Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Metallica To Stage 2nd Orion Festival In New City
(hennemusic) Metallica have announced plans for the second annual Orion Music + More Festival. The band posted a video with news that the event will be held on June 8th and 9th in Detroit, MI.
Metallica's inaugural Orion Music + More festival happened June 23 & 24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to more than 30 artists on the bill, Metallica headlined both nights.

On Saturday, they played their classic "Ride The Lightning" album in its entirety and, for the first time ever in the U.S., performed the "Black" album on Sunday.

Orion featured variety of on-site events and activities for fans, including Kirk's Crypt, a showcase of guitarist Kirk Hammett's passion for all things horror - vintage film posters, movie props, collectables and more; Ktulu's Rock 'N' Roll Emporium, a marketplace with dozens of vendors selling memorabilia; the Hit The Lights Films tent featuring movies all hand-picked by Lars Ulrich, each with a special connection to him and/or Metallica; and, the Orion Custom Car + Motorcycle Show, curated by frontman James Hetfield, which featured over 300 of the best Customs, Hot Rods, Muscle Cars and Custom Motorcycles on display inside the festival grounds throughout the weekend. Read more and watch the announcement video here.



Thin Lizzy Announce New Name and Lineup
(hennemusic) In October, Thin Lizzy announced that they would not be recording new material under the Thin Lizzy monicker. The last incarnation of the band - Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson and Marco Mendoza – would be looking to form a new project.

Step forward Black Star Riders… Today sees the announcement of the new band formed by Thin Lizzy alumni Ricky Warwick (vocals), Scott Gorham (guitar), Damon Johnson (guitar), Marco Mendoza (bass) with new addition Jimmy DeGrasso on drums (Alice Cooper, Megadeth, David Lee Roth, Suicidal Tendencies). The change in personnel came about as Brian Downey didn't want to commit to the touring cycle a new album would entail and Darren Wharton wanted to concentrate on Dare and other music and film projects.

Black Star Riders are set to enter the studio in Los Angeles in January to start recording their debut album with producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Rush). The album will feature material the band wrote whilst touring as Thin Lizzy and the sound retains that classic feel but is very much its own as well.

The Black Star Riders record is the next step in the evolution of the Thin Lizzy story. "We are all very excited about the music that we have created for Black Star Riders," says Warwick. "The synergy between the five of us has been phenomenal and I can't wait for the world to hear these songs." More details including about the album.




Led Zeppelin Release Remastered Albums
(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin have reissued their catalog via iTunes. The band have remastered their studio albums specifically for the digital retailer.

The iTunes versions are a separate project from the long-term remastering plan for the Zeppelin albums revealed by guitarist Jimmy Page recently.

"The catalog was last remastered 20 years ago," Page told Rolling Stone, referring to the 1990 release of the four-CD box set, Led Zeppelin. "That's a long time. Everything is being transferred from analog to a higher-resolution digital format." more on this story




Krist Novoselic Explains Paul McCartney and Nirvana Collaboration
Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic has posted a new blog explaing how the collaboration with the other surviving members of Nirvana and Paul McCartney came about.

Here is what he had to say: The collaboration came out of the Sound CIty film that was produced and directed by Dave. He asked me if I wanted to play with him, Pat and Paul? I said YES! It was a wonderful day -- Paul came in with this cigar box guitar and started playing some mean slide on it. He said it was in a "D". Hearing that, Grunge instincts took over my left hand and I dropped the E on the bass to D. Pat and Dave got into it and the tune took shape. Paul flashed a riff and we picked it up. I busted another one out and everyone picked it up. Things started coming together.

It was so exciting to play with Paul. I became seized with thoughts, for I hadn't played like that with Pat or Dave since the last Nirvana show in 1994. Wow, it was emotionally and musically heavy! Some other things brought me back; there was a Lefty on guitar who was a heck of a songwriter. Anyway, words can't really describe it and I returned to the task at hand. A new song was born! And that's about it. That's all it is -- a new song by some players who have doing it for a while.

The Sound City film is about people coming together to make music -- and I feel that's what we did. The Sandy Benefit was a lot of fun and it felt good to participate in a good cause. Don't have any crazy backstage stories -- Pat and Dave and I had this little corner of Madison Square Garden to hang out in. Except for Paul and his band, I didn't see any of the other big acts backstage. We got there around 5:30pm and waited until after midnight to play.

SNL was a blast. Martin Short was hilarious! My only disappointment was they actually cut a great skit from the broadcast. It was a great among greats so I guess that's what we get. I think that was our best performance of "Cut Me Some Slack" for the whole week. Watch video here.




Mitch Lucker Memorial Show Being Filmed For DVD
Tonight's 'Ending Is the Beginning: Mitch Lucker Memorial' event will be filmed for a future DVD release, according to Suicide Silence.

The benefit is being staged to honor the memory of Suicide Silence frontman Mitch Lucker, who died in a motorcycle accident on Halloween and also raise money for an education fund for his daughter, Kenadee.

The band announced the filming plans on their Facebook and also promised that there would be "big names" attending who they are not announcing prior to the event tonight (December 21st) at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Ca.

The names that have been announced include Asking Alexandria's Danny Worsnop, Hellyeah's Chad Gray, As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis, Of Mice & Men's Austin Carlile, All Shall Perish's Eddie Hermida and more.



Cradle of Filth, The Faceless, Decapitated and The Agonist Tour
Cradle of Filth will be playing North American for the first time in almost two years when they launch a new headline tour next spring.

The North American tour will also feature support form The Faceless, Decapitated and The Agonist.

The tour will be kicking off on February 22nd in New York City and will conclude on March 26th in Guelph, ON.

Cradle of Filth will be touring in support of their 10th studio release, The Manticore and Other Horrors. more on this story




Terror and H2O Plan Coheadlining Tour
Terror will be teaming up with H2O for a North American coheadlining tour early next year.

The trek will also feature support from Backtrack and Code Orange Kids and will kick off on February 1st in Washington, DC and will conclude on March 3rd in Richmond, VA.

Terror will also be releasing a new album next year, Live By The Code, which was recorded by Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory, Shai Hulud) and mixed by Matt Hyde (Hatebreed, Slayer). more on this story




Krokus Releasing New Album in March
The End Records have set a March 5th release date for Krokus' new album, Dirty Dynamite. The label sent over these details:

The band spent a whole two years working on the new album with Chris Von Rohr. 'We didn't spend all that time on golf courses or tennis courts. No, we just wanted to make our best album yet, the magnum opus of the new Krokus era," says the producer.

Guitarist Mark Kohler has this to add: 'This is not just another Krokus album. I think we have definitely passed another rock milestone with this record.'

To reach this goal, no expense was spared; the band booked into the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Krokus went back to their roots, back to where it all began with the Stones, the Beatles, the Free, the Who, and the Bluesbreakers; back to where the band headlined concerts in the Hammersmith Odeon, celebrating their first international success. more on this story




Ritchie Blackmore Final Deep Purple Concert Being Reissued
earMusic/Eagle Rock have set a January 29th release date for the double disc reissue of Deep Purple's Live In Paris 1975.

Live In Paris 1975 has been digitally remixed and re-mastered from the original multi-track recordings.

Recorded on April 17, 1975 at the Palais des Sports in Paris, this was the very last concert with famed guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who was leaving Deep Purple to form Rainbow.

Blackmore, vocalist David Coverdale, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice roared with strength on such classics as "Burn," "Stormbringer," "Highway Star," "Space Truckin'," and the smash hit "Smoke On The Water." more on this story




Of Mice & Men Release New Video and Plan Winter Tour
Of Mice & Men have released a music video for their new track, "The Depths", from their recent The Flood (Deluxe Reissue).

The clip was shot in the UK by Sitcom Soldiers (Hyro da Hero, Bury Tomorrow) during the band's recent headline tour. Watch it here.

Front man Austin Carlile says, "Happy Holidays everyone! Wanted to give our listeners a little gift in light of the season! We shot this music video for our single 'The Depths' at the end of our amazing UK/EU headlining run in October."

"The Depths" appears on The Flood Deluxe Reissue (Rise Records), the 2012 expanded edition of their breakthrough '11 sophomore release The Flood, which features 4 brand new tracks recorded with producer Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Social Distortion) and mixed by Joey Sturgis.

The band will be hitting the road this January along with Woe, Is Me, Texas In July, Volumes and Capture The Crown. more on this story




KISS Kruise III Website Launched
(hennemusic) KISS recently announced details for KISS Kruise III, and now the band have launched the website for the 3rd annual trip.

KISS Kruise III is set for October 28 - November 1, 2013 on board The Norwegian Pearl sailing from Miami, Florida to Key West, Florida and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

The Kruise will feature some new additions including KISS will be hosting a Meet & Greet JUST FOR KIDS (2-14, no parents allowed)! Each child will get ONE item autographed along with a large group photo with the band. Find out what else is new here.




Cannabis Corpse and Ghoul Team Up For Tour and Split Release
(Sub) Cannabis Corpse and Ghoul will be teaming up early next year for a European and UK tour.

The tour will kick off on January 23rd in Newcastle, UK then make its way through France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Italy before winding up back in Blighty to wrap things up with a duo of dates in London and Leeds.

Cannabis Corpse and Ghoul are hard at work on a split 12" release that will see the light of day via Tankcrimes in spring 2013. more on this story




Circle Takes The Square Releasing New Album Today
Circle Takes The Square are self releasing their new album, Decompositions: Volume 1, today as "pay what you like" download.

Over two years in the making, Decompositions: Volume 1 is CTTS's first new album in over eight years. You can get it here. We were sent these details about the album:

Recorded/Mixed/Mastered by Anthony Stubelek at Rockstudio in Brunswick, GA, Decompositions: Volume I is a collection of songs, comprised of three central musical narratives. Each composition maintains its own identity and story arc, while also playing an integral role in the overarching plotline that unfolds throughout the Decompositions' two chapters.

In Chapter 1: Rites Of Initiation, CTTS push their intricate and circuitous writing style to it's furthest reaches, evoking labyrinthine soundscapes and psychological/visionary imagery in songs like "Way Of Ever-Branching Paths" And "Spirit Narrative" - all within an eclectic yet cohesive collage of punk, metal and even indie sounds.

In Chapter 2: Totem Polaris, CTTS breaks ground in new territories, often only hinted at in their past work. What may have been a fleeting moment of crushing sludge, or straight-forward thrash in their previous compositions, becomes the keystone in songs like "Arrowhead As Epilogue" and "Singing Vengeance Into Being," where the prog-influenced nuances of Chapter 1 are still present, but used primarily as embellishments rather than foundations. Earthy overtones and esoteric references swirl around within the angular dirges Circle Takes the Square has conjured up in Decompositions: Volume 1, wherein the least expected sounds and passages (to those already initiated into the realm of CTTS), seem to ensure the band's commitment to challenging themselves and their fans, with continued experiments inside the beautifully dark universe they've manifested. more on this story



Today Is The Day Announce North American Tour Dates
Today Is The Day have announced the initial dates for their upcoming North American spring tour.

Support throughout most of the tour will be provided by Black Tusk, KEN Mode and Fight Amp. But Black Tusk will drop from the trek after a month on the road, and will be replaced by a special guest to be announced shortly.

Additional American and Canadian shows and more action for this year's SXSW and more will be confirmed soon as well more on this story




Lynyrd Skynyrd's Craig Ferguson Performance Re-Airing
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will be rebroadcasting Lynyrd Skynyrd's performance of "Last of a Dyin' Breed."

The performance is set to re-air on CBS on December 27 at 12:35am/11:35pm CT.

The original performance aired on October 1 while the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers were touring in Los Angeles in support of their latest album, Last Of A Dyin' Breed.

The album release was their highest charting album since 1977, debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. more on this story




Scott Lucas & the Married Men Announce Hideout Holiday Music Hour
Scott Lucas & the Married Men have a special Christmas present for fans in the form of a streaming special of their holiday special.

For the third straight year, the group recorded their holiday show, which took place on December 9th at the Hideout Inn in Chicago, and will broadcast it as an hour-long special -- The 3rd Annual Hideout Holiday Music Hour -- from their website, beginning at 4p.m. on Christmas Eve. It will run repeatedly on the site for a limited time.

At each holiday show, the band pays homage to "A Prairie Home Companion" with the evening's set and structures the broadcast program as an old tyme radio variety show, complete with a host, surprise guests and faux sponsors. Teen indie pop quartet Purple Apple joined the Married Men for a couple of songs at the Hideout and will appear on the Hideout Holiday Music Hour.

Lucas, who is best known as the singer/guitarist for the two-man, Chicago rock band Local H, tackles plenty of Christmas classics throughout the show, including "Run Run Rudolph," "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant," written by Deer Tick's John McCauley, with whom the Married Men toured earlier this year. (The song appears on McCauley's Diamond Rugs album). more on this story




Halestorm To Perform On Jimmy Kimmel Live
(Gibson) It's been a big year for Halestorm. First, the band unleashed their most successful album to date, The Strange Case Of... Then, the group earned a Grammy Award nomination for their breakthrough single, "Love Bites (So Do I)," in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category.

Now, fans will be able to check out a performance from frontwoman Lzzy Hale and her band mates on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Halestorm are up against several other rockers and metallers for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance," including Anthrax ("I'm Alive"), Iron Maiden ("Blood Brothers"), Lamb of God ("Ghost Walking"), Marilyn Manson ("No Reflection") and Megadeth ("Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)"). more on this story






Singled Out: A Rocket to the Moon
Today A Rocket to the Moon's Andrew Cook tells us about the new single "Ever Enough" from their forthcoming new album "Wild & Free". Here is the story:

Happy holidays my friends. I've been given the chance to talk a little bit about our new single, "Ever Enough."

Being the hopeless romantic that I am, this song has had a special place in my heart since I first heard the demo. When I listen to it now, I'm mainly taken back to the feelings I had while recording it (namely the cold winter nights driving back to our apt from the studio, reflecting on the day's work). It gives me a tremendous sense of longing, and speaks to a problem I find myself having when it comes to dealing with the fairer sex, which is wondering if what I have to give will ever be "enough."

I think as humans, we all struggle with insecurities, and the song calls attention to that, but tells us not to be ashamed of it. At the end of the day, it's a sweet little narrative about the power and possibility of love. That's something we can all identify with. I think we knew we had a special song when we watched the trailer for "The Notebook" on mute and let the song play over it in the control room of the studio. It fit perfectly, and since that was kind of the aim for this song from the start, we were all really excited.

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




Van Halen Dominate 2012 hennemusic Rock News Awards
(hennemusic) Van Halen have dominated the 2012 hennemusic Rock News Awards. The California rockers repeated their 2011 sweep by taking home top honors as both the Rock News Artist Of The Year and as the Rock News Story Of The Year.

Guns N' Roses were the runner-up for Rock News Artist, while Van Halen secured the top two Rock News stories of 2012.

Van Halen were the most read-about artist in both hennemusic categories, which are determined by music fans: numbers are based on the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.

"Van Halen's first album with David Lee Roth in decades was the most-anticipated rock record in many years," said Bruce Henne. "Fans followed VH with intense interest, resulting in the band spending 21 weeks at the top of the hennemusic Hot 10 chart this year, including an impressive and unprecedented 9-week run." Read more and see both Top 10 lists!




Bob Mould Releases Dave Grohl Jam Video Preview From New Film
Bob Mould is giving fans a sneak peak of his new concert film, and what better performance to leak than Mould performing alongside none other than Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl?

Grohl isn't the only famous musician making an appearance on the film. The release, See a Little Light: A Celebration of the Music and Legacy of Bob Mould, is also set to feature the Shins' Jessica Dobson, Spoon's Britt Daniel, Ryan Adams, the Hold Steady's Craig Finn and Tad Kubler and more. Nice!

The film chronicles a tribute concert for Mould that happened in November of 2011 at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Watch the former Hüsker Dü singer perform "Ice Cold Ice" with Grohl here.




Red Hot Chili Peppers Perform On From The Basement
The two latest episodes of From The Basement featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers are now streaming online.

The episodes feature RHCP performing "Did I Let You Know," "Goodbye Hooray," "Police Station," and "Meet Me At The Corner," among others.

Fans can watch them via Crackle which is the only multi-platform service providing free, on-demand viewing of the latest season of From The Basement, a series from multi-Grammy-winning producer Nigel Godrich, where viewers experience intimate performances and up-close looks at popular recording artists. Watch here.




Motorhead To Launch Motorheadphones at CES
(hennemusic) Motorhead will unveil the official U.S. launch of Motorheadphones at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, January 8th at 4pm (CES – South Hall – Booth $35801).

Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister will host an exclusive press conference to introduce the new product.

Motörheadphönes has had unprecedented success throughout Europe prior to making their US debut. The new product features professional audio quality, tooled to reproduce rock music or any played music. Motörheadphönes give smooth warm bass, bombastic drums and clear mid-range plus distinct high-end because of the 40mm neodymium high power speakers that takes 6-10 times more power than a standard headphone.

With the knowledge of using studio headphones for decades, Motorhead has made the mid and high frequencies so clear that you can easily separate the instruments from each other. Motörheadphönes allow anyone to enjoy the same music as professional musicians do in the studio

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Lars Confirms That Metallica Is Working On New Album
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich confirms in a new interview that the band is working on their next studio album.
Lars tells Metal Hammer in their January 2013 issue that the new material sounds like a continuation of their 2008 release "Death Magnetic."

"The stuff that we were banging out yesterday, it felt heavy, it felt energetic, it was loud, it was fast, it was rocking, it was crazy," said Ulrich.

"The snare drum was on there and there were guitar solos, in case anybody was wondering. What we're doing now certainly sounds like a continuation of where we left off four years ago."

One thing that Ulrich would not confirm is who is producing the album, and had this to say about Rick Rubin who produced "Death Magnetic": "I love Rick, we all love Rick," said Ulrich. "We're in touch with Rick constantly. We'll see where it goes."

The band recently announced that they have launched a new record label, Blackened Records, and have obtained ownership of their complete catalog.

"It's always been about control for us as a band," Ulrich said in the announcement. "Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, giving us 100 percent control and putting us in the driver's seat of our own creative destiny." Interview quotes obtained from Loudwire.



Former Bury Your Dead Guitarist Sentenced To 20 Years in Prison
Former Bury Your Dead guitarist Eric Ellis has been sentenced to 20 years in Federal prison under a RICO act conviction for his alleged involvement with the Guardians gang, which was said to be inspired by the television show "Sons of Anarchy."

Ellis was a member of Bury Your Dead from 2004 until 2008 and appeared on three of the group's albums, "Bury Your Dead," "Cover Your Tracks," and "Beauty and the Breakdown."

Ellis spoke with Noicecreep while he was still the group about being targeted as the random victim in a gang initiation in Wisconsin while on tour with the band.

The FBI issued a press release about Ellis' sentencing along with other members of the gang. Here is what they had to say: U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced five members of the Guardians gang last Friday to federal prison terms. Maynard Kenneth Godwin (33, Jacksonville), Andrew Chase Wilkie (31, Callahan), and Eric Steven Ellis (28, Atlantic Beach) were convicted of conspiracy and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Godwin was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, Wilkie was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, and Ellis was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Billy James Harper (31, Jacksonville), Brock Skov (32, Jacksonville), and Jonathan Hart (31, Jacksonville) were convicted of violating the RICO Act. Skov was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison, and Harper was sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison. A sentencing date for Hart has not yet been scheduled.

According to court documents, inspired by the television show "Sons of Anarchy," Godwin formed his own gang and called it the Guardians. He was the "Boss," Wilkie was the "Enforcer," Harper was the "Lieutenant," and Skov was the "Technician." Ellis and Hart were associates of the Guardians. The gang committed a series of violent felonies and crimes, including an extortion that left one man nearly dead; the choking of a young woman until she passed out; armed bank robberies; armed home invasions; daily cocaine and opiate sales; and theft of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise from local stores. Arrests were made in November 2010 when an investigation revealed that the gang was preparing to commit additional home invasion robberies. The robberies committed by the Guardians resulted in the loss of almost $2 million to their victims.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, and the Clay County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia Barksdale and Jay Taylor.




Meat Loaf To Play Bat Out Of Hell Album On Farewell Tour
Next year Meat Loaf will be embarking on a farewell tour which has been dubbed the Last At Bat Tour.

European and UK dates have been announced for the trek that will take place next spring.

Live Nation UK reports that on the tour, Meat Loaf will perform a two-act show. The first act will include some of Meat Loaf's greatest hits such as 'Dead Ringer For Love' and 'I'd Lie For You (And That's the Truth)'. The second act will be the classic debut album 'Bat Out Of Hell' – with all 7 songs performed in their original order.

Opening the tour at Newcastle Arena on April 5th, Meat Loaf and The Neverland Express will visit Glasgow, London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and finishing in Cardiff on April 21st.

As for Bat out of Hell, the UK promoters state that since its release in 1977, the seminal album is still 3rd in the biggest selling charts, having sold more than 45 million copies and continues to sell around 200,000 copies each year. In fact, the album has never left the charts the UK!

The UK run will be followed by dates in Germany in late April and early May. No word yet what other countries Meat Loaf may be visiting on his farewell tour. more on this story




Alice In Chains Release Lyric Video For New Album Song
Christmas has come a week early for Alice in Chains fans as the group has released a lyric video for the title track of their forthcoming album.

The group posted the "Hollow" lyric video on their official website on Tuesday. The video was created by fans and comprised of images submitted through Instagram.

The single for "Hollow" will be released on iTunes on January 8, and will be followed by the Vevo premiere of the song's official companion video.

Set for a spring 2013 release, Alice In Chains' upcoming album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones).

Raskulinecz also produced the band's hugely successful 2009 release Black Gives Way To Blue, which entered Billboard's Top 200 at No. 5, sold over one million copies, spawned two No. 1 hit singles ("Check My Brain" and "Your Decision") and a third ("Lesson Learned") that went top 10, earned two Grammy nominations and saw the band (vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell, vocalist/guitarist William DuVall, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez) headlining a sold-out international tour that wrapped at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Cantrell said, "In my opinion, that record stood up to anything else we've put out in our career. Hopefully, the new album will connect with people in the same way." Watch the new video here.




Deftones Plan North American Tour
Deftones have announced plans to launch a North America headline tour next March.

The tour is set to kick off on March 4, 2013 in Rochester, NY and will conclude on March 30 in Houston, TX.

Deftones have also rescheduled their New York City and Boston, MA show dates, which had previously been postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.

The band will be touring in support of their seventh studio album, Koi No Yokan, which was released last month. more on this story




New Order Plan New Album Release And World Tour
New Order have set a January 14th release date for their new album, "The Lost Sirens," and have added a North American leg to their world tour plans.

As the name suggest, The Lost Sirens, consists of songs that were written and recorded for the 2005 release, "Waiting for the Sirens' Call."

"Lost Sirens? Well, it's not really lost," Stephen Morris explains. "I remember that Martin Hannett once had an idea of making a record and burying it in his garden, so that one day someone would dig it up, like a time capsule. We just stuck our record in a cupboard. And now we've got it out.

"When we did the first one we had 20 ideas for songs - we were going through a particularly prolific phase - but we couldn't make a double concept album out of them all, so we thought we'd just do two instead.

"The intention was always to write four or five more songs and then put it out 18 months or so after the first one. When we unearthed it from the cupboard recently, with the intention of re-editing some of the songs, we all agreed they didn't actually need it, and it should just be out there. So here it is."

The eight-track album may be the last time that new material is released from New Order featuring Peter Hook, who left the group in 2007 and was not invited to reunite with the group (Bernard Sumner, Morris and Gillian Gilbert) last year. more on this story




Def Leppard Release Acoustic Medley
(hennemusic) Def Leppard have released an acoustic medley featuring several tracks played during their 2012 live shows.

Available exclusively via iTunes, the 7-minute plus medley includes snippets of the following tracks: * "Where Does Love Go When It Dies"
* "Now" * "When Love and Hate Collide" * "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" * "Two Steps Behind"

Leppard have also recently announced a Las Vegas residency in the spring of 2013 where they will be taking over the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for an exclusive nine-show run entitled "VIVA Hysteria!"

The band will perform their iconic album, "Hysteria," in full, in addition to a greatest hits segment. Listen to the new medley here.




Dave Grohl Directs New Soundgarden Video
(hennemusic) Soundgarden have recruited Dave Grohl to direct the music video for their song "By Crooked Steps" from their new album, "King Animal."

The head Foo Fighter recently completed his first film, "Sound City," which chronicles the story of the Van Nuys, California studio of the same name, where music legends recorded major projects throughout the years – including Nirvana's 1991 smash, "Nevermind," which featured Grohl on drums.

"Sound City" will premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January before its theatrical release in February. Check out a video of Soundgarden performing the video song live.




The Devil Wears Prada and As I Lay Dying Announce Tour
The Devil Wears Prada and As I Lay Dying are teaming up for a North American coheadlining tour.

The tour will feature support from For Today (on all dates except March 7th-March 8th), The Color Morale (February 22nd – March 7th), and The Chariot (March 8th – April 4th).

The trek kicks off on February 22nd at Ventura, Ca. concludes with a two-night stand on April 3rd and 4th in Colorado Springs, Co. more on this story




New Queensryche Album A Full Band Effort
Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield says in a new interview that the band is excited because the new album that they are working on is a complete "band" effort.

Rock Confidential asked Scott, "How involved is each member in the songwriting process and how does it differ from previous writing sessions?"

He responded, "That's exactly why we're excited and there's all this enthusiasm behind the new album. We're finally... let me back up. Unfortunately, over the course of the past, many records that we've done hasn't been a complete 'band' effort. We've run into a lot of conflicts of musical tastes or directions that we should take. I think the band has suffered because of it. It was something that wasn't always done with the music always in mind. That's why a lot of this has transpired and turned into what it did and we had to move on."

"Our goal has always been for Queensrÿche to this particular type of band. One thing we wanted to do was to revisit what that was and that to us is what made Queensrÿche – our classic material. Why were we so excited then? Let's find that 'excitement' again. We wanted to do that for a while but we haven't been able to do that. We weren't 'allowed' to do that is probably a better way to put it. In a nutshell that's what we're doing. So to answer your question, all five of us – Michael, Parker, Eddie, Todd and I are all writing the material. It's a huge collective effort. We're all playing the material and then with 'Jimbo' in the fold as our producer and engineer – he's like the sixth member of the band. The chemistry level is huge and that's something that we haven't had in a while. I think that's what the fans are excited about and the anticipation is so high. Having said that—it's a hell of a lot of pressure! Whatever, we'll get through it! (laughs) We're having a lot of fun. Last week in the studio was really a lot of fun." You can read the full interview here.




Thin Lizzy To Announce New Band Name and Album on Christmas
(hennemusic) This fall, Thin Lizzy announced the group will start recording a new album , to be released under a new name, and that they will cease touring under the Thin Lizzy brand after going out on one last UK tour.

The trip wrapped up Monday in London, and now the group is sharing its plans moving forward.

"A massive thanks to all fans who have supported TL for the last 2 years, it's been the biggest honor and privilege of my life to be part of this," posted singer Ricky Warwick. "Stay tuned for big announcements on Xmas on the album and new band name ...2013 is gonna be a very busy year!"

Although Thin Lizzy are scheduled to play an Australian tour with KISS and Motley Crue in the spring, as well as some headline dates of their own, the band revealed their name change and new album plans earlier this fall.

"Out of respect to Phil Lynott and the legacy he created, we have decided that we should not release a new album under the Thin Lizzy name," said guitarist Scott Gorham in September. Read the rest here.




Clutch Announce First Leg Of Their North American Tour
Clutch have announced the initial dates for the first leg of the North American portion of their upcoming world tour.

The newly announced dates will kick off on March 8th in Cincinnati, OH and are currently slated to run through March 24th in Anaheim, CA. Support on these dates will be provided by Orange Goblin, Lionize and Kyng.

The tour will be in support of their forthcoming album, Earth Rocker. The North American trek will follow the band's European tour which runs from late January until early February.

Clutch will also be headlining the KBPI "When Hell Freezes Over" show this Friday night December 21st in Denver, CO at the Fillmore Auditorium.

Then next week, Clutch will be launching their Holiday tour which kick off December 26th in Washington, DC and conclude with a special New Year's Eve performance in Worcester, MA at The Palladium. more on this story




The Story So Far and Man Overboard Plan Spring Tour
The Story So Far and Man Overboard will be teaming up next spring to coheadline The Suppy Nation Tour.

The trek will kick off in Dallas on March 8th and will feature support from Tonight Alive, Citizen and The American Scene.

The Story So Far will be releasing a new album in the spring, produced by Steven Klein (New Found Glory). more on this story




Black Dahlia Murder Added To Warped Tour
Next summer's Warped Tour will features some metal from Black Dahlia Murder who will be taking part in the annual trek.

Frontman Trevor Strnad had this to say about being added to next year's lineup: "We in the Black Dahlia Murder look forward to seeing you and your friend's fancy haircuts this summer at the Van's Warped Tour.

"I think it's safe to say that all of us in TBDM have attended this tour at various points and have fond memories of this great American punk rock freak show.

"This time, we shall be the freaks … the sore thumb poking at your eyeball. We are proud to be the fastest, craziest, and most evil band that has ever played Warped Tour … hundreds of bands will enter, one band will leave. Us.

"We will emerge from the rubble like the giant cockroach men we are. See ya this summer… let's get warped!!!" more on this story




Rolling Stones Tour Speculation
(Gibson) Fresh off their 50th anniversary mini-tour, speculation has already started that perhaps The Rolling Stones will hit the road for a major tour in 2013.

Mick Jagger said during the band's last concert in Newark, NJ, on Saturday night: "This is our last show…of the 50th anniversary tour. Hope to see you again soon."

Former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, who played guitar during "Midnight Rambler," told Billboard "I think they feel re-energized, and possibly very enthusiastic about doing things in the future. I have an intuitive feeling that if they want to do some more shows, they can. There's no reason why they shouldn't be able to."

Adding further fuel to the rumor of more Stones shows, on Friday December 14 the band's official mobile app briefly listed a show on April 12 in Indio, CA, under the heading "Coachella 2013." more on this story






Tracii Guns' League Of Gentlemen Finish Debut Album
Former L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns informed fans via Facebook that his new group has finished recording their new album.

The new group, Tracii Guns' League Of Gentlemen, are hoping to release their debut album next spring.

Guns had this to say, "Update! The album is completely finished, Now onto artwork etcetcetc. Trying for a March release date.

"At the moment our very good friend and photographer Cheryl Spelts is very sick and she hasn't been able to get her priceless photos of the band to us so, we hope she gets better quickly so she can get on with her busy life and so we can finish up the Album artwork and get our new website www.electriclogjam.com up and out as quickly as possible." Until then you can visit Tracii's Facebook here.




Garbage Already Planning Next Album
(Gibson) This year saw the release of Not Your Kind of People, the first new studio album from Garbage in seven years.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the band reveals that they are already set to record new material.

According to drummer Butch Vig, the band are, "gonna do some recording in January, early February."

But Garbage are not setting out to record a full album of songs, but rather a handful of tracks to be released digitally.

Singer Shirley Manson said: "Historically, we've worked slow because we've toured so much — we go and spend a year making a record, then we go back out on the road. Now we realize we can do two or three tracks, release these tracks and then go on the road." more on this story







Singled Out: Her Dark Embrace
Today Her Dark Embrace vocalist Will Brookes tells us about their new single "December". Here is the story:

December is a song based loosely on memories of my own, tied in with that nostalgic movie feeling. It's a song about the kind of memory you keep in your heart, and don't share with other people. The kind that can still make your stomach feel funny, even though it happened years ago.

I came up with the idea for it when I was flicking through some old photographs. I found a picture of a love heart, drawn on steamed up glass, and the memories it evoked were so strong. The whole song just grew from there. Today, it's our first single, and has a music video to go with it!

The music video was great fun to make, although it was freezing cold! Getting up at 5am with a hangover, and climbing up a mountain with all the gear wasn't the best feeling in the world, but the results are definitely worth it.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and check out the video right here!




Blink-182's Yelawolf Collaboration Streaming Online
KROQ are streaming a brand new track from Blink-182's new E.P. Dogs Eating Dogs. Titled "Pretty Little Girl," the track features guest vocals from Alabama rapper and Travis Barker collaborator Yelawolf.

Talk of an unnamed E.P. began circling this fall just after the band announced they had separated from long time partner, Interscope Records. "It's a great time in our band right now," Hoppus told CBS Local. "We're better amongst ourselves than we've been in years. It's a real positive, excited energy between the three of us. Getting a chance to become independent after being on a label for whatever it's been, 17 years now – it's a really cool position to be in."

Blink-182 decided to self-release the E.P. and on December 10th, unveiled the Christmas song, "Boxing Day."

"Dogs Eating Dogs will be nothing like Neighborhoods, but it's also not just a return to the band's early releases," explained Tom DeLonge to Billboard. "The band is back together, working together in a way that they hadn't been, even for years before the hiatus. We're connected and laughing and making jokes and making fun of each other, and really having strong debates whether or not we should have a whole chorus about..." Find out what that's about and listen to the song here.



Video of The Black Keys Rolling Stones Jam Goes Online
(hennemusic) The Black Keys joined the Rolling Stones Saturday in New Jersey for the fifth and final show of the band's 50 & Counting tour.

The Keys jammed the Bo Diddley classic "Who Do You Love?" with the Stones at the show, which also featured special guests Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr. and former Stone Mick Taylor.

There's rumors that there are more concerts to be announced as the Stones marks their 50th anniversary.

On Friday, an April 12, 2013 Coachella Festival date appeared on the official Stones App, only to be taken down hours later; April 12 is the opening day of the festival's first weekend.

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Nirvana Open To David Lee Roth Fronted Tour
Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic says in a new interview that he is more than open to a tour with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth fronting the group.
hennemusic reports: Nirvana recently reunited for drummer Dave Grohl's new documentary, "Sound City." Grohl, bassist Krist Novoselic and guitarist Pat Smear teamed up with Paul McCartney to record a new song, "Cut Me Some Slack," for the project and its companion soundtrack.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Novoselic was asked if he would tour with McCartney as the band leader for a full-scale Nirvana reunion tour. He replied, "Absolutely I would."

Asked if he would tour with Van Halen's David Lee Roth as frontman, Novoselic said, "I love David Lee Roth. I would tour with David Lee Roth because I think he's great.

"And it wouldn't be some oldies review: if we put a band together and we were making music and we felt good about it – and there was that passion and that spark – I'd do it in a second."





Marilyn Manson Almost Loses Ear In Brawl
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson informed fans via Twitter that he had to receive 24 stitches after injuring his ear in some kind of brawl.

Manson didn't provide many details about the brawl; simply that he won but also needed stitches to save his ear after being hit with a glass table.

The brawl reportedly took place in the Swiss city of Basel last Tuesday, when Manson's coheadlining Twins of Evil tour with Rob Zombie hit the city.

Manson posted a brief message on Twitter Tuesday, followed by a photo of his injured ear. We wrote:

"I was hit by a glass table in a dangerous fight. I was however, the victor but had to have 24 stitches to keep my ear from becoming Van Goth." Read the tweet and see the photo




Guns N' Roses India Tour Ends In Drama
A member of Guns N' Roses reportedly stormed off stage last week and wouldn't return for an encore, and it wasn't frontman Axl Rose.

The band was playing the final stop on their first tour of India last Wednesday in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi.

The concert went off well, according to a New York Times review by Kabir Taneja, with Axl Rose taking the stage on time and the band playing a 3 hour set.

But the show apparently didn't end well. Taneja said that after the band returned to the stage for an encore, Rose thanked fans and told them that playing India "has been a longtime dream."

He then dedicated the concert to the memory of sitar legend Ravi Shanker who had died the previous day. The band then took their final bow.

At this point, Axl decided to play another song and called the group back on the stage but Tommy Stinson apparently did not want to. Taneja reports, "he was visible from where I sat nearly throwing his bass backstage, as a roadie tried to stop him."

The band began performing Rose Tattoo's "Nice Boys" without Stinson, when Axl left the stage only to return moments later followed by Stinson.

At this point, Stinson, " threw his bass onto a pile of equipment, flipped the middle finger at some crew members and left. The band finished the last song without a bassist."

You can read the full review of the concert here. more on this story



Rolling Stones To Play Coachella?
The Rolling Stones concert Saturday in Newark that wrapped up their five-date 50 & Counting tour may not be their last show of the year.

hennemusic reports on Friday, an April 12, 2013 Coachella Festival date appeared on the official Stones App, only to be taken down hours later; April 12 is the opening day of the festival's first weekend.

A tease? A test? Either way, fans noticed, sharing screen captures of the image and spreading them around the globe.

The app also listed a December 27th date in Huntington, NY which may be referencing a showing of the documentary "The Rolling Stones: The Ron Wood Years."

You can see a screen capture of the app listing both the Coachella 2013 and the Huntington, NY dates here. more on this story




Jason Newsted Releasing New EP
Jason Newsted has returned with a new self-titled group and is now using fans to break news about the group's upcoming debut release.

Newsted plans to release the new four-song "Metal" EP on January 8th, according to a graphic of a letter that was posted on Twitter.

On Wednesday Newsted posted the following tweet: "whats up man? new tunes coming soon!! sign up @ http://newstedheavymetal.com to get latest info. Cheers People!! J"

Then Newsted apparently sent a graphic of a handwritten note with details about the new release to several people who in turn posted the graphic on Twitter on Friday and Newsted then retweeted their postings. See the tweeted photo here.




Lamb Of God Frontman Disgusted With Fans Disrespect Over CT Tragedy
Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe is "disgusted" with some fans in Medford, Oregon and how they treated a moment of silence request for the victims of Friday's mass murder at a Connecticut elementary school.

Following the concert, Blythe shared his displeasure with the following posting on Instagram, according to Lambgoat:
After asking for a minute of silence during their set in honor of the school shooting victims in Connecticut, Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe was thoroughly unhappy with a portion of the audience at a Medford, Oregon venue. Blythe later had the following to say via:

"I have never been more disgusted with an audience in my life. I wish we hadn't played. We, Lamb of God, asked for sixty seconds of silence during our first set break to honor the dead children and teachers in CT. It seemed appropriate- it's a goddamned national TRAGEDY.

"Most of the crowd complied, but several didn't, some cursing and even laughing. I wanted to walk off stage. I am so disgusted right now- if you were one of those who wouldn't shut up for SIXTY LOUSY SECONDS to honor twenty MURDERED CHILDREN- go look in the mirror. You are looking at a piece of sh*t. Your parents are obviously pieces of sh*t too, because they raised you to behave with no dignity.

"To the fans who were respectful, I thank you. I am also sorry you have so many goddamned assholes in your community. You should do something about that. This sh*t would not have happened at a Lamb of God show where I live, and that is a FACT. We have more manners.

"I am just disgusted. Thoroughly DIGUSTED. You yelling people give metal a band name-screw that, you give humanity a bad name. Grow up. Your parents should have beaten some manners into you, you savage little beasts. With that I will go to bed, say a prayer for those suffering, and hope for a better day tomorrow, because tonight SUCKED."




Harley Flanagan No Longer Facing Cro-Mags CBGB Festival Fight Charges
Cro-Mags founder and former bassist Harley Flanagan is no longer facing assault and weapons charges stemming from the backstage fight at the CBGB festival with the current members of the band.

The fight allegedly took place in July and Flanagan has appeared in court three times on "four second degree felony assault charges and weapons possession, each resulting in an adjournment," according to New York Natives who also spoke with Flanagan about the end of the case.

"I didn't see how it could make sense that one person could attack a room full of people," Flanagan told them in a video interview. "It didn't make sense then and it makes no sense now, cause it just didn't happen and that's basically why I'm getting off today is because they had a lot people making statements then saying that I did this and I did that, but it all started falling apart because they were all giving conflicting statements."

Here is a portion of our original report about the arrest: The Cro-Mags were set to perform at Webster Hall in New York as part of the CBGB music festival. Flanagan reportedly went backstage and allegedly cut the band's current bass player Michael "The Gook" Couls in the arm and stomach with a hunting knife and slashed William Berario (whom the New York Post reports is a member of the band) above his eye and bit him on the cheek, according to the Post.

Police shut the event down after the altercation and both members of the band were taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment of their wounds. Flanagan, who reportedly suffered a broken leg while be subdued by security, was also treated at the hospital. Watch the interview with Flanagan here.




Paul McCartney and Nirvana Play New Song On SNL
(hennemusic) Paul McCartney and the members of Nirvana teamed up to perform on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

As musical guest on the show, the former Beatle was joined by Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to play their new song, "Cut Me Some Slack."

The tune is set to be the first track from Grohl's "Sound City" documentary. The same lineup played the new track last Wednesday at the 12-12-12 concert. Watch the SNL performance here.




Led Zeppelin Discuss Reunions Past And Future On CBS Sunday Morning
(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin were featured on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones sat down with Anthony Mason to talk about their lives, career, and the new live package, "Celebration Day."

"What we achieved was to change the blueprint of a lot of things," said Page of the band's legacy. "We changed where the horizon was … we moved it on."

"It was just so powerful," he added, describing the combustible energy of the group right from the start. "It just locked together like something that was pretty scary, but had to be."

Plant was asked if he was worried about recapturing the band's magic for the 2007 reunion, when they headlined a tribute concert for dear friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun at London's 02 Arena.

"I knew I couldn't go back there … but I had to be comfortable with where I met it," said the singer. "It was just left of extreme fear … and trepidation. It's a tall order. The thing is everything that's magnificent, whatever it might be – a great moment in sport, a great moment in literature – can people actually ever go back there and touch that again? You just know that once upon a time you could kick ass together and that's about it."

The inevitable future reunion question was addressed, briefly, at the end of the feature, with the three members refusing to respond together, but Page and Jones did so in one-on-one sessions.

"I've been open to it and I'm just looking at the past history of it," said Page. Read more and watch video of the appearance here.




Hot Water Music Plan Multidisc Limited Edition Release
(Sub) Hot Water Music have set a January 15 release date for a limited edition 3xLP and 2xCD+DVD entitled Live in Chicago.

Recorded at the Metro in Chicago on February 1-2, 2008, Live in Chicago boasts explosive performances of classics and rarities spanning band's celebrated twenty year career.

The triple LP (with download code) includes 30 songs that clock in at 90 minutes from both nights at the Metro, and will be available on six different colors (Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Purple and White), all of which are limited to 550 copies each.

The double CD will include the same set of songs, plus an 80 minute, 24 song live DVD of the February 2 show, which features a few alternate versions, plus one song not found on the album.

The release of Live in Chicago, comes only a day before the band kicks off their North American headlining tour with The Menzingers and La Dispute, which starts in Tampa on January 16 and culminates in Seattle on February 10.

The band is touring in support of their first album in eight years, Exister, which was released in May of 2012 on Rise Records. more on this story



Killing Joke Plans 35th Anniversary World Tour and Compilation Release
(Sub) Killing Joke will be celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2013 with the release of The Singles Collection 1979-2012 and a world tour.

The Singles Collection 1979-2012, is set for release via Spinefarm/Universal on April 16, 2013. The Singles Collection 1979-2012 will be released in three formats: as a digital download, a limited edition 3-CD set and a super deluxe edition.

The band have announced the initial dates for their upcoming world tour will dates released for the UK, Europe and North America.

The original line-up of Killing Joke, Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth and Big Paul continuing to hold firm, have signed a brand new deal with Spinefarm and will soon set about recording a third studio album for the label. The release date of this new studio album is likely to be late 2013. more on this story



I See Stars Announce Filthy February Tour
I See Stars will be kicking off their The Filthy February Tour Pt. 1 headline tour on February 1, 2013.

The North American trek will feature support from For All Those Sleeping, Ged Scared, At The Skylines and Upon This Dawning.

The tour kicks off in Springfield, VA and will stop in cities in Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and conclude in Toledo, Oh on February 12th.

Devin Oliver states: "We are so stoked for this tour and feel this is an extremely impressive line-up offering a lot to the fans for a low price. We are going to break out one of our longest sets yet and there could even be a few surprises. We can't wait to see you all in Feb and be sure to come party with us. It's going to be a rager for sure." more on this story




40 Years Of Queen eBook Released
(hennemusic) Following the phenomenal success of the book release last year, "40 Years Of Queen" is being released as a enhanced ebook.

This is Queen's and Carlton Digital's first ebook, and the most advanced music ebook on the market.

"Now, technology is causing us to rethink once again and rediscover what a book really is and what it has the potential to be," says guitarist Brian May. "I think this is a great advert for what ebooks may be like in the future. It looks great, reads well and you can play with it for hours...We hope you enjoy the ebook as much as we do."

"I've got to say I'm incredibly impressed with the transition of the book from hard copy to ebook; a whole new world and a lot more portable!," adds drummer Roger Taylor. "To be honest, I've found myself quite immersed in it, with all its interactive content – it does add a whole new dimension to the book experience. All in all, a great way to explore the fabulous and wonderful world that is Queen!"

Using the latest technology, Goodman Books bring you the ultimate Queen book – in electronic form. This fully interactive enhanced ebook takes you as close to the band as you can get without leaving your chair. Dynamic photo galleries, multi-touch control, Queen's music and reproductions of memorabilia make this project incredibly unique. more on this story




Kings of Leon To Headline Hove Festival
Kings of Leon will be making their first performance in Norway in a decade when they headline next summer's Hove festival.

Hove Festival 2013 will take place from 2nd of July – 5th of July, in on the island of Tromøya, situated on the south coast of Norway.

After a two year hiatus, Kings of Leon will make their long awaited return to Europe next summer and will headline the opening day of the festival.

Other artists confirmed so far are among others Crystal Castles, Bullet for My Valentine, Stone Sour, Asking Alexandria, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Enter Shikari.

Says Toffen Gunnufsen, head booker at Hove: – We are very pleased to finally being able to bring back Kings of Leon to Norway and Hove. The band ranks on top of our audience's wish lists and we know they have a big and devoted following in Norway. This has been one of our goals since we started up the festival seven years ago, and we are of course very pleased that Kings of Leon could fit us into their tour schedule. The Festivals' website




The Killers Release Miss Atomic Bomb Video
(Gibson) The Killers have a new single out called "Miss Atomic Bomb," and Brandon Flowers and company have just released the new music video for the track, which appears on the band's latest release, Battle Born.

The video depicts an older singer looking back on his life and a relationship he had with a beautiful young woman.

Things are going well, until Flowers' love is stolen away by another suitor. As the video winds down, viewers see Flowers still brokenhearted over the loss. more on this story






Atomic Cries Streaming Forthcoming Vinyal Release Songs Online
Atomic Cries have set a January 11th, 2013 release date for their new 7", Suspended Between the Mouth of God and the Fist of Man.

The release contains two new tracks, both of which are available for streaming at the band's Bandcamp, and is a precursor to Atomic Cries' forthcoming debut album.

The band had this to say: "We are Atomic Cries, and since 2010 we have played Primitive Doom Metal exclusively.

"No flares, no bongs, no irony, no pseudo-occult nonsense. We worship at the altar of Armando Acosta. We love Saint Vitus, Trouble, and Black Sabbath, but we sound like none of them.

"This 7" contains two tracks of uncompromising, slow downer-rock that refuses to be easily categorised. We are Saúl Do Caixão (lead/rhythm electric/acoustic guitars & vocals) and Andy Lippoldt (drums/organ/bass/backing vocals). Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle." Listen to the songs here.





Singled Out: Great Caesar
Today John Michael Parker from Great Caesar tells us about the song "McGill" from their recently released new EP "Scattered Air". Here is the story:

"McGill" is a song about dreaming. That's how it began, and that's what it makes me do every time I sing it. And I hope that's what it does for the folks who listen to it, too.

It's a story about a boy, "McGill", and a girl, Marie, who fall in love but seem to come at life from two very different perspectives. Marie is the do-er who runs all over the world, exploring its every crack and hidden spot. Her words are, "Pack up your bags and fly, you've got some living before you die, I've got this feeling, don't ask me why". "McGill", on the other hand, is thedreamer who sits at the window and looks out into the world, imaging - all in his mind - the great wonder it holds. His words are "Lay down and close your eyes, you've got some dreaming before you die, I've got this feeling, don't ask me why". By the end of the song, the two points of view have merged into one, as it is only through Marie's example that "McGill" "sees the light". In the last line of the narrative, they take hands and jump out into a great storm, together. We don't know what happens. And if we've listened to anything they've said, we don't even need to ask.

Dreaming, to me, is not just something you do at night when no one's listening. Dreaming is something you do every single day when you imagine the world you want to live in and the world you could create. But the truth is, there's no power in it unless you take action. Unless you jump.

There's a hint of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom in it; as always, there's a hint of The Beatles; and there is a very real sense of theater to it, especially in the ending when everyone in the band has taken on role in the story but then abruptly begins to speak for themselves. And I realized after playing it one night that there is also a bit -- or much more than a bit -- of Marina Keegan in it. Marina was a brilliant and inspiring young woman who passed away tragically in May, and who I had grown close to earlier this year. In the end, and despite (or maybe because of) it's many influences, "McGill", to me, is Great Caesar because it brings people together through music and story to make their hearts beat a little faster and their souls stir.

I hope you enjoy it. And I hope you dream. And do.

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




Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi Duet at 12-12-12 Concert
(hennemusic) New Jersey was represented in full force at the 12-12-12 concert in New York last Wednesday.

Native sons Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi rocked the early hours of the show with sets full of hits and personal recollections of the state.

The two also hooked up for duets in each other's sets: Jon joining Bruce's event-opening appearance for "Born To Run."

The Boss returned the favor on "Who Says You Can't Go Home" during Bon Jovi's performance. Watch video here.




Don Was Reflects on Working on Bob Dylan's Under The Red Sky Album
In 1990, Don Was was one of the hottest producers in music, if not the hottest... And then he got what he thought would be the job of a lifetime: producing Bob Dylan's Under The Red Sky album.

"That was the gig I wanted all my life!" he told CBS Local. "From the time I was 14, all I wanted to do was play bass for Bob Dylan! And when I became a producer, I thought, 'If I could produce Bob Dylan, that'd be incredible!' And then it actually happened. The odds of that happening, man, are like, absurd! But the universe came together, and there I was, with Bob Dylan!"

Unlike the other artists he'd worked with, Dylan didn't need a "comeback" album; 1988′s Oh Mercy (produced by Daniel Lanois) was seen as a strong return to form. But Was assembled an all-star band of session musicians (including future American Idol judge Randy Jackson and John Mellencamp's drummer Kenny Aronoff), and invited in an A-list of guest artists (Slash, Elton John, and Stevie Ray Vaughan among them). But still, Under The Red Sky was judged harshly by critics and fans.

Although Was had worked with Iggy Pop and Bonnie Raitt, he says he wasn't really prepared to work with Bob. "I was maybe a little out of my league, experience-wise, when I did Under The Red Sky. I was really just getting started as a producer. There were mistakes that I made…"







Ryan Adams Plays New This Is 40 Song on Conan
Ryan Adams was on Conan's TBS show last week to perform the song "Shining Through The Dark."

The song comes from the soundtrack to the new movie, This Is 40, which was released on December 11th. Watch his performance here.

As we previously reported, the soundtrack album features original songs by Norah Jones, Fiona Apple, Graham Parker, and Lindsey Buckingham all produced by Jon Brion, as well as new tracks from Wilco and Ryan Adams created specifically for the film. Punch Brothers appear as the backing band on several tracks.

In addition, the album also features Paul Simon, Loudon Wainwright, Yoko Ono, and The Avett Brothers. The soundtrack album was produced by Judd Apatow and Jonathan Karp and features songs produced by the film's composer Jon Brion. more on this story




Counterparts Release The Disconnect Video
Counterparts have released a new music video, via an online stream, for their song "The Disconnect".

The song comes from the group's latest release The Current Will Carry Us, and the video was produced by Vinnie Leonetti on their recent Canadian tour with Stray From The Path, Obey The Brave, Backtrack and Northlane.

Vocalist Brendan Murphy comments, "The video for 'The Disconnect' is a perfect representation of us as a band. When we go on tour, we aren't there to impress anyone, we aren't going to 'work', and we are going to have fun. Since day one, this band has been about having fun and making ourselves happy.

"This video gives people an insight into who we are when we aren't on stage and how we spend our time. Whether it is skateboarding, trust-falling off our trailer, dancing, getting drunk, playing UNO in crappy hotel rooms or just straight up being children; you can be sure that we're having the time of our lives. That's what motivates us to get in the van time after time."

Counterparts will also be kicking off a UK tour with Your Demise and Fact on February 7th . They will then head over to Europe with Last Witness.

FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE!

FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE!

FCA! 35 TOUR: AN EVENING WITH PETER FRAMPTON BLU-RAY:
The performances featured classics such as 'Show Me The Way' and 'Do You Feel Like We Do' as well as tracks from Peter Frampton's most recent albums Thank You Mr Churchill and the Grammy-Award winning instrumental album Fingerprints. The 2 DVD/Blu-Ray/3CD Set features Peter's favorite tracks culled from the world tour.
FCA! 35 Tour: An Evening With Peter Frampton, directed and produced by Pierre & Francois Lamoureux, features two February 2012 shows - one performance in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater and another in New York at the Beacon Theatre. The Best Of FCA! 35 Tour 3CD was executive produced by Zach Bair and Mark Fischer of Disc Live Network.
From 2011 to 2012 Frampton toured the world in celebration of the 35th anniversary of his landmark 17 million selling live album Frampton Comes Alive! Each stop on the tour was divided into two sets: a first set featuring Frampton Comes Alive! performed in its entirety and a second set including songs from throughout his career.
'I have tried to find the best musical performances from as many different countries and cities as possible,' says Frampton. 'My MO in choosing these tracks was to make this CD as representative as possible of the entire year of shows. Maybe there's one you were at, whether you're from Europe or the US. I'm still going through the 116 versions of '˜Do You Feel…'' as I write this! I might never want to play it again, so you better pick this CD up just in case!'

Track Listing: DVD: Disc One 1. Somethin's Happening 2. Doobie Wah 3. Lines On My Face 4. Show Me the Way 5. It's A Plain Shame 6. Wind of Change 7. Penny For Your Thoughts 8. All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side) 9. Baby, I Love Your Way 10. (I Wanna) Go to the Sun 11. (I'll Give You) Money 12. Shine On 13. Jumpin' Jack Flash 14. Do You Feel Like We Do.
Disc Two 1. Asleep at the Wheel 2. Restraint 3. Float 4. Boot It Up 5. Double Nickels 6. Vaudeville Nanna And The Banjolele 7. Road to the Sun 8. I Don't Need No Doctor 9. Black Hole Sun 10. Four Day Creep 11. Off the Hook 12. While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

CD: Disc 1 1. Somethin's Happening 2. Doobie Wah 3. Lines On My Face 4. Show Me The Way 5. Its A Plain Shame 6. Wind Of Change 7. Just The Time Of Year 8. Penny For Your Thoughts 9. All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side) 10. Baby, I Love Your Way 11. (I Wanna) Go To The Sun 12. Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby) 13. (I'll Give You) Money.
Disc 2 1. Do You Feel Like We Do 2. Shine On 3. Jumpin' Jack Flash 4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Disc 3 1. Asleep At The Wheel 2. Restraint 3. Float 4. Boot It Up 5. Double Nickels 6. Vaudeville Nanna And The Banjolele 7. Suite: Liberte 8. All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side) Electric 9. Road To The Sun 10. I Don't Need No Doctor 11. Black Hole Sun 12. Four Day Creep 13. Off The Hook

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger Angers Fans With Hurricane Sandy Joke
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger angered some fans with an attempt at humor during Wednesday night's 12-12-12 Concert For Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden.
During his set with The Stones, Jagger told the crowd that there should be a benefit show the next time it rains in London. "This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden," Jagger said. "But I've got to say, if it rains in London, you've got to come and help us, OK?"

Many fans quickly took to Twitter after hearing the remark to express some shock as victims of Hurricane Sandy in the tri-state were still reeling from the $70 billion in damages caused by the storm. Read some here.




Asia Legend Battling E. Coli Infection
Legendary drummer Carl Palmer of Asia is battling a severe case of E. coli, forcing the band to cancel tour dates this month.

The band were set to launch their 30th Anniversary UK Tour tomorrow but announced yesterday they had to pull out of the tour due to Palmer's health.

The band issued a short statement through their UK press representative Noble PR about the cancellation and Palmer's illness but provided no further details. more on this story




Gene Simmons Offers More Than A Kiss To Linkin Park Singer
Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park sat down for an exclusive interview with KROQ's Nicole Alvarez, with Bennington sharing an eyebrow-raising story about the first time he met Gene Simmons, reality star and founding member of KISS.

"So the first time I met Gene Simmons, I was like 'whoa, that's Gene Simmons. He's like right here,'" Bennington explained. "So I went over and introduced myself. He grabs me by the shoulders, and he says, 'you are a powerful and talented young man.' He's staring at me in my eyes and says, 'if we were in prison, I would make love to you.' I was like, 'oh.'"

"Shannon was in the background like, 'He would. He will make love to you,'" laughed Shinoda, in reference to Shannon Tweed, Simmons' longtime partner who finally tied the knot with the blood-spitting rocker in October of 2011. Watch the interview here.




Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Gets Comfortably Numb With Roger Waters
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joined Roger Waters during his set at the 12-12-12 concert in New York on Wednesday.

The former Pink Floyd bassist played a 4-song set early in the evening that included tracks from both "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall."

Waters closed out his performance joined by special guest Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who helped out on the Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb." Watch video here.




Paramore Explain New Album Title
Paramore have explained the title of their forthcoming self-titled album, which will be released on April 9th, 2013.

"The whole making of this album was a rediscovering of ourselves as a band and as friends," the band wrote in a blog post. "It was a process that allowed us the freedom to explore new territory artistically and to liberate ourselves as musicians, singers, as people!

"Sincerely, we feel that the best way to give it a name is just to call it what it is. This album is us." more on this story




Rush Releasing 2112 iBook
Rush announced yesterday that they will be releasing their very first iBook on December 18, 2012 to celebrate the deluxe reissue of 2112 on the same date.

The 2112 iBook (e-books for Apple's iOS) will feature unpublished pictures, black and white ink art and pencil sketches for every comic book cell, and preview music for the newly remastered Mastered for iTunes (mFit) audio of 2112 with 3 bonus live tracks.

iBook content includes: • 40-page comic book by story artist Tom Hodges ("Star Wars -The Clone Wars," The Simpson's "Treehouse of Horrors #17″)
• Unpublished pictures
• Black and white ink art and pencil sketches for every comic book cell
• Preview of the remastered audio of 2112
• Expanded artwork, liner notes, lyrics and unreleased photos
• Brand new liner notes by David Fricke, Rolling Stone More details on the 2112 reissue.




In Flames Expand Tour With Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish
In Flames have mapped out the second leg of their upcoming North American headline tour with Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish and Battlecross.

The second leg will kick off with several dates in Canada beginning on February 18th in Vancouver followed by U.S. and Canadian dates before concluding on March 7th in Norfolk, VA.

In Flames' current tour with Lamb Of God is set to wrap up on Sunday in Seattle and the prior to the North American tour the band will take part in the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise in January. more on this story




Guns N' Roses Dedicate India Concert To Ravi Shankar
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses dedicated their Wednesday night concert in Gurgaon, India to music legend Ravi Shankar.

Three-time Grammy winner Shankar died at the age of 92 in a La Jolla, California hospital, where he underwent heart-related surgery last Thursday.

"We dedicate this show to Pandit Ravi Shankar, who passed away today" said Axl Rose, according to The Times Of India. Watch video from the show.




Rise Against Honey Boo Boo
During an exclusive interview with Nicole Alvarez, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against commented on reality show sensation Alana Thompson, better known as the pint-sized star of the wildly popular and controversial TLC series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. It's safe to say he's not a fan.

"It's the new lowest form of television," McIlrath said. "The most despicable celebration of a lack of intellectual ability. If we can look to that as something not to aspire to, maybe we can find something good out of it."

McIlrath's scathing observation came during the light-hearted interview, in which he also spoke on the Kardashian family ("I'm largely unaware of the Kardashians") and the Mayan calendar, which many believe signifies the end of the world on December 21 of this year. more on this story




Devildriver Begin Recording New Album
Devildriver have announced that they recently entered Audio Hammer Studios, Florida to record their new album.

John Boecklin is currently laying down the drum tracks for the upcoming and yet untitled album.

The new studio album is tentatively scheduled for a worldwide release in August 2013.





Downstait Cancel Tour Due To Illness
More illness has forced Downstait off the road entirely, forcing the band to cancel their U.S. headlining tour.

The band previously delayed the kick off of the trek after their bassist/vocalist Sean Arata came down with a 103 fever and it appears illness has plagued the rest of the band since then with drummer Clint Branstete coming down with bronchitis.

Guitarist Justin Call told fans on Facebook, "Clint seems to have caught whatever Sean, Isaiah, and Zack had… as well as bronchitis, nasty stuff. We'll do our best to make it back to all the cancelation areas as soon as possible. For now, we're going to focus on Clint getting healthy in time for the Down the Line (Dec 29th) show and releasing our new album. Thanks for your concern and continued support and be sure to wash your hands." more on this story




Steven Van Zandt Succeeds At Reuniting The Rascals
The Rascals played their first public concert in four decades at New York's Capitol Theater as they kicked off a six-night stand which started last night (December 13th).

The man behind the reunion is the group's biggest and most high-profile fan, Steven Van Zandt.... and he told CBS Local that he'd been trying to get them back together for a long time. "People had been throwing money at the guys for many many years, they kept turning it down. Two years ago, my wife [Maureen Van Zandt] and I were being honored at the Kristen Ann Carr cancer benefit." He requested that The Rascals get back together and perform at the private event.

"The benefit appealed to them," he says. "They came together, they did an hour long set, and it was incredible. From that moment, I felt that it had to come together permanently in some more public fashion." Steven had a lot more to say.




Hrvrd Announce New Album and Tour
Hrvrd have set a February 19th release date for their sophomore album, From The Bird's Cage.

The will be hitting the road for a North American tour as direct support for letlive which kicks off on January 27th in Orlando, Florida.

The first leg of the tour has been announced and will also feature support from This Is Hell, Conditions and Rescuer. more on this story




Intronaut Announce Headline Shows
Intronaut will be playing a series of headlining shows before hitting the road for a North American tour with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders.

The headline shows will take place in early February and include stops in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Florida.

The tour with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders will kick off on February 11th in Orlando, Florida. more on this story




Motley Crue's Vince Neil Opening Las Vegas Bar
(hennemusic) Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has revealed that he's signed a deal with Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas to open a rock and roll sports bar called "Wildside Saloon."

Neil tweeted the news, saying the new bar should be open in the next 30 days, adding "Hooters, Rock and Sports! What more do you want!!!!"

Vince recently launched his own brand of vodka, Tatuado, using the same name of his Tatuado Restaurant & Cantina at the LVH, formerly the Las Vegas Hilton. more on this story





Singled Out: Super Fuzz
Today Chris Alvy of Super Fuzz (think 70s rock with an alternative edge) tells us about the song "The Fall" from their new album "Art Noise". Here is the story:

The Fall was originally meant to be written as a collaborative effort between myself and a friend songwriter, performer and producer in LA.

I wrote the melody and the music, and I left the lyrics open for my friend to write. It was initially going to be written in Spanish for an international Latin artist.

I demoed the track humming the melody over the music and pitched it along with some other tracks. My friend loved the song, he thought it was a hit. But he felt we shouldn't put too much energy into it because he thought it felt too American pop and it wouldn't have worked for a Latin artist.
Both my friend and I ended up placing music on that Latin record, but I ended up writing the lyrics to The Fall myself when we realized the song wouldn't work for the Spanish market.

Although there's different ways to interpret the "The Fall", the main theme is to realize the true meaning of your failures and struggles. And to understand that there's knowledge to be gained from these failures and struggles. As the chorus goes, "Think about the fall..." - These unpleasant experiences in life.

"The meaning of it all", "... It's never been at all about the fall" - So it's about learning from your falls, your struggles, and being able to bounce back as a stronger person.

The Fall represents our unfulfilled dreams and failures, and coming to terms and going: it's never really been about failing.

The knowledge that you can gain from those experiences is what really matters.

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




Rolling Stones Tour History Mapped Out
A new interactive map project has individually documented each tour stop of every Rolling Stones tour through A Bigger Bang (2005-2007) (so all of them except their five 2012 shows).

Interactive data visualization company CartoDB has put their advanced map tools to work with this new original project documenting 50 years of the Stones' live shows.

The company digitally scoured Wikipedia for information on each Stones tour, starting with their first British tour in fall 1963. The result is a series of interactive maps. more on this story




Lynyrd Skynyrd Bring Southern Rock To American Country Awards
(hennemusic) Lynyrd Skynyrd brought some Southern Rock to the American Country Awards on Monday.

The band teamed up with co-host Trace Adkins for a performance of their classic song, "What's Your Name."

The track originally appeared on Skynyrd's 1977 album, "Street Survivors." Watch video here.




The Killers Frontman Shows California Love With Tupac Lyrics
Brandon Flowers of The Killers reflected on the enduring effect of hometown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the band's music, rapping a line from hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur during an interview with KROQ DJ Stryker just moments before taking the stage at this year's sold out Almost Acoustic Christmas concert.

"We been from Oakland to Sactown, Bay area, back down," Flowers quipped, quoting Shakur's song "California Love" while discussing the Killers' most recent tour itinerary, with the band coming down from Oakland to perform at the KROQ show.

"I think it's in there. It's in there pretty deep," Flowers said when asked about Las Vegas' enduring impact on his band's music, including naming the most recent Killers album Battle Born, which appears on the state flag of Nevada. "Once you took us out of it, it really made us reflect on it and look at it a lot more, I think. And so it finds its way into the songs. Hopefully we aren't overdoing it. Watch the interview here.




After The Fall Streaming New Song Online
After The Fall are giving fans an early taste of what's to come with a stream of a song from their fourth studio album, Unkind, which will be released in the spring.

The previewed song, "Decade," vocalist Mike Moak sings about his band's first 10 years together and the experiences they've had: "I'll never forget, a decade that came and went / Making noise with my best friends / I'd do it all over again / But I have been broke for so long / Going from job to job and living week to week / Ignoring my health and bank account being empty / I'm not feeling worthless and not feeling weak / And I wouldn't trade that for anything."

"This album was recorded as a four-piece," Moak says, "which gave everything a little more depth. We've been a three-piece for the last four years but Will and Tyler rejoining the band have helped us flesh things out and get their influence in on this album and the songwriting."

After The Fall recorded Unkind in Albany with Tim Lynch and it was mixed/mastered by The Descendents' Stephen Egerton. Listen to the new song here.




Krisiun Release 'Tarantino-esque' Music Video
Krisiun have released that has been dubbed a 'Tarantino-esque' music video for "The Will To Potency," a song from their latest studio album, The Great Execution.

The director and producer of the video, Tommy Jones, had this to say about the clip: "The band had originally contacted me to do a live video on the 'Conquerors of the World Tour'. We filmed every night live, however the day before the last show of the tour, we had a day off on a drive through New Mexico towards the last show in Texas. I had the idea of filming the band out in the middle of the desert because I love that area and always wanted to do a desert shoot. So I convinced the driver to pull over in the middle of nowhere at 9AM. We filmed for about 2 and a half hours out there, using a laptop as audio playback. We caught the attention of the Mexican Border Patrol who came to check out what we were doing. They sent about 3 SUVs out to check us out. Once they made sure we weren't doing anything 'too illegal' they got a kick out of it and were taking pictures on their iPhones because they said in all their years, they haven't seen a band set up in the middle of the desert.

"When it was all said and done, we filmed every night on tour, but it ended up that the majority of the video was filmed on that day off in the middle of the New Mexican desert in about 2.5 hours.

"It was a fun video, and I'm glad we got to do it this way, we all are really stoked how the desert stuff came out." Watch it here.




Some People Miss The Buick For The Neon Trees
As part of an exclusive interview with KROQ DJ Stryker at this year's Almost Acoustic Christmas show, Utah alt-rockers Neon Trees talked about their very high-profile TV commercial for luxury automotive brand Buick, even if the car they're helping advertise has a tendency to get lost in the humorous spot.

"That was so fun," recalled Neon Tress' bassist Branden Campbell about filming the ad for the Buick Verano, which features the band rolling in a tour bus to the sounds of their smash hit single, "Everybody Talks."

"It's cool, because it's actually a Buick commercial, but people think it's the Pandora commercial," Campbell continued with a laugh. "Some people think it's the Neon Trees commercial, like we just have our own commercial these days that just airs during football games, and so we just sort of roll with that."

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Paul McCartney Jams New Song With Nirvana Members
Paul McCartney was joined by the surviving members of Nirvana at New York City's Madison Square Garden Wednesday night during the 12-12-12 concert.
The former Beatle and Nirvana's drummer Dave Grohl, guitarist Pat Smear and bassist Krist Novoselic performed a new song called "Cut Me Some Slack."

The song is set to be the first song from Dave Grohl's "Sound City" documentary according to a tweet on the Foo Fighters Twitter account.

You can watch video of the McCartney/Nirvana jam here.



Metal Star Arrested in Drug Sting
Former Nile and Divine Heresy bassist Joseph Payne was reportedly arrested in a drug distribution sting in North Carolina.

Charlotte, NC television station WSOCTV ran a report about the arrest of Joseph Payne and a 23-year-old man who were charged with felony possession with the intent to sell and deliver marijuana, felony possession of marijuana and maintaining a vehicle.

The sheriff's office said that the two men were arrested following an investigation into "marijuana being transported from the Charlotte area and distributed in Iredell County." They also said that they seized over 6 pounds of marijuana, three handguns and more than $5,000. more on this story




Zakk Wylde Teams With Sevendust, Candlebox Members For Sandy Relief
Infinite Staircase announced that they are teaming up with Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde and JD Deservio, Sevendust's Morgan Rose, Candlebox's Kevin Martin on a new song that will benefit Hurricane Sandy relief.

The band, who are currently recording with Sevendust's Morgan Rose producing, posted the announcement on their Facebook about the song release which they plan to release on January 8th at iTunes.

The recording studio Architekt Music and recording engineer Mike Ferretti are offering their services for the charity project. The announcement did not disclose which charity relief effort(s) that the proceed might be given to. Read the announcement and see a photo here.




Dave Grohl Won't Be Touring With Queens of the Stone Age
(Gibson) Although he is playing drums on the upcoming new release from Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl has revealed that he won't go on tour with the band.

He has however said that another tour with his side project Them Crooked Vultures is a possibility. Them Crooked Vultures consist of Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age singer and guitarist Josh Homme, and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

Speaking to New York's 101.1 WCBS-FM Grohl said: "It was one of the highlights of my life when John Paul Jones said, 'Now I've been in two great bands.' That was a huge deal for me... We've talked about it, I know that someday we'll get back together and do stuff, because we love playing with each other." more on this story






Fleetwood Mac Reveal Rumours Reissue Details
Fleetwood Mac have revealed the details for their deluxe reissue plans for their 40 million selling album, Rumours.

35th anniversary reissue of Rumours will be released January 28/29 by Rhino as an expanded edition and the deluxe edition.

The expanded edition's three CDs includes the original album and the b-side "Silver Springs," a dozen unreleased live recordings from the group's '77 world tour, and an entire disc filled with unreleased takes from the album's recording sessions. more on this story




Alter Bridge Plan New Album and World Tour
Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti announced that the band is making plans for their 2013 activities.

The guitarist, who has focused this year on promoting he debut solo album, posted a Twitter message to fans on Tuesday that said, "Had a meeting today with Myles, Flip, our managers and myself. Starting to plan 2013!"

The band's official website posted an update on Wednesday that confirmed the band are planning a new album and world tour in 2013. Read the update here.




Deep Purple Set New Album Release But Title Still In Question
(hennemusic) Deep Purple will release their 19th studio album on April 26, 2013 but the title is still unknown, even to the group.

After various songwriting sessions in Europe, the band recorded and mixed the project in Nashville with producer Bob Ezrin.

The group's first album since 2005's "Rapture Of The Deep" is rumored to be the perfect match from the original spirit of 70s Purple and a fresh and modern production. "The title of our new album is still a question mark to all of us," says singer Ian Gillan. "We have recorded a new album, and it's a fantastic collection of songs. At the moment that's the only affirmative point we can offer..." more on this story




Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton Plans Autobiography
(hennemusic) Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton has revealed plans to begin work on his autobiography.

"I always thought, 'OK, if you have two or three band members already having their book out, who wants to read another one?'", Tom tells Zoiks! Online.

Two Aerosmith bios are currently on book shelves, including drummer Joey Kramer's "Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top" and Steven Tyler's 2011 memoir, "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?". more on this story




Marilyn Manson Launching Winter Tour
Marilyn Manson will be returning to the road in mid-January for a North American headline tour.

The tour will begin on January 18th in Milwaukee and conclude on February 21st in Los Angeles.

Marilyn Manson has also been nominated for his fourth Grammy Award, this time in the category for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for his album Born Villain's lead single "No Reflection." more on this story




Ben Orum Leaves All Shall Perish
All Shall Perish guitarist and co-founder Ben Orum has left the band so that he can focus his energies on his family and his new project Oblivion.

He explained the decision to fans with the following: "I have given over 10 years of my blood, sweat, and tears to pursuing my dream which you all have helped fulfill. Being in All Shall Perish has been the best experience in my life, outside of being a father. While I am deeply saddened by my decision to leave the band it is necessary at this point in my life. As you know I have a family and obligation to provide for them and be here. Unfortunately, I could not fulfill my duty as a touring musician any longer.

"While I am done with touring, I will never stop writing music. I am joining the extreme metal band Oblivion as a bassist and contributing songwriter. Oblivion's debut album will be released on January 1st, 2013. We are beyond excited to unleash it onto the metal world. I've always been into death metal and extreme music, this is my return to TRUE Death Metal. What makes Oblivion unique and sets us apart from the pack is the fact that our primary songwriter is a world-renown classical composer and professor of music, Dr. Nick Vasallo. His voice gives the music a subtle refinement with the craftsmanship of the compositions. more on this story




Robert Plant Wants To 'Chill For A While'
Between reuniting with Led Zeppelin, collaborating with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and doing a covers album (2010′s Band Of Joy), it's been a busy few years for Robert Plant. And despite the news that he has written one new album with his backing band The Sensational Shape Shifters and another with singer/songwriter Buddy Miller, Plant says he's going to take it easy for a while.

"I think I might just chill for a while, to be honest," he tells CBS Local. "I'm enjoying life and spending more time in America now. I really enjoy it. I'm becoming way more aware and opinionated and stimulated by these new adventures. Everybody says I'm workaholic, and I just keep going and going. And I will do that (again). But I want to explore more. When I think about how I was writing when I was a kid, when I was 20 or whatever, it was all about travel and journey and stimulus. I'm getting on a bit now, but I have to look at more stuff to be able to write cohesively."

One reason that he's spending more time in America is his relationship with singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, who was part of his backing group on his Band Of Joy tour. more on this story




Matt DeVries Joining Unearth For Upcoming Tour
Unearth have recruited Matt DeVries (Fear Factory, ex-Chimaira) to fill in for bassist John "Slo" Maggard on their upcoming tour with Whitechapel and Emmure.

The tour is set to being on January 8th in Knoxville, TN and conclude on February 11th in New York, NY.

Frontman Trevor Phipps had the following to say about the lineup change for the tour: "John 'Slo' Maggard will unfortunately be sitting out the Brothers of Brutality Tour (Whitechapel, Emmure, Obey the Brave, The Plot In You) this coming January/February. His absence is simply to take care of personal matters at home and is only temporary. Slo will remain a member of Unearth moving forward and is actively involved in the writing process for our next album, which we plan to record and release some time in 2013. more on this story




The Airborne Toxic Event Plan Spring Tour
The Airborne Toxic Event has mapped out some North American tour plans that will take place next spring.

The spring trek will kick off on March 30th in San Diego, Ca and wrap up on April 11th in San Francisco, CA.

The band also plans a New Year's Eve show at the Metro in Chicago, IL, and will at New York City's Webster Hall on January 15th and 16th. more on this story




Thin Lizzy Plan Headline Shows in Australia During KISS Tour
(hennemusic) Thin Lizzy is scheduled to tour Australia with KISS and Motley Crue in late February and March, and now the Irish rockers have filled out their plans with some dates of their own.

In September, the band announced that they will start recording a new album, to be released under a new name , and that they will cease touring under the Thin Lizzy brand after going out on one last tour this fall.

The KISS/Motley Crue tour was announced following the band's UK plans being made public. more on this story



Fit For A King and The Overseer Launching Coheadlining Tour
Fit For A King and The Overseer are teaming up to launch a North American coheadlining tour.

The tour will kick off on January 18th in Temecula, Ca and will conclude on February 2nd in Fort Worth, TX.

The Overseer is touring in support of their 2012 debut, "We Search, We Dig" and Fit For A King will be releasing their Solid State Records debut next year. more on this story




Classic Queen Concert Released in Various Formats
Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest has been released as a DVD, Blu-Ray, 2CD+DVD Deluxe Edition and a 2CD+Blu-ray Deluxe Edition.

Originally filmed in 1986, this concert movie has been re-mastered in high definition and superb 5.1 surround sound. Also included on the DVD and Blu-ray is a new 25 minute documentary feature entitled "A Magic Year". This follows Queen from just after their historic show–stealing performance at Live Aid, London, on July 13, 1985, through the year leading up to the epic concert in Budapest. Using archive footage from rehearsals, interviews with the band in the studio and on the road during the Magic Tour - some of which has never been seen before - this fascinating feature has been specially created for this new release.

As part of the hugely successful 1986 Magic Tour that, poignantly, was the last to be played by the band with Freddie Mercury, Queen were for the first time able to include Hungary on the tour schedule. With three years to go before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this was the largest concert ever staged at the Népstadion, Budapest, and the first Western Rock Concert staged in a stadium behind the then Iron Curtain. It was of such significance to the Hungarian authorities and film industry that a group of the country's top film cameramen and technicians were brought together to film it for posterity. more on this story




Xul Offering Free Album Download
Xul are offering fans a free download of their debut album, 'Malignance,' as they work on a new EP.

Levi Meyers, the vocalist for the Canadian death metal band, had this to say: ""We are excited to offer our debut album, 'Malignance' for free (or by pay what you want donation) to our fans as a token of our appreciation for the endless support they offer us.

"We are currently writing an EP, which will be due out sometime in 2013." You can download the album here.




Frightened Rabbit Announce New Album and Tour
Frightened Rabbit have set a February 5th North American release date for their new album "Pedestrian Verse."

The band will be supporting the album release by launching a headlining North American Spring tour.

The trek will kick off on March 8th at Seattle's Showbox at the Market and continue through April. more on this story




Say Anything Sideband XO Plan New Release
XO featuring Say Anything guitarists Jake and Jeff Turner are keeping things in the family with the project by signing to Anything frontman Max Bemis' imprint label Rory Records.

XO first release on Rory Records/Equal Vision Records will be a 7" single, expected to be out in early 2013.

Bemis had this to say, "Though it seems obvious for us to finally be working with Jake and Jeff because they play in Say Anything, the amazing thing is how unique XO is in that context. The band has made a huge creative leap recently - despite already being really awesome - and it's something we're really proud to display in our roster with our other Rory Records artists. They are making a hell of a record." more on this story




Terra Stigma Recruit Disturbed Member To Produce New Album
Terra Stigma will be headlining into a Philadelphia recording studio in January with producer John Moyer (Disturbed, Adrenaline Mob).

"We are thrilled to have a chance to work with such an accomplished music industry veteran on this record" said Terra Stigma's Shawn Stuart.

"We look forward to finally getting our new songs out there as they are our most meaningful, powerful songs to date, we look forward to sharing them to the world." more on this story




Nocturnal Graves Change Lineup and Begin Work On New Album
Nocturnal Graves have announced a lineup change and have begun work on their second album and will begin recording in two weeks at I-HQ Recordings in Australia.

The band promises "around 35 minutes of explosive, violent death/thrash metal which Nocturnal Graves are known for." The album will be the first released under their new deal with Hells Headbangers.

Nocturnal Graves have also recently had a change of line-up, and have enlisted Shrapnel (ex-Destroyer 666) on lead guitars And L. Wilson (Denouncement Pyre) on drums. more on this story




Earl Greyhound Releasing New EP Next Week
Earl Greyhound will be releasing their new EP, "Besides Seasides," on December 18th.

The EP marks the band's first release of new material in over 2 years, but is actually the very first recording the band ever made, back in 2003, when Christopher Bear (Grizzly Bear) was the band's drummer, and has up until now remained unreleased.

The four songs feature the band at its most raw, and contain the seeds they'd sow to later become one of the most lauded hard rock bands to emerge from Brooklyn since Anthrax released "Persistence of Time". The album cover artwork is a painting by Railroad Jerk founder and New Yorker magazine artist, Marcellus Hall, a close friend of the band's. more on this story




King Conquer Launching Eat Your Heart Out Tour
King Conquer will be kicking off 2013 by headlining the first annual 'Eat Your Heart Out Tour'.

King Conquer will be supported on the trek by The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Adaliah, and Sworn In.

The tour is set to kick off on February 1st in Spartanburg, SC and will conclude on February 26th in 26 Tampa, FL. more on this story




Mysticum's In the Streams of Inferno Being Reissued
Peaceville Records have set a February 26th release date for the reissue of Mysticum's debut album, In the Streams of Inferno.

The reissued version of In the Streams of Inferno will feature an extensive remastering, courtesy of Tom Kvålsvoll at Strype Studios in Oslo, Norway, two bonus songs and bonus DVD.

The packaging also contains new artwork made in close association with the band to fully reflect the intended vision, plus liner notes and additional lyrics. The release will be available in both CD and vinyl format. more on this story





Video From Rolling Stones New York Concert Posted Online
(hennemusic) The Rolling Stones rocked New York on Saturday with the first North American concert (and third to date) of the band's "50 & Counting" tour, which kicked off recently with two shows in London.

The two-hour set at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn featured hits taken from every decade of their career plus two new songs from the "GRRR!" greatest hits package – "One More Shot" and "Doom And Gloom."

Reprising her role from opening night in London, Mary J. Blige joined the band on stage for "Gimme Shelter", while Gary Clark Jr. jammed on "Going Down." Watch video from the show here.




Lacuna Coil Release End of Time Video
Lacuna Coil has released a new music video for their song "End Of Time," which comes from their latest album Dark Adrenaline.

The video was produced by K48 and directed by the Italian director Saku, who had worked with the band for previous videos such as "Spellbound" and "I Won't Tell You". He also directed the mini-movies that were featured on the bonus-DVD included on the limited editions of Dark Adrenaline. Watch it here

Lacuna Coil recently announced that they will be touring the US in February 2013 with Sevendust. more on this story




Imagine Dragons Recruit Lou Diamond Phillips For Bizarre New Video
Imagine Dragons have released their latest video and although "It's Time" was nominated by MTV in 2011 for Best Rock Video, today's offering could be their best yet.

With the help of a young woman and her little pink stuffed animal, the boys in Imagine Dragons are freed from captivity as they wait to be thrown into a cock fight-style ring. Except there are no birds fighting in this ring.

An evil Lou Diamond Phillips presides over the ring where a menacing Muppet-like animal destroys his opponents paying betters in big cash. That's just the beginning.




Van Halen's David Lee Roth Travels Back To 1984
(hennemusic) Van Halen's David Lee Roth has released episode number 6 in his new series of videos under the banner "The Roth Show."

This time out, Roth shares some stories and video footage from his October, 1984 trip to New Guinea.

The adventure took place following Van Halen's hugely successful "1984" tour. Roth traveled to New Guinea with the Jungle Studs, a group of 14 adventurers consisting of lawyers, accountants, and doctors that the singer formed in 1980.