Today's Top Stories
Metallica Considered Making Lars Lead Singer
Metallica at one point in their early career briefly considered making drummer Lars Ulrich their lead singer. This is according to the band's former manager Jon 'Jonny Z' Zazula.
It's been well documented that frontman James Hetfield was nervous about his singing abilities in the early days of the band and the group considered brining in another singer, including Armored Saint and former Anthrax vocalist John Bush.
But one surprising person that the band considered was band cofounder Lars Ulrich. Zazula, who managed the band in 1982, tells Metal Hammer, "Lars and I planned a lot of stuff. But James wasn't the most confident of singers. I don't think he felt comfortable.
"At one point there was even talk of Lars becoming the frontman." But Zazula quickly added, "For about five seconds." As history records, Hetfield got over his nerves and the band went on to recording their debut album "Kill 'Em All."
Ritchie Blackmore Addresses Rainbow Album And Tour Speculation(Classic Rock)
Former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has bad news for fans hoping that his new version of Rainbow will record an album and launch a tour following their previously announced special live appearances.
Blackmore says in a new interview that he has no plans to continue the project beyond their three special concerts in June and he remains committed to his Renaissance-themed band Blackmore's Night.
His comments come after Rainbow bassist Bob Curiano said the band were ready to record any time they were asked, and former singer Joe Lynn Turner said the band's legacy would be tarnished if no studio work was undertaken.
Asked if there's any chance of a world tour, Blackmore tells SpazioRock: "No. Also, there will not be any new studio album. I thought I'd just get back to playing the old songs one more time. My commitment lies with Blackmore's Night - this is just a few dates for fun." Read more here.
AC/DC Were Not Required To Offer Refunds For Axl Rose Shows(Classic Rock)
An spokesperson says AC/DC made the decision to offer refunds on their shows with Axl Rose because they wanted "to do right by their fans," even though they were not legally required to do so.
The band hired Guns N' Roses frontman Rose as their guest vocalist after Brian Johnson was ordered to stop touring or risk going deaf. Rose will sing with Angus Young and co on the remainder of their Rock Or Bust tour dates.
Last week, ticket retailers contacted fans saying they could request a refund on those dates if they wish - a move the band say was their call. A spokesman for AC/DC tells TeamRock: "The band made a decision to offer this. As they care about their fans and wanted to do right by them, they instructed local promoters to offer refunds."
A spokeswoman for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) confirmed the band were under no legal obligation to offer refunds. The spokeswoman says: "Our CTSI lead officer for fair trading can confirm that there is no legal obligation for the ticket sellers to refund in this case. It is a goodwill gesture." Read more here.
Slipknot's Corey Taylor Appears In Sharknado 4(TeamRock Radio)
Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has revealed that he has a "weird cameo" in Sharknado 4, which is set to premiere on the Syfy Network on July 31st.
The latest installment of the surprise hit series, "Sharknado: The 4th Awakens." will include returning stars Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and David Hasselhoff and Taylor reportedly plays a Shark World hotel security guard in the film, which is set five years after the previous film in the series.
Taylor confirmed his involvement in an interview with Loudwire but refused to share many details. He said, "I shot a weird cameo for Sharknado 4 which is awesome. The thing is, I don't get eaten by a shark. That's all I can tell you about it."
He also talks about a possible future in acting: "I would love to do more acting. In fact, if anyone's listening, I would love to audition for your weird indie horror movie. I'll be zombie number six - and I'll bring my own lunch." Watch the interview here.
Latest News
Blink-182's Hoppus Denies Tom DeLonge Claims(TeamRock Radio)
Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has denied claims made by the band's estranged frontman Tom DeLonge in a Facebook post that the pair recently met, with Hoppus saying they haven't spoken for over a year.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, DeLonge, who split with the band last year, insisted he still had a future with Blink and claimed he had spoken with Hoppus over the last few days.
But Hoppus says he actually hasn't had contact with DeLonge in 18 months. The bassist tells Kevin Kline Live (via Rolling Stone): "I haven't even spoken to Tom in a year and a half."
And when asked if working with DeLonge at some point in the future was on the cards, Hoppus responds: "That is something so far down the road to even be a possibility. Read more here.
Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven Trial Delayed(hennemusic)
The trial for the copyright infringement lawsuit over Led Zeppelin's signature song, "Stairway To Heaven", has been delayed from a May 10 start to June 14.
Los Angeles federal judge Gary Klausner ruled on the date change on Tuesday, according to MyNewsLA.com. The suit - brought by Randy California's estate and members of Spirit by trustee Michael Skidmore - claims the acoustic introduction to 1971's "Stairway" was lifted from their 1968 instrumental "Taurus."
Klausner previously ruled that the jury trial would last less than a week and attorneys would have no more than 10 hours per side to present evidence. Led Zeppelin's lawyers said in court papers that defendants Jimmy Page and Robert Plant would probably not attend the trial, with video depositions filmed in the United Kingdom to be shown to the jury instead.
The plaintiff's attorneys have suggested that they would settle if the band pays Skidmore $1 - and gives Randy California a songwriting credit on the iconic tune. Read more and listen to both tracks here.
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Rocks Janis Joplin Classic
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has been exploring country music with his new solo music, but that hasn't stopped him from returning to his classic rock roots when performing live.
Tyler rocked a version of the Janis Joplin classic "Piece of My Heart" during his show at the David Geffen Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center for Performing arts on Monday night (May 2nd).
The rocker turned country songster performed some of his new solo songs during the set, as well as a number of classic Aerosmith tracks and EW.com reports that he told the NYC crowd, "Don't forget I'm from f-ing New York City. I was born four blocks from here". Check out fan filmed footage of him performing the Joplin cover here.
Megadeth Frontman Says Online Trolls Need Love Too(Classic Rock)
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine shared his feelings about social media in a recent interview, attacking the dishonest statements made by anonymous people via the medium, but also saying that internet "trolls need love too."
Mustaine is no stranger to online trolls or negative attacks and false claims online. He spoke about the subject with Fox Action News: "The thing with social media is there's so much dishonesty and anonymity. People will say they've met us, they know us.
"There's something going round that the singer from Paramore is my niece or something. When they said her name I was like, 'I don't know who that is.' Then I looked it up and I went, 'Come on!' Real bright comparison there."
He continues: "You have to have a thick skin. You have to not worry about trolls - because, as funny as this sounds, trolls need love too. You either ignore them or you just kind of love them until they wake up or go away." Read more here.
Ian Anderson In The Studio For Jethro Tull's 'Aqualung' 45th Anniversary(ITS)
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson is featured in the latest episode of syndicated radio show In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands which celebrates the 45th anniversary of the landmark album "Aqualung." The show sent over the following details:
Definitely not your typical rock star, wild-eyed Englishman, Ian Anderson literally leaped onto the London music scene in 1968 at the front of Jethro Tull. His Elizabethan madman look, standing on one leg complete with striped tights and sashes, made him a standout, not to mention his musical weapon of choice being a flute instead of a guitar.
After three critically and moderately successful Jethro Tull albums, in 1971 Ian wrote the songs for Aqualung which include timeless fan favorites "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Locomotive Breath", "Mother Goose", "Hymn #43", the title song "Aqualung" and "My God". Pitting the familiar struggle of spiritual faith with sometimes hypocritical worldly religion (a topic popularized then in other mediums like the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar & Godspell), Aqualung may very well have been the headiest record of its day. Ian Anderson elaborates to InTheStudio host Redbeard.
Anderson says, "The crazy thing about writing an album like Aqualung is that a lot of these things I wrote about were actually what I felt about when I was fifteen or sixteen. I don't feel that different now. Not a lot has changed... It's an important piece of music to me and once in a while there's a kid in the audience, seventeen years old or whatever, for whom it becomes important." Stream the episode here.
3 Doors Down Announce European Tour
3 Doors Down will be heading across the pond this fall. The band announced that they will be following their current North American tour with a European trek in October.
The Euro tour is set to kick off on October 19th in Berlin at Columbiahalle and will conclude on November 6th at the famed Hammersmith Apollo in London.
Frontman Brad Arnold had the following to say about the new dates in support of their latest album 'Us and The Night', "Chris and I had a great time setting up the record in the UK, Paris and Germany this past March and have been looking forward to getting back to Europe for some time now.
"Our European fans have always welcomed us with open arms and been big supporters of our music. We can't wait to be back rocking and playing songs from our newest album 'Us And The Night' for them!"
The band will be on the road across the US and Canada until mid summer, wrapping up their current North American tour in Sioux Falls, SD at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds on August 9th. See all of their upcoming dates here.
Steve Hackett To Appear At Keith Emerson Tribute Show(Prog)
Steve Hackett has announced that he will perform at Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy show in remembrance of late keyboard icon Keith Emerson. The former Genesis guitarist and Vanilla Fudge keyboardist and vocalist Mark Stein will perform at Pictures At An Exhibition - A Tribute To Keith Emerson at Miami's Olympia Theater on June 24.
The show will feature interpretative dance performances by The Center For Contemporary Dance, cinematic imagery and photo collections. The event is planned as part of ELP drummer Palmer's Remembering Keith - The Music Of Emerson Lake & Palmer Tour.
Palmer says: "I am honoured and grateful that these two iconic musicians have agreed to appear at this special tribute to Keith. I have been working as an instrumental act since 2001, so this will be different and exciting to have Mark Stein on keyboards and vocals and Steve Hackett on guitar for some songs." Read more here.
Danny Worsnop Releases 'Out Without You' Video(TeamRock Radio)
Former Asking Alexandria frontman and current We Are Harlot frontman Danny Worsnop has released a video for his solo track "Out Without You," which comes from his forthcoming debut album "The Prozac Sessions."
The singer previously said that the album was inspired by a series of tragedies that led him into a cycle of substance abuse. He added: "Writing this album has helped me face and overcome so many wounds I had inside me that I was always too scared to even acknowledge.
"This creative process was the best therapy I could have hoped for and I can't wait to share the end product with the world. See you on the other side."
Worsnop exited Asking Alexandria early last year to concentrate on his work with We Are Harlot and was replaced by vocalist Denis Stoff. Watch the video here.
Paul Rodgers Open To Idea Of New Bad Company Music(Classic Rock)
Bad Company's Paul Rodgers is open to the idea of releasing new music with the band. They released their live album Bad Company Live In Concert 1977 & 1979 last month - the only official live release to feature the original lineup of Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs and Boz Burrell.
And frontman Rodgers says the release - along with last year's reissues of the first two Bad Company albums - have got him thinking about recording new music with the band.
He adds that he and guitarist Mick Ralphs have been writing songs. Rodgers tells UCR: "I didn't have any plans for recording with Bad Company, but the re-releases have made me think again a little bit because it is such a creative outfit.
"I'm writing songs, and I'm sure Mick has some songs, when he decides to come and play with us. 'Who knows,' I think would be the answer to that. And, 'Maybe.'"
While waiting for the possible new album, fans across North America can see them perform live on their current trek with Joe Walsh. Check out the dates here.
Sabaton Reveal Details For New Album 'The Last Stand'(TeamRock Radio)
Sabaton have announced release details of their eighth album entitled The Last Stand. It'll launch on August 19 via Nuclear Blast, and follows 2014's Heroes and recent live package Heroes On Tour.
A final tracklist will be made available in due course - but the band have issued the cover art, which was created by the Swedish outfit's long-term collaborator Peter Sallai.
Bassist Par Sundstrom says: "We had the idea to make an image reflecting soldiers of different times representing the different historical battles we sing about on the new album. This only reveals a small part of the album topics though.
"We always have several ideas for albums to work with. Since there are countless different views and angles of war, we will unfortunately never run out of ideas.
"We felt that the last stand was something perfect for Sabaton. Heroes was a perfect theme and The Last Stand is right down our alley too. It was exciting to do the research." Read more here.
Destruction Release 'Under Attack' Video(TeamRock Radio)
Destruction have released the video for their track "Under Attack," the title song of their forthcoming album, which is due out on May 13 via Nuclear Blast.
Destruction bassist Marcel Schmier says: "We really took our time for this album. After the summer festivals, we went into the studio every couple of weeks to record brand new songs and ideas in between all the touring activities.
"We took several studio sessions instead of one long one, to keep the ideas fresh and have time later before the mix to change bits and pieces that we did not like. Maybe this was the most effective writing we did in the last years.
"Due to the fact we had more time in between the albums, there was a lot of musical output and creativity, but also less pressure. From my point of view, you can definitely hear the crispiness in the songwriting and the kick-ass attitude we brought from the shows into the studio." here.
Singled Out: Save The World's Circus Maximus
Dan Tracey (Alan Parsons Live Project) tells us about the new single "Circus Maximus" from the supergroup power trio Save The World which also features Jon Wysocki (Staind) and award winning producer Robert Wright. Here is the story:
"Circus Maximus" is about how the 24/7 media plays us against each other and poisons us by feeding us the very worst things in society on a daily basis. We wanted the song to be angry and reflect the frustration that many people are feeling today.
The song itself actually came to me as music first. I had the opening guitar riff and I thought it was powerful, so I jumped into my home studio and got all the parts down before I forgot the idea. It all came to me pretty quickly. I went right to the chords for the chorus and shouted out the first few lines, "We lit the fire. Calling the masses, for the world to see." I worked up a quick demo that night and sent it over to Robert Wright our bass player/producer. He responded with "Well, hell yeah!"
After that, the song just kind of sat there for a few months in my archives of other unfinished tunes.
When it came time to pick out songs for the STW album, I am immediately wanted to put this on the record. I thought it was strong, so I started working on refining the lyrics. Nothing was coming at first, and I'm not one to just force things. It's always better for me personally when it just comes out. When it's real, when it's right, you know it. So with that said, my wife of 26 years leaned on me pretty hard one day and said, "Aren't you done with that song yet? I love that tune. Get to work!" Then she took me for a ride way out into the country. Just us two. No radio on. Cruising through the tobacco fields of Tennessee, and boom! It all came rushing out. After that, we headed in to record it. Jon gave it some balls, Robert did his production magic, and it was sent off to the amazing Billy Decker for mixing.
It's worth noting that Robert is an award winning producer and gifted multi-musician. His hands are all over this record. I feel blessed to have someone I can co-create with in a totally egoless situation. It's about the material. The song.
Next up were the visuals to help sell it. Filming the video for this tune was a blast. We had just finished shooting a big budget video (with a jaw dropper ending) for our song "Bleed" a few months earlier. It was long hot days in multiple locations for 14 hrs a day. Conversely, the approach for "Circus Maximus" was to make something great for only a few hundred bucks, and we purposely forced ourselves to shoot it in under 6 hours. The result is a hilarious parody of the media, ala Dumb & Dumber. Our director John Campolo did an amazing job editing. Although it's an amusing observation into today's media, in the end, I think it delivers a powerful message.
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