Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Megadeth Supergroup Foiled By Dr. Phil
TV's Dr. Phil apparently prevented the live debut of the new supergroup featuring former Megadeth members Nick Menza, Chris Poland and James LoMenzo earlier this week.

The new unnamed group was scheduled to perform on the web video series Inside Metal on Tuesday (December 9th) but the performance was allegedly prevented by Dr. Phil who was filming in the next studio.

Nick Menza offered this apology on his here page, "To everybody that called or tuned in to the Inside Metal show on Tuesday. I'd like to apologize for the unfortunate circumstances that foiled our plans to perform the live jam session we promised. You could thank Dr. Phil, yea Dr. Phil, that guy who has that TV show where he invites guests to confront their problems, YAWN!!!"

He explains, "Apparently Dr. Phil was filming in the studio next us. The Dr. Phil producer, crew and Mr. Phil got wind we we're setting up to jam and asked if we not perform."

They did however sit down for an interview where they discussed the new project with host Bob Nalbandian. Watch that here.




Billy Corgan Slams Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters
(Classic Rock) Billy Corgan says he is amazed at the high profile Pearl Jam have maintained and described them as derivative and he also takes aim at Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters, accusing them of not evolving as musicians.

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman says Eddie Vedder's band "don't have the songs" to compete with his own work. On Pearl Jam's continued success, Corgan tells Howard Stern: "It's a mystery to me, because I just don't get it. They don't have the songs. People will take that the wrong way but speaking competitively, they are my competitors and I have to say who am I competing against and why."

Corgan praises Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's legacy and says his songs will "stand the test of time," but he isn't as complimentary about Grohl. He says: "Dave is a great musician, a great songwriter and has done the work but to me, my criticism of the Foo Fighters, if I'm being a music critic, is that they just haven't evolved and that's sort of the recent wrap on them is, you know, making the same music.

"Obviously, I've put my whole life on the line for making different types music as I've gone along. I know it's not for everybody. Listen, Dave's getting it done so it's like, if you want to be competitive, my philosophy against his, he's the one winning."

Read more and stream the interview here.




Metallica 'Blueprinting' New Music
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo gave an update on the songwriting progress the band is making for their next studio album. He gave the details during an interview with Rock Cellar Magazine about his new Jaco Pastorius film.

Trujillo was asked how the new songs were sounding and he replied, "We're just blueprinting everything right now. There are a lot of ideas, a lot of song bodies, you gotta go through the process. For me personally I'm really excited about what we've been able to jam out.

"I don't like to make predictions, but I'd like to think - at least for me - that I'm really happy with what's happening instrumentally. So let's see how that journey continues.

"Writing a Metallica song is a journey and a process, and it takes time. But that's what's special about it. Metallica likes to nurture a song, nurture an arrangement."

Read the full interview here.




AC/DC Land At No. 3 With Rock Or Bust
(hennemusic) AC/DC have debuted at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 album chart with "Rock Or Bust." The US chart news follows a No. 1 debut for the project in Australia and a No. 3 start in the UK.

Billboard reports the band sold 174,00 copies of the new album during its opening week to land in the third spot behind Pentatonix ("That's Christmas To Me") and Taylor Swift ("1989").

"Rock Or Bust" is AC/DC's ninth US top 10; their previous release - 2008's "Black Ice" - delivered the group its first US No. 1 with first week sales of 784,000. Read more here.





Slipknot Star Compares Moshing To Bullying
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot's Chris Fehn says moshing has become a form of bullying. The percussionist believes selfish fans are ruining the experience for others and turning the moshpit into an intimidating place - when it should create an inclusive atmosphere.

Fehn tells Music Review: "I think, especially in America, moshing has turned into a form of bullying. The big guy stands in the middle and just trucks any small kid that comes near him. They don't mosh properly anymore.

"It sucks because that's not what it's about. Those guys need to be kicked out. A proper mosh pit is a great way to be as a group and dance, and just do your thing."

Fehn adds that he is a fan of the current vinyl revival and says he feels the format brings listeners closer to the music. Read more here.





Ritchie Blackmore Wants To Rock Again Says Rainbow Frontman
(Classic Rock) Joe Lynn Turner claims former bandmate Ritchie Blackmore wants to return to rock music - and says the guitarist deserves the acclaim that's waiting for him if he does.

Blackmore has immersed himself in folk rock since quitting Deep Purple mid-tour in 1993, then splitting Rainbow four years later. His band Blackmore's Night released their ninth album in 2013.

The singer tells Rockin' Metal Revival: "I've been in touch with Ritchie's camp. Hopefully we'll get something a little bit further in the talks in December. Now is the time - 2015. Everybody's sitting there waiting for this to happen."

Turner reports he's had positive reactions from industry bodies including Live Nation and Universal Music Group and adds: "All we need is the nod from Richie to say, 'I'm ready to of it.'"

He continues: "I know he's got a trigger finger itchy to play some rock. Then he can go back to Blackmore's Night. He's different guy than he was but at the same time he's still Ritchie Blackmore and he needs to do this." Read more and check out a stream of the full interview here.





Korn Frontman Gets Personal Over Son's Disease
(TeamRock Radio) Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has made an emotional appeal on behalf of a diabetes charity. The singer's youngest son Zeppelin has Type 1 diabetes and needs daily injections of insulin and to test his blood sugar levels multiple times every day.

Davis penned new song So Unfair about his son's struggle with the condition. All proceeds will go to the American charity JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), which is working to find a cure for the condition.

Zeppelin, who is six, displayed symptoms including extreme tiredness and lethargy before doctors discovered high blood glucose levels which indicated Type 1 diabetes.

Davis says: "Zeppy has had Type 1 diabetes for now a over a year. It's a battle for the parents, it's a battle for him, it's a battle for everybody. I have to constantly monitor his glucose, I have to constantly hurt him and stick him with needles, and he doesn't understand.

"It's a horrible disease and I really wanna do whatever I can do to make a difference to help find a cure for this. Because it just doesn't affect my son. I feel for everyone who has this disease. It's not fair at all. And so I started writing this song, So Unfair, about it.

"Because you're asking a child not to eat candy. I've gotta watch his carbs, I've gotta watch the sugar count, I've gotta watch everything. And how do you tell a child, 'You can't eat this. You can't do this. You can't do that.' Read more here.





Judas Priest Expanding Defenders Of The Faith For 30th Anniversary
(hennemusic) Judas Priest have announced that they will release an expanded 30th anniversary edition of their 1984 album, "Defenders Of The Faith", on March 9 (March 10 in North America).

The 3CD package will include the original album, fully remastered and a complete live recording from the 'Defenders' tour, recorded at the Long Beach Arena in California on May 5, 1984.

The original album went platinum in the US with sales of more than 1 million and featured the singles "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Love Bites."

"It's 30 years since we released 'Defenders of the Faith'," says the band. "We're very proud to say it has become a classic that's beloved by Priest fans throughout the world" Read more including the tracklisting here.





Superjoint Ritual and Mastodon Added To Hellfest
(Classic Rock) Superjoint Ritual and Mastodon are among the second batch of acts to be added to next year's Hellfest bill. As the French festival confirms its weekend tickets have sold out, Phil Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual have confirmed their recent reunion will continue with an appearance in Clisson on the weekend of 19, 20 and 21 June.

A Day To Remember, Epica, Butcher Babies, Haken, Peter And The Test Tube Babies and Snot are also among the second batch of bands to be confirmed.

Organisers say: "It is with great excitement that we announce that the Hellfest three-day passes have already sold out. It's the first time in the festival's history that this is happened." Read more here.





Pink Floyd Star Takes Part In The Paddington Trail
(hennemusic) Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is among the celebrities participating in The Paddington Trail this fall as a fundraiser for two children's charities in the UK.

Mason and others - including David Beckham, Emma Watson and Stephen Fry - have designed versions of the classic children's character Paddington Bear, now on display around London.

Mason's design uses Pink Floyd's 1975 album, "Wish You Were Here", as its inspiration (with his suitcase having various backstage passes affixed) and can be found at the O2 Arena.

The bears form The Paddington Trail, a fundraising effort to benefit the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) and children's charity Action Medical Research, for whom Paddington Bear has been the official mascot for over 35 years. Read more here.





10cc To Play Classic Album On Upcoming Tour
(Classic Rock) 10cc will perform their classic album Sheet Music on a widespread UK tour next year. The art-pop pioneers hit the road for 16 dates in February before a shorter run of three shows in May.

Sheet Music was released in 1974 and has been hailed as their best work by bassist Graham Gouldman and founding member Kevin Godley. Godley will contribute visuals to the upcoming tour, which kicks off in Reading on February 5 and celebrates the album's 40th anniversary. They will perform the record in its entirety before a second set of 10cc classics.

Led by 10cc co-founder Gouldman, the current line-up has been together for over a decade. Gouldman says: "Year on year we get busier and visit more countries. It's great, we love touring and playing together and the audiences these days are very gratifying. You get the people you would expect, who grew up with 10cc, but you also get young kids who know the songs too."

Read more and see the tour dates here.





Judas Priest Legend Launches Metal Fragrance Line
(hennemusic) Original Judas Priest guitarist K. K. Downing has announced the launch of his own fragrance line, Metal For Men, which he says are aimed at rock and metal fans.

"I thought it was about time that there were some quality products available for rock and metal fans," explains Downing. "The fragrances are extremely high quality and I am sure that you will enjoy them."

With the Metal For Men slogan, "Be Metal. Be Men.", Downing says the new line includes products for both men and women (Metal pour Femme). Read more here.




Electric Wizard Announce One-Off Show
(Classic Rock) Electric Wizard have confirmed a one-off show at the Roundhouse in London on May 15 next year. They're continuing to support eighth album Time To Die, launched via Spinefarm Records in September, which gave them the highest chart placings in their career.

They plan to release a single entitled Lucifer's Slaves ahead of the London show, complete with artwork designed by the band themselves, and additional unreleased material. They're also preparing to announce their first US tour in 12 years.

Mainman Jus Oborn recently told TeamRock: "You get to a certain age and you think, 'What am I going to do? Am I going to do sh*tty jobs and do the band part-time?' It's got be one or the other." Read more here.





Gamma Ray Announce Career-Spanning Retrospect
(Classic Rock) Gamma Ray have confirm they are to release a career-spanning compilation early in the new year. It includes tracks from the band's debut Heading For Tomorrow through to their latest effort Empire Of The Undead.

The Best Of Gamma Ray will be issued via earMusic on January 30 in a standard 2CD edition, as well as a 4LP version and a limited 2CD package with leather-style packaging.

All 25 tracks have been re-mastered by Eike Freese and the liner notes have been written by guitarist Kai Hansen. They also plan more releases for next year. Read more and see the cover art here.





Bonafide Releasing New Album Early Next Year
(Classic Rock) Bonafide have revealed their fifth album will be released in February. The Swedish rockers will issue Denim Devils on February 2 via Off Yer Rocka Recordings ahead of a summer European tour.

The follow-up to 2013's Bombo was recorded in bassist Martin Ekelund's own studio Lemon Recordings in Klippan, Sweden. Frontman Pontus Snibb says:

"This record has a tougher live vibe and sound than the previous one, as it was recorded almost live in the studio. We wanted to get as close to a live show as possible, to capture that magic that happens on stage when everything's coming together."

Read more here.




Onslaught Knew Within Seconds That Hiring Neil Turbin Was A Mistake
(Classic Rock) Onslaught's Nige Rockett says he knew within seconds that they'd made a mistake in hiring Neil Turbin. The thrash veterans hired the former Anthrax frontman to fill in for Sy Keeler on their US tour when Keeler took time off to deal with personal issues.

But Onslaught and Turbin had an angry parting of the ways with two shows still to go on the US jaunt. Turbin insisted he quit, while the band said he had been sacked.

Now guitarist Rockett says he knew the appointment was a mistake 30 seconds into their first gig together. Rockett tells Jimmy Cabbs: "Thirty seconds into the first song in New York, we all looked at each other and it was, like, 'For f*** sake, man.'

"And it was just a disaster, the whole show. It was being filmed. And it was sold out. We could have sold the show out twice last time, and it was just, like, 'Wow, you killed it, man.'" Read more here.




Former Sound Of Contact Star Dave Kerzner Releases Solo Debut
(TeamRock Radio) Former Sound Of Contact man Dave Kerzner has released his debut solo album New World. The double-length included guest appearances from Steve Hackett, Francis Dunnery, Keith Emerson, Nick D'Virgilio, Simon Phillips, Billy Sherwood, David Longdon, Heather Findlay, Durga McBroom, Colin Edwin and others.

New World is available now on iTunes, Amazon and other digital sites, while a CD edition will follow later this month via www.davekerzner.com and other distributors to be confirmed next month.

In the current edition of Prog, out now, Kerzner says: "My general thing is to be eclectic. You'll hear all sorts of stuff: Genesis, Queen, King Crimson, Beatles. I like to think in a way that serves the song, having one foot in nostalgia, one in the modern world." Read more here.




HIM Freshen Up Older Releases For Reissue
(TeamRock Radio) HIM frontman Ville Valo says the band decided to remaster a selection of their older releases as they wanted to freshen up their sound. The Finnish rockers have just released Lashes To Ashes, Lust To Dust: A Vinyl Retrospective '96-'03.

It features their first four albums: Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666, Razorblade Romance, Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights and Love Metal, along with their debut EP 666 Ways To Love: Prologue.

And Valo says while he was happy with the original albums, remastering them gave the band the opportunity to bring their sound up to date. He tells Artisan News: "I don't think there's anything wrong with the albums but the EP was done in 1996, the first album was in 1997, and it was 1999 when we recorded Razorblade Romance.

"That was a long time ago, and that was when the 'loudness wars' started, so people started to master everything so loud that rock albums started lacking dynamics. The best example was Death Magnetic by Metallica. It's terribly loud but it's probably what they went for, and it does sound aggressive, but at least in my ears it wears them out easy." Read more here.




Arjen Lucassen Plans More Shows With Anneke Van Gierbergen
(Prog) Arjen Lucassen has confirmed he'll play more acoustic shows than originally planned with Anneke Van Gierbergen. The notoriously private Lucassen recently completed work on The Diary, a collaborative album with Van Giersbergen under the name The Gentle Storm. But he'll only play one show with the band - their first, on March 26 in Amsterdam.

He says: "don't ask me how she did it, but somehow Anneke managed to convince this total recluse to join her as a special guest for some acoustic shows in February.

"If anyone else had asked I'd have turned them down flat - but to share the stage with Anneke is something I simply couldn't refuse. I'm slightly nervous, of course - but strangely excited at the same time. Hope to see you there." Read more here.




Blues Pills Launching UK Headline Tour
(Classic Rock) Blues Pills have confirmed a headline UK tour for April next year. It follows their debut headline run last month, and their current support slots on Rival Sons' sold-out trek.

The American-Swedish-French quartet launched their self-titled debut album in July via Nuclear Blast. They described it as "ten songs filled with feelings of love and hate, joy and sadness, relaxation and frustration, all balancing together to form a whole picture."

Elin Larsson and co say of the upcoming tour supporting the album: "We can't get enough of the UK so we're coming back for another tour. See you there!"

Check out the dates and a video here.







Van Halen Frontman David Lee Roth Releases Christmas Song
(hennemusic) David Lee Roth has released a new song for the season, "Happy Holidays." The Van Halen frontman delievers a fast-paced acoustic folk tune complete with harmonica and manages to name-drop Santa, Elvis and Oprah along the way.

"Happy Holidays from Diamond Dave's Tiki Bunker ..." says Roth. Earlier this year, the singer revealed that he had been working on a secret Van Halen project.

"Doing some catching up here, a little bit of a scrapbook," explained Roth. "We've been doing a lot of travelling. [I've been] working on a great Van Halen project - can't announce anything … or I'd have to come find you and swear you to secrecy."

At press time, there remains no official word from the Van Halen camp regarding an update on new music or further details about the project Roth referred to earlier this year. Check out the song here.



Canadian Prime Minister Rocks Guns N' Roses Classic
(hennemusic) Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper performed the Guns N' Roses classic, "Sweet Child O' Mine", at the Conservative Party of Canada's annual Christmas party in Ottawa Tuesday night.

Sun News Network reports the tune was one of several played by Harper and his band, the Van Cats, in a 7-song set that included tracks by Johnny Cash, John Denver and The Beatles.

The third single from 1987's "Appetite For Destruction", "Sweet Child O' Mine" delivered Guns N' Roses their first and only No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Check out video of Harper's performance here.




Ian Reflects On Rough Road For Anthrax
(Classic Rock) Anthrax mainman Scott Ian says the band won't ever be derailed by line-up changes or lack of record company support. The guitarist says the band's destiny is in their own hands and that they will decide when to call it a day - no matter what is going on behind the scenes.

Anthrax have survived a number of line-up changes, lawsuits and a difficult experience with their former label Elektra to find themselves once again as relevant an act as they were in their early days.

The band accused Elektra of not doing enough to support 1995 album Stomp 442 and they parted company soon after it release. Ian tells Hangar 19 (via Blabbermouth): "Nobody can take away what we're doing. The only way Anthrax ever stops is if we decide it stops. In the 90s, the business changed and things started to go awry for us, like at Elektra and then after that, all the way up to 2010.

"And it's not like people were out there trying to get rid of Anthrax, but it's just the business became a place where it was hard for a band like us to survive.

"And you know what, we just put our heads down and we said, 'Look, we were doing this before we were anything. Before we had a record deal, we were a working band, and that's all we did.'

"And we put our heads down and we just went to work. And we just continued touring and we wrote songs and we made records and we just continued doing what we were doing. The strength of people all around the world who dig what we do, and who enable us to do what we do - our fans - they kept us alive all those years until suddenly in 2010, there was a little shift and things started to change again." Read more here.




Steven Van Zandt and Jimmy Fallon Duet Frank Sinatra Classic
(Radio.com) Hours after Bob Dylan announced an album of "uncovers" of Frank Sinatra songs, E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt joined Jimmy Fallon on NBC's Tonight Show to duet on a Sinatra classic.

The pair, backed by the Roots, performed "My Kind of Town" last night. The reason: Van Zandt covers the song, in character, on his Netflix series Lilyhammer, and it is now available as a digital single from Van Zandt's record label, Wicked Cool Records. Additionally, Van Zandt has curated Lilyhammer: The Score, a three-volume digital boxset of music that Van Zandt scored for the film.

Van Zandt is not only Lilyhammer's star and music supervisor, he also scored part of the first season and all of seasons two and three of the series--which explains why he missed much of Bruce Springsteen's recent tours (also, Lilyhammer films in Norway). Although Springsteen did give Van Zandt the mic to open the show on April 29, 2013, with a rendition of "My Kind of Town."






No Sinner Giving Away Christmas Song
(Classic Rock) No Sinner have offered a free download of seasonal track Baby Please Come Home. It's part of a 43-track playlist available free of charge to Amazon Prime users, with contributions from a range of artists across many genres.

The Canadian trio were nominated in the Best New Band category at this year's Classic Rock Roll Of Honour awards, following the release of acclaimed debut album Boo Hoo Hoo last year.

Frontwoman Colleen Rennison has been referred to as "the new Janis Joplin." She responded to the comparison by saying: "I want to bridge the gap between class and trash. I love the idea of these women who lived in a man's world on the road."

Stream the track and grab the download link here.




Jonny Greenwood Revamps Radiohead 'Spooks' For 'Inherent Vice'
(Radio.com) One of the biggest draws of the upcoming oddball ensemble movie Inherent Vice, set in the 1970s and based on the Thomas Pynchon novel of the same name, is the music. Aside from the fact that folk harpist Joanna Newsom is the film's narrator, its soundtrack was composed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood.

Today brings the first listen to the soundtrack, in the form of a two-and-a-half-minute spacey blues jam featuring narration by Newsom straight out of the script and instrumental work by Supergrass members Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey.

The crew captures the feel of the time in their atmospheric track with softly wailing guitar riffs, sparse percussion and building basslines. It sounds exactly like the kind of record the story's protagonist--stoner-detective Doc Sportello, played by Joaquin Phoenix--would put on. The song was originally revealed in 2006 as a non-album track from Radiohead. Listen here.




Sworn Amongst Premiere New Song Kolin Nem
(TeamRock Radio) Midland metallers Sworn Amongst have unveiled the new lyric video for their song Kolin Nem, which is taken from the upcoming album Under A Titan Sky.

Kolin Nem is the first official single from the band's upcoming third full-length and is a politically, emotionally and socially charged piece of punishment.

Their forthcoming LP Under A Titan Sky is slated for a 2015 release via the band's new label Concept Sweden Records, no doubt with a tour to follow. Watch the video here.




Singled Out: Kingnaldo's Hollywood Blow
Today King of Kingnaldo who released their latest EP "Memorandum" tell us about their single "Hollywood Blow". Kingnaldo is a recording artist, musician, producer & engineer from Las Marias, Puerto Rico currently residing in Yorkville, Ga and Las Marias, Puerto Rico. His music is a mix of old and new rock. Here's is the story:

I spend about a little more than 2 years working as a damn extra in Hollywood movies in Atlanta, GA. What they called background artist, which is bull sh*t, cause you are just a damn extra, there is nothing artistic about it. So I'm the kind of person that likes to observe others behavior and study them. So by observing the behavior of the extras "their fantasy and mediocre hopes", the people that work in the productions "thinking they are the big sh*t, the superiors", and the f***ing famous Hollywood Elite stinky rich untalented MF… "thinking that they are some type of a God, or some type of a superior kind; you can't look at them, you can't touch them.. These people making a ton of money per day, while homeless hungry people from the city are surrounding the movie sets". And of course there are some exemptions but talking about the majority. All that kind of sh*t did blow me away, cause you don't believe it till you lived it, and honestly I never gave a sh*t, and most of the time didn't follow the rules on the sets, sometimes getting in trouble, cause they want you to behave like a kindergarten. So f*** that… Got tired, and never came back again, but I remember that in one of those sets I wrote a note, a title called Hollywood Blow…

Meanwhile I traveled to Los Angeles, CA. Hollywood area, to begin recording MEMORANDUM with Doug Grean, Producer that had worked with Scott Weiland, STP, Velvet Revolver, Slash, Crystal Method, among others… We were staying in Beverly Hills with Hollywood Elite neighbors, and later we stayed by Hollywood Blvd. very close from the Chinese theater… for about 3 weeks total. I remember reading a sticker that was on a drum in one of the studios that said "Hollywood Is Pretend". And that was it, cause that's how the mentality is, they are mentally ill, not just for those ignorant in Hollywood, but for the rest of the world. That's how powerful Hollywood has become, that a child from the states will have the same dreams, as a child from a third world country. They all want to be famous, they all want to be part of this Hollywood massive extreme media empire… "become a famous football player, or be the next Clint Eastwood, or the next super rock pop star"… Those are lies, the false hopes, the self destructive dream that the Hollywood Elite give to the world… And they are all mentally ill, and depressed. So by observing all that sh*t, for all that time, monster song Hollywood Blow was born. I remember writing the first verse "She is the inspiration, The exploitation of the World, She is the educator, The sensation of control, She is the machine, The creator Hollywood Blow"… And saying this is a monster… Then I remember, a song that was a jam by that time, that I had recorded in a rehearsal shack back in Puerto Rico the day before we opened for Latin Metal Band PUYA and ANKLA. And that was the one. I took it to my studio north of Atlanta, GA. and record it, structure it, and made it a song, we made a pre-production of the song. With that magical guitar riff, than later I invited Ramon Ortiz from Latin Metal Band PUYA to record a song in my album, he was living in L.A. at that time, he heard the songs and he picked Hollywood Blow… That was the last touch that song need it to become a super monster song in the studio. Is a song that could have one meaning, but honestly, your mind will take you to different situations with this car chase type of song. Thanks for reading and listening. Hope to see you around soon. \m/

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 Green Day Star Battling Cancer Green Day revealed that guitarist Jason White has been diagnosed with ton...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Green Day Star Battling Cancer
Green Day revealed that guitarist Jason White has been diagnosed with tonsil cancer, but they expect that he will make a full recovery since the cancer was discovered early.

White first began performing lead guitar live with the band in 1999. The group posted the following message on their official website about White's cancer:

"We have some news to report regarding our brother Jason White, and wanted you to hear it from us before word spread. Jason recently underwent a routine tonsillectomy, and his doctors discovered a treatable form of tonsil cancer.

"Thankfully they caught it early and he should make a full and speedy recovery. Please join us in sending him love and positive healing vibes during this time."




Guns N' Roses New Album May Include Slash Contribution
(TeamRock Radio) Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus has suggested their next album could include music written by former lead guitarist Slash - nearly 20 years after he left the band.

Speculation has been rife in recent months that Axl Rose is close to confirming the long-awaited follow-up release to 2008's Chinese Democracy.

Speaking at a workshop event last month, Fortus said: "There's so much stuff that's recorded. There's three albums worth of material, easy. Axl is very secretive - he doesn't want stuff getting out. He wants to create stuff then release it when it's ready. He's also a bit of a perfectionist, as you can imagine."

He added: "Some of the stuff comes from nothing and some of the stuff were ideas that were already there. Some of the stuff Slash did - it was the beginning of the seed of a song that's been around for a while." Read more here.




Ronnie James Dio Tribute Leads Metal Grammy Nominations
(Classic Rock) The all-star Ronnie James Dio tribute album This Is Your Life leads the nominations in the Best Metal Performance category at the next Grammy Awards.

Anthrax's version of Black Sabbath's Neon Knights and Tenacious D's take on Dio's The Last in Line will compete for the honour against Slipknot's The Negative One, Motorhead's Heartbreaker and Mastodon's High Road.

The 57th annual ceremony takes place on February 8 in LA. The period of eligibility for this year's awards cover tracks released between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014.

Dio's widow Wendy tweeted: "Thanks to The Grammys for nominating songs from Anthrax and Tenacious D from This Is Your Life. Ronnie James Dio for a Grammy Award!" Read more here.




Slayer Rescue Freezing Kitten
(Classic Rock) Slayer rescued a lost kitten from the streets of Indianapolis this week - and found her an owner and a name. Guitarist Kerry King and some members of the band's crew had finished dinner in Indianapolis, Indiana, ahead of the thrash icons' show in the city's Old National Centre.

The cat was being offered for sale by a homeless man. Manager Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald tells Nuvo.net: "Assistant tour manager Jess Cortese saw a man on the street, who offered up the little kitten for a dollar.

"The kitten was freezing so Jess took it. She slept on the bus and went to the venue with her today, hanging out. One of the runners knew someone who wanted a kitten, so the little guy now has a new home." Read more and check out a photo here.





Def Leppard Return To The Studio
(TeamRock Radio) Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has revealed the band have restarted studio work on their tenth album. He recently said the follow-up to 2008's Songs From The Sparkle Lounge would be "a lot more basic and raw" than previous outings.

Work had been slowed by the band's live commitments and guitarist Vivian Campbell's stem-cell treatment for cancer. Now Elliott tells the Belfast Telegraph:

"We're back on it now and hoping to get it finished by early spring. I was in the studio last night, actually, and I'll be in again tonight - if I don't wear my voice out."

The project was kickstarted earlier this year with a pair of marathon songwriting sessions that yielded material for 15 tracks. Read more here.




Slipknot's Jim Root Believes Paul Gray Helped Him Write New Song
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot's Jim Root believes late bandmate Paul Gray helped him write songs for latest album .5: The Gray Chapter. The Grammy-nominated record is their first after the bassist's death in 2010, and frontman Corey Taylor has heaped praise on the guitarist for "stepping up" with his writing.

Root tells Mcall.com: "I realised when I was demoing in my garage that I was approaching the way I put arrangements together a little bit differently.

"I was exploring the fretboard, trying different places to play. I was putting spots in the songs where I could hear, like, 'This might be something that Sid Wilson would want to go over. This might be something Craig Jones might want to go over.' I also had to think about the way Corey might sing.

"Then I realised - that's the way Paul would work. I had an epiphany. It dawned on me that he was helping me through it. I'm not hugely spiritual or religious, but that made me think: people do live on through you." Read more here.




Ellefson Explains Megadeth's Plans Following Members' Exits
(Classic Rock) David Ellefson says Megadeth are aiming to stick to their album schedule - despite the departure of Chris Broderick and Glenn Drover last month. But he accepts the band will be off the road for most of 2015, while arguing that the split took place at the best possible time.

The guitarist and drummer both announced they'd quit on the same day, leaving Ellefson and frontman Dave Mustaine the only current members of the thrash giants. The bassist last week confirmed it wasn't the end of the band.

Now Ellefson tells the Classic Metal Show: "We're scheduled start a new record after the first of the year, to release later in 2015, and touring to take on from there. In an ironic way, if there's going to be changes, it's definitely better that it happens when you're off the road than in the middle of a tour.

"We've had that happen over the years too - members need to move on in the middle of a tour. You've really got your back against the wall. So we do have a little bit of a luxury of time right now." Read more here.




AC/DC Singer Was Unsure Band Would Continue Without Malcolm
(Classic Rock) AC/DC singer Brian Johnson had admitted he wasn't sure the band would continue without Malcolm Young. He knew he had to leave the decision to the mainman's brother Angus - and says he'd have accepted whatever the guitarist said.

The band last week released 17th album Rock Or Bust, their first without mainman Malcolm Young, who was forced to retire as a result of dementia. Johnson tells ABC Australia:

"To me it was always up to Angus. He's one of these two men who made riffs that nobody else made, since they were in school. I really thought it might not happen. If Angus turned round and said, 'I can't do it without Malcolm,' I would have understood."

He describes working without Malcolm as "a strange feeling," adding: "Your workmate you've been with for the last 35 years isn't there any more. For Angus it was more - it was his brother." Read more here.





Classic Rage Lineup Reunite As Refuge
(Classic Rock) The classic line up of Rage have reunited in a new project under the name Refuge for live performances next year. Singer and sole constant member Peavy Wagner will welcome back guitarist Manni Schmidt and drummer Chris Efthimiadis, who both joined in 1988 and left in 1994 and 1999 respectively. Together, they recorded five albums.

The formation came about following a secret show in their German hometown of Herne recently, following years of little contact. The gig was mainly promoted through word of mouth and social media - but it attracted 1200 fans.

The band say: "We are very happy to announce that we will have the opportunity to travel with you through the early years, 1988-1993, one more time in the festival summer of 2015." Read more and check out a video here.




The Faceless Singer The Latest To Leave The Band
(TeamRock Radio) The Faceless have lost a third member in six weeks after frontman Geoffrey Ficco ended his four-year tenure with the band. It follows the departure of bassist Evan Brewer and drummer Alex Rudinger in October.

The split forced the cancellation of a UK tour planned for November. Now Ficco says: "After nearly four years with the band I have decided to leave to pursue new opportunities.

"Thank you to the fans, as well as the past and present members, for the unforgettable experience." He's planning to focus on his black metal band Ys, who launched an album in November. Read more here.




Phil Anselmo Won't Mark Anniversary of Dimebag's Murder
(TeamRock Radio) Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo has insisted he won't mark the tenth anniversary of Dimebag Darrell Abbott's murder today. The guitarist was shot dead on December 8, 2004, in Columbus, Ohio, during a show with Damageplan. He'd formed the band with brother and drummer Vinny Paul after Pantera had split the previous year.

But Anselmo - who plays with Down in San Francisco tonight - tells Yahoo: "There is no f***ing way on this planet Earth that I am going to celebrate the death of one of my best friends.

"I won't do any Pantera songs or anything like that. Like every night I'll send out a song to Dimebag. I always send out Lifer because if there was ever a lifer in heavy metal, someone who lived it, breathed it and forged it every day, it was him.

"He is the epitome of a lifer, whether he is in the tomb or not." Read more and grab the link for TeamRock's hour long documentary about Dimebag's legacy here.




Black Star Riders Reveal New Album Details
(TeamRock Radio) Black Star Riders have unveiled the album artwork and multi-format tracklist for the follow-up to debut All Hell Breaks Loose. The Thin Lizzy offshoot's 10-song work will be released on February 23 via Nuclear Blast.

Frontman Ricky Warwick says of the sleeve art: "It's a bit of a continuation from All Hell Breaks Loose. people will see the link - it's very rock'n'roll. It's going to look cool."

He recently said of the attitude behind the album: "Life's not fair. Never has been, never will be. Sometimes you have to live with a killer instinct just to survive in the pursuit of happiness. Nobody can do for you what you should be doing for yourself." here.




Police Close Investigation of Sound Of Contact Frontman
(TeamRock Radio) Simon Collins has confirmed the police investigation over his arrest on suspicion of drug offences has been closed. The Sound Of Contact frontman, son of Genesis' Phil Collins, was detained in Wiltshire in July in relation to the dealing of class A drugs.

In a statement to TeamRock, Collins says: "Being arrested was in itself a very confusing experience. To find myself implicated in something so serious has made the last few months extremely difficult, both personally and professionally.

"I am grateful to finally be able to tell you all that these claims were completely untrue, and I am pleased to confirm that the matter in relation to myself was closed by the police at the end of September. No charges were filed against me." Read more here.




Big Plans For Ronnie James Dio Death Anniversary
(TeamRock Radio) Three days of celebrations are being lined up to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Ronnie James Dio's passing. Dio died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 - and on May 15, 16 and 17 next year, his widow Wendy Dio is holding a series of events in Los Angeles which she hopes fans from around the world will attend.

She tells Lucas H Gordon: "Next year is five year's since Ronnie's passing, May 16. So we're gonna do a very big thing for the fans. Everybody can come from all over the world. We're gonna do a big memorial in Forest Lawn in LA where he is buried.

"The day before that, we're going to do celebrity bowling here because we want to have things for the fans coming from all the world to do." Read the details about the other plans here.




Tygers Of Pan Tang Plan Limited Edition Release
(Classic Rock) Tygers Of Pan Tang have revealed they are to release a limited edition CD featuring re-recorded versions of some of their classic songs. The NWOBHM act release The Tygers Sessions: The First Wave on February 28 via Skol Records.

It features 11 tracks re-recorded for the anniversary EP releases The Spellbound Sessions and The Wildcat Sessions, which were originally available through the band's fan-club and website only, and quickly sold out.

Guitarist Robb Weir says: "I am very proud of the band's history as well as the current lineup. We should never forget the Tygers history and hope this shows we will always recognise the early days of the band." Read more here.




Foreigner Revisit Classic 4 Album
(Gibson) Foreigner will release The Best Of Foreigner 4 & More in the U.S on December 16. It was released in the U.K on Dec. 5. The album features original guitarist Mick Jones and current singer Kelly Hansen and includes new live versions of songs from their 1981 album 4, their only No. 1 album.

In addition to re-recorded versions of '4′ songs such as "Juke Box Hero," "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Urgent," The Best of Foreigner 4 & More includes other hits from the band, such as "Feels Like the First Time" and "I Want to Know What Love Is."

Many of the songs were recorded at Borgata Hotel's Music Box in Atlantic City in October 2014. "Our music has touched a lot of people worldwide," says Mick Jones. "And we've unwittingly weaved our music into the fabric of people's lives."








Morgoth Replace Singer, Announce New Album
German death metal group Morgoth revealed that they parted ways with singer Marc Grewe and already working with a new vocalist who will appear on their forthcoming album and at their upcoming concerts.

The band will be releasing the album, entitled Ungod, in spring of next year. Here is what the band had to say, "Today we must bring you the unfortunate news that we have parted ways with our longtime vocalist Marc Grewe.

"The chance for a further cooperation between us simply wasn't possible anymore. This has been an extremely tough decision for us to make, and one that was not made easily, but we believe it to be the best for the band at this stage.

"That said, we are already working with a new vocalist on our upcoming album. The record will be entitled Ungod and will be released in spring 2015 via Century Media Records.

"More details about the recordings and a string of new shows for next year will be revealed soon. Please notice: All upcoming confirmed shows will be performed as planned!"




Queen's Brian May Warns Of Asteroid Danger
(Classic Rock) Queen guitarist Brian May says it's only a matter of time until humanity is destroyed by a giant asteroid hurtling into the earth. More than 100 people have joined the call for governments and private business to do more to track and detect asteroids.

May - who has a doctorate in astronomy - is one of a group of scientists who are calling for efforts to be increased to detect asteroids capable of causing widespread destruction of the planet.

May tells the Financial Times: "The more we learn about asteroid impacts, the clearer it becomes that the human race has been living on borrowed time. The campaign launched this week is intended to raise awareness and put pressure on governments to act." Read more here.




Wilko Johnson Missed Out On Album With Roger Daltrey Success
(TeamRock Radio) Wilko Johnson says he wasn't able to fully understand what was going on when Going Back Home, his album with Roger Daltrey, was declared a success.

He was being prepared for lifesaving surgery on his pancreatic cancer when he was told of the award-winning record's sales success. Johnson tells the BBC: "When it was being released I was already in hospital. The surgeons at Addenbrookes Hospital had determined they could operate so I'd said, 'Okay, have a go.' I was lying in a bed full of tubes and morphine as it was being released.

"I remember people coming in and telling me, 'It's really selling - it's been really successful,' and me going, 'Really good man,' while not really quite aware of what was going on."

Read more here.




The Gift Announce Christmas Show
(Prog) The Gift have confirmed that they will be performing a Christmas show on December 21 at The Bedford in London - part of the venue's MidWinter Madness event.

The symphonic prog outfit will be joined by A Formal Horse, Red Letter and The Far Meadow. Their next UK show takes place on April 25 at the Matchroom in Plymouth, as a double-header show with Synaesthesia.

The Gift launched second album Land Of Shadows in April this year via Bad Elephant Music. Prog hailed its "sense of honesty" and added: "A long time coming, it may not break new ground, but it successfully evokes the spirit of prog gone by." More including a song stream here.




Theory Of A Deadman Announce Intimate UK Tour
(Classic Rock) Theory Of A Deadman will return to the UK for six shows in April, they've confirmed. They will be touring in support of their fifth album Savages, which was released earlier this year.

The Canadian outfit aim to keep ticket prices low for the run of intimate shows, following their recent arena tour with labelmates Black Stone Cherry.

Frontman Tyler Connolly says: "We're super-excited to be coming back. Some of our fondest memories are over there, and the fans are seriously the best. We've tried to keep tickets cheap so everyone can go." Read more and see the dates here.




The IT Crowd Star Matt Berry Announces One-Off Concert
(TeamRock Radio) The IT Crowd star and prog musician Matt Berry is set to play a rare, one-off concert at The Forum in Kentish Town on February 13. The comedian, writer and multi-instrumentalist - who's currently playing the lead role in sitcom Toast Of London - will be joined by his band, The Maypoles, who feature the former Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss on guitar.

Berry says: "It's difficult to find the time to play the music between the comedy, so every break from filming leaves me itching to record or perform new material. Whenever I get the opportunity, I jump at it."

He'll perform a set of songs taken from his five studio albums, including 2011's Witchazel, 2013's Kill The Wolf and his latest release, Music For Insomniacs. Read more including details of a special release here.





Sammy Hagar Unplugs For Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has released a stripped-down, acoustic version of the Depeche Mode classic, "Personal Jesus." While the Red Rocker previously issued a full electric take on the track as part of his 2013 album, "Sammy Hagar & Friends", the acoustic offering is now available via iTunes as part of an exclusive 12-song Bonus edition of his new album, "Lite Roast."

"For those who have already purchased the album," says Hagar, "you can grab just the new track on it's own." Download "Personal Jesus" from iTunes here.

Released in October, "Lite Roast" sees the singer teamed with Waboritas guitarist Vic Johnson to deliver stripped-down versions of tunes from his career.

"Lite Roast" was inspired by the rehearsals for Sammy's appearance at the Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit show in May, which raised funds for the Pediatric Cancer Program at the University Of California, San Francisco UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.

Check out the electric version of "Personal Jesus" from the "Sammy Hagar & Friends" album here.




Paul Di'Anno Streaming Track From Iron Maiden Tribute Album
(hennemusic) Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno is sharing a preview of "Running Free" from the upcoming release, "A Tribute To Iron Maiden - Celebrating The Beast Vol. 1 (The Evil That Men Do)."

Di'Anno contributes four classic Maiden tunes to the collection, including "Wrathchild", "Phantom Of The Opera" and "Iron Maiden" - all songs he originally recorded during his tenure with the band from 1978-1981.

Di'Anno was the voice and frontman for Maiden in their formative years; he appeared on the band's first two albums, 1980's "Iron Maiden" and 1981's "Killers", as well as 1981's "Maiden Japan" live EP.

Due January 23, "A Tribute To Iron Maiden - Celebrating The Beast Vol. 1 (The Evil That Men Do)" also features covers by Doogie White (Michael Schenker Group), Steve Grimmett (ex-Grim Reaper), Steve Overland (Overland, FMUK) and Gary Barden. Watch the video here.




Hellyeah Guitarist Challenges Rising Bands To Be Better
(TeamRock Radio) Hellyeah guitarist Tom Maxwell has challenging rising-star bands to make stronger albums instead of concentrating on a handful of radio-friendly singles.

And he thinks many young musicians don't try hard enough to establish their own sonic identity - which is one reason why record sales continue to plummet.

Maxwell tells KJAG: "I listen to radio and I'm hearing bands, and I can't differentiate who they are. There's a thousand Nickelback bands. There's a new Slipknot band showing up every once in a while. And it's just sh*t - unfocused with no passion."

He believes the problem is: "Most of these new bands are writing for that single. They want to chart." But he warns: "There's a lot of competition out there. Unless you have something that really speaks volumes and can separate you from the rest of the pack, you're just going to follow the sheep."

Maxwell thinks the solution is for up-and-coming artists to "so some soul-searching musically." Read more here.




Metal Supergroup Serious Black Release New Song, Set Album Release
(TeamRock Radio) Power metal supergroup Serious Black have confirmed details of their debut album and released a lyric video for the track I Seek No Other Life. They will release debut album As Daylight Breaks on January 20.

Formed over the past year by Masterplan guitarist Roland Grapow and ex-Visions Of Atlantis bassist Mario Lochert, the band also comprises ex-Blind Guardian drummer Thomen Stauch, Edenbridge guitarist Dominik Sebastian, former Dreamscape keyboardist Jan Vacik and ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed.

A statement from the band says: "Initially, it turned out to be quite a task to bring these full-time musical workaholics together in one studio at the same time. Needless to say, when they arrived at the Dreamsound Studios, Munich, none of the blokes had any idea, yet, where exactly their musical venture would take them.

"Serious Black is different to many of the so-called 'all star' bands because, in fact, they are a real band." Check out the lyric video here.



Jesse Leach Was Reluctant To Reunite With Killswitch Engage
(TeamRock Radio) Jesse Leach has revealed that he initially turned down the chance to rejoin Killswitch Engage because he worried he'd "feel like a fraud." Leach returned to the band after his replacement Howard Jones left in 2012 to address health issues concerning his Type 2 diabetes and bouts of anxiety.

But when he was first asked by lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz to come back, Leach refused because he wasn't sure he could sing Howard's songs. He tells The Jasta Show: "I turned it down initially thinking that I couldn't sing Howard's songs. I didn't know if I could mentally wrap my head around a song like My Curse.

"I couldn't really relate to it at the time. I thought to myself if I went on stage and tried to sing those songs I feel like a fraud. I think Howard has an incredible voice, very powerful."

Read more here.




Obituary Reaching A New Generation
(TeamRock Radio) Obituary say they are amazed by the number of young fans turning out for their joint tour with Death To All. Bass player Terry Butler says the presence of youngsters at their shows is a sign that the rock scene is in good health.

Butler tells Relapse Records: "What's killer is that there's 10-year-old kids walking up with their Leprosy shirts on, which is amazing to me. Whether their father turned them on to it or whatever, the young crowd is there."

Guitarist Trevor Peres adds: "Yeah, there's been a bunch of kids on this tour. You see them all in the front row." Read more and stream the full video interview here.





Soilwork Sound 'Better Than Ever' On New Songs
(TeamRock Radio) Soilwork frontman Bjorn 'Speed' Strid says the band are sounding "better than ever" on demos for their upcoming ninth album. Strid uploaded a picture of himself to Facebook, in which he is listening to the tunes on his laptop while enjoying a cold beer.

He says: "Listening to new Soilwork demos with a beautiful brew in my hand. All I can say is, we're better than ever, folks. It might be the alcohol but I'm feeling it for real. Pretty damn sure you will too."

The band signed with Testament frontman Chuck Billy's Breaking Bands LLC management company recently. Billy said: "I remember finding Soilwork while browsing on my computer and was hooked on them from the first listen." Read more here.




Cowards Premiere New Song
(TeamRock Radio) TeamRock are premiering "Beyond My Hands," the new track from sludgey hardcore racket-makers Cowards, taken from their upcoming album Rise To Infamy.

The Parisian noisemongers are gearing up to release their second full-length in Feburary on Throatruiner Records - and TeamRock has the exclusive first play of the single!

If you're a fan of having your ears pummeled into dust and vocals so harsh you have to wonder if their frontman moonlights as a glass eater. Punishingly beautiful. Stream the song here.




Warren Haynes Reveals Tribute To Ian 'Mac' McLagan
(The Blues Warren Haynes has released a live video clip as a tribute to Faces and Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian 'Mac' McLagan, who died last week after suffering a stroke.

Haynes says: "I'm saddened by the news of Ian's passing. I had the pleasure of recording with him for my last solo album and performing with him numerous times.

"Here's a clip of Ian with the Warren Haynes Band, live at the Moody Theater in Austin. He'll be missed." Check out the video of the performance of "Hattiesburg Hustle" here.




Poison Idea Reborn With New Lineup, Plan Next Album
(TeamRock Radio) Portland punks Poison Idea will release their seventh studio album Confuse And Conquer on the Southern Lord label next year. The album will be their first full-length since 2006's Latest Will And Testament.

It will also be the first album since the death of guitarist Tom 'Pig Champion' Roberts the same year. It also marks the return of bassist Chris 'Spider' Carey and new members Brandon Bentley and Nathan 'Skinny' Richardson.

The band say feel that the positive attitude in the recording process has been like a rebirth. Vocalist Jerry A says: "We've been screwing around for too long. We had to hang back and see whose heart was really in this thing we've been doing for 30 years and who was bullsh*tting.

"Everybody in the band now lives to play and make music. That comes first. It always has, it just took a long time to filter out the flakes and keep the diehards. Read more here.




Manic Street Preachers Can Never Repeat Holy Bible Album
(Classic Rock) Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire doesn't think the band will ever match the energy of their classic 1994 album The Holy Bible. The Welsh rockers are set for a run of shows in which they will play the entire album back-to-back.

Wire tells the NME: "I haven't played The Holy Bible through for a long time. And then sitting down... I guess the power of it did actually really resonate with me and actually did make me think, with a slight tinge of sadness, just as a band, it'd be impossible to really be that brave with that much conviction ever again."

The Manics had previously been hesitant in performing the album, as it was their last work before the disappearance of guitarist Richey Edwards the following year. Read more here.



Skarlett Riot Announce New Album
(TeamRock Radio) Skarlett Riot will release their second album We Are The Brave on February 16 and will be preceded by the single Rising on January 19, for which they have filmed a video.

The Scunthorpe rockers will also support Ozzy and Firewind guitarist Gus G on his UK tour in February. They tell Metal Temple: "We find it difficult ourselves to put a category on our sound.

"We like to just say 'rock' because we kind of mix rock, metal, pop all together to make something else. We like to feel we're original because obviously everything's been done before."

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones' Bobby Keys Dead At 70
(Classic Rock) Bobby Keys, saxophonist with the Rolling Stones, has died at the age of 70. His death was confirmed by Michael Webb, keyboardist for his band Bobby Keys And The Suffering Bastards.

He started working with the Rolling Stones in 1969 and continued until he was forced to stand down due to ill health in October - although at the time the Stones reported: "He's under doctor's orders to take it easy for the next month and hopes to see everyone soon."

Keys, a Texan, became a full-time musician at the age of 15 and worked with Buddy Holly and Bobby Vee. He first met Mick Jagger and co in 1964 although he didn't play with them until five years later when he appeared on Let It Bleed. He played on every subsequent record until 1974's It's Only Rock And Roll, then returned from 1980's Emotional Rescue to 2005's A Bigger Bang.

Other work included stints with Eric Clapton, John Lennon, George Harrison, B.B. King, Joe Cocker and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Read more here.




Metal Star Ruptures Testicle In Stage Mishap
(TeamRock Radio) Delain bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck has ruptured one of his testicles after a stage mishap. The Dutch symphonic metal outfit were performing at the O2 Academy in Birmingham when the incident happened - and it was because he was standing too close to a streamer cannon.

He says on Facebook: "They shoot silver streamers into the audience usually during The Gathering. We've been using this for ages without any problems at all, but in Birmingham things went wrong.

"In my enthusiasm I did not pay attention, and happened to be very close when the streamer fired. It hit me from the back, in my genitals. Although pain was pretty bad, I was merely pissed off at myself for not paying attention.

"During the next song, pain got worse, and I had the feeling I was bleeding. Pretty soon pain got to the point where I could barely stay conscious any more. I did manage to finish the show and even squeeze out some grunts."

It was only after the show that the extent of the damage became obvious - and he says he came close to losing the testicle. Read more here.




AC/DC's Malcolm Young Had Other Serious Health Issues
(Classic Rock) AC/DC mainman Malcolm Young faced heart and lung surgery on top of his dementia. His brother Angus says the health issues hit "all at once" - but that the retired musician is in good physical shape.

Malcolm ended his career earlier this year and didn't appear on latest AC/DC album Rock Or Bust. The symptoms of dementia began to appear before the band's three-year Black Ice world tour in 2008, and he was forced to re-learn some of his own riffs - while bandmates held themselves back from showing too much sympathy. He hasn't heard the band's 17th record.

"He had a lung operation, he had a heart operation. He seemed to get everything hit him at once," Angus tells KISW 99.9. "So he had quite a lot of things going on. But the physical side of him is great, because he got the best treatment for his lungs and for his heart. And he's also in good care. He's happy himself, because he's being well looked after." Read more here.




Son Says Scott Stapp Chose Drugs Over Family
(Classic Rock) Scott Stapp's teenage son says his father "chose drugs over his family." Jagger Stapp has urged his father to get the help he needs and claims the singer has been on a "nine-week" drugs binge.

16-year-old Jagger Stapp has told fans on Twitter that his dad refuses to get help. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Jagger was responding to a series of posts on Creed's and his dad's personal Facebook pages in which Stapp has been telling fans what songs he is listening to.

Jagger's tweet reads: "My dad is too busy posting songs on his FB hiding out for attention rather than getting his act together. To all those confused, my father once again chose drugs over his family. He needs help, but refuses to get it. He's been on a nine week binge." Read more here.




Corey Taylor Explains Stone Sour's Split With Jim Root
(Classic Rock) Corey Taylor says Stone Sour's split with Jim Root was the right thing for the band - and for Slipknot. The frontman feels that dismissing the guitarist was the best way to ensure a future for both bands, even though it's led to some "awkward" moments as the pair worked on Slipknot's album .5: The Gray Chapter.

Root was fired from Stone Sour last year, although the move wasn't made public for several months. He recently told TeamRock that, while he'd been surprised, the band had become like a "sinking ship."

Now Taylor tells Loaded Radio: "With all due respect to Jim, I just want him to be happy - and for the longest time it seemed like he wasn't. It made sense to do what we had to do to make sure that both bands could still exist."

He admits: "It was awkward at first. But the more we've talked, hung out and seen the success of the album burgeon, that takes a lot of the pressure off. It's helped him see it was the right decision - he just seems happier in Slipknot." See what's next for the band here.




The Eagles Go After Alleged Bootlegger
(Classic Rock) The Eagles are suing a man who they say charged fans to watch bootleg footage of the band in concert. According to the New York Daily News (via Rolling Stone) Don Henley and Glenn Frey say New York man William Shelley was asked to stop showing the concert footage at a cinema in Connecticut, USA - but he failed to do so.

Now they are suing him for violating copyright. In a case filed at Brooklyn Federal Court, The Eagles say they are trying to reclaim the footage along with his entire archive which includes film of performances by Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones, among others.

Shelley allegedly started filming concerts in the 1970s. The Eagles accuse him of trying to "bolster his reputation as a purported music industry 'insider' with close connections and ties to many classic rock greats." He is also accused of profiting from the screenings. Read more here.




The Who Releasing Classical Version Of Quadrophenia
(Classic Rock) The Who are to release a classical version of their Quadrophenia album in June 2015. It was recorded in October at London's Air Studios and features the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Oriana Choir and was orchestrated by guitarist Pete Townshend's partner, singer/songwriter Rachel Fuller. Who frontman Roger Daltrey has taken a back seat on the album and vocals will instead be performed by tenor Alfie Boe.

Quadrophenia Classic will receive its debut at the Royal Albert Hall, London on July 5. Tickets to go sale this Friday (December 5). The album is expected to launch at the same time via classical label Deutsche Grammophon.

Townshend, who plays electric guitar on the record, says they decided to take on the project as they wanted to reinvigorate audiences and attract people who wouldn't normally attend a classical performance. Read more here.




Peter Criss May Try Different Approach To Releasing New Songs
(Classic Rock) Former Kiss drummer Peter Criss says he is toying with the idea of releasing his next batch of music as standalone singles. Criss says releasing an album in the modern age "isn't fair for the artist".

He tells Eddie Trunk: "I've been sitting on a record. I'd done this thing five years ago and I'm still messing with it. I'm not done, because I don't wanna rush it.

"The sad thing is, you put music out today, and you download it immediately. Rock 'n' roll is not dead - I don't wanna hear that. It's far from dead. But it's just not maybe doing what it used to do.

"So I'm gonna release, probably, singles again. Like a 45, with two songs instead of putting out 13. Because it just isn't fair for the artist - you put out your songs, you download it and there's really nothing going on." Read more here.




Megadeth Star Reassures Fans About Band's Future
(Classic Rock) Megadeth will keep going following the departure of Chris Broderick and Glen Drover, says David Ellefson. He made the commitment during a fan club question-and-answer session last night. It's the first comment from within the band, which currently only features the bassist and mainman Dave Mustaine.

Guitarist Broderick and drummer Drover both announced they'd quit last month, after stints of seven and ten years respectively. Broderick cited "artistic and musical differences" while Drover said he wanted to pursue his "own musical interests."

After fan speculation, ex-axeman Glen Drover said there was "no chance" of him returning to the thrash giants. This week Jeff Young stated: "The band is done. Put a fork in it."

But last night Ellefson told fans: "As you can tell by me being here today, we are not disbanding. As of right now we're looking at all the options, of which there are many.

"We'll certainly continue working on the songs for the next record." Read more here.




Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime Ink Trilogy Album Deal
(Classic Rock) Geoff Tate's outfit Operation: Mindcrime have signed a deal with Frontiers Music Srl for the release of their planned trilogy of albums. The former Queensryche frontman gave up using his old band's name earlier this year following an out-of-court settlement and vowed to continue under the Operation: Mindcrime moniker - named after his old group's 1988 and 2006 albums.

And he says signing the deal with Frontiers Music Srl will give him the freedom he needs to turn his musical ideas for his latest project into reality. Tate says in a statement on the label's Facebook page: "All of us in Operation: Mindcrime are looking forward to the new frontier with our new label Frontiers Music Srl. They're giving us the creative freedom necessary to do the trilogy project I've envisioned for the past few years.

"It's going to be great fun for all of us involved and we hope our fans will enjoy listening to it as much as we plan to enjoy creating and recording it." Read more here.




Queen's New Year's Eve Show To Be Broadcast
(hennemusic) Queen and Adam Lambert will play an intimate UK show on New Year's Eve that will be broadcast by BBC One. The concert at Central Hall Westminster - close to the iconic landmark of Big Ben - will see just 2000 fans on hand to watch the legendary band ring in 2015.

"Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live" will take place in the build up to the clock striking midnight to see in 2015 and continue after the spectacular, world famous fireworks display along the river Thames, which will also be shown live on BBC One.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor had this to say about the special show, "I never imagined we would be around to usher in the year of 2015, what a thrill!" We promise you a great night."

"Words can't describe how excited I am," says Lambert, "we are going to kick off 2015 in style!" Guitarist Brian May adds, "OK - Let's Rock into 2015!" Read more here.




Jared Leto Lands DC Comics Villain Role In New Movie
(TeamRock Radio) Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman and Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto will play classic DC Comics villain the Joker in upcoming movie Suicide Squad, it's been confirmed.

He'll appear alongside Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevinge. Warner Bros president Greg Silverman says his firm's "roots are deep" in the project. He adds: "David Ayers returns with his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property.

"We look forward to seeing the terrific ensemble, under Ayer's guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero." Read more here.





The Neal Morse Band Reveal New Album Details
(Prog) The Neal Morse Band have confirmed the release of their album The Grand Experiment on February 16 via InsideOut. And a European tour with Beardfish as opening act includes a London date the following month.

For the first time ever, Morse - along with Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette and Bill Hubauer - began studio sessions without any material written in advance.

"I wanted to see what it would be like to create freely in the room with no preconceived notions. It was quite a risk," The bandleader says. "I used to be paranoid about whether things would turn out in the short time we had available, so I'd fill all the spaces in advance. This time I made a lot of room for the guys to express themselves - and the result is outstanding." Read more here.





Megadeth's David Ellefson Launching Spoken Word Tour
(hennemusic) Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has announced a spoken word tour of Australia for March 2015. "An Evening With David Ellefson" will feature stories from life on the road and about life as a founding member of Megadeth, as told through his 2013 memoir, "My Life With Deth."

Written with Joel McIver, the book chronicles the story of Ellefson's fall into addiction during the band's early years, followed by his subsequent recovery and the return to faith which championed the band's rise to fame over the past several decades.

The spoken word events will also feature a bass demonstration and audience Q&A. Ellefson will make appearances in five Australian cities in March, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Read more here.





Napalm Death Reveal New Album Details
(TeamRock Radio) Napalm Death have released the artwork and tracklist for their upcoming new album. The British grindcore heroes will release 15th album Apex Predator - Easy Meat in January via Century Media Records.

The artwork was created by Danish designer Frode Sylthe who has previously worked on the band's previous album Utilitarian as well as with At The Gates and The Haunted.

Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury says: "There are many meanings that you could grab from the new album artwork, I think. But one is the representation of how our natural and most basic needs for happiness and communication are being stripped away by materialism and pre-packaged garbage - crap that we don't need, filtered to us through the media via the mega-corporations with the goal to maintain the bloated bottom line of profit.

"It's all just stuff that will be obsolete in six months time. And behind the scenes of course, modern day slavery is alive, well and obscured by this facade. It's all an exercise in deceit to shower us with fake fulfilment, while the poor and underprivileged fall further by the wayside." Read more including the track details here.





Moody Blues' Justin Hayward Launching Solo Tour
(Prog) Moody Blues mainman Justin Hayward will hit the road for eight solo UK shows next year, he's confirmed. He'll play a selection of tracks from his most recent studio release Spirits Of The Western Sky which launched in 2013 along with a selection of Moody Blues songs.

Hayward says: "This tour is a joy for me. I'm able to present these songs as they were written, on the guitars that I played on the original sessions. It gives me a chance to share all the stories behind the songs. Brilliant young English guitar player Mike Dawes joins me on stage and brings extra magic to the music."

Hayward recently released Spirits… Live At The Buckland Theatre, Atlanta on CD, DVD and Blu-ray via Eagle Rock. It was filmed in late 2013 and features 15 tracks. Read more here.




Slipknot and Korn's Next Tour Leg To Include King 810
(TeamRock Radio) King 810 will join Slipknot and Korn on the European leg of the Prepare For Hell tour. Slipknot's jaunt in support of new album .5: The Gray Chapter arrives in Dublin on January 16, before nine shows in the UK and a further 11 across Europe.

And as they release a new video for their track Desperate Lovers, controversial metal newcomers King 810 today confirmed they will also be onboard for the 21 dates.

Korn and King 810 are currently on the road with Slipknot on the North America leg of the tour - although King 810 were refused entry to Canada for this week's scheduled show due to frontman David Gunn's "criminal past."

Gunn says: "We're glad to be bringing King back to the UK so soon. We're just as glad that the Prepare For Hell tour isn't coming to an end just yet and we get to watch Korn and Slipknot for another 21 shows." Read more and watch the new video here.




Funeral For A Friend Add Creeper and No Bragging Rights To Tour
(TeamRock Radio) Southampton punks Creeper and California hardcore outfit No Bragging Rights have been announced as the support acts for Funeral For A Friend's UK tour next month.

The Welsh rockers have lined up a run of eight headlining dates in January to support their upcoming seventh album Chapter And Verse. It launches on January 19 via Distiller Records and they've issued a promo for the track 1%.

Creeper will launch their debut EP on December 8 and the upcoming gigs will be their first chance to play new material live. The band say in a statement: "This is a total dream come true for the members of this band. It marks the first time Creeper have played any further out than London and will also mark the live debut of a new song on the set."

Read more and see the dates here.




Opeth Prefer Historic Venues
(TeamRock Radio) Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt says he prefers venues with a bit of history over many of the "sterile new ones." The frontman brings the band to the UK for a one-off show at the London Palladium on October 18 next year. The gig will see Opeth play their 2005 album Ghost Reveries in full as part of the band's 25th anniversary celebrations and the album's 10th anniversary.

Akerfeldt tells Roadrunner: "If you're gonna put it to extremes, if you're playing in a Mexican restaurant, which we have, with the menus and stuff and people eating tacos while watching the show, it probably generates a different atmosphere.

"The worst types of venues for me are, actually, the sterile new ones. They might sound good and stuff like that, but it feels like a warehouse. I'm not gonna say I don't enjoy playing those places - it's alright - but I prefer places with a bit of history."

Read more and stream the full interview here.




Renaissance Reveal Spring Tour Dates
(Prog) Renaissance will tour the UK in April next year, they've confirmed. Annie Haslam and co will return to the road for seven shows in support of this year's album Symphony Of Light, originally released the previous year as Grandine Il Vento.

It was their last to feature late guitarist Michael Dunford, who died after it had been completed. He was replaced by Ryche Chlanda, who's now completed four tours with the band. The Symphony Of Light edition features three bonus tracks including Renaissance Man, a tribute to co-founder Dunford.

Haslam will this week launch her Live In Philadelphia DVD, which was recorded in 1997. She describes the show as "a very special experience for us all." More including the dates here.






Linkin Park Helped Frontman Battle His Demons
(TeamRock Radio) Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda says the band pulled together to help Chester Bennington through his drink and drug problems. The frontman dabbled with drugs from an early age and the problems returned at the height of the band's success as alcoholism took a firm grip of his life.

But fellow singer Shinoda says he and the rest of the group pulled together to make sure Bennington's personal life got back on track. He tells the Metro: "When Chester had some problems, everybody jumped up to help him and tell him how supportive we wanted to be and how much it means to us that he was doing something positive.

"We're lucky to have a band full of guys who have their head screwed on straight. A lot of life experience goes into that, but we just support each other. We have each other's back. At the end of the day we love what we do. We're not willing to throw that away on anything." Read more here.




The Kinks' Davies Brothers In New Dispute
(Radio.com) The Kinks' classic "You Really Got Me" is the latest subject of a tiff between Kinks founders and brothers Ray and Dave Davies. In a recent interview with NPR, Ray claimed credit for the song's signature distorted sound.

"My brother Dave and I played records so loud it made the speakers distort, and we thought it'd be a nice idea to make the guitar sound that distorted, and we cranked up the amplifier and I stuck a knitting needle in it," he told NPR.

He gave the same account to the Wall Street Journal, and that storyline, much to Dave's umbrage, is in the play Sunny Afternoon, now playing in London.

Dave took umbrage with this, and took to his official Facebook page to address it. "My brother is lying," he wrote. "I don't know why he does this but it was my Elpico amp that I bought and out of frustration I cut the speaker cone up with a razor blade and I was so shocked and surprised and excited that it worked that I demonstrated the sound to Ray and Pete," referring to Pete Quaife, the band's original bass player who passed away in 2010.

"Pete didn't even like it and laughed and said it sounded like a dog barking. Ray liked the sound and he had written a riff on the piano which formed the basis of the song 'You Really Got Me' and I played the riff on my guitar with MY new sound. I ALONE CREATED THIS SOUND. Ray wrote 'You Really Got Me' and we used my guitar sound to embellish the song and riff. He never stuck a knitting needle or anything else in my amp. I wouldn't let anybody come near it. My amp was the ONLY amp we used to create this sound and I don't know why only in the past few years Ray has started changing the whole concept. I am just flabbergasted and shocked at the depth of his selfish desire to take credit for everything. I never once claimed songwriting royalties on 'You Really Got Me' yet this song would not have happened without my guitar sound."






Smashing Pumpkins Streaming New Album 'Monuments to an Elegy'
(Radio.com) The Smashing Pumpkins reportedly have two albums in the can--and now, at least one of them can be heard. Monuments to an Elegy, the first of two Pumpkins albums slated for release soon, is out next week (Dec. 9) but is streaming in full via iTunes Radio's First Play feature.

The album includes a small handful of songs that were already released to the general public, including first single "Being Beige" and other songs like "Tiberius," "One and All" and "Drum and Fife."

That's nearly half of the album's nine-song tracklist, but fans are certain to snap this pre-release chance to listen anyway. For the album, frontman Billy Corgan was joined by Jeff Schroeder on guitar and then guest member Tommy Lee on drums.







Angels & Airwaves Release New Song 'Tunnels'
(Radio.com) Angels & Airwaves, the side-project of Blink-182 co-founder Tom DeLonge, is about to release their fifth album on December 9, titled The Dream Walker.

The group released a new song from the album, titled "Tunnels," and DeLonge gave a little interview to Billboard to commemorate the event. But, as exciting as the new A&A song might be to fans, DeLonge's Blink-182 update in the interview might even be more exciting.

"I think we found the house we're going to start recording the next record in," DeLonge said of Blink's follow-up to 2011's Neighborhoods. "That's a big deal, finding location, for us. That's usually the biggest obstacle, finding a place everyone can get to."

DeLonge goes on to reveal the first or second week of January as the time they plan to start on the album, noting "I think the goal on this record is to really craft it together form scratch as much as we can, but it'll be a good mix of things that are partially planned out and a lot of stuff we just really dig in and create from scratch, with everyone's influence. Our best records were made that way."






Chrissie Hynde Revisits The Pretenders Christmas Hit
(Classic Rock) Chrissie Hynde releases a brand new version of The Pretenders 2000 Miles on December 15. The song was originally a Christmas hit in 1983, when it reached number 15 in the singles chart. The new version was recorded during the sessions for Hynde's first solo album, Stockholm.

"Last year while finishing up the album Stockholm, Bjorn Yttling and I made up this version of the Pretenders' 2000 Miles," says Hynde. "I think it captures the mood of the season perfectly as it gets cold in Sweden, reindeer wander the streets freely and the snow was coming down! Happy Christmas!"

The track is also available on the deluxe version of Stockholm, alongside seven live tracks - including I Go To Sleep and Brass In Pocket - recorded at the singer's recent iTunes Festival show at London's Roundhouse. Check out the song here.




David Bowie Releases Final Nothing Has Changed Trailer
(hennemusic) David Bowie has released the third and final episode 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" debuted on the UK album charts last month at No. 9 and currently sits in the No. 3 spot. Last week, the project landed at No. 1 on the Official UK Vinyl Album Chart, ahead of Pink Floyd's "The Endless River."

"Nothing Has Changed" is available as 2- and 3-disc packages, a 2-LP set, and as corresponding digital releases. You can watch the new trailer and the previous two here.




Rolling Stones Pay Tribute To Bobby Keys
(TeamRock Radio) The Rolling Stones say they've been devastated by the death of saxophonist Bobby Keys, who passed away yesterday at the age of 70. He'd worked with the band since 1969 and only stepped down in October due to ill health, with the band saying he hoped to be back after a short break.

Mick Jagger and co say via Facebook: "The Rolling Stones are devastated by the loss of their very dear friend and legendary saxophone player, Bobby Keys. Bobby made a unique musical contribution to the band since the 1960s. He will be greatly missed."

Guitarist Keith Richards wrote a personal note and published it via Twitter. It reads: "I have lost the largest pal in the world and I can't express the sense of sadness I feel - although Bobby would tell me to cheer up. My condolences to all that knew him and his love of music." Read more here.




Melissa Etheridge Releases First Video From New Album
(Classic Rock) Melissa Etheridge has released the first video from her forthcoming album. Take My Number comes from This Is M.E., the follow-up to 2012's 4th Street Feeling, and is out on January 19.

The new album includes collaborations with former OneRepublic drummer Jerrod Bettis, former Fugees producer Jerry Duplessis, Nelly Furtado songwriter Jon Levine, rapper RoccStar and Lumineers' multi-instrumentalist Neyla Pekarek.

"I haven't been this excited about making music and creating in ages," says Etheridge. "Song after song was a great experience." Check out the new music video here.




Scott Stapp Says Hurt And Frustration Inspired Facebook Video
(TeamRock Radio) Creed singer Scott Stapp has removed a video he posted on Facebook last week in which he claimed he was penniless and had been sleeping in his car. The clip was uploaded in the days after Stapp's wife Jaclyn filed for divorce, saying he'd become a "paranoid shell" by taking crystal meth, amphetamines and steroids.

She also claimed he had tried to take his own life and that the had sent her a series of threatening text messages. Stapp has since removed the video and replaced it with a statement.

He says: "I'm going to step back and let God control everything from here on. I should have continued to do that before I allowed my hurt, frustration, and emotions take control and post those videos.





Exodus Says Souza Wanted Job More Than Dukes
(Classic Rock) Exodus drummer Tom Hunting says returned frontman Steve 'Zetro' Souza "wanted it" more than the sacked Rob Dukes. Zetro returned to the band for a third spell during the recording sessions for new album Blood In Blood Out, with Exodus saying they wanted their 10th album to be "special." Dukes - who had held the job from 2005 until this year - had to make way for the man he replaced almost 10 years ago.

Hunting tells JamMagazine: "I think he wanted it more than Rob did, and we really needed somebody that wanted it like we did. I think album was 92% done, I would say, before we asked Zet to come in and do vocals.

"And he had the material for about six hours, worked on it by himself at home, and he came in and he just f***ing crushed on it. And not to take anything away from Rob, but when Zet came in and sang on it, it just sounded really natural." Read more here.




Steve Cropper Found His Style By Accident
(The Blues American guitarist, songwriter and producer Steve Cropper has revealed he discovered his playing style by accident. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Rhythm And Blues Hall Of Fame inductee has played with a host of artists over the years including Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart, Art Garfunkel while also forging his own music with the original Blues Brothers Band and Booker T & the MG's.

And he says when he was starting out, he had to play the role of two guitarists - a move which led to him developing his own sound. He tells Get Read To Rock: "It was all accidental. I didn't sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and say, 'I'm going to play this tomorrow.' All of that stuff just fell out of the ceiling, and we did it.

"The way I looked at it was, I had to be two guys, because they couldn't afford two guitar players. They didn't have the money to pay in those sessions for an extra guy." Read more here.




Singled Out: J.O.S.'s Get Up
Today Rosie Botterill from UK rockers J.O.S. tells us about the song "Get Up" from their brand new eponymous debut EP, which they are giving away for free. Here is the story:

Our new release 'Get up' was written by our singer John, its main inspiration comes from making hard decisions and I think when you really listen to the song and the lyrics the meaning behind it is very clear. But the great thing about it is that its not subjective, it can mean anything to anyone and the subject is just so appealing to everybody, I don't think anyone has gone through life without feeling like they are at a crossroads and maybe even feeling a bit lost.

Its just so easy to relate to and hopefully everyone who listens to and downloads the track will hear that. The other thing I love is that its not a sad song! You might read the description I gave and assume it'll be a slow piano ballad, thats just so over done it gets a bit boring now. Its nice to hear a song with a good meaning that people can relate to and at the same is upbeat. I think music with meaning is really lacking in the industry today.

Today's Day in Rock News!!

Today's Day in Rock


AC/DC's Phil Rudd Going To Trial
(Classic Rock) The trial of AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd for threatening to kill four people and possession of drugs is to take place next year, a judge has decided. He wasn't present at Tauranga District Court in New Zealand Tuesday as a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

He's likely to face a judge-alone trial with no jury. Judge Tom Ingram ruled that a decision will be made in February. The media were ordered not to report details of the case.

Rudd, 60, was arrested last month and originally charged with procuring a murder before the accusation was dropped less than 24 hours later. He appeared at Tauranga High Court last week for a short but dramatic hearing, at which the case was sent down to a lower court since the most serious charge had been removed.

His status in AC/DC remains in doubt, with the band having insisted they'll tour next year regardless of the results of his trial. Read more here.




Scott Stapp Trying To Raise $480K From Fans
(Classic Rock) Troubled Creed singer Scott Stapp has asked fans to crowdfund him to the tune of $480,000. It follows a week in which he released an emotional video saying his bank account had been frozen and he was under attack. He later withdrew it, explaining he "should have known better."

But in the meantime it was revealed that his wife had filed for divorce, citing his heavy drug use, threatening behaviour and a suicide attempt. Now Stapp has opened a Fundly page and hopes to raise nearly $500,000.

His intro reads: "Raising funds 4solo album #3. Using same team, Howard Benson (producer) & Chris Lord-Alge (mix). At the same time, my first book in the fiction category. Need 2fund both projects." To date, 74 people have pledged a total of $422. The story doesn't end there. Read more here.




Former Megadeth Guitarist Says Band Is Done
(Classic Rock) Former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young says the band is "done" and he'll never rejoin them. He was a member of Dave Mustaine's outfit long enough to record 1988 album So Far, So Good… So What before leaving under a cloud, with the mainman accusing him of talking "pure horse sh*t" during his tenure.

Last week guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover quit the thrash giants, leaving Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson the only current members.

Asked on Facebook whether he'd consider going back, Young says: "I have zero interest in 'the Megadeth situation.' The band is done. But a fork in it." Read more here.




Vinnie Paul Leads Dimebag Darrell Tribute Special
(TeamRock Radio) Vinnie Paul says he continues to play as it's what his late brother Dimebag Darrell would have wanted. TeamRock Radio have recorded a one-hour special to mark the 10th anniversary of the Pantera and Damageplan guitarist's death.

The special available now on demand here and will also be broadcast on December 8 - exactly a decade on from the shooting which took the metal icon's life.

Paul says: "I do my best to carry on that same torch and that flame - I know he would kick my ass if I didn't. That's why I continue to do what I do. I'm happy that I'm part of HellYeah - it's part of the legacy that me and him started a long time ago."

The radio special also features contributions from Machine Head, Halestorm, In This Moment, Phil Anselmo and music from the guitar icon. Read more here.





Mike Portnoy Warns Fans Of Online Scams
(Classic Rock) Mike Portnoy has warned fans to ignore any Facebook messages they receive from him, because they're fake. Portnoy has worked with a range of outfits since leaving Dream Theater in 2010.

The drummer is the victim of a fraudster who's created a false account and may use it to acquire personal information that could be used in financial crimes.

Portnoy says: "Beware - I've been informed by several people that somebody made a fake Mike Portnoy page and has been writing to people, as me, with scams.

"If you've received an inbox message from me in the past few days, it's not me." Read more here.




AC/DC Discuss Replacing Malcolm Young
(Classic Rock) AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson says seeing Stevie Young grow into his role in the band was "wonderful." He was brought in to take over guitar duties from Malcolm Young who has been forced to retire from the band due to his battle with dementia. He appears on new album Rock Or Bust and will tour with the band in the future.

"Steve's got this wonderful character and he lets out these bellowing laughs and you need that in any situation," Johnson tells Absolute Radio. "He came in to do this album and I've just got to applaud him. Every night he was learning his chops and it was wonderful to see the weight lifting off his shoulders and he felt really part of the band."

Although no tour dates have been announced, Johnson says he's eager to hit the road as it's a great way to connect with the fans. He adds: "As you get older, you take things for granted and you start realising what a great gig you have." Read more and stream the interview video here.




Slipknot Won't Take Same Step As KISS
(TeamRock Radio) Corey Taylor believes Slipknot will never follow Kiss down the route of abandoning their stage costumes. Gene Simmons and co abandoned their trademark makeup in 1984 before putting it back on a decade later. And while Taylor says his band could easily perform without their masks, he doesn't believe they ever will.

The frontman tells HTZ-FM: "I don't think we'd want to. I always think back to when Kiss took the makeup off. I know why they did it - they kind of hit a wall and it was time to evolve.

"But for us, the masks always evolve and our look always evolves. We don't feel that pressure to take them off because we allow ourselves to roll with the times and to change with the albums.

"So even though I think we could, I don't think we will. Because it's not just about the masks - it's about everything." He had a lot more to say on the subject here.





Queensryche Looking For Investors
(Classic Rock) Queensryche are giving fans a chance to share in profits the band generates through record sales and merchandise deals. For a minimum of $50,000, investors can buy an ownership stake from a private holding company that will entitle them to a fixed percentage of any revenue generated by the band.

Attorney Marc LoPresti helped the group set up the limited liability company (LLC) and he says this could just be the start of similar projects. He tells the Seattle Times: "We think it's a first. If it's successful, which we expect it to be, we may do it again with other bands."

LoPresti reckons the stock sale could replace a label's usual role in financing tours and album recording sessions - and would mean more money for the band and investors as the label wouldn't be taking such a big slice of the profits. Read more here.





Eddie Van Halen To Headline Smithsonian Event
(hennemusic) Eddie Van Halen will be among those helping launch "What It Means To Be American", a new three-year initiative by The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and Los Angeles-based Ideas Exchange Zocalo Public Square.

The project is aimed at engaging leading thinkers, public figures and Americans from all walks of life to explore how the United States became the nation it is today.

One of the campaign's goals is to foster a national conversation through a series of free public events across the U.S. The kick-off event on January 14 will feature former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, at the Heard Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Phoenix.

Eddie Van Halen will headline the next event at the National Museum of American History in February. Read more here.





Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl To Appear On The Daily Show
(hennemusic) Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl will appear as a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tomorrow night, Wednesday, December 3.

Grohl will promote the band's new album, "Sonic Highways", which recently debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 after opening week sales of 190,000 copies.

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. Read more here.





Slayer Got Corrosion of Conformity Their First Record Deal
Reed Mullin of Corrosion of Conformity tells antiMusic in a new interview that Slayer landed the group their first record deal with Metal Blade Records.

Mullin was discussing the band's early days when he made the revelation. He said, "I think when we first started, it was kind of a new music form. American hardcore and punk rock were new things; there was a small scene, but everybody was tight and knew each other. When we did it, it certainly wasn't a thing where we thought we were going to make money. To us, the biggest bands in the world were Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, and they didn't make that much money. It's not like today. We did it just to do it, and when we were first playing, influences from Deep Purple and Black Sabbath seeped in, and we kind of morphed into this punk-metal flavored kind of thing. We became really good friends with the Metallica dudes and Slayer. Slayer got us our first record deal."

He explains, "We had known them from playing out in LA, and when they went on their first US tour, they played Baltimore, and they asked us to play. It was a great show. They knew we had put out our first album ourselves, and they mentioned getting us signed. We thought they were just being nice. This was the Haunting The Chapel Tour. Tom and Dave Lombardo said they were going to get us on Metal Blade. I gave those guys my parents' business scoop; my dad had a fax machine.

"Sure enough, that Monday morning, there was a contract for Metal Blade Records. From there, we did a little more stuff. Then, the punk version broke up, and Woody and I put the band back together. We did a one-off with a singer named Karl for Relativity Records-an album called "Blind," which is much more metal. Then, we started doing all the stuff with Pepper.

"We've had an interesting career. It gets a little confusing for our fans, particularly those who like certain eras. Some like all of it, but there's a lot of people who just like Pepper stuff or the punk stuff. Our name definitely makes sense."




Biffy Clyro Taking Next Year Off From Performing
(TeamRock Radio) Biffy Clyro will effectively take a year off during 2015, bassist James Johnston has said. The trio want to avoid becoming over-exposed after a busy 12 months that included headline appearances at T In The Park and the Isle Of Wight festivals.

Instead, they'll focus on completing their seventh album to their satisfaction. Johnston tells NME: "I think we'll have a quiet one - we don't like to be in people's faces too much. That last thing we want is for people to get bored of us. So you could almost call it a year off."

He adds of the follow-up to 2013's Opposites: "It's coming along. We're not in any massive rush; we don't want to do anything that's not perfect. We've got too many songs, which is a great place to be at." Read more here.




The Blackout Breaking Up Following Final Tour
(TeamRock Radio) The Blackout will split after a final UK tour, they've confirmed. The Welsh outfit believe they're "unable to sustain the band any more" and therefore October's crowdfunded EP Wolves will be their last release.

The Blackout say: "We feel the time is right to bring it to a close. This is the hardest decision we have ever had to make as a band - and although we do it with heavy hearts, we also do with our heads held high.

"We are all extremely proud of Wolves, and are eternally grateful to each and every one of you who helped it get made." Thanking fans for their support, they add: "We achieved more than we ever dreamed of when we started. We play our farewell shows in March 2015 - there are no plans for anything more for The Blackout, so we hope you would like to come and party with us for the final time."




Robin Trower Celebrating 70th Birthday With Album Release
(Classic Rock) Robin Trower will release his next album, Something's About To Change, on March 9 next year - his 70th birthday. A 17-date UK tour will support the launch, with Joanne Shaw Taylor in support.

Trower says of the new album, the follow-up to 2013's acclaimed Roots And Branches: "I can't remember ever being so happy with a finished album before."

He's recorded bass parts for the first time, reflecting: "As a songwriter and a performer, you use everything at your disposal to put into songs. There's some sort of feeling of emotional release when you play a note that rings out right." Read more here.



Five Finger Death Punch Guitarist Calls Out Metal Sub-Genre Labels
(TeamRock Radio) Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory reveals he dislikes metal sub-genres as it takes the focus away from the music. And he says he misses the "brotherhood" that previously united bands before it was fragmented into divisive categories.

He tells Ultimate Guitar: "I don't even know what genre we would fall into. We are coasting on our own edge of hard rock and heavy metal. I don't really care much for these sub-genres and that's one of my peeves with heavy metal.

"At one point it was all just one big genre and it wasn't broken down to these crazy sub-genres - and all these sub-genres don't like each other any more. It was just one big brotherhood but that's gone - it's segregated into these little sub-cultures."

He adds: "We still incorporate other styles so in some ways it's accessible to a lot of people as there are a lot of elements from everywhere. Some people don't like it because they say it's not true to one specific genre." Read more here.




Bring Me The Horizon To Play One-Off Intimate Show
(TeamRock Radio) Bring Me The Horizon have announced that they will be playing a special one-off gig at an intimate venue in London this week as they prepare for a big arena show.

The Sheffield metallers will play warm-up show at The Underworld in Camden on Wednesday (December 3) - two days before their appearance at Wembley Arena, where they will be supported by Young Guns, Issues and Sleepwave.

Bring Me The Horizon will release new single Drown on December 7 and are set to record a new album - the follow-up to 2013's Sempiternal - next year. Read more here.




Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson Reveals New Solo Album Details
(Prog) Steven Wilson has revealed details about his upcoming album Hand. Cannot. Erase. It's due to launch in the UK on March 2 via Kscope and will be the follow-up to 2013's The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories).

The Porcupine Tree mainman recently announced a run of six-UK dates to promote the new record and revealed he was working on making the shows a spectacular experience.

He said: "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 for a few surprises."





Bob Dylan Reveals Early Unexpected Songwriting Inspiration
(Classic Rock) Bob Dylan says he started writing songs in the 60s as he had nothing else to do. The music icon was interviewed on US series Showtime to mark the launch of Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes.

The album features a host of stars including Elvis Costello and Marcus Mumford, who recorded tracks based around Dylan's 'lost' lyrics penned during his Basement Tapes sessions in Woodstock, New York in 1967.

And Dylan reveals that while the US was enjoying the Summer Of Love that year, he and guitarist Robbie Robertson found musical inspiration from more conventional sources.

He says: "The events of the day seemed to be a million miles away. We weren't really participating in any of that stuff, well it was the Summer of Love, but we weren't there. So we did our thing where we wrote Million Dollar Bash. We had nothing else to do, so I started writing a bunch of songs.

"I wasn't going to write anything about myself - I didn't have nothing to say about myself that I'd figure anybody else would be interested in. You look for ideas on TV and just any old thing would create the beginning to a song: names out of phone books and things." Read more here.




Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Caffery Cried At Dream Show
(Classic Rock) Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery has revealed he cried with pride ahead of their 2004 gig at New York's Madison Square Garden. Caffery and the band headlined the venue in 2004 and he reveals it's the stand-out moment of his career.

He tells NorthJersey.com: "I remember going home to my house in Queens the day we played. Producer and composer Paul O'Neill insisted I didn't because he was worried about me traveling on a show day.

"I snuck home and took the subway back to the Garden. I walked off the train with a tonne of fans who had no idea I was there, hidden in a ski hat. I looked at the huge marquee and it flashed, 'Tonight Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Sold Out.' I stood there and cried." Read more here.




Fish Reveals Rescheduled Tour Dates
(Prog) Former Marillion frontman Fish has announced a string of rescheduled dates across mainland Europe after illness forced the postponement of the originals.

The singer last month called off a series of appearances after being diagnosed with viral laryngitis, making it impossible for him to perform. It followed the cancellation of earlier dates as a result of guitarist Robin Boult's own illness.

His December UK dates, in support of acclaimed 2013 album A Feast Of Consequences, remain unaffected. Fish says: "Shows that aren't in this schedule did not have available dates or did not fit into the routing - which, as you can see, is demanding to say the least.

"For 'days off' read 'travel days.' Manager Yatta and the promoters did a marvellous job saving what we could. No more shows will be added to this itinerary." Read more and see the new dates here.




Lifesigns Recording Upcoming Shows For DVD
(Prog) Lifesigns have revealed that they will be recording two shows in London next month for their live DVD after they hit their crowdfunding target for the project.

Shooting will take place on January 22 and 23 at Under The Bridge in Chelsea, London. Most of the audience will consist of those who supported the Pledge fund, although some tickets will go on general sale soon.

Lifesigns say: "Thanks to everyone for helping us reach our goal. We understand people are already making plans from far afield to fly in for the event, and we look forward to welcoming you." Read more here.



Alan Parsons Announces First UK Show In Over A Decade
(TeamRock Radio) Alan Parsons will be playing his first UK show in over a decade on March 18 when he takes the stage at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, he's confirmed.

He'll be joined by PJ Olsson, Alastair Greene, Danny Thompson, Guy Erez, Manny Focarazzo, Todd Cooper and Dan Tracey, with support to be confirmed.

The show is billed as an evening of greatest hits, with Old And Wise and Don't Answer Me to be on the setlist. Artist, engineer and producer Parsons recently spoke of the studio apprenticeship that led to his work with the George Martin and the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios, and his later work on Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon. Read more here.






Bruce Springsteen, Kanye, Carrie Underwood Rock With U2
(hennemusic) U2, billed as U2 Minus 1 without injured frontman Bono, were joined by Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Kanye West and Carrie Underwood in New York's Times Square Monday evening for a live performance on World AIDS Day.

U2 opened the event with Martin handling vocals on "Beautiful Day" and "With Or Without You"; guitarist The Edge then joined Underwood for a song before she played her set, which was followed by West's performance.

Springsteen wrapped up the hour-long show by teaming up with U2 on "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", which he dedicated to the absent Bono as he recuperates at home in Ireland after facing surgery following a bicycle accident in New York's Central Park recently.

"This year is a World AIDS Day like no other," said Bono, speaking from Dublin. "The world reached a tipping point in the fight against AIDS - more people were newly added to life-saving treatment than were newly infected with the virus. A lot of people are calling it the beginning of the end of AIDS."

"We wouldn't be at this point without American leadership, people from the left and the right," he added. "Today, 13 million people have access to life-saving treatment, up from 300,000 just over ten years ago. Americans don't know the role they've played in this fight. Tonight's event is to inform them and thank them."





Steven Tyler Brings Some Rock To CMA Country Christmas
(hennemusic) Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler teamed up with Brad Paisley to perform the 1958 Chuck Berry classic, "Run, Run, Rudolph", on ABC-TV's CMA Country Christmas special Monday evening.

Hosted by Sugarland vocalist Jennifer Nettles, the two-hour program celebrated the holidays with some of the biggest names in music performing holiday classics.

Joining Tyler and Paisley were Alan Jackson, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Lucy Hale, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Idina Menzel, Nettles, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith, and Carrie Underwood.

The special was taped in front of a live audience last month at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Watch video of the Tyler performance here.



Queen And Adam Lambert Perform On The X Factor UK
(hennemusic) Queen and Adam Lambert are sharing video of their performance of the band's 1976 classic, "Somebody To Love", presented live on The X Factor UK on Sunday.

Queen recently released "Queen Forever", a new compilation that presents a mix of the group's hits and classic tracks, including three previously unreleased songs featuring Freddie Mercury.

The package includes a long-anticipated track from Queen and Michael Jackson, "There Must Be More to Life Than This", a previously unfinished Mercury-Queen tune, "Let Me In Your Heart Again", originating from the band's "The Works" album recording sessions, and a new stripped-down ballad take on "Love Kills."

"Queen Forever" is available as a 20-track single CD and as an extended 36-track, two-CD set. Watch video from the TV performance here.



Roger Daltrey Crashes Wedding and Performs Who Classic
(hennemusic) Roger Daltrey made a surprise appearance at a Scottish wedding on Saturday, where he joined the evening's live band to perform The Who classic, "Can't Explain."

Daltrey teamed with The Milestone Band at the Mar Hall resort in Bishopton, Scotland during the wedding celebration of Susan and Carl Smith.

"Basically we were coming towards the end of our set and we were sort of halfway through a song," lead guitarist Graeme Allan told the BBC. "I remember looking over to the side of the dance floor and a wedding guest was actually walking with Roger, coming towards the band. Roger came up and he took the mike and he congratulated the bride and groom."

"Because the groom had served in the parachute regiment he also mentioned them as well," he added. "Then he turned to the band and he said, 'I was through next door and I heard the band and they're brilliant, so I had to come through'."

The newlyweds spoke of their joy at the experience on Facebook, with Mrs. Smith posting: "Absolutely overwhelming! The story we will be telling for the rest of our lives. Thank you so much x."



Lunatic Soul Release Documentary Teaser Video
(Prog) Lunatic Soul have issued a teaser clip for their documentary In Between. The 25-minute film appears on the special edition of their latest album Walking On A Flashlight Beam which launched in October via Kscope. It's the follow-up to 2011's Impressions.

In the clip, mainman Mariusz Duda reveals: "My music is born from unspecified fragments - I only have a general idea, a colour and a main concept and for me that's how working on an album begins."

The band have also released a promo for album track The Fear Within. They previously issued a promo for Shutting Out The Sun and released a stream of Cold. Check out the new song and the documentary teaser here.




Black Metal Legends Von Reveal New Song
(TeamRock Radio) Von are unveiling the first taster for their new album in the from of a ultra-stark lyric video for the track Mother, and debuting a new, doom-laden and gothic sound.

One of the most legendary bands to have emerged from the forging fires of black metal, San Francisco's VON were arguably the genre's first band to have emerged from the US. Much like Finland's Beherit, their ultra-primitive sound horrified many yet enthralled a legion of devout worshippers. Their rare, ritualistic live shows, featuring animal skulls and copious amounts blood nigh on two decades before it became de rigeur and initial demo release (not releasing a studio album under the name until 2012) tapped into dark and irrational and rudimentary regions of the human psych. In the process, they setting out a path that's been in large part responsible for the current wave of occult-steeped death and black metal, not least for Watain, who named themselves after the track on 1992's Satanic Blood cassette, and Dublin's rising underground metallers and wielders of capitalised letters, ZOM.

VON's history since has been as tempestuous as their music, lurching from long hiatuses through internal fights, splits and more, but now they're back in a new incarnation fronted by VENIEN, and with both a new album, Dark Gods: Birth Of The Architects, released on VON Records next March, and a comic book Dark Gods, written and illustrated by VENIEN himself, that will be published in 12 parts on a weekly basis from December 1 through to February 6, and each one coming with an exclusive CD single.




The Amsterdam Red Light District Release A Chance To Change Video
(TeamRock Radio) TeamRock are premiering the new music video from The Amsterdam Red Light District for A Chance To Change, which is taken from latest album Gone For A While.

Speaking about the new video, guitarist Max Comby said: "We are so stoked to reveal our brand new music video for A Chance To Change with Metal Hammer.

"It's much heavier than our first single, Gone For A While and far more intense and fast! We hope that you enjoy it." Their latest album Gone For A While was released last week via Red-Light Records.





Wicked Snakes Release 'unusual' Video For Wonder & Delirium
(TeamRock Radio) TeamRock are premiering the new music video from psychy riffers Wicked Snakes for the song "Wonder & Delirium," which comes from their debut record Sleep Dance, out now on A Wolf At Your Records.

Speaking to Metal Hammer about the video, frontman Luke Davis says: "Wonder & Delirium is probably one of the most melodic tracks on [debut album] Sleep Dance."

"So naturally we felt that this rather 'unusual' video to accompany and compliment would be most appropriate. Don't be fooled!" Check out the unusual video here.



Lynyrd Skynyrd, Twisted Sister Lead Rockin' Christmas Album List
(Gibson) Going back to Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" and Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run," rock and rollers have tried to put a modern spin on the spirit of Christmas. Vying against crooners like Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, and Johnny Mathis is never easy this time of year, but a handful of more raucous artists have acquitted themselves well. Below are ten albums that would fit nicely in any rock lover's stocking.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Christmas Time Again: Deciding a southern rock Christmas was in order, Skynyrd recruited guests 38 Special and the Charlie Daniels Band to help fashion this inspired collection. Skynyrd gives Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" a Stones-like, garage band treatment, and tosses in a bit of Yuletide lasciviousness with the original tune "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'." The Daniel Band's version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is basically a rewrite of "Devil Went Down to Georgia."
Beach Boys - Christmas with the Beach Boys: Originally released in 1964, this album mixes holiday standards with original songs penned by Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson. The group's trademark vocal harmonies are in full bloom on "Frosty the Snowman," and their a cappella version of "Auld Lang Syne" is pure magic.

Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas: Here we have Dee Snider delivering "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" in his own inimitable way. Actually, this 10-song collection comes off as reverent in spite of itself. True, "Deck the Halls" sounds like a Ramones outtake, and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (sung by guest Lita Ford) is pure arena rock, but the disc has a goofy charm. On "Twelve Days of Christmas" (rechristened "Heavy Metal Christmas"), Snider replaces the refrain "partridge in a pear tree" with the words "a tattoo of Ozzy."

Elvis Presley - Christmas: Recorded in 1957, when the King ( was in full rock and roll flight, this disc rates just a tad below the Spector album on the classic scale. "Blue Christmas" is embedded in the national consciousness, but Presley's magnificent takes on "White Christmas" and the Leiber/Stoller original "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" are nearly as good.

Jethro Tull - Christmas Album: Tull frontman Ian Anderson's goal on this 2003 disc was "to find some uplifting traditional Christmas carols, some new songs, and to re-record some old Tull pieces on the Christmas topic." The eccentric minstrel was obviously inspired by the process, as he and his Tull 'mates delivered their finest folk-prog album since the '70s. Guitarist Martin Barre's acoustic work is especially dazzling.