 18th. The run will also include a performance at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The summer tour leg will get underway on June 7th in Cincinnati, OH at the Riverbend Music Center and will conclude on July 13th in Virginia Beach, VA at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater. See all of the dates here.
Metal Church Preview New Album 'XI'(Classic Rock)
Metal Church have released a teaser video for their upcoming 11th album. XI will be out on March 25 and marks the band's first record with singer Mike Howe since 1993's Hanging In The Balance.
The trailer also features album opener Reset. Guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof said: "Mike's voice sounds the same as it did two decades ago when we were writing The Human Factor - and the band is about as tight as you can possibly get."
Metal Church are currently on tour across the US. They'll return to the Europe in May in support of the album. Check out the tour dates and watch the teaser video here.
Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton Lead Guitar Auction
A number of rare items from legendary guitarists, including Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, are to be auction this coming week by Guernsey's in New York City.
The auction, billed as "one of the largest of the year of music-related items" will feature over 225 guitars and instruments from legendary musicians and will be taking place on February 27th at Bohemian National Hall (321 East 73rd) and online at both liveauctioneers.com and invaluable.com
One of the big ticket items is a Van Halen-Owned 1982 Charvel Van Halen Model which is estimated to bring in between $60,000 - $80,000 and is described as follows:
"This guitar comes complete with its original Bill of Sale from Charvel/Jackson to Eddie Van Halen dated April 28, 1982. The lot also includes a video of an interview Eddie gave for television show Entertainment Tonight in 1982, which shows Eddie playing a guitar with an identical stripe pattern as this guitar. Each Charvel 'Van Halen Model' guitar had a unique striping pattern, so this video proves that Ed owned and played this guitar."
Other notable items include four guitars associated with Eric Clapton (two are signed); Jimi Hendrix's guitar strap from Woodstock; A 1952 Gibson Super 400 CES 7-string made for late studio guitarist Tony Mottola; Two "In Cold Blood" guitars, one used in the 1967 Academy Award-winning movie based on the blockbuster book by Truman Capote, and the other owned by the actual murderer Perry Smith; and A 1959 Gibson owned by Franny Beecher.
Poison Girls' Vi Subversa Dead At 80(TeamRock Radio)
Vi Subversa, the singer and guitarist of anarcho-punk outfit Poison Girls, has died aged 80. Her son Pete Fender confirmed the news of her passing in a posting on Facebook.
His statement reads: "It is with deep sorrow that I have to announce the mourning of my wonderful mum Frances Sokolov, known to many as Vi Subversa, who has passed away peacefully following a short illness.
"We know that her death will come as a shock. Vi had recently celebrated her 80th birthday and only a few short weeks ago gave what was to be her final performance.
"Vi led an extraordinary life in a variety of fields, but was no doubt best known as the lead singer, lyricist and rhythm guitarist in Poison Girls. She was a key figure to a lot of people and we know that there will be a great many who would wish to pay tribute to her music and words, as well as to her remarkable achievements in life. We know too that she would want this to happen." Read more here.
Posthumous Jani Lane Album To Be Released This Week(Classic Rock)
Jani Lane's cover versions are to be included in a posthumous compilation album titled Catch A Falling Star. The record is set for release on February 26, and includes Lane's versions of UFO's Doctor, Doctor, Def Leppard's Photograph and Bon Jovi's Lay Your Hands On Me.
The late ex-Warrant frontman's bandmates, guitarist Erik Turner, bassist Jerry Dixon and former sticksman Bobby Borg all perform on the album. It also features guest appearances from Alice Cooper, singer Ryan Roxie and former W.A.S.P guitarist Chris Holmes.
Borg says: "There is no better tribute to Lane than a collection of covers. Those who saw Warrant perform live know that Lane loved to mix cover songs into the shows - songs by The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Joe Walsh, Queen, and other artists throughout our live sets. I loved that about the band." Read more and see the track and guest list here.
Tremonti Reveals Details For New Album 'Dust'(Classic Rock)
Tremonti will release their third album, Dust, on April 29 via Fret12. Produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, the project was recorded during the same sessions as 2015's Cauterize.
As a result, Dust also features the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Mark Tremonti, guitarist Eric Friedman, bassist Wolfgang Van Halen and drummer Garrett Whitlock.
The frontman says the two projects developed quite naturally in the studio. Tremonti told Army Of 12 Germany: "At first I just wanted to record as many songs as possible. But when I stepped back and listened to it, I was, like, 'You know what? Let's make two records.' So I left some of my favourite songs on the second record, just so people aren't gonna buy the first record and then go, 'Okay, this is the good record and this is the bad one.'
"The title track Dust has the best chorus of the whole recording process. Dust has my favourite solo. The opening track, My Last Mistake, is one of my favourite songs. It's got the big ballad of the two records. It's definitely not the 'b-sides' of Cauterize." Read more here.
Filter Release 'Take Me To Heaven' Video Preview(Classic Rock)
Filter have released a preview of the video for Take Me To Heaven. The tune is the lead single from the band's seventh album Crazy Eyes, which is due on April 8 via Wind-Up Records. The band says: "Here's a taste of what's to come.."
The follow-up to 2013's The Sun Comes Out Tonight was produced by frontman Richard Patrick, who took on the role in an effort to help shape the direction and sound.
Patrick tells Billboard: "On the last record, there was another guy at the label who signed us, and I felt a responsibility to him. He wanted a big rock sound so I let the guitars be the main focus.
"With this record I said, 'Let me focus on being the kind of artist I was when I was at Warner Bros.' and Wind-Up was way into that. It's way more of what we used to be and so much of where we are." Read more and watch the preview clip here.
Entombed A.D. Release 'The Winner Has Lost' Video(TeamRock Radio)
Entombed A.D. have released a video for their track The Winner Has Lost. The song comes from on their forthcoming album Dead Dawn, out on February 26 via Century Media.
The shoot was directed and produced by Marcus Wild while the band visited the Warpigs brewery in Copenhagen, Denmark. They were on site to brew their own beer but decided to kill two birds with one stone and film the day out for the promo.
Entombed AD say: "We were looking forward to a day of brewing, drinking beer and eating barbecue. Then we were told we needed a new video as soon as possible. So we had a perfect solution: let's just film us brewing, drinking and eating and spending the whole budget on that. So we did. Best day at work ever." Watch the video here.
Supersonic Blues Machine Stream Full New Album Online(Classic Rock)
Supersonic Blues Machine have made their debut album West Of Flushing, South Of Frisco available to stream in full with TeamRock. It's due for release on February 26 via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.
The band was formed by Fabrizio Grossi, Lance Lopez and Kenny Aronoff and features guest contributions from Walter Trout, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Robben Ford, Eric Gales and Chris Duarte.
Grossi said of the project: "More than a band, I like to see this entity as a party - a party with hosts and a bunch of friends coming over. Without the blues there is no soul and without the soul there is no feeling and groove and tension. It's our own respectful tribute to what blues means to us." Stream the album here.
Joe Bonamassa Releases Music Video For 'Drive'(Classic Rock)
Joe Bonamassa has premiered his video for Drive with TeamRock - and he's also offering the song as a free download. Drive appears on his upcoming album Blues Of Desperation, set for release on March 25.
Bonamassa recently said: "I want people to hear my evolution as a blues-rock musician - somebody who isn't resting on accomplishments, who is always pushing forward and thinking about how music can evolve."
He'll perform three shows in the UK next month, then return in July for five concerts entitled Salute To The British Blues Explosion, designed as a "homage to the music of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page." Watch the video and grab the download link here.
The Word Alive Release 'Sell Out' Video(TeamRock Radio)
The Word Alive have premiered the music video for their track Sellout. The song comes from the group's forthcoming album Dark Matter, which is due out on March 18.
Frontman Tyler 'Telle' Smith says: "Dark Matter is the result of our most in-depth writing and recording session we've done, and is something we consider to be our most dynamic and expansive album to date.
"This record completely defines and expresses who we are, and where we are going, taking the listener to the darkest and most honest places our band has dared to venture."
The Word Alive are kicking off their North American tour tonight (February 19) at San Diego's Soma. They're also scheduled to play the Longlive festival in Lyon, France, on May 14. Watch the video here.
Testament Announce European tour(Classic Rock)
Testament have announced a nine-date European tour. The run of shows are scheduled to begin with an appearance at Hellfest, France, on June 17. Earlier this month, frontman Chuck Billy hinted that sessions for their 11th album had begun and were inspired by "religion and aliens."
He added: "Right now, I think The Brotherhood Of The Snake is what we're going to title the album - and it's the first single. I think it's probably going to be a freebie that we'll just give people to check out."
Guitarist and founding member Eric Peterson previously revealed the band chose to delay recording the album until they finished their "killer" tour with Slayer and Carcass. See the tour dates here.
Butcher Babies Announce Spring Tour of Europe and UK(TeamRock Radio)
Butcher Babies have announced a spring UK and European tour in support of their second album, 2015's Take It Like A Man. The run of shows will open in Nottingham on April 11 with guests Sumo Cyco.
Vocalist Heidi Shepherd says: "We've been itching to get back to Europe and the UK since our festival run last summer. I'm so excited to see our friends and melt some new faces.
"Can't wait to bring the live Butcher Babies show to our fan base that has been eager to have us back. See you soon and get ready to rage." Currently on the road in North America with Cradle Of Filth, Butcher Babies will host a short headline run of shows Stateside before the UK dates. See the newly announced dates here.
Long Distance Calling Announce Euro Tour(Prog)
Long Distance Calling have announced a European tour. They'll start with a run of dates across Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands in April and May, before four shows in the UK.
The gigs have been scheduled in support of their latest album Trips, which will be released on April 29 via InsideOut Music. It includes vocals by Petter Carlsen following the departure of Martin 'Marsen' Fischer. And although he's no longer part of the German outfit, Fischer still contributed to the recording process on the follow-up to 2014's Nighthawk.
The band say in a statement: "Since he wanted to focus on his private life Martin Fischer has decided to step back - but he didn't leave without recording most of the keyboards and sound effects on Trips.
"About half of the new songs come with vocals and Petter did one hell of a job. We are really happy to have him onboard. In case his name rings a bell you are right - he already did vocals on Welcome Change on The Flood Inside. We are sure that you'll love the new stuff with him singing." Read more including the tour dates here.
Black Peaks Release 'Glass Built Castles' Video(TeamRock Radio)
Black Peaks have released a video for their track Glass Built Castles. The song comes off of their debut album Statues, which will be released on April 8 via Easy Life and Sony RED.
The band say: "This was one of the first songs we wrote when we were in session writing Statues. It was one of those tracks that came together in about three hours and practically wrote itself.
"It is part three of a four-part story that is pieced together on the album. In the new video you will get a glimpse at part of this story. All will become clear soon."
Last month, the Brighton-based outfit released a stream of their track Set In Stone from Statues, which is available for pre-order from their label's website. Watch the video here.
Se Delan Announce New Album 'Drifter'(Prog)
Se Delan have announced that their latest album will be called Drifter. The duo of Crippled Black Phoenix members Justin Greaves and Belinda Kordic will release the follow-up to 2014's The Fall on April 29 via Kscope.
Drifter is said to be "darker" than their previous material in a way that "captures how they felt as humanly as possible." Kordic says: "Sometimes it can take a lot of effort and hard work to stay grounded and stay on the right side of that line. Life vs death, the unknown - and cats."
Greaves adds: "We don't write songs in any way with this big concept in mind. We just put our thoughts into words and feelings into music, whatever they may be." Read more here.
Alarion's New Album Features Threshold Frontman Damian Wilson(Prog)
Threshold frontman Damian Wilson has recorded narration and vocals for six tracks on the debut album by Dutch band Alarion. Waves Of Destruction is described by mastermind Bas Willemsen as "an hour of melodica, symphonic and intense music." Further guests are to be named in due course.
In the teaser clip, Wilson says: "I rushed to the studio to do vocals on a good half an hour of the album, I should think. The songwriting is superb. What a fun day I've had. I hope my vocals do it justice."
Waves Of Destruction will be released in June. Threshold, who appear at ProgPower Europe in September, last year released live album European Journey, while Wilson and Adam Wakeman launched an acoustic album in January. Watch the video here.
Enter Shikari To Headline Hevy Fest(TeamRock Radio)
Enter Shikari have been named as Saturday headliners for Hevy Fest 2016. This year's event takes place on August 19 to 20 at a new site at Newhaven in Derbyshire.
Other artists also confirmed for the two-day festival are The Bronx, Heart Of A Coward, I Killed The Prom Queen, Arcane Roots, Rolo Tomassi, Agent Fresco, Good Tiger, Intervals, SHVPES, Giants, Max Raptor, Slab Dragger, Falls, Calls Landing, Plini and Wars.
They join previously announced artists Sikth, Refused, While She Sleeps, Animals As Leaders, Hacktivist, Gnarwolves, Krokodil, No Consequence, Devil Sold His Soul, Forever Never, Vukovi, Murdock and When Our Time Comes.
The festival was forced to move from its spiritual home at Port Lympne as the original venue is undergoing a major overhaul. Festival organizer James Dutton said: "Searching for a new site has given us the opportunity to explore a more central location in the UK, which is something our fans have been requesting." Read more here.
Singled Out: She Must Burn's Possessed
She Must Burn recently released a video for their song "Possessed" from their self-titled debut EP and to celebrate we asked frontman Joseph Sinclair to tell us about the inspiration for the song. Here is the story:
I'm going to chat a little bit about our latest video release "Possessed" that we have just dropped with Artery recordings. so... Most would look at the title of this song and the image of our band thinking the obvious. Possession, goblins and ghouls... Far from it in honesty, metaphoric maybe. Even so from day one of our writing process for this song we agreed as A whole this would be a powerful expression of past sadness, memories and despair. This being our second musical creation.
We are close friends, meaning we are able to be very open with one another, helping us to understand our next movements towards this piece. Taking everyone's problems and personal feelings in to account. Working metaphorically with lyrics along with our expression of shape and structure, it was as though a weight had been lifted from each of our shoulders, without ruining the imagination of any listeners. Simply for the purpose of imagination, The aim is that no matter what the relation with it is that you have some at all. Whatever it may be.
We felt it a must to have both styles if vocals within this song, it's in no way aggressive. Just A notification on paper of lessons that we know we have learnt. A stage in life that we've overcome individually and together.
More of this to come as we are currently in the process or writing our album release set for late this year/early next. Improving and growing. Watch this space.
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