Today's Day In Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock Stories

Phil Anselmo Says He Was Sexually Abused As A Child

Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo says in a new interview that he was the victim of sexual abuse during his entire childhood from "numerous people, both men and women".
Anselmo made the revelation while speaking to Rolling Stone about his controversial outburst at the Dimbash event in Hollywood back in January.

"This is sh*t I've never f***ing opened up about until now," he told the publication. "But when people constantly talk about being a victim or something, there are going to be certain points where I have to step back and go, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa.'

"Especially when people shout and scream about us living in a rape culture and men are this evil product. ... Guess who was molested his entire child-f***ing-hood by numerous people, both men and women. ... " He pauses, and then reveals, "Me." here.



Nickelback Insulted By Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg

The Nickelback hate train rolls on with the latest insult to the melodically driven-rock group coming in a new video published by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg took aim at the often derided Canadian band in a new video that he posted to demonstrate his work in-progress artificial intelligence system called Jarvis.

In the clip, which can be seen here, Zuckerberg asks the program to "play us some good Nickelback songs" only to be answered with "I'm sorry Mark, I'm afraid I can't do that." Jarvis continues, "There are no good Nickelback songs." The controversial social media figure then says "Good! That was actually a test." Read more here.



Nine Inch Nails Stream New Song 'Burning Bright (Field on Fire)'(Radio.com)

As promised, Nine Inch Nails have returned, and they're in blazing form on the new song "Burning Bright (Field on Fire)." The track comes from the band's new EP Not the Actual Events, which comes out today (Dec. 23).
The song opens with a deep, brooding melodic line that anchors the rest of the music. As it progresses, guitar noise, industrial percussion and chaotic sound effects swarm through the mix as frontman Trent Reznor rants.

Then, the volume level drops and Reznor sings the chorus, "Break through the surface and breathe." As the song draws to a conclusion, he intones "I am forgiven, I am free, I am a field on fire" over and over. Read more and stream the song here.



AC/DC Dominated Rock Music News In 2016(hennemusic)

AC/DC swept top honors in the 2016 hennemusic Rock News Awards, captured the titles of Rock News Artist Of The Year and Rock News Story Of The Year, the daily rock music news site announced Thursday.
The Australian-based rockers made headlines during a tumultuous 2016 that saw the band lose longtime singer Brian Johnson over hearing loss issues, only to have Axl Rose step in for the remaining European and US dates on the Rock Or Bust world tour.

AC/DC were the most read-about artist in both hennemusic categories, which are determined by music fans: numbers are based on the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.

In the tradition of the weekly hennemusic Hot 10, the Top 10 in both categories were counted down over the past two weeks. "AC/DC were a priority for hennemusic readers throughout the year," says Bruce Henne. "The ongoing drama with lineup changes - especially the addition of Axl Rose in place of Brian Johnson - was palpable as the group landed four of the top 10 rock news stories of 2016, while their future remains a mystery."

Previous hennemusic Rock News Awards honorees include Van Halen, Pearl Jam, KISS, Guns N' Roses and Jimmy Page. See the Top 10 lists here.



Aerosmith Farwell Tour May Not Be The End For The Band(hennemusic)

Steven Tyler has expressed his doubt that Aerosmith's upcoming farewell tour, "Aero-Vederci Baby!", will really be a farewell for the band, in a new interview with Billboard.
The Boston rockers recently announced the first series of dates for the farewell run, with European shows starting May 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel. "The European tour is booked, locked and cocked and that's ready for next summer. And then we're coming back and we're doing the rest of the world," explains Tyler.

"Farewell? I'm not sure, but truth is, who knows how long we'll be touring as the original band? I don't think that needs to be said, I think that we're all freak of natures and Joe and I were talking on the phone yesterday and he said to me, 'We have no right being as healthy as we are after what we've been through.'

"Whether it's through the abuses of being on tour for 40 years or the abuses of substances or the abuses of life on life's terms, there's been a lot of abuse. But we're both looking pretty damn good for what's going on."

Tyler spent much of the past year and half recording and touring behind his solo debut, "We're All Somebody From Somewhere", which gave him some new perspective on things.

"Aerosmith is something else you'll never see again," he says. "We all love each other, five of us are still alive, every one of us is still playing better than ever - and I'm not just saying that because we just came off a South American tour. Yes, we have ups and downs. But one of the things I'm learning in life is that being away from each other is sometimes the healthiest thing we can do. You know? I dare to say that being away from each other may have saved a few marriages on this planet." Read more here.



Lars Ulrich Reads 'The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas'(Radio.com)

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich stopped by the BBC studios for a bit of holiday ribaldry, reading The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas aloud for fans around the world.
He brought Metallica's characteristic quiet introspection to the subtle tale of a dinosaur who devours a boy's home and family, only for it to pass through his digestive system. In the tradition of Dickens and Dr. Seuss, this holiday yarn is best enjoyed in the company of young people who still believe.

The story was written by McFly's Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter, and uses sophisticated poetic devices like internal rhyme: 'So big Santy C said, 'I'll leave a present, but this year his present might just be unpleasant.'" Read more here.







American Hi-Fi and MxPx's Mike Herrera Stream Christmas Song

American Hi-Fi have announced that they have teamed up with MxPx's Mike Herrera for new a punk inspired rendition of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", which is now streaming online.
American Hi-Fi frontman Stacy Jones had the following to say about the collaboration, "I've always been a fan of MxPx. I did Mike's podcast a few weeks ago and afterwards we discussed collaborating on something. I was driving around L.A. Christmas shopping and I heard 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' on the radio…the U2 version. That cover is one of my favorite holiday songs, and that's when the idea of recording it with American Hi-Fi and Mike occurred to me. I think it turned out killer!"

Herrera adds, "I grew up listening to Bono sing this every Christmas so when I was invited to sing on this with American Hi-Fi, I was beyond excited! Now if only some other kid grows up listening to us, we've completed the circle and found the meaning of life. Merry Christmas y'all!" Listen to the song here.



The Kinks' Dave Davies Announces First Concert Dates For 2017

The Kinks icon Dave Davies has a very busy release schedule in 2017 and he is increasing his workload with the announcement of his first solo dates of the new year.
Davies plans to release his new solo album next year, his long-awaited documentary, Dave Davies: Strangers, as well as a collaborative album with his son Russ called "Open Road."

The guitarist has announced three U.S. live dates that will be taking place next April including St. Charles, IL at the Arcada Theatre on the 8th, Provincetown, MA at Provincetown Town Hall on the 15th and Londonderry, NH at Tupelo Music Hall on the 20th.

Earlier this week, Davis published a Christmas video message to fans that shows him in a pub toasting his fans with "Cheers! Happy holidays, everyone!" Watch the video here.



Voivod Release 'Post Society' Music Video

Voivod have released a new music video for their track "Post Society." The song is the title cut to the band's Post Society EP, which was released back in February.
The new promo clip was shot by Dirk Behlau / Beastwood Film Production (Spiritual Beggars, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, etc.) during Voivod's appearance at Leafmeal Festival in Germany. Watch it here.

Voivod drummer Michel "Away" Langevin had the following to say about the new video and he took back at the band's busy year, "This video is the best ending of a very productive and crazy year! It started in February-March with a North American East Coast tour with Vektor, Eight Bells and Black Fast. Then the West Coast and across Canada in May-June with Child Bite and King Parrot. We were joined by Jason Newsted in San Francisco for a two basses rendition of the song Voivod." Read more here.



The Fluffy Jackets Donate New Song Proceeds To TeamRockers

The Fluffy Jackets hope to pay back the help they received from Classic Rock early in their career by donating the proceeds of their new single to the TeamRockers that were laid off earlier this week.
As we previously reported, TeamRock (publishers of Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog) went into the British equivalency of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving over 70 staffers jobless without pay days before Christmas.

The Fluffy Jackets have since announced that they will be donating the proceeds from their new single "44 Blues" to the staffers. Lead vocalist and guitarist Helge Rognstad had the following to say, "Classic Rock Magazine was the first publication to support The Fluffy Jackets when we started out. It is now our turn to give something back."

Manny Charlton, who is the producer for the upcoming Fluffy Jackets album, worked double-time to get the single ready on short notice. Says Manny: "I am very happy to be producing The Fluffy Jackets, and it is also heartwarming that the rock community is pulling together to help out those who have lost their jobs just before Christmas". The single is available at iTunes and at Amazon digital here.



Metallica Release Video Of Classic Song From Intimate Concert(hennemusic)

Metallica have released video footage of their 1983 classic, "Metal Militia", as performed at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on December 15th.
Proceeds from the band's 15-song set at the intimate venue were donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, with fans encouraged to bring a donation of a canned good or other non-perishable food items to assist with local efforts to feed those in need.
"Metal Militia" first appeared on Metallica's 1982 demo tape, "No Life 'Til Leather", before its inclusion on their 1983 album debut, "Kill 'Em All." The Los Angeles charity event was followed by the group's final 2016 live show at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA on Deember 17.

Metallica will resume their world tour in support of "Hardwired…To Self Destruct" next month with shows in South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Watch the video here.



Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Pitrelli and Allen Unplug For Alice Cooper

Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Al Pitrelli and Russell Allen took a short detour from their 2016 North American tour for an interview and performance on the syndicated radio show Nights With Alice Cooper.
Pitrelli and Allen performed an acoustic version of the song, "Find My Way Home" which can seen here. They also discussed their new rock opera, The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve, and played the song "This Christmas Day". Check out that portion of the show here.

As we previous reported, the acclaimed group kicked off their 61-city tour on November 17th in Youngstown, OH at the Covelli Center and Council Bluffs, IA at the Mid America Center. The trek is set to conclude with special New Year's Eve performances in Seattle and Cleveland. here.



Black Star Riders Release New Trailer For 'Heavy Fire' Album

Black Star Riders have released a third video trailer to promote the upcoming release of their new studio album "Heavy Fire" which is set to his stores on February 3rd.
The new clip features band members Damon Johnson, Ricky Warwick and Scott Gorham discussing returning to the studio to work with "The Killer Instinct" producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, The Foo Fighters, Mastodon).

Warwick had the following to say about the producer, "Well you know we had such a good time making The Killer Instinct with him. Nick's a great guy, he's a musical genius, he's sonically very together and has great ears.

He's got a great passion for music, 24/7 he never switches off. The Killer Instinct was a very successful record for us and we felt there was no need to change the teams because we were happy. I think that has helped develop our own sound." Watch the video here.



Sepultura Release 'Phantom Self' Video

Sepultura have released a new music video for their track "Phantom Self". The song comes from the group's forthcoming album "Machine Messiah", which is set to be released on January 13th.
The video can be streamed here and guitarist Andreas Kisser had this to say about the song, "'Phantom Self' starts with a short intro based on the Brazilian rhythm 'Maracatú', original from the Northeast region of Brazil.

"We mixed this very Brazilian sound with violins performed by a Tunisian violin ensemble, the Myriad Orchestra. This was a suggestion from Jens Bogren, the producer of the album, who worked with this orchestra before and he thought it could be a nice combination." Read more here.



Status Quo Announce Their Next Vinyl Collection

Status Quo may have just released 'Aquostic II' but there is already another collection coming from the veteran UK band early next year with the next installment in their Vinyl Collection series.
UMC have announced that they will be releasing a new 10-LP box set entitled "The Vinyl Collection 1981-1996" on February 24, 2017, which follows their 2015 1972-180 collection.

The new set will feature nine complete albums and a rarities album that have been remastered from their original tapes. They will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and include the original covers and inserts. Read more here.



Mutiny Within Stream New Single And Confirm Album Release

Mutiny Within have announced that they will be releasing their third full-length studio album, entitled "Origins," on February 10th, 2017 and they have launched a stream of the effort's first single "Archetype Of Destruction".
Listen to the new song here. Bass player Andrew Jacobs had the following to say, "At the end of last year, we found some old demos we thought had been lost, which led to a discussion about putting together an EP.

"We planned on releasing the demos along with a couple of new songs but once we got started, we had more and more ideas for new songs and the plan quickly evolved into making an EP of brand new tracks." Read more here.



Immortal To Begin Recording Their First Album Without Abbath

Immortal's Demonaz and Horgh have revealed that they plan to enter the studio in January to begin recording their first album since they parted ways with founding frontman Abbath.
The band released the following statements about their plans for their ninth studio album, "The songs have been ready for some time, but we wanted to record it at the right place and time.

"We will once again work with Peter Tägtgren at Abyss Studio who produced our four last albums. The band will enter the studio during wintertime to have the right atmosphere." here.



J Geils Band In The Studio For 'Freeze Frame' Anniversary

The latest espied of the syndicated radio show In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands celebrates the 35th anniversary of The J Geils Band's chart topping album "Freeze Frame." The show sent over the following details:
Hailing from Boston, The J Geils Band went from regionally successful club act to one of the most popular live bands of the '70s. After fourteen years on the road and 11 albums the #1 Billboard single "Centerfold" gave the band its just reward, a HIT album. Peter Wolf reminisces with In the Studio host Redbeard about what fueled The J Geils Band for all those years and how it felt to finally be on top.

Peter Wolf had this to say, "One of the things about the Geils Band, we really weren't that ambitious about having a zillion seller or something. We never really went into rock'n'roll to make money, we went into rock'n'roll so maybe we didn't have to work 9 to 5.

"It was probably the happiest time in my life, because we were doing tours where every place was sold out and that's a performers dream... All the touring, all the one nighters and all the driving in station wagons and sleeping in funky hotels and funky dressing rooms, finally, there was a certain sense of respect coming back to the band." Stream the episode here.



Rogue Wave's Zach Rogue Premieres Song From Rogue + Jaye Project

Rogue Wave frontman Zach Rogue has announced that he has teamed up with singer-songwriter Courtney Jaye to form the new music duo called appropriately enough Rogue + Jaye and they are giving fans their first taste of the new partnership with a song stream.
We were sent the following details about the new project: Stemming from a songwriting session between Rogue and Jaye that took place in December 2013, the two forged an easygoing spirit of collaboration and mutual respect over those sessions, all of which comes through on Pent Up, the duo's debut album that will see a 2017 release.

"Forces Of Decay," the first song from the forthcoming album to be released and that is now premiering on Rolling Stone Country, is a track about seeking out safety and security in an otherwise turbulent world. "'Forces Of Decay' is about intimacy with another person protecting you from the chaos outside the door," says Jaye. "The world, now more than ever, seems to be a dark and confusing place. But you can build an insular world that no one can touch when you have love in your life."

The upcoming release of Pent Up symbolizes a fresh start, creatively, for Jaye, whose path has taken her to Nashville, Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles and beyond. "My decision to move back to Los Angeles after living in Nashville for nine years was because I needed a change," she continues. "I think both places will always feel like a home to me and will forever occupy equal space in my heart and equal influence over my music and sound. I've never been a traditional Pop, Americana, or Country artist, and living out west right now represents for me the freedom to be untethered to one particular musical sound, scene, or genre. And I feel this project is an extension of that." Check out the premiere of "Forces Of Decay here.



HammerFall Recruit Gloryhammer and Lancer For Winter Tour

HammerFall have announced that they have recruited Gloryhammer and Lancer as the opening acts on their upcoming European tour in support of their brand new album "Built To Last."
The tour will be kicking off on January 12th in Bremen, Germany at Aladin and is scheduled to conclude on February 8th in Copenhagen, Demark at Amager Bio.

HammerFall guitarist Oscar Dronjak had the following to say, "We got exactly the support bands we wanted. There is no doubt in my mind that Lancer will be thoroughly enjoyed by all our fans, and Gloryhammer's mighty and epic music will be the perfect lead-in to the HammerFall show that will follow."