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Friday, November 28, 2014
Today's Day in Rock News!
Today's Day in Rock
Megadeth Frontman's Missing Mother-In-Law Found Dead
(hennemusic) Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine has confirmed that his missing mother-in-law, Sally Estabrook, has been found dead. The 75-year-old with Alzheimer's disease was last seen around 4 p.m. on October 4 at the Pinezanita RV Park and Campgrounds on Highway 79 in Julian, California - about 60 miles east of downtown San Diego.
"We would like to thank everyone for your support and help in finding our Mom," posted Mustaine. "It has been confirmed that she has been found deceased a short distance from the Campground and we know she is with the Lord. It doesn't appear there was any foul play, and she had walked from the campground to an area that wasn't easy to find, and a rough walk uphill to get too but appears to have gone home to be with the Lord shortly after her disappearance."
"Thanks again to all the volunteers who searched tirelessly in hopes of us finding her earlier, and alive," he added. "Somehow we missed her in the time we needed to find her, but we are so thankful for everyone who helped, and believed with us, and never gave up hope and looking." Read more here.
Kid Rock Mixing Aerosmith With Country On New Album
(Radio.com) Kid Rock will release his tenth studio album First Kiss on Feb. 24. Not much has been known about the release-that is, until now. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Kid Rock opened up about the album, which will blend "Aerosmith-style rockers" with his country influences.
Rolling Stone reports that the album will highlight his country side with a pedal steel track called "Drinking Beer with Dad," which Rock says is "one of the best songs I've ever written."
Meanwhile, two other songs featured on First Kiss, "Jesus and Bocephus" and "Johnny Cash" pays tribute to country greats Hank Williams Jr. and Johnny Cash. The latter, fittingly titled "Johnny Cash," is a love song that is dedicated to the love between Cash and June Carter Cash.
"Their whole relationship, it's pretty f-ing sweet," he told Rolling Stone. "[It's] coming to a wedding near you!" Read more here.
AC/DC's Phil Rudd Plays Air-Drums While In Court
(Radio.com) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd briefly appeared in a New Zealand court on Wednesday (November 26) to face charges of threatening to kill and possession of drugs. His court appearance had a bit of drama to it: according to the BBC, he showed up late for the hearing, resulting in the court briefly issuing an arrest warrant for the drummer.
The warrant was withdrawn when Rudd, 60, appeared minutes later. He entered no plea, and was remanded on bail until December 2. His charge of attempting to procure a murder (hiring a hit man) was dropped earlier this month.
The BBC also reported that Rudd put on a bit of a show for the courtroom, winking at the media and tapping out rhythms during the session. As he left, he jumped on his security guard's back and was carried to his sports car.
In a recent interview with Howard Stern, the radio host asked guitarist AC/DC Angus Young if Rudd is still in the band. "We've got to resolve that," he said, noting that it was difficult to get Rudd into the studio to work on the band's upcoming album, Rock or Bust, which is due out December 2. "He was shaky."
Read what frontman Brian Johnson had to say about Rudd's future with the band here.
Scott Stapp's Wife Cited Drugs And Suicide Attempt In Divorce
(Classic Rock) Creed singer Scott Stapp's wife has cited his heavy drugs use and attempted suicide in her divorce papers. Jaclyn Stapp wants to end their eight-year marriage after saying he'd become a "paranoid shell" by taking crystal meth, amphetamines and steroids.
She says he was held in a psychiatric ward after after trying to take his own life earlier this year. She alleges his latest drugs lapse is his seventh since their wedding, and included an episode in a hotel room where he "became hostile and physical and proceeded to demolish the room" in the presence of her and their teenage son.
Her paperwork includes a series of threatening text messages he's said to have sent after disappearing from their Florida home in October. She recently applied to have him forced into rehab - subject to a court hearing, he could be ordered to undergo treatment for up to five months.
Stapp earlier this week posted a self-shot video on Creed's Facebook page, claiming he'd been living in his truck, had his bank accounts frozen and needed a lawyer to help him fight "slanderous, libelous accusations."
David Bowie Previews Nothing Has Changed
(hennemusic) David Bowie has issued the first two episodes of a series of trailers for his newly-released collection, "Nothing Has Changed." The compilation presents material from the singer's 50-year career and includes new songs alongside unreleased tracks and greatest hits.
"Nothing Has Changed" was introduced by the lead single, "Sue (or In A Season Of Crime)", which will be released as a Record Store Day exclusive 10" single on November 28.
The set also features the previously unreleased track, "Let Me Sleep Beside You", from the "Toy" sessions; the download-only "Your Turn To Drive" makes its debut on CD alongside the 2001 re-recording of the 1971 outtake, "Shadow Man."
"Nothing Has Changed" is available as 2- and 3-disc packages, a 2-LP set, and as corresponding digital releases. Watch the videos here.
Ginger Wildheart Releases Duet With Courtney Love
(Classic Rock) Ginger Wildheart has released a video for Honour, a duet with Courtney Love. The single was first released through Ginger's membership scheme GASS in August, and was A-listed by TeamRock Radio earlier this week. Ginger has spent much of 2014 as a touring member of Love's band.
"She's great to work with, very funny, generous and spontaneous," Ginger told Last Year's Girl last month. "She was also kind enough to let me film the video at her recent sold out Sydney show. Wait until you hear it, she sounds like Celebrity Skin era Courtney. She nails it so good. As a fan you're going to love it."
GASS (Ginger Associated Secret Society) was launched earlier in the year, while GASS Lite, a free version of the service - offering unique tracks, videos, diary entries and other content - was announced yesterday. Watch the video here.
Pink Floyd Help Resurrect Vinyl
(Classic Rock) Pink Floyd have helped push vinyl sales through the million mark for 2014 - their highest level since 1996. Floyd's new album The Endless River became the fastest-selling vinyl release since 1997 earlier this month.
With overall sales of LPs hitting the million milestone in the UK for this year, the prog heroes are at the centre of a resurgence in the format that will see The Official Chart Company launch a new vinyl chart in the coming weeks.
Although The Endless River has sold a relatively small number of vinyl copies so far - around 6000 - the music industry is seeing the format as a real money maker again.
Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, tells the BBC: "In an era when we're all talking about digital music, the fact that these beautiful physical artefacts are still as popular as they are is fantastic." Read more here.
Tom Petty Looks Back At The Traveling Wilburys
(Classic Rock) Tom Petty recalls short-lived supergroup The Traveling Wilburys as "a wonderful time" in his life. The band - which featured Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan - recorded their debut album over two weeks in 1988.
It came about during a recording session for a B-side for Harrison's single This Is Love, on which the Beatle roped in his friends. Petty only became involved when Harrison turned up at his house to pick up a guitar.
Petty decided to tag along to the studio, and ended up taking part in the session and joining the group. But the song Handle With Care was deemed too good for a B-side and it later appeared on the Wilburys' debut album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.
Petty tells HazyRock: "That extra track turned into the Traveling Wilburys. It was a wonderful time. I think the one thing I remember is, there was never a negative moment doing that. We really enjoyed that. I think we made that record for us, really. We just enjoyed it.
"Those 10 tracks were all we did. There's not anything left over. And we did it pretty fast. We'd all sit on the floor in a circle, and write the songs. Then we'd go and cut the track. We'd have dinner, and work on the lyrics over dinner, and then go do the vocals - bang. I love all of those guys." More including a stream of the full feature here.
Jimmy Page Proud of Performing Led Zeppelin Classic At Olympics
(Classic Rock) Jimmy Page says his greatest moment outside of Led Zeppelin was performing Whole Lotta Love with pop star Leona Lewis at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
He admits his choice will "surprise everyone" but insists the moment, part of the event's closing ceremony, was important and made him proud. Page tells Uncut: "I'd be very sincere if I said doing the Olympics with Leona was phenomenal. She's really plucky - she's superb, and she sang Whole Lotta Love brilliantly.
"We managed to do the full length. It wasn't edited. It was so cool the way she approached it. For that audience, and the fact we didn't f*** it up, that was important. It was a Led Zeppelin number, but it took on another persona." Read more here.
KISS Appear At Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
(hennemusic) KISS were on hand to lip sync a performance of "Rock And Roll All Night" as part of the 88th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The band recently released an expanded, deluxe edition of their 1977 album, "Love Gun." The 2CD / digital edition includes the complete original album re-mastered on the first disc, while the second features previously unreleased demos of "Plaster Caster", "Then She Kissed Me", "Tomorrow And Tonight" and "Much Too Soon".
The group also just wrapped up their first Las Vegas residency, "KISS Rocks Vegas", at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. KISS performed 9 shows at The Joint between November 5 and 23.
Watch the parade appearance here.
Intervals and Singer Mike Semesky Part Ways
(Prog) Canadian prog-metal outfit Intervals have parted ways with frontman Mike Semesky, they've announced. He initially joined in 2013 as the band's bassist when the group were a purely instrumental touring outfit.
He took over vocal duties for their debut album A Voice Within which launched earlier this year. But the band say they've now reached a "fork in the road" and they've parted ways with the singer amicably.
The group's guitarist Aaron Marshall says: "It's with a heavy heart that we announce that we have decided to part ways with Mike Semesky. Writing and recording A Voice Within was a gratifying and enlightening experience and touring in support of that record with Mike has been nothing short of spectacular.
"That said, we have reached a fork in the road and have come to an amicable parting of ways. We wish Mike the best in future endeavours and beyond." Read more here.
Adrian Belew Releases 36-Years-In-The-Making Flux Project
(Prog) Adrian Belew has launched his Flux music creation environment after 36 years of planning and development. It's now available as an iOS mobile device app, and promises "a new and exciting way to experience music."
The former King Crimson and Frank Zappa collaborator explained via the project's Kickstarter page: "Technology has changed our lives so dramatically. Our ability to multitask is greater, but our attention spans are shorter.
"Modern music does not reflect these changes - most music has remained unaltered, still made in the same format used for over 60 years: the three to five minute song. Nothing wrong with that, but how about an alternative?
"Flux is an ever-changing variety of songs, downs and visual art that comes at you in quick, exciting pieces. You get exposed to a lot of content quickly and every listen is new. It will never happen the same way for you or anyone else." Read more here.
Thunder Reveal New Album Details
(Classic Rock) Thunder have released details of their upcoming new album Wonder Days. The band's 10th album - and first since 2008's Bang! - is released on February 16 via earMUSIC and follows this week's unveiling of the video for the record's title track.
Wonder Days was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, with guitarist Luke Morley doubling as producer. The record label describe the album as "a potent mix of blues, soul and rock 'n' roll that is as contemporary as it is steeped in the finest music of the last few decades."
Wonder Days was recorded without Thunder's rhythm guitarist Ben Matthews, who was receiving treatment for throat cancer. He has since been given the all-clear. Read more here.
Entombed Reveal Reissue Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Three of Entombed's albums from their back catalogue are to be remastered and reissued. 1997's DCLXVI - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth, 1998's Same Difference and 2000's Uprising will launch in early 2015.
The special editions were made possible thanks to a PledgeMusic campaign started by Threeman Recordings which raised 152% of its target. They've now struck a deal with SPV to distribute the albums across the US and Europe.
Each recording will be fully remastered and feature bonus material including previously unreleased tracks. All three will be released on heavyweight 180g double vinyl and double CD. Each will come with a 24-page booklet containing fresh liner notes and rare photographs.
Dave Thorne of Threeman Recordings says: "It's great to finally find a home for the Entombed back catalogue, and I know that with their many years of experience, SPV is the perfect partner to handle these historic albums and really do them justice." Read more here.
Crisis Fueled Lacuna Coil's Nothing Stands In Our Way
(TeamRock Radio) Lacuna Coil frontman Andrea Ferro says they were inspired to pen the track Nothing Stands In Our Way by the global financial crisis. It appears on their latest album Broken Crown Halo which launched earlier this year - and Ferro says although it was written during a negative time, they gave the song a positive spin as they wanted to give people hope.
He tells Capital Chaos TV: "The inspiration for the song came from the negative situation that surrounded us while we were writing the album - news that the economy was collapsing, and people were losing their jobs and committing suicide because of that.
"All the negativity pushed us to focus on our dreams. Even if your dreams seem very far away, you need to be focused on them even in very negative times. Even if you have the worst thing happen to you, you still need to find that special energy to go on. That's the message of that song."
He also says people have to strike a better balance between their daily lives and using social media - a theme that runs throughout their seventh album. He continues: "We feel there must be a better balance between how much we are slaves to these things and how much we could live our real lives.
Rob Reed Releases Willow's Song Video
(Prog) Rob Reed has released a video for his version of Willow's Song from the soundtrack of cult horror movie The Wicker Man. It's taken from the Magenta mastermind's solo EP, also called Willow's Song, which is launched on December 1. It features vocals by Angharad Brinn, who also appeared on Reed's Kompendium album Beneath The Waves.
The piece was originally to be part of Reed's Tubular Bells tribute Sanctuary. Reed tells Prog: "The plan was to have two long tracks and a short song at the end. But when I finished the album the short song just didn't fit. I was worried that the album would be a little short without it, but I confided in producer Tom Newman and he told me not to worry - to think of it musically and in no other way."
He says of the video: "We rented a haunted house in Wales and dressed up my children in pagan masks. It really was a disturbing experience. But it looked amazing."
Ian Anderson, Pineapple Thief and Messenger Added To Ramblin' Man
(Prog) Ian Anderson, Pendragon, Riverside, The Pineapple Thief and Messenger have been added to the bill for the first Ramblin' Man Fair. They'll join Prog Stage headline acts Camel and Marillion at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent on the weekend of July 25-26 next year.
Anderson has confirmed he'll deliver a set of Jethro Tull classics at the two-day event, created in association with Prog and TeamRock. He says: "Oh what fun it is to ride like a Ramblin' Man to the far corners of Darkest Kent, to play once again with the support and organisation of TeamRock, Prog and those other fine publications to delight the discerning music fan. See you there - don't forget to pack the brolly and the gum boots."
TPT mainman Bruce Soord adds: "The band can't wait to get on stage for this wonderful festival and join such a fantastic lineup. Sharing the same stage as Camel is something particularly special. Live music - rock and progressive - is very much alive and well thanks to Ramblin' Man! Looking forward to rocking our brand new set for you all."
The Pop Group Release First New Song in 35 Years
(TeamRock Radio) The Pop Group have revealed details of their comeback album - to be issued 35 years after their last record. The English post-punk outfit will release Citizen Zombie on February 25 via Freaks R Us. They've made the title track available to stream.
Singer Mark Stewart, bass player Dan Catsis, drummer Bruce Smith and guitarist Gareth Sagar reunited in 2010 after their 1981 split, but until now haven't recorded any new music since 1980's For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?
They have recruited producer Paul Epworth to work on the record, which is the subject of a Pledgemusic crowdfunding campaign. Epworth, who's worked with Adele, Coldplay and Florence And The Machine, says: "The energy is still there, the ideas are still there, it still fizzes with a life that most young bands just don't have."
A Day To Remember's McKinnon Producing Neck Deep Album
(TeamRock Radio) A Day To Remember frontman Jeremy McKinnon has been confirmed as the producer of Neck Deep's upcoming second album. The British pop punk outfit will start work on the follow-up to this year's debut Wishful Thinking at the weekend, where McKinnon will be joined by former ADTR guitarist Tom Denney behind the desk.
Neck Deep singer Ben Barlow says: "When we started looking into recording album two, we knew we wanted it to be bigger and better than Wishful Thinking.
"We wanted to step things up in a big way. We'll be working with someone we've always looked up to. When we initially spoke to Jeremy about producing the album his enthusiasm was what caught us.
"Not only is he someone who knows what they're doing, and has achieved everything we could hope for, but he's just as stoked on the album as we are, and that's a huge thing."
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Tim Abrigg Jr. Rants/Raves:: Today's Day in Rock News!
Tim Abrigg Jr. Rants/Raves:: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Megadeth Loses Two Members (Classic Rock) Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover have quit Megadeth, they'v...
Today's Day in Rock News!
Today's Day in Rock
Megadeth Loses Two Members
(Classic Rock) Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover have quit Megadeth, they've announced separately. Guitarist Broderick says he's left due to "artistic and musical differences" after seven years in Dave Mustaine's outfit, while drummer Drover reports he wants to pursue other musical interests after a decade-long stint.
The split leave Mustaine and co-founding bassist David Ellefson as the only current members of the thrash giants - despite plans to start recording their 15th album in January.
Broderick's statement reads: "It is with great reluctance that I announce my departure from Megadeth to pursue my own musical direction. I want all of you to know how much I appreciate the amount that you, the fans, have accepted and respected me.
"I wish Dave and everyone in Megadeth all the best. I am working on a few things of my own, and hope that when they come out, you'll all dig it." Read more here.
New Court Drama For AC/DC's Phil Rudd
(Classic Rock) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd faced a new arrest warrant after arriving at court late to answer a charge of threatening to kill today. He'd been accused of attempting to procure a murder earlier this month, although that charge was dropped by New Zealand authorities the following day. He could spend up to seven years in jail if found guilty of the charges that remain, including possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.
Rudd, 60, had been ordered to appear at Tauranga High Court at 9am, but failed to arrive in time. Justice Timothy Brewer was in the process of issuing an arrest warrant when the drummer entered the room. The warrant was then dropped.
He entered no plea via attorney Paul Mabey and Justice Brewer ordered the case to be sent down to a lower court, since the most serious charge had been dropped. Read more here.
Guns N' Roses Members Says Band Has Fantastic New Songs
(Classic Rock) Guns N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed says the band have a great mix of new and previously recorded tracks to hand. He previously stated they had a "sh*tload" of songs written, while frontman Axl Rose revealed they had what he called the second half of Chinese Democracy. It launched in 2008 and Reed says the leftover material from the sessions is so good he's desperate for people to hear it.
He tells BackstageAxxess: "There's a lot of music that's been recorded, a lot of stuff that's done and a lot of stuff that's almost done. The main thing is, when it's ready to come out, it'll come out.
"There's a lot of material. You can call it leftovers, but since no one's heard it, technically it's new material. But there's stuff that's been recorded and conceived since then as well. But it's fantastic music, and I really hope it gets out because people need to hear it. It's great stuff." Read more here.
Metallica To Headline Iconic Festivals
(hennemusic) Metallica have confirmed headlining slots at two UK festivals as part of their summer 2015 European tour. The band will play the Reading Festival on August 29 and the companion Leeds Festival on August 30.
"It's been seven long years and we can't wait to hit the stage for one of the longest running, most historic rock festivals," said the group about playing the events.
The UK shows follow previously-announced slots at three European festivals, including Der Ring - Grüne Hölle Rock at Nürburg, Germany and Munich's Rockavaria Festival - both running May 29-31 - and Vienna, Austria's Rock In Vienna on June 4.
Metallica will launch the summer 2015 run at the inaugural Rock In Rio USA festival in Las Vegas next spring. Read more and check out the promo video for the festival appearances here.
Red Hot Chili Peppers To Begin Recording New Album
(Classic Rock) The Red Hot Chili Peppers aim to start recording their 11th album in January, says drummer Chad Smith. He reports that writing for the follow-up to 2011's I'm With You is nearing completion - and they're not planning to work up as many tracks as they did last time round.
Smith tells MusicRadar: "We're really close to getting in to start recording. I think we'll probably go up to December, do a little pre-production, then take a little Christmas break. I hope to recording after the first of the year.
"We probably have close to 30 songs. I think last time we overdid it a little; traditionally we've always recorded 25 or 40 songs. It won't be 50, like last time. " Read more here.
Kurt Cobain Documentary Coming
(hennemusic) "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck", a new documentary about the late Nirvana frontman, will premiere on HBO next year. The film will feature dozens of Nirvana songs and performances as well as previously unheard Cobain originals.
Directed by Brett Morgen ("Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane"), the project is the first film to be made with the cooperation of Cobain's family, with daughter Frances Bean Cobain serving as executive producer.
"Montage Of Heck" is billed as a raw and visceral journey through Cobain's life, providing no-holds-barred access to Cobain's archives, home to his never-before-seen home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, journals, demos, personal archives, family archives and songbooks.
Pearl Jam Release Live No Code Performance
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam have released a concert bootleg featuring the first-ever performance of the band's 1996 album, "No Code", in its entirety. Part of the group's fall US tour in support of their latest release, "Lightning Bolt", the October 17 show at the I Wireless Center in Moline, Illinois also featured the debut of a new song, "Moline", written just before showtime.
"It literally was written about 10 minutes….it was finished right before we walked out here," frontman Eddie Vedder told the crowd. "But now we've played all those songs and I've had just a little bit of wine -, just a litte bit - so just give me one second to learn it and I'll be right with you."
The concert also featured covers of songs by Pink Floyd ("Interstellar Overdrive"), John Lennon ("Imagine"), Van Halen ("Eruption") and Neil Young ("F***ing Up"). Read more and check out some videos from the show here.
Jimmy Page Announces Unusual Book Event
(Classic Rock) Jimmy Page will give fans a unique memento at a book 'signing' event in London. The Led Zeppelin guitar hero will meet fans at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstones on December 2.
But rather than sign copies of his book Jimmy Page, he will be hand pressing them with a 'Zoso' stamp which features a design unique to the event. Only 250 people will be given access and Page will not sign any other items or pose for photographs on the day.
Page says: "I always like to do something different - if you're inspired by an idea, really make something of that inspiration. To have a photographic autobiography is a totally different way of looking at things, but it does the job very well and I think it will bring a lot of pleasure to people." Read more here.
Wet Nuns' Alexis 'Leki' Gotts Takes His Own Life
(TeamRock Radio) Wet Nuns frontman Rob Graham has paid tribute to late drummer Alexis 'Leki' Gotts. Graham reports on the band's Facebook page that Gotts took his own life after a "long and terribly difficult battle."
Graham says: "It's with a deep sadness and a heavy heart that I try to find the words to express the deep sense of grief that I feel as I come to terms with the loss of my friend, band mate and brother Leki.
"It's only really the sense of duty to you all as fans of our band that I wrote this now as I think it will take a good while to really understand what has happened.
"Leki took his own life as an end to a long and terribly difficult battle." Read more here.
Amy Adams To Star In Janis Joplin Biopic
(Classic Rock) Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Amy Adams has reportedly signed on to portray rock icon Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic about the late singer.
The Hollywood Reporter claims in a new report that Adams has finally been confirmed for the role, after she was first linked with it in 2010 before withdrawing.
The film has been in the works for years, with various directors and stars taking an interest and dropping out. It's now set to begin filming in 2015, with director Jean-Marc Vallee at the helm. Read more here.
AC/DC Frontman Hoped For A Miracle For Malcolm
(Classic Rock) AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has recalled the pain of realizing that Malcolm Young wasn't going to recover from dementia. The Aussie giants' mainman was forced to retire before work began on 17th album Rock Or Bust. Brother Angus recently reported that, although Malcolm is credited as a co-writer, he hasn't heard the record.
Speaking at a promotional event for the Alzheimer's Association's Highway To Help initiative, Johnson tells NC9: "Malcolm was the man who started the band. He was our spiritual leader. He was our Spitfire.
"I guess we're like everyone else with loved ones who have this condition. It was that desire to fix something that's unfixable. You just expect that they're going to get better. You think there's going to be a pill that's going to fix them. You think there's going to be a miracle - and of course, one day you wake up and realise there isn't, and it hurts." Read more here.
Beatles' Abbey Road Photos Fetch Big Money At Auction
(Classic Rock) A collection of rare photographs that were taken during the photoshoot for the Beatles' iconic Abbey Road album cover have sold for £180,000 at auction.
The images were put up for sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. The set of six snaps include the pictures used on the front and back cover, along with four rare outtakes and were taken by Iain Macmillan, a friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, on August 8 1969.
Lennon selected image number five for the Abbey Road album sleeve. They were originally expected to fetch between £50,000 and £70,000. An overseas buyer made the winning bid over the phone. Read more here.
Sanctuary Announce European Tour
(Classic Rock) Sanctuary have announced a European tour for March next year. They'll kick off the live jaunt with a gig at London's Underworld on March 3 - their only UK show.
They'll then hook up with Overkill for a run of 13 dates across mainland Europe before playing two headlining slots in Greece at the end of the month.
Four of the band's original members, Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard, Lenny Rutledge and Dave Budbill got together in 2010 after splitting in 1992 for a run of live shows.
They then inked a deal with Century Media and brought in guitarist Brad Hull to replace original member Sean Blosi. Read more here.
Vision Of Disorder Reissuing Still EP
(TeamRock Radio) New York hardcore outfit Vision Of Disorder are to reissue their Still EP. The record was originally launched on 7-inch in 1995. And as it approaches its 20th anniversary, it will be released on limited-edition 12-inch vinyl and digital formats on December 9 via Dignified Bastard.
Along with the four tracks that appeared on the original disc, three extra recordings will be included on the new release - all taped during the Still sessions.
The 12-inch vinyl comes in six colours, while a box set including all six discs along with signed test pressings is also available to pre-order. Read more here.
Dave Ellefson's Johnny Wore Black Streaming New Album Online
(Classic Rock) Johnny Wore Black have issued a stream of their latest album ahead of its official release. Walking Underwater Pt. 2 launches on November 26 via Dead Cherry and the band are letting people listen to the album via Yahoo! Music
Along with Megadeth's Dave Ellefson, the album features mainman Jay, aka Johnny Wore Black, who says Ellefson's contribution brings a "unique flair" to the record.
He tells Yahoo! Music: "It's great to work with Dave because he's an extremely talented bass player with his own unique flair and style which adds a distinctive sound to the music."
And while the sound on the project is a departure from Megadeth, Ellefson reveals it works as both artists are open to new ideas. He reports: "I would send him back things that were clearly not thrash metal. It's cool because we live in this world of virtual recording studios, so we didn't have to be in the same place to work on the songs."
Tomas Lindberg Officially Leaves Lock Up
(TeamRock Radio) Grindcore supergroup Lock Up have confirmed At The Gates' frontman Tomas Lindberg has left the band on a permanent basis. The group, Anton Reisenegger (Pentagram, Criminal), Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Venomous Concept, Brujeria) and Nick Barker (Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir), have issued a statement stating he's departed because of his commitments with his main band.
They say: "Unfortunately, we have to announce the departure of our brother and long-time vocalist Tomas Lindberg. There is absolutely no bad blood or drama involved and we wish Tompa nothing but the best in all his future endeavours.
"At The Gates have just released a brand new, killer album and the subsequent touring schedule that will follow means Tompa simply won't have any free time to commit to Lock Up's imminent future plans of recording a new album or any live performances that will follow." Read more including who is signing for them now here.
Eddie Jobson Announces UK's Final Tour
(Prog) Eddie Jobson has confirmed the last six shows UK will ever play, including one in London on March 1. He'll bring the curtain down at a star-studded event in Tokyo, Japan, on April 1, following a short European tour.
The violinist and keyboardist believes it's time to "focus on a more creative future" after masterminding the band on and off from 1977 until 1980 then again from 2011. The band for his last tour will feature John Wetton, Alex Macchacek and Virgil Donati.
Details of the Tokyo show are yet to be revealed, although Jobson has promised "very special guests" will take part. Check out the announced tour details here.
Ensiferum Announce Tour With Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum
(TeamRock Radio) Ensiferum have announced a 2015 European tour with Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. The three Finnish bands hit the road in March - just weeks after Ensiferum release their sixth album One Man Army on February 23.
In a post on their Facebook page, Insomnium say: "We'll be moshing alongside Ensiferum and Omnium Gatherum in March and April 2015 around Europe. Finnish melodeath to the max."
Also on Facebook, Omnium Gatherum add: "We've already been busy touring Europe, Asia and North America after the release of Beyond but apart from that we've had some secret time to forge some new OG anthems in the woods too, so we're on a good path towards the next album sessions.
"For now it's seven songs ready and willing, nothing confirmed with the schedules and all yet, but just to say that the great days of the next chapter are coming nearer."
Check out the dates here.
Patrick Kistler Says He Was Fired By Eluveitie
(TeamRock Radio) Former Eluveitie piper Patrick Kistler says he was fired from the band after a democratic vote - but that he didn't want to go. He's denied drugs were involved in the breakdown of relations that led to his departure. And he's suggested that some band members have forgotten the values that created their six-album legacy.
The Swiss folk metal outfit last week announced the lineup change midway through a European tour in support of latest record Origins. Matteo Sisti of Krampus has taken his place on a temporary basis.
Kistler says in a statement: "Personal issues increased within the past 12 months in my life, as well as in the Eluveitie hood. I have been going through some personal difficulties that also affected the relationship to some band members, and my ability to fulfill expectations. No addiction problem and they are solved in the meantime.
"All this got more exaggerated with the album production and intensive touring. In the end the majority of the band decided to expel me from the hood by a democratic vote - we're still very Swiss." Read more here.
Palm Reader Reveal Album Release Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Palm Reader have confirmed details of their upcoming second album. The UK hardcore outfit will release Beside The Ones We Love next spring, they tell Rocksound. They released debut album Bad Weather in 2013.
Singer Josh McKeown says: "We couldn't be happier with the end result. It's been 18 months since we released Bad Weather where as songwriters and people, we've grown a huge amount.
"We can't wait to give everyone more details about the release and for everyone to begin the next journey for Palm Reader with us." They also will head out on a UK and Ireland tour with Protest The Hero this week. Check out the dates here.
Singled Out: Sunshine Riot's Dead Baby Cocaine Blues
Today from Sunshine Riot tells us about "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues" from their forthcoming sophomore album "Black Coffee Sigh," which will be released in January. Here is the story:
Mark, our lead guitarist, wrote this song about a year ago. Mark's a great guitarist (if we do say so ourselves) and a great dude. He's also straight up f***in' bonkers. So, when he walked into our rehearsal space one night and said he'd written a song called "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues", none of us were too surprised.
Strictly speaking, the song is about the practice of prescribing cocaine medicinally at the turn of the century, even for children and babies. The results of that practice were predictably not-so-great and often led to death (this phenomenon has recently gained attention on the Cinemax series, The Knick). The subject fascinated Mark enough to write a song about it.
Beyond the literal translation, though, I think what we're trying to get at is the notion of bad medicine as a metaphor for bad love or toxic relationships. To quote Simone Felice, formerly of the Felice Brothers, we all have a way to love badly. Sometimes in an effort to save someone or something, we break it. That's a tough pill to swallow. No pun intended.
As a band, we love playing this song live. We're big believers in the classic high point / low point set list structure - lots of high energy tunes punctuated with a few soft, low and slow ones. Dead Baby is definitely a high energy one. I think because the title is so absurd, we all feel a responsibility to play with a commensurate level of madness. We typically lose our sh*t when we play Dead Baby Cocaine Blues and we encourage the audience to do the same.
Honestly, we want to entertain people. That's our job, and we don't hesitate to be ridiculous...in fact, that's kind of our thing. So, "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues" fits pretty well into the Sunshine Riot song book.
Nickelback Poke More Fun At Themselves Than Net Haters
(TeamRock Radio) Nickelback say no amount of internet hate can match the harshness of the jokes they make about themselves. The Canadian rockers are regular targets of online haters, but insist it's nothing compared to their self-effacing tour bus banter.
Frontman Chad Kroeger tells Absolute Radio: "We are one of those bands that a lot of people think take themselves seriously. And no one - and I know this is hard to believe - can make as much fun of us as we make fun of ourselves.
"And we are harsh. If you think the internet's rough, you should sit in a van with us. We make up the best alternate lines to our own songs. And this is some top-shelf stuff."
Guitarist Ryan Peake adds: "I go home crying sometimes - and it's jokes I've made about myself." Read more and stream the video here.
Nikki Sixx Calls On Musicians To Stand Up For Themselves
(Classic Rock) Nikki Sixx has called on musicians to stand up for themselves in royalty battles if their managers and lawyers won't. The Motley Crue bassist has taken direct aim at a practice known as "digital breakage" which can be used to reduce the amount of money an artist receives from streaming services.
The concept of breakage arises from traditional media, where record labels covered the costs of manufacturing, distributing and marketing music, and also carried charges associated with the return of unsold and damaged items. Those costs were removed before calculating musicians' share of income.
Since there are no such costs associated with streaming, it's possible for labels to use the breakage concept to secure a clear stream of profit without having to share any with artists. The amount of breakage can be extended when labels argue that having their music available via a streaming service increases the value of that service - and once again, none of that income has to be handed on to musicians.
Sixx says: "A record label signs an artist to sell music at different destinations. They license music to streaming companies, and when they do, they get around 70% of the money. On downloads, just like on CDs, they pay a royalty to the artist. But on streaming they don't - they use a legal loophole called 'breakage.'
Soundgarden Release Storm Video
(hennemusic) Soundgarden are premiering a new music video for the song "Storm", a track from the band's new collection, "Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path."
The package is a 3-disc, 50-track rarities compilation of original B-sides, unreleased tracks, instrumentals, covers and demos curated by guitarist Kim Thayil.
Disc 1, dubbed "Originals", is filled with Soundgarden songs - mainly B-sides - in addition to two unreleased tunes, "Kristi" and "Storm." Disc 2, "Covers", presents covers of tracks by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Ramones, Devo and others. Disc 3, "Oddities", offers instrumentals, remixes and demos, including Steve Fisk's unreleased "The Telephantasm (Resurrection Remix)", "Twin Tower", and "Night Surf", an instrumental performed by bassist Ben Shepherd.
At The Gates Animated For Heroes And Tombs Video
(TeamRock Radio) Swedish death metallers At The Gates have unveiled this new animated video for Heroes And Tombs, taken from their comeback album At War With Reality (out now on Century Media).
The bleak video was created by Costin Chioreanu who designed the artwork for At War With Reality. At The Gates' frontman Tomas Lindberg says of the video:
"To have Costin work on one of our songs this way has been very rewarding. It's like the next step of the album artwork, and basically more than I could have ever hoped for."
He adds: "Costin paints up a fevered and dark nightmare world that complements the lyrics and music up to the point of perfection. Now I just have to go convince him to do a full length movie for the whole album..." Watch the video here.
Mogwai Release Teenage Exorcists Video
(Prog) Mogwai have released a music video for their track Teenage Exorcists. It's taken from upcoming EP Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1 which launches on December 1.
It will be their first studio release since eighth album Rave Tapes, which launched in January via Rock Action Records. The EP features three tracks recorded during the Rave Tapes sessions along with three remixes of tracks from the album by Blanck Mass, Nils Frahm and Pye Corner Audio.
Along with a digital release, the EP will be available on CD and limited-edition 12-inch vinyl. The band were nominated in the Band/Artist Of The Year category at this year's Progressive Music Awards. They've lined up a date at the Sydney Opera House in March and will then head to Japan for three shows later that month.
Status Quo Release Unplugged Matchstick Men Video
(Classic Rock) Status Quo have released a short video clip to accompany the acoustic version of the band's early classic Pictures Of Matchstick Men. The song, first released in 1967 on the Picturesque Matchstickable Messages album, was re-recorded earlier this year for the band's Aquostic set.
The clip features the whole band apparently naked, although several eagle-eyed viewers have pointed out that guitarist Rick Parfitt does appear to be wearing a pair of slender black briefs.
Status Quo announced the Aquostic album in an exclusive interview with Classic Rock in August and released a promo for And It's Better Now in September, before playing at the Roundhouse in October. Watch the video here.
Thunder Release Wonder Days Video
(Classic Rock) Thunder have released a video for Wonder Days, the title track of the band's forthcoming album. Full details surrounding the release, the follow-up to 2008's Bang!, will be announced tomorrow. The video was filmed recently in Tokyo in front of 15,000 fans.
Singer Danny Bowes says, "What can I say about 'Wonder Days'? Well, it's the title track from the new Thunder album, our first in six years, and if you listen closely it tells the story of why we came together all those years ago to form the band. So with that in mind, we thought it's the perfect track to introduce everyone to what we've been up to recently… which is making an album that we are all incredibly proud of! We played it live for the first time last month at Loud Park in Tokyo and filmed it for your pleasure. We like the song so much, we think we'll play it again next March, along with a lot more from the new album. Come see us - a good time is guaranteed for all!"
Last month Thunder played a free show for fans at London's Brooklyn Bowl venue, a show recorded for release as a cover-mount CD accompanying the January 2015 edition of Classic Rock. In September, the band promised the new album would be worth the wait, and announced a short UK tour for March 2015, where they'll play alongside Reef and Tax The Heat. Watch the new video here.
Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band Stream New Song, Announce Album
(The Blues Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band will launch fifth album So Delicious on February 17 via Yazoo Records, they've confirmed. They've launched a stream of Let's Jump A Train to act as a taster for the follow-up to 2012's Between The Ditches.
The Rev tells American Blues Scene: "I've been obsessed with the idea of taking fingerstyle guitar to a place it's never been before." He adds: "When people hear So Delicious and see us play live, I think they understand that what we're singing about is real to us.
"We believe in the stories we're telling and in the way we play. And when we're on stage or off, there's nothing fake about us. We are what we do, and I'm proud of that."
Stream the new song here.
Eli Cook Releases Baby Please Don't Go Video
(The Blues Eli Cook has released a video for his instrumental track Baby Please Don't Go. It follows the 27-year-old bluesman's fifth album Primitive Son, launched earlier this year via Cleopatra Records.
Cook tells The Flame Still Burns: "I try to put an emphasis on original songwriting, lyrical content; I try to give it a bit of a unique presentation. My vocal style is a little different than the typical blues and R&B vocalists.
"I try to do things with a little bit more intensity - for lack of a better word, do them a bit heavier, even if it is an acoustic song. Just make it bigger and more dynamic, but organically, if at all possible."
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Today's Day in Rock News!
Today's Day in Rock
Bret Michaels Details Recent Emergency Room Visits
(TeamRock Radio) Poison singer Bret Michaels has reassured fans that he doesn't have a death wish after attempting to keep working through his latest spate of health issues.
He only made small adjustments to his current solo tour after experiencing kidney problems that required surgery. Guitarist Pete Evick hailed his boss's commitment to staying on the road - but admitted: "as a friend it's hard to encourage or agree."
Now lifelong diabetic Michaels says: "I wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone for their concern, prayers and well wishes. I also want to thank the several emergency rooms and their staff for the immediate attention. This has been going on for several weeks and was extremely painful.
"I thought I was well enough after the first operation - however I got a blood clot, as well as an infection, which complicated the matter. I am fortunate that I work hard to keep my diabetes under control; however there's no doubt after 45 years my healing process is a little slower than a non diabetic."
AC/DC Members Surprise Fans At Listening Party
(hennemusic) AC/DC members Angus Young and Brian Johnson surprised fans with an appearance at the "Rock Or Bust" world album premiere listening party at Webster Hall in New York Tuesday night.
The pair were joined on stage by the project's producer, Brendan O'Brien, and they shared a few words with the crowd before debuting the video for the album's title track and second single.
"I hope you enjoy the album," said Johnson. "We had such a fun time making it. Malcolm wasn't in. Stevie [Young] stepped up to the plate. Malcolm is in a happy place, I want you to know that. And we love him, and he was with us right through the album."
"Everyone who is into AC/DC and is a fan; you're the guys that make it," added Young. "We keep going for you." AC/DC guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young retired from the band earlier this year as he deals with health issues related to dementia. The group brought in nephew Stevie to handle rhythm guitar on "Rock Or Bust", which will be released December 2.
Gregg Allman Biopic Death Suit Settlement Reached
(Radio.com) Earlier in the year, Sarah Jones was killed while working as a camera assistant on the film Midnight Rider, a biopic based on the life of Gregg Allman, after being struck by a train.
The incident saw a lawsuit filed by the parents of Jones, as well as a suit from Allman himself, asking for the film to be stopped altogether. While Allman dropped his suit months ago, Jones' parents did not, but have now reached a confidential settlement with many of the defendants.
According to Billboard, director Randall Miller, producer Jody Savin, executive producers Jay Sedrish and Don Mandrik, location manager Charles Baxter, Miller's production company Unclaimed Freight, first assistant director Hillary Schwartz, director of photography Mike Ozier, Epozier Films, Inc., and Rayonier Performance Fibers have all settled with the family.
Sammy Hagar Announces Free New Year's Eve Show
Some lucky Sammy Hagar fans will have the chance to ring in the New Year with the Red Rocker for free at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Hagar has announced a free New Year's Eve show at the venue where he will be performing with the house band Cabo Uno. "Cabo's battling back, baby - and that's the best reason in the world to celebrate and support the community." said Hagar
He was forced to cancel his annual birthday bash celebration at the venue earlier this year due to Hurricane Odile and he is using this free show as a way to encourage fans to make donations to Los Cabos Children's Foundation via donation boxes in the venue.
According to the announcement, the free admission will be "on a first come, first serve basis. Fans can also make dinner reservations at the Cantina and stay for the show. "
Saint Vitus Frontman In Treatment Following Drug Arrest
(TeamRock Radio) Saint Vitus frontman Scott 'Wino' Weinrich has apologized to fans after being arrested and deported from Norway for possession of drugs. He's taken "full responsibility" for his actions, which forced the doom metal outfit to continue their 35th anniversary European tour without him. And he reports he's "actively engaged in treatment" for his addiction.
Wino says in a statement: "The other members and crew were unaware of my substance use. I was truthful with the authorities, and initially sentenced to 16 days in jail, minus the three days immediately following my arrest.
"Initially I believed I would be fined, allowed to continue the tour, and upon its end, I agreed to return to Norway to finish my sentence. I was disheartened to realise that I was to be deported back to the US, and not allowed to finish the tour.
"... As of now I am off the road and actively engaged in treatment. And the struggle continues." Read more of his statement here.
Faith No More Return With First New Song In 17 Years
(Classic Rock) Pioneering alt-metallers Faith No More have released new song Motherf***er - the first official single from their upcoming eighth album and their first new music in 17 years.
Since the band disbanded in 1998, anticipation has been high for new Faith No More material and now they've debuted it over on the Rolling Stone website.
In an interview with Rolling Stone it was also revealed that the new studio album will be released on Faith No More's own label Reclamation Records. Read more here.
Babes In Toyland Reunite
(Classic Rock) Babes In Toyland have reunited and will hit the road in early 2015. The classic lineup of the all-female rock band will play their first show in 18 years at the Roxy in Los Angeles on February 12 - ahead of a string of other dates to be announced in due course.
Kat Bjelland, Lori Barbero and Maureen Herman have been rehearsing in LA in recent months. Singer Bjelland says: "It was brought to my attention that not only do we have a lot of diehard fans from back in the day, but also a whole new generation of kids - my son Henry included - that were eager to see us live.
"I felt some kind of obligation for them to see us, too. But mainly, I just missed my girls and the feeling that comes from playing with them - visceral live therapy." Read more here.
AC/DC's Angus Young Shares His Reaction To Phil Rudd Arrest
(hennemusic) AC/DC guitarist Angus Young and singer Brian Johnson were guests on Wednesday morning's edition of The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM satellite radio.
The pair were on hand to promote the band's forthcoming album, "Rock Or Bust", due December 2. Among the topics discussed with the recent headlines made by drummer Phil Rudd, who was charged on November 6 with attempting to procure a murder by New Zealand police after he allegedly tried to have two men killed, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cannabis and threatening to kill.
Authorities dropped the charge of attempting to procure a murder the next day due to lack of evidence. "I fell out of bed, actually," said Angus when he heard the news. "My wife woke me up and they said, 'Hey, Phil's been up to no good.'"
"I just got up and I was getting ready to fly home to the States," added Johnson. "I had a cup of coffee in my hand and I said, 'I'm gonna watch the news in the morning.' And the first thing I saw was this guy getting led out of a car with no shoes on."
As for Rudd's status with the band, "We've got to resolve that," said Johnson. "The thing is, I don't think we have to do anything… fire him, or anything like that. I think the situation is gonna take care of itself. I mean, he's got himself into a pickle, and there's nothing we can do about it. I mean, we're talking about criminal courts here and we're talking about judges and we're talking about juries. But we are gonna go on tour. And nothing's gonna stop us."
Gene Hoglan Returns To Death
(TeamRock Radio) Death drummer Sean Reinert has left the band's current tour due to ill health and has been replaced by Testament and Dark Angel sticksman Gene Hoglan.
Hoglan - who was a member of Death between 1993 and 1995 - will fill in for Reinert on the remainder of the Swamp Leper Stomp tour, which sees the band on the road with Obituary, Massacre, Rivers Of Nihil and Untimely Demise.
Death's lawyer Eric Greif had the following statement about Sean Reinert. He said, "We wish Sean all the best and that his health will bounce back quickly."
The Haunted and Decapitated Stars Form New Band
(TeamRock Radio) The Haunted guitarist Ola Englund and ex-Decapitated drummer Kerim 'Krimh' Lechner have joined forces to form Eldvag. The pair are now actively looking for a singer for the project - and Englund reveals he doesn't have a set sound in mind.
He says: "We're not searching for any particular kind of vocalist. We just feel that the singer is the last piece of the puzzle that will form the outcome of this project. It could be clean, opera, growling - you name it. We want to hear it all."
They've released a video of them in the studio playing together on an un-named track and are asking potential candidates to download it and then upload their versions to either YouTube or Soundcloud. Check out the video and read more here.
Porcupine Tree Frontman Steven Wilson Announces Album and Tour
(TeamRock Radio) Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson has confirmed his fourth solo album is to be called Hand. Cannot. Erase. and it's set for launch in March next year via Kscope.
Wilson also announced that he will support the release with a six-date UK tour the same month, with further dates to be announced across Europe in due course.
Wilson says: "We're currently developing a show that I hope will raise the bar musically and visually from my previous tours. The setlist will be based around the new album, of course, as well as casting the net further back into my past for a few surprises."
Periphery Reveal Juggernaut Details
(Prog) Prog-metal outfit Periphery have issued more details about their upcoming Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega releases. They previously announced the dual albums would launch on January 26 via Century Media Records. Now they've released full track details of an record they decided to split between two discs.
Drummer Matt Halpern explained: "Because Juggernaut is very detailed and dense in terms of character development, peaks and valleys, climaxes and resolutions, we've divided the story and the music in two."
Founder and guitarist Misha Mansoor, who won the Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award at this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, explains the band recorded together for the first time in their history - a move which gave them a fresh perspective. Read more here.
Royal Blood Cancel More Shoes Due To Illness
(Classic Rock) Royal Blood have been forced to cancel more gigs on their current tour. They previously pulled the plug on shows in Portsmouth, Oxford and Bristol as singer and bassist Mike Kerr was suffering from severe tonsillitis.
They've now announced planned dates in Italy, Spain and Portugal will also be shelved as Kerr follows medical advice to rest his voice. The band say in a statement:
"Customers are advised to retain their tickets and await further information with regard to rescheduled dates which will be planned and announced as quickly as possible. We wish to sincerely apologise to all ticket holders for the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused."
Terrorvision's No. 1 Chance Foiled By Spice Girl?
(Classic Rock) Terrorvision frontman Tony Wright says his band's track Tequila was robbed of the chance to reach number one because pop starlet Geri Halliwell blocked its release at the right moment.
He believes the quirky song could have topped the charts in 1999 if the former Spice Girl's management hadn't leaned on the label to postpone its launch.
Wright tells TeamRock: "We were going to release Tequila the week before we did. But we went to the meeting with the record label, and Geri's management were really good. They told us we couldn't do it that week.
"They said it was too strong, that Geri wanted to talk her way through another cover version and it had to get to number one. Our management didn't have the same clout, so we released a week later.
"We sold something like 60,000 copies more than Geri did - but we only got to number two." Read more here.
Angra Recruit Doro Pesch and Epica's Simons For New Album
(Classic Rock) Brazilian metal outfit Angra have announced details of their upcoming 8th album. Secret Garden, the follow-up to 2010's Aqua, launches on January 16 via earMUSIC and will feature guest appearances from singers Doro Pesch and Epica's Simone Simons.
Angra say in a statement: "Secret Garden brings together everything that has established Angra as one of biggest bands in its style: contemporary sound combined with inspired compositions. It shows the maturity of a band that, after 23 years on the road, continues with the same motivation and passion for music that drove the glorious beginning of the group."
Simons provides the vocals on the album's title track, while former Warlock frontwoman Pesch features on a duet with Angra's guitarist Rafael Bittencourt on Crushing Room.
To mark the announcement, the band have released a lyric video of opening track Newborn Me. View it and read more here.
Tesla's Frank Hannon Releasing Solo Album
(Classic Rock) Tesla Guitarist Frank Hannon will release his latest solo album World Peace before Christmas. Earlier this year, Tesla released 9th album Simplicity - their first studio outing since 2008's Forever More. And it's been revealed Hannon started working on new solo tracks immediately after the Californian rockers wrapped up their most recent offering.
A statement of his website reads: "In a burst of creative energy, Hannon started writing his own batch of songs shortly after Tesla released their latest album Simplicity.
"While on the road touring during the summer or 2014, Frank spent all the lonely hours in his hotel rooms recording musical ideas and the ideas started flowing so he would literally be recording music in the dressing room five minutes prior to Tesla stepping on stage.
"After returning home Frank knew he had a batch of strong material, so current Frank Hannon Band members bassist Aaron Leigh and drummer Kelly Smith joined him in the studio to help put the album into fruition."
To mark the announcement, Hannon's released a teaser featuring snippets of tracks from the album. Hear it and read more here.
Focus Members Releasing Swung Album
(Prog) Three members and one former member of the group Focus have worked together to launch a double instrumental studio album under the band name Swung.
The first volume features bassist and producer Bobby Jacobs and drummer Pierre van der Linden plus ex-guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. The second sees the rhythm section team up with current guitarist Menno Gootjes.
Jacobs says: "These are studio versions of all the fun we have during our Focus sound checks - often before Father Focus, Thijs van Leer, arrives. We always start to play from zero, and is is what happens."
JJ Grey & Mofro Announce New Album
(The Blues JJ Grey & Mofro have announced they will release new album Ol' Glory in March. The Nashville ensemble release the record on March 2 via Provogue Records.
Ol' Glory features 12 new tracks that the band say "feature the deep, soulful blend of blues, rock, folk, funk, gospel, gritty R&B and personal, Southern-inspired narratives" that they have become synonymous with.
Ol' Glory was recorded at Retrophonics Studio in Saint Augustine, Forida, where Grey has tracked many times. An avid surfer, Grey often spent the mornings at the beach and the afternoons recording. Special guests include Luther Dickinson on dobro and electric slide guitar and Derek Trucks on electric slide guitar.
Haken Working On Next Album
(Prog) London-based prog outfit Haken are assembling ideas for their fourth album, according to guitarist Richard Henshall. And although in its early stages, he says the songwriting process won't be a one-man project on the follow-up to 2013's The Mountain.
He tells Prog Sphere: "We've decided to take a different approach with the writing process of the next album. We're going to write the album as a band, whereas in the past, I've taken care of the main writing duties.
"We've never really worked this way before, so it's really exciting to see what we can create together. It's still very early days, but the stuff we have is already sounding very promising. Most of the ideas are still in their infancy, so I'm really exited to see what they grow into." Read more here.
Solstafir Announce UK Dates
(Prog) Solstafir have announced that they have extended their European tour to include five UK dates at the end of January. The Icelandic outfit are currently on the road to support the launch of fifth album Otta, which appeared in August via Season Of Mist.
Frontman Addi Tryggvason recently described the follow-up to 2011's Svartir Sandar as "a sudden change," adding: "There are more vocal harmonies, exotic vocal lines.
"I want to try new things. I was really uncomfortable - I thought, 'this is way too vulnerable!' But you gain more confidence in doing it." Check out the UK dates and a video here.
Foo Fighters Perform New Song On Ellen
(hennemusic) The Foo Fighters performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday as they continue to promote their new release, "Sonic Highways" and video of their performance and an interview segment have gone online.
The band played "In The Clear" from the project after frontman Dave Grohl joined Ellen for an interview to discuss the record, the companion 8-part HBO series, and life as a rock Dad.
Produced by Butch Vig, "Sonic Highways" was recorded in 8 American cities - Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
The project was launched last month with an 8-part HBO series about the recording of the album, with the Foo Fighters unveiling new songs eack week in sync with the series, which premiered October 17.
Metallica Rock Fuel On Craig Ferguson
(hennemusic) Metallica performed their 1997 track, "Fuel", on the second night of their week-long residency on CBS-TV's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Tuesday night.
The song was the third single issued from their 7th album, "Reload." The tune followed Monday's performance of their 1983 classic, "Hit The Lights."
Metallica frontman James Hetfield's award-winning Black Pearl will be on hand for the Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens this weekend. Built from the ground up and designed by Hetfield and world renowned custom car builder Rick Dore, the Black Pearl has been touring shows around the United States for the past year.
"The Black Pearl is one of those things that - we initially had been taking other vehicles and cutting and pasting, making you own prototype in a way," explains Hetfield. "This one we actually started from scratch. We started with a '48 Jag and basically tried to work it, work it down to frame and build it up from scratch from a drawing. It took it to a whole new level of car building: from a drawing."
Lacuna Coil Promise Heavier New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Lacuna Coil singer Andrea Ferro says the band's next album will be heavier than anything they've written before. The Italian rockers released their seventh record Broken Crown Halo in March and Ferro says the band's new drummer Ryan Blake Folden's influence will shine through on the follow-up.
Ferro tells The Metalheadz: "He's very good with really fast double bass, and a heavier kind of drummer, in a way. And so I think there will be a little bit of heaviness on the next record - which we always wanted to bring, but sometimes we couldn't, because it didn't appeal to the style of the drummer.
"I think at this point, in our age and in our career, we're kind of free to go wherever we want. Of course we're not gonna do something completely different, because it wouldn't make sense - you still need to recognise the style of the band." Read more here.
The Pretty Reckless Release House On The Hill Video
(TeamRock Radio) The Pretty Reckless have released a music video for the song House On The Hill, from the band's second album Going to Hell, which was released earlier in the year.
The band's previous single Messed Up World was a number one hit at US rock radio, their second song in a row to do so, following Heaven Knows. The last female-fronted group to achieve this feat was Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders.
In September, frontwoman Taylor Momsen revealed that she plans to concentrate more on the band after starring in various movies and TV shows. Watch the new video here.
Dave Kerzner Leads Tribute To Classic Genesis Album
(Prog) Dave Kerzner has announced a tribute to classic Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - 40 years to the week after the original was launched.
The former Sound Of Contact man is working with Francis Dunnery under the name Sonic Elements on a remake to be called IT. It's set to feature contributions from Nick D'Virgilio, Steve Rothery, Billy Sherwood, Nad Sylvan and others.
Kerzner says: "This tribute to the picaresque album is done in a classic rock-meets-modern film score style, combining authentic vintage instruments from the 70s - including sounds recorded at Genesis' studio with engineer Nick Davis - along with a full orchestra."
They've released a clip of their version of In The Cage for streaming.
Sammy Hagar Previews His Appearance On The Simpsons
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar is sharing a first-look preview of his appearance on FOX-TV's The Simpsons on Sunday, November 23rd by posting a photo from the show online.
Hagar will guest star in the season 26 episode "Covercraft", which sees Homer have a mid-life crisis, take up bass guitar and form a cover band with some of the other dads in town.
Hagar's likeness previously appeared in a season 11 episode called "Behind The Laughter", a spoof of the VH1 series "Behind The Music." The 2000 broadcast saw Willie Nelson put on a phony awards show in order to reconcile the family … and also attempt to patch things up between Hagar and Van Halen.
The Simpsons episode featuring Hagar will air Sunday, November 23 at 8pm on FOX. Check out the photo here.
Public Service Broadcasting Release Gagarin Video
(Prog) Public Service Broadcasting have released a video for their new single Gagarin. The track is taken from their upcoming second album The Race For Space, out on February 23 next year. Single Gagarin will be available from December 1 as a free download to those who pre-order the album.
The video for Gagarin is directed by Alex Kemp, produced by Tony Powell and was shot in PSB's south London homeland. It features the band showing off their dance skills in fetching space suits.
Guitarist J Willgoose Esq says: "We didn't want to be too literal in our interpretation of the material we were given - material that was full of heroic language and a sense of exuberance, with lines like 'the hero who blazed the trail to the stars,' and 'the whole world knew him and loved him.'
"It seemed more appropriate to try and re-create some of that triumphant air with a similarly upbeat song - and when it came to creating the video, the best way we could think of to communicate that sense of joy was to get our dancing shoes on."
Devin Townsend Moving On From Ziltoid
(TeamRock Radio) Devin Townsend says while he's proud of his Z2 album, he's ready to move on. The record, which launched last month, includes two discs: Sky Blue and Dark Matters the latter being the follow-up to 2007's Ziltoid The Omniscient. And he says the idea of a split recording came as he wanted to show off his variety of styles.
He tells Bravewords: "I think there's a part of it that's kid-oriented, but there's another part to it. I've demanded a lot of my audience for years. I drew them in with heavy metal and gave them country, new age and ambient music.
"There's a part of me that, when the support came, I decided that I did my artsy-fartsy movie (Sky Blue) so I needed to do my Michael Bay-type movie (Dark Matters) and then reconsider what I want to do musically. It's not that the well is dry, it's just that it's been an intense amount of work for an intense amount of time.
"By finishing up with the Ziltoid thing, in one way it was a conclusion to what started seven years ago. Sure, it's still a metaphor because that's how I write, but the surface of this is much different. It's for people to enjoy."
In Flames Singer Once Autographed A Fan's Baby
(TeamRock Radio) In Flames guitarist Bjorn Gelotte says the band would do pretty much anything for their fans - even sign their babies. Gelotte recalls a time when the band's singer Anders Friden was asked to sign a fan's baby, and happily obliged.
And Gelotte insists that he couldn't ever see a time when the band don't interact with their fans. He tells EMP Rock Invasion: "It's extremely important. That's the one reason why we're hear. Without these people listening to what we do, it would make no sense to tour.
"The physical contact, and writing something on their paper - I think it's important. I'm still a fanboy when it comes to certain things, I do the same thing. I think Anders signed a baby once. That was quite funny."
He was also asked to comment on a rumored project featuring himself, Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt and Mastodon's Bill Kelliher. Read what he said here.
Mallory Knox Unplug For Shout At The Moon
(TeamRock Radio) Mikey Chapman and Sam Douglas of Mallory Knox visited TeamRock where they performed an acoustic version of Shout At The Moon, their September single.
Originally taken from the album Asymmetry, Shout At The Moon is a song about the moments before drifting off to sleep. Frontman Chapman had this to say,
"You can't really switch your brain off," says the singer, "and you're thinking about something - whether it's your deadline for tomorrow, or dreading going to work - but more specifically it's about the time when there's someone on your mind. It's about that moment when you look up at the ceiling and feel a multitude of emotions."
Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale Preview Video Goes Online
(hennemusic) Broadway In Chicago is sharing a preview of "Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale", a play featuring the Twisted Sister singer currently running at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place in Chicago through January 4.
"Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale" tells the story of Däisy Cütter, a heavy metal bar band looking to make it big even though the 80s are LONG over.
This year, these four guys are ready to take the ultimate step and, in mythic rock tradition, sell their souls to the devil in exchange for success beyond their wildest metal dreams. But every time they try to seal the infernal pact, their head-banging anthems turn into warm-hearted carols. Soon these rockers are forced to realize their dreams of stardom are no match for the Christmas spirit. Watch the video here.
Kamchatka Release Ain't Fallin' Video
(Classic Rock) Kamchatka, named after the Russian peninsular populated by volcanoes and bears that drops into the Pacific Ocean north of Japan, have released a video for Ain't Fallin', taken from the band's untitled sixth album.
The trio are made up of guitarist and singer Thomas Andersson, former Opeth keyboard player Per Wiberg on bass (both were also part of the collaborative King Hobo project alongside Clutch's Jean-Paul Gaster) and drummer Tobias Strandvik.
"I wanted to write and play a straight forward rock tune with lyrics that meant something important to me, the result became Ain't Fallin'", says Andersson. "It came out just the way we wanted it to, short, rapid and hard. Ain't Fallin' was the first one to be recorded during the sessions for The Search Goes On, although it didn't appear on the album, and it set the mood for the rest of the record. The video was shot outside our studio by the ocean in Varberg, Sweden.
"When the video was shot we had to take breaks every now and then, waiting for the curious people in sailing boats passing by, cheerfully waving and hollering. We had a great time recording and shooting the video. Enjoy!"
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Today's Day in Rock News!
Today's Day in Rock
AC/DC's Malcolm Young Fought To Keep Making Music
(TeamRock Radio) Malcolm Young fought to keep making music as long as he could, says brother and bandmate Angus. The AC/DC mainman was finally forced to retire earlier this year as a result of dementia, which he'd begun struggling with before the band started 2008 album Black Ice.
"He was still writing until he couldn't do it any more. You were hoping that he'd get better," Angus Young says of his brother in a new interview with Pulse Of Radio.
"The physical side, he got great treatment for that, so he's good with all of that. But the mental side has just deteriorated. He himself said, you know, 'I won't be able to do it any more.'" Read more here.
Foo Fighters Announce North American Tour
Foo Fighters have announced that they will be hitting the road for a North American tour next summer and fall in support of their new studio album "Sonic Highways."
The tour will be hitting stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters across the United States and Canada beginning with a July 4th show at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.
The Foo Fighters have revealed support acts for several of the stops on the tour including Mission of Burma who will be playing the first of two concerts at Fenway Park and Royal Blood will be supporting the Foo Fighters on most of the dates in July and August. See the tour dates here.
U2 Frontman Bono Underwent 5 Hours Of Surgery
(TeamRock Radio) U2 frontman Bono underwent five hours of surgery after being seriously injured in a cycle crash in New York. The band had originally reported that damage to his arm had forced them to cancel a US TV residency.
Now it's been confirmed the singer suffered fractures to the eye orbit in his skull, his left shoulder blade and and his upper left arm. Trauma surgeon Dean Lorich of New York's Weill Cornell Medical Centre tells Rolling Stone:
"He was taken to the operating room where the elbow was washed out, a nerve trapped in the break was moved, and the bone was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws."
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Giving Away 20 Song Solo Set
(Radio.com) Pearl Jam have long been letting fans download shows they attend, and even before this process, tape trading of Pearl Jam bootlegs was a practiced endeavor for diehards.
So what makes a new, free live set that PJ frontman Eddie Vedder played for 90 fans at a Microsoft event at their Seattle headquarters so special? Well, the setlist, mainly. The 20-song solo performance is filled with rare covers, everything from lead track "Trouble" (originally by Cat Stevens) to classics like John Lennon's "Imagine" and Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done." (via CoS)
Also in the set are plenty of Pearl Jam and Vedder originals, like "Just Breathe," "Better Man," and "Porch." This is a must download concert for both Pearl Jam faithful fans and classic rock lovers alike. Check out the setlist and grab the download links here.
Slayer Finish Recording New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Slayer have all but finished work on their upcoming 11th album, says guitarist Kerry King. But they're planning to lay down additional material following a run of US dates with Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies.
King says: "We just pretty much got done recording. We're going to go in for ten days at the end and record some hire stuff. We've got enough for a record - we're going to record more because we have time."
The follow-up to 2009's World Painted Blood is expected early next year. It's Slayer's first without late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, and the first to feature drummer Paul Bostaph. here.
Hulk Hogan Wanted To Join Metallica and Rolling Stones
(Classic Rock) Wrestler Hulk Hogan has revealed he appealed to Metallica and The Rolling Stones to give him a shot at vacant bass posts. And he says despite his best efforts, neither band got back to him to offer an audition.
He tells Noisey: "I had wrestled so long and it got to the point where, with no Stone Cold, Rock or HHH around, I was the only guy for a long time so I had to be everywhere. I didn't really get tired but I was like, 'Man, I'm killing myself.'
"I always loved music and was in the UK for some award show, and Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger's old lady, was walking out with me to present this award. I heard her talking on the phone to Mick about, 'Oh, you got to find a bass player and you've only got two different choices.'
"She had already told me her kids were big fans and she wanted merchandise. I said, 'Look, I used to play bass. I know all The Rolling Stones songs. Tell Mick if you guys need a bass player, I swear to god I could show up.' I got home, sent her all the merchandise - and never heard a word back."
But the lack of response from Jagger didn't deter him and when he discovered Metallica were looking for a bassist, he decided to record a demo and send it to the thrash legends. Read more here.
The Smashing Pumpkins Announce Special Tour Dates
The Smashing Pumpkins have announced that they will be supporting the release of their new studio album by playing special shows in a handful of cities in the U.S. and Europe.
The lone U.S. date announced so far for the trek will take place on December 8th at Webster Hall in New York City, but the band says that they plan to announce additional shows in Chicago, San Francisco, and other select markets.
The tour is set to kick off in Berlin on November 30th followed by shows in London on December 5th and Paris on the 6th. The band also announced that the shows will feature a lineup that includes The Killers Mark Stoermer and Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk.
Frontman Billy Corgan had this to say, "We're absolutely thrilled and humbled to have Brad and Mark helping us out with these shows and if our rehearsals are any indication they should be one-of-a-kind."
The Smashing Pumpkins will also be making an appearance at the KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas show in Los Angeles on Sunday December 14th and they will playing the Jimmy Kimmel Live! outdoor stage on December 10th.
The band will be releasing their eighth studio album, Monuments to an Elegy, on December 9th. Check out the tour dates here.
Asking Alexandria Releasing Their First DVD
(TeamRock Radio) UK rockers Asking Alexandria have announced they're to release their first DVD next month. Live From Brixton And Beyond launches on December 15 via Sumerian Records and features live performances, a short film, every promo the band have recorded and behind-the-scenes footage. A trailer has been issued for the release.
Guitarist Ben Bruce says: "At long last, we're finally releasing our first-ever DVD. We have been promising this DVD for a long time now, but trust me when I say it was worth the wait.
"There is so much unseen footage on this release, including our sold-out show at Brixton in London, our Reckless Halloween concert in Hollywood, intimate behind-the-scenes footage, the Through Sin And Self-Destruction short film and every music video we have ever recorded."
Read more details, watch the trailer and check out the tracklisting here.
Black Tusk Star Memorial Fund For Jonathan Athon
(TeamRock Radio) Black Tusk have launched a memorial fund for late bassist Jonathan Athon. Athon died in hospital this month when his life support was switched off after a motorcycle crash in Georgia, USA, left him with severe brain damage. He was 32.
Now the remaining members of Black Tusk have thanked fans for their support. Many contributed to Athon's medical expenses while he was in an induced coma. And while those costs have been covered, Athon's girlfriend Emily still needs help. She is said to be "coherent" and is expected to recover, but the medical bills are piling up.
The band say: "We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the overwhelming amount of support received in the past week. Many of you have been inquiring about Athon's medical bills and how you can help. As of now, they are covered."
"...While Athon's medical expenses have been covered, his girlfriend Emily's have not. She has undergone surgery and faces a long road to recovery both physically and emotionally." Read more here.
Rush Anxious To Write New Music
(Classic Rock) Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson says he and Geddy Lee are desperate to start writing new material. The band haven't decided on what form their 2015 return to action will take - but the guitarist hopes it'll involve recording fresh tracks.
The Canadian giants recently began considering how to end the hiatus they took after three years of constant work, and aim to settle firm plans in the coming weeks.
Guitarist Lifeson tells Radio.com: "Some days I feel like being back out on the road and taking advantage of the fact that it's our 40th anniversary. On other days I sit around messing with musical ideas and think, 'We've got to start writing.'
"I was over at Ged's the other day, in fact. We were both chomping at the bit to get together. He wants to try out his millions of new bass guitars that he's got now. So we'll do some writing, and we'll see where that goes." Read more here.
KISS and Motley Crue To Close The Download Festival
(Classic Rock) KISS are the final headline act to be confirmed for next year's Download festival. The Rock And Roll Hall of Famers will close the main stage at Donington on Sunday, June 14, following headline sets from Slipknot on June 12 and Muse on June 13.
Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and co will play immediately after Motley Crue, who'll end their touring career later in 2015, making their Download set their last ever UK festival appearance. Also confirmed in the third batch of acts are Slash and Enter Shikari.
Paul Stanley, who fronted Kiss at Monsters Of Rock in 1988 and 1996 before headlining Download in 2008, says: "Download has become a tradition of stature that separates the pretenders from the contenders and the champs from the chimps. It will be an honor to take our turf and leave no doubt why we wear the crown." Read more here.
Volbeat's Rob Caggiano Explains The Downside To Producing
(Classic Rock) Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano says his work behind the production desk temporarily "ruined music" for him. The former Anthrax axeman was behind the desk on their albums We've Come for You All and Worship Music and he's also produced records by Cradle Of Filth, Ill Nino, Machine Head and his current employers Volbeat.
And pouring all his energy into producing meant he was unable to enjoy music as he spent too much time "picking apart" the songs. Caggiano tells TeamRock Radio's AOR Magazine Show: "When I'm working on music, I think about the whole picture. I think about what the kick drum's doing, what the bass player's doing.
"I got heavily into producing a long time ago and I was aways in that mode. It actually ruined music for me to a certain extent because when I was trying to just sit down with a CD and listen to it and enjoy it, I couldn't even do it. I was always picking things out and hearing all these different things.
"It took me a while to get away from that and turn that part of my brain off and chill out and listen to it for what it is." Read more here.
John Lydon Spent Thousands On iPad Apps
(Classic Rock) The Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd mainman John Lydon has revealed he's spend thousands on iPad apps. And the singer, who launched his autobiography Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored last month, says he spent the money because he wanted to get a little bit of his childhood back.
He tells The Telegraph: "I wasted 10,000 f***ing pounds in the last two years on apps on my iPad. I got into Game of Thrones, Game of War, Real Racing, and I just wanted to up the ante.
And like an idiot I didn't check myself. I've been checked now. But there's a kid in me, see? A bit of my childhood was taken from me and I'm determined to bring it back." Read more here.
Slash Worked Out Deal With Tremonti Over Myles
(Classic Rock) Slash says he and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti have worked out a system that will allow them both to continue working with singer Myles Kennedy.
Kennedy fronts Alter Bridge as well as Slash's backing band The Conspirators. And with both acts having massive profiles to go with their recording and touring commitments, it might be expected that something will eventually have to give in regards to Kennedy's availability.
But Slash is confident that won't be the case. He tells VH1: "We've built up such a good system for making it work. I don't have any intention of disrupting what Alter Bridge is doing and I don't think Mark has any intention of disrupting what we're doing." Read more here.
Frank Turner Ready To Record New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Folk-punk artist Frank Turner will hit the studio next month to begin work on his sixth album, he's confirmed. And while he keeping specific details a secret for now, he says he's eager to start recording the follow-up to 2013's Tape Deck Heart.
"After some behind-the-scenes confusion and plan-changing, we are finally about to hit the studio at the start of next month to make the sixth record," He says on his website. "Details about where, when and with who I'm still keeping close to my chest, but it's great that it's finally getting under way."
Prior to returning to the studio, he'll release the third in his compilation series The Third Three Years on November 24. It will feature demo, acoustic and live takes on a selection of his tracks along with cover versions of material by artists including Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Tom Petty and Paul McCartney. Read more here.
J.O.S. Giving Away Their New EP
UK rockers J.O.S. are giving away their new eponymous debut EP and we reached out to the band to find out why they decided to give it away and also to get a feel for their sound and their influences.
The band explain why they decided to offer the EP for free, "We're currently living in an age where people stream their music for free and where big acts give their music away for nothing. Whether you think this devalues music or not, what it has done has changed how people view the worth of music.
"Where people are more than happy to continually fork out for apps on their iPhone, spend nearly £4 for a coffee in Starbucks, or spend a fiver at McDonalds, if any artist dare suggest that people should pay for their music, that might connect with them on a profound human level or even change their lives, they are shot down for being a money crabbing pariah.
"In this climate it makes it very difficult for an unsigned band, such as J.O.S., to sell their music. As we're looking to reach out to as many people as possible giving the EP away for free seemed like a sensible thing to do under the circumstances."
We also asked them about their sound and their influences. They had this to say, "Even though we happily wear our influences on our sleeve, the J.O.S. sound is definitely unique. Our sound is a combination of rock, grunge, and punk, but at the heart of everything we do is melody. So even though we love heavy bands like Guns n' Roses, Nirvana, and The Offspring, we also love melodic bands like The Beatles and Queen, and our sound reflects that.
"So much so, where a lot of modern bands recoil at the idea of their songs being accessible to a mainstream audience and do their best to turn away from that, we feel that this only results in a vacuum which is inevitably filled with the kind vacuous pop music we see the charts riddled with today. As result we don't have such misapprehensions.
"For J.O.S. you can be heavy and melodic. For J.O.S. you can be mainstream and sincere. None of these concepts are mutually exclusives. They weren't mutually exclusive for The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana and they're certainly not mutually exclusive concepts for J.O.S."
You can stream and download the new EP here.
Extreme Announces Pornograffitti 25th Anniversary Tour
(hennemusic) Boston rockers Extreme have announced dates for the US leg of their Pornograffitti Live 25th Anniversary tour which they will be kicking off early next year.
The 10-date run will see Extreme performing their classic 1990 album, "Pornograffitti", in its entirety along with a greatest hits set. The tour begins on January 16th in Uncasville, CT and concludes on January 31st in Battle Creek, MI.
The band's second album, "Pornograffitti" featured two hit singles, "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted", both acoustic-based numbers…while most of the album was a mix of hard rock and funk.
At The Gates' Tomas Lindberg Excited About Their 'Ultimate' New Record
(TeamRock Radio) Tomas Lindberg says the new At The Gates album is their "ultimate" record. The band's fifth album At War With Reality was released last month. It's a concept album - which Lindberg described as an "intriguing" and "challenging" way to make a comeback 19 years after their last album, 1995's Slaughter Of The Soul.
Frontman Lindberg tells Full Metal Jackie: "I guess the start of the writing process was a little bit scary when we tried out the direction, but as soon as things started to come together I wanted this to be the ultimate At The Gates record and it proved to be just that, musically.
"But lyrically, it was so hard to grasp everything within one concept, so I just, what would take the listener by surprise? What would really challenge them as a comeback record? No one has really done a concept record as a comeback record.
"And I thought this might be really intriguing for the fans and showing them that this is a real album. It's not just, like, the best of At The Gates riff collection, it's actually a real album." Read more here.
Ensiferum Confirm New Album Details
(TeamRock Radio) Ensiferum have confirmed their new album One Man Army will be released on February 23 next year. The Finnish folk metal outfit have wrapped up recording of their sixth album at Astia Studio in Lappeenranta, Finland with producer Anssi Kippo in the last few weeks.
Singer/guitarist Petri Lindroos says: "We worked hard and long days one after another while Kippo kicked our asses to make us do the very best, and you can hear that in this album. It's a killer album with killer sound. I'm very proud to a part of this masterpiece."
One Man Army is the follow-up to 2012's Unsung Heroes, and bassist Sami Hinkka says it contains no filler. "The material is pretty diverse and each song tells a tale of its own instead of being a crappy copy of previous song - so no fillers included." Read more here.
Amaranthe Feared Fan Reaction To New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Elize Ryd says Amaranthe feared their new album would be too much of a departure for some fans to accept. Ryd says the band write to please themselves, but always try to think about the fans' perspective too. And on new album Massive Addictive she is relieved that they appear to have struck a perfect balance.
Ryd tells Rabid Noise: "Sometimes you're just hoping, 'If I like it this much hopefully others will like it the way I do.' I try to make songs that I enjoy myself. I did like this album very much, but it's also a change from the previous two so we were a little bit afraid that people wouldn't like it, or think it was too big of a chance.
"But I think we found a pretty good balance there to make it new but still keep the Amaranthe sound. We couldn't be more happy than we are now, we've had very good reviews." Read more here.
Metallica Hit The Lights On Late Night TV
(hennemusic) Metallica kicked off their week-long residency on CBS-TV's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Monday night, with the full episode devoted to the band.
Frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich joined Ferguson for an extended interview before the group performed their 1983 classic, "Hit The Lights."
Metallica are asking help from fans as they prepare deluxe reissues of their first two albums - 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning" - for release in 2015.
"We want it all!," posted the group. "Did you manage to sneak a video camera into a show long before they fit in your pocket? Maybe your old instamatic camera for some snap shots? A cassette Walkman with a microphone? We're looking for anything and everything... audio, video, photos, fliers, ticket stubs, the set list you picked up off the floor, and in general any mementos you may have from that around that time."
"Make your mark on these albums by e-mailing us at submissions@metclub.com to share your story and receive more info about submitting photos, videos, audio recordings and other mementos."
Jimmy Page Explains Title Of Led Zeppelin IV
(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin mastermind Jimmy Page recently took part in a Q&A session with fans at a SiriusXM Town Hall as he promotes the band's latest reissues, "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses Of The Holy."
Page was asked why the band's iconic fourth album went untitled. "It was the right way to deal with things at that time," said Page. "You wanted to do things a lot of other people hadn't done.
"Although, there was a lot of friction with the record company 'cause the way they saw things was as things run normally. But the fact of having that album out and the old man with the sticks and the picture frame [on the album cover] is so iconic that it was the right thing to do."
The guitarist also shared some of the creative process behind the album's opening track, "Black Dog." "In effect, John Paul Jones had a riff, and that's the sort of riff that you know of Black Dog," revealed Page.
"But that's what it was, it was just a riff. He was sort of playing it over and over. It was tricky to play. Once I could play it with him, I said, 'Okay, well let's try this with a call and response.' So with Robert [Plant] singing and then the riff. And then all the other bits outside of the riff - those are all the bits that I put into it. So really, if you're asking me what my part of it was, it was actually taking it from a riff and making it into a piece of music."
Jimmy Fallon and The Roots Become U2 On The Tonight Show
(hennemusic) Jimmy Fallon and The Roots filled in for U2 on The Tonight Show Monday following news that the band were forced to postpone their planned week-long residency on the NBC late night program this week after frontman Bono broke his arm bicycling in Central Park on Sunday.
"The show must go," said Fallon. "It's just happened yesterday and it's never happened before to us, so I was thinking, 'who do we get to come on the show'. And then I realized that we already have the best band in the world - The Roots - are here every single night. And Bono's wardrobe is here because he was going to wear it tonight but obviously he's not going to need it now. So I thought 'let's have some fun with it."
Fallon donned Bono's gear and teamed up with The Roots for a performance of U2's 1988 hit, "Desire." U2 revealed news of Bono's accident to fans on Sunday.
"It looks like we will have to do our Tonight Show residency another time - we're one man down," posted the group. "Bono has injured his arm in a cycling spill in Central Park and requires some surgery to repair it. We're sure he'll make a full recovery soon, so we'll be back! Much thanks to Jimmy Fallon and everyone at the show for their understanding."
Watch video of the performance here.
Joe Walsh Jams With The Foo Fighters
(hennemusic) Joe Walsh joined the Foo Fighters at their November 14 Los Angeles club show at The Roxy. The Eagles guitarist was on hand to perform "Outside" from the band's newly-released set, "Sonic Highways." Walsh appears on the album version, which was written and recorded in Joshua Tree, California.
Walsh then performed his 1985 classic, "Rocky Mountain Way", before he and the Foos were joined by Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell to play that group's "Mountain Song."
Produced by Butch Vig, "Sonic Highways" was recorded in 8 American cities - Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
AC/DC Praise Fans In New Behind The Scenes Video
(hennemusic) AC/DC are raving about the support they receive from their fans in a new clip featuring behind the scenes footage from their recent video shoot in London.
"The fans are a big part of what we do," says lead guitarist Angus Young and frontman Brian Johnson adds, "They are a member of the band by default".
The London set saw fans come in from all over the world to be a part of the video for the title track to their forthcoming album, "Rock Or Bust", due December 2.
"[The video] was greatly, greatly helped by the fans," explains director David Mallett. "And one chap - complete with an Angus outfit - flew from South America to watch AC/DC make a video for three-and-a-half hours…and then he flew home to South America."
"Why are AC/DC fans loyal to AC/DC?", asks Mallett. "Because AC/Dc are loyal to the fans." Watch the behind the scenes video here.
Prince Releases Funknroll Clip
(Classic Rock) Prince and ThirdEyeGirl have released a lyric video for the track Funknroll, a song which appears on both the albums the singer has released earlier this year.
Funknroll, which was first heard on the Arsenio Hall show in March, was featured on Prince's Art Official Age and Prince & ThirdEyeGirl's Plectrumelectrum, both of which came out in September.
This version of Funknroll is from the latter. The albums marked the singer's return to Warner Brothers, nearly 20 years after he left the label in 1995. Check out the video here.
Billy Corgan Covers Joy Division Song with Peter Hook
(Radio.com) Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a kind of crown jewel for musicians to cover. It's been taken on by everyone from Björk to U2, New Order, the Cure, Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace, Fall Out Boy, Arcade Fire-the list goes on.
But if anyone has the "right" to cover it, that would be former bassist Peter Hook and his new band The Light. During their show at Chicago's Metro on Friday night, the band closed out their encore with a special rendition of the song featuring guest appearances from local resident Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins bandmate Jeff Schroeder.
The crowd predictably went nuts when Hook and co. strummed the iconic opening chords of the track. Corgan handled the vocals, doing his best Ian Curtis impersonation.
Corgan and Schroeder's appearance wasn't entirely due to The Light playing in their hometown. Back in 2001, Corgan supported New Order on tour. New Order grew from Joy Division following frontman Curtis' death.
BTBAM's Thomas Giles Releases Siphon The Bad Blood Video
(TeamRock Radio) Thomas Giles has released a video for his track Siphon The Bad Blood. The song is taken from the Between The Buried And Me frontman's upcoming solo album Modern Noise, out on November 25.
The new effort is Tommy Giles Rogers Jr.'s second solo album under the name Thomas Giles. He has also released an electronic record under the moniker Giles.
Between The Buried And Me released live studio DVD Future Sequence: Live At The Fidelitorium in September. Watch the Siphon The Bad Blood video here.
Radiohead's Philip Selway Releases Around Again Video
(Prog) Radiohead drummer Philip Selway has launched a music video for the track Around Again. The song comes from his second solo album Weatherhouse which launched in October via Bella Union. It's the follow-up to 2010's Familial.
Selway is joined on the record by multi-instrumentalists Adem Ilan and Quinta and he previously stated the album was "generally darker and fuller" than his debut solo outing - and he revealed they wanted to cover a variety of instruments on his latest recording.
He said: "From the outset we wanted the album to be the three of us, and we covered a lot of instruments between us. Different musicians stretch you; I felt stretched on Weatherhouse, but very enjoyably so."
Former Iron Maiden Singer Hated By Fans?
(Classic Rock) Former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley says some Iron Maiden fans hated him for taking over vocal duties from Bruce Dickinson. He joined the metal giants in 1994 and recorded two albums - 1995's The X Factor and 1998's Virtual XI. But he says a section of the group's fans were against him from the start as they blamed him for the departure of Dickinson.
He tells Mitch Lafon: "When I joined the band, there were a lot of people who just resented me and actually hated me for being in Maiden. They blamed me for Bruce leaving, which is a classic girlfriend problem, where you blame your friend for your girlfriend leaving or whatever. But a lot of people didn't want to listen to me.
"It was a very different time for Maiden. The music business was changing, MP3s were coming, the hardware was starting to disappear, CD sales were down for everybody worldwide. And it was a time when a lot of old-school Maiden fans didn't want Blaze Bayley to be the lead singer. " Read more here.
Nothing Release Chloroform Video
(TeamRock Radio) Just days ahead of the launch of their debut UK tour, shoegazey soundscapers Nothing have released a new music video for the song Chloroform.
Taken from the split 12" with Whirr, out now on Run For Cover Records, the video was directed by Don Argott (the man the Lamb Of God As The Palaces Burn documentary) and features a heavy bout of kidnapping.
The new split record features two new tracks from Nothing recorded with Will Yip who has worked with everyone from Cradle Of Filth and Title Fight to Schoolly D and Paint It Black. Check out the tour dates and watch the video here.
Singled Out: Winter In Eden's With Intent
Today Steve Hauxwell from UK symphonic rockers Winter In Eden tells us about the song "With Intent" and its new video, which comes from their brand new album "Court of Conscience". Here is the story:
'With Intent' was one of the first tracks we wrote for 'Court Of Conscience' and it is also one of my favourites to play live, so it seems fitting to explain it a little more.
Unlike some bands, all the members of Winter In Eden contribute to the writing process but the initial idea can come from any one of us. In this case, it came together really quickly with Sam hammering out a guitar riff and Steve J (keys) soon had a counter melody floating over the top. At the time, it kind of resembled the theme tune from an old children's TV show that aired in the UK and as such, the song quickly earned a working title of the same name. Incidentally, we are already writing for the next album and have another track with the same working title … that TV show must have been a major influence on all of us for some unknown reason!!
Anyway, back on topic … as the track developed the arrangements changed slightly (as they often do) but Vicky had the vocal melody nailed and already knew what the lyrics would be about. 'With Intent' is all about a stalker! Most of the time, when people think of stalkers they think of male stalking female but it could easily be the other way too. It could be someone who's known to you, someone you may have had a relationship with or a total stranger. We wanted the track to musically demonstrate both the light and the dark, the innocent and the sinister side of stalker and victim. Luckily for us, Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation) who produced the album, had some great ideas to make the heavy middle eight section sound aggressive and dark to contrast with the lighter, more up-beat chorus. Vicky also likes to make her lyrics slightly ambiguous, rather than to lay it all out. So you'll need to listen and make up your own mind as to who the stalker is.
The video which accompanies the track, depicts a young girl being stalked by ghostly figures after she finds a pocket watch, but is that really who this track is about? Or is there another, more down-to-earth but equally unfavourable meaning?
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