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Today's Day in Rock Stories

Brian Johnson's First Post AC/DC Music Goes Online(Classic Rock)

Former AC/DC singer Brian Johnson can be heard making a guest appearance on the Greg Billings Band's latest album. He recorded Old Friends Don't Come Easy for Boom! Boom! All Night! which also features Cheap Trick's Robin Zander on another track.
Johnson was forced to bow out of AC/DC in March after doctors warned him he faced total hearing loss if he continued. The band hired Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose to complete their Rock Or Bust world tour.

Johnson, who'd been with the Aussie giants for 26 years, said at the time: "My entire focus is to continue medical treatment to improve my hearing. I am hoping that in time my hearing will improve and allow me to return to live concert performances. While the outcome is uncertain, my attitude is optimistic."

Since then he's been working with audio experts Asius on a solution. Their Chief scientist Stephen Ambrose told TeamRock in October that the singer could return to performing live "within six months to a year." Listen to the new song and read more here.




Black Sabbath Stream Classic Song With Alternate Lyrics(hennemusic)

Black Sabbath are streaming a rare, live version of "Iron Man" with alternate lyrics as featured on the recently-released Super Deluxe Edition of their 1970 album classic, "Paranoid."
The early take on the legendary track was recorded live in Montreux, Switzerland - the site of one of two live sets included on the expanded reissue - alongside one from Brussels, Belgium.

Beyond the live material, the 4-disc set includes the original 1970 LP and a rare quad mix of the record folded down to stereo. "Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition" includes a hardbound book with new interviews with all band members, photos, a poster and a replica of the book sold during the group's tour in support of the album. Check out the song here.




Lamb Of God Stream New Song 'Culling'(Metal Hammer)

Brand-new Lamb Of God track Culling has been released for streaming. It's taken from their The Duke EP, which was released on Friday (November 18), with a vinyl edition to follow on November 25.
Culling was begun during sessions for Lamb Of God's 2009 album Wrath, but remained unfinished until recently. The Duke - recorded while the band worked on last year's VII: Sturm Und Drang - was inspired by fan Wayne Ford, who lost a five-year battle with cancer in 2015.

Frontman Randy Blythe recently explained: "While I was in the studio I had asked Wayne if there was anything he wanted to say to the world, any particular words he wanted to be remembered by. 'That's really cool. Let me think about it, man,' he said. But he never got back to me about it.

"I don't know if he hadn't made up his mind, or if he just didn't feel like it. Regardless, I wanted to honour him in some way. I wanted this level, collected man who had become my friend, all the while staring down his own death, to be remembered through the music of the band he loved." Listen to the new song here.




Avenged Sevenfold Singer Shrugs Of Metallica Competition(Metal Hammer)

Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M Shadows says his band aren't daunted with the fact their new album The Stage is going head-to-head with Metallica's Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
The band sneak released their seventh studio album last month, with Metallica's 10th record was release later this past Friday, November 18. And Shadows says the fact both bands are putting out new material so close together can only be a good thing for rock and metal fans.

He exclusively tells Metal Hammer: "I think it's great for the consumer and it's great for the fans. I think a lot of fans are streaming anyway. We had this plan before Metallica released Hardwired in Minneapolis. Our first plan was to release a song in Minneapolis, with that show we played with them in Viking Stadium. We then decided to drop the record as a surprise and I'm glad we did otherwise we'd really be going head-to-head, single to single."

He adds: "They're vastly different singles, a three-and-a-half minute song compared to an eight-and-a-half minute song, but they're doing what they're doing.

"I told Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich what we were doing and he thought it was awesome. It's going to be a great lead-up to Christmas for rock and metal fans that like our two bands." Read more here.



John Lennon's Angry Letter To Paul Fetches Big Money(Classic Rock)

An angry letter from John Lennon to Paul and his then-wife Linda McCartney following the breakup of The Beatles has sold at auction for just under $30,000.
Boston-based RR Auctions estimated the letter would fetch at least $20,000 when they announced the listing recently. And today they've revealed it sold for $29,843.

The two-page typed letter with hand-written annotations by Lennon shows the extent of his bitterness after the break-up of the Beatles.

The draft letter is believed to date from 1971 and was said to be a response to criticism that Lennon had received from Linda about his decision to not publicly announce his departure from the band. Read more here.





Brian May Curates Air Guitar Anthems Album(Classic Rock)

Brian May has put together a compilation album titled Air Guitar Anthems. The 3CD collection pulls together artists including Metallica, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Rainbow, Rush, Dio, Motorhead and Thin Lizzy.
May says: "It's an interesting discussion between a simple riff and a complex riff. Most of us think simple is great but there are definite exceptions like Message In A Bottle by The Police is the most incredibly complex thing but it sticks in the mind and it's obviously one of the greatest riffs of all time - it's actually got a great song written around it as well.

"A riff is a riff is a riff - and it's a mystical thing. Either it grabs you or it doesn't and some things can be quite involved or some things can be incredibly simple." Watch the trailer and see the tracklisting here.



Presidents Of The United States Of America Confirm Break Up(TeamRock)

Presidents Of The United States Of America frontman Chris Ballew has revealed that the band have officially "retired." The band have been largely inactive for more than a year and Ballew has moved to let fans know that they have called it a day as their "creative interests" have changed.
However, he adds that he'd "never say never" to a potential future comeback. Ballew says: "You may have noticed that PUSA has been quiet since the summer of 2015 and here is why. We are no longer functioning as a band. Call it what you will but we have quietly retired from the PUSA business since we are old people now.

"'Never say never' is a good motto in these cases, however we wanted to let you all officially know what is up so you don't have to fret or wonder. Thanks for all the singing and clapping and happy times and we love you." Read more here.



Superjoint Release 'Caught Up In The Gears Of Application' Video(Metal Hammer)

Phil Anselmo's Superjoint have released a video for the title track from their new album "Caught Up In The Gears Of Application", which was released earlier this month..
The Caught Up In The Gears Of Application video is directed by Kate Richardson and was filmed and edited by Mike Holderbeast. Superjoint say: "Enjoy faithful, ones."

Last week Anselmo said he is more creative than ever after quitting drinking and that he currently has up to five other albums in the works. He said: "I'm sitting on tons of music.

Right this second, I'm working on three different records. I've got so much stuff. It could be four or five. I haven't had a drink since February - I'm not missing that much." Watch the video here.




Gene Simmons Shares His Love Of Rush(Radio.com)


Gene Simmons is not one to shy away from sharing his opinion and recently the Kiss rocker talked about the band Rush. In a nearly two-minute clip taken from the new documentary Rush: Time Stand Still, Simmons spoke highly of the Canadian trio.
"You know I love Rush," Simmons says. "Always have. When we first heard Rush we were struck. It was like Canadian Led Zeppelin. Rush was a hard rockin' band. It felt English. We thought they were English."

Kiss helped open the door for Rush in America in 1975 when they booked the band as main support for the their debut tour outside of Canada. Simmons admitted that he didn't get a chance to see Rush's show back then since he was busy backstage getting his face painted each night during their performance, but he saw them years later and finally "beheld the glory that was Rush."

"[They're] still one of my favorite bands of all time," he concedes. Watch the clip here.




David Bowie Producer Surprised By Blackstar Easter Eggs(Classic Rock)

David Bowie producer Tony Visconti says he is unaware of any other 'easter eggs' hidden in the artwork of the late Bowie's album Blackstar. Earlier this year fans discovered that exposing the sleeve of the vinyl version of Blackstar to light revealed the image of a galaxy.
Visconti's comments come after Jonathan Barnbrook - who designed the Blackstar artwork with Bowie - said there were further hidden secrets in the artwork.

Barnbrook told the BBC: "There's actually a few other things as well. Actually, there's one big thing which people haven't discovered yet on the album. Let's just say, if people find it, they find it, and if they don't, they don't. And remember what Bowie said about not explaining everything. There are a lot of other things going on that aren't at the surface. I do hope people see them. Not necessarily straight away."

But Visconti knows nothing of the so-called 'easter eggs.' He says on Facebook: "If anyone has found these secrets can you please tell me where to find them? I only co-produced the album." Read more here.




Slipknot's Corey Taylor Feel Bad About Rick Rubin Criticism(Metal Hammer)

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor says that he regrets calling iconic producer Rick Rubin "overrated" and "overpaid" - and he wants the chance to make amends.
In an strong-worded comment during a solo show in 2011, Taylor slammed Rubin's contribution to Slipknot's 2004 album Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses) and said the process had only been made possible by engineer Greg Fidelman.

But the vocalist has had a change of heart in the intervening years - he tells Apple Music: "I'm going to be honest. I think it was more on my end than it was on his. He works his way and he always has. I was not used to working that way. I was a young guy, freshly sober.

"Being a singer and being sober, 'I need your attention, Rick! I need it!' So that was me being young, unsure of myself, needing the guidance - which I got from Greg Fidelman.

"All of Rick's engineers are essentially his surrogates. You know that when you're working with him." Describing himself as "an open wound that just needed to heal" at the time, Taylor adds: "I didn't have anybody there to help me. So I blamed him a lot - in retrospect, probably more than I should have.

"I feel bad about it. Hopefully some day I'll be able to make some amends with him." Read more here.



Sebastian Bach Announce Book Tour Dates(hennemusic)


Sebastian Bach has announced dates for a book-signing tour to launch his autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row." Bach will launch a 10-date book-signing tour in Huntington, NY on December 5, with appearances scheduled to December 17 in Las Vegas, NV.
Due December 6 via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, the project is billed as an "uncensored, unfiltered memoir" as the former front man for Skid Row tells the story of his life and times - from joining Kid Wikked at 14 to selling more than 20 million albums with Skid Row to building a successful solo career.

From growing up in The Bahamas and small-town Canada to the world's concert stages, "18 And Life On Skid Row" presents Bach's life story in his own words.

Originally set for a January release, the project moved to an April and then June timeline before being delayed to the fall as Bach expanded the material for the book.

"Pushing the book gives us the opportunity to really finish it properly," said the rocker months ago. "The publishers asked me for 30 pictures. I gave them 150. There are easy ways to do memoirs, simple ways to do biographies. What separates these books is the archival content. 18 And Life On Skid Row could also be called the Skid Row Archives. I am giving you my personal collection, photos, & documents none of you have ever seen. A lot of them." See the book tour dates here.




Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons Release Spiders Video(Classic Rock)

Former Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell has launched a video for "Spiders", by his new band Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons. The track appears on their self-titled EP, recorded by a lineup - including Campbell's sons Tyla, Dane and Todd, plus vocalist Neil Starr - which is on sale today.
Speaking about the project, Campbell tells Noisey: "We've been a band for three and a half years - it's my little side project. After Lem sadly passed away, we didn't form then-we changed the name in the summer, we thought we could get a better name, and things have sort of taken off since then.

"It was just a fun project, but it is kind of a new band in a way. This is the first time we've been writing original material, we were just playing party songs and stuff we all enjoyed, but it's really good."

He adds: "We've had fantastic reviews, and done a lot of gigs, we've done some great festivals this summer, we've got a cruise next year, lots of stuff - it's been looking up. I can't complain, it's great." Watch the video here.




Sixx A.M. Stream Full 'Prayers For The Blessed' Album(hennemusic)

Motley Crue offshoot Sixx A.M. have released an online stream of their new album, "Prayers For The Blessed", which hit stores this past Friday (November 18th).
The group's fifth album marks their second project issued in 2016, and is billed as a companion to "Prayers For The Damned", which was issued this past spring ahead of a planned two-year touring cycle.

"We really found ourselves onstage and it's influencing the way we write," says bassist Nikki Sixx. "We started focusing on our music not only as songwriters and lyricists but also stayed conscious of what would transfer over live to the audience." here.



Tesla Announce 2017 U.S. Tour(hennemusic)

Tesla have announced dates for an early 2017 US tour. The 5-week run will begin February 1 at the Arcada Theatre in St, Charles, IL and is scheduled through a March 4 show at the House Of Blues in Houston, TX.
The Sacramanto, CA rockers recently wrapped up an extensive North American tour with Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon as they hit the road in support of "Mechanical Resonance, Live!"

The project marks the 30th anniversary of their debut album if the same name by capturing the 1986 record in its entirety live; the set was rounded out with a new studio single, "Save That Goodness", which was written and produced by Phil Collen of Def Leppard. See the tour dates here.




Steven Tyler To Receive U.N. Humanitarian Award(hennemusic)

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will be honored with the 2016 Humanitarian Award by The Hospitality Committee for United Nations Delegations at the Ambassadors' Ball on December 3 in New York.
The honor is in recognition of the Tyler's philanthropic partnership with Youth Villages through Janie's Fund, which he launched in 2015 to give his voice to vulnerable girls who have experienced the trauma of abuse and neglect and are being helped by Youth Villages.

"As a father to three daughters, a son, and, now a grandfather, it broke my heart to learn that each year in America alone 700,000 children are victims of serious abuse or neglect and 68,000 will be sexually abused," says Tyler. "All abuse is wrong - verbal, physical, sexual, emotional. We need to have better ways as parents to help our children and support them. Way too many kids are experiencing abuse, and we want to change that. Enough is enough." Read more here.




Kim Thayil Talks New Soundgarden Album(Classic Rock)

Kim Thayil has outlined the vibe Soundgarden fans can expect from their next album, expected to arrive before the end of next year. The follow-up to 2012 comeback King Animal is underway, although it's been interrupted by the band members' separate schedules.
Thayil - who recently said they were a dozen songs into the work - tells WRIF: "We've already done some writing. We have more writing to do and then there's the whole studio process.

"We're shooting for later 2017. Some people whip out albums in a few weeks or a few months. Soundgarden takes months. We do something for a few weeks then come back later and revisit it."

The guitarist says all four members are "fairly attentive of what we do" and that the process includes "four different, strong opinions and four songwriters - without the addition of the producer."

Discussing the material so far he says: "It has precision where it needs precision. It has chaos and looseness where you want the song to be wild. It has color where you want it to really shine. We really roll the thing over."

He adds: "It's definitely a fun and dynamic process." Read more here.




A Killer's Confession Stream New Song Feature Korn's Head(Metal Hammer)

A Killer's Confession, the new band led by former Mushroomhead frontman Waylon Reavis, have released a lyric video for their title track - featuring Korn guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch.
The song will appear on the group's debut album Unbroken, which is set to be released on February 17 via Megadeth bassist David Ellefson's EMP Label Group.

Confirming the guest appearance last month, Reavis said: "Brian has graciously recorded amazing guitars for A Killer's Confession. We can't thank him enough for his huge and incredible contribution and support to our project."

The band play their first show at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio, on December 17. Check out the song here.




Leprous Release 'Third Law' Live Video(Prog)

Leprous have released a video of their performance of "Third Law". It features on the band's upcoming package Live At Rockefeller Music Hall, which is out on November 25 via InsideOut Music.
The band say: "We're really excited to share Third Law with you all. It's a high energy song that is really in its right element when performed live. Enjoy!"

Live At Rockefeller Music Hall is the band's first ever live concert film and will be available on limited DVD+2CD Digipak, standalone DVD, 2CD jewelcase, gatefold 3LP on black vinyl + 2CD and as a digital download.

It was recorded live at a show in the band's hometown of Oslo on June 4 of this year. The release came about on the back of a crowdfunding campaign, and previously released

Live At Rockefeller Music Hall was directed by Costin Chioreanu and the audio was recorded and mixed by David Castillo and mastered by Tony Lindgren of Fascination Street Studios. Watch the video here.



Kepler Ten Release 'Time And Tide' Video(Prog)

Kepler Ten have released a video for their track "Time And Tide" exclusively with Prog. The clip was filmed and edited by Dave Marshall of SemiStone Media.
The song will feature on the trio's upcoming album Delta V, which is expected to launch in 2017 via White Star Records after they signed on with John Mitchell and Chris Hillman's new label White Star Records earlier this year.

Speaking about the lyrical inspiration behind Time And Tide, drummer and pianist Steve Hales says: 'No matter how in control of our lives we feel when it comes to the passing of time we are merely passengers.

"Our journey is flagged along the way by important personal moments such as falling in love but metaphorically the same powerful tide that brings two people together can in the blink of an eye tear them apart - in the song through illness.

"Whether you call it fate, probability or just dumb luck it's still outside of our control and there is no way that we can ever stop the clock or turn it back for a second chance."

He adds: "The song is sad but the message is not. Don't take anything for granted and make the absolute best of those good times. Fly their flags high."