Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Doctors Tell Lemmy From Motorhead It's Time To Quit
(TeamRock Radio) Motorhead icon Lemmy Kilmister told fans at Wacken that doctors had told him it was time to retire just minuted before he cut their festival appearance short.
The veteran frontman disappeared 35 minutes into what was supposed to be a 70-minute show, still suffering after-effects from a haematoma which forced the band to cancel several European gigs last month.

BraveWords say Lemmy admitted to the fans at the music festival that the experts had advised him to quit, but he added: "We'll have to see about that."

His friend Slash visited him yesterday and later tweeted: "He's doing well. There's been a lot of rumours but he's in good shape, and finishing Motorhead record now." Black Sabbath Tony Iommi also addressed Lemmy's health.



No News Is Guns N' Roses News
(TeamRock Radio) What's happening with Guns N' Roses' promises to release an album sooner rather than later? Nothing, according to an official statement from Axl Rose's outfit.

Responding to frequent fan requests for news, GnR have released a comment saying: "Generally speaking, at this time we have no information on tours, albums, or DVDs. When things get confirmed we will let you know. Thank you for your patience."

Just three months ago guitarist Richard Fortus said the follow-up to Chinese Democracy was nearly finished. But the story seems to have dried up, leaving fans wondering if it's possible Rose could beat his record of 14 years between releases. Find out what Guns N' Roses milestone occurred this week.




Def Leppard's VIVA! Hysteria Hitting Movie Theaters and DVD
(hennemusic) Def Leppard's 2013 Las Vegas residency, "VIVA! Hysteria", is coming to theaters for a series of special screenings before being released in multiple formats in October.

The UK rockers played 11 shows at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this past spring, following in the footsteps of Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses.

The Las Vegas dates featured two sets from the band: the first, a wild card collection of songs that changed from night to night – performed under the name "Ded Flatbird"; the second presented the band's iconic 1987 album, "Hysteria", from start to finish.

In October, "VIVA! Hysteria" will be released in multiple formats: 2CD+DVD digipak, Blu-ray, DVD and digital album download. The theatrical event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 2 and Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 8:00 p.m. More details and release dates here.




Jason Newsted Doubts Metallica Jam With Mustaine Will Happen
(TeamRock Radio) Former Metallica bass player Jason Newsted is beginning to doubt his much-vaunted jam with fellow ex-Metallica man Dave Mustaine will take place as hoped.

The pair are currently touring the US together on the Gigantour travelling festival – Newsted with his self-titled new band and Mustaine with Megadeth.

Newsted says: "We're at the end of Gigantour now. But the way that this tour is going, it's just kind of crazy and we haven't gotten to that point yet.

"We've traded lyric sheets. We've traded down-tuned versions of Phantom Lord and Metal Militia to try to figure out what song we're gonna play. But it has never come to fruition, and we only have a few shows left. So I'm not sure if it actually ever is." He had more to say.





Five Finger Death Punch's New Album Debuts At No. 2
(Radio.com) L.A. metal band Five Finger Death Punch have debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with their fifth album, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell: Volume 1.

The new album sold 112,000 copies its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's an improvement over the group's last full-length, 2011′s American Capitalist, which opened at No. 3 with 90,000 sold.

Time will reveal if they finally grab a No. 1 spot when The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 is released later this year. Find how the rest of the top 10 came out.




Arcade Fire Scores New Spike Jonze Film
(Radio.com) Arcade Fire have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. They nonchalantly announced an October 29th release date for their upcoming album last month in an at-reply with a fan on Twitter, they announced they were going to tour through an at-reply to a fan on Twitter, and now Indie Wire is reporting that they created music for Spike Jonze's upcoming film, Her. This news was not sourced from a Twitter at-reply.

The movie, out November 20, stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man who falls in love with a highly intelligent computer (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). The film also stars Amy Adams, Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt, Olivia Wilde and Rooney Mara.

This is not the first time the Canadian band has teamed up with Jonze. They lent an acoustic version of "Wake Up" for one of the Where The Wild Things Are trailers. The director also shot their short film for "Scenes From The Suburbs" off their 2011 album, The Suburbs.

Watch the trailer for Her here.





Bob Dylan's Unheard, 43-Year-Old Song 'Pretty Saro' Goes Online
(Radio.com) In 1970, Bob Dylan recorded "Pretty Saro" six times for his Self Portrait sessions, but the song never made the album. After four decades, his rendition of the 18th century English folk song will finally see the light of day.

On August 27, "Pretty Saro" will be featured on Dylan's Another Self-Portrait. The box set will include 35 tracks cut for Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait and New Morning.

The stripped down track features Dylan's familiar quivering vocals and light finger picked acoustic guitar. But that's not all. Filmmaker Jennifer Lebeau has created a video for the song. Using photos from the Farm Security Administration, which is stored at the Library of Congress, her video transports the viewer back in time. Having gone through 1,200 photos from the 1940s, '50s and '60s, she created a specific tale to fit Dylan's vocals.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lebeau opened up about what she wanted to capture in the video. "His vocal delivery is so haunting. I wanted to be able to visually represent that sort of unrequited love in a world that seems like it should be sad, but the people are always happy and fine," she said.

She added: "It literally goes from women on farms with wagons to Rosie the Riveter. They were doing laundry and tilling the land, and at the end, they're building planes and really in charge of everything at the work place. We wanted to include as many of these magnificent faces as we could, and tell this story across the years."

Watch the video for "Pretty Saro" here.





Rob Zombie Addresses Skate Park Controversy
(hennemusic) Rob Zombie and his wife, Sheri, have been making headlines over their noise complaint against a skate park next door to their Woodbury, Connecticut home, and now the rocker is stepping up to comment on the alleged controversy.

In a posting on Facebook Monday night, Rob lamented the potential for finding a simple solution, saying the issue "has already become a [expletive] witch hunt. No one is crushing little people. Just trying to fix the sound of metal ramps crashing in my backyard. Not trying to [expletive] with anyone, just trying to find a solution. Trust me, if this was in your backyard you would agree."

Zombie then commented on the controversy created by the headlines. "It seems nuts to even have to address this, but I guess I will," he posted. "Some really crazy articles have popped up making claims about 'hating skaters' and 'hating children.'

"None of this is true and it makes me sick that someone would print such lies. There is a simple matter going on in which we are trying to find a solution that will make EVERYBODY happy. Unfortunately, someone decided to turn it into a whole ugly event. What a bummer." Details about the controversy.





Queens Of The Stone Age Streaming Their Entire Lollapalooza Set
(Classic Rock) Queens Of The Stone Age have released a streaming video of their entire performances from last weekend's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.

Josh Homme and co appeared at the Chicago event on August 2 and delivered a 70-minute set consisting of classic tracks alongside material from latest album …Like Clockwork.

The band have announced that they will be touring the UK and Ireland in November with the tour kicking off in Glasgow on November 16th. Check out the Lollapalooza video here.





Saving Abel's Jared Weeks Singing For Hinder On Tour With Candlebox
Hinder (with guest lead vocals from Saving Abel's Jared Weeks) are teaming up with Candlebox to launch a North American co-headlining tour next month.

Hinder sent over the initial dates for the trek which will kick off on September 20th in Portland, ME and explained that frontman Austin Winkler is continuing his hiatus from the group for "personal reasons".

"With Jared filling in, it's like getting two shows at once," says Cody Hanson of Hinder. "It's energetic, fun and unlike anything I've ever seen from a rock band. You won't want to miss this!"

"I'm stoked to be touring with our friends Hinder," says Candlebox lead vocalist, Kevin Martin. "We've been talking about it for years and glad it's finally happening!" more on this story




Fred Armisen Directs Kings of Leon
(Gibson) On Friday (August 9) Kings of Leon will take the stage at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. The entire show will be streamed live through YouTube and Vevo.

A teaser for the show has been released in which comedian Fred Armisen show up as the band is rehearsing, and takes on the role of director. Armisen says he wants to figure out which member of Kings of Leon is the best, by having them play individually.

The comedian has a real hard time deciding who should go first, and you can actually see Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill trying so hard not to start laughing, having to turn away from the camera repeatedly. Check out the video here.





Sebastian Bach Working On New Album With Producer Bob Marlette
(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach is in the studio working on a new album with producer Bob Marlette, and has posted his latest studio update on the progress of the project.

"Today we are ‪#‎bachinthestudio‬ crafting riffs & working on melody lines," wrote Bach. "Bob Marlette is working his magic & helping me out with the upcoming opus of epic-ness. Expect high energy music.... perfect for driving quickly, or jackhammering concrete."

"Working on lyrics," he continues, "but don't want to beat you over the head with sobriety, or ex wives, or ex band members, or any of the other constant bullsh*t that I seem to be personally dealing with.

"So I am choosing my words carefully.....because this music is straight up balls to the wall kick you in the nuts rock n' roll. & I need the words to reflect that." more on this story





Nine Inch Nails and Fall Out Boy Announce Surprise Shows
(TeamRock Radio) Nine Inch Nails and Fall Out Boy have both revealed plans to play surprise shows at short notice while they are in the UK this month.

Both of the surprise shows are connected to each act's appearances at this year's Reading and Leeds festival which will be taking place later this month.

NIN will play London's Scala and Fall Out Boy will appear at Glasgow's Academy. You can find more show and ticket details for each surprise gig here.





Marillion Cancel Guest Appearance With Mott The Hoople
(Classic Rock) Marillion broke some bad news to fans that they have cancelled their planned special guest appearance at Mott The Hoople's show in London in November.

The band say: "Following a breach of our original agreement with the concert promoter, we have no choice but to pull out. It is therefore with great regret and apology to Marillion's fans and to Mott The Hoople (who we respect enormously) that we must cease involvement in this event."

Those who purchased tickets to see Steve Hogarth and co are advised to seek a refund at their point of sale. more rock news here.




Queensryche Member's Role Expands Following Tate's Exit
(Classic Rock) Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield says guitarist Parker Lundgren has finally been able to contribute to the band's songwriting process now his ex-father-in-law Geoff Tate is out of the band.

"He's been in the band with us now for six years," says Rockenfield, "But we have a great new thing where Parker was allowed to write.

"We wanted that, but it was not happening in the past, if you know what I mean. Parker is a great addition and a great musician." More rock news here.





Steve Vai Expands Story Of Light World Tour
(Classic Rock) Steve Vai will return to the UK at the end of August for seven more shows, as a result of the success he had with earlier legs of his Story Of Light world tour.

Released last year, it's was first studio outing since 2005′s Real Illusions: Reflections, and he's delighted with the response it's achieved. The storyline follows the journey of a man "driven mad by grief, intertwining tragedy, revelation, enlightenment and redemption."

Although largely instrumental, the album does feature guest vocalists. Aimee Mann duets with Vai on No More Amsterdam, which she also cowrote. Beverly McClellan, a season one finalist on The Voice (USA) appears on on John the Revelator, a track inspired by a vintage recording of blues singer Blind Willie Johnson. Other highlights include the title track which opens the album, Gravity!Storm plus The Moon and I and Velorum. more on this story





Black Sabbath Inspire Poster Series
(Classic Rock) London's Flood Gallery recently commissioned a series of posters inspired by the music of Black Sabbath, and presented them to the world at a launch night in their London gallery on July 25.

The exhibition celebrates the band's reunion with Ozzy Osbourne for latest album 13, which topped charts across the world. Classic Rock said of the band's 19th studio outing: "13 isn't as good as their first six albums – what is? – but it's a million times better than most of what followed, and way more than you could ever expect from a three men of pensionable age who proved all they had to prove 40 years ago."

Artwork by New York tattoo artist John Reardon plus designers Godmachine, Richey Beckett, Glyn Smith, Michael Cowell, Matt Valentine and Scott Move can currently be seen in the gallery, located at Greenwich Market. View some of the results here





Shinedown and Skillets Carnival of Madness Tour Starts This Week
(Gibson) It's almost time for the 2013 Carnival of Madness Tour. The annual hard rock music trek sets off Aug. 11 in Asbury, N.J., and will travel through over two dozen cities before wrapping up Sept. 18 in Puyallup, Wash.

This year's lineup is spearheaded by Shinedown, who headlined the inaugural Carnival of Madness tour in 2010, as well as Papa Roach, Skillet, In This Moment and We as Human.

"Carnival of Madness is more than a show— it's an experience," Shinedown frontman Brent Smith said in a statement. "This year, it's all about reinvention. The culmination of five powerful and dynamic bands joining together to prove to the world that rock-n-roll is alive and well…"

"I can hardly wait for the Carnival of Madness," said John Cooper, frontman for Christian rockers Skillet. ". . . It'll be our first tour playing songs from our new album, Rise, so Skillet will be doing our best to bring the pain every night!" more on this story






Biffy Clyro Appalled At Costly Meet-and-Greet Rip-Offs
(Gibson) Have you ever wanted to meet one of your favorite bands only to find out that it's going to cost a ton? The guys of Biffy Clyro don't think that's right.

In a recent interview with NME, Ben Johnston of the Scottish group expressed his distaste for bands that charge fans to get into meet-and-greets.

"Having artists charge for meet and greets is absolutely appalling…" the drummer said in the video interview. "I think that you can pay to perform, and that makes sense, but meeting somebody is just part of the job… So, I'm very much against that!" more on this story







Simon McBride Giving Away Free Song Download
(The Blues Simon McBride has made a 2009 live recording of his performance of the Buddy Miles/Jimi Hendrix classic "We Got To Live Together" available for free download.

His performance of the Buddy Miles piece, first laid down with Jimi Hendrix on the Band Of Gypsys album, was recorded in the Netherlands in 2009, at which time it was a staple in his concert set.

"I always put at least one song associated with Hendrix in my set. This is a great one for getting the audience fired up," McBride says."It was available a while ago, but I thought there might be a lot of people who don't have it. I have to say: it has a pretty epic live sound." More including the song download link here.





Moon Safari Expand Upcoming Tour
(Prog) Swedish melodic prog rockers Moon Safari have added another UK date to their forthcoming European tour. They will now play The Loft in Brighton on September 12.

The band, who release their latest album, Himlabacken Vol. 1 through Blomljud Records on August 31 also play in Kingston, Rotherham and Wolverhampton.

The entire European tour sees the band take in Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium as well as the UK dates. More including the dates.




Roll Wyn James Back With New Album Despite Member's Stroke
(The Blues Scottish blues outfit Roll Wyn James have just released their fifth album "Unfinished Business" in spite of harpist Alwyn James' debilitating stroke.

The record's title stems from the fact that some of the music was composed just before James was rendered unable to walk, read or use his right hand.

The former schoolteacher has learned to play with just his left hand, and completed the album with assistance from bandmates Chris Agnew (bass and vocals), Paul Henderson (guitar and vocals) and Kevin Smith (drums).

Unfinished Business is the band's second album since James suffered his stroke, and the first to feature Agnew – son of Nazareth bassist Pete – on the microphone. more on this story




Steve Hillage Explains Why YouTube Pulled 'Hinotori' Video
(Noble) Steve Hillage premiered the cutting edge promo video for Rovo and System 7's new single "Hinotori" on Friday but several hours later the video was mysteriously removed from YouTube.

Hillage, one of the original members of the British prog rock band Gong, has released a statement explaining why the video was removed from the streaming site.

"The video was initially taken down in connection with the use of original Hinotori images from the Manga animation pioneer Osamu Tezuka, who has been a huge influence on the Phoenix Rising project," says Hillage.

"Tezuka Productions, the Japanese company that manages the Tezuka creative legacy, demanded a change in the precise wording of the copyright notice after the end of the video. This has now been resolved. Our Japanese video production company wish to apologise for the temporary YouTube removal."

The Hinotori promo video is a taster from a collaboration between System 7 and Japan's leading progressive rock band, Rovo, culminating in the new studio album Phoenix Rising (released in the UK on 23 September).

The album, produced by Steve Hillage and Rovo, is followed by concerts at Manchester Ritz (March 7) and London o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (March 8).

Yesterday, the video, directed by Tokyo's Mood Magic, has been re-uploaded on YouTube. Watch the video here.






Singled Out: Ghosts of Eden's In Motion
Today Tom from velvet grunge pioneers Ghosts of Eden tells us about the song "In Motion" which is featured in their just premiered debut music video and comes from their EP "Something (Kinetic)". Here is the story:

So "In Motion" is a song that has really evolved over time. I feel like we were writing and perfecting it forever. Most of our songs take one rehearsal to write, arrange and complete. This one took months, if not years. It all stemmed from our friend Gomez playing the this goofy 2 note riff on a keyboard during one of our rehearsals. It sounded really cheesey but Rich jokingly created a heavier guitar equivalent and that's the main riff that the song opens with.

We didn't really take it too seriously but I started singing the verses and it clicked. It was in limbo for a while so I took it home and added the bridge guitar riff and the choruses. Collectively we wrote the whole outro but it never really came to fruition like it did until Benny joined the band. We added a lot of little things, i.e. more dynamics, backing vocals, some keyboards. These proved to be missing pieces that had a major impact on the live energy that we put into the song which led it to be our #1 fan favorite song that we close all our sets with.

We know we could have picked one of our more radio friendly songs for our first music video, but this song is the song that fans have latched on to. This video is for all of the believers of Ghosts of Eden and Velvet Grunge out there. While the lyrics may not be very literal, what it's truly about is following your dreams and never letting anyone tell you it's stupid or that you can't do it. At the end of the day, whether you succeed or fail, you went for it, you're still here...alive.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and check out the brand new video here learn more about the EP right here!





CBGB Movie Trailer Released
(Radio.com) Punk rock fans and historians alike have been anxiously awaiting the upcoming movie CBGB, a star-studded bio-pic based on the legendary New York City club that served as the breeding ground for such legendary acts as the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, Patti Smith and many more. Yesterday (August 7), the film's first trailer was released online (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Opening with the tagline "the greatest rock club ever," the trailer reveals actor Alan Rickman (best known for portraying Snape in the Harry Potter movies) as the movie's central character, CBGB's club owner Hilly Kristal, who opened the bar in 1973 (Kristal died in 2007 at the age of 75). Also among the marquee cast includes Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop and Malin Akerman (Watchmen, The Heartbreak Kid) as Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry. While the club was shuttered in 2006 over a rent dispute, the name lives on with an annual festival.

The movie, which is scheduled to open nationwide on October 11, will come with a soundtrack featuring music from such acts as Television ("Careful"), New York Dolls ("Chatterbox"), MC5 ("Kick Out the Jams") and the Police ("Roxanne"). Watch the trailer here.





Alter Bridge Premiere New Song 'Addicted To Pain'
(hennemusic) Alter Bridge have premiered the song "Addicted To Pain", which is the lead single from their forthcoming new album, "Fortress" (due out on October 8th).

"When we started pre-production on this album, we pushed ourselves harder and further than we ever have previously in order to make the most out of every individual arrangement," says guitarist Mark Tremonti.

"We wanted this album to be our most unpredictable and exciting one yet. From the early feedback we have received, it looks like we have achieved what we set out to do." Check out the song here.





Avenged Sevenfold Discuss New Album Details In New Video
(TeamRock Radio) Avenged Sevenfold discuss the details of their latest album "Hail To The King" (out August 27th in North America) in their third exclusive video with Metal Hammer.

They discuss how they realized they sometimes "weren't going for it fully," why so many things were cut out of the album – and much more besides.

Avenged Sevenfold are the cover stars of the current edition of Metal Hammer magazine, which is on sale now. You can check out the latest video segment here.




The Strypes Release 'What A Shame' Video
(The Blues Young Irish R&B outfit The Strypes have launched a video for their track What A Shame. You can also see them live in the coming weeks ahead of their sold-out supporting role on the road with Arctic Monkeys.

Ross Farrelly (vocals, harmonica), Josh McClorey (guitar, vocals), Pete O'Hanlon (bass) and Evan Walsh (drums) cite influences including Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter.

The four-piece have been battering down doors across Ireland, the UK and Europe since forming two years ago.

Today's Day in Rock News!

Papa Roach Cancel Tour For Medical Reasons
(TeamRock Radio) Papa Roach have called off a tour of South America as a result of frontman Jacoby Shaddix's continuing voice issues. The band were forced off the road last year while he underwent surgery on his vocal cords.
Now they report: "To our fans in South America, we are sorry to say our tour is cancelled. Jacobby is having vocal issues and has been ordered to rest. We will be rescheduling the tour for next year."

The affected performances were to run for a week starting from tonight. The band are still expected to kick off a US tour as part of the Carnival Of Madness festival later this month Read what Shaddix had to say about the struggle.



Anthrax's Charlie Benante Recovering From Surgery
(TeamRock Radio) Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante is recovering after undergoing hand surgery, he's confirmed. He received expert attention after being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that, if untreated, could have left him unable to play.

Benante broke the news to fans with the following tweet, "Surgeon fixed my hand. Nothing broken, just carpal tunnel. Behind my Anthrax drumkit soon – 9/13 in San Bernardino."

The thrash icon has been replaced on several recent tours by Jon Dette, who also covered for dropped Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, pulling double-duties as both bands toured Australia earlier this year. more on this story





Kings Of Leon Release New Song and New Supersoaker Video
(Radio.com) The Brothers Followill that make up Kings Of Leon have just released the latest song from their sixth LP Mechanical Bull. The ever-earnest mid-tempo "Wait For Me" follows the first single "Supersoaker", which also just got its very own music video.

Ahead of the release of Mechanical Bull on September 24 on RCA, Kings Of Leon will be the latest band to perform under the auspices of American Express as part of their "Unstaged" concert series.

The series always selects an esteemed member of the film/television industry to direct the shows, and KoL have the distinct pleasure of working with comedian, musician and noted drum impersonator, Fred Armisen. Watch the teaser trailer for that and the new music video here.





Kid Rock Burglary Suspect Charged With Multiple Felonies
(hennemusic) A 43-year-old Michigan man has been charged with three felonies after being arrested for the highly publicized alleged break-in attempt at Kid Rock's home.

The alleged burglar, Brian D. Keith, who has an extensive criminal history across three states, was charged with attempted home invasion, malicious destruction of a building, and malicious destruction of personal properties; all three are five-year felonies, according to Detroit Free Press.

Investigators say the suspect caused nearly $30,000 in damages the afternoon of July 31, when he crashed his van through a gate at Rock's home and tried to break into a garage and the home. more on this story





Motorhead Address Lemmy's Health
(hennemusic) Motorhead have issued a statement regarding the band's set at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival last Friday, which was shortened due to Lemmy's health issues.

The group performed 30 of a scheduled 75-minute show before shutting things down. "The show had to go on because that's how Lemmy rolls," posted the band.

"Even though he was not 100% fit, he refused to feel he was letting the 85,000 Wacken fans down. They kicked ass in the 100-plus-degree heat for a shortened, but powerful, set before Lemmy finally realized he might have bitten off a little more than he could chew.

"Thus, he will embark upon the recuperation recommended. We know that rumors are flying around, but once he fully recharges, Motorhead will be back, don't you worry!" more on this story





Roth Declares Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth Tour Over
(hennemusic) David Lee Roth has posted a video thanking Van Halen fans for their support of the "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour, which wrapped up July 24 in Paso Robles, California.

"A Different Kind Of Truth" debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart behind UK singing sensation Adele. VH sold 187,000 copies in its debut week, while Adele enjoyed a massive sales bump due to her increased profile around the Grammy Awards, where she swept 6 categories, including Album Of The Year for "21". Adele's 242,000 sales week was virtually double of the numbers the week before, denying VH a #1 US debut.

VH kicked off their 2012 tour on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky with openers Kool & The Gang. The band's setlist showcased four tunes from the new disc; as the tour progressed, a cool trend took shape: the band was switching songs in and out the show in order to perform some rarely-played vintage tracks.

Following the end of the first North American leg of the tour in New Orleans, the band was forced into a lengthy hiatus when Eddie required surgery for a severe bout of Diverticulitis. Check out the video here.




Taking Back Sunday Announce Fall Tour and TV Special
Taking Back Sunday have announced their plans to launching a North American fall headlining tour that will feature support from Polar Bear Club and Transit.

The band will be launching the tour on October 11th at the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, N.Y and concluding the trek on November 7th in Long Island, NY.

Prior to the headlining tour, Taking Back Sunday have a few dates this month including a show with Blink-182 in Uncasville, CT, two shows at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ where they will be playing their hit album "Tell All Your Friends" and an appearance at the Riot Fest in Chicago.

The band will be broadcasting one of the Starland Ballroom show live on AXS TV on Thursday, September 12th. The broadcast will begin at 11pm EST. Check your cable or satellite TV company for channel number and local broadcast time. more on this story




Journey Documentary To Be Broadcast on PBS
(hennemusic) The Journey documentary, "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey," will air on PBS on September 30. The film tells the story of how Journey found singer Arnel Pineda online and brought him into the group.

Here is the official synopsis: In 2007, Arnel's friend began uploading videos of the aspiring Filipino singer covering classic rock songs onto YouTube. One of them was seen by Journey guitarist Neal Schon.

Impressed by how similar Pineda's voice was to former Journey frontman Steve Perry, Neal flew Arnel from Manila to San Francisco to audition for the band. But Arnel's personal journey had just begun.





Tom Petty Almost Done With New Album
(Gibson) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took a break from recording their follow up to 2010's Mojo to do some touring over the summer, but now the band is back in the studio.

"I always say this, but I'm tremendously excited for this one," Petty told Rolling Stone in a recent interview, adding "It's not like anything we've ever done."

Petty is pleased with how the new album is turning out, saying "I think people are gonna like it. We're at a place where we're nearly done with it. I didn't play anything [live] because I've worked so hard on the sound of the record, I don't want people's first impression to be over YouTube, you know? We're nearly done with it so I would think early next year, it'll be out."

Although the album is almost done, there's no title yet. As far as style goes, Petty says the album resemble songs written around the time of Wildflowers from 1994 and Damn The Torpedoes from 1979, saying "it comes from a blues place and it's much more distorted." more on this story






The Rides Already Planning Next Album
(Gibson) The Rides is Stephen Stills new band along with fellow guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and keyboardist Barry Goldberg. Their first album, Can't Get Enough is set for release on August 27, and a tour is lined up for the fall.

But already the band is talking about recording the follow-up album. Stills told Billboard that the band. "figured that, 'Well, this'll be the first album, so we'll do it like that.' I'm sure we'll have a different method (the next) time because this (album) is what worked this time and now we're just gonna bear down and really have an idea of what we want to do."

Shepherd echo Stills' sentiment, and is also talking about getting back in the studio: "We're all very committed to this band, and we're already looking to the next record. We went to Stephen's house a while ago and we all brought stuff to the table, but Stephen already had a song that he was halfway through writing. And it was interesting because our band is supposed to be somewhat of a blues band, but the song sounds like vintage Crosby, Stills & Nash, so I'm kind of interested to see the direction that our next album will take, though I do believe that it will pretty much stay firmly rooted in the blues because that's what this band ultimately is." more on this story






White Wizzard Have Learned How To Fight
(TeamRock Radio) White Wizzard frontman Joseph Michael says that he and mainman Jon Leon have now learned how to fight like brothers instead of losing control.

The band has endured a series of lineup changes as several members have struggled to establish a working relationship with Leon. But Michael says: "At first me and Jon butted heads because we're both control freaks and we're both a little nuts.

"We'd get into an argument, and I'd wake up in the morning with a picture of his balls in my phone, and sh*t like that. It's been a f**king ride – but eventually we figured out that if we're going to argue, we might as well do it like brothers, get on with it and keep making music." more on this story





Tony Mills Leaving TNT
(Classic Rock) Norwegian veteran rockers TNT are to lose singer Tony Mills after a seven-year stint including three studio album appearances. And it's raised the possibility of a return for Tony Harnell, who fronted them for 22 years before bowing out in 2006.

Mills doesn't think his decision will come as a surprise, following the death of keyboardist Dag Stokke in 2011 and Victor Borge's decision to move on last year.

He says in a statement: "After the passing of our beloved Dag and the parting with Victor, my departing may not be altogether unexpected.

"There are other contracts I need to fulfil and a different focus I need to maintain in the coming years. I wish Ronni Le Tekro and his team all the best for their future, however it may shape itself." more on this story





Black Sabbath's Bill Ward Unveils Drum Art Project
(hennemusic) Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has unveiled his groundbreaking collection of fine art created from rhythm, "Absence Of Corners".

Ward is creating artwork utilizing sticks that light in a variety of ways. His rhythms are captured for canvas bringing forward a new dimension to what was formally just sound.

"When I'm playing, it's almost like opening Pandora's Box," explains Ward. "All of the pictures came from me literally playing drums. I feel that I was actually going through a lot of emotions and it feels like my emotions are just splattered all over these pictures." more on this story





Eddie Van Halen To Be Featured In New Elvis book
(hennemusic) Eddie Van Halen will be among the rockers featured in a new Elvis Presley-themed book called "Shades Of Elvis". Van Halen did his photo shoot this week.

As previously reported, the book project is a tribute to Elvis featuring 70 different talents wearing/posing with a pair of his personally owned and worn sunglasses.

Produced by Priscilla Presley and photographer Christopher Ameruoso, "Shades Of Elvis" will include people like Tom Jones, Tim Burton, Snoop Dogg, Alice Cooper, Tony Hawk, John Stamos, Lita Ford, Steven Tyler, Peter Fonda, Buzz Adlrin, Pamela Anderson, Celine Dion, Gene Simmons, Charlie Sheen, Willie Nelson, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Depp, Billy Gibbons, Def Leppard, Mike Tyson, and many, many more. more on this story




Rob Zombie Adds New Tour Date
(hennemusic) Rob Zombie has added a second date to his visit to South America next month in support of his new album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor".

Following Zombie's appearance at the Rock In Rio music festival on September 19, he'll play Punta Carrasco in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 22.

Zombie just completed a summer trip across North America headlining the 2013 Mayhem Festival. The rocker filmed his sets in Houston (Aug 3) and Dallas (Aug 4) for an upcoming live DVD release. more on this story





Paul Weller Guitarist Steve Cradock Going Psychedelic On Solo Album
(Classic Rock) Steve Cradock may be better known as a proponent of the Britpop movement, having been a member of Ocean Colour Scene and guitarist for Paul Weller, but that's set to change.

He's poised to release his third solo album Travel Wild – Travel Free on September 30, in which he embraces the vibe and style of the late 60s psychedelic movement.

Cradock's label Proper Records say: "From the get-go, dreamy opener 'Any Way The Wind Blows' immerses us in an exploration of sounds. Steve's skilled songwriting and expert multi instrumentalism are evident on tracks such as 'Sheer Inertia' and 'Travel Wild – Travel Free.'"

Listen to the lead track "Sheer Inertia" here.





Thirty Seconds To Mars Release Controversial Tattoo Video
(Radio.com) Last month, Thirty Seconds To Mars asked fans to get tattoos of their lyrics for a chance to be in their new music video, "Do Or Die." The band put out a casting call for fans to tattoo words from the track on their body. While some called the band irresponsible for the request, the Echelon still fulfilled the request.

So where, exactly, are all these tattoos? The seven-minute clip, directed as usual by Jared Leto's "Bartholomew Cubbins" pseudonym, is mostly a performance video. Fans from all over the world are showcased in discussing how much 30STM means to them, but except for a few seconds in the middle and end, their tattoos aren't prominent.

Some stories are more emotional than others. The clip opens with one fan talking of how much "Do or Die" means to him, especially after his father died of a heart attack.

"Every time when I listen to this song I think about my dad and that's why I decided to play it at his funeral," he says.

At the video's start, the band warns viewers that the video "may cause viewers with photo sensitive epilepsy and other similar types of conditions to potentially experience seizures. Viewer discretion is advised."

Watch Radio.com's comprehensive history of Thirty Seconds To Mars' videography here.





Portnoy Sheehan MacAlpline Sherinian Release Apocalypse Video
(Prog) Portnoy Sheehan MacAlpline Sherinian have released a clip from their upcoming Live In Tokyo release. Fans can now view their performance of Apocalypse 1470BC online.

The DVD appears on September 2 and it's the first recorded output by the collective that features Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Tony MacAlpine and Derek Sherinian. The 95-minute show features music from across the members' careers.

Meanwhile, PSMS have been confirmed to appear at next year's Progressive Nation cruising festival. They'll line up alongside Transatlantic – another of Portnoy's projects – plus Jon Anderson, King's X, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside, Tony Harnell & Bumblefoot, Bigelf, Beardfish, The Dear Hunter, Jolly and Next To None. Watch the video here.




Deap Vally Release 'Bad For My Body' Video
(Classic Rock) Deap Vally have released a video for their track "Bad For My Body." It's taken from Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards' debut album, "Sistrionix," which was launched in June.

Described as "a scuzzy White Stripes-meets-Led-Zeppelin dock'n'roll duo," they've been gaining acclaim for live appearances with Muse and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus their festival sets at Glastonbury and T In The Park.

You can catch them live at Reading on August 23 and Leeds the following day, before they tour the US with Queens Of The Stone Age in October. Watch the video here.




The Answer Release 'Spectacular' Video
(TeamRock Radio) NSFW warning: The Answer have released a new music video online for their track "Spectacular," which is taken from upcoming new studio album "New Horizon."

The Irish outfit say the promo was banned just 15 minutes after having been uploaded to YouTube – and that's why it's available via Muzu instead.

The Answer will tour the UK with Tracer and Cage The Gods in October. You can grab the upcoming tour dates and watch the brand new video here.





Bon Jovi's New Jersey 25th Anniversary Celebrated In The Studio
Syndicated radio and online show In The Studio are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bon Jovi's 1988 album "New Jersey" in their latest episode. The show sent over these details:

By Summer 1988, Bon Jovi had been on a two year global assault resulting in the breakout success of their 9 million selling Slippery When Wet album. Bon Jovi's tireless touring, good hooks and good looks had paid off in the rock'n'roll lottery, but ultimately a follow-up was due.

Expectations were high both outside and inside the band, but ambitions were equal to the task, and New Jersey, the band's fourth album, was born producing an unprecedented five Top 10 singles including; "Lay Your Hands On Me", "Born To Be My Baby", "Blood on Blood", plus the # 1s "I'll Be There For You" and "Bad Medicine".

Jon reveals to InTheStudio host Redbeard that even though Bon Jovi was riding high, he found that period of his career to be a difficult experience.

"What I didn't get out of that experience was the pure pleasure of it. And a lot of that had to do with a lot of good people trying to get me to do a job, but not having the foresight to see that these kids were going to get exhausted and burned out, and not enjoy it." Stream the episode here.




KingBathmat Release 'Kubrick Moon' Video
(Prog) KingBathmat have released a video for their 12-minute epic "Kubrick Moon." It's the closing track from recent album "Overcoming The Monster, "which has received positive reviews since its release on July 22.

John Bassett's outfit say of the record: "Overcoming The Monster deals with the themes of psychological obstacles – monsters of the mind – that are manufactured in our thoughts, internally through our insecurities, externally by the outside influence of others and collectively through the mass media which uses fear as a tool to manipulate our perceptions."

They previously explained: "KingBathmat do not align themselves with convention; they have ditched the giblet hustlers and they endeavour to buck the trend and to not take themselves too seriously. For they do not look for, or court approval. KingBathmat are not beholding to a multi-national corporation, a debt, or a self proposed obligation. They do what they want."

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Velvet Revolver Is Not Over
(hennemusic) Duff McKagan shared a Velvet Revolver update with Billboard this week while doing press for his new project, Walking Papers. And it appears that Velvet Revolver isn't over.
"We talk about it every now and again," says Duff. "Slash and Matt (Sorum) and Dave (Kushner) and I played in South Africa at the beginning of June...and of course we talked about it.

"We've tried out a bunch of singers, but I think we're just waiting for the right person to come along. It'll just happen. But the chemistry of Matt and Slash and Dave and I is really good, so you don't want to let that just go away."

In late 2010/early 2011, the lineup recorded demos with Slipknot/Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor, but reports indicated that Slash was unable to commit to adding him to the lineup, and the project was put back on hold as the guitarist continued his endless touring in support of his debut solo album.

Duff also shared his thoughts about the recent drama between Stone Temple Pilots and Scott Weiland. Read about that here.




JJ Cale Dead at 74
(Classic Rock) Acclaimed singer-songwriter JJ Cale, who penned two of Eric Clapton's biggest hits, has died at the age of 74 after suffering a heart attack, his official website has confirmed.

The singer-songwriter released 14 solo albums starting with 1972′s Naturally. His most recent outing was 2009′s Roll On. He was a pioneer of the Tulsa sound – an amalgamation of blues, country and jazz known for its laid-back feel.

Eric Clapton was a fan, recording a cover of Cale's 1976 track "Cocaine" after having previously released a take of "After Midnight." Cale's songs were also covered by acts as diverse as Captain Beefheart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carlos Santana, Kansas and Tom Petty.

A statement on his official website says: "JJ Cale passed away at 8.00pm on Friday July 26 at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA. The legendary singer / songwriter had suffered a heart attack. There are no immediate plans for services."

More including a video of Cale performing "Cocaine" here.




Newsted Streaming Entire New Album Online
Former Metallica bass player Jason Newsted's new band Newsted have posted a stream of their entire forthcoming album, "Heavy Metal Music," online.

"Heavy Metal Music" is the follow up to Newsted's debut "Metal EP" and the band have posted a HD stream of the album on YouTube ahead of its August 6, 2013 release. Stream it here.

Apart from Jason Newsted, the new band also features drummer Jesus Mendez Jr., guitarist Jessie Farnsworth, and Staind guitarist Mike Mushok.

The band have been spending the summer on this year's Gigantour before being forced to sit out several dates after Jason came down with walking pneumonia.

Here is what he had to say about it, "I'd been feeling a bit under the weather while performing the most recent Gigantour shows so I went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia! So under doctor's orders, I'm taking a week to rebuild...my apologies to our Canadian brothers and sisters in regions where we will not be appearing this week. I'm gonna work on keeping me alive so together we can keep the metal alive!"





Journey's Neal Schon Extends Olive Branch To Steve Perry
(hennemusic) Journey guitarist Neal Schon has extended an olive branch by reaching out to connect with the band's former frontman Steve Perry, who left the group in 1998.

"Great Steve Perry interview," posted Schon on Facebook, referencing a link to a 2012 interview with the singer. "I hope we can can reach out to each other and connect once again. We had amazing chemistry together. I love him with all the love and admiration you could even have. Steve let's talk soon."

Journey had their most successful commercial period with Perry, who joined the group in 1977; a string of multi-platinum albums followed, and the band eventually went on hiatus between 1987 and 1996.

Last month, Perry revealed that he recently underwent treatment for skin cancer. Read about that here.





Iron Maiden Beat Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber
(hennemusic) Iron Maiden have topped music industry magazine Billboard's Hot Tours list, ahead of Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. The metal legends reached the top spot with $19 million (US$) in box office revenue reported from its Maiden England summer European tour.

Ticket sales from 13 venues in seven countries were reported this week beginning with a sold out performance on May 29 at Lisbon's Pavilhão Atlântico.

Altogether from 14 concerts, attendance totaled 259,298. Included in that count is a sellout crowd of 55,531 at a football stadium, Friends Arena, in the Stockholm suburb of Solna, Sweden. More including video





Slash Promises New Album Early Next Year
(Gibson) Slash and the Conspirators are currently touring the U.S and the Les Paul-playing legend has told the Salt Lake Tribune that a new album is on its way.

"We're working up the next [album] as we speak," says Slash. "Myles has a new album coming out and then a tour, so it'll be after that. But I'm working on material, I'll send it to him, and he'll come in and record. It'll be out early next year."

Slash also talked about play South Africa with Kings Of Chaos [alongside Duff McKagan, Joe Elliott, Glenn Hughes, Matt Sorum and many others], saying, "That was an experience — all the one-offs I was doing. And to travel to a country as exotic as South Africa was amazing." There is also a new signature Slash Les Paul.







Paul Di'Anno Cancels North American Tour
Paul Di'Anno, the frontman for metal legends Iron Maiden on their first two studio albums, has announced that he has been forced to cancel his upcoming North American tour.

Di'Anno posted a message online to fans to explain that he had to pull out of the tour due to an issue with the tour's promoter. He wrote, "Due to a snake (supposed USA booking agent) ripping everyone off in every way possible known to man (and a few ways not heard of yet) the USA tour will not be going ahead.

"After waiting and waiting and waiting and lies and lies and more lies (and then just a few more lies and bullsh**) just like happened to many others before me - I have had to admit defeat to this lowlife and forget about the USA tour for now.

"As you can imagine, money changed hands over there in the USA (not my hands I might add) and keeping me suppressed was the best thing to do whilst it was all stashed away.

"My apologies to the American fans who have been let down and to the various promoters who got so badly burnt in this way. This slime bag snake knows who he is (and so does half of the metal and rock business) so lets hope his fall is a steep one…"





Lou Gramm Announces North American Tour Dates
Lou Gramm, the original lead singer of Foreigner, has announced a string of late summer live appearances as well as one show that will be taking place this fall.

The North American dates will kick off on August 9th at Navan Fair 2013 in Navan, Canada and the final announced date will be taking place on October 11th in Port Washington, NY.

Most of the tour dates will be taking place in late August, with a September 2nd show in Memphis. The tour will visit Massapequa, NY, Upper Sackville, Monroe MI, Hanover MD and Clarksburg, WV.

Gramm has spent most of the year promoting his autobiography, 'Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock 'n' Roll,' and recently reunited with Foreigner's Mick Jones when the two were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. more on this story





Deviants Singer Mick Farren Dies After Collapsing On Stage
(Classic Rock) Author, journalist and Deviants singer Mick Farren has passed away at the age of 69. He's reported to have collapsed on stage while performing at London's Borderline venue on Saturday night.

He co-founded the band in 1967 and they released three albums over the following two years. Later he was one of the activists who tore down the fences at the Isle Of Wight festival, and he wrote lyrics for Hawkind and Motorhead.

Farren recently told The Quietus: "I'd already got a grounding in Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent and Miles Davis, and the rougher end of the Beat Generation, and I'd seen Marlon Brando in The Wild One, and that was my heritage and baggage that I took to the psychedelic party. And it really wasn't welcomed too much by Krishna's Children. And yeah, there were some clashes. At the same time though, I was required." more on this story





Nine Inch Nails Debut New Songs At First Show Since 2009
(Radio.com) Nine Inch Nails took the stage at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival on Friday to play their first show since 2009, treating fans to new songs off their upcoming album, Hesitation Marks, due out September 3.

Trent Reznor and the band played the record's first single, "Came Back Haunted" and premiered two other new tracks including songs "Copy Of A" and "Find My Way," which you can watch here.

They also played hits like "Hurt," "Closer," "The Hand That Feeds," "Head Like A Hole" and "Sanctified," off their 1987 debut, Pretty Hate Machine. It's the first time the band's played that song live since 1996.

In an recent interview with the New York Times, Reznor talked about his approach for the band's upcoming festival dates, which include Chicago's Lollapalooza and San Francisco's Outside Lands, saying that he was inspired by Talking Heads' 1983 tour, famously documented in the concert film, Stop Making Sense. He explained that for these festival gigs, he will start out onstage alone before the band gradually appears around him. More including video and the setlist.





Def Leppard's Joe Elliot Pays Tribute To Mike Shipley
Acclaimed recording engineer Mike Shipley, who worked with Aerosmith, Van Halen, Scorpions, Ratt, Winger, and with Def Leppard on their albums spanning from 1981's "High 'n' Dry" to 1992's "Adrenalize," has died. The cause of death was not known at press time.

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott had the following to say about Shipley, "I'm devastated to hear of the passing of Mike Shipley. He was a fantastic engineer and a good guy.

"Nothing got past him if it wasn't up to scratch, hence Leppard's nick name for him, 'bat ears'. From the High & Dry album in 1981 to the last thing we did together, 1993's Two Steps Behind he was a joy to work with. RIP Shippers."





Kings Of Leon Announce Live Concert Steam
(TeamRock Radio) Kings Of Leon have announced that they will be streaming a live concert from London on August 9th. It's part of their support for upcoming album Mechanical Bull, due for release on September 24.

The American Express Unstaged online show is described as "a first-of-its-kind, live and digital concert series that redefines and captures the journey to the live event."

Guitarist Matthew Followill says of KOL's new work: "We kind of got to fall back in love with what we loved about it in the first place." more.





Ozzy Says Rubin Helped Black Sabbath Find Their Way
(Gibson) Black Sabbath recently enjoyed a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart with their new studio album, 13, and now, singer Ozzy Osbourne is opening up about the recording process behind the set.

Osbourne says producer Rick Rubin helped the band go back to their early days and, in the process, make an album that sounds more like Black Sabbath's debut than previous releases.

"He just said forget formula, just forget it," Osbourne said in a recent press conference (according to Blabbermouth). "I couldn't for the life of me understand what he was trying to say.

"I'd go to him, 'Rick, I don't really understand what you're trying to do. We are heavy metal, we're supposed to be the godfathers of heavy metal, so what are you saying?' And he said, 'Just go listen.'" more on this story







New Korn Album Has 'Old Korn Vibe With A Fresh 2013 Sound'
(TeamRock Radio) Korn have released more details of upcoming album The Paradigm Shift – their first with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch since 2003's Take A Look In The Mirror.

The 13-track record is set for release on September 30th in the UK and October 1st in North America, and Head says it's got "the old Korn vibe with a fresh 2013 sound."

He adds: "All this stuff came in the perfect time. I knew it was meant to be because it was so smooth – everything fell into place. When we started writing, everything started falling into place better." More including the tracklisting.





Avenged Sevenfold Discuss 'Hail To The King' In New Video Interview
(TeamRock Radio) Avenged Sevenfold have talked about upcoming album Hail To The King in an exclusive video interview. A7X are the cover stars of the current edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now.

They'll release their sixth full-length studio record on August 26. It's their first work to be entirely created without input from late drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan, who died in 2009.

In the magazine guitarist Synyster Gates discusses how his band compare to some of the biggest in the world, saying: "The amazing thing about the Metallicas and the Iron Maidens is that they're so timeless, they still resonate with the youth, and that's f**king incredible. Those bands are still holding on to the torch, they've not passed it on. But I definitely feel that we're heading their way." Check out the video interview here.





Killswitch Engage Announce Two UK Club Shows
(TeamRock Radio) Killswitch Engage have confirmed that they will be playing two UK club shows in August in order to make up for the cancellation of this year's Hevy Festival.

Instead of that planned appearance they'll play the Garage in London on August 4 – joined by Hatebreed – followed by a show at Rock City in Nottingham on August 6.

But drummer Justin Foley won't be there. KSE explain: "Justin recently had a bicycle accident and broke his collarbone. Luckily we were able to find a replacement drummer on short notice, so we will not be cancelling any dates." Find out who will be filling in and more.





Lennon and McCartney Top Songwriters Poll
(Classic Rock) Lennon and McCartney have topped a poll of the world's best-ever songwriters. MusicRadar ran the survey as part of their Songwriting Week, celebrating the "most crucial – and potentially the most lucrative – music-making discipline of them all."

And while the Beatles icons hitting the number one position might be regarded as a foregone conclusion, things get less predictable further down the list.

Bob Dylan is second, followed by Queen, Neil Young and Kurt Cobain. But Oasis' Noel Gallagher is at number eight and Radiohead are at nine, ahead of David Bowie (10), Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (12) and Joni Mitchell (15). Read more and see the full top 15 list.





Sebastian Bach Working On 'Balls-Out' Rock Album
(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach is in the studio working on a new album with producer Bob Marlette, and has posted an update on the project and says it is going to be "balls-out" rock album.

"Well, I am happy to say we have spent the last two days in studio and we know exactly what to do with this new record," writes Bach. "It is going to be balls-out, kick-ass rock 'n' roll with tons of vocal histrionics and harmonies especially. That is what I am hearing so far on this record."

"I am going to really concentrate on harmonies and pushing my voice to the maximum you have ever heard it pushed," he continued. "The riffs are crazy and cool and we have 13 or so songs so we are right on track and we know exactly what to do to kick your ass into 2014!" More including video





The Cult Kick Off Electric 13 Tour
(hennemusic) The Cult kicked of their Electric 13 tour last Thursday at the House Of Blues in San Diego, and video from the show has surfaced. The tour sees The Cult performing its 1987 album "Electric", in its entirety, and a second set featuring tracks from the band's career.

The tour coincides with the July 30 release of the 2-disc set, "Electric Peace." The collection pairs "Electric" with the group's abandoned "Peace" album, a project The Cult recorded as the follow-up to 1985's "Love." After recording the full album with producer Steve Brown, the group weren't happy with the final results, which seemed too polished.

The Cult then contacted producer Rick Rubin to remix the lead track, "Love Removal Machine," and Rubin agreed, but only on condition that the track was entirely re-recorded. Thrilled with the results of the Rubin sessions, the band abandoned the original "Peace" recordings and re-recorded the entire album in New York with him, resulting in "Electric."

Check out the videos from the show and the setlist here.





Arc & Stones Kick Off Tour With Kansas Tonight
Up and coming blues rock/alternative rockers Arc & Stones have announced a series of North American tour dates including some shows where they will be supporting Kansas.

The group kicked off their tour last night in Yonkers, NY with their first show with Kansas. They will be joining the veteran rock band at shows in Carmel In, Pocono PA, Shippensburg PA, Roanoke Rapids NC, Allentown PA, Collingswood NJ, and Chicago.

In between the dates with Kansas, Arc & Stones have announced their own shows including a stop at the famed Mercury Lounge in New York City on August 7th.

Arc & Stones are touring in support of their self-titled EP, which was released earlier this year. more on this story





Bruce Springsteen Won't Have To Pay Parking Tickets
(TeamRock Radio) Traffic bosses in Leeds have cancelled parking tickets that were issued to Bruce Springsteen's truck drivers last week when the Boss visited the city.

The Boss was preparing to play the city's brand-new Leeds Arena last week, when vehicles that carry his touring equipment were judged to be illegally parked outside by a traffic warden.

Council officials – who run the venue – have said the penalty charges won't have to be paid. "We accept this is a little embarrassing," a spokesman admits. "But, to be fair, the attendant was doing his job… if a little too efficiently." more on this story






Singled Out: The Candles' Believe You Now
Today The Candles frontman (and Norah Jones bassist) Josh Lattanzi tells us about the song "Believe You Now" from their brand new album "La Candelaria". Here is the story:

This song was one of the first I wrote for the batch that would eventually make up La Candelaria. Lyrically, it's pretty self explanatory. Not too many hidden messages. It's really an observation of several friends' simultaneous experiences with their significant others that didn't end up well. Most of us have experienced, at one point or another, being told they need to change certain aspects of their life or the other person ain't gonna stick around. I thought it was a universal enough theme to write about. The gist of the chorus lyrics is, "Hey, you're telling me to change or you're gonna leave. Whatever, you're bluffing. Then - the other person is gone. OK, I believe you now." Them's the breaks!

Harmonically, it's got a real mid 70's country rock sound. Post Flying Burrito Brothers with some more modern guitar elements thrown in. To me, Jason Roberts lead bits bring to mind Nels Cline of Wilco, especially in the first of the two back to back solos. Specifically, the rhythms he plays are a bit angular and not necessarily steeped in classic rock like the rest of the song. The second solo, which I play, is a most definite ode to Mike Campbell. I love everything about his playing. A heavy dose of Chuck Berry but with a bit more melody as opposed to straight blues. I don't know if it sounds like it, but that's what I was going for.

Structurally, this song ended up quite bit different than it started out. James Iha deserves some credit for this. I brought the song over to his place to get his opinion. At the time, it had a bridge with lyrics and the pre chorus was only four bars. His first idea was to have the pre chorus double up to eight bars. He thought it was hooky enough to bear repeating. Definitely a good call. That meant I had to write a few more lyrics. So I did. He also thought the bridge made things too convoluted and I agreed. Scrapped it. Also, the second guitar solo section (the one I play) has a new chord progression. It's not the typical "solo over the verse or chorus chords". So in a way it serves two functions: first as a bridge section, in that it introduces some new chord changes. Second, as a solo section. Definitely a good call on James' part to ditch the other bridge. Less is more. He knows this. He reminded me.

Hope you guys dig this tune. That's a bit of the back story.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!





Alice In Chains Release 'Voices' Lyric Video
(hennemusic) Alice In Chains have released a lyric video for "Voices", which is the latest single from the band's recent studio album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here".

The track follows the project's first two singles, "Hollow" and "Stone", whose companion videos have amassed over 3 million YouTube views combined.

The band's fifth studio album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones).

The record sold 62,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. Check out the video here.





Hey! Hello! Release 'Swimwear' Video
(Classic Rock) Hey! Hello! have released a video for their track "Swimwear." The band consists of Ginger Wildheart and New York vocalist Victoria Liedtke.

Ginger recently told antiMusic the band came about as a result of a "silly, semi-drunken conversations about making a noisy pop record where I play all the instruments."

He describes the track as a "two minute and fifteen seconds summer anthem." You can watch their new "Swimwear" video here.





Aerosmith Release 'Love In An Elevator' Video From New DVD
(hennemusic) Aerosmith have released their performance of "Love In An Elevator," the second live video the band have shared from their new "Rock For The Rising Sun" DVD.

The 1989 classic from the album "Pump" is just one of the tracks featured on the project, which shares the story of the band's tour of Japan following the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the region.

In the autumn of 2011, despite advice to the contrary, Aerosmith brought their "Back On The Road" tour to Japan, a country with which they'd always had a special relationship. Check out the video here.





Ancient VVisdom Release Video For Sabbath Inspired 'Never Live Again'
(Classic Rock) Ancient VVisdom, who were nominated in the Best New Band category at the 2012 Classic Rock Roll Of Honour, have unveiled a video for their Black Sabbath-influenced song "Never Live Again."

The track comes from the Texas-based occult rockers' second album "Deathlike," which was released via Prosthetic Records back in February on this year.

Ancient VVisdom vocalist Nathan Opposition explains: "In this video we wanted to portray horror and the fine art of self-awakening. The executioner stands as the final act of judgment upon your mortal existence. Because we're all dying to live, I challenge the listeners and viewers to go beyond the realms of their own consciousness to expand the mind into a new positive reality while they still have time. Inspired by Black Sabbath's Killing Yourself To Live, I wrote this song to invoke change. I believe this generation needs to learn a thing or two about their own existence." Check out the video here.





The Slam Release 'Tears In The Rain' Video
(Classic Rock) The Slam, founded by Canada-raised lead singer and guitarist Serge Simic, have released a new music video for their single, which is entitled "Tears In The Rain."

The Slam specialize in strong, riff-based rock that's heavily influenced by the music Simic used to listen to as a teenager. It's a recipe that includes healthy dollops of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Boston, Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.

Says Simic: "The Slam is all I have ever dreamed of. A sublimation of all the musical influences that determined my course of life. No-compromise, straight-on rock'n'roll!" Check out the video here.





Megadeth Share Behind The Scenes Footage
(hennemusic) Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has posted a video online featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the July 26 Gigantour stop at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

The festival, which launched earlier this month in New Hampshire, sees Megadeth headlining the event with tourmates Black Label Society, Device, Hellyeah, Newsted and Death Division – all personally picked by Dave Mustaine.

The guitarist founded the tour in 2005 and over the years has had established artists such as Volbeat, Motorhead, Anthrax, Fear Factory and Dream Theater, as well as giving (then) up-and-coming artists Lacuna Coil, Into Eternity and Sanctity their first break on a national festival tour.

Megadeth are on the road in support of their latest album, "Super Collider," which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart last month with opening week sales of 29,000 copies. Check out the video here.





Aeon Zen Tease New Music
(Prog) Aeon Zen have released a teaser clip featuring music from their fourth album. The new album will follow release number three, Enigma, came out in January.

In Prog's review of " Enigma" they said it was "loaded with fire, ambition and musicality… There is an overwhelming sense of cohesion – Enigma oozes so much charisma."

Mainman Rich Hinks says: "Here is some brand new Aeon Zen music. It's part of one of the many new tracks that we're working on. This is currently instrumental but the final version will feature vocals." Check out the preview here.





40th Anniversary Of ZZ Top's Breakthrough Album Tres Hombres
(Radio.com) Radio.com celebrate the 40th anniversary of ZZ Top's 1973 breakthrough album "Tres Hombres" for the latest installment in their Not Fade Away series.

In 2013, they still refer to themselves as "That Little Ol' Band From Texas." But after Tres Hombres, there was nothing "little" about ZZ Top. The group (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) had already released two albums by this point (ZZ Top's First Album and Rio Grande Mud), and while we now recognize some of the songs as classics–"Goin' Down To Mexico," "Just Got Back From Baby's" and "Just Got Paid," for instance–they weren't hits at the time. Tres Hombres, though, changed the game. Released 40 years ago this month, it contained "Waitin' For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago" and a pair of anthems that still can rock a party, decades later: "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers" and "La Grange." Suddenly, ZZ Top was no longer just a Texas band, it was a celebrated American institution.

Singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons tells Radio.com that Tres Hombres brought the trio to the so-called next level, although they only noticed gradual differences due to their hectic life on the road. "Let's just say it was a big door opener for us," he says. "The band entered the nonstop, continual touring mode before Tres Hombres hit, then we noticed the venues were getting bigger and the road map was getting longer, both nationwide to worldwide."

In an era when lots of bands were getting more "progressive," the members of ZZ stuck to their working class blooze-rock roots. Not every rock fan may have followed the lyrics of, say, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Yes. But in "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers"–when Gibbons sang "I'll be here around supper time" and bassist Hill answered "With my can of dinner and a bunch of fine!"–you can bet that plenty of fans from Texas to North Dakota to California knew what they were talking about and were singing (and partaking) right along with them.

"[That was] ZZ's continual sound of the endless party," Gibbons says of the dual lead vocals. "Lots of people, lots of fun, maybe some mayhem. Sin, sand, suds, and a second line dual singer's salvation to bring the message across."

Speaking of "sand" and "sin," another song on Tres Hombres turned its attention to the world's oldest profession. "La Grange" celebrated a particular Texas bordello known as "The Chicken Ranch," and it became the band's biggest hit yet–not to mention one of its most enduring.

Did the bandmembers, though, know "La Grange" would be a hit when they recorded it?

"Well, it's fair to say we liked the blues groove," says Gibbons. "And, of course, the subject matter. It was a pleasant surprise when it began making its splash. The popularity was noted in a somewhat delayed fashion since the band were on the road… nobody called up on our nonexistent cell phones or sent an email through the nonexistent Internet. It was, to say the least, a shockingly pleasant surprise."

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones Release Limited Edition Hyde Park Live Album
(hennemusic) The final shows of the Rolling Stones' 50 & Counting tour have been released as "Hyde Park Live" exclusively via iTunes for a limited time.
The album will be available for just four weeks – from July 22 to August 19 – following the band's two sold out concerts in London's Hyde Park on July 6th and 13th.

The shows marked the Stones first appearance in Hyde Park in 44 years - since the group's free concert on July 5, 1969; just two days after the death of founding member Brian Jones, that show marked the live debut of his replacement, Mick Taylor.

Both of the Stones' Hyde Park shows were reportedly filmed and a DVD is expected to be released in the near future, as well. Check out the set list and some videos from the show.



Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell Cancer Fight Update
(hennemusic) Last month, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell revealed that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and he is now sharing an update on his battle with cancer.

"I'm doing very well all things considered, you know?," Campbell tells Mark and John at the Talking Metal podcast. "I am taking it as it comes and the treatments are doing their job and they are not adversely affecting me too much.

"I had to get a radical new hairstyle and it's coming out fast still but other than that no real problems. The two or three days around the chemo treatments are a little rough but nothing I can't handle."

The treatments have left the guitarist with a new look. "Oh yeah, in a few weeks it's going to be no hair," he laughs. "I am leaving most of it on my pillow in the morning. It is coming out fast. Anyway, it's all good. I needed a grown-up haircut." more on this story





Slash To Stream Final Show Of His Tour
Slash has announced that he and his solo band Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will be streaming the final concert of their summer tour online.

Fans will be able to watch the final stop of the Apocalytpic Love summer tour stream live from Las Vegas via EvntLive starting at 9PM PT/Midnight EST this Thursday, July 25th here.

The Las Vegas show appears to be the final concert for Slash and his band's world tour in support of the album "Apocalyptic Love," which was produced by Eric Valentine.

Slash will then turn his attention to promoting his upcoming feature film release from his Slasher Films. Slash co-produced the film, "Nothing To Fear," which will begin a limited theatrical engagement on October 4th ahead of the DVD, Blu-Ray release on October 8th.




Paramore Launching North American Tour
(Radio.com) It must have been a very busy day for Paramore on Monday. The band had to squeeze in a North American tour announcement while making breakfast.

The Tennessee-based rockers will launch a 27-stop arena tour to support their self-titled album released earlier this year. Kicking off October 15 at Seattle's Key Arena and wrapping up November 27 in Duluth, Ga., the Self-Titled Tour will also include a detour for New Orleans' Voodoo Music & Arts Festival from November 1-3.

Paramore will be accompanied by Metric, supporting their fifth album Synthetica, and synth-poppers Hellogoodbye, who are promoting their recently released Did It Kill You live album.

To make their announcements, Paramore frequently opts for lo-fi videos shot in and around their homes. Monday's breakfast-themed announcement is no different. Watch here.





Sacha Baron Cohen Quits Freddie Mercury Biopic
(Classic Rock) The long-awaited movie based on the life of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has run into more problems. Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen, who'd been hired to play Mercury in the biopic, has quit the project after becoming unhappy with developments.

Deadline.com reports: "The reason is that the band wanted to make more of a PG movie about Queen, while Cohen was counting on a gritty tell-all centered round the gifted gay singer.

"Given the astonishing physical resemblance, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Freddie but Sacha." more on this story





Spinal Tap Eyeing A Return
(Gibson) Brace yourselves: the mighty Spinal Tap are ready for 'a reinsertion.' The news came at the end of an interview with filmmaker/actor Christopher Guest, who revealed that while Tap is asked to play shows on a regular basis - and last reunited in 2009 - "We're in the midst of talking about something for next year."

That would place the next reunion at the 30th anniversary of the film This Is Spinal Tap. Guest didn't give any clues as to what the reunion might entail, so it really could be anything - a single, an album, a new film, a tour… it's fun to speculate, but Guest seems to be playing his cards pretty close to his chest regarding what form this potential Tap activity might entail.

Guest also reflected on what has happened to the band since the release of the film: "…we've gone on tour, playing Wembley, the Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall… It's weird but great. The fiction became real."

If you can't get enough of the mighty Tap and you would like to see some of this real fiction, you owe it to yourself to check out The Return of Spinal Tap, a 1992 sequel of sorts to the original film which includes performance footage from the Royal Albert Hall as well as a look at the band's history, as well as 'where-are-they-now?' scenes. It hasn't quite attained the legendary stature of This Is Spinal Tap but it's well worth a look. more on this story







Paul McCartney Explains How Nirvana Reunion Jam Happened
(hennemusic) Paul McCartney is raving about the Nirvana reunion (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear) that joined him Friday night at his Out There tour stop in Seattle.

"They're powerful, you know," McCartney tells Rolling Stone. "It's a great power to have them on stage with you. I mean, my band's great – but when you augment it with Nirvana, that's greater."

Nirvana's Grohl, Novoselic and Smear teamed up with McCartney at Safeco Field to perform an encore set of songs that included their original collaboration, "Cut Me Some Slack" (from the Sound City soundtrack), along with Beatles gems "Get Back", "Long Tall Sally", "Helter Skelter" and show closer, the "Golden Slumbers" medley.

"We hatched that plan a couple of weeks ago," McCartney tells Rolling Stone. "Dave was going to come up to Seattle with his family, and I said to him, 'Do you think there's any chance the guys would fancy [a reunion]?' He said, 'Well, let me ask.' And they fancied it. So we thought, 'Let's go and flip 'em out.'" more on this story




Last In Line Will Mostly Avoid Dio's Third Album During Tour
(Classic Rock) Dio offshoot band Last In Line will play most of the band's first two albums but not much of third release Sacred Heart – because the material carries too many bad memories.

Guitarist Vivian Campbell, now with Def Leppard, last week told Classic Rock he aimed to reclaim his heritage by playing songs he co-wrote for the first time since being sacked by Ronnie James Dio in 1986. But he's not ready to extend that to the album he was touring at the time he was fired.

Talking Metal asked Campbell about of their setlist and he said, "Well, we haven't completely finalized it yet but it's basically going to pick itself. There are only nine songs on Holy Diver and I think there's only nine songs on the Last in Line album too.

"The thing about this band was that the Sacred Heart album was very difficult for us all. That's when things really started to go wrong with the band and no one wanted to be in the studio with Ronnie.

"We would literally just come in and do our parts and we wouldn't really hang where as with Holy Diver & Last in Line we were in the studio 24/7 and everyone was committed to making those records. So the Sacred Heart record, we don't look upon it as favorably. We probably won't play too much from that." more on this story




Alice Cooper Announces Fall Tour Dates
(hennemusic) Alice Cooper has announced a series of fall dates as part of his ongoing Raise The Dead tour. The October/November US shows start October 13 in Port Chester, NY and run to November 6 in Idaho Falls, ID.

Cooper recently revealed plans to record an album of covers for release next year, and says he's "three-quarters of the way through" the project.

The focus of the covers set is material from the late 60s/early 1970s, including songs originally released by The Beatles, The Doors and Jimi Hendrix.

Bob Ezrin, who produced several of Cooper's 70s best-sellers as well as 2011's "Welcome 2 My Nightmare," is working on the set. more on this story





Ace Frehley Recording New Album
(Gibson) Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is in the studio working on a new solo album, the follow-up to his 2009 solo album release, Anomaly, according to a musician working on the effort.

Ace is recording with members of his live band, drummer Matt Starr and bass player Chris Wyse. Starr posted a pic of himself and Ace in the studio on his blog with the caption: "Had a great week in the studio with Ace Frehley and Chris Wyse making some great new music Ace's new record. Stay tuned."

Wyse added "Had a blast these last few days playing with Ace Frehley and Matt Starr!!! Exciting new record coming from Ace!"

When pressed for further details on his official Facebook fan page, Starr said "No details yet. Just that we're working on it & it's gonna ROCK!"

Starr is a busy guy right now: in addition to stepping into the drummer spot in Ace's band last year when Scot Coogan departed to join Lita Ford, Starr plays with Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich's band Burning Rain and has toured the U.S. and U.K. with Love/Hate. As for Wyse, he's worked with Jerry Cantrell, The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne and Mick Jagger, and is vocalist and bassist of his own band, Owl. He was also one of the bassists who auditioned for Metallica in 2003. more on this story






Ian Anderson Working On What May Be New Jethro Tull Album
(Prog) Ian Anderson will release a new album next year – but he's not sure whether it will appear under the Jethro Tull name. He describes the work as "more aggressive" than his last outing, Thick As A Brick 2, and says it's likely to appear next spring.

He surprised fans by launching TAAB2 in his own name, even though the 1972 classic was billed as a Tull record, and last year reported he didn't know whether the band entity had a future.

Now he says: "A new album is in the works for recording in December-January. The release of this concept album – no, I am not going to tell you the title – is scheduled for Easter 2014.

"'Is this to be an Ian Anderson album or a Jethro Tull album?' I hear you ask. 'Not sure, really,' I reply, somewhat evasively…" More details.





Rush Offer Special Edition T-Shirt For Flood Relief
(hennemusic) Rush's July 24 show in Calgary was cancelled due to recent heavy flooding and damage in the Canadian city, so the band rescheduled the concert on the same day in nearby Red Deer that will benefit Alberta Flood Relief.

All proceeds from Rush's show at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer will go to Alberta Flood Relief, and now the band is also raising funds with the sale of specially-designed t-shirts for the event.

For the Clockwork Angels tour date, Rush will be donating their fee and paying for all their expenses; promoter Live Nation will also be donating their time and fees towards this cause, and the venue will be donating goods and services to the event, as well.

"After seeing the devastation from the recent floods, we felt compelled to do what we could," said bassist Geddy Lee. "While we had hoped to avoid cancelling the Calgary show, venue safety concerns have closed the venue. Our apologies to all of the fans that bought tickets to the Calgary show for any inconvenience. More including photos of the shirts and ordering info.





Anathema Releasing Concert Film and Live Album
(Prog) Anathema will release a live film and album entitled Universal on September 23rd in various configurations via Kscope, the band have confirmed.

It was recorded during their tour in support of ninth album Weather Systems, which drew critical acclaim with Prog Magazine declaring: "Anathema continue to make music that glows with meaning and a love for art's external power to touch the soul. Still special, increasingly extraordinary, the band and this album will be cherished."

Film-maker Lasse Hoile captured the band's one-off show in September 2012 with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra at the ancient Roman theatre of Phippopolis, Bulgaria. The various configurations details.




Midnight Oil Shoot Down Reunion Rumors
(Gibson) The former members of Aussie rockers Midnight Oil have shot down speculation that they were planning to reunite now that frontman Peter Garrett has announced his retirement from politics.

Garrett had been a minister in the current Australian government, most recently as Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth. Garrett resigned and moved to the backbench a few weeks ago after a leadership and announced he would not contest his seat at the next federal election.

This led to speculation that Garrett would return to his old gig. But the band's longtime manager Gary Morris has announced he's ending his current arrangement with the band as a sign that there are no stirrings of activity within the midnight oil camp.

"Midnight Oil's legacy is undeniable, we have achieved great things together, there is much to be proud of in the band's list of achievements, we are brothers in arms and I will always be there for them," Morris said. "However, in light of recent speculation as to whether the band will reconvene now that Peter is quitting the political arena, now is the time to make my own position clear as to my future involvement with Midnight Oil."

Drummer Rob Hirst added, "This news comes with mixed emotions: quiet reflection, warm affection and misty nostalgia for our shared history, alongside a real sense of achievement and well-deserved pride." And Peter Garrett said, "We truly did accomplish amazing and enduring things working together and we should treasure that, now and in the future." more on this story







Paul Stanley of KISS Throws First Pitch At Toronto Blue Jays Game
(hennemusic) KISS frontman Paul Stanley threw out the ceremonial first pitch Monday night in Toronto as the Blue Jays played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Rogers Centre.

Stanley and KISS are currently in the middle of an extensive Canadian summer tour in support of their latest album, "Monster." The month-long trek wraps up with two dates at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland in early August.

"Monster", the 20th studio album from KISS, sold 56,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart. Check out video of the pitch here.




Delta Blues Icon T-Model Ford Dies
(The Blues Delta blues icon 'T-Model' Ford has died after a series of health problems. His birth date is unknown, but he was thought to be around 90 years old.

Real name James Lewis Carter Ford, he began playing guitar in his late 50s when his fifth wife gave him an instrument as a parting gift ahead of their divorce.

He came to prominence with his first album, Pee-Wee Get My Gun, in 1997. He delivered another four albums via Fat Possum Records before moving to Mudpuppy for 2008's Jack Daniel Time, then to Alive Naturalsound for 2010's The Ladies Man and 2011's Taledragger.

Ford spent two years in jail for killing a man in self-defence and had scars on his ankles from serving in a chain gang. more on this story





Karnivool Streaming Their New Album Online
(Prog) Karnivool have streamed upcoming third album Asymmetry in full via GuitarWorld. It's the Australian outfit's first record since 2009′s Sound Awake.

Guitarist Drew Goddard explains: "We wanted this record to be a natural evolution; It needed to be more honest and raw, sound-wise and song-wise, exploring uncharted territory for the band while holding true to the things that make Karnivool Karnivool."

Frontman Ian Kenny sees it as a less direct progression. "Each time we walk into another record, we all want to explore new ground," he reports. "We want to open the door to our musical basement, switch the light off and tumble down the stairs into god knows what. Each time we switch the light on again we're a different band." Check out the album stream.





Devin Townsend Releases Retinal Circus Preview Video
(Prog) Devin Townsend has released a clip from his upcoming live DVD The Retinal Circus. The clip features the performance of Grace, featuring Anneke Van Giersbergen.

The show took place in London's Roundhouse in October last year, and sold out a year in advance. It included 25 songs plus sketch scenes, an art exhibition and performance art, and Townsend called it "the most definitive Devin show to date – a culmination of my entire career with a star lineup and full supporting cast."

Now, after nearly eight months of work, the recorded version is nearly ready to be launched in double-DVD, Blu-ray and double-CD formats, with a five-disc special edition and a "Diehard Deluxe" fan box set. The release date will be confirmed in due course.

Towsend comments: "It's been a huge amount of work for everyone, but we're almost there – and when watched in its entirety, it's really a heck of an experience. When the final products have been produced, we'll let you know. Fun – whew!" Check out the video here.





Anneke Van Giersbergen Releasing New Solo Album
(Prog) Anneke Van Giersbergen has signed to InsideOut for the release of her fifth solo album. The former vocalist with The Gathering – also known for her work with Ayreon and Devin Townsend – will release Drive on September 23, followed by an extensive European tour including a show at the Jazz Cafe, London, on October 19.

Van Giersbergen says: "I look forward to a long and prosperous collaboration with InsideOut. We share a genuine passion for music, and it's great to become label mates with my friend Devin, and many other talented musicians.

She's released a video clip covering her tour in support of previous record Everything Is Changing, plus the making of her latest record. Watch the video and grab her tour dates here.





Joe Satriani Performs National Anthem At U.S. Grand Prix
(hennemusic) Ahead of his upcoming North American tour in support of "Unstoppable Momentum," guitarist Joe Satriani performed the national anthem at the U.S. Grand Prix in Laguna Beach, California on Sunday.

The ninth consecutive year at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix also saw a concert featuring the original members of Bob Marley's The Wailers, as well as a wide assortment of activities over the 3-day weekend event.

Satriani launches his North American dates in San Diego on August 29. This spring, "Unstoppable Momentum" debuted at #42 on the Billboard 200 charts with first-week sales of around 11,000 copies, marking Satriani's highest US chart debut in over 20 years. Check out video of his anthem performance.





Springsteen & I Director Avoided 'God Like' Stories For The Film
(Radio.com) Springsteen & I, which opened last night (July 22), focuses on Bruce Springsteen fans and their devotion to the man, four decades into his career. It's a documentary about Bruce, in which his songs and fans do the talking, so Springsteen himself only appears in live concert footage. In fact, director Baillie Walsh didn't shoot a minute of footage or record any voiceovers. The entire movie is comprised almost entirely of fan testimonials, shot by the fans themselves and submitted for inclusion.

Walsh told Radio.com that after putting the call out to fans for self-shot testimonials in November of 2012, he quickly received about 300 hours of material. He actually watched every single submission.

"I felt very much a responsibility to do so," Walsh explained. "Enormous effort went into [filming those submissions] from thousands of people. I was worried that we were going to get 4,000 hours, that would have been a real problem. Three hundred hours was manageable. Every day we saw something new. Every day was exciting."

Directing the film was mostly an exercise in editing. Walsh spent six months in an edit, and had lots of decisions to make when putting together the final cut. While there's certainly a lot of love for Bruce in the documentary, there were some things that he steered away from.

"There were stories about how generous he is, stuff about 9/11, and he comes off a bit god-like, and I didn't feel comfortable with those stories," Walsh said.

"I think this film doesn't build Bruce to be a god. There's an undercurrent that he's a very decent man, and that does come across in the stories that are told. It's just very heartfelt stories of people talking about how Bruce and his music has affected their lives. One guy from Israel says, 'Bruce taught me how to be a man — a decent man.' That's who Bruce is.

"I really tried not to make it heavy-handed. I didn't come to the film as a Bruce Springsteen fan. I'm leaving it as a great admirer. I think his career is astonishing. I think the fact that he's still producing relevant music — the fact that [in 2012 he released] Wrecking Ball at the age of 60, that's an amazing achievement." Read more from the interview.





Ratt Singer Shares Backstage Photos With Van Halen
(hennemusic) Van Halen played their first US show of 2013 Saturday as they closed out the RockUSA Festival in Oshkosh, WI, and a few backstage photos have surfaced online.

Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy tweeted separate shots of himself with David Lee Roth (above) and Eddie Van Halen (below) at the final night of the 4-day event, which also saw performances from Godsmack, Anthrax, Buckcherry and many others.

"Great shows past wkend, except for the travel, we had a good time. Thanks for those who enjoyed. w/Dave backstage," wrote Pearcy.

"Ed VH backstage yesterday, the band kicked ass! The mighty EVH looked and sounded great," posted the Ratt singer. See the photos here.





Singled Out: Hey! Hello! (Ginger Wildheart)
Ginger Wildheart has a new collaborative band with Victoria Liedtke called Hey! Hello! and they are releasing their self-titled album today. To celebrate we asked Ginger to tell us about the first single, "Swimwear." Here is the story:

So, I'm walking around Asda, St Helens branch, when a familiar feeling hits me. "INCOMING..." And there it is, another song in my head, or at least the bare bones of one.

I think I'll call this one 'Enter The Dragon' being as I was born in 1964, a year of the Dragon, plus my eldest is also a Dragon (2000) and has just started his first band. What a wonderful year for us dragons this 'un has turned out to be.

It's also the title of the rather excellent Bruce Lee fight-flick that took the UK by storm when I was a kid, turning everyone my age into kicking, screaming mad ones, but I digress.

Anyway, "nice tune", I think to myself. "Think I'll keep hold of it unless Michael Monroe calls and wants me to write something on his new album". It would sound great with him singing it.

He never called.

Cut to Atherstone, UK where I'm mixing a couple of songs for my 555% album, and the chorus fully presents itself in blatant technicolour, 3D and Sensurround, insisting I change the title 'Enter The Dragon' to 'Swimwear'. Not being one to wrestle with my muse I allow the switch.

Suddenly a writing opportunity crops up with Courtney Love, for which I write 2 songs ('The Thrill Of It All' and 'Feral Days', both of which also appear on Hey! Hello!), and I keep 'Swimwear' stuffed firmly in my back pocket should the other two songs be gleefully accepted with open arms.

She never called.

Cut forward to a silly, semi-drunken conversation about making a noisy pop record where I play all the instruments. These kind of conversation are pretty dangerous for me as I react very positively to challenges.

For me songs typically breed, and it wasn't long before my recent, and so far unheard little compositions started to multiply.

First there were four, soon there were eight, and in no time I was demo-ing ten new sonic babies, bashing on an electronic d-drum kit in a small studio deep within the Midlands.

Armed with a ten song demo, with drums extracted and a click track installed, I went about learning how to play the drum tracks on an actual kit, starting with a kiddies scaled down set (belonging to my youngest, who incidentally named Hey! Hello!) and ultimately graduating to a full scale, shiny, big-boy drum kit.

I have to say that I had more fun recording these backing tracks than I can ever remember having in a studio, carving out not only sounds but personalities for the different players (being a multiple personality schizo certainly came up trumps on this occasion) and wrapping up the entire recording process in two weeks, before sending the tapes Stateside for Victoria to add her trans-Atlantic magic in time for a breath-takingly loud mixing session with Russ Russel.

And that, my friends, is the story of Hey! Hello! and 'Swimwear', in a nutshell.

And to think that if people wanted to hear my songs in the first place it would never have happened.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!




Voivod Release Target Earth Video
(Prog) Voivod have released a music video for their track "Target Earth." It's the title piece of their 13th studio album, which was released back in January.

The 3D graphics are based on artwork by drummer Michel 'Away' Langevin, after he met multimedia artist Nicola Piovesan at a Voivod show last year.

The band – who had to cancel a series of shows in February after vocalist Denis 'Snake' Belanger was diagnosed with digestive disease – recently revealed they have a batch of unreleased songs recorded with late guitarist Denis 'Piggy' D'Amour.

Belanger said: "There's a couple of things we could release one day, but it's a touchy thing at this point." Watch the video here.




Orphaned Land Release All Is One Video
(Prog) Orphaned Land have released a video for their track All Is One. It's the title piece from the Israeli outfit's recent fifth album, launched via Century Media in June.

Frontman Kobi Farhi says the record's name is deliberately misleading. He tells JPost.com: "What's ironic is that while the title is All Is One, the lyrics reflect the complete opposite.

"The front cover is some kind of utopian dream, showing the small movement we've succeeded in forging in Turkey and other places, but if you look at the big picture, nothing is really changing – there's no coexistence or peace and barely any talking going on.

"Our message is one of hope, showing how we succeed where politicians fail, but the lyrics on the album focus on the opposite – a tragic and bitter path." Watch it here.





Haken Premiere New Song Atlas Stone
(Prog) British prog rock band Haken have premiered a brand new track, Atlas Stone. It is taken from the band's forthcoming third album, The Mountain, the first to be released on the InsideOut label.

"Atlas Stone has a delicate mix of soft chiming passages, jazzy interludes and crunching riffs and encapsulates the spirit of the The Mountain perfectly" say the band.

"The song is exhilarating and uplifting but is tinged with a sense of urgency and desperation which reflects one's journey to the peak of the mountain. We can't wait to play it on our upcoming tour in September!" Check out the song here.





Tedeschi Trucks Band Premiere New Song Idle Wind
(The Blues Tedeschi Trucks Band have released new track "Idle Wind" via Elle magazine. It's taken from Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi's upcoming second album.

The album, Made Up Mind, is due out on August 19, described as a continuation of their trademark blend of "blues rock and dirt-stained back porch roots rock."

TTB have confirmed a headline show at London's Albert Hall on July 19 as part of this year's Bluesfest London, where they'll be supported by special guests Mavis Staples. Check out the song here.





Metallica Release Master of Puppets Video From Orion Fest
(hennemusic) Metallica have released live footage of their performance of their classic track "Master Of Puppets" at last month's Orion Music + More festival.

The title track from the band's classic 1986 album was featured in Metallica's headlining set, which closed out the festival at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI.

The group have also released video of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" , "…And Justice For All" , "Harvester Of Sorrow" , "I Disappear" , and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"