Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


AC/DC Fan Killed After Coachella Concert
(hennemusic) An AC/DC fan who attended the legendary band's debut performance at Coachella on Friday night was struck and killed by a train just hours after the show.

The Daily Camera reports 23 year-old University of Colorado student Jannik Andersen died after being hit by a train in Indio, California at 3:05 a.m. Saturday, about 4 miles northeast of the site of the music festival.

Andersen's friends said the San Diego native had attended Coachella before but that he was particularly excited to see AC/DC and Mac DeMarco this year.

Police in Indio said the Union Pacific Railroad Police are conducting the investigation into Andersen's death. Read more here.




Soil Involved In Tour Bus Accident
Soil frontman Ryan McCombs revealed on Facebook that the band was involved in a tour bus accident following their show in Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday (April 12th.) Fortunately, he reports that there were no serious injuries.

McCombs writes, "At 4:33 AM, the last thing you want to hear in your bunk is a combination of the driver yelling "HOLD ON!!", the sound of the bus flying off of the highway and The Jake (tour manager) screaming like a 12-year old girl at a Justin Beiber concert.

"I find it interesting that as everyone sits around the stranded bus talking about what was going through their heads all I can remember is gripping my pillow like it was going to save me from whatever was about to occur and thinking "....huh...."

No serious injuries… just a bus full of arseholes that for the most part are happy to be alive and now just making fun of each other for their responses. We really are a bunch of f--kwads…" See the post here.




Skid Row Giving Away Download Of '18 and Life" With New Singer
Skid Row are moving fast with their new frontman Tony Harnell and are giving fans an idea of how he will sound in the band by giving away a new version of their classic song "18 and Life" featuring Harnell on vocals.

The former TNT frontman Harnell joined the group after the recent departure of Johnny Solinger. The new lineup of the band plan to hit the studio this summer to record the third chapter of their "United World Rebellion" trilogy and will launch a supporting tour.

Harnell had this to say about joining the group, "I'm so excited and honored to be a part of such a great band with an amazing legacy and legions of faithful fans!

"The guys and I have known each other for many years and this is such a natural fit. I look forward to getting out there and playing live together and being a part of making new music and creating our future together. It's time to rock!"

Listen and download the new version of "18 and Life" here.




Slayer Leads Mayhem Festival Lineup
Thrash metal legends Slayer have been named as the headliners for this year's installment of the hard-hitting Mayhem Festival tour which will be taking place this summer.

Slayer will be joined on the tour's main stage by King Diamond, Hellyeah, and The Devil Wears Prada. The second stage will be headlined by Whitechapel. The second stage will also feature performances from Thy Art Is Murder, Jungle Rot, Sister Sin, Sworn In, Shattered Sun, Feed Her To The Sharks, Code Orange and Kissing Candice.

The tour will be kicking off at the Sleep Train Amphitheater in San Diego on June 26th and will be concluding on August 2nd in Dallas, Texas at the Gexa Energy Amphitheater.

Slayer's Kerry King had this to say, "I don't know if third time will be a charm, but it will definitely be hellish! Slayer and King Diamond on stage for the first time together in the States- NEVER has Mayhem been more evil. DON'T F***IN' MISS IT."

King Diamond adds, "This is going to be one hot and hellish summer! Slayer and King Diamond on the same stage - it does not get more devilish than this! We will be putting on a one hour set with the full King Diamond stage production.

"As for a set list, I'm not gonna reveal that here, but it will be built around 'Dreams of Horror'. The Puppet Master will be there with Grandma, and we will even go as far back in time as to 1777 (hint). You're all in for one hell of a show if you come to this Sabbath!" See the dates here.




Aerosmith Announce Blue Army Tour Kick Off
(hennemusic) Aerosmith will launch their Blue Army Tour in Glendale, Arizona on June 13. The show at the Gila River Arena marks the first time in 6 years that the group will play in the state as they kick off a 15-date summer tour of North America.

"The name Blue Army came from the fact that 'everyone' in our audience from the 70's were wearing blue denim and it looked like a sea of blue, thus The Blue Army," says guitarist Joe Perry.

Three days after the tour wraps up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Aerosmith will perform on Friday, August 7 at Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first-ever Concert For Legends. Read more here.




Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder To Host Who Tribute Concert
(hennemusic) Pete Townshend and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder are teaming up to host a Who tribute concert in Chicago as a benefit show for Teen Cancer America.

Set for May 14 at the Rosemont Theatre, "An Evening Celebrating The Who" will see the pair joined by Who touring musicians Zak Starkey (drums), Simon Townshend (guitar), Pino Palladino (bass), John Corey (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards) and Frank Simes (keyboards).

Money raised from the concert will support programs for teenagers and young adults with cancer at the University of Chicago Medicine along with other local children's charities.

Teen Cancer America was established in 2012 by Roger Daltrey and Townshend to replicate their work for U.K. charity Teenage Cancer Trust. Read more here.




Scott Weiland Left Stone Temple Pilots 'Long Ago' Says Dean DeLeo
Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo discussed a variety of topics in a new interview with the Orange County Register including former frontman Scott Weiland and moving forward with new singer Chester Bennington.

DeLeo had this to say about Weiland, "I just want to be really clear about something. We were never, in any way, trying to just replace anyone. In his day, and I'm speaking of Scott, there was no one better…no one. I will take that to my grave. In his day, there was no one better, but my dear Scott left us long ago."

He also had this to say about why the band felt they had to part ways with Weiland, "Robert [DeLeo], Eric [Kretz], Scott and I had put 25 years of our lives into it. Just because I had one guy that didn't really give a [care] anymore, I'm not going to let one guy ruin my dream, my band and my legacy. I worked hard for Stone Temple Pilots and I love it with a passion. Robert, Eric and I don't take for granted what the music has meant to people."

DeLeo also discussed new frontman Chester Bennington "We knew Chester was fit for the position in every sense of the word - physically, mentally, spiritually. We knew he would bring an elegance and justice to not only to our legacy, but to our future." Read the full feature here.



Emmure Cancel Tour Due To Singer's Vocal Injury
Emmure have been forced to cancel their planned European tour with Caliban, Thy Art Is Murder and Sworn because frontman Frankie Palmeri has "severe acute and chronic reflux laryngitis and a weak (partially paralyzed) left vocal cord."

Palmeri injured his vocal chord in late February. Late last week they announced via Facebook that they were forced to cancel the forthcoming Euro tour.

They wrote, "Due to unfortunate circumstances, we must cancel our upcoming EU/UK touring plans with Caliban, Thy Art Is Murder and Sworn In due to Frankie's still yet to be determined healing process.

"He has severe acute and chronic reflux laryngitis and a weak (partially paralyzed) left vocal cord. We appreciate the support we received on the last tour with Suicide Silence in Frankie's absence, at this time we are going to put our focus towards writing a new album while he recovers and we hope to see you all very soon."




The Doors Hits Getting Quadraphonic Makeover
(hennemusic) "The Best Of The Doors", a 1973 compilation by the groundbreaking Los Angeles band, is getting the quadraphonic treatment. Audio Fidelity will soon release the collection on Quadraphonic 4.0 Multichannel Hybrid SACD.

The 2-channel stereo and DSD layers of the hybrid SACD were remastered from the original 2-track tapes, which have been made available for the first time since 1970.

The 4.0 Quad layer mirrors the earlier CD-4 QuadraDisc format, Quadraphonic 8-Track and reel-to-reel tape. Each of the tracks on "The Best Of The Doors" have been taken primarily from the original two-track masters of the eight albums recorded by the band between 1967 and 1971. Read more here.




Def Leppard Rock Classic Hits On Quebec's Version Of The Voice
(hennemusic) Def Leppard performed a pair of classic hits on the season 3 finale of La Voix - Quebec's French-Canadian version of the reality TV singing competition series, The Voice - on Sunday.

The UK rockers delivered versions of "Let's Get Rocked" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" with the help of the finalists. Hosted by Charles Lafortune, the program sees singers mentored by coaches Éric Lapointe, Marc Dupré, Isabelle Boulay and Pierre Lapointe. Kevin Bazinet was named winner of season 3 of La Voix.

Def Leppard will launch a spring tour of Canada on Wednesday before heading to Europe for shows this summer; an extensive North American tour with Styx and Tesla begins on June 23 in Tampa, FL. Check out video of their performance here.




Black Veil Brides Frontman Says Fans Need To Keep Rock Alive
Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack is the latest rock star to weigh in on the controversial remarks by KISS legend Gene Simmons that "rock is dead." Biersack has a different take on Simmons' comments than the popular view and says it's up to the fans to keep rock alive.

Biersack tells Kaaos TV, "I think that statement was a little misconstrued. I think what he was trying to say, and what probably wouldn't have gotten the big headline, is that the reality is that rock and roll, in the mainstream, it's in a difficult place right now.

"People don't buy music, and they certainly don't buy rock bands' music in the way that they used to. And so, for our genre, it's kind of … We're limping along when it comes to public appeal."

He continues, "It's really up to the kids who listen to rock music to get out there, come to the live shows and buy the records when they can and really support the genre. Otherwise, it will get taken away from us, because the hip-hop fans and the pop fans, they buy the records and they go to the shows in big numbers.

"So I think it's a little bit of both. But I believe that rock and roll is alive and well. I just think that people need to show their support and let the genre keep thriving."

Watch the full interview here.




Kinks Musical Wins At Olivier Awards
(Classic Rock) Kinks play Sunny Afternoon was this week named Best New Musical at the prestigious Olivier Awards in London. Band frontman Ray Davies was given an Outstanding Achievement Award for his work on the soundtrack.

And actors John Dagleish, who plays Ray, and George Maguire, who plays brother Dave, won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. The show, written by Joe Penhall, is based on Davies' early years with the Kinks. It opened in London last May before moving to the West End.

Accepting his award, Davies said: "When you write songs you write about people. People are the source of my material. Next time you're sitting in a park and you see someone like me looking at you, don't phone the police - I'm just writing about you." Read more and watch the trailer for the musical here.




Anthrax's Game Of Thrones Track 'Just The Tip Of The Iceberg'
(Classic Rock) Scott Ian says that Anthrax's Game Of Thrones mistape track "Soror Irrumator" is indicative of their next album - but it's "just the tip of the iceberg."

The song appeared on the hit television series' recently released mixtape, while the thrash icons continue work on the follow-up to 2011's Worship Music.

Ian tells The Sick Room Podcast: "That's just the tip of the iceberg. Obviously, we felt strong enough about it to put it out there as the first thing anyone was gonna hear new from us. But, yeah, it barely scratches the surface." Read more and stream the full interview here.




Accept Reveal New Lineup
(Classic Rock) Accept have named their new guitarist and drummer before continuing their Blind Rage tour. The German metal icons lost guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann in December as they left to concentrate on their own band, The German Panzer.

Grave Digger and Rebellion guitarist Uwe Lulis has joined up, while the drumstool is filled by Christopher Williams. The band had the following to say in a statement:

"The past, present and future for Accept was, and still is, beyond the band's imagination, but not beyond their reach! We all know they could not have come so far without their fans and the endless gifted people who are working so hard for Accept!

"Thank you to all of them from all of us with the promise that we will come back - better and stronger and even more devoted than the last time!" Read more here.




Bruce Kulick Looks Back At Legacy Of Unmasked Era KISS
(Classic Rock) Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick says he's proud of the band's unmasked era. He was part of the band for 12 years from 1984 and featured on albums Carnival Of Souls, Revenge, Hot In The Shade and Asylum.

He left the group when the band put their trademark masks back on, reuniting the classic lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

Kulick tells Natalia Britt via Blabbermouth: "KISS is one of those bands that the whole world knows, and usually, people that aren't really a fan will only think of makeup as KISS, because that's what, of course, made them famous and they've been back in that for so many years.

"But a real fan knows there's a whole wealth of material - over a decade of years that are non-makeup, which is… I kind of wave the flag for all of that."

He continued: "If you, for example, didn't know there was a makeup KISS, and there wouldn't have been a version for me to join if it wasn't for the makeup KISS, but the truth is… When I was in the band, we kept it going, we had hits, we had gold, platinum records, toured the world - arenas, the whole thing… But I find, even with them continuing, and they turn on new generations of fans." Read more and stream the full interview here.




Pearl Jam Expand South American Tour Plans
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam have expanded their fall tour of South America with the addition of a November 25 stop in Bogota, Colombia, their first show ever in the country.

Pearl Jam will play 9 dates on the run, starting November 4 in Santiago, Chile; the trek includes at least 5 shows in Brazil and one in Mexico, with 1 concert to be announced at a later time.

The group's first shows in the region since 2013 are in support of the band's 2014 album, "Lightning Bolt." Tickets for the Bogota concert will go on sale April 25 at 10 AM local time. Check out the promo video and the dates here.





Faith No More Announce New Tour Dates, Release New Remix
Faith No More are celebrating this week's kick off of their North American tour with the release of a remix of their single "Superhero" and they have added additional dates to their forthcoming European tour.

The new "Superhero" remix which was created by Einstürzende Neubauten's Alexander Hacke. Check it out here. The original version of the song is included on their forthcoming album "Sol Invictus," which will be released on May 19th.

The veteran band will be kicking off their North American spring tour Wednesday (April 15th) night in Vancouver, BC at the PNE Forum. The trek will conclude on May 15th in Philadelphia, PA at Electric Factory.

They will be following the North American run with a European tour that launches on May 29th in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at Rock Im Revier and concludes on June 28th Odense, Denmark at the Tinderbox.

They have just announced two additional UK dates for the trek. They will now be performing at the O2 Academy in Glasgow on June 14th and The Roundhouse in London on June 17th. This is additional to their performance at this year's Download Festival on June 13th.

They will be launching another North American tour this summer. That trek will begin on July 26th in Austin at the Austin Music Hall and conclude with an appearance at this year's Heavy Montreal in early August.

The band will also be appearing at this year's Rock In Rio festival on September 25th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See all the upcoming dates here.




Rush Has Huge Influence On Mike Portnoy
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob, the Winery Dogs) discusses the huge influence Rush and their acclaimed drummer Neil Pert had on him in a new video interview with Ultimate Classic Rock.

"I can't possibly overstate how much influence Rush had on me as a young teenager," says Portnoy in the video. "I would say from about 1981 to 1987, they were my gods. Neil Peart was my god at that point, and was a huge, huge influence on my drumming."

He adds, "The size of the drum set, the way I approached the drums, the odd time signatures, the progressive-styled instrumental music - I mean, just everything about Rush at that point, when I was a developing teenager, was huge. I've seen them on every tour since then." Watch the full interview here.




Symphony X Finish New Album
Symphony X announced late last week that they have completed the recording, mixing and mastering of their forthcoming album. The band has not yet revealed a release date.

The band had this to say on their official website, "The process was handled by Jens Bogren, who also did our last two cds, and who did an amazing job as always.

"As for the artwork, we turned once again to Warren Flanagan. Warren has worked on our last two cds as well, and can also be relied upon for amazing work.

"We will be wrapping up the booklet layout and finalizing things over the next couple of weeks. The band is really excited about this one, and we anxiously look forward to getting it out there to everyone." See the post here.




Babymetal Announce U.S. Album and World Tour
Babymetal have inked a deal with RAL/Sony Music who will be releasing the group's self-titled debut in the U.S. and the all-girl Japanese pop-metal group will be kicking off a world tour next month.

The album was originally released in other markets in 2014. The new U.S. version will include two bonus tracks and it will be released digitally on May 12 and physically on June 16th.

RAL/Sony Music VP of Marketing Bill Richards had this to say, "After witnessing the band's sold-out New York show, we knew we wanted to be involved. The core metal fans and metal press seem to get Babymetal, which shows how the language of music transcends boundaries. They hit all the entertainment buttons and are really fun to watch."

Babymetal's The Dark Knights Begin World Tour will feature shows in various markets across the globe including the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and their native Japan.

The tour will be kicking off in Mexico City on May 9th at Circo Volador and will conclude on June 21st in Chiba, Japan at Makuhari Messe. See all the date here.




Nightwish Say Floor's Operatic Style Didn't Work On New Song
(Prog) Nightwish mainman Tuomas Holopainen says the band resisted the urge to "show off" Floor Jansen's trademark vocal style on their latest album. The Finnish outfit released Endless Forms Most Beautiful last month - their first with Jansen at the mic.

Holopainen reportedly tells LoudTV: "As a vocalist, Floor is as versatile as it gets. I think one of the biggest surprises people might have with this album is that she's not actually using her operatic, lyric sound in her singing. We tried it in a few songs but it just didn't feel right. We felt that these stories, these songs, don't really require that style of singing."

He continues: "It felt like the right approach to all of us, including Floor, that we should get rid of it mostly. It's very important to be humble before the songs so that you don't do things just because you can - or just to show off when it comes to singing, solos or whatever." Read more here.




Opeth's Pale Communion Reopened Door For Heritage
(Prog) Mikael Akerfeldt says that many Opeth fans who didn't like their 2011 album "Heritage" now see it in a new light after hearing last year's "Pale Communion."

The band began following a more progressive path with Heritage, leading to negative reactions from some followers. During their first run of dates in support of the release, guitarist Fredrik Akesson told of a moment when the band were challenged to a duel by an unhappy supporter.

But things have changed since the launch of Pale Communion, Opeth's 11th title, in August last year. Akerfeldt tells The Rockpit: "Yeah I mean I do understand and appreciate that 'Heritage' was a little bit of a shock to fans who are more into the heavy, death metal type of sound and maybe it's a bit much to expect them to take it all in so we got a bit of sh*t for that record.

"I love that album with a passion because for me it was natural but I have seen that with the coming of the 'Pale Communion' record that people come up to me and say 'I did not like Heritage when it came out but when you put out Pale Communion I finally understood Heritage and now I'm starting to like it'.

"So I'm hoping it's going to escalate into a love for that record. People have been more gentle with us with 'Pale Communion' coming out but there is still...like I don't have social media, I don't correspond with the fans in that sense so I don't really get a lot of the confrontations about what the hell we are doing.

"My overall response to that question would be that, like you were saying, people might be getting used to and maybe understand a little bit better about what we are trying to do. And for me that is good of course, I never had a problem. For me it was never a big step, for everybody in the band it was not a massive thing for us to do 'Heritage' but I do accept that it might have been too curvy of a curve ball for people who are not in the band but now it's starting to calm down a little bit." Read more here.




Jethro Tull Streaming Live Version Of Minstrel In The Gallery
(Prog) Jethro Tull have released an online stream of the live version of "Minstrel In The Gallery", taken from the upcoming re-release of the band's classic 1975 album of the same name.

The La Grande Edition includes a remix by Steven Wilson plus a collection of additional tracks including unreleased alternative takes, live recordings and a full Paris concert performance mixed by Jakko Jakszyk.

Minstrel In The Gallery won Tull their sixth gold disc. It was their last album to feature the early 70s lineup of Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Barriemore Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond.

The 2CD and 2DVD La Grande editions will be accompanied by standard CD, digital and vinyl versions. Listen here.




Deadly Circus Fire Set New Album Release
(Prog) Deadly Circus Fire will launch second album The Hydra's Tailor on June 16, they've announced. The release, via Musicarchy Media, comes after the London prog metal outfit reached their crowdfunding target in November.

The band previously promised that The Hydra's Tailor would be "one of the most exciting prog metal releases this year." Guitarist Save Addario described lead track Animal as "a beast."

They recorded the follow-up to 2013's The King And The Bishop at MTR Studios with Phil Kinman, before it was sent to Wired Masters Studios for Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham to master.

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Metallica Making Progress On New Album (hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is sharing an updat...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Metallica Making Progress On New Album
(hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is sharing an update on the progress of the band's first new studio album in seven years. Hammett hosted his second annual Fear FestEvil this weekend in San Jose, California and will return to the studio to continue work on the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic."

"We have a lot of good songs," Hammett tells Billboard. "The songs are ever-changing at this point. Nothing is etched in stone. We still have a lot of material have to sift through, still. We have well over a dozen songs and we still have well over two or three hundred riffs, too, so it's hard to say at what point we actually are in in the project.

"I don't think we hit the middle point yet. I would say we're at the 25 percent point, maybe 30 percent point. It's hard to say, but I mean we are working on it and there are songs and we're making plans to write more songs and record." Read more here.



Jon Bon Jovi Launching Reality TV Show
(Classic Rock) Jon Bon Jovi will return to his hometown for an upcoming reality show in the US. If I Wasn't A Rock Star will follow artists as they go back to where they grew up to see how their lives would be different if they hadn't made it in the music industry.

Bon Jovi, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series, says in a statement, "I was drawn to this project simply because it will be a celebration of the working men and women of this country. They are the real rock stars".

Fellow executive producer Bob Weinstein adds: "The series will offer music fans a chance to see their favorite stars as they've never imagined them before. We can't wait to see what other amazing talent comes on board." Read more here.




Megadeth Call On Fans To Help With New Album
(hennemusic) Megadeth have launched a PledgeMusic campaign for their 15th studio album. Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson recently announced the addition of former Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro to the band, with Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler joining the group in the studio as a guest player.

Megadeth is providing the opportunity to bring fans into the process via PledgeMusic as they work on the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider." "Pre-order the album digitally, on CD or on vinyl plus tons of other unique offerings like signed CDs, signed vinyl, gear from the studio and much more," says the group.

"No matter what you order, you will get access to a variety of behind-the-scenes content such as photos and videos from the writing and recording sessions. You'll get full access to the process in real time." See the campaign promo video here.



Video Of AC/DC Rock Or Bust Tour Kick Off Goes Online
(hennemusic) AC/DC launched their Rock or Bust world tour with a headlining set at the Coachella festival on Friday and half a dozen fan filmed videos from the show have been posted online.

The band performed a 20-song set full of classics alongside three tunes from "Rock Or Bust", including the lead single, "Play Ball", "Baptism By Fire", and the title track.

The event marked the return of guitarist Stevie Young and drummer Chris Slade to the lineup following the retirement of founder Malcolm Young and the dismissal of longtime member Phil Rudd.

AC/DC spent the week before their Coachella debut rehearsing in 6-hour daily sessions for the event, with frontman Brian Johnson revealing he received some advice about performing at the festival from Paul McCartney, who played Coachella in 2009.

"I ran into him downstairs this morning," said Johnson. "He goes, 'Brian, you get on that stage and I'm telling you, you see all these kids looking for the hip-hop acts. Then they see you, and they're like, 'Who's he? Oh, yeah - me dad talks of him.'

"But he said it's great because you're doing your thing, and eventually all the kids go, 'He's cool, this dude!' It kind of takes you right back to the start, when you had to win over an audience. I'm excited." Watch the videos here.




Temple Of The Dog Legal Battle Over Master Tapes
(hennemusic) A legal battle has begun over the master tapes to Seattle supergroup Temple Of The Dog's 1991 self-titled album. The one-off project - which featured members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam - was conceived by Chris Cornell as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone.

The Seattle Times reports A&M Records is suing London Bridge Studios co-founder Rajan Parashar to return the tapes following the 2014 death of his brother and fellow studio co-founder, producer Rick Parashar.

According to the lawsuit, Rick initially produced Temple Of The Dog in 1990 on a verbal agreement with the band before a label contract was signed in 1993, in which A&M alleges Rick agreed to turn over the master tapes and all rights to them for $35,000. Read more here.




Grateful Dead Announce Final 'Fare Thee Well' Concerts
(Classic Rock) The Grateful Dead have announced two more Fare Thee Well farewell shows but insist there will be no more. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir previously announced three Fare Thee Well dates at Chicago's Soldier Field on the weekend of July 3, 4 and 5.

But with the cost of tickets soaring on the secondary market, they've added two concerts at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California on June 27 and 28. The band say in an open letter to fans: "Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello - to each other and to all of you.

"And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California - just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan's Music Store once stood. At Levi's - as at Soldier Field - we will have the pleasure of being joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.

"Ours wasn't just a long, strange trip - it was a VERY long, VERY strange trip. We weren't sure what it was going to be like to put a punctuation mark on the end of it. None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response.

"We have tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honoring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that's hardly comforting when you're sh*t outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too." Read more here.




Stone Sour Preview Their Cover Of Metallica Classic
(Classic Rock) Stone Sour have issued a snippet of their take on Metallica track Creeping Death. It features on their upcoming covers EP Meanwhile In Burbank… which is released on April 18 as a Record Store Day exclusive.

Guitarist Josh Rand says of the project: "The coolest part for me was not only trying to play everything note for note but also trying to match the guitar tone of all these great players."

The EP also features covers of tracks by Alice In Chains, Judas Priest, Kiss and Black Sabbath - although their take on Metal Church's The Dark won't be included on the release. Check out the preview clip here.




Slayer Finish New Album, Already Have Six Songs For Next One
Slayer guitarist Kerry King revealed during an appearance on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" this past weekend that the band already have six songs ready for the album that may following the new studio effort that they just completed.

King tells the show (via Blabbermouth): "What people don't know [is that] beyond [the new SLAYER album], there's six more [songs] towards the next one that are already recorded. So we did a lot."

The guitarist also discussed the song on the new album that was writing by late guitarist Jeff Hanneman and was originally recorded for the band's 2009 album "World Painted Blood."

"When Jeff got injured, I started making up boatloads of stuff, because I didn't know, if Jeff contributed at all, how much he was gonna contribute," he said. "So I just took it upon myself to say, 'Hey, man, if I get too much stuff, good for me.' It turns out Jeff didn't contribute anymore."

He adds: "[Jeff's song] on this record is 'Piano Wire', from the ['World Painted Blood'] recording session. We had [Paul] Bostaph play drums to the existing track. Tom [Araya] re-sang it. So that's Jeff's contribution to this record. And then on the follow-up - assuming there is as a follow-up - we have another one that we don't have lyrics for yet."

He also address the conflicting reports that Hanneman played on the version of the song that will appear on the album. "It's his writing [and] I think the assumption was, [since] it's Jeff's song, [and] we recorded it for the 'World Painted Blood' tracks, [people] assumed Jeff played on it, but as everybody knows, I've done Jeff's rhythm tracks [on Slayer albums] since the '90s. And he has no lead on it, so it's only me."

He had a lot more to say. Read more and watch the full interview here.



Testament's More Than Halfway Done With The Songs For Next Album
Testament's Chuck Billy says in a new interview the veteran thrash group is "more than halfway done with the new songs" for the band's next studio album.

Billy spoke with CrypticRock.com about their current tour with Exodus and other topics. When asked about how the writing process was going for the next album he said:

"We are actually working on the new record so Eric and I have been doing a lot of the work ourselves. This tour will actually be the first tour where we are all together in one place for an extended period of time. This will be a chance to not only talk about the music and mess around with new ideas, I have been thinking that being on the road and playing all the songs from our beginning may allow us to channel those songs toward something new, be inspired, and get ourselves into the right mentality to work together as a unit.

"We are more than halfway done with the new songs, but we keep tweaking it. I think that when we all get together and play it, it will start molding into something workable, maybe even change a bit. Eric really does not write a lot of extra songs; he focuses on exactly what we need to work on for the record and they have to mesh together. We get started and get the work done. I think that is the beauty of our records. They are recognizable as Testament but they do not all sound the same. There is no rehashed material and it is good to keep it fresh with every new record." Read the full interview here.




Former Manager Could Reunite Guns N' Roses?
(Classic Rock) Former Guns N' Roses manager Vicky Hamilton says she might be able patch up the relationship between Axl Rose and original guitarist Slash if she could get them in the same room together.

She was in charge of the band before they signed to Geffen for the release of Appetite For Destruction in 1987 and was instrumental in helping the group establish themselves in Los Angeles in the mid-80s.

In a lengthy feature in the Daily Mail she says, "I sometimes think that if I had Axl and Slash in a room together that I could fix it. There's a difference in how you deal with people when you grow up together with them.

"They know I love them for who they are. I loved them when they were nobody. I didn't have an ulterior motive other than to help them be as good as they can be and I think I was successful in that. I saved them from making major mistakes."

Hamilton's finished writing a book about her relationship with the band titled Appetite For Dysfunction and is now seeking crowdfunding support to have it published. Read more here.




Ronnie James Dio Unseen Book Expanded For Anniversary Reissue
(Classic Rock) A photo book box set celebrating the life of rock icon Ronnie James Dio has been released. Rufus Stone originally published the Ronnie James Dio Photo Biography in 2011, created by his official photographer and friend PG Brunelli.

Now the company have launched an "upgrade" to the first print run titled Ronnie James Dio Unseen to mark the 5th anniversary of his death. The vocalist died on May 16, 2010, from gastric cancer.

The new book contains previously unseen images of the singer and is available in two limited-edition volumes. Version One is aimed at those who already own the previous release. It comes in LP-sized packaging with silver embossed Dio logo, a copy of the new book, a hand-numbered print drawn by tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell and a t-shirt with the same image. There's also space in the box for the 2011 book to slip into. Read more here.




Keith Richards Also Wants Rolling Stones To Make New Album
(Classic Rock) Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says that he's ready to get back in the studio with his bandmates. Last week, frontman Mick Jagger revealed he was keen to start recording fresh material following the band's upcoming 15-date US stadium tour.

Now Richards says he's also thinking about the follow-up to 2005's A Bigger Bang. He tells Rolling Stone: "We're talking about doing some recording after this tour, but there's nothing definite. We just threw out the idea. I'd like to get the boys back in the studio again, yeah. Anything can happen."

The veteran musician recently completed work on a solo album with drummer Steve Jordan, guitarist Waddy Wachtel and Stones' backing singer Bernard Fowler. Read more here.




Previously Unreleased Canned Heat 70s Live Albums To See Light Of Day
(Classic Rock) Three previously unreleased 1970s live albums by Canned Heat are to be issued by Cleopatra Records. The label will release one show from 1971 and two recorded in 1973, starting with Canned Heat With John Lee Hooker - Carnegie Hall 1971, to be issued on April 14.

The second package, Canned Heat - Stockholm 1973, is due on May 12. A third album, Canned Heat - Illinois Blues 1973, will be released on July 7.

The Carnegie Hall set was captured during the band's tour with blues icon John Lee Hooker and will be available on CD and limited edition green vinyl. A Hooker-led version of Tease Me Baby is included as a bonus track and an interview with Canned Heat drummer Adolfo de la Parra also features. Read more including track details here.




Emerson, Lake and Palmer's 'Trilogy' Expanded For Reissue
Emerson, Lake and Palmer have confirmed that they will be releasing a limited edition deluxe 3-disc version of their acclaimed third album "Trilogy" this spring.

According to the band's Facebook page, the new edition will feature "new stereo mixes, a previously unheard version of 'From The Beginning' and a new 5.1 mix courtesy of King Crimson's Jakko Jakszyk."

The first disc of the limited edition set will feature a remastered version of the original album, the second disc will feature alternative mixes and the third disc will be "a surround sound DVD Audio disc produced by Jakko Jakszyk," according to Merch Now.

According to the band's posting, the new deluxe edition will be released in North America on June 30th and on April 27th in Europe. Amazon is taking pre-orders for the import here and MerchNow is taking preorders for the domestic version here.

Here is the product description: "'Trilogy', produced by Greg Lake was ELP's triumphant 3rd album complete with the cover art designed by the legendary Hipgnosis. Typical of ELP, 'Trilogy' covers a broad musical landscape from the ever-impressive display of virtuosity on the often-live highlight Hoedown, the softer delicate composition From The Beginning, and displaying their sense of humour on The Sheriff. Ambitious and often other worldly; If ever there was an album that showed ELP at their fullest and finest, 'Trilogy' was the band's moment of magnificence." See the tracklisting here.




Mark Tremonti Exploring His Metal Roots On Solo Album
(Classic Rock) Mark Tremonti says his solo work's metal edge is something he always wanted to get out of his system. Known for his time with post grunge outfit Creed and later for his work with Alter Bridge, he never got to express his love of speed metal until he launched his solo band's debut album All I Was in 2012.

As he prepares to issue his second solo effort Cauterize, the guitarist tells Loudwire via Anguish Force: "It's something I've always wanted to get out of me. That's what I grew up with, was speed metal. It's just that I got paired with the guys I did in Creed that people didn't really see that."

"It's mostly influenced by a mix of being in the back of mum's car and listening to 70s soft rock and then growing up and being a Slayer fan and Celtic Frost fan.

"I love black metal, speed metal, the San Francisco Bay Area thrash movement. You mix that with 70's soft rock so you've got the melody combined with the thrash, the speed metal a bit of punk here and there - that's what I love." Watch the video here.




Megadeth's New Guitarist Addresses Fans
(hennemusic) New Megadeth lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro is thanking his Brazilian fans and Angra bandmates for their support as he begins his career with the thrash metal veterans.

Loureiro posted a message in Portuguese - an English translation reads as follows: "Hey, everyone!," he says. "I'm here in Nashville, Tennessee, at this beautiful place getting ready to record the 15th Megadeth album and I made this video to thank all of you for the messages and support in this new journey. Especially my bandmates from Angra, who were the first to give me their blessing.

"As a musician, one of my main goals was to take the identity of Brazilian music to the world, so I'm very happy to be part of Megadeth now and share this achievement with you all. Thanks again and stay tuned for updates!" Read more and watch the video here.




Rush Release 12 Months Of Rush Promo Video
(hennemusic) Rush have released an online promo video for their "12 Months Of Rush" campaign, which sees the band reissuing 14 albums with upgraded high-definition audio.

The group are re-releasing material from their years with Mercury Records in chronological order each month throughout 2015; they started in January with 1975's "Fly By Night" and will wrap it up in December with 1989's "A Show Of Hands."

All albums are being reissued on high-quality vinyl with a download card for a Digital Audio version and high resolution Digital Audio releases, while three titles will also be released on Blu-ray Pure Audio.

Rush kicked off the series last year with the release of their self-titled, 1974 debut as part of the band's 40th anniversary. Rush will launch a North American tour on May 8 in Tulsa, OK. Watch the video here.





All Time Low Score Their First UK No. 1
(TeamRock Radio) All Time Low have scored their first-ever UK Number 1 hit - they've topped the album chart with Future Hearts. Their sixth release secured the top spot yesterday by knocking The Prodigy down to number 5, with James Bay, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith in between.

Frontman Alex Garth recently said in an interview with Rock Sound Magazine of the follow-up to 2012's Don't Panic: "It feels like a definite progression. I wouldn't say it's an insane departure or anything like that. We haven't gone completely the other way and tried all kinds of new things.

"We've certainly tried some new things, but I don't think it's necessarily going to alienate anyone or push people away that loved the last record. There's a lot of stuff that's in line with 'Don't Panic', but there's a lot of stuff that's a logical next step from it, too."

Hear Future Hearts in full here.




Videos From Jack White's Coachella Performance Goes Online
(hennemusic) Jack White performed a 20-song set at Coachella on Saturday during the event's opening weekend and video from his performance has been posted online.

The show mixed White Stripes and Raconteurs tunes with solo tracks by the singer as he commanded the main stage to a raucous crowd. White is touring in support of his second solo album, 2014's "Lazaretto."

The singer also recently premiered an inventive and revolutionary new 3-in-1 music video for his latest single, "That Black Bat Licorice." The video offers three original films of differing themes that can be interchanged based on viewers' interaction with their computer keyboard or tablet screen. Read more and see the Coachella videos here.




Videos From Royal Blood's Coachella Performance Goes Online
(hennemusic) UK rockers Royal Blood performed at Coachella on Saturday afternoon during the event's opening weekend and official video from their performance at the event has been posted online.

The duo of vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher are on the road in support of their 2014 self-titled debut album. The band played eight of the album's ten tracks during their Coachella appearance.

"Royal Blood" debuted at No. 1 on the UK album charts upon its release last summer on its way to becoming the fastest-selling British rock debut album in the UK in three years.

The band picked up the Best British Group Award at the BRIT Awards in London in February; the honor was presented to them by fan and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Watch the video here.





Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Reveals Dark Days Cover
(TeamRock Radio) Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe has revealed the final artwork for his upcoming memoir Dark Days. The book, which he admitted he initially struggled to write, details his ordeal in the Czech Republic after being accused and later acquitted of manslaughter following the death of fan Daniel Nosek at a Lamb Of God gig in 2010.

The cover was designed by photographer, director and graphic illustrator Paul R. Brown, who has previously worked with Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx, Marilyn Manson and Corey Taylor.

Blythe says in a statement: "The two photographs incorporated into the design were both taken by me; one is of Pankrác prison- I took this photo when I went back for trial- & the other is a self-portrait.

He adds, "I did NOT want my photo on the cover of the book, as it is not really a typical "rock memoir" & there are more than enough photos of me out there already, but it IS my first book, so I acquiesced to the publisher's request." Read more here.




Singled Out: December In Red's Send Me A Postcard
Today December in Red singer Del McGeachy tells us about the song "Send Me A Postcard" (and the video) which comes from their brand new album "The Way Out". Here is the story:

The song "Send Me A Postcard" was one of the last to be written for our album The Way Out and it's the only one that actually features the album title in its lyrics. It started as something we had on the back burner and weren't intending on including it on the album. While we were doing pre-production demos, we put down all of the tracks as an instrumental that I was going to use for myself when I was working on ideas for the vocals. My part came together quickly and I was ready to put most of it down when I went in to finish my parts for the demos. It's the first song that I wrote my part for and tracked before any of the other guys heard what I wanted to do with it vocally and lyrically. It was fun to bring it to them all tracked and show it off instead of working on my parts to the music as we were writing the rest of the song.

The Way Out applies to all of the songs on the album in different ways. In this one, we are looking for a way out of the path that we are on with where we could be headed as a species. The song is about living in an unsustainable manner in general but was originally intended to be directed to the Earth itself personified as a character that's deciding to be through with us as we are "wearing it down" and "we're all going down with the ship." The lyrics "losing your cool" refers to climate change. I thought it was a clever way to bring it up as if the planet were someone hitting a breaking point and leaving an abusive relationship. Does it sound preachy after I explain it that way? Just a bit, but I said it first.

The video was a great experience for me although the process was a lot more difficult and time consuming than I had anticipated. We shot the whole thing late at night in the few days right after Christmas and it was freezing cold the entire time which made it a lot tougher. I was basically given the go ahead to take on the job of coming up with the storyline, locations, and casting along with help from the crew at Avast Productions. They helped brainstorm and nail down all of the ideas I had to a workable premise. They built a helmet mounted camera for the POV shots. The convenience store is one I go to several times a week as it's right across the street from where I work. They let us come in after they closed on a Saturday night and shoot until 5 am. The scenes inside the house are in Colbey Schnelle (bass player) and his girlfriend Julie's house. The cast of extras include close friends of ours, the kid with the video game who runs into the main character is my 11 year old son Cole, and my sister is also in there. We made sure to include some inside jokes like Colbey with a corn dog, our friend Lenny from The Fail Safe Project putting mustard on a hot dog, and a couple other things throughout the video. Our original bass player's son Brandon plays the main character.

Where we ended up with the storyline was pretty far from what I originally wanted to do because we had to change things on the go mostly due to time constraints. I think most people have to really dig into the video to figure out what they think is happening which kind of sucks but it gives us more freedom to take it somewhere else when it comes time to continue the story in another video, which is something I want to do. Basically, the main character is supposed to be a robot who sets out to observe our society and attempt to blend in. All of the humans around him notice that there is something different about him and react negatively. Another robot, played by Joe Mascerello, who has given up on humans as his system degrades and he gets closer to shutting down follows him through the story and tries to persuade him to abandon his mission. Colbey, Dan, and I played music with Joe for many years and he's one of my best friends so it was very cool to have him involved. He put together everything for his character and made it his own. Every time I explain what's up with the story to someone, it sounds silly because that's what it is and we had a ton of fun with it.

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock AC/DC Receive Wisdom From Paul McCartney (hennemusic) As AC/DC prepare to make their debut at the Coache...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


AC/DC Receive Wisdom From Paul McCartney
(hennemusic) As AC/DC prepare to make their debut at the Coachella festival this Friday, frontman Brian Johnson says he received some advice about performing at the festival from Paul McCartney, who played Coachella in 2009.

"I ran into him downstairs this morning," Johnson told The Los Angeles Times. "He goes, 'Brian, you get on that stage and I'm telling you, you see all these kids looking for the hip-hop acts. Then they see you, and they're like, 'Who's he? Oh, yeah - me dad talks of him.'

"But he said it's great because you're doing your thing, and eventually all the kids go, 'He's cool, this dude!' It kind of takes you right back to the start, when you had to win over an audience. I'm excited." Read more here.




Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi Addresses Health Rumors
(hennemusic) Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has issued an update on his health to address rumors following the band's cancellation as headliners at Ozzfest Japan this fall.

"Thank you for all the enquiries about my health, very kind," posted Iommi. "I'm not sure how the rumor of my being unwell started as I was away on holiday! Once you've had something like lymphoma the fear that it will return never leaves, all I can say is that right now I'm fine and have regular blood tests."

Iommi was diagnosed with blood cancer lymphoma in January of 2012 and has been in an out of treatment for the health issue in the past few years while managing to both record and perform a world tour in support of Black Sabbath's 2013 album, "13."

A band rep has indicated the guitarist's statement is in response to speculation about his health as the possible reason behind the cancellation, which has not yet been explained by manager Sharon Osbourne, who released a video on March 20 announcing Black Sabbath would perform. Read more here.




Rolling Stones Push Back Release Of 'Sticky Fingers' Reissue
(hennemusic) The Rolling Stones have announced that they have been forced to push back the release date for the upcoming reissue of their classic 1971 album, "Sticky Fingers."

The reissue was originally scheduled for release May 25 (May 26 in North America), but now the project will now be available on June 8 (June 9 in North America).

The delay is to due to production issues, as some of the formats contain a hand-made zipper which is taking a bit longer to manufacture. The remastered "Sticky Fingers" will be available on CD, 2CD, LP, 2LP, a Deluxe Edition Boxet, Super Deluxe Edition Boxset and via digital download. Read more here.




Marty Friedman Reacts To Megadeth's New Guitarist
(Classic Rock) Megadeth's former guitarist Marty Friedman, who was a member of the thrash legend's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup, has praised the band's new guitarist Kiko Loureiro who is known for his work with the band Angra.

Friedman and his former 'Rust In Peace' era bandmate Nick Menza were strongly linked to a return to the band following the departures last year of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover.

Menza recently suggested that he and Friedman were offered the chance to return, but Menza says the deal on offer was "unfair." The band hired Lamb Of God's Chris Adler alongside Loureiro.

Asked by a fan at Guitarfest in Chile what he thought about Loureiro's appointment, Friedman says: "I think he is fantastic. I want to say big congratulations to Kiko… I wish them nothing but the best success - from me, from Chile, the whole world. I think it's a fantastic, fantastic thing, and I just wanna say, congratulations Kiko!" Watch the video here.




Van Halen Score Top 20 Debut With New Live Album
(hennemusic) Van Halen's first live album to feature original frontman David Lee Roth, "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert" has debuted at No. 20 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.

One of eight new releases to enter the Top 20, the opening week position follows the band's launch of the project with live performances on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The album features a 25-song set of material from the band's original, classic era and 2012's "A Different Kind Of Truth", the group's first studio album with original frontman David Lee Roth in almost 30 years. Read more here.




Skid Row Star Tells Band's Side Of Split With Johnny Solinger
Skid Row bass player Rachel Bolan says in a new interview the band let singer Johnny Solinger go, contrary to Solinger's statement that he left the group to pursue a solo career.

Bolan made the revelation in an interview with "One On One With Mitch Lafon". Bolan tells the podcast (via Blabbermouth), "Yeah, we released him. The statement that [he] made wasn't really… the right thing to say on his part. But, yeah, we let him go. Had we both done the same thing, [the announcement] could have just been [that] we parted ways amicably. But, you know, it is what it is."

The bass player went also explained the reasons behind the split, "It was evident. There were certain things going on out on the road that kind of set us thinking… Things had been going on for a little bit. And, you know, I'm not here to say anything bad about the guy.

"At certain times, you just get the feeling someone isn't putting a hundred percent into things. And Skid Row is very important to the rest of us. And we wanted to carry on with quality performances and quality songs, so we decided to make a change."

Bolan also explained that fans speculation that they would reunite with original singer Sebastian Bach was the reason why the band was quick to announce that they had replaced Solinger with TNT's Tony Harnell.

"Yeah, that's why we made the call to Johnny [telling him he was out of the band] and announced [our new singer] Tony [Harnell] the same day. Because we knew if we had let Johnny go a couple of months ago when we had started working with Tony, that would be the thing everyone would be thinking.

"There's no real way to win that situation. People are gonna think that there's gonna be a reunion no matter what. But the fact of the matter is there's not, and it's all about Skid Row with our new singer, Tony Harnell."

He also explained why they picked the new singer. Read about that and stream the full interview here.




Jeff Beck's New Live Album Will Feature New Studio Bonus Tracks
(hennemusic) Legendary guitar player Jeff Beck has announced that he will release a new album featuring material recorded during his 2014 tour, entitled "Live+", on May 5th.

The project includes 14 live performances from Beck's extensive catalog and is rounded out with two new studio tracks: "Tribal" and "My Tiled White Floor", with guest vocals from Ruth Lorenzo and Veronica Bellino, respectively.

The songs mark Beck's first studio recordings since 2010's Grammy-winning "Emotion & Commotion." The live material features Beck's current touring band: vocalist Jimmy Hall, bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Jonathan Joseph and guitarist Nicolas Meier. Read more here.




Keith Richards Releasing New Solo Album and May Launch Tour
(hennemusic) Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards reveals that he will be releasing a new solo album this fall and is considering plans to support the project with a tour.

"I think that's coming out in September," Richards tells Rolling Stone about the recently-completed record. "We're looking for the right time slot to bring it out. The Stones have been working so much lately that I've been holding off until we could find a reasonable time. I think it's September, but I don't know for sure."

Richard reveals he had some help putting the album together. "Steve Jordan and me," says Richards. "We're joined here and there by [guitarist] Waddy Wachtel and [Rolling Stones backup singer] Bernard Fowler. Steve and I put it together."

The guitarist is considering the possibility of doing some solo dates behind the project. "That's being kicked around," he explains. "At the moment, I'm just getting my head into the Stones and I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do afterwards. But usually if I put a record out, I do some road work. So, it's possible." Read more here.




Armored Saint Release 'Win Hands Down' Video
(Classic Rock) Armored Saint have released a new music video for the title track of their forthcoming studio album "Win Hands Down" which is the follow-up to 2010's La Raza.

Win Hands Down will be released on June 2nd in North America and June 1st in the UK via Metal Blade Records - an album described as "a vintage crush of classic power propelled by a cathartic blast of life in 2015."

Frontman and former Anthrax vocalist John Bush previously said: "We all dug deep to deliver something special. If we weren't going to, we shouldn't have bothered. I'm glad we did." Watch the video and check out the tracklisting here.




U2 Reveal Record Store Day Special Edition Plans
(hennemusic) U2 have announced that they will release the Deluxe Edition of their 2014 album, "Songs Of Innocence", on double black vinyl for Record Store Day on April 18.

Disc One presents the standard album while Disc Two features the bonus tracks from the Deluxe CD release, including "Lucifer's Hands", "The Crystal Ballroom", "The Troubles (Alternative Version)"', "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight (Alternative Perspective Mix by Tchad Blake)" and "Invisible" - plus the Acoustic Sessions.

The annual event is held the third Saturday of every April and is a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Read more here.




Michael Sweet Recording New Stryper Album and Plans New Solo Release
Stryper frontman Michael Sweet updated fans on Thursday via Facebook about his current activities which include recording a new Stryper album and also revealing his plans for his next solo album which will feature Will Hunt (Evanescence, Black Label Society, Staind).

He writes, "I'm currently recording vocals (on and off) for the new Stryper album to be released later this year. I'm writing for a new solo album (it will be the best to date, I promise) and I start writing for an album I'll be producing/co-writing that will commence later in the year! Whew.......

"The solo album most likely will be released in April/May of 2016 and I'm proud to say that I'll be working with Joe O'Brien and his team over at Rat Pak Records

"I'm also doing select solo acoustic dates throughout the year as well as a Puerto Rico Stryper date in June and the 3rd Annual Stryper Fan Weekend in September. Each year gets more interesting:-)

"Regarding the solo album, Will Hunt (Evanescence, Black Label Society, Staind) will be joining me in the studio (drums) and we'll be doing something completely unconventional in terms of bass - we'll be announcing exactly what very soon.

"2016 will be a very busy year for Stryper Tours, Inc. and we look forward to seeing you all out on the road!!! Love & Respect always ~ M"

Visit Sweet's Facebook page here.




Gary Clark, Jr. To Play Stevie Ray Vaughan Rock Hall Induction
(hennemusic) Texas blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. has been added to the performance tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble at this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 18.

Jimmie Vaughan has already been confirmed to be on hand to honor his brother, while John Mayer will induct Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble into the Rock Hall.

The late Texas blues legend topped the fan ballot for the event with more than 18 million votes - more than 5 million ahead of the next nominee. To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first single or album at least 25 years earlier. Read more here.




Mike Portnoy Comments On Joining Twisted Sister
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob, Winery Dogs) has confirmed that he will be performing with Twisted Sister for the remainder of the year, taking the place of drummer AJ Pero who died last month.

Portnoy released these comments, "As a teenager growing up on Long Island in the late '70s/early '80s, Twister Sister were local legends to me (this was years before the rest of the world discovered them via MTV). Along with KISS and The Ramones, they are the quintessential New York band...true Empire State Rock & Roll Royalty! Almost 40 years and 10,000 gigs later, they are still one of the greatest live bands on earth and Dee Snider one of the greatest frontmen in the history of rock.

"When their fallen brother AJ Pero tragically passed away last month, I didn't hesitate a single moment when asked if I could help out with the remaining shows on their calendar. Not only because I love the band and will always be an S.M.F. at heart, but most importantly because AJ was my friend and I want to honor his memory and the band's legacy.

"It's a strange twist of fate as AJ had stepped in and helped my old band (Adrenaline Mob) when I left, so I'm glad that I can now return the favor and help out his band in their time of need!

"It is my absolute honor to help out my fellow Long Island Rock & Roll Saviors, Twisted F***ing Sister!"



Former Manowar Guitarist Announces New DSG Album
Former Manowar guitar player David Shankle has announced that his band DSG will be releasing their new studio album "Still A Warrior" on April 28th (April 24th in Germany).

The band also features singer Warren Halvarson, bass player Mike Streicher, and drummer Gabriel Anthony. David Shankle had this to say about the new lineup, "With new singer Warren Halvarson, new bass player Mike Streicher, and our new drummer Gabriel Anthony, this is by far the BEST line up to date."

"I'm very happy to say that I feel this is the best DSG record to date," says David. "I also feel this is the best DSG band out of all three of them so far. I'm very proud of everyone of these guys great job they did on the record."

He adds, "I think the new DSG record, 'Still A Warrior,' is a combination of the best from the 'Ashes to Ashes' and 'Hellborn' CD's. A lot of great melodic vocals and full neo-classical shred guitar in your face." 'Still A Warrior' confirms: friends of US metal with a classical shred guitar influences will completely be satisfied by their old hero again!" See the tracklisting here.




AC/DC Announce Next Leg Of Rock Or Bust World Tour
(hennemusic) AC/DC have announced dates for a tour of Australia and New Zealand in support of "Rock Or Bust," which debuted at No. 1 on the Australian charts upon its release late last year, shipping platinum and opening with first week sales of 26,730.

The band will play 5 stadium shows Australia starting November 4 in Sydney, with concerts in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne followed by a pair of shows in New Zealand.

AC/DC will launch their 2015 live dates this Friday at Coachella, marking the return of guitarist Stevie Young and drummer Chris Slade to the lineup. See the new dates and the announcement video here.



Klone Streaming New Album 'Here Comes The Sun' Online
(Prog) French quintet metallers Klone have streamed their sixth album "Here Comes The Sun" with Prog. It's released on April 27 through Pelagic Records in the UK, although it's out this week in France.

The follow-up to 2012's Dreamer's Hideaway is described as featuring a more progressive direction. The label say: "This time, the band really gives each melody time to unfold... and this is where the strength of this album lies: coherence, patience, continuity. The transitions between riffs and songs never feel rushed or forced -- everything is happening at the right time, and for a reason.

"The music, the lyrics and the artwork reflect upon one another, and suck the listener into a universe revolving around the sun, which is the central theme of the album." Stream the album here.




The Black Keys and Buffalo Killers Lead Alive Naturalsound RSD Release
(Classic Rock) The Black Keys and Buffalo Killers lead the tracklist to the "Rock & Roll Is A Beautiful Thing: Alive 20th Anniversary" double vinyl compilation that will be released on Record Store Day (April 18th) and limited to just 900 copies.

Alive Naturalsound, the Los Angeles label responsible for releasing the debut album by The Black Keys, has announced the details of the limited edition album featuring many artists associated with the company.

"Instead of being just another label compilation of previously released material slapped together," say the label, "we're bringing you newly recorded tracks, unreleased studio outtakes, spirited cover songs, and tracks available on vinyl for the first time, all carefully mastered, and complete with a cover by illustrator William Stout."

Stout was responsible for many of the album covers on the infamous Trademark of Quality bootleg label, and later designed posters for The Ramones and The Smithereens.

Stream tracks from the album and check out the tracklisting here.




In The Studio Celebrate Lou Reed Rock Hall Induction With Rare Interview
Syndicated radio show In The Studio have posted a special online episode where they open their archive up on a rare interview with the late Lou Reed to celebrate his posthumous induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. The show sent over these details:

Before his death in October 2013 from complications following a liver transplant, Lou Reed's career was never the blueprint for commercial success, but his music has influenced remarkably across decades, from co-founding the Velvet Underground to a solo career chock-full of powerful human stories. Lou Reed's unabashed singing truth to power has disturbed some but inspired millions.

It's safe to say there would have been no Glam Rock, no Punk Rock, no Alternative Rock without the literary and musical vision of Lou Reed, reason enough for Rolling Stone magazine to rank Reed's 1972 second solo album Transformer at #192 on their Top 500 All Time list.

Program host Redbeard readily admits that his interview with Lou was "one of the most formative interviews in my career". Here is what Lou shared with Redbeard as only Lou could.

"Part of the thing I like about Rock'n'Roll is that everybody fills in a little part of themselves into it. That's why it's very limiting sometimes to ask the (songwriter) person, 'What did you mean by that exactly' , because 1), sometimes the person doesn't know; and 2), he might be wrong." - Lou Reed

Stream the episode here.




Neil Young Inspired Randy Bachman To Take New Direction
(Classic Rock) Randy Bachman credits Neil Young with giving him advice that led him to make solo album Heavy Blues. Released under the band name Bachman, it features bassist Anna Ruddick and drummer Dale Anne Brendon, plus guest appearances by Joe Bonamassa, Peter Frampton and Young, among others.

Bachman tells Canoe: "(Young) said, 'Do yourself a favor and don't do the same old Randy Bachman s--- and say it's new,'" Bachman says Young told him at last year's Musicians Hall of Fame ceremony.

"He said, 'Get a new band, get a new producer, write some new songs, get a different guitar so you play differently and do something new and scare yourself. Be terrified. Be ferocious. Be fearless. But also be afraid.'" Read more here.




Sworn Enemy Singled Out Week: Never Forget
Sworn Enemy kick off their No Mercy No Surrender Tour this week and to celebrate we asked the band to tell us about some of the songs fans may hear on the tour. Today Jeff Cummings (Guitar) tells us about "Never Forget" from their 2014 album "Living on Borrowed Time". Here is the story:

I came into Sworn Enemy in 2010 after the band had just released their previous record " Total World Domination" in the summer of 2009. We started talking about writing new music in mid 2011 when the band had a few member changes and wanted to have something that stood up to the previous works of the band. After having written 5 songs that we had considered to release as an EP we decided to add an additional 6 songs to round out a full length record. I had been working on a song that didn't have a title at the time that I thought had all the hallmarks of a Sworn Enemy song. I brought the riffs to the band and we all jammed them together and adjusted everything into the song that was put on the album "Living On Borrowed Time". When we had locked everything down riff and structure wise it didn't take Sal long to get lyrics down to it because he was there working on the song with us the whole time and it became a final song for the record with the title "Never Forget". The song tells a story about how we view life and that you have to take all the experiences that you are given and turn it into what you want and never forget the things that have made you into the person that you are today.

We have been playing this song in the set steadily since we released the record in May of 2014 and it seems like it will become a mainstay in the set for time to come. Being a fan of the band before I began playing with them I have a lot of similar musical interests with everyone and it was important to me that we put out an album that stands up to the entire catalog that the band has put out since 1999.

Check out the tour dates right here!






Lemmy's Proudest Motorhead Moment Was Bringing Fan Out Of Coma
(Classic Rock) Motorhead icon Lemmy says his proudest moment with the band was when they helped bring a fan out of a coma. The memorable moment took place in their early years, when the frontman was accompanied by guitarist 'Fast' Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor.

Lemmy tells Full Metal Jackie: "We brought a kid out of a coma once. We made tapes and they played them to him in hospital - and he came out of his coma."

The Motorhead legend says the boy was the only one to recover from a ward full of people in a similar condition, and adds: "That is worth my whole career." Read more here.




Soilwork Bringing 'Different Twist On Things' On New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Soilwork's Dirk Verbeuren says the band's upcoming album is brimming with "aggressive and dark" tones and they are bringing "a little bit of a different twist on things this time".

The drummer has finished his work on what will be the group's 10th album and the follow-up to 2013's The Living Infinite. Singer Bjorn Stride is ready to start recording his vocals in the coming days.

Verbeuren tells Dead Rhetoric: "In general, I can say that it's going to be a little bit of a different twist on things this time. I think the album has a pretty aggressive and dark undertone to it. There's quite a bit of aggression in it, and some heavy crushing [sounds], and then some fast songs.

"I felt a bit more like a barbarian playing my drums on this one. I felt that some of the songs needed not so much frills and complicated and technical stuff but just straight-up hammering, and drums in your face.

"That was some of the vibe, but it's definitely going to sound like a Soilwork record. I have no doubt about that. We are always trying to let our feelings of the moment speak, and it will be interesting to see how it comes out." Read more here.




Robben Ford Releases 'Rose Of Sharon' Lyric Video
(Classic Rock) Robben Ford has premiered a new lyric video for his track "Rose Of Sharon" via TeamRock. The song is taken from his recently released album "Into The Sun."

Ford's new studio album Into The Sun was released last month via Mascot Label Group, featuring guest appearances by Warren Haynes, Keb' Mo' and others.

Ford recently explained: "The rule was to have no lid on things. I made sure there was room for new ideas and everything my collaborators brought to the music.

"When you're open to different concepts and approaches, the most beautiful things can happen." Watch the video here.




Steven Wilson Loves Meeting Fans But Wary Of Online Comments
(Classic Rock) Steven Wilson has described how he has to always be on his toes when meeting fans while on tour. Wilson stars in the latest episode of FreqsTV's Ghosts Of The Road series.

And while he loves the 'meet and greet' sessions that are a part of modern touring, he says it's easy to ruin your reputation if you're not at your best all the time.

He says: "I don't want anyone to go away with this idea that I'm an a**hole. With the age of the internet, bad news travels fast. You can be nice as pie to 99 fans. And if you're a little bit short with that 100th fan, you've had a bad show or you've got a cold, he or she is the one that will go on the internet and say, 'Steve Wilson's such as a**hole.'

"Suddenly that goes viral. I'm aware of that and I've been a victim of that so I try to be what I need to be." Read more and watch the episode here.



White Hills Release 'No Will' Video
(Classic Rock) White Hills have premiered their video for "No Will" with TeamRock. It's taken from the band's eighth album, Walks For Motorists, which was released via Thrill Jockey this week.

The label say: "It's a radically stripped-down record that emphasized rhythm and groove. It bursts forth with a new kind of intensity, born out of laser-focused prevision and detail-oriented songwriting.

"This is propulsive, open music - surreal to its core, but made to inspire people to get out of their seats and move."

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Original Lynyrd Skynyrd Member Bob Burns Killed In Car Crash (hennemusic) Original Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Original Lynyrd Skynyrd Member Bob Burns Killed In Car Crash
(hennemusic) Original Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Bob Burns died Friday in a single-car accident in Cartersville, Georgia. He was 64. The Cartersville Patch reports Georgia State Patrol say the crash occurred close to midnight when Burns was driving and his vehicle left the road while making a right turn before hitting a mailbox and a tree with the front of his car.

Police say Burns was not wearing a seatbelt and was the only occupant in the vehicle; it has not been determined if weather played a role in the accident.

A founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Burns played in the band's pre-Skynyrd groups the Noble Five and One Percent before the members were inspired to name the group after their physical education teacher, Leonard Skinner. Read more here.



Slash Denies Former Guns N' Roses Manager's Claims
Slash has disputed a recent claim made by former Guns N' Roses manager Doug Goldstein that Slash working with Michael Jackson caused a rift between the guitarist and Axl Rose.

The issue was brought up during an interview with Washington, DC radio station DC101, and according to Ultimate Classic Rock, Slash responded, "I've been hearing a lot about this particular interview from a lot of people that he really pissed off. And I've heard that. And I don't think there's any truth to that.

"I mean, obviously, the band stayed together for years after that whole thing. And it wasn't a big deal at the time. And if it did piss anybody off, it was something that went away. So I don't think it had anything to do with the original Guns N' Roses demise [...] I don't wanna read or hear that guy's B.S., so I just avoid it. That way I stay sane."

As previously reported, Goldstein claimed in an interview that Slash performing with Jackson caused problems between the guitarist and Rose. "In 1991, we were on the road, and Slash went to my office and said 'I'll be leaving tomorrow to play with Michael Jackson on a tribute concert,'" Goldstein recalled in the interview with Rolling Stone Brazil. "I told him not to do it because Axl was molested by his father when he was two and he believed the charges against Michael Jackson."

Goldstein went further, "Everyone knew Eddie Van Halen received $1 million to play in 'Beat It.' So I asked Slash, 'how much are you receiving? Can I manage this to you?' and he said, 'I'll just receive a big screen television.'

"When Axl found out Slash was gonna play with Michael Jackson and that the payment was a big screen TV he was devastated. He thought Slash would support him and be against all abuse. From Axl's point of view, that was the only problem. He could ignore the drugs and the alcohol, but never the child abuse."




Richie Sambora Being Investigated By LAPD
(Radio.com) Richie Sambora, who recently split from Bon Jovi, is now dealing with another split: he's currently being investigated by the LAPD over an argument he had with his ex-girlfriend Nikki Lund.

The New York Daily News reports that a phone argument between Sambora and Lund turned threatening, when he told her that he was going to "dig a hole in the desert and bury" her.

"I am confirming we are investigating such an incident," an LAPD sergeant told the Daily News. "Deputies tried to contact Mr. Sambora, but he was not at his residence. A report was taken, and now Malibu Lost Hills detectives are investigating," added the sergeant. Read more here.




Former Skeletonwitch Frontman Learned About Firing From Girlfriend
Former Skeletonwitch frontman Chance Garnette have given Metal Injection his first statement since he learned that he was fired from the band. Here is part of what he had to say:

"Metal Injection has the first exclusive comments from Chance Garnette, the now-former frontman of Skeletonwitch who says he found out he was fired, just like everybody else did… on the internet. His statement starts off:

"Hey everyone, Chance here. So, let me get into this whole thing in regards to what's up between myself and Skeletonwitch right now. To put it simply, I have a drinking problem. I regularly became a drunk a**hole off stage and was fired.

"Did I just up and split in the middle of tour, leaving the band to solider on as heroes instrumentally as indicated by all the reports? No. I was left behind, unsure about anything, with no communication.

"It was my girlfriend who told me they were firing me from the band. Two days later, when I could get someone to take my call, I asked 'Is this it? Am I fired?'. I was told, 'Right now, you're not the singer in Skeletonwitch' and that the band would be finishing the tour instrumentally." Read the full statement here.




Rainbow's Joe Lynn Turner and Ritchie Blackmore Reuniting This Year?
(Classic Rock) Former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner reportedly said during a concert this week that he and bandmate Ritchie Blackmore will be working together again this year - even though recent attempts to cut a deal fell apart.

The vocalist talked up a Rainbow reunion during 2014, saying the time was right, that Blackmore deserved a "blaze of glory" for his rock career, and that crunch talks were to take place in December that year.

On Saturday, after his solo show in London, Turner reportedly said: "He's itching to do some rocking, and we're going to get together in the fall. Ritchie is really, really ready to rock. He still has the chops too."

He continued: "I'm not sure if it's going to be a Rainbow reunion, or a bunch of remakes - which I destest, because you can't improve on perfection. But that's what's happening." Read more here.



Alter Bridge Plan New Album, Tremonti Already Has Another Album Done
(hennemusic) Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti says the band will most likely regroup this year to begin writing music for their fifth studio album and he also revealed that his solo band Tremonti have another new album already recorded.

"I think we'll probably get together this year and get the ball rolling songwriting-wise," he tells HNGN about the follow-up to 2013's "Fortress", "and 2016 is when we plan to hit the studio. We've got some offers for some shows later this year, but our schedules are so all over the place that I don't know if that's going to happen."

Singer Myles Kennedy is on the road with Slash while the guitarist is currently gearing up to launch a spring US tour later this month with his own band, Tremonti, and the June 9 release of their second record, "Cauterize."

He also reveals that a third album is already in the can. "One thing is that this is a two-album project," he explains. "The first album is coming out and it's what we want everyone to focus on now, but there will be another follow-up record that was recorded at the same time as this album and it's going to be called 'Dust.'" Read more here.




Family of Twisted Sister's AJ Pero Call On Fans For Help
(hennemusic) The family of late Twisted Sister drummer AJ Pero have launched a crowdfunding campaign to ask fans for assistance with some short-term bills following his death on March 20.

The drummer died of a heart attack in his sleep in Poughkeepsie, NY at the age of 55 while on tour with Adrenaline Mob. Pero's longtime girlfriend, Michele Agnello, is now reaching out to fans as she and his 14-year-old daughter, Brianna, need some assistance with their bills during this difficult time.

"Due to his unexpected and untimely passing, we now need a little help getting on our feet, to keep our home, basically start over without him," Agnello writes on GoFundMe. "AJ truly loved and appreciated his worldwide fans so now we are reaching out to you all. For almost 20 years, AJ has been the sole provider for our family as the drummer in the legendary rock band Twisted Sister and had recently joined the band Adrenaline Mob.

"This is very hard for me to ask for help but at the moment we have nowhere else to turn," she continues. "Since we weren't legally married and he had no will, we are left with nothing and the bills are starting to pour in already this month. I have been unemployed for several years now due to an accident that left me disabled with 2 broken elbows and subsequently rods had to be implanted."

"I am asking for your assistance in helping us so I can get my daughter through this incredibly heartbreaking and difficult time in our lives," adds Agnello. "With my head held low and my heart completely shattered, I ask for your help so we can keep our home, I can feed my daughter and buy her clothes until I find a job to support us.

"Anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless you all!" Read more here.



Def Leppard's New Album Their Best Since 'Hysteria' Says Guitarist
(hennemusic) Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen says the band's upcoming album is their best since 1987's "Hysteria." The UK rockers have been in the studio working on the follow-up to 2008's "Songs >From The Sparkle Lounge" after completing some marathon songwriting sessions last year.

"We broke it up into three different parts," Collen tells One On One With Mitch Lafon. "The initial one, we got the 12 songs, and pretty much, we played in the studio and we kind of played live and we got the essence of the songs down. That's something we don't normally do.

"And then we went back in May, just before the tour with KISS. And we went back a third time and just kind of finished stuff off in January. And yeah, it's just amazing. I'm thrilled with how it turned out."

Leppard expanded their approach to making the group's eleventh studio album, which originally began as an idea to record an EP's worth of material.

"We didn't really have anything to lose," Collen explains. "We didn't have a record company or management or anyone breathing down our necks. We got some ideas, and they all worked.

"Normally, we'd go in and we'd always find ten reasons why to not do an idea as opposed to just going with it. And this was the first time we've ever just sat around and every idea got a fair shot, you know. Everyone was, like, 'Oh, that's cool. Let's try that.'

"There was no negative approach to it. So that's something we've never done before and it was so amazing. It blew me away that we got so many things done. And, honestly, I really think this is the best album we've done since 'Hysteria'." Read more here.




Angra Excited With Guitarist Joining Megadeth
Megadeth announced last week that they have recruited Angra's Kiko Loureiro as their new guitarist and now some of Loureiro's bandmates have revealed their excitement over his new gig.

Angra's members each posted their reaction to their Facebook page. Guitarist Bittencourt said, "Oh boy! My spine is still giving me goosebumps! Kiko is in Megadeth! Wow! What a feeling of pride! I have known Kiko for many years and he deserves this great opportunity more than anyone else. I usually say that we have a brotherhood's relationship, so we always wish the best for each other. Kiko has been tracking a very serious and talented career.

"I take to say this is also an amazing achievement for Brazilian metal. The beginning of this new epic stage is something we all should celebrate. It will be great for Angra and for all Brazilian bands, since it draws attention and highlights the talent of Brazilian musicians in general.
Regarding the works with Angra, I believe he will comply with all activities that he has already committed to and he will always be part of our family. He will definitively not be able to turn his back for something he helped build with so much effort. I'm sure we will still make a lot together, either in or out of Angra.
 Brother, lots of luck and success to you!"

Bassist Felipe Andreoli had this to say, "When I received the call from Kiko saying he was going to audition for Megadeth, I was in awe! My friend and partner of 14 years joining a band that was part of my musical formation in a very intense way… it's not the kind of news that you get everyday! Immediately my thought was "wow, Megadeth is in very good hands."

"I really think that the extraordinary talent and the unique professionalism of Kiko Loureiro, with whom I have learned so much over the years, qualify him to enter any band in the world. Like Angra, now Megadeth is lucky to have him. A world class Brazilian talent.

"I am very proud of my friend and wish him nothing but the best! This is the beginning of an amazing journey where he walks with legends, a place he certainly deserves."

The band's manager Paulo Baron added, "We always work to be better than our own idols and so one day we reach the opportunity. Kiko worked hard for it and became a great Latin American pride so I think he deserves to be in this position now. I think Angra made the difference. Without it perhaps he would not be chosen and it could be any other member of our group, because our band is great. If every American or English citizen had to go through what we have spent to build a career; from learning to speak a foreign language till buy a music instrument much more expensive than any American or British citizen would pay for it we can already consider this a great victory to be highlighted.

"Kiko deserves it. He is a great example of nowadays professional musician and he is a successful example to be followed by many other Brazilian and Latin musicians who wish to achieve success in their life."



Frank Zappa's Last Album To Be Finally Released
(Classic Rock) Frank Zappa's final album, Dance Me This, will finally be launched in June, it's been confirmed. Completed soon before he died of cancer in 1993, it will be the icon's 100th official release.

Zappa said of the work before he'd finished it: "What I'm working on right at the moment is a Synclavier album called Dance Me This, which is designed to be used by modern dance groups."

While a handful of tracks have appeared as bootlegs over the years, the full work has never been heard. Titles include Pachuco Gavotte, Goat Polo and five-movement work Wolf Harbour. It's also said to include vocal work by Chinese throat-singers. Read more here.




Everclear Releasing New Album 'Black Is The New Black' This Month
Everclear have announced that they will be releasing their new album "Black Is The New Black" on April 28th under a new deal with The End Records/ADA.

"Hard rock, punk rock, big guitars that swallow me whole - I will never get over that," says frontman Art Alexakis of the new album. "And this is a very honest recording. No gimmicks. Not many bells and whistles. All the riffs on this record are things that really just resonated with me and the band, musically and lyrically - from the get-go."

Art adds, "We are really excited to be on The End Records. There is such a buzz of enthusiasm there for our new album, Black Is The New Black. It's an unapologetic rock record that I feel combines the best of classic Everclear with contemporary production and what I feel is some of my best songwriting in years!"

He also explained the musical direction of the new album, "This is not an upbeat Everclear record. It's pretty dark, lyrically and musically. When I would sit down with the guitar and start coming up with ideas, it was pushing toward a darker place. Which is kind of bizarre because right now things are really good! I feel safe enough to go to the dark places. And trust me, there's plenty of dark places in me. I've never had a shortage of that."




In This Moment Releasing 'Rise of the Blood Legion'
In This Moment have announced that they will be releasing the retrospective "Rise of the Blood Legion - Greatest Hits (Chapter 1)" on May 5, 2015 via Century Media.

Maria Brink had this to say: "Rise of the Blood Legion - Greatest Hits (Chapter 1) is a tribute dedicated to everyone who has risen with us through the blood, the sweat, the thick and the thin. We are honored to have such a beautiful connection with our Blood Legion family, It's amazing that Century Media Records is releasing this compilation so everyone can hear our personal favorites over the last ten years.

"We love you all and the journey has just begun, Stay the course with us 'We are immortal , We rise from the wraith, We are eternal, You are my blood legion My faith.' This is for you"

Chris Howorth adds: "This compilation is for the 'Blood Legion' our die hard fans, We wouldn't be doing any of this without our fans, this album is for them. The songs were hand picked by Maria and myself and we feel they show the growth of our band over the last 10 years, I hope everyone enjoys this. Thanks again for joining us on this incredible journey!" See the track details here.




The Butcher Babies Finish Album Reveal Spring Tour Plans
The Butcher Babies have announced that they have just completed work on their sophomore full-length album and they will be on the road in North America until May and will be playing several European music festivals this summer.

The band recorded their new album with producer Logan Mader (Five Finger Death Punch, Gojira), and the new effort will be released this fall via Century Media Records

They will join up with In This Moment on April 18th in Montclair, NJ for a five week North American tour with Upon A Burning Body and The Nearly Deads, which will be preceded by some dates alongside Upon A Burning Body.

Heidi Shepherd had this to say, "This upcoming tour is really special to us. Not only do we get to see so many of our friends that we have accumulated around the country through our music, but it's also our first chance to play some songs off of the new album. Our fans have been so patient waiting for new music. In true Butcher Babies fashion we never do anything half-assed, so it took a little while. Playing these songs on this tour will be a little treat for our dedicated fan base. Also, to be back out with In This Moment is a huge honor. They have been so supportive of us and they put on an incredible live show.

"To all the Butcher Babies fans old and new, you've inspired us so much throughout the years. After every show, we do a free meet and greet at our merch booth. Be sure to come stop by and say hello. We would be honored to meet you."

Carla Harvey adds, "It is crazy to think that this will be our ninth big national tour since our first big tour in mid 2012. We feel like old road dogs now as we recognize all the truck stop showers and coffee shops all across the states. However, the best thing about touring is seeing all the familiar faces in the crowd. Our fans have become dear friends over the last few years and every night feels like a family reunion at our after show merch booth meet and greets."

Henry Flury says: "Every time we pass through a city we see more and more faces screaming along to the lyrics to our songs. You guys have no idea how that makes us feel. Now we have a few new face melting surprises in store for you guys and we can't wait to see you sweat it out with us in the pit!" See the dates here.




Mike Portnoy Finds OCD A Blessing And A Curse
Former Dream Theater and current Winery Dogs drummer Mike Portnoy discusses his obsessive-compulsive disorder and how it is both a blessing and a curse.

During an interview with Long Island Pulse, Portnoy was asked "You're a self-professed control freak with OCD tendencies. Are you formally diagnosed?"

He responded, "I have discussed it with doctors. But I'm just one of those perfectionists that have to have everything organized. I like to make lists and if I'm into something I just get obsessed with it.

"My house is filled with tens of thousands of DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays, books, magazines and drum sets. I don't need to be professionally diagnosed to know there's something going on there!"

Portnoy was then asked if it is a blessing or a curse and replied that it is both, He said, "It's absolutely a blessing because I've used it to my advantage. I've been able to use that nature to nurture my career.

"It's a curse in the sense that my bandmates have to deal with it, and my wife and family have to deal with it, but the people around me who know me and love me accept it and let me do my thing."





Between The Buried And Me Streaming New Song 'Memory Palace'
Between The Buried And Me are giving fan a taste of their upcoming concept album "Coma Ecliptic," with a new online stream of the song "Memory Palace."

The album is set to be released on July 10th by Metal Blade and the band had this to say about the album's concept, "The story follows the wanderings of an unidentified man, stuck in a coma, as he journeys through his past lives.

"Each song is its own episode in a modern day, sort of The Twilight Zone-esque fashion. The unidentified man enters each world and is offered a choice: stay, or move on to the next in search of something better, something more 'perfect.' The man does find his ideal life, but then is offered the ultimate choice of life or death. He chooses life and wakes up to his own actual reality.

"It's at that moment he realizes that he had been in a coma - everything that happened had been dreams and false memories. After awakening, we find the man outside finally experiencing reality, and he sees what he has been missing: the world is beautiful, the air is fresh, and the people appear to be happy, and then he falls over dead. The take away from this is to make the best of your life. People are constantly searching for something better without taking the time to appreciate the things they have. What we need may already be here, and is hopefully real. We may all be in a coma in another life."





Ringo Starr Discusses Joe Walsh On New Album
(Classic Rock) Ringo Starr discusses working with Joe Walsh on his new solo album in a TeamRock video interview. Eagles man Walsh recorded the solo for Postcards From Paradise, the title track of Starr's 18th solo album, which was co-written with Todd Rundgren.

The ex-Beatle says: "I gave Todd the track and my idea and my words, and he turned it into what it is today. Joe's a brother-in-law now - he can't refuse. It needed some of that feeling Joe has. I gave him a call and he came over on a Sunday afternoon."

The session lasted just two hours - but it could have gone on longer if Walsh had had his way. "I tell Joe, when he's done a solo, 'That's it,'" the drummer, singer and producer says. "He wants to do it and do it and do it. That's how he is; but I've known him long enough to say, 'No - we've got it.'"





Mike Oldfield Hits and Rarities Compilation Set For Release
(Classic Rock) A Mike Oldfield compilation featuring 31 tracks including a disc of rarities and mixes will be launched on April 27th in the UK, it's been confirmed. Amazon in North America lists a May 5th release date.

The Best Of: 1992-2003 will be released by Rhino Records and focuses on his time with Warner Bros, drawing on his eight studio releases from the period between 1992's Tubular Bells II and Tubular Bells 2003.

It's described as "a fascinating snapshot of an exciting period in Oldfield's illustrious career. His tenure at Warner Bros is a constantly surprising, ever-evolving body of work. It's a quiet gift that goes on giving."

A second disc contains rarities, remixes and b-sides and includes electronic outfit the Orb's mix of Oldfield track Sentinel which was released as a single in 1992. Read the track details here.




Behemoth Unsure If They Will Follow-Up The Satanist
(TeamRock Radio) Behemoth frontman Nergal says the band are so blown away by the response to 10th album The Satanist that they're still not sure whether they should try to make a follow-up.

It won Metal Hammer's album of the year in 2014 and continues to be praised by fans and critics alike. Nergal tells Inferno TV, "I mean, I'm overwhelmed, honestly. I know it's suspicious when all the people like the record, and when media praises the record, but that's what's happening in this particular case. I just had this feeling this is definitely our opus magnum. I'm not sure if it should be continued after such a… I'm just being honest here. I'm so happy with the record and the response and everything.

"It's been a year now, and I haven't really done any extreme metal music ever since, because I'm so happy with what's happening now. So we're just gonna give it some time. And let's just talk one or two years down the road and see what happens then. But we're definitely gonna take time." Read more here.




Filligar Release Lyric Video For New Song 'Truth & Anger'
Filligar are giving fans another taste of their upcoming eight studio album. The new effort, entitled "Keepsakes of the Interior" will be released on May 19th.

They have just released a lyric video for their third single "Truth & Anger," which follows the release of the previous single "Motor Shine" and "White Light Rose." Watch the video here.

The group also revealed that they are planning to tour later this summer in support of Keepsakes of the Interior, and are getting ready to film their official video.




Sworn Enemy Singled Out Week: No Mercy
Sworn Enemy kick off their No Mercy No Surrender Tour this week and to celebrate we asked the band to tell us about some of the songs fans may hear on the tour. Today Matt Garzilli (Guitar) tells us about "No Mercy" from their 2014 album "Living on Borrowed Time". Here is the story:

No Mercy was something that just came together. We were writing new material for LIVING ON BORROWED TIME and I remember coming up with the opening riff. It had a much faster pace to it than the other songs we had written up until that point.

The chorus riff is one of my favorites, and that riff is great to play live. I can't help but love the song just for the lead guitar part alone. I took most of the solo from our original demo. Some solos need to be worked, and others just come together. This was definitely one that just came together. There were just a few improvised parts that didn't sound good, so I added some extra things while in the studio, and I love how it came out. Lyrically the song called for a war/violence theme. Cliche or not, its the only thing I felt the vibe of the song could portray.

I came up with some lyrics, and gave them to Sal. It was great, because Sal can take three or four paragraphs and just cut all the fat off of them and add what the lyrics need to make it a SWORN ENEMY song. I had a few horrible rhymes in there and I knew they were bad...hahaha. But Sal reworked them and those changes like adding "war machines keep marching on" took it to a whole new level. I think I had written two lines at the bottom saying NO MERCY NO SURRENDER. I wasn't even sure where they would fit. When I heard his idea for the chorus it felt perfect. The gang vocals of us screaming "NO MERCY" over and over works real well, especially live.

When we were recording it, we knew it was going to be the type of chorus that works with the audience. It had crowd participation written all over it. What you get on the album is what you get live. That's the way we like to do it!








Sammy Hagar and The Circle Release 'When It's Love' Video
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar's latest supergroup, The Circle, is premiering video of a performance of the 1988 Van Halen hit, "When It's Love", as a preview to the May 19 release of their debut/live debut album, "At Your Service."

"When It's Love" was the fifth single from Van Halen's eighth studio album, "OU812." The track reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, while the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart on its way to selling more than 4 million copies in the States alone.

"At Your Service" captures The Circle - Hagar, Chickenfoot and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and longtime Wabos guitarist Vic Johnson - recorded in concert last year performing hits from Hagar's 4 Decades Of Rock show. Watch the video here.




Van Halen's 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' Kimmel Concert Video Released
(hennemusic) Van Halen performed their classic 1978 track, "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", on March 30 as part of an 8-song greatest hits set on Hollywood Boulevard for ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The late night program has made video of the tune available as a web exclusive days after the event that saw the group launch their latest album, "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert."

The third single from the band's groundbreaking self-titled debut, "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" instantly became a concert staple and fan favorite as the album went on to sell more than 10 million copies in the States alone.

"Tokyo Dome Live In Concert" captures the group at the Japanese venue on June 21, 2013. The package features a 25-song set of material from the band's original, classic era and 2012's "A Different Kind Of Truth", the group's first studio album with David Lee Roth in almost 30 years.






Green Day Announce First Live Performance In Over A Year
(Radio.com) It's been a while since anyone's seen Green Day live, but that's all about to change. The band announced they'll be playing Cleveland's House of Blues on April 16, two days before they'll be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The gig will mark the first live show the band has played in over a year. The last time Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool played together was at last year's South by Southwest under their side project, Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Before that, they had spent much of 2013 touring behind their trio of albums, Uno!, Dos! And Tre! Green Day will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18. Read more here.



The Melvins' Buzz Osborne Gets New Gig As MLB Correspondent
(FOX Sports Radio) The Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne joined Steve Gorman Sports! on April 2, to discuss his love of baseball and ended up agreeing to be the show's new weekly MLB correspondent. The show sent over the following highlights:

Steve Gorman: "You're playing little league as a kid. How long did you play and when did you realize maybe you weren't cut out to be an athlete full time?"

Osborne: "Well, I always knew I wasn't cut out to be full time, but I liked playing up until I was in junior high school - maybe 8th or 9th grade, and I really started hating the people I was playing with, so I walked away from all of it."

Gorman: "You know what, that will happen. Sometimes the problem with sports is the guys playing them."

Osborne: "Yes, I couldn't stand it and even to this day, I can't stand listening to … I really only like baseball… but if you had tickets to any professional sporting event I would go, you know, but I really only follow baseball. I cannot listen to those guys get interviewed, I shut it off. I cannot stand listening to jocks talk."

Gorman: "But now you're writing a Dodgers preview for Rolling Stone magazine. How did you get roped into that?"

Osborne: "They wanted me to do it, there's a guy over there that likes me and somehow knew I had an interest in baseball, and I have a huge interest, I mean I'm certainly no expert, but I'm a fan, I'm a huge fan and I always feel like I have more to learn."

Gorman: "Well we need a rock major league baseball correspondent to be on the show on a regular basis if you got a little extra time during the season."

Osborne: "Oh, I'm all over it. You wouldn't believe how few people me and Dale find on the road that want to talk about baseball" ***laughs***






Corrupt Leaders Release Grindmother EP CD
(Blackout) Canadian grindcore band Corrupt Leaders have released the new "Grindmother" EP on CD format for only $5 (plus $5 worldwide shipping) via their bandcamp page.

"Grindmother", which features a guest vocal from frontman Rain Forest's 66 year-old Mother, picked up coverage by various media outlet after a video of her recording session went viral. The video passed 175K views and was aired on the nationally syndicated television show Right This Minute.

Mixed by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust) and mastered by Brad Boatright (From Ashes Rise) at Audiosiege, and featuring artwork by Varises Otak, "Grindmother" has taken Corrupt Leaders to new heights, earning a multitude of positive reviews in the process. A vinyl 5" version of the EP is also scheduled to be released this summer.






The Wyldz Kick Off Spring Tour
(CO5) Austin rockers The Wyldz are gearing up for the release of their new studio album Interstellar Troubadours by hitting the road this past week for their Spring U.S. tour.

Earlier this year, The Wyldz collaborated with legendary engineer Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page) on the upcoming album.

Convening in Albini's famed Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, the trio recorded the entire 12-track album in just six days, completely analog. Additional mixing handled by Grammy-nominated engineer Mark Needham (The Airborne Toxic Event, Scott Weiland).

"We wanted to record Interstellar Troubadours on tape to capture the live experience and the warmth as if you are in the room with us," explains drummer Oliv Porrini. "Whether performing together in the studio or onstage, we share a mutual freedom of musical expression, a very natural and extraordinary alchemy," says guitarist Alex Dhee. See the tour dates here.

More on The Wyldz - The Wyldz Music, DVDs, Books and more - The Wyldz T-shirts and Posters
Feral Conservatives Release Class Reunion Video
(EIPR) Virginia Beach-based folk-punk rockers Feral Conservatives premiered their new music video for "Class Reunion," off of their latest EP, The Feeling Becomes Noise.

Rashie Rosenfarb (vocals, mandolin, bass) partnered up with fellow musician Matt Francis (drums, guitar, pedal noise), and started Feral Conservatives in 2011.

Started as a mandolin/organ focused side project, Rashie and Matt injected garage-rock elements to round out the current Feral Conservatives sound. The band has self-released two EPs and self-booked an East Coast/New England tour in 2013, eventually leading them back to the studio.

In late 2014 Feral Conservatives recorded a series of singles for Egghunt Records, a Richmond, VA indie label.

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: This Week's Top Stories In Rock!

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: This Week's Top Stories In Rock!: This Week's Top Stories Here are the top stories from this past week's Day in Rock report Scott Weiland Tells His Side...