Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Stone Temple Pilots Add Tour Dates
Stone Temple Pilots, now fronted by Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, have announced a string of U.S. tour dates that will be taking place this fall.

The band will be playing the final dates of their spring tour this week. The new fall tour dates will be kicking off on September 15th in Cleveland, OH at the House of Blues.

The short trek will run for five dates including September 16th in Detroit, September 22nd in Cincinnati, September 23rd in Louisville, KY and wrapping up in St. Paul on September 25th. See the details here.




Slipknot's Corey Taylor Turned Down VH1's Rock Of Love
Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor reveals in a recent radio interview that he was approached to star in VH1′s Rock of Love, taking over for Poison frontman Bret Michaels in the dating series.

Taylor told KISW 99.9 FM
(via Loudwire), "I wanna say about seven years ago, I got called about being on Rock of Love. I think Bret [Michaels] has passed on it, on one of the seasons, and I was like, 'Don't ever call me again.'"

He adds, "I was like, who in their right mind thought I was the perfect dude for Rock of Love 12 or whatever the hell it was. And I was just like, there's some idiots in this business. I'm just letting you know. I don't know if you got that memo. There's some stupid people who were given the keys to the kingdom."

Read the Loudwire report to find out what he would have done had he accepted the offer here.




Blink-182 May Make New Album With Matt Skiba
In the aftermath of Blink-182 recruiting Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba to take over for Tom DeLonge for their live dates this year, the band have been discussing making a new album with Skiba.

In a new interview with Alternative Nation, Skiba confirms comments that Travis Barker made in an earlier discussion with the site that the band was considering making an album with the new lineup.

Skiba says, "I think that's a great idea and it's something we have discussed. I'm pleasantly surprised to see Travis mention it to you guys. It's something I would be very excited to do and I've known the Blink guys for about fifteen years and we've become good friends. Playing songs I haven't written with Mark and Travis is a blast, so to go in and create music with them would be amazing."

He also holds out hopes that his position in the band will become permanent. "I think it's too soon to know. I'm about to go on an Alkaline Trio tour for a couple months. There's some time and some things that those guys need to figure out before we can start saying I'm a permanent member. But that is a hope of mine. If we're discussing recording an album, I think that seals the deal. But, we shall see, only time can tell."

Check out the full interview, including where his relationship with Tom DeLonge now stands, here.




Skid Row Rejected $500K Reunion According To Bach
(Classic Rock) Sebastian Bach claims Skid Row were offered half a million dollars for two reunion shows with him and turned it down. He's previously discussed how the band were invited to appear at the UK's Sonisphere festival in 2012, although the event was later cancelled. And he's lashed out in the past at the attitude of his former colleagues, accusing them of being "allergic to cash."

Now Bach tells Loudwire: "We got offered a reunion show at Sonisphere, and I can tell you all the details because it never happened. We were offered $250,000 per show for two shows, a Friday and a Saturday night.

"We were going to get paid half a million dollars and Rachel didn't want to do it. If you're in a company with somebody and they are turning down your work, that's really a bummer.

The singer says he's still part of the Skid Row corporation with bassist Bolan and guitarist Snake Sabo and continues, "It's a bummer being in a business with guys that commit breach of fiduciary duty on a daily basis. I'm still in a company with them. I'm still in the corporation." Read more here.




Metallica Win Loudness War
(Classic Rock) Metallica album Death Magnetic has been named the loudest-ever by a mastering expert. But he says the advantages of the approach are all-but cancelled out in the modern era.

Engineer Ian Shepherd compared a number of albums for dynamic range, the key element in the "loudness war." Death Magnetic topped his list - but lost significant amounts of sonic detail in the process.

The 2008 title scored a dynamic range rating of DR3, compared to the band's 1991 Black Album, which was much lower on the list at DR11. The least-loudest was Dire Strait's Brothers In Arms at DR16.

Shepherd says in his Production Advice blog: "Why is it crazy? Because it doesn't work. None of these 'loudness' differences will be audible in any of the most popular places we listen to music." Read more including the loudness list here.




Black Sabbath's Bill Ward Devastated By Loss Of Ozzy's Friendship
(TeamRock Radio) Former Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has described how he went through a period of grief over the end of his friendship with singer Ozzy Osbourne.

The pair were involved in a public war of words earlier this month after Ward said he couldn't consider a return to the metal icons for their farewell tour unless Ozzy performed a "righting of wrongs" over allegations he'd made about the drummer's abilities.

The vocalist refused to entertain the suggestion and told the sticksman: "Stop playing the victim," leading to an apparent closure of the door on a reunion.

Now Ward has discussed a period in May last year, after he'd undergone shoulder surgery, when he made a public appearance in the US to launch his artwork series.

He tells Joel Gausten: "I was still in a lot of grief. I was grieving the loss of one of my best friends - Ozzy Osbourne. I missed him so much it was devastating to me. When I did the presentation of the paintings, there were some things I was describing and I know I was crying." Read more here.




Kid Rock Breaking Records With Summer Tour
(hennemusic) Kid Rock is breaking a Michigan ticket sales record with the addition of his 9th and 10th shows at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Detroit as part of his summer tour.

The newly-announced dates in support of "First Kiss" will take place on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22, with tickets going on sale May 2 at 10 am. local time.

These shows shatter previous ticket sale records for the state of Michigan, previously held by Garth Brooks at approximately 107,000 tickets; the new dates will see Kid Rock sell over 145,000.

The singer is also breaking the record for most consecutive shows at the venue, formerly held by Bob Seger. Read more here.




Motorhead Say Lemmy Is Feeling Better, Reveal Illness Details
(hennemusic) Motorhead have issued an update on the status of frontman Lemmy Kilmister after he took ill in Sao Paulo, Brazil over the weekend and the band were forced to cancel two appearances at the city's Monsters Of Rock festival.

"Due to a food related tummy problem, unfortunately Lemmy was not able to perform the show in Sao Paulo," says the group. "He is already feeling much better and ready to continue the South America dates! Next stop Curitiba!

"Lemmy regrets this mishap very much and is looking forward to making it up to all the fans." On Saturday, Monsters Of Rock organizers announced Motorhead's last-minute cancellation due to Lemmy suffering "a serious gastric disorder, followed by dehydration." Read more here.




Jack White Ends Acoustic Tour With Message 'Music is Sacred'
(Radio.com) Jack White closed out his run of surprise acoustic shows in the five cities he had yet to play with a special message to fans and perhaps a not so-veiled advertisement for Tidal.

White streamed the show from Fargo, N.D., on Tidal, the streaming music service Jay Z started up with support from other artists like White that promises higher quality audio. The exclusive clip featured White playing solo hits like Lazaretto's "Just One Drink" and "Temporary Ground" and White Stripes favorites like "Hotel Yorba" and "We're Going To Be Friends."

But the music lover also expressed his concern about how people disregard music for convenience, telling the crowd, 'If you feel strongly about music and love music, tell people that. Tell people that music is sacred."

He added that music deserves respect and it shouldn't be assumed that it can be had for free, perhaps a dig at those that have complained Tidal is not actually for everyone, but for those who can afford to spend $19.99 a month.

'Music is not disposable and worthless," he said. "It shouldn't be treated that way." Read more here.




Motley Crue Think More Bands Should Do Retirement Contracts
(Radio.com) The end of Motley Crue as a touring rock band is coming near, with a New Year's Eve show scheduled for Los Angeles, as the band signed a legally binding contract to not tour beyond 2015.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, bassist Nikki Sixx spoke about the contract not being a publicity stunt, and thinks that more bands should follow suit.

"The whole 'reunion of the reunion of the reunion' thing--that's about money, and not about music," Sixx said, with everyone from Jay Z to Nine Inch Nails to The Grateful Dead as examples of what he means. Read more here.




Elvis Presley Songwriter Sid Tepper Dead at 96
(TeamRock Radio) Sid Tepper, the man who wrote more than 40 tracks for Elvis Presley, has died at his home in Florida aged 96, it's been reported. With his songwriting partner Roy Bennett, Tepper penned tracks including Once Is Enough, GI Blues, The Lady Loves Me, Puppet On A String and Stay Away for the King, while the duo received five credits of Presley's 1961 film Blue Hawaii.

In a 2005 interview for the book Elvis Presley: Writing For The King by Ken Sharp, Tepper said: "When Elvis started to make movies, they needed non-rock n' roll writers - people who could come up with special material songs and ballads.

"I believe that Elvis' movies and their songs made a mighty contribution to his career. They brought him to the attention of millions of people who otherwise would never have known the greatness of the King." Read more here.




Prime Evil Era Venom Members Reunite
(TeamRock Radio) Former Venom members Jeff 'Mantas' Dunn, Anthony 'Abaddon' Bray and Tony 'Demolition Man' Dolan have reunited in Venom Inc, the trio have confirmed.

They played together on three Venom albums: Prime Evil (1989), Temples Of Ice (1991) and The Waste Lands (1992) before Dunn and Bray teamed up again with original vocalist Cronos for 1997's Cast In Stone.

Now the "powerhouse of metal" are back together and have lined up live dates across Europe later this year, including an appearance at London's Scala on September 9. Read more here.




Refused Release First New Song in 17 Years
(TeamRock Radio) The post-hardcore pioneers Refused have just released a track called "Elektra", their first new material in 17 years and announced a new album in the process.

After the release of 1998's groundbreaking The Shape Of Punk To Come, the Swedish noisemakers disbanded before reforming for a handful of dates back in 2012 including sub-headlining the second stage at Download festival.

Now with Reading and Leeds festival dates ahead of them, Refused have unveiled new single Elektra - the opening track to new album Freedom. Check out the new song here.



Rick Wakeman, Steve Hackett, Chris Squire On Billy Sherwood Album
(TeamRock Radio) Former Yes man Billy Sherwood has signed a deal with Frontiers Records for his upcoming album, Citizens. And he's lined up a who's-who of names from the world of prog to contribute to the record, which is due for release in early 2016.

Rick Wakeman, Steve Hackett, Chris Squire, John Wetton, Jordan Rudess, Tony Kaye, Geoff Downes, Steve Morse, Steve Hillage, Patrick Moraz, John Wesley and Jerry Goodman have so far been confirmed, with more names promised in the coming weeks.

Sherwood had this to say: "Citizen is the story of a lost soul wandering through time and living through many lives during historic periods of time." Read more here.




Iron Maiden Release Behind The Scenes Video Of Remasters Project
(hennemusic) Iron Maiden recently remastered 19 albums from their catalog for iTunes and now the band are sharing a behind the scenes look at the project. Recording/mix engineer Tonty Newton and mastering engineer Ade Emsley explain the processes involved in updating audio from original master tapes to today's current technology.

"They've been remastered before, let's get clear about that," explains Newton. "And I'm quite aware, as well, that I've bought remastered albums of bands that sound awful…and I wanted to make sure that this was something special."

The project saw Iron Maiden remaster all 15 studio albums, 2 Best Of collections and 2 live albums from their original analogue sources exclusively for iTunes.

"The Mastering For iTunes procedure allows the listener to experience the music as close as possible to the way the artist intended it to be heard," says bassist Steve Harris. "So of course I was very keen for the Maiden albums to be mastered in this way.

"The iTunes process involves a different approach and it's great to finally deliver the music to our fans in as close to a pure and accurate sound as we could possibly achieve." Watch the video here.




The Who Release Video From Classic Quadrophenia Release
(hennemusic) The Who are sharing a preview of "Love Reign O'er Me" from their forthcoming package, "Classic Quadrophenia", due June 8 (June 9 in North America).

The project sees Pete Townshend create a new orchestral version of their 1973 concept album based around lead character Jimmy's search for an identity amongst the mods and rockers in Brighton in the mid-1960s.

Orchestrated by Rachel Fuller, "Classic Quadrophenia" features Townshend and guest vocalists Alfie Boe, Billy Idol and Phil Daniels joined by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Zeigler.

The preview clip of "Love Reign O'er Me" mixes new footage of Boe filmed on the beach at Brighton and intercut with scenes from Franc Roddam's 1978 movie.

"Classic Quadrophenia" will be launched with a world premiere concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on July 5, with Townshend and Boe performing alongside the orchestra and the London Oriana Choir. Check out the video and the album trailer here.




Visconti and Woodmansey Releasing Live Version of David Bowie Classic
(TeamRock Radio) Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey will release a live recording of their take on David Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World on June 1st in the UK as a double album.

Producer Visconti, who's been behind the desk on 12 Bowie outings including the 1970 record, teamed up with Spiders From Mars drummer Woodmansey to perform the show last year.

The album, entitled "The Man Who Sold The World - Live In London" was recorded at London's Shepherds Bush Empire in September, featuring Heaven 17 vocalist Glenn Gregory, Marc Almond and Gary Kemp plus multi-instrumentalist Steve Norman. Read more here.





Stratovarius Releasing New Album This Summer
(TeamRock Radio) Stratovarius will release 15th album Eternal on August 14, they've confirmed. They took a break after their Polaris, Elysium and Nemesis trilogy and keyboardist Jens Johansson says they're now ready to deliver with the new record.

He says: "Since Polaris we have released a new studio album pretty much every two years. But after 2013's Nemesis we all decided to take a little bit of time off after we finished the world tour.

"Now we're all tanned and rested and it's about f***ing time to get back into the saddle. Everybody has been busy the last few months writing lots of new songs - and only the best has been recorded for Eternal." Read more here.




Soulfly Releasing New Album 'Arch Angel' This Summer
(TeamRock Radio) Max Cavalera has revealed Soulfly's 10th album will be called Arch Angel. It's set for an August release via Nuclear Blast and Cavalera reports the follow-up to 2013's Savages is the type of album that only comes along "once in a lifetime."

He tells Metal Wani: "It's pretty much done. I'm excited - it's an interesting record. It's an epic and mystic Soulfly album that we don't really do every day.

"It's one of those records that comes out once in a lifetime. It has really crazy sounds and different dimensions. It's more experimental than the other stuff but it's still heavy as hell, and it's still fast." Read more here.




Jethro Tull Streaming Rare Live Performance Of 'Aqualung'
(Prog) Jethro Tull have revealed an unreleased live performance of classic track Aqualung with TeamRock. It appears on the upcoming La Grande Edition of Minstrel In The Gallery, which is launched on May 4 via Parlophone to mark its 40th anniversary.

The 1975 title was their last to feature the early 70s lineup of Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Barriemore Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond.

It's been remixed by Steven Wilson and includes seven bonus tracks, a full concert mixed by Jakko Jakszyk and live footage shot in Paris in 1975. It's presented in a casebound book and comes with 80 pages of background history and notes by Anderson.

The 2CD and 2DVD La Grande editions will be accompanied by standard CD, digital and vinyl versions. Read more and stream the song here.





Behemoth To Make 'Redefining' Album
(TeamRock Radio) Behemoth frontman Adam 'Nergal' Darski says the band's next album will be a new chapter in their development. The Polish metal heroes have no fixed plans for the follow-up to 2014's The Satanist, but the singer knows they'll have to deliver a "redefining" record.

He tells Full Metal Jackie (via Loudwire): "I'm all about diversity and when we deliver every next record I really must make sure that it's a new chapter, something really refreshing, something redefining compared to what we've done before.

"To me it just feels natural that you go as long as we can with The Satanist, just to reach its potential fully - and take time, as much as we need, to recover to get the right perspective to get hungry again and then eventually come back and do another spectacular album." Read more here.




Muse Lead KROQ Weenie Roast Lineup, Talk New Album
(Radio.com) Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard of Muse joined KROQ morning show hosts Kevin & Bean On Monday morning to announce they would be playing the station's Weenie Roast Y Fiesta 2015, May 16 at Irvine Meadows Amphiteatre in Los Angeles

It's hard to recall a time when Muse wasn't a massive rock band headlining stadiums, but Bean asked them if they recalled every opening for another band early in their careers.

'Yeah, yeah, there was a time, way back," frontman Bellamy said. 'Well, the first U.S. tour we ever did, it was a great tour, we were lucky enough to the opening act, first on, then it was Foo Fighters and the Chili Peppers. It was the Californication Tour, 1999. We just did the East Coast. That was really where we cut our teeth. We really looked up to both those bands and thought. 'Wow, we need to up our game here.'"

Regarding the band's forthcoming album, Drones, Bellamy said that 'it's a pretty specific narrative that runs through the first part of the album and ends on this song called 'Aftermath.' It kind of follows a journey. The album's a bit dark … but it's about the journey into becoming a psychopath and losing empathy, and it's kind of like a metaphor for what's happening in the world. Drone warfare and all this kind of stuff is going on where it's becoming acceptable to live without empathy, becoming very clinical and efficient in making decisions without emotion--taking humans out of the equation basically. The album sort of explores that journey in its sort of darkest formats." Read more here.




Slipknot Releasing Their Own Collectable Zippo Line
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot are set to release a range of collectable Zippo lighters, designed by the band themselves. Percussionist Clown is leading the process, and the products will be on sale in time for the band's US summer tour.

Frontman Corey Taylor says in the video: "It's essentially us putting our creative caps on. Clown's working on some designs right now. He's so artistically visual that it should bring to life some very, very cool things."

He adds: "Zippo is a brand I've appreciated since I was young. Who can think of a heavy metal concert without picturing lighters up in the air?" Read more and watch the video here.




Marilyn Manson's Latest CD Changes Color When Played
(Radio.com) If you purchased Marilyn Manson's latest album as a physical CD when it was released this past January, you might have wondered what the story was with the non-traditional black polycarbonate discs that The Pale Emperor was printed on. Turns out, they do have a story.

The discs came courtesy of Sony, and were the same ones used by PlayStation in the '90s for their video games. The discs are harder for pirates to copy, but the reasoning from Manson's camp was an aesthetic one.

"When you open the CD it's pitch black, but we also added a thermal texture on top," the album's art director Hassan Rahim told Kill Screen (via Billboard). "After it gets hot during playback, the disc comes out all white." Read more here.




Rush's Alex Lifeson Appears On Renman Live
(hennemusic) Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson was the featured guest on the April 22 episode of "Renman Live", a web series hosted by music industry veteran Steve Rennie (aka "Renman").

The episode sees Lifeson discuss his career in music and Rush's upcoming 40th anniversary tour, among other things. Rush are currently gearing up to launch a North American tour on May 8 in Tulsa, OK. Named after Rush's 40th anniversary box set, "R40", the tour may the last one of its size for Rush.

Bassist Geddy Lee addressed the farewell tour question recently on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show", saying "It's very hard to answer that question for a lot of reasons. The three guys in this band have different opinions on this point - everyone's in a different space right now. Neil has a young child at home and he's said numerous times that it's very hard for him to leave his daughter. She needs him.

"It's clear that we are at a point in our career that we have to slow down - and slow down dramatically," Lee added. "So, I'm not a guy who's in love with the farewell tour idea, but it's clear that this is going to be the last big tour that we're going to do for a while, anyway."





Singled Out: Raven's Destroy All Monsters
UK metal icons Raven release their new album "ExtermiNation" today (April 28) and to celebrate we asked bassist/vocalist John Gallagher tells us about the song "Destroy All Monsters". Here is the story:

This was an odd one... as we usually have the music first...but we did a live album that we recorded in Japan years ago called "destroy all monsters" obviously playing on the whole Godzilla thing... and my brother Mark (guitar player in the band) has been threatening a song with this title for yonks! So, he tells me he's got the song....and its great..and most the lyrics also.

The cool thing is you can take it literally about fighting off the monster horde... or about something more on the political end... and are there really any bigger monsters?

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts Reveal New Guitarist (hennemusic) Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts have...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts Reveal New Guitarist
(hennemusic) Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts have announced the addition of guitarist Nick Maybury to the lineup following the passing of Jeremy Brown from undisclosed causes on March 30 at the age of 34.

Maybury was a member of the Australian band Mink before he relocated to Los Angeles; he has since worked with Perry Farrell, Debbie Harry, Michele Branch, The Madden Brothers, the Sayers Club, Alice Cooper, the Veronicas and Dave Navarro, among others.

Brown's death came on the day Weiland and the group released their debut album, "Blaster." "Jeremy had big shoes and no one can fill them," says Weiland. "He was my best friend and my collaborator. But we have to soldier on. Nick is an incredible player and is a great fit for the Wildabouts." Read more here.




Metallica's James Hetfield Unusual Inspiration Revealed
(Classic Rock) Metallica frontman James Hetfield asked how to sing like pop star Chris Isaak before recording the iconic Black Album, producer Bob Rock has recalled. The frontman had been inspired by Isaak's trademark hit Wicked Game, and wanted to match the vocal emotion in his own performances.

Rock tells Talk Is Jericho: "He said, 'Bob, I've never really sung before - I've just kind of yelled.' He played me a Chris Isaak record and said, 'On Nothing Else Matters and The Unforgiven, I want to sing. How do you sing like this?'"

The solution was "a great vocal sound" so that Hetfield didn't have to double-track, the producer explains. "I said, 'What you hear in Chris Isaak's voice is the nuances when he sings. He isn't doubled, he's actually performing. You perform.' We set it up so he had a great sound and then he sang." Read more and hear comparisons between Hetfield and Isaak's vocals here.




Def Leppard and Stone Temple Pilots Members Launch New Project
(hennemusic) Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is launching a new blues project called Delta Deep. The lineup includes Collen on guitar and vocals, singer Debbi Blackwell-Cook, Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer Forrest Robinson.

Due June 23, the band's self-titled debut album includes guest appearances by Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, Whitesnake's David Coverdale, Sex Pistols/Manraze drummer Paul Cook, and Girl/Manraze bassist Simon Laffy.

Delta Deep formed from a series of jams between Collen and Blackwell-Cook, who were eventually joined by DeLeo and Robinson. "Blues was created out of something completely different from what we hear today," explains Collen. "I grew up listening to rock music but then I found out it was all based on blues. Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, all of those guys….they got it from the blues.

"When I hear Debbi sing, I can hear the pain. She's an incredibly beautiful 62 year old black woman who has been through things and she can sing through her pain. Not everyone can do that and not everyone sounds like Debbi."

Delta Deep have issued a preview of the album's lead single, "Bang The Lid." Check it out here.




Megadeth Gig Turned Down By Another Guitarist
(Classic Rock) Guitarist Rusty Cooley says he was approached with an offer to join Megadeth but turned them down as he didn't want to play "everybody else's solos."

The Texan musician and guitar tutor claims he was approached in January to replace Chris Broderick who quit the thrash giants with drummer Shawn Drover last November and while he thought it would be a good move at first, he soon had a change of heart.

He tells The Sick Room podcast (via Blabbermouth), "Initially, I was, like, 'Oh, sh*t, I need to do this,' just because it's Megadeth and it would be great for my career and whatnot, and I was learning songs, and I was gonna do it. [But] the more I started to think about it, I kind of started second-guessing myself, because I started to realize that I didn't really think I was doing it because I wanted to do it; I was doing it because I thought that that's what everybody around me, including the companies that I work with, and friends and family, because they wanna see me succeed at another level. So it was, like, 'I'm not doing this for me.'

"And on top of that, my daughter had just moved in with me, and she's 15, going on 16. And she just moved in. If I take this gig, I'm gonna be gone, and in a few years, she's gonna be in college, and I don't wanna miss these years of her life; that's more important to me than being out on the road touring in Megadeth. And not to say that I'm not gonna tour and do things, but the amount of touring involved [with Megadeth] would require her to go move back with her mother, and I'm just not gonna do that, man. I've already missed enough of her life, being divorced in 2011. So I decided not to do it pretty much because of that, and on top of the fact that… I just felt like I was doing it because everybody else wanted me to do it, and I've never done that; I've always made decisions based on what I wanna do." Read more and listen to the interview here.




Slayer Brought Closer Together By Jeff Hanneman's Death
(Classic Rock) Slayer frontman Tom Araya says the death of Jeff Hanneman has brought the band closer together. Araya tells Metal Hammer that he and Kerry King have had to change their working relationship since Hanneman's passing in 2013.

He says: "Losing Jeff has brought us together somewhat. We've had to open up a line of communication. Kerry's very black and white. I'm not a black and white person, but that's Kerry. We've had to talk and that's not been the case in the past.

"I talked to Jeff a lot. I could pick up the phone and call him and we'd talk, but that's not been the norm with me and Kerry. But with everything that's been going on, we've had to open up a dialogue to make sure we can communicate our thoughts to each other without pissing each other off." Read more here.




Jack White Makes Large Donation To National Blues Museum
(hennemusic) Jack White has made a large donation to help support The National Blues Museum in St. Louis. The museum reports White's six-figure contribution will fund the "Mix It Up" creative Blues experience within the state-of-the-art facility, which is scheduled to open later this year.

The museum bills "Mix It Up" as the culminating experience of every guest's visit to the new museum. Traveling through the Museum's chronological galleries, visitors will be able to sample a variety of musical styles and influences within the complete history of the Blues. Ultimately, visitors will conclude their experience by entering "Mix It Up" where using intuitive editing tools, they can blend their selections together and share their new compositions with others.

"Perhaps as well as anyone, Jack White understands that the Blues is truly the foundation of all American music and remains relevant today," says the museum's Chairman Of The Board Rob Endicott. "Through Jack's vision and generosity, we hope to inspire the next generation of Blues artists, historians and fans." Read more here.




Vince Neil Performs Motley Crue Classics At Long Beach Grand Prix
(hennemusic) Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil was on hand to perform on April 18 as part of the 41st Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach weekend and fan filmed video has been posted online.

Neil waved the green flag for the Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday before headlining the annual Rock-N-Roar concert ahead of the full race on Sunday.

Neil and Motley Crue will resume their farewell tour next month with shows in Australia and New Zealand, followed by appearances at three European festivals in June.

A North American summer run starts July 22 in Eugene, OR, and a newly-announced final leg kicks off October 5 in Hidalgo, TX. Motley Crue will wrap up their live career with three shows at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, closing things out on New Year's Eve.





Slash Already Working On Next Album
(Gibson) Even as he continues to tour behind World On Fire, the album he released last September, Slash has his sights fixed the next album with his solo band Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.

"We're working on new material now, for another record," he tells Al.com. "[I'm into] just trying to do what's the most inspiring thing, and picking up some new stuff along the way.

"There's always that element of new discovery that ends up on the next record. But the one thing [people] can always expect, it's going to be really sort of from the heart, hard-rock material, whatever it is that I end up putting out. I'm always true to the school." Read more here.






Anthrax's Charlie Benante Sitting Out Upcoming Shows
(Classic Rock) Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante will miss another run of shows due to ongoing problems with his hand, he's announced. He'll be replaced by Jon Dette, who covered for him in 2013 while he underwent surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, then again last year when he released he hadn't fully recovered.

Benante is set to be absent for the first few weeks of Anthrax's US tour with Volbeat, which kicks off tomorrow (Saturday), but hopes to appear at later shows.

Benante reports: "This was a difficult decision to make. But the fact is, playing a show five or more times a week just isn't realistic right now. I found that out when we were making our new album. Read more here.




Rival Sons Member Rejects New Led Zeppelin Label
(Classic Rock) Rival Sons bassist Dave Beste rejects the idea that his band are the new Led Zeppelin - but he agrees that they're carrying the weight of trying to save rock'n'roll.

The band's latest album, Great Western Valkyrie, was named 2014 album of the year by Classic Rock readers, and they're receiving rave reviews on their continuing world tour.

Beste tells WikiMetal: "We always hear Led Zeppelin - but even before I was in Rival Sons I never associated with Led Zeppelin."

Asked about their 70s sound he responds: "We don't think of ourselves that way. When we go into the studio, the way we record is more of a traditional 60s or 70s way.

"But when we're writing songs, we're not thinking, 'Let's write stuff that sounds like the 70s.' We're just writing songs we like. Maybe they come across that way because of the way we record them." Read more here.




Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Guest Hosting Nikki Sixx's Radio Show
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda has announced that he will be filling in for Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx as the co-host of The Side Show Countdown with Nikki Sixx this weekend, April 25 and 26.

Sixx won't be able to appear do to touring commitments with Sixx:.A.M. Shinoda had this to say about the appearance, "I'm happy to fill in for Nikki, and always look forward to chatting with Jenn and their crew!"

Shinoda is expected to discuss Linkin Park's upcoming activities, including their upcoming performance at Rock in Rio in Las Vegas on May 9, and "Darker Than Blood," the band's collaboration with Steve Aoki from Aoki's forthcoming album "Neon Future II", as well as topics like tour bus hazing, concert pranks, and this year's Coachella festival. Find more information here.




Classic Faith No More Albums Getting Reissued
(Radio.com) Not only will Faith No More release Sol Invictus, their first album in 18 years, on May 19, they (well, their former record label) are also putting out deluxe reissues of their two most celebrated albums the following month.

Their 1989 breakthrough album (and their first with frontman Mike Patton) The Real Thing and the 1992 follow up, Angel Dust, will each be re-released with a second disc of bonus material.

The Real Thing's bonus material will include rarities like "Sweet Emotion" (not the Aerosmith classic, by the way), "The Grade" and "Cowboy Song," as well as previously released but out of print live performances from the era.

Meanwhile, Angel Dust's extras will include their classic cover of the Commodores' easy-listening hit "Easy," as well as their version of "Let's Lynch the Landlord," which sounds nothing like the original by the Dead Kennedys. Check out the details here.




Shineback's To Deliver 'Epic Slabs Of Sound'
(Prog) Simon Godfrey has promised to deliver "epic slabs of sound" on Shineback's second album. The Tinyfish frontman has been working on the follow-up to 2013's Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed in Philadelphia and reports he's settled on the tracklist for the record.

He states he had to move on from Shineback's first release and Tinyfish's The Big Red Spark from 2010 as he "had nothing new to creatively offer in that format."

He continues: "All you get with the new album are big, f***ing epic slabs of sound. This isn't something I've attempted since the debut Tinyfish album and it feels both scary and exciting at the same time." Read more here.




Iced Earth Back In Action Following Jon Schaffer's Surgery
(Classic Rock) Iced Earth are set to start work on a new album after mainman Jon Schaffer's recovery from neck surgery. Schaffer went under the knife last year to repair a long-standing problem in his neck - the second time he has been through the procedure. The band were forced to cancel a number of shows in the run-up to the surgery.

But with the guitarist back to full fitness, the band will shortly begin writing their 12th album, tentatively titled The Judas Goat. They plan to launch a full touring cycle in early 2016.

Schaffer says: "The recovery after this surgery has been more difficult than the first time around in 2000. Although there have been a few setbacks, I am confident that I'm ready to resume my duties in Iced Earth, directing my full attention to the creative process, production, and touring future of the band."

He continues: "We are looking forward to songwriting and getting back in the studio. The creative direction of the new album is rife with intense and heavy emotions, as one would expect from an Iced Earth record, as well as a wide variety of lyrical inspirations and themes." Read more here.




The Gentle Storm Release Live Video For 'The Storm'
(Prog) The Gentle Storm have issued a live video for their track The Storm. It's lifted from Arjen Lucassen and Anneke van Giersbergen's The Diary, which launched last month.

The new vudei was filmed in the Netherlands on April 3 ahead of the band's three UK shows this week. Mainman Lucassen won't appear on the live dates - although last month he put his stage fright behind him to play some acoustic sets with van Giersbergen. He said: "When Anneke asked me to do a little acoustic tour, at first I was like, 'Nah.'

"But then I thought, 'Damn it, we worked on this album for a year. Everything turned out right about it. It has to succeed - and I'll do anything to make it work.'" Watch the video here.




Mike Vennart (Oceansize/Biffy Clyro) Streaming Song From Solo Album
(Prog) Former Oceansize man and Biffy Clyro touring guitarist Mike Vennart has announced his debut solo album will be called "The Demon Joke" and he is streaming the track "Infatuate".

He's signed a deal with Superball Music to launch the album on June 22. Vennart says: "I'm delighted to be back in the artsy bosom of Superball Music, the label imprint set up specifically for my old band Oceansize.

"They take good care of me in the way that every record label should - by encouraging me to make the records I wanna make. It's a simple and beautiful arrangement."

He's joined by ex bandmates Steve Durose of Amplifier and Richard 'Gambler' Ingram of British Theatre on the album, which is described as "a rich, densely layered, emotional psychedelic fuzz-rock odyssey." Read more and stream the song here.




SikTh's Mikee W Goodman Forced To Change Outpatients Name
(TeamRock Radio) Mikee W Goodman's Outpatients have been forced to change their name to Outside The Coma and will support Japanese outfit Dir En Grey in London next month.

He's joined in the outfit by vocalist Yuuri, bassist/keyboardist Kieron Pepper, guitarist Charley Olsen and drummer Will Romain. Goodman explains: "We had to change the name as some other band already had it. The meaning of the new name is metaphorical, meaning 'outside the deep sleep.'"

He's continuing with his SikTh project but is also working on fresh material with Outside The Coma and has released a promo for their track Nosebleed to coincide with the band's support slot with Dir En Grey at the city's O2 Academy Islington on May 24. Read more here.




The Darkness Release 'Open Fire' Video
(Classic Rock) The Darkness have released a new music video for the song "Open Fire." It's the first single to be taken from the bands Last Of Our Kind album, the follow-up to 2012's Hot Cakes.

Open Fire's video was filmed on Valentia Island, Country Kerry, in Ireland, where the album was recorded. It features drummer Emily Dolan Davies, who joined the band in time for the recording but left the band earlier this week just weeks after completing a short tour of Ireland.

The audio for Open Fire was first released last month, and followed the publication of a video for Barbarian in February. The single release will be on June 1, the same day as the album. Watch the video here.




Byzantine Release 'You Sleep, We Wake' Lyric Video
(TeamRock Radio) Byzantine released their fifth album To Release Is To Resolve earlier this month and Metal Hammer have premiered the lyric video for the new single "You Sleep, We Wake".

Speaking to Metal Hammer about the track, frontman Chris 'OJ' Ojeda says it's "part four of a continuous story of alien intervention among the human race.

"I started this story on our debut album with the song Slipping On Noise and have carried it throughout our career. You Sleep, We Wake is the point where the alien race has decided to finally push the reset button and intervene with a mass extinction to let Mother Earth heal from our abuse. It's quite possibly one of my favourite topics to write about." Check out the song here.




Singled Out: Nightrage's Desperate Vows
Today Marios Iliopoulos from Nightrage tells us about the song "Desperate Vows" from their brand new album "The Puritan," which was released today (April 24th). Here is the story:

One of the first songs that we have wrote for the new album, "The Puritian," is Desperate Vows" and we wanted to really keep it simple, arranging wise, and not bothering playing complex riffs, or difficult fast tempos that is confusing the listeners most of the time. My idea was to create a song that has some sort of rock, almost acoustic vibe to it, but played in a melodic death metal context, and that was for us a cool challenge to accomplish.

We have tried to leave a lot of room for the vocals to kick in on the chorus. The harmonies on the guitars along with the 12 string acoustics on the bridge, adds a little bit more depth and color to the song, before the rocky lead comes in. I think also the fact that we added some clean guest vocals, (on top of Ronnie's brutal vocals) on the chorus, from Lawrence Mackrory from Darkane, gave to the song the hit potential mark. So we have 2 different vocal lines on the chorus, not fighting but complementing each other.

Overall, I think we have created a song that characterizes Nightrage, this special combination of heaviness and melodic hooks, probably opens some new doors for us, and make us sounding more refined and heavy at the same time, and I think that mentality proves that we are open minded, and we really want to play interesting metal music that is exciting for us, driving us, and most importantly we want that people gets the musical message that we are delivering.

We have written the lyrics along with Ronnie and this time we have tried to reach the essence of the human soul a bit more, talking about the dark past that you need to leave behind you and reach the light at the end of the tunnel, whatever that is, really find the reason to live, and fight for your dreams without losing itself.

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Scott Weiland In War Of Words With Filter's Richard Patrick Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Scott Weiland In War Of Words With Filter's Richard Patrick
Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland has fired back at comments that Filter frontman Richard Patrick made about him in a recent interview.

Patrick was once in the band Army of Anyone with Dean and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots and was asked in an interview with MusicFrenzy about STP's decision to fire Weiland and move on with Linkin Park's Chester Bennington.

According to a transcription from Blabbermouth, Patrick told the site, "The amount of sh*t that [the fans] give the band for trying to have a normal life… [The fans are] just sticking up for Scott, and they have no idea of [what is going on] behind the scenes," Patrick said. "They're pushing him into his death, because they're making him believe that, 'Whatever I did is acceptable. And I can be as high as I want. And I can do as much drugs as I want.'"

He added, "[Some STP fans say], 'He's a badass rock and roll star. You can't have STP without Scott Weiland.' Okay, well, you're gonna get what you want - he'll be a rock-star legend that died in a hotel room with a needle sticking out of his arm, and it will not be a cool thing, and it will be sad, and his kids will be traumatized." Read more of his comments here.

Weiland fired back at Patrick's comments in the following statement that he sent to Blabbermouth: "Hey, Richard - thanks for your thoughts and opinions on my life. Just so you know, and others do as well, I haven't had a needle in my arm in thirteen years. Overcoming my addiction to heroin was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I'm damn proud of the fact that the time in my life when drugs were stronger than my commitment to my health is so far behind me, and always will be.

"By the way, man, I recall when I DID do drugs, and you were one of the guys getting high with me. It's behind you, please note and respect that it's behind me too. As for my issues with my former band - just remember the old adage that there are two sides to every story. I haven't been late for a show in a very long time. I have worked hard to be present and on time for my fans.

"I'm not perfect - no one is - but I have worked my ass off to repair the reputation I created by being thoughtless years ago. Why you felt the need to attack me is unclear but I am happy to set the record straight. Best regards to you." here.




Jack Bruce's Final Recording Part Of Acoustic Beatles Tribute
Keep Calm And Salute The Beatles, an all-star acoustic tribute to the Fab Four will be released on April 28th and features the final recording by Cream legend Jack Bruce.

The 16-track project was spearheaded by Yes star Billy Sherwood and features an eclectic mix of music stars including Heart's Ann Wilson, 80s popstar Howard Jones, iconic singers Judy Collins and Helen Reddy, as well as Asia's John Wetton and more.

Jack Bruce's contribution, described as "a devastating interpretation of the mournful" Paul McCartney classic "Eleanor Rigy" was recorded by Bruce just prior to his death late last year. See the track and singer list here.



Creed Saw Scott Stapp Meltdown Coming Says Tremonti
In a new interview with Loudwire, Mark Tremonti reflects on how the pressures of Creed's success had a negative impact on frontman Scott Stapp, who had a public meltdown last year.

Tremonti says, "Probably towards the end of 'Human Clay', the second record, I think with all the pressures of 'you gotta come out with your next single', 'your sophomore album is going to be a failure if you don't do this,' 'your next single is not gonna do this,' 'you gotta stay on tour'... It was always... if you don't do this your career is going to be over kind of thing. So we were always pressured to stay on tour and put out this music... some people deal with that better than others.

"When you're the frontman of a band that's always in the spotlight and on top of it you are getting.. you know people are taking pot shots at you. I think it just kind of weighed on him and drinking turned to pills, turned to this and whatever.

"He was never really open about it. I think he would do his own thing and party but wouldn't tell us what he was doing. To me, I always thought he was drinking or on a painkiller because his back hurt. I think the painkillers because his back hurt turned into just doing what he got his hands on."

He adds, "I would say we all got along until the pressures got heightened towards the end of 'Human Clay'... So I think the last, really the last year and half, we saw it coming." Watch the full interview here.




Tool Poke Fun At U2's Record Store Day Mixup
Tool have poked fun at U2 after a number of "lucky" fans who bought the Irish band's special Record Store Day release were given a Tool EP by mistake.

U2 issued Songs Of Innocence on vinyl for Record Store Day at the weekend. But some fans who bought the 2014 album at stores including Banquet Records in Kingston, London, discovered Tool's 1992 Opiate EP inside the sleeve instead.

On their website, Tool say: "Some very lucky people who purchased U2's 'Songs Of Innocence' during a recent record store release found instead a copy of TOOL's 1992 "OPIATE" EP inside. Kind of makes you believe in mysterious higher powers doesn't it." Read more here.




The White Stripes and Metallica Dominate Record Store Day
(hennemusic) The White Stripes and Metallica topped sales on Record Store Day last Saturday. BuzzAngle Music reports The White Stripes' fifth album, 2005's "Get Behind Me Satan", led the way with vinyl sales, while Metallica's 1982 cassette demo tape, "No Life 'Till Leather", came in second place with a non-vinyl release.

"Get Behind Me Satan" was issued on vinyl for the first time on Record Store Day to mark the album's 10th anniversary. A limited-edition multi-colored version was available, with disc one on red vinyl and disc two on white vinyl. The project won a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

Held the third Saturday of every April, Record Store Day is a celebration of the culture surrounding 2000 independently owned record stores around the world. White Stripes RSD promo video and the list of Top 100 sellers here.




The Grateful Dead's Final Shows To Be Broadcast On Pay-Per-View
(Radio.com) The Grateful Dead's "Fare Thee Well" final shows keep getting bigger. With the originally announced Chicago dates at Soldier Field on July 3-5 expanded to include two Bay Area performances at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium on June 27-28, now everyone will be afforded the opportunity to take in the Dead via Pay-Per-View.

In the spirit of bringing the event to anyone wanting to see it, the Pay-Per-View special, distributed by MultiVision Media, will be available on most satellite and cable providers, to watch in your home, on mobile devices, in venues, bars, and movie theaters nationwide (through Fathom Events).

As stated in the press release, "virtually anywhere with access to a screen."The special will run 15 hours over the three days in Chicago, and the Santa Clara shows will also be featured in a webcast. Read more here.




Original Santana Returning For 'World Domination' Says Schon
(TeamRock Radio) Santana aim to take over the world again with their reunion album, says guitarist Neal Schon. The Journey man has reunited with Carlos Santana and original members Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello and Michael Shrieve for an album that's nearing completion.

And he wants to take the project as far as it can possibly go. Schon says via Facebook: "We are wrapping up Santana IV this week. Sounds amazing!

"This record is going to take over the world. I hope management gets it together for us to tour - I will tour with Carlos either way. It's way too happening not to. World domination once again." Read more here.





Slash Aims To Deliver Authentic Rock Show In Age Of Trickery
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash spoke with Al.com ahead of his concert with his solo band Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators in Alabama next week and he explained that fans can expect to see an authentic show without backing tapes and other trickery when they see them perform in concert.

Al.com asked "In your audience you've got everything from Guns 'n' Roses diehards to guitar nerds who are there to watch your fingers. For the audience as a whole, what kind of overall experience do you try to create?"

Slash respond, "It's a very high-energy, loud, rock and roll band. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily what you'd call a retro thing. We're not trying to you know, sort of revel in old school for old school's sake. But it's stripped-down, it's not taking too much advantage of all the sort of new technology. We're not playing to any loops, we're not doing any kind of pre-recorded this, that and the other. It's just, we go out and actually play. But people seem to really dig it, and the new material goes over great.

"I think when we first started, a lot of people weren't sure what to expect. But we do sort of a mix of all the stuff from my whole catalog. And now that we've been doing it for the last five or so years, we've amassed a lot of fans of what this entity is, as opposed to seeing it because I'm going to play this song from the past, or whatever.

"As far as guitar nerds go, that's the worst. When you're standing on stage and you look down and there's people that are standing there expecting you to blow their minds with your guitar playing tricks. It's not that, necessarily. That's not exactly what my M.O. is. I mean, I'm a player and I can play, but it's all within the context of the music, the songs. So it's sort of interesting that you do get those guys who sort of analyze you from a technique point of view. It happens." Read the full interview here.





Slayer's Kerry King Reflects On His Time With Megadeth
Slayer's Kerry King recently took part in Loudwire's Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? where artists discuss things that are posted about them on the "open source" encyclopedia site.

During part one of the two part special with King, he discussed his involvement with Megadeth during their early days and while he heaped praise on Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine's talent, he also explained that he "had Slayer's best intentions in mind" while playing with Megadeth.

King told Loudwire (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), "I was one of the lucky people - and there's certainly no offense against [current Metallica guitarist] Kirk Hammett; Kirk's a wonderful friend of mine - but I was lucky enough to see Metallica with [Megadeth mainman Dave] Mustaine. And I say that because it's just a rare thing to be able to say that. I saw them play with Woodstock [in Los Angeles], and I was so intringued by Mustaine, because he was just ripping on guitar and looking out that way somewhere. And I can't do that to this f***in day.

"So I was just blown away at his guitar playing. And to find out - I think it was through B.C. Rich, 'cause we all played B.C. Rich back then… I think it was through B.C. Rich I found out that Dave was inquiring if I would play [with Megadeth]."

He then explained his motivation for taking the gig, "At the end of the day, I thought, 'This is a gigantic learning situation.' And I also thought people would see me and know me from Slayer. 'Cause, I mean, we only went to the Bay Area; we only got up there. So I think if people saw me, it would at least make 'em think, 'Slayer.' So I had Slayer's best intentions in mind. I didn't go and say, 'Hey, I wanna be in Megadeth.' I don't know how anybody can be in Megadeth for more than a couple of hours, 'cause that guy's crazy."






Hard Rock Supergroup Dead Daisies Streaming New Song
(Classic Rock) The supergroup Dead Daisies have released a stream of the song "Mexico" which comes from the band's forthcoming studio album, the follow up to their 2013 self-titled debut.

The band now features former Motley Crue singer John Corabi, Guns N' Roses pairing Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed on guitar and keyboards, guitarist David Lowy, bass player Marco Mendoza - who's previously played with Thin Lizzy and Ted Nugent - and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne).

Mendoza had this to say, "When we were in the writing process, the idea came up to write a song about Mexico and all the experience of it, having spent the first 15 years of my life there, I was obviously exited.

"The result was a rocking in your face anthem with a very strong melody and hook!! ''MEXICO.'' We had a chance to play it live a few times and you could see the positive reaction on the fans faces, this is a winner in my opinion!!"

Check out the track here.




Moody Blues' Justin Hayward Announces Solo Tour Dates
Moody Blues legend Justin Hayward has announced that he will be hitting the road this summer to launch a brief solo tour across the northeastern United States this August.

The announced dates for the trek will kick off on August 20th in Salisbury, MA at Blue Ocean Music Hall and conclude on August 30th in Morristown, NJ at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.

Hayward's tour will also be making stops in Boston (August 21st), Harford (Aug 25th ), Bethlehem (Aug 26th), Alexandria (Aug 27th) and Annapolis (Aug 29th).

He had this to say about the tour and his band, "We are so looking forward to this tour. Julie Ragins [keyboardist/background vocalist], Mike Dawes [acoustic guitar], and I have been overwhelmed by the reception of our live shows during this last year in the USA.

"To hear every nuance of my acoustic guitars (they are on the road for the first time) and our voices in these venues is a joy. And the USA, like me, is discovering what a fabulous guitar player Mike Dawes is, and I look forward to hearing him play every night too."

Hayward will be touring in support of his live DVD, CD, and Blu-ray "Spirits…Live - Live At The Buckhead Theatre," which was released this past summer by Eagle Rock and premiered on PBS last month and is scheduled for re-airings for the rest of the year.

He had this to say about the broadcasts, "It is a privilege and honor that PBS is broadcasting my live show as part of their pledge drives. PBS has always meant a lot to me - not only for the quality of its programming but for its news, independence, and integrity…a true great comfort to me while I'm on the road." See the tour dates here.




Bret Michaels Previews 'Girls On Bars' Video
(hennemusic) Bret Michaels has issued a preview of the video for his new single, "Girls On Bars." The country-rock crossover is the lead single from Michaels' forthcoming collection, "True Grit", featuring 21 tracks by the Poison frontman.

"It is a very Americana, fun summer song that reminds me how much I love music with a sublime video feel of hanging with the fans," says Michaels. "I wrote this song with my good friend and fellow Pennsylvanian, Luke Laird, who is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter of hits like Little Big Town's 'Pontoon', Eric Church's 'Talledega' and Luke Bryan's 'I See You.'"

The full video for "Girls On Bars" will be released on May 12. Michaels is currently on the road across the US playing dates on his True Grit tour. Watch the video preview here.




Funeral For A Friend Announce 'Hours: Live At Islington Academy'
(TeamRock Radio) Funeral For A Friend have announced that they will be releasing their new live package "Hours: Live At Islington Academy" on June 12th and they have released a video of their performance of "Streetcar" from the package.

The show was directed by Ryan Mackfall, mixed by Lewis Johns and was recorded at the London venue on April 24 2014 where they played their 2005 album in full.

The package will be issued on CD/DVD, vinyl/DVD and on digital formats via End Hits Records, with those pre-ordering digitally gaining instant access to Streetcar. Check out the tracklisting and the video here.




Ancient VVisdom Release 'We Are Damnation' Video
(Prog) Ancient VVisdom have launched a silent-movie styled music video for their track "We Are Damnation," which comes from their third studio album "Sacrificial."

The album, their first with drummer Mitch Keith Morris, was released in October via Magic Bullet Records. Frontman Nathan Opposition said the follow-up to 2013's Deathlike would "enlighten the fools and give the enlightened something to listen to."

He added: "Where there is chaos you will find us. Where there is disorder, others find discomfort but I find salvation. Lead me not unto anything. I am my own." Watch the video here.





Spock's Beard Releasing New Album 'The Oblivion Particle' In Aug
(Prog) Spock's Beard will release their 12th album "The Oblivion Particle" in August, it's been announced. In addition, they've lined up five UK dates to support the follow-up to Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep as part of a wider European tour.

Alan Morse, Dave Meros, Ryo Okumoto, Ted Leonard and Jimmy Keegan will be supported on the dates by UK outfit Synaesthesia - who are working on their second album - and Hungarian band Special Providence.

A finalized release date, along with album artwork and tracklist will be revealed soon. Check out the band's previously mentioned upcoming UK tour dates here.




Kingcrow Finish New Album Eidos and Release Teaser Video
(Prog) Italian prog outfit Kingcrow have completed their sixth album, Eidos, which they will be releasing on June 23rd and they have also released a teaser video for the album.

It's described as the latest part of their trilogy about life that started with 2010's Phlegethon, dealing with childhood, and continued with last year's In Crescendo, which looked at the end of youth.

Label Sensory Records say: "Musically it sees the band exploring new territories and pushing the extremes of its sonic soundscape, with a darker atmosphere and a more progressive attitude.

"Eidos will open the doorway for what lies in wait for them." Read more and watch the album teaser video here.




R.E.M. Documentary Coming To Movie Theaters For One Night
(hennemusic) The Alexander Young documentary, "R.E.M. By MTV", will screen in US theaters next month ahead of its DVD/Blu-ray release on June 2. Fathom Events will screen "R.E.M. By MTV" in more than 300 U.S. movie theaters on Tuesday, May 19 as a part of their "Classic Music Series."

The project traces the career of the Athens, Georgia band who formed in 1980 and helped bring alternative rock into the mainstream. The group tells their story in their own words, through three decades of performances and interviews R.E.M. gave to MTV channels in the USA and around the world. "It was a typical Athens story," says drummer Bill Berry. "Four guys meet at a party and want to play other parties and drink beer and have fun."

"R.E.M. By MTV" was originally issued as part of 2014's "REMTV" box set; it premiered on MTV, VH1 and Palladia last November and the forthcoming release marks the first time it will be available as a standalone film. Check out the trailer here.




Trent Reznor Selling His Multi-Million Dollar Home
(Radio.com) Trent Reznor's California home has hit the market and it's not at all what you'd expect from the frontman of Nine Inch Nails. It's bright and airy, and not at all walled off like a dark castle you'd assume from his industrial electro music and all of the crazy fans he has to fend off.

One thing you might not be surprised by however is the steep price tag of $4.495 million, according to the Trulia listing, where you can also take a virtual tour.

Purchased in 2007 for $4.1875 million, the house is a dream retreat with an infinity pool, zen-like patios, a big green lawn, and views of the hills. There's also a soundproofed music studio in the garage and an on-site backup generator, because inevitably fuses have been blown. Read more here.





Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires Streaming New Song
(Classic Rock) Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires have announced details of a new single, "Sweet Disorder!" and they are streaming the new track exclusively on TeamRock.com.

Sweet Disorder! - which was produced by Tim Kerr at Battletapes in Nashville, Tennessee - will be released on July 24 through Sub Pop. It comes backed with the B-side, Stars.

Says frontman Lee: "This song is about disrupting systems that have proven to fall short of, if not completely undermine, their purported missions - criminal justice, mental health, the church, language - for the sake of realigning them with those missions.

"The song developed out of months spent revisiting the Objectivist poets, binging on early Clash albums, and observing the Atlanta actions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and other unarmed people of colour. The song is the first completed work in a group of songs, tentatively titled Juvenile Detention, aimed at investigating questions of socialization, youth, identity, law, privilege, religion, culture, place, causality and memory." Stream the song here.




Singled Out: O.R.k. (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Marta Sui Tubi)
Today Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari from O.R.k., which also features Porcupine Tree's Colin Edwin, King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto, and Marta Sui Tubi's Carmelo Pipitone, tells us about "Pyre" from their forthcoming debut album "inflamed rides". Here is the story:

There is some disagreement among us as to wether "Pyre" is an optimistic song or not. The main character in the song and the video is a man without a face and playing an old, ruined guitar, just the body and the instrument. He's an archetypal everyman, a nobody but someone we can all imagine, perhaps a busker, who is also an observer and social commentator and aside from the crowd.

The scene is very dark, dusty air. Underneath his paper bag with smiling mouth and eyes painted on, but do we know how he really feels? The main guitar figure has a flavour of Morricone's old Western soundtracks, so in the video we see the action play out in an old Wild West type American town.The people surrounding our main man, they're also wearing a paper bags although unlike him, they wear unhappy depressed expressions.

They start to chase him unrelentingly "chase tight as if I'm gold" as they can't stand his shining smile. Imprisonment, physical pain and public disapproval don't stop him smiling. The people, with faces twisted in rage, cart him away to a dark square with a pyre burning at its centre. "They usher me off to the place of my end, though still can't help laughing through the crowd".

They push him toward the pyre, still smiling, he starts walking into the fire. Among the assembled people someone starts smiling because of the presumed man's death. So it starts a massacre between those with the angry look and those who start smiling in a weird manner. The night falls. They're all dead, the smoke has almost completely dispersed.

We see the pyre surrounded by hundreds of ember-looking-alike corpses. The man is sitting on a ash heap, playing his guitar and singing "night buries shame in the corner where liars kneel and pray until there's nothing more to hide".

There are few interpretations of the song, most obviously our brave hero stuck to his smile, beat the odds and won out in the end, while those in the crowd all died, but we'd like to also entertain the idea that he might have been a dangerous and provocative figure, creating dischord/division and bringing out the worst in people.

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Metallica's Kirk Hammett Lost iPhone With 250 Riffs On It (hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hamm...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Metallica's Kirk Hammett Lost iPhone With 250 Riffs On It
(hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was a guest on The Jasta Show podcast hosted by Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta and revealed that he lost hundreds of riff ideas for the band's next album when he lost his phone late last year.

"I put riffs on my iPhone, but something very unfortunate happened to me about six months ago," Hammett tells Jasta on the podcast. "I lost my iPhone containing two hundred and fifty musical ideas. And I was crushed. It didn't get backed up. And when it happened, I was bummed out for about two or three days. I walked into the house. My wife saw me and she said, 'Uh-oh, what's wrong? Did you get a phone call from a relative?' I said, 'No.' She said, 'What's going on?' I told her, and she understood."

"I just plain lost it," he continues. "I can't find it. I'm still looking for it to this day. I just set it somewhere and… It still might turn up. I'm hoping it will. To try to remember those riffs…? I can only remember, like, eight of 'em. So I just chalked it down to maybe it just wasn't meant to be and I'll just move forward with it."

Hammett says he uses the phone to capture ideas whenever inspiration strikes. "For me, music comes at all times of the day. When I get a riff, sometimes it's a complete riff and I can just play it and there it is, sometimes it's half a riff and I have to tweak it. Sometimes it's just a rhythm or a note selection. Or sometimes it's just something that I hum in my head. But it can come from anywhere, and I put it on my phone, and I make sure the phone is f***ing backed up. All you musicians out there who use your phone, make sure it's backed up. Right?!"

The guitarist explains how he and the group take the riff sketches and work to develop them into a full song. "We get together and we jam out," says Hammett. "And, you know, one riff leads to another riff, which leads to another, and, all of a sudden, you have somewhat of a skeleton of an arrangement, and you just jam on it and pound it out, talk about it - talk about what you would like to hear, where you would like to see it go." Read more and stream the full interview here.




Black Sabbath War Of Words Between Ozzy and Bill Ward Continues
(hennemusic) The feud between Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward continues to heat up. The pair are at odds over year-old-plus remarks by Osbourne that suggested the drummer was not physically fit enough to participate in the band's 2013 album "13" and its accompanying world tour.

Ward issued a public statement on Wednesday outlining his need for Osbourne to retract his comments and apologize as a possible step towards further discussions about a full band reunion in time for Sabbath's final album and tour.

Osbourne replied on Thursday with apparent surprise at Ward's concerns, refusing to apologize and re-stating that the drummer was not fit to tour. Ward shot back on Friday with an extended response addressing specific topics referenced by the singer while restating his belief that he was fit to rehearse and record and was preparing his workout regime to ramp up his fitness level come tour time.

"Well, I know I didn't expect you to respond to my request of an apology," Ward writes. "By the way, it's pretty easy to go back and really look at what was truth and what was not. I notice you're including Tony and Geezer in being in full agreement, that with my health condition I couldn't have played a two hour set with a drum solo. First time I've ever heard about a two hour show with a drum solo.

"But I'm asking you, not them. Why did you stay in the studio working with me? Why did we go to England for band rehearsals in August 2011? Why did we continue rehearsing in the Fall? Why did we make the announcement of 11/11/11? Why did you call me in late January 2012 asking me to come over to England to continue rehearsals? Why, if you thought I was so unhealthy, did you continue with me at all? You know why, Oz, because I was fine. I was playing. I was good to go." Read more here.




KISS Star In New Scooby Doo Movie
(hennemusic) KISS are teaming up with Scooby Doo and the gang for a new direct-to-video animated film, "Scooby Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery," which will be releases on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on July 21st.

USA Today reports KISS members voiced their own characters for the project, which centers on a Halloween concert at the group's amusement park Kiss World.

Scooby, Shaggy and the rest of the Mystery Inc., gang drop by to hear some tunes but wind up partnering with the musicians to take on the Crimson Witch, a spooky lady with a nefarious plan to summon the evil and powerful Destroyer from the alternate dimension of Kissteria.

The film will feature six classic KISS tracks plus a new song written by the band specifically for the film. The adventure also features guest-voices by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Darius Rucker, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Jennifer Carpenter and Pauley Perrette. Check out the trailer here.




Three Fans Killed At Doom Concert
(TeamRock Radio) Three fans of UK crustpunk pioneers Doom were killed and another 12 injured during a concert in Chile on Thursday night. The band were performing in the San Martin Club, Santiago, when a restraining fence collapsed on the audience.

It's believed the tragedy was a result of overcrowding. Police chief Hugo Insulza reported: "More people were in the club than should have been present."

An emergency services spokesman added: "Even after the venue reached full capacity, people kept pushing to get in. That led to the collapse of a fence, that fell on people inside." Read more here.




Texas In July Reveal First Leg Of Farewell Tour
Texas In July have announced that they are retiring. The band has revealed the dates for a European farewell tour and they also plan to launch a North American farewell tour later this year.

Drummer Adam Gray had this to say, "I've had the best times of my life during the last eight years with this band. From years of playing for little to no audience - to stages and massive crowds all over the world I thought I would never experience.

"I've met some of the coolest people and am so thankful for all of the friendships I've made. It's time to really dedicate my time to improving at my instrument and getting back to the drawing board.

"Thank you to all my fans and friends who have supported me and will continue to support me through whatever is next. I hope you see you all one last time on our European farewell tour. Thank you!"

Ben Witkowski adds, "To all of our European fans and friends, it breaks our hearts to say that this coming June will be our final appearance overseas in Europe. We are extremely excited to share these last moments with you all, since you have been such a huge part of the band. We began touring in Europe before Texas In July had ever even played a show in California or any other western states or North American territories.

"With that being said, it is safe to say that traveling to your countries have always been, and forever will be, one of the most memorable things for us all. Thank you for giving us a home away from home all these years, it has been an absolute pleasure rocking with such a metal part of the world. We love you, see you in June for final Texas In July European tour. Let's make it the best one we ever had." See and announced dates here.




Video of AC/DC's Second Coachella Performance Goes Online
(hennemusic) AC/DC returned to Coachella on Friday to play the second show of their "Rock Or Bust" world tour on the event's second weekend and videos from the show has been posted online.

The band delivered a virtually identical set to their April 10 headlining appearance, with one exception: they swapped out "The Jack" midway through the set and replaced it with their 1975 classic, "High Voltage."

The group will now head to Europe for a summer run that starts May 5 in Arnhem, Netherlands. AC/DC will then launch al fall stadium tour of North America August 22 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Frontman Brian Johnson recently revealed retired guitarist and band founder Malcolm Young inspired the group to the record their latest album and head out on a world tour following his retirement after being diagnosed with dementia.

"It's just given us that impetus to just do it for him," said Johnson, "because you know before the dementia really took hold of him he said 'just get out and make music lads, just for me one more time'. I don't want to be sentimental about this because, boy oh boy, I'm not a sentimental kind of guy. But that's what we're doing." Check out videos from the Coachellas performance here.




Foo Fighters Play Special Show For 150 Fans For Record Store Day
(hennemusic) The Foo Fighters played a concert for 150 fans at an Ohio record store on Saturday as part of Record Store Day 2015 and video from the very special set has been posted online.

The show at The Record Connection in Niles, Ohio saw the band deliver a 9-song set that included three tracks featured on "Songs From The Laundry Room", a 10-inch vinyl collection of early Foo demos and an unreleased track issued especially for the annual event.

Recorded at Barrett Jones' Laundry Room Studios in Seattle, Washington, the package includes demos of "Alone + Easy Target" and "Big Me", a cover of Kim Wilde's "Kids In America", and a previously unreleased song, "Empty Handed."

Head Foo Fighter Dave Grohl was doing double duty as a performer and the 2015 Record Story Day Ambassador, helping bring attention to the annual event designed to promote over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Read more and watch video from the RSD performance here.




Marilyn Manson Lands Role As Hitman In Upcoming Movie
(Classic Rock) Marilyn Manson is filming a role as a hitman in a crime movie, he's revealed. The shock rocker appeared in six episodes of the last season of TV hit Sons Of Anarchy, in which he played white supremacist Ron Tully. Now has taken on the part of killer Pope in indie film Let Me Make You A Martyr.

The movie also stars fellow Sons actors Mark Boone Jr, who portrayed Bobby Munson, and Niko Nicotera, who played Ratboy. The film tells the story of two adopted siblings that fall in love and devise a plan to kill their father.

Manson posted a picture on Facebook from the film's Oklahoma set, with the caption: "Tulsa Day One of Let Me Make You A Martyr with Mark Boone Jr. and Nico N. In Tulsa/Route 66". Read more and see the photo here.




Van Halen's 'Jump' The Focus Of TV Special
(hennemusic) Van Halen's 1984 hit, "Jump", is the focus of an hour-long Japanese tv special that features extensive interviews with the band. The "Song To Soul" episode sees David Lee Roth and Alex and Eddie Van Halen discussing their first and only No. 1 US hit while revealing the inspiration behind the song, its lyrics, recording and influential video.

The three members sat down at Roth's Pasadena, California home for the interview, which is presented alongside a session with Roth and Japanese media.

Fetaured guests include Van Halen producer Ted Templeman and Guitar World's Editor-in-Chief Brad Tolinksi, who shed light on the song and the band's influence.

"Jump" spent 5 weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1984, while the "1984" album went on to sell more than 10 million copies in the States alone.

Van Halen recently reissued remastered versions of "1984" and their 1978 self-titled debut as a special package with "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert", their first live release with Roth.






Gary Holt Reflects On Late Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman
(Classic Rock) Gary Holt had no hesitation in taking on Slayer studio duties in Jeff Hanneman's place - but he admits he'd rather the late guitarist had been there to take his job back.

Hanneman stopped playing live with Slayer in 2011, two years before his death from alcohol-related illness. The band have just completed work on their 11th album, their first to feature Holt's work. It also marks the return of drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced Dave Lombardo in 2013.

Asked whether he hesitated to continue with Slayer after Hanneman's death and Lombardo's departure, Holt tells Metal Insider: "No, well by the time of Jeff's tragic passing I'd already been doing it for a while. We all hoped, no one more so than myself that Jeff would be recovering, reclaiming his throne.

"It started as just helping some friends out, I had no idea that almost five years later or whatever - four years plus, that I'd still be here and Jeff wouldn't. You know the band wants to continue and I just try to make Jeff proud." Read more here.




Whitesnake Announce New Member
(hennemusic) Whitesnake have announced that they have added keyboardist/singer Michele Luppi to the lineup as they prepare to launch a new studio album and tour next month.

Luppi's resume includes studio sessions with artists and bands including Reb Beach, Eric Martin, Gregg Giuffria, Maurizio Solieri, George Lynch, Doug Aldrich, Ian Paice and many others. He has also toured with Italian singer Umberto Tozzi and Finnish metal outfit Thaurorod, has released albums with Vision Devine and Secret Sphere, as well as issuing a series solo projects

Luppi joins a Whitesnake lineup that includes frontman David Coverdale, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin and drummer Tommy Aldridge.





Mr. Big's Pat Torpey Really Shaken By Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis
(Classic Rock) Mr. Big's Pat Torpey admits he feared his "life was over" when he was told he had Parkinson's disease last year. The diagnosis forced the drummer, 55, to scale back his involvement in the band's looming tour.

They hired Matt Starr to fill in, but Torpey was still involved on the road, singing on some tracks and adding percussion on others. And he says the news was a crushing blow at first, but adds that his family and bandmates helped him focus on living life to the full.

He tells MusicRadar: "At first, you think you're life is over. You think it on a lot of levels - there's physically, but also your sense of identity, who you are. I've been a drummer for 45-50 years, and suddenly it's like, 'Well, he used to be a drummer.' That's how I processed it, as if my identity was shaken. It felt taken away." Read more here.




Jethro Tull Streaming 'Cold Wind To Valhalla'
(Classic Rock) Jethro Tull have streamed an unreleased live performance of their track "Cold Wind To Valhalla" with TeamRock. It appears on the upcoming La Grande Edition of classic album Minstrel In The Gallery, which will be released in May to mark its 40th anniversary.

The 1975 title was their last album to feature the early 70s lineup of Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Barriemore Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond.

It's been remixed by Steven Wilson and includes seven bonus tracks, a full concert mixed by Jakko Jakszyk and live footage shot in Paris in 1975. It's presented in a casebound book and comes with 80 pages of background history and notes by Anderson.

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




Tarja Turunen Release 'Never Enough' Video From New Live Package
(Prog) Former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen has released a new video of her track "Never Enough," which comes from her forthcoming live package "Luna Park Ride".

The new release will be available in 2CD, 2LP, DVD, Blu-ray and on digital formats and will be released on May 29th in North American and June 1 in the UK.

Never Enough appears on the bonus disc bundled with the CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases and features over 70 minutes of extra material recorded at her shows between 2010-2014. Watch the video here.




Suicidal Tendencies, Funeral For A Friend, COC Added To Download
(Classic Rock) Suicidal Tendencies, Funeral For A Friend, Corrosion Of Conformity and Blues Pills are among the final batch of bands to be confirmed for this year's Download festival.

The Los Angeles thrash icons headline the fourth stage on Sunday night for what will be their first Donington appearance in five years. Funeral For A Friend's appearance is their first in four years and follows the release of this year's album Chapter And Verse.

This latest announcement sees a total of 27 extra bands added to the bill, which is headlined this year by Kiss, Slipknot and Muse. Some further 'surprise' acts are expected to be revealed in the lead-up to the event.






Stevie Ray Vaughan Inducted Into Rock Hall
(hennemusic) Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland on Saturday. The Texas blues legend and his band were welcomed by John Mayer, who explained a personal connection he felt for the late musician.

"Stevie Ray Vaughan is the ultimate guitarist," said Mayer. "He had incredible courage because he fought to overcome the evils of drug and alcohol addiction, and when he did, he returned to the stage as an even better guitar player for it.

"There's a term that gets thrown around in conversation, especially about guitar payers, where someone is called a 'wannabe.' It means you're a fake, a fraud, a phony. But if you straighten the words out, it means 'want to be.' Wanting to be something is very important, it's meaningful, it's a great way to live. I'm a Stevie Ray Vaughan wannabe."

Double Trouble were joined by Stevie's brother, Jimmie, at the podium and for a live performance that saw the lineup include guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Gary Clark Jr.

The group delivered versions of "Pride and Joy" and "Texas Flood" before Jimmie stepped to center stage to play a solo rendition of his 1994 tribute to his brother, "Six Strings Down."

Stevie Ray Vaughan topped the fan ballot for the event with more than 18 million votes - more than 5 million ahead of the next nominee. Check out video from the event here.




Lou Reed Inducted Into Rock Hall
(hennemusic) Lou Reed was inducted posthumously into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland on Saturday. Reed, who passed away October 27, 2013 from liver disease at the age of 71, was introduced by longtime friend and artist Patti Smith.

It was the singer's second Rock Hall honor: Reed and The Velvet Underground were inducted by Smith in 1996. Reed's widow, musician Laurie Anderson, was on hand to accept the award on behalf of her late husband.

"Lou understood pain and he understood beauty," said Anderson. "He knew these two were often intertwined. That was what energized him and made him vibrate.

"You change forever when you have the love of your life die in your arms. When Lou died in my arms, I watched as he did tai chi with his hands. I watched the joy and surprise that came over his face when he died."

The musical tribute to Reed saw the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and Nick Zinner deliver a version of "Vicious," followed by a Beck performance of "Satellite Of Love."

Reed was inducted at the 30th annual ceremony along with Green Day, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bill Withers, Ringo Starr and the "5" Royales. Check out video from the induction here.




Royal Blood Rock Conan
(hennemusic) UK rockers Royal Blood performed their single, "Figure It Out", on TBS' late night series Conan last Thursday night and video of their appearance has been posted online.

The duo of vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher played the track during their appearance at Coachella last weekend, where they will return for to perform again this weekend.

The band are on the road in support of their 2014 self-titled debut album, which debuted at No. 1 on the UK album charts upon its release last summer.

Royal Blood were named Best British Group at the BRIT Awards in London in February. On Wednesday, the band were joined by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich for the final song of their set at Slim's in San Francisco.




Magic Pie Release 'Trick Of The Trade' Video
(Prog) Magic Pie have premiered their video for "Trick Of The Trade" with Prog. It's taken from the Norwegian band's fourth album King For A Day, set for release on May 25 via Karisma Records.

The new promotional video was put together by frontman Kim Stenberg, who decided to do it himself after discussions with external video firms came to nothing.

Stenberg shared the following with Prog: "I had to learn everything along the way. It demanded hours of work - luckily we'd chosen one of our shorter songs!"

King For A Day will be followed by Karisma releases of Magic Pie's first three titles, Motions Of Desire (2005), Circus Of Life (2007) and The Suffering (2011). Watch the video here.



Singled Out: Bullyheart's No Pleasing You
Today Bullyheart front woman Holly Long tells us about their latest single "No Pleasing You", which comes from their debut album "Antigravity". Here is the story:

Her name really was Angel. I finally asked on the third Tuesday night in a row I ran into her at my neighborhood club. I'd sling my guitar on my back and walk the literal two blocks-a rare thing in LA- to go see and be seen by my peers. Far from some sort of industry showcase, these boozy Tuesdays were simply a night of local musicians hanging, playing, supporting each other on and off the stage. A smorgasboard of different talent would show up there - some straight up R&B pop singers fresh from stints on "The Voice" or on hiatus from some tour. Others were more classically Americana songwriters, driven by folk. Others like me steeped equally as deeply in rock roots along with folk and blues. It was a great scene- and it lasted only two months.

During those Tuesdays I got to know Angel a little deeper- though only really through one lens. We always met in that sloshy place after a few glasses of wine, when words flow freely and arms are thrown tightly around new acquaintances like life long friends. Though Angel's charm and charisma was that it didn't take the wine or whiskey for her to be free with herself. She was young- in her mid twenties. She was dark and ravishing, a gorgeous deep African color with long extensions in her hair, perfect white teeth, naturally hazel green eyes. And she could sing. The girl could sing almost anything.

But where Angel and I met most intimately was in talking about Him. He was one of the brothers in the band that had a residency these Tuesday nights- the brothers who were sort of the fulcrum for this whole far flung local musician scene. He was a good musician- a talented songwriter, guitarist, great harmonizer with his band of boys. He was tall and blessed with fine features. A pretty boy Irish lad. He was also her latest fling- a recent hookup- and was all consuming to her butterfly mind. I watched her flit and float around the room, engaging with everyone there- such a local sweetheart with her husky laugh and touchy embraces. But it was Him she really wanted to impress. And somehow, me being her older, 'wiser' cohort- she confided in me what was really going on in her heart about him.

I must admit, having known Him for years before Angel came into my life, I'd always thought him to be a catch. He was talented and kind and present in his skin. He had a charming way of never breaking eye contact when you were speaking- and of seeming genuinely interested in the lives of people he knew only vaguely. Certainly he was one of the guys I enjoyed sharing the stage with in impromptu local jams, and I followed his and brothers' band progress with some attention. So when I discovered that it was He she was enthralled with- I felt somehow a little connected. I got what she was so attracted to. And maybe through her weaving the plaintive story over the next few weeks, one Tuesday at a time, I was able to hop on board a bit. Like a voyeur into their on again- off again relationship that truthfully wasn't really based in much of anything and had absolutely no future ahead. I felt weirdly connected, like I had some role in this passion play.

But in the end, it honestly ended up making me feel a little gross. I couldn't quite understand why I devoted so much time - and looked forward to - listening to her pouring her heart out to me. And then the strategizing with her about how to deal with him. And eventually how to relent and put him out of her mind.

Oddly enough- by examining that sort of vaguely shameful space, I was able to go deeper into my own heartbreak memories of post-college love life. I remember so well the walks of shame back home. The dashed hopes that maybe this connection might really be something vital. The hot nights of passion followed by mornings of weary disappointments. (Beer goggles certainly aren't relegated only to the male of the species--What was I thinking?)

I wrote the first version of the song in a frenzy. It just sort of poured out of me all in one afternoon. Once I had Angel as my muse- it was gloriously easy. And a few months later when I decided to create the Bullyheart record, the song at the time temporarily titled "Angel" was certainly in the running for the track list. It just took a few rhythmic tweaks on my part, and some nipping and tucking at the lyrics so that I could deliver the song like Chrissie Hynde singing a Tom Petty tune.

When the tracking of all the songs for "Antigravity" was finished, and we were deep into mixing, it became clear that the song title "Angel" was just too lazy, and somehow didn't seem fair to the memory of my brief friendship with this girl. I had to dig a little deeper into my own memories to come up with a better one. And so, upon further reflection, I realized that the overall feeling I was working with in this tune- what I recall from those days of searching for someone to really see me- was the overlying hollow feeling that there was no winning there. No way to actually get what it was I was looking for- just as Angel felt at the end of the line with her would-be lover. Plainly put, and thus the obvious choice for the ending of each chorus and then later the title- there was "No Pleasing You."