Today's Day In Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock Stories

AC/DC's Brian Johnson To Receive Walk Of Fame Honor

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson is set to be that latest music star honored with a plaque on the NewcastleGateshead Initiative's Local Heroes Walk of Fame.
Johnson, who was born in Dunston, Gateshead, will be joining previous music recipients including Police frontman Sting and Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, some time this month, according to BBC.

The inductees are selected by a public vote and aside from the hard rock icon, other members of the class of 2017 will include British television presenters John Grundy and Mike Neville, as well as actor Tim Healy.


Journey And Anthrax Stars Launch New Band

Former Journey and Anthrax stars Deen Castronovo and Dan Spitz have teamed up to form a new thrash metal band and are making plans for their first album.
Spitz original revealed the new band via his Instagram page and then discussed the new group during an appearance on Talking Bollocks podcast.

The guitarist shared a series of videos on the social media site, one was captioned "The Riffage begins. Watch how songs are made in Thrash Metal. From the instant God give's me the music. Don't steal my riffs. CASTRONOVO (OZZY, JOURNEY) DRUMS / SPITZ new Thrash band. Coming soon"

He has since posted several new clips and may have revealed the title with "The pieces are falling together. The Architect of Metal ----------> Channeled from God as it was taped. May your day be filled with Metal!!"

Spitz praised his bandmate Castronovo on the podcast (stream it here). "Deen is one of the world's most incredible drummers walking the planet. You first think of him as Journey. Deen's also a lead singer. He sings the ones that Steve Perry wouldn't even sing live.

"17 years in Journey, he played for Ozzy, he played on early Ted Nugent albums. I mean, it goes on, dude. He's pulling out stuff, and I'm, like, 'Are you kidding me, dude? I used to sit and just do bong hits and blast my guitar listening to that album. Are you crazy? I didn't know it was you.'"


Sammy Hagar Supergroup The Circle and Collective Soul U.S. Tour

The Sammy Hagar fronted supergroup The Circle will be hitting the road for a U.S. tour this September, which will feature support from Collective Soul.
Apart from Hagar, the band also features his former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony on bass, acclaimed drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson.

The tour is scheduled to kick off on September 10th at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA and will be wrapping up on September 30th in Maryland Heights, MO at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. Read more here.


Deftones Cancel Show After Chino Moreno Injured

The Deftones announced that frontman Chino Moreno broke his foot which forced the band to cancel Monday (May 1st) night's concert in Cologne, Germany.
The band broke the news to fans with the following social media post, "Regretfully, we have to cancel our show tonight due to Chino breaking the top of his foot. He needs to stay off it for the next day or two.

"No other shows as of now are in jeopardy of being cancelled. We hope to make it back soon to perform for you again. In the meantime, all tickets will be refunded. Thanks for your understanding."

The next stop on the tour is a two night stand in Paris at the Olympia tonight and tomorrow (May 3rd)



Metallica Releasing Limited Edition 3 Disc Album This Week(hennemusic)

Metallica have announced that they are releasing a limited edition three LP vinyl package this Friday (May 5th) that was captured during their sold-out Fifth Members-only show at New York's Webster Hall last fall.
The release will be on 140-gram vinyl - accompanied by a digital download - delivers the band's September 27th, 2016 concert that previewed the November release of their tenth album, "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct."

The set list includes the first ever live performance of "Moth Into Flame", alongside a mix of classic tracks from the band's catalogue. "As we get ready to hit the road and kick off the North American tour," explains Metallica, "we thought it might be cool to revisit the very beginning of Hardwired… by pressing one of the live release celebrations on vinyl."

The 3LP set will be available exclusively online at Metallica.com as well as in the group's pop-up stores in select tour cities this summer. A full track list is available here.





dada Returning With First Song In A Decade And Tour

California rockers dada have announced that they will be releasing their first new single in over a decade and will be hitting the road for a 25th Anniversary tour.
The new song is called "The Bluebird" and was recorded last month with producer/engineer David Way (Pink, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, more) at The Waystation in Los Angeles.

The band plans to release the new track this summer to coincide with the launch of their summer and fall anniversary tour and they will also be offering a signed limited edition vinyl 45 of the single. Read more here.



Godsmack Pushing Back New Album Plans To 20th Anniversary

Godsmack have decided to push back the release of their new studio album until next year to coincided with the band's special plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut.
Frontman Sully Erna shared a rough outline of the group's plans during an interview with The Rod Ryan Show (via TeamRock). The singer told the show, "We were going to drop a record this year as we didn't want the records to be so spaced apart. But it seems like a theme with us - it's always three or four years before another record comes out.

"Part of that is because by the time it takes you to write and record and tour an album, it's 18 months to two years. But this time, we wanted to do something this year, but we were like, 'You know, let's just wait another second,' because if we release this at the top of 2018, it will be our 20 anniversary of the first record - and we want to do something special." Read more here.



The 1975's New Album May Be Their Last

The 1975 will release their next album, Music for Cars, in 2018. But frontman Matty Healy suggested during a recent interview that the new studio effort may possibly be their last, according to Radio.com.
Healy made the revelation during a recent interview on Beats 1 where he said, "We were always gonna do a trilogy of records. I'm not saying that after this album it's the end of The 1975, but it's the end of an era."

Healy shared the album title and projected 2018 release via a social media post earlier this year. The new album will be the follow-up to their 2016 album "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it." Read more here.



The Juliana Theory Add Dates To 20th Anniversary Tour

The Juliana Theory had good news for fans on Monday. The reunited band has announced several additional dates to their upcoming 20th Anniversary tour.
The trek will be kicking off on July 29th in Columbus, OH at the Double Happiness and is now scheduled to run until September 10th where it will conclude in San Francisco, CA at The Regency Ballroom.

Frontman Brett Detar had this to say about the band regrouping for this special tour, "You step away from something for seven years and you realize you miss the small stuff - all the joking around with your buddies. Even just the band text chain that started once we decided to do this tour - full of us all making fun of each other and kidding around - that kind of stuff.

"It's hard to quantify the relationship you have when you're in a band with people you've known forever - some since you were 5 or 6 years old. You literally grow up with these guys. Every failure and every success you share for so long and I think that forms a very deep bond that doesn't really diminish over time." See the dates here.



The Afghan Whigs Announce North American Tour

The Afghan Whigs have announced that they will launching a North American tour this fall in support of their forthcoming album "In Spades", which is set to hit stores in various formats this Friday, May 5th.
The U.S. and Canadian trek is scheduled to kick off on September 6th in Orlando, Fl at The Social and will be concluding on October 26th in Houston, TX at Heights Theater.

The band will also be launching a European tour this summer which is set to get underway on May 26th in Manchester at the Cathedral and will be running until August 13th where it will wrap up in Helsinki at the Flow Festival. See all of the dates here.



Adrenaline Mob Release 'King Of The Ring' Video

Adrenaline Mob have released a new music video for their track "King Of The Ring". The song comes from the group's forthcoming album "We The People," which is set to be released on June 2nd.
"King Of Ring" is the first recording revealed from the new lineup of the group featuring recent additions Jordan Cannata (drums) and Dave Z (bass). Watch the Ron Cote directed video here.

The band will be hitting the road next month to promote the new album. The U.S. tour is scheduled to begin on June 16th in Poughkeepsie, NY at The Loft and will wrap up on July 22nd in Clifton, NJ at Dingbatz. See the dates here.



Sacred Reich Announce 30th Anniversary Tour

Sacred Reich have announced that they will be launching North American and European tours this summer and fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album "Ignorance".
The U.S. and Canadian leg of the 30 Years Of Ignorance Tour will feature support from Byzantine on all but the final two dates and is scheduled to begin on September 14th at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA.

The European leg of the anniversary trek will be kicking off on July 26th at The Underworld in London and will be concluding on August 22nd at the Kyttaro Club in Athens. See the dates here.



Motionless In White Streaming New Song 'Rats'

Motionless In White have released an online stream of their new track "Rats". The song comes from the band's debut studio album "Graveyard Shift", which is scheduled to be released this Friday (May 5th.)
The band premiered the song on BBC Radio 1's Rock Show With Daniel P Carter, and it follows the release of their current Active Rock top 20 single "LOUD (F*ck It)," and the songs "570" and "Eternally Yours".

They will be hitting the road to promote the new album with music festival appearances and joining the second leg of In This Moment's Half God Half Devil Tour this summer. Stream the new song here.



Queensryche Making Progress On Music For Next Album(hennemusic)

Queensryche vocalist Todd La Torre revealed an update on the band's work on the follow-up to 2015's "Condition Human" during an interview with The Metal Voice.
"Right now, we have around fifteen songs," he said. "Not all of them are completed. There are many that are. There are many that have all the arrangements. I went to Seattle and stayed there for a week to ten days, and we just worked on arrangements. Like, 'Okay, here's a good intro, here's a verse, here's a bridge, here's a chorus.' 'Cause once you have that established, there's pretty much your song."

The Seattle rockers were originally aiming to hit the studio earlier this year, but La Torre explains that schedule has been revised. "Right now the tentative recording timeline is to get into the studio September," he says. "It was supposed to be March. But we did a hundred shows last year, and when you only have four days off at home, you're not locking yourself in your studio to work. And you can't force creativity - good stuff." Read more here.


This Wild Life Release Cover Of Nirvana's 'Heart Shaped Box'

This Wild Life are paying tribute to Nirvana with the release of their cover of the grunge icon's classic hit "Heart-Shaped Box", which has been released as a digital single and can be streamed online.
Singer and guitarist Kevin Jordan revealed why the group decided to cover the song, "Growing up in the 90's I think every kid loved Nirvana, but as I grew older I started to appreciate the songwriting and artistry more. While digging back into these old records this song really jumped out at me due to the beautiful but simultaneously haunting melody in the verses.

"I thought it would be a fun and challenging project to approach this song 24 years later with a dark and cathartic arrangement without the huge drums and guitars. Anthony (del Grosso) and I produced the track ourselves after our last US Tour and we hope it comes across as an ode to a songwriter who left this place far too soon." Stream it here.


Mark Mackay Announces Album Release Party

Country-rocker Mark Mackay has announced a special release party for his brand new album "Trials & Tribulations," which will be taking place on May 11th in Los Angeles.
Mackay will be joined at the special show at Lucky Strike Live with performances from Tina Michelle and the Rhinestone Cowboys and Bleeding Harp.

Mark had this to say about the Phil Dixon produced album, "This album compiles my personal songwriting and co-written material, along with outside finds, but all of the tracks remain true to my artistry.

"I think the flow of this album has a quality that traditional country fans will appreciate, while including enough mainstream influence for today's audience." Read more here.


Mastodon's Brent Hinds Does Marriage Proposal Onstage(hennemusic)

Mastodon vocalist/guitarist Brent Hinds proposed to his girlfriend Raisa Moreno on stage during the band's April 28 show at Iron City in Birmingham, AL, and video of the event has surfaced online.
Hinds delivered his proposal at the end of the concert, while his grandmother watched from her seat on stage after rocking out during the evening. The Birmingham stop comes just two weeks into Mastodon's North American tour in support of their seventh album, "Emperor Of Sand."

Recorded last year with producer Brendan O'Brien at the Quarry in Kennesaw, GA, the project recently scored a US Top 10 debut when it entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7. Watch the video here.


Singled Out: The RPMs's Oh My God

Brighton rockers The RPMs are gearing up to release their new EP "Agents Of Change" on June 2nd and to celebrate we asked frontman Jack Valero to tell us about the lead single "Oh My God." Here is the story:
I've always been interested in current events and social commentary and music that reflects it's time. I'd spend most of my late teens listening to songs from the sixties singing about Vietnam, civil rights and the many other issues of that period. I would almost feel jealous of the singer-songwriters back then for having so much to right and talk about, but you know what they say 'be careful what you wish for'. And of course in the last few years I've had no end of things to write about, however what hasn't seemed to change is my generation's lack of identity. Most of the generations before us especially in the previous century have had something to define them such as war or cultural changes. But my generation seems more lethargic and blasé when finding something that brings us all together. Which made me feel somewhat alone. And one day I was thinking all this through and feeling pretty helpless in the face of it all. As I watched the world seem to twist and change out of shape and go backwards completely out of my control I felt somewhat foolish for even caring. I mean what was the point? Even with all my faith in humanity and all the emotional energy put in it all seemed to just end up the same way. And that is where I got the first line of 'Oh My God'.

It was literally what I said in my head, 'Oh my god, what even is the point of it?'. Just a sincere and honest question I kept asking myself, expressing my exasperated frustration at the world. I kept saying it over and over again as I was driving down the road on my own late one night. Then a girl I knew suddenly popped into my head and I thought about how all the girls I'd been with had smoked and how they all tasted like ash when I kissed them. Thats when the final part of the chorus appeared in my mind 'Stuck here counting my regrets, another girl that tastes like cigarettes'. Then the chords came rushing to me, I was humming the top line and the song came into existence! I actually got so excited that I did't realise I was speeding and ended up getting caught by a camera, but the 5 hour long speed awareness course gave me lots of time to think up more lyrics.

As I continued to write the rest the lyrics they very naturally began to from around my frustrations with the world and my feelings of helplessness already set up by the sentiment of the chorus. They came fast and smooth, almost like I'd already written it and was copying it down. Every lyric absolutely nailing the worries and feelings I had been wrestling with. I then brought it to a rehearsal with the others, who began to add their own musical flares to it. Callum (drummer) made the great suggestion we hit the chords once and let them ring out on the chorus as to emphasise the emotion it was expressing and Miguel (bass player) adding bass licks that made the simple chord structure far more interesting. We played it together and made some changes here and there, but we pretty much had the thing done in a week.

It's weird creativeness and inspiration, it's not something you can just switch on and off. It just appears out of nowhere and flows like a river before disappearing again. It's always there on the peripherals of your mind and if you focus on it too much, it'll never work. But ignore it and it'll come and find you and your best work yet may just fall into your lap when you least expect it.