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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Metallica Release Massive 50-CD Box Set (hennemusic) Metallica have released "25 Nights Down Under&...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Metallica Release Massive 50-CD Box Set
(hennemusic) Metallica have released "25 Nights Down Under", a 50-CD Box Set featuring all 25 live shows the band performed in Australia and New Zealand in 2010 and 2013.

Pre-orders for the $395 package were announced in April and the box set started shipping this week. For fans who aren't interested in the full package, all of the 2010/2013 concerts are also available individually at the band's website.

This Saturday, June 6, Metallica will perform the national anthem and a headline concert at the 2015 X Games in Austin, Texas. Metallica were joined by pioneering skateboarder Tony Hawk to make the announcement of their appearance at the June 4-7 event, which showcases the best in extreme sports. Read more here.




Motorhead Recruit Queen's Brian May For New Album Track
(hennemusic) Motorhead deliver a cover of The Rolling Stones classic, "Sympathy For The Devil", on their upcoming album, "Bad Magic," and the album also features a guest appearance by Queen guitarist Brian May.

Due August 28, the band's 22nd studio effort was completely written and recorded in the studio, marking a first in the Lemmy Kilmister/Phil Campbell/Mikkey Dee era.

The 13-track follow-up to 2013's "Aftershock" was recorded at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with long-time producer Cameron Webb and the guest appearance by Brian May on "The Devil."

Motorhead will begin a series of summer European dates at Rock im Park in Nuremberg, Germany on June 5 before kicking off a North American tour with Anthrax in mid-August - dates to be announced. Check out the dates, and the album track details and cover art here.




Superjoint Ritual Return With U.S. Tour
(TeamRock Radio) Superjoint Ritual have announced a 12-date US summer tour. Before their run of US dates with King Parrot and Child Bite, Superjoint will play Hellfest in France on the weekend of June 19-21.

Down frontman Phil Anselmo resurrected the group last year under the shortened name Superjoint for their first gig in 10 years - despite the former Pantera man stating their appearance at the Housecore Horror Film Festival was a "one off."

And last month he revealed he was busy writing material for a variety of projects - including Superjoint tracks. He said: "I've been writing new Superjoint, been writing new Illegals. Actually I'm in a secret death metal project with some secret other guys from across the equator. It's called Metraton Ganga." See the U.S. Tour dates here.




The Who Announce Changes To North American Fall Tour
The Who will be returning to North American this fall to launch the next leg of their 50th anniversary tour and band has announced a series of new dates that are make-ups for postponed shows on their just completed leg.

The band was forced to postpone some of the dates on the spring leg after frontman Roger Daltry was ordered by doctors to rest his voice. The May 9th Louisville, Kentucky concert has been rescheduled for December 4th, the St. Louis show will take place on December 6th and the Kansas City, Missouri stop is now scheduled for December 8th.

The band has also rescheduled two previously announcement shows on the upcoming leg, to allow Daltry more time to rest his voice between shows. The Toronto show will now take place on December 2nd instead of October 21st and their concert in Oakland has been moved to December 13th.

The tour leg will be kicking off on September 14th in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center and is now scheduled to conclude with the rescheduled show in Oakland at the Oracle Arena.

Guitarist Pete Townshend had this to say about the leg that the band just completed, "The audiences have been amazing, warm and forgiving. Roger has battled sometimes, not so much with his voice as with a muscle problem that may well go back to a car crash in Australia many years ago. Towards the end he got better and better. And happier. Good to see." See all of the dates here.




Alice In Chains, Bullet For My Valentine Added To Guitar Hero Live
(TeamRock Radio) Bullet For My Valentine, Weezer and Alice In Chains have been added to the lineup for Guitar Hero Live. Anthrax, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Deftones and Mastodon have previously been revealed as part of the lineup.

The Alice in Chains song Stone, Buddy Holly by Weezer and Bullet For My Valentine 's Temper Temper will appear on the game, which is due out in the autumn.

On Facebook, BFMV say: "Stoked to be added to the awesome lineup of the new Guitar Hero Live video game." Also in the latest batch of acts added are New Politics, Queen, Wolfmother, Neon Trees, Deap Vally, Angus & Julia Stone and Catfish And The Bottlemen. See the full list of the latest additions here.




Reported 1977 Iron Maiden Video Goes Online
(Classic Rock) A recording thought to be Iron Maiden's earliest ever has been streamed online. The music-free 29-second clip, taped in 1977, features then-frontman Dennis Willcock introducing the band.

He says: "We're called Iron Maiden. We're all about a sound that's called metal, if you know what that's all about. Scrap metal, yeah. We don't have enough room to move about here, by the looks of it, so someone's going to go arse over tit, I should imagine. Here we go."

Willcock was Maiden's second singer, after Paul Day co-founded the band in 1976. He was replaced by Paul Di'Anno in 1978. Willcock will play his first show in 30 years with his band GV1 at London's Bar 12 on June 13. Read more and check out the stream here.




Jack White and Loretta Lynn Inducted Into Nashville's Walk Of Fame
(hennemusic) Jack White and country music legend Loretta Lynn were inducted into Nashville's Walk Of Fame on Thursday. The Detroit native and former White Stripes rocker relocated to Nashville almost a decade ago, and opened the headquarters of his Third Man Records in 2009.

Nashville Scene reports Mayor Karl Dean attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the two newest inductees to the Walk of Fame as part of the reopening of the Walk Of Fame Park, a downtown green space overlooked by the Country Music Hall Of Fame, Bridgestone Arena and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

"I hope I'm too young to get something like this," joked White. "It speaks volumes about Nashville ... that you would accept, for example, what we've done with Third Man Records here in this city, and accept it so well, and nurture it, and help us make something come alive.

"We're so honored to be here every day", he added. White - who produced Lynn's Grammy-winning 2004 comeback album, "Van Lear Rose" - received praise from the country legend. "You already know Jack since he's been here in Nashville for a little while," said Lynn. "He didn't have to be here too long for you to understand that we needed him, really. Nashville needed Jack White. And I think he's one of the greatest artists there is."Read more and see a photo from the induction here.



Slash Release 'Live At The Roxy 25.9.14' Trailer
(hennemusic) Slash has released the trailer for his forthcoming package, "Live At The Roxy 25.9.14," which will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray, 2CD and as a 3LP set on June 15th.

The set captures the guitarist and his band in concert at the famed Los Angeles venue as part of the Guitar Center's 50th anniversary celebrations and the launch of his latest album, "World On Fire."

The Roxy event was one of three dates Slash played in Hollywood's most legendary clubs to debut the record; he also rocked The Troubadour and The Whisky in the same week.

Slash is currently playing a mixture of headline and festival show across Europe. Watch the trailer here.




Rush's Alex Lifeson On His View of Band's Future Beyond Final Tour
(Classic Rock) Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson hopes the band will continue to play live shows after what's believed to be their final tour. And while he's previously talked up the chances of making another album, he's now discussed the possibility of two.

Rush are currently on the road across North American on a trip that manager Ray Danniels has said is "most likely the last of this magnitude." But Lifeson tells Guitar Center: "I could still see us going out and doing a special run - a couple of weeks here and there, those sort of things.

"We haven't discussed that but, I could see that happening. And possibly making another album or two. We love playing together and we really enjoy that aspect of our relationship." Read more here.




Metallica Helping Texas Flood Victims
(hennemusic) Metallica have partnered with ESPN and Circuit Of The Americas to assist the victims of the recent floods in Texas by donating all money raised from the sale of downloads of their upcoming June 6 show at the X Games to the American Red Cross of Central Texas.

All formats of the download - including the high definition versions - are being offered at LiveMetallica.com for a discounted price of $5.00 each through July 15.

Metallica will perform the national anthem and a headline concert at the 2015 X Games in Austin on Saturday. "We are looking forward to seeing everyone out at the X Games this Saturday in Austin," says the group. Read more here.




Def Leppard Reveal Initial Guests For Hysteria On The High Seas
(Classic Rock) Eric Martin, Kip Winger and Richie Kotzen are among the first acts to be confirmed for Def Leppard's 2016 cruise. Def Leppard say: "Be prepared to get wet, wild and ready to rock."

Hysteria On The High Seas takes place aboard the MSC Divina, leaving from Miami, Florida, on January 21 next year and stopping at Half Moon Cay and Freeport in the Bahamas.

Def Leppard will be headlining, with guitarist Vivian Campbell's Last In Line also due to appear. Cinderella's Tom Kiefer, Winger mainman Kip, Mr Big's Eric Martin and The Winery Dogs' Kotzen have also been announced. Read more here.




Duff McKagan Reveals Top Touring Tips
(Classic Rock) Duff McKagan has shared his top tips for inter-band harmony on the road. The former Guns 'N' Roses bassist reckons toilet etiquette and knowing a little about your destination helps keep relationships on tour free of unnecessary stress.

McKagan recently released his second book, How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions), along with a companion EP called How To Be A Man. He gives his vital travel tips to Rolling Stone.

He says: "If you don't read, know something about where you're at. Barrett Martin, who was the drummer for Screaming Trees and Mad Season, he's an actual professor. So he'll know about everything we're going by, like, 'That castle there.. something something."

One particular peeve of being on tour in Germany is how many times he has to hear jokes about the German word for a motorway exit - Ausfahrt. "You can laugh at the first six or seven Ausfahrt signs, but there is going to be an Ausfahrt sign every exit. You can only do it for so long."

And when sharing a room with a tour buddy, McKagan sticks to a strict rule regarding use of the toilet. He says: "Don't poo in the room if you're sharing it. Unless you get poo permission, like, 'Oh yeah, it's cool dude. I don't care.' Then you know you're really close with that guy." Watch the full video here.




Queen: Play The Game App Released
(Classic Rock) An official Queen app has been launched, giving fans the chance to win band merchandise. Solving a series of puzzles and answering questions can lead to winning real Queen merchandise.

Queen: Play The Game features images from the band's history along with re-sampled sounds from all the hits and recordings fans may not have heard. It was developed by Birmingham-based SoshiGames.

Queen archivist Greg Brooks says: "Queen: Play The Game presents a lot of imagery you may not have encountered before and in brand new puzzle formats." Read more here.





Muse Reveal New Song 'Defector'
(Classic Rock) Muse have released a lyric video for their track Defector. It's taken from seventh album Drones, set for launch on June 8 and available for pre-order now.

The track starts with a quote from US President John F Kennedy: "We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence, on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice.

"It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly-knit, highly-efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations."

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy previously explained that the album explores "a world run by drones, utilising drones to turn us all into drones." He added: "It's possible to do horrific things at a great distance - without actually feeling any of the consequences, or even feeling responsible. It's a modern metaphor for what it is to lose empathy." Check out the video here.




Beth Hart Drug Free But Sometimes Binge Drinks
(Classic Rock) Beth Hart has opened up about her battle against binge-drinking. The blues singer-songwriter has her drug issues under control, but admits that alcohol still sometimes gets the best of her.

Hart tells Classic Rock's Dave Ling: "Happily, for the last 15 years I've been drug-free. Binge drinking still happens though. I'll go six or nine months, and despite my best intentions, I'll slip. Or at least I did."

But she feels better now than she's done in a long time. "There's a difference between surviving and living," she says. "Now I've gotten past my demons, which makes me feel blessed and grateful.

"That's where my writing comes from these days. I've been given this gift of how to live with addiction and being bipolar." Read more here.




Hate Eternal Reveals Details For New Album 'Infernus'
(TeamRock Radio) Hate Eternal have revealed the artwork and a tracklist for their forthcoming sixth album Infernus, which is set to be released on August 21 via Season Of Mist.

The follow-up to 2011's Phoenix Among The Ashes is their first studio outing with drummer Chason Westmoreland, who replaced Jade Simonetto in 2013.

Mainman Erik Rutan recently said Westmoreland's work had a "very primal and visceral feel" and added: "He did a tremendous job on the recording. I can't wait for us to get on tour and deliver the goods."

Earlier this week, the band issued a stream of album track Pathogenic Apathy, described by Metal Hammer as a "typically furious and incensed explosion of churning riffs and neck-snapping blastbeats." See the tracklisting and artwork here.




Robert Plant Releases Video Montage From North American Tour
(hennemusic) Robert Plant has released a video montage of photos that have been taken during his current North American tour in support of "lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar."

The 4-week run with the Sensational Space Shifters started May 24 at the Sasquatch Festival in George, WA, with dates wrapping up in Philadelphia on June 17.

Plant launched "lullaby..." last fall with a 7-date North American theatre tour as the record went on to land a US Top 10 debut, entering the Billboard 200 at No. 10 with opening week sales of 29,000 copies.

The album marked Plant's third straight top 10, following 2010's "Band Of Joy" and 2007's "Raising Sand" (with Alison Krauss). This week, Plant's former band, Led Zeppelin, announced that it will wrap up a year-long reissues campaign on July 31 with the release of their final three studio albums, 1976's "Presence", 1979's "In Through The Out Door" and 1982's "Coda." Watch the video here.




In This Moment Frontwoman Does Mystery Collaboration
(TeamRock Radio) In This Moment frontwoman Maria Brink has revealed that she has recorded another collaborative track - but she won't reveal the name of the band she's worked with.

She's previously guested with Papa Roach on Gravity and Five Finger Death Punch on Anywhere But Here, and she says she loves being the "go-to" female singer for those team-ups.

Brink provided these details to KFMX about the mystery collaboration: "There's another band, it's somebody I really, really always liked a lot and was inspired by. You know, it's an honor." Read more here.




Twenty One Pilots' Blurryface Artwork Explained
(TeamRock Radio) Brandon Rike, the graphic artist who designed the packaging for Twenty One Pilots' latest album Blurryface, has revealed the concept behind his work.

A conversation with the band's Tyler Joseph inspired him with three key elements that moulded the final design. Rike says in a blog entry: "Tyler explained the elements of ourselves that we hate, and the constant battle against these traits. In order to add clarity to this internal struggle, he gave a name to these negative attributes: Blurryface."

He then defined the most important things he had to achieved: "First, find a way to represent Blurryface in a obscure but potent manner. Second, create visuals that resemble the songs, as well as the mishmash of the collection as a whole.

"And finally, reward the fans for their support of the band, and give them new journeys of discovery as they dig deep into all of the elements of the album." Read more here.




Wilson Frontman Explains How Detroit Fuels The Band's Survival
(TeamRock Radio) Wilson frontman Chad Nicefield says growing up in Detroit has given the band the edge they need to survive in the music industry. And he insists they have the ambition and drive to make it to the next level of success.

They recently issued streams of All My Friends and Give 'Em Hell from second album Right To Rise, set for release on June 30 via Razor & Tie.Nicefield tells Metal Hammer's Merlin Alderslade: "In Detroit you do things because you have to. Like, 'This is how you're able to survive.' You were told not to go to certain places or do certain things as a kid because it was scary.

"There was crime and there were people that might f***ing kill you there. In Detroit you have to know what you're doing." He continues: "We make guttural decisions because that's how we're programmed. When we write, we don't think, 'How will people in Los Angeles like this song?' We're writing because we like the way it sounds." Read more here.




Joy Division Fans Backing Ian Curtis Museum Plans
(Classic Rock) A Joy Division fan who has revealed his plans to turn Ian Curtis' former home into a museum has been "bombarded" with messages from people offering to help.

The late singer's Macclesfield home in Greater Manchester was bought by Hadar Goldman for £190,000 this year. He paid £75,000 more than the asking price to secure the deal from another buyer who was close to becoming its owner.

Since it was reported he'd bought the property - used in Anton Corbijn's 2007 Curtis biopic Control - supporters from around the world have offered to help, according to Prolific North.

Last month, Goldman told the Guardian: "I felt as if I had to get involved, especially after hearing the plight of fans who had failed to raise the necessary funds to buy the house owned and lived in by one of the musical heroes of my youth." Read more here.



Fairport Convention Reveal Cropredy Convention Festival Lineup
(Prog) Fairport Convention have confirmed the complete lineup for this year's edition of their Cropredy Convention festival. The 2015 edition takes place at Cropredy, Oxfordshire, on the weekend of August 14-16 and stars Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Level 42, Ian Matthews and Egbert Derix.

Fairport Convention have revealed that they will open proceedings with a semi-acoustic set and end the event with a full-power performance featuring guest appearances.

The BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner of the year, yet to be announced, will perform as usual on the Saturday, while festival regular Richard Digance plays on the Sunday. See the full lineup here.



Blank Manuskript Announce Tour, Reveal New Album Plans
(Prog) Blank Manuskript have announced that they will be launching a European tour next week and the band has also revealed that they're working on their third album.

The prog outfit will issue The Waiting Soldier in the coming months and will hit the road this month, with support from fellow Austrians Mindspeak for some dates.

Blank Manuskript guitarist Alfons Wohlmuth says: "It's a concept album about a guy who decides to call himself a soldier and guard an object. He is not a very intelligent guy, he hasn't found his place in life and therefore tries to find his way by becoming a soldier." See the tour dates here.




Shardborne Premiere 'Room Within A Room' Video
(Prog) Shardborne have premiered their video for Room Within A Room with Prog. It's taken from the Irish instrumental prog metal outfit's debut album Living Bridges, to be launched via Out On A Limb Records on July 10.

The band say: "Room Within A Room is the last track on the album. It offers a good idea as to the rest of the tunes. It's a good closer - we wanted to end Living Bridges on a strong note."

The video was partly shot in the deconsecrated church Shardborne used as a studio, but it took the band nearly a year to choose the second location. "We knew we wanted to have the lighting be an interesting visual component to the video," they report. Watch the video here.




This Oceanic Feeling Announce Debut Album
(Prog) This Oceanic Feeling will release their debut album Universal Mind on July 17, it's been confirmed. The band are fronted by singer, songwriter and producer Chris Braide who was a founding member of the Producers with former Yes man Trevor Horn.

The lineup is completed by bassist Lee Pomeroy and Producers' drummer Ash Sloan. Braide says: "It's a positive album, one that I'm proud of and one that I had to make."

He compares the material to that of The Police and 90125-era Yes, adding: "It's big, shiny, new-wave pop music with rock trousers on and occasionally prog sandals!" Read more here.




Singled Out: Pain Love n' War
Pain Love n' War release their debut album "Over Looking Back" this week, to celebrate guitarist Hoyt Binder tells the story of meeting vocalist Rob Sandoval and how the first song they wrote together ended up influencing the naming of their band. Here is the story:

It was the summer of 2012 in Long Beach, CA where I had been working with a manager at the time, Ron Magee, who believed in my talent and was helping me find a singer. I had many ideas, but needed a comrade to complete the quintessential rock duo I envisioned. Enter Rob Sandoval. We had an immediate connection and the ideas began pouring out. Rob, manager Ron and I collaborated in the lyric department as we listened to the riffs I had for this song. "Pain in Love and War" was the first song we wrote together and it meant so much to us that it had a hand in not only defining our sound, but our band name as well.

As I played the heavy staccato verse riff, both Rob and I worked on a melody that gave us both a feeling of being overwhelmed and out came "Drowning in my own trust you tore away from me." As we searched for what that meant to us, Rob immediately jumped to a past love relationship gone awry whereas I felt a connection to an estranged friend I used to idolize when I was on a path of addiction. The story began writing itself, from the bitter taste that remains from hurtful words to seeing the truth, that it "never meant so much" to the significant other.

When we got to the Pre-Chorus, with its pauses and openness, we both felt a sense of being drained by the verse's outpouring and we wrote "I'm tired of trying, I've tried and tried, too tired to try again." The chorus has a bit of swagger to it, so we juxtaposed a pleading "Can't take no more" with a vindictive "What goes around comes around" which seemed to sum up the turmoil that can have you feeling left out in the cold.

The second verse deals with the sickness that brews from being caught up in a world of someone else's pain. One can easily become a slave, addicted to co-dependent "twisted games." The solo section is our depiction of the second verse's last line, "You're breaking all of me, I'm tired of this insanity," which sums up the rollercoaster ride that unhealthy relationships and addictions embody. From the highs to lows, they always end up in chaos and back to drowning…

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Rolling Stones Reveal Eric Clapton Version Of 'Brown Sugar' The Rolling Stones continue to spark ...

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Rolling Stones Reveal Eric Clapton Version Of 'Brown Sugar' The Rolling Stones continue to spark ...

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Rolling Stones Reveal Eric Clapton Version Of 'Brown Sugar' The Rolling Stones continue to spark ...

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Rolling Stones Reveal Eric Clapton Version Of 'Brown Sugar' The Rolling Stones continue to spark ...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones Reveal Eric Clapton Version Of 'Brown Sugar'
The Rolling Stones continue to spark fan excitement for the upcoming deluxe reissue of "Sticky Fingers" by previewing alternate versions of classic songs.

The latest alternate version of a classic song was revealed this week and it has a superstar guest. The band released a stream of a different version of "Brown Sugar" featuring Eric Clapton. Stream it here.

The track is just one of the previously unreleased bonus features from the expanded reissues of "Sticky Fingers", which is set to be released next Tuesday, June 9th. Amazon is taking pre-orders for the various packages here.



Megadeth Announce First Show With New Lineup Including Adler
(Classic Rock) Megadeth's new lineup will make their live debut in Canada next month - with Lamb Of God's Chris Adler behind the kit. The thrash giants will play Quebec City Summer Festival on July 18.

Dave Mustaine and co are preparing their 15th album with Adler as guest sticksman, alongside new guitarist Kiko Loureiro. The pair were brought in after Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover quit last year, and an attempt at reuniting the band's Rust In Peace era lineup failed.

Adler was initially hired for studio duties only, but bassist David Ellefson this week confirmed he aimed to play as many shows as his schedule would allow, saying: "Chris was like, 'Dude, I'll move anything I can to try to make it happen.' He may play one show with us and go, 'I don't ever want to do that again.' We'll find out, as it's coming up." Read more here.





Tool's Maynard James Keenan Has Hip Replacement Surgery
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan is recovering from hip replacement surgery that took place on Monday. He revealed the news via a photo posting on the Pucifer Facebook page.

He wrote along with a photo, "Didn't want to freak anyone out, wanted to wait until out of the woods. Years of foot stomping left me with no cushion in my right hip. Full replacement yesterday. Walking today.

"12 weeks, back on the mat to work towards that Brown Belt. OSS. ‪#‎weshallovercome‬ ‪#‎bjjforlife‬ @teamvaghi @henrydynamixmma @chieflimao @carinaround" See the photo here.




Metal Fans Are The Most Loyal According To Spotify
(TeamRock Radio) Heavy Metal fans are more loyal to their favorite bands than followers of any other genre in the world, according to research by streaming service Spotify.

Figures suggest that metal fans are over a fifth more likely to keep listening to core bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, while fans of the next-highest genre, pop, will tend to listen to a wider range of acts.

Analysts monitored how often a listener would return to artists defined as central to a genre. They discovered that, on a global basis, metal fans stick to their favourites much more often than those who prefer pop, folk, country, rock, hip-hop, reggae, jazz, EDM, classical or blues.

Spotify say: "Metal fans are the most loyal of all. One could also conclude that the more guitar-oriented genres inspire more loyalty in the listener."




Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi To Mentor On TV Talent Show
(hennemusic) Legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has revealed that he will be a mentor on Guitar Star, a new UK reality competition series that focuses on guitarists.

Iommi will be joined by fellow mentors Lee Ritenour, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Milos Karadaglic for the program, which will debut on the Sky Arts channel on June 9 with host, DJ Edith Bowman.

The winner of the nine-week competition will perform on the main stage at the Latitude festival. "I'd like somebody who plays from the soul," says Iommi, "so I look for that really, as opposed to somebody learning every single note and getting everything perfect. I prefer it coming from the blues side and something coming from inside." Read more and watch the official video interview clip with Iommi here.




Replacements Frontman Sending Messages To Fans Via Shirts
(Classic Rock) Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg appears to be sending a message to fans via shirts worn on their reunion tour. He's performed with a different top every night, featuring one letter painted on the front and another on the back.

A group of fans, running a Facebook group called Paul's Shirt have collectively worked out the letters form two 19-character sentences. They predict that the message reads: "I have always loved you. Now I must whore my past."

Billboard speculates that the message could be Westerberg's attempt to let fans know he's not happy with the band's current incarnation. They reformed in 2012 after 20 years and Westerberg and original bassist Tommy Stinson are joined by drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Dave Minehan. Read more here.




Legal Fight Launched Over Jimi Hendrix Guitar
(hennemusic) Jimi Hendrix's estate is suing the late guitarist's former brother-in-law, Sheldon Reynolds, over claims he tried to sell the legend's Black Widow acoustic guitar for $750,000 although it doesn't belong to him.

Courthouse News Service reports Experience Hendrix filed a suit in Superior Court on Monday against Reynolds and friend Brian Patterson over the guitar, which the company claims was stolen.

Reynolds is the ex-husband of Janie Hendrix, the guitarist's sister and CEO of Experience Hendrix. The estate says it learned in June 2014 that Patterson had contacted Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles and asked it to sell the guitar; Julien's then contacted the estate to determine if the guitar is legitimate, and the Experience confirmed it was but that it had been stolen.

The lawsuit claims that Patterson got the guitar from Reynolds, who says that he got it in a divorce settlement, or that he got it from a friend who helped him take his belongings from Janie Hendrix's home, and that Janie's teenage son had "directed" his friend "to take a pile of guitars and other belongings, that included the Black Widow."

"Neither story is true," the complaint states, which says Janie Hendrix owns the guitar. Read more here.




Dillinger Escape Plan Guitarist Played Show With Broken Finger
(TeamRock Radio) The Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman has admitted he didn't visit a doctor after breaking a finger in two places - but played a full concert instead.

The guitarist was seen at last month's Rock On The Range festival with a splint on his right hand. Now he's told how his doctor wasn't happy with him when he finally went for medical attention.

Weinman has posted a picture of his X-rayed hand, explaining: "This, ladies and gents, is my finger tip broken into three pieces. "Doctor: 'What did you do after it happened?' Me: 'I played a show - I'm a guitar player.' Doctor: 'What the f*** is wrong with you, man?'" Read more and see the x-ray here.





Noel Gallagher Makes Counter Offer To Paul McCartney On Oasis Reunion
(Gibson) Noel Gallagher has responded to Sir Paul McCartney's recent plea for Oasis to reunite by issuing a challenge to the Beatle legend: "Yeah, well, tell him if he writes our comeback single, it's on."

Gallagher made the - joke? Plea? - in an interview with Yahoo's Lyndsey Parker. "Tell him to write an Oasis track and then we'll talk," he continued. "I'll just put that out there."

Gallagher conceded that the constant fan demand for an Oasis reunion is flattering, if a little confusing, noting that when the band was together the British press couldn't wait for it to implode, "and then when it did implode, they can't wait for it to be back together again." Read more here.






Hellyeah Guitarist Sitting Out Tour Due To Injury
(TeamRock Radio) Hellyeah guitarist Tom Maxwell will sit out the rest of the band's European tour after breaking his foot in three places. Fellow guitarist Chris Brady will handle guitar duties on his own for the remainder of the tour.

They have eight more shows in Europe, including the Download festival later this month, before returning to the US when Maxwell will be fit for the Mayhem festival.

Drummer Vinnie Paul says: "We are sorry to announce Tom broke his foot in three places and will not be participating in the rest of the Euro tour but we will carry on with Chris Brady holding down the guitar force. Tom will rejoin us for Mayhem." Read more here.




Marilyn Manson and Korn's Jonathan Davis May Team Up
(TeamRock Radio) Marilyn Manson hopes the rekindling of his friendship with Korn's Jonathan Davis will lead to a collaborative project. The pair were good friends in the past, notably working together on Davis' song Redeemer for 2002 movie Queen Of The Damned.

But they've become more distant in recent years, with rumours of their drug addictions causing a feud in the early 2000s. Manson tells Metal Hammer's Joe Daly: "Jonathan and I used to be really close. We hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Now he and I are talking about doing something completely unexpected together."

He's enjoying a new lease of life as an actor, with an acclaimed role in TV series Sons Of Anarchy. And he admits there's a chance he might abandon music for the stage or screen. "Acting is new to me, so that's more exciting. There might come a day when I don't feel like doing music - but I don't see that any time soon.

"I feel excited as I used to, and more focused in what I want to do. I like playing gigs where I can literally bleed on the crowd. Not in the sense of me trying to harm myself or having the bottle-smashing attitude that I had when people were trying to kill me during Antichrist Superstar." Read more here.




Slayer's Kerry King Has Advice For Young People
(Classic Rock) Slayer's Kerry King says his one piece of advice for the youth of today is to just "do what you want." The guitarist believes that attitude worked out just fine for Slayer and he thinks it's the best policy for youngsters trying to work out what they want to be.

He tells Loud Ones: "Obviously, do what you want because you know more than anybody what you want to do. That's what we tried to do. We definitely turned heads and pissed of a lot of people. And here we are 30 years later playing to Converse parties so I guess we did some sh*t right."

Discussing some of the most memorable Slayer gigs down the years, King adds that playing in Jackass star Bam Margera's back yard was something he will never forget.

He adds: "The Bam show was really cool. We kind of went out there, I think it was right after God Hates Us All. I've played worse stages than that and it was in his back yard. It sounded great. I'm sure he pissed off some of his neighbors and the fans loved it." Read more here.




The Grateful Dead Announce Massive Limited Edition 80-Disc Box Set
(Radio.com) No one would ever accuse the Grateful Dead of brevity, but their new box set takes things to an altogether new level. Grateful Dead: 30 Trips Around the Sun is an 80-disc box set commemorating the band's 50th anniversary; it's filled with 30 unreleased concert recordings spanning the band's entire career.

In case you don't have the shelf space, it will also be available as a USB drive. The collection will include one show from each year of the band's existence, starting in 1966 and ending in 1995.

From start to finish, the box set will be 73 hours long. Perhaps 73 hours isn't quite enough for you. Well, hopefully you have a turntable, because the box set will also include a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single. The A-side is "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)" from the band's earliest recording sessions in 1965; the B-side is the last song the band ever performed together live, "Box of Rain" recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

All of the shows included on the box have not yet been announced; but Rhino Records have revealed that the set will include a 1967 show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and a 1987 show at New York's Madison Square Garden. However, they note that none of the unreleased shows in will be available for individual purchase on CD "at any time in the future."

The box also comes with a 288-page book featuring an presumably long essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. It will also include a scroll with a visual representation of how the band's live repertoire evolved through the years. Read more here.





Danny Worsnop Wishes Asking Alexandria Well With His Replacement
(TeamRock Radio) Former Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop has wished his former colleagues well with his replacement Denis Stoff. The former Make Me Famous vocalist, full name Denis Shaforostov, was revealed last week, along with his debut I Won't Give In.

Worsnop, who quit earlier this year to concentrate on We Are Harlot, tweeted the track and said: "New Asking Alexandria song, first since my departure, out now - very happy to hear sh*t's still going strong."

His comment comes after AA guitarist Ben Bruce admitted they were happier without Worsnop, adding: "It needed to happen for… I want to say a few months, but it's probably more like a few years. Danny just stopped caring about Asking Alexandria." Read more here.





Muse Put Creepy Spin On Childrens Classics in 'The Handler' Lyric Video
(Radio.com) Muse is sticking with symbolism for their new lyric video for "The Handler." But this time the symbols are in the form of classic children's characters on a mobile spinning high above the band's heads.

Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Minnie Mouse are is just a few of the characters posed in various positions by an evil character lurking in the shadows.

Confused? Probably. The video follows the dystopian theme of the band's new album, Drones, where mankind is being controlled by some higher power, likely the government.

"The Handler" is the fifth track to be released from Drones, which hits stories June 8. It follows previously issued songs "Reapers," "Psycho," "Dead Inside" and "Mercy." Watch the new video here.




Chris Cornell Announces North American Acoustic Tour
(hennemusic) Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has announced dates for a fall acoustic tour of North America in support of his forthcoming solo album, "Higher Truth."

The 6-week theater tour will see Cornell perform material from his entire career alongside tunes from "Higher Truth", which will be released on September 18.

Cornell's solo tour is set to kick off on September 20th in Los Angeles and will wrap up at Austin City Limits Live At The Moody Theater on November 2. See the dates here.





Metallica Release Video Of 'Unforgiven II' Concert Debut
(hennemusic) Metallica have released video of the live debut of their 1997 track, "The Unforgiven II", as performed at the Rock Im Revier festival in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 29.

A video highlights package from the opening date of a 4-show run of European festivals includes Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett in the meet and greet, new setlist structure discussion, Tuning Room, and "The Unforgiven II" from the show.

The song - which originally appeared on their 7th album, "Reload" - was previously played only once before - during the band's December 8, 1997 appearance on the Billboard Music Awards. Watch the video here.




The Sword Announce New Album 'High Country'
(Classic Rock) The Sword have confirmed their fifth album will be called High Country and it'll be released on August 21. The follow-up to 2012's Apocryphon will be issued via Razor & Tie.

Guitarist Kyle Shutt last year reported that he, John Cronise, Bryan Richie and Santiago Vela III had matured as songwriters and were constantly learning.

He said: "Every cycle is a learning experience. You refine it a little more. We're not the best band in the world by any means, but we keep learning. We're getting to the point where we're going over the hump of doing dumb sh*t." Read more here.





W.A.S.P. Guitarist Says New Album Process Was 'Very Fractured'
(Classic Rock) W.A.S.P. guitarist Doug Blair says recording the band's upcoming album has been a "very fractured" process. Blair lives on the US East Coast and has travelled back and forth to their LA base to record his lead parts for Golgotha. For that reason, he says, he hasn't seen the songs come together and is excited about hearing the final results.

He tells Kaaos TV: "I haven't heard the final mixes, that's all in the hands of the final guys. I get to contribute the leads and I focus 100% on trying to record the best lead for the song.

"It's been a long time. I've been travelling to LA, recording a little bit. Because of that, to me it's very fractured. Every time I go, there's different songs. I don't have a very cumulative view of the whole record so I can't wait to hear how it comes out."

Blair adds that what he has heard of the album - due out in August on Napalm Records - has blown him away. Read more here.




The Darkness Guitarist Sticking To Old School
(Classic Rock) The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins feels an old-school approach to music is so important to the band that if they ever abandon it, he'd leave. They've just released fourth album The Last Of Our Kind, which he produced, while brother Justin Hawkins arranged the song order.

Dan tells UCR: "We always will be an old-school album band. We've always thought that way of a side one and side two when putting it all together. We want to push that even more.

"There's been some misguided management, slightly megalomaniac in certain areas, especially on the last album. They kept trying to ram the idea of digital content to the point where someone said to me, 'Why are you even bothering with a track listing?'

"They were saying no one listens to things that way anymore. To me, if we're not an albums band, I don't want in." Read more here.




Mogwai Launch Line Of Skateboards
(Prog) Mogwai have launched a range of skateboards and t-shirts to help raise funds for a proposed Glasgow skatepark. As part of their 20th anniversary celebrations, Mogwai have teamed up with Focus Scotland on the series of limited-edition skateboard decks and t-shirts.

The boards will cost £49.99 each, with t-shirts selling for £16 and £18. For every deck sold, £5 will go to the GUSM74 project in the band's home city. Mogwai mainman Stuart Murdoch is a fan of skateboarding and was happy to agree to the collaboration.

Sibs Roberts of Focus says: "We reached our 14th year in business last month, and each year we like to mark it with something special that we can look back on with pride. This project with Mogwai definitely fulfils that criteria.

"Being a fan of Mogwai's music and knowing Stuart's love of skateboarding, I suggested the idea over a number of off the cuff emails, and here we are. Hopefully people will be as stoked on this as we are." Read more and see the skateboards here.




Troyka Release Animated Video For 'Arcards'
(Prog) Troyka have premiered their animated video for Arcards with Prog. It's taken from the London prog-jazz trio's third album Ornithophobia, available now via iTunes, Amazon and Naim Records.

The band say: "Arcades alludes to a mixture of things - retro gaming, horror films, anime, sci-fi - all things geek. We were excited to be collaborating further with graphic artist Naiel Ibarrola, and with animator Jordan Copeland, also a member of the amazing band Hot Head Show.

"It's amazing to see these guys bring to life our terrifying vision of Ornithophobia hitting the streets of future London. Watch your back, and don't stay there too long…" Watch the video here.




The Nimmo Brothers Going On Hiatus After Anniversary Tour
(The Blues The Nimmo Brothers have announced that they will be taking a break after their 20th anniversary tour, while they concentrate on their individual projects.

Alan will focus on King King, who have a busy year after releasing third album Reaching For The Light. Stevie will turn to solo work including acoustic shows, and a tour with his electric trio.

Older brother Stevie, who fought cancer in 2009, recently told National Blues Review: "After my illness I wanted to do something different, more acoustic. This ended up as The Wynds Of Life album."

"I didn't want to go out with a bass, drums and keys setup - that would really just be King King. But I really enjoy the trio format." Read more here.




In Flames Frontman Defends Change In Direction
(TeamRock Radio) In Flames frontman Anders Friden has spoken up for the band's approach to songwriting, after In Flames rejected criticism over their change of direction in 11th album Siren Charms.

He tells iRockRadio: "Each of our albums don't sound the same because we don't want to do the same again and again. But melodies are so important, and that's what you will always find on an In Flames album.

"If I could give one tip to new bands, it would be: just do your own thing - don't try to catch any trends." They're expected to release their first live package since 2005's Used And Abused… In Live We Trust later this year. Read more and watch the full interview here.




Rattlesnakes Album Born Of 'Book Full Of Suffering And Questions'
(TeamRock Radio) Frank Carter says his debut album with the Rattlesnakes came about after one of "the hardest, most turbulent years" of his life. The band release Blossom on August 14 via International Death Cult. In March, they streamed debut single Fangs, which is one of the 10 tracks on the album.

Former Gallows frontman Carter says: "I had one of the hardest, most turbulent years of my life in 2014. I wrote it all down, a line here, a paragraph there and soon I had a book full of suffering and questions. In the winter I decided I needed an outlet to help me take these lyrics and do with them what I do best. Perform.

"I acquired the help of my close friend Dean Richardson to help me translate these lyrics into music and from there we built them into the songs you hear today." Read more here.




Clutch Frontman Downplays Band's Success Amid Failing Music Biz
(Classic Rock) Clutch frontman Neil Fallon believes sales of 2013 album Earth Rocker only appeared strong because the state of the music industry means everyone else's sales are weak.

And he doesn't intend to become distracted by attempting to match achievements with upcoming title Psychic Warfare, out in September via the band's own Weathermaker Music label.

Fallon tells Motorcityblog: "Clutch charting on Billboard, and being number 1 on iTunes, is indicative of anaemic album sales in general. That wouldn't have happened 15 years ago.

"We sell the right amount of records to the right people, and slowly over time, that number gets bigger and bigger and bigger. It's not because we figured out how to write a Karen Carpenter song."

He adds: "Because of the internet, and because of us kind of taking control of what we do, we're not trying to turn this band into some multi-platinum wonder story." Read more here.




Former Accept Frontman Regrets Slapping Bandmate
(Classic Rock) Former Accept frontman David Reece says he regrets slapping bassist Peter Baltes during his stint in the band in the late 80s. The current Bonfire vocalist was recruited for Accept's Eat The Heat in 1989 following the departure of Udo Dirkschneider. And he says producer Dieter Dierks warned him about the possible fallout if the album flopped.

Reece tells The Metal Voice: "There was one moment when Dieter told me, 'You realise that if this record fails, it's your fault and my fault? When he said that it kind of pissed me off. Like, 'Why would you say that?' He said, 'You'll see. If the album hits, we're going to be gods. If it fails, we're losers.'

Reece says sales weren't what the record company expected and before long tensions in the group began to boil over, leading to the altercation between himself and Baltes in Chicago.

He continues: "The only thing I feel short-changed about that whole situation was the way they sh*t on me in the press to cover themselves. Nobody was happy - I wasn't happy at the end and neither were they. I mean, I slapped Peter Baltes in Chicago. It was the wrong decision and I regret it. There's better ways to deal with it." Read more here.




Josh Taerk Streaming New Album Online
(Classic Rock) Josh Taerk has given Classic Rock an exclusive stream of his new album, Here's To Change, the follow-up to 2013's self-titled Josh. Here's To Change is released on July 20, and the title track will be available as a single on June 8.

"I wanted the feel of the record, the tempo, the rhythm, the starts and stops in each song to feel more alive," says Taerk, inspired by the 70s and 80s recordings go artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Neil Young. "I wanted a more human sound. I am so excited for people to hear this!'"

The album was recorded in Nashville with producer Teddy Morgan, who's worked on actor Kevin Costner's music and on two albums by Hall & Oates guitarist John Oates, Good Road to Follow and Stand Strong. Oates adds backing vocals to the title track and to Wise Man, and says "I've enjoyed getting to know Josh Taerk and his music over the last few years, and knew that Nashville would be the place where he could make this album really come alive. Josh and my friend Teddy Morgan did a great job and I think it is Josh's best work to date."

Taerk also has a fan in Bruce Springsteen's drummer Max Weinberg, who says, "I've known, and played with, a few singer/songwriters in my time, and I can tell you - Josh Taerk has what it takes." Check out the album stream here.




The Dead Daisies Go Behind The Scenes Of Upcoming Video
(Classic Rock) The Dead Daisies have posted a behind-the-scenes video clip for their forthcoming music video for 'Mexico' - a track taken from their brand new album, 'Revolución'.

The new music video - which is scheduled to be released shortly - was directed by Paul Boyd, whose CV includes work with INXS, Kylie Minogue and Sting.

Filming took place in and around the city, including Jumbo's Clown Room - the notorious Hollywood dance bar which once employed Courtney Love in the early 1990s. Watch the clip here.




Singled Out: The Great Discord's The Aging Man
Today The Great Discord tells us about the song "The Aging Man" from their brand new album "Duende," which was just released this week by Metal Blade. Here is the story:

So, are you afraid of death? Imagine that you are lying on your deathbed and you're full of regret. Is that not what's called a personal hell? The struggle within ourselves when facing our own mortality could be enormous, regardless if you are young or old. This effectively makes it one of the biggest struggles we have as people, simply because we're aware of the fact that we're gonna die. It might even be the single most powerful driving force behind all human actions. Death is something you cannot hide from. To learn how to die is to learn how to live.

The song itself is an attempt to conceptualize this struggle. When we wrote it we were way out in the woods in rural Sweden. A cabin in the woods basically. Everything was dead quiet except for the odd human-like bark from the occasional deer. The heartbeat came first, and the music soon followed. When we listened back to it it quickly became apparent what it was about. It was in the middle of the night.

Fia stared bleakly into the darkness outside our window, a slow drizzle of rain coming down softly on the window pane. "This song is about the old man" She started slowly, with eyes tracing something outside the window, "I can see him out there, limping, sobbing. This is a man who has had a run-in with death, and lost". Floorboards creaking, she leaned forward and put a hand on the misted window. "Yes... it's him".

We later realized that the heartbeat is a symbol for the life leaving him. It's funny how sometimes you feel like the music you have created leads you to these realizations only after you have actually finished it. Like if your subconsciousness had an agenda, and only afterward lets you understand.

The words came to us very quickly, and given the theme and topic, this was also the song that led us toward our visual excentricities. The music demanded to be presented in a different manner visually than just by Fia. We needed to create a different entity for Fia to step into. Something that could channel everything we write about, without being obscene or out of place. Something that is neither god, nor bad. An entity that embodies all of the demons, the anxiety, sorrow, pain but also warmth and joy that comes with being a human.

This song served both as the perfect opener for the album and our entire concept for this band as it symbolizes and embodies so much of what we're trying to create with our music. A feeling that you can never be completely sure, of anything really, life can be exceedingly difficult. But that's ok, because we're all human.

Be that as it may, it can be hard for people to even try to think about these kinds of questions, they are simply too big. You may well think that we are pretentious, pathetic and ridiculous in trying to tackle the big question of life, namely death. But the question is; who will be the wiser?

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock U2 Tour Manager Dennis Sheehan Found Dead (Radio.com) Dennis Sheehan, the longtime tour manager of U2, ha...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


U2 Tour Manager Dennis Sheehan Found Dead
(Radio.com) Dennis Sheehan, the longtime tour manager of U2, has died. Sheehan was found unconscious in his room at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, just as his band had begun to kick off multiple shows in the area--including one at the Roxy in Los Angeles tonight, May 28.

The band was coming off the first of five shows at the Forum last night, May 26. According to paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene after being called there for reported cardiac arrest around 5:30 a.m. PT.

Sheehan had been the band's manager for over 30 years, his first tour with the band coming in 1982. He had also worked with Led Zeppelin. He grew up in Ireland and took his first such job at just 19 years old.

U2 confirmed the news with a statement on their website. Read it here.




Sammy Hagar Fires Back At Van Halen's David Lee Roth
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has responded to recent comments by David Lee Roth over credibility issues regarding material from the Van Hagar years as Van Halen prepare for their summer tour of North America.

"The boys are out on tour - happily doing well, I hope," Hagar said during his new weekly radio countdown show, "but they're not playing any Van Hagar songs. My buddy Diamond said it was something about a quality issue.

"I laughed. I'm cracking up. You know, sometimes the guy says the wackiest things. But there's a lot of truth in that. A quality issue - you think about that. Think about them with Diamond, singing this next song, it would definitely be a quality issue, OK? [Chuckles.] It would definitely be a quality issue."

Hagar then played a live version of Van Halen's 1992 hit, "Right Now", as performed by his latest supergroup The Circle. Following Van Halen's appearance at the recent 2015 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Roth was asked if the group would be performing any Hagar-era material, to which he replied, "Well, there's a credibility issue there. Good, bad or in the middle, you know Roth means it; the other guy doesn't. And that's why it sold half as well. Literally, Midas Bible half. Never did better than half.

"And why would you bring that into the proceedings? This hamburger don't need no helper. Ain't no rehearsing pants in my closet." Read more here.




B.B. King Estate Lawyer Calls Poisoning Allegations 'Baseless'
(Radio.com) Death is never easy to rationalize, but that's been even more so the case than usual for B.B. King's daughters Karen Williams and Patty King. Earlier this week, the sisters alleged that their father had been poisoned by two of his close confidants, his former business manager LaVerne Toney and assistant Myron Johnson. Their beliefs, however, aren't shared by King's estate lawyer Brent Bryson.

According to Bryson, those claims are "baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality." The attorney defended Toney in a press statement: "Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death. I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King."

That doesn't change the fact though that Nevada homicide detectives are looking into the case and have conducted an autopsy. Still, Toney, who's serving as the appointed executor of King's estate, has provided three doctors' statements stating that King "was monitored on a 24-hour basis by Certified Nursing Assistants" and that "no action [was] taken to hasten the demise of Mr. King," who died "peacefully in his sleep."

Bryson's statement in full here.




Jack White Camp Slam Retiring From Music Reports
(Radio.com) Jack White has once again taken the internet by storm with something that isn't exactly true. Now his label, Third Man Records is trying to put a stop to it with a lengthy Facebook post titled "JACK WHITE CLICK BAIT BINGO EXHAUSTION," which proves the internet doesn't know Jack about Jack.

After White did a Q&A on the label's fan forum that covered topics ranging from touring to his relationship with Meg White, some things got lost in translation. Now, Third Man is setting all the "friends, family, journalists, naysayers, believers, tweeter & 'grammers" straight. And they're certainly not happy about it: "fear not because you are in the age of instantaneous negative internet gratification."

In the post, Third Man shoots off a list of headlines that hit websites after his Q&A including that he is retiring, will never play festivals again and that Meg White isn't taking his calls.

So, no, White is not retiring and that comment he made about 'I don't belong here" wasn't about earth, he just meant the fan forum. He is taking a break from touring, but not forever. He is not quitting music, but is getting ready to head into the studio with Dead Weather and is "involved in several projects we're not even gonna tell you about right now cause we don't want to ruin the surprise."

As for Meg, Third Man says, she doesn't have to answer her phone and Jack isn't complaining about it "nor is it depressing" him in anyway. "The White Stripes is over and it's been said a hundred times, and maybe that's just the quickest way for him to answer that question he gets asked a dozen times a day. Jack loves Meg, and she's an incredible drummer - nobody can do what she does and did with the White Stripes- but those days are unfortunately gone. Let's move on, Jack and Meg have. And in the meantime we're still selling their records (WINK!)"

Third Man also has a little advice for all the bloggers out there: "No offense to any journalists that are 'just doing their job' in this current 1 hour news cycle environment, pull quote, tabloid atmosphere but this is what happens when you isolate aspects of a conversation between a musician and his fans in a private forum and put it out into the blogosphere in a sensational way. It completely changes the context and intent of those statements, and the conversation."

Adding, "Anyway, let's move on. We need to get back to inventing a turntable that runs purely on tweet retractions and apologies."

Read the full Facebook post from White's label here.




Asking Alexandria Cancel First Shows With New Singer
(TeamRock Radio) Asking Alexandria have cancelled their first shows with new frontman Denis Shaforostov - just hours after naming him as Danny Worsnop's replacement.

The metal outfit announced Wednesday morning that the former Make Me Famous singer was their new vocalist, replacing Worsnop who quit in January to focus on We Are Harlot.

But they've since revealed Shaforostov has been unable to secure a visa in time for the gigs at Manchester Academy on May 31 (Sunday) and London Underworld on June 1 (Monday).

Guitarist Ben Bruce says: "It is with a heavy heart and a great deal of frustration that I must regrettably inform you that our two UK shows have been cancelled due to visa problems.

"We have spent the last few days doing everything we possibly can to make sure that these shows wouldn't be cancelled but at the end of the day the US government took far longer than anyone could have predicted giving Denis his visa which has left us no time to finish his visa process to enter the UK." Read more here.




Slayer's Kerry King Explains Split With Rick Rubin
(Classic Rock) Slayer's split with producer Rick Rubin came after his label offered an "insulting" deal for their 11th album, says Kerry King. Repentless, due via Nuclear Blast on September 11, is their first without Rubin since 1985's Hell Awaits.

And Tom Araya says that, despite the perception that the band made the split, it was the producer who cut the connection with his label American Records.

Slayer previously said the switch took place because the band wanted to foster a more direct connection with fans. But King tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show's Alexander Milas: "Solidarity is far stronger than jumping ship and going somewhere else. I thought we'd still be on American - but when we got the offer from American, I was insulted.

"That to me just said, 'Good luck, you're not gonna have good luck here anymore.' So we found our new friends at Nuclear Blast." Repentless was helmed by Terry Date, who's previously worked with Slipknot, Pantera and Deftones, among others. King says: "I think this is gonna be a nice little progression going forward. However many records we do in the future, I hope Terry's free." Read more here.




Thom Yorke Composes Soundtrack That Runs For 432 Hours
(Prog) Radiohead mainman Thom Yorke has composed a soundtrack that runs for 18 days - without repeating. He's written Subterranea for artist Stanley Donwood to accompany his exhibition titled The Panic Office which runs until June 6 in Sydney, Australia.

The pair have been friends since their university days, and Donwood has designed all Radiohead's album covers and posters since their full-length debut The Bends in 1994.

Radio station Triple J describe the music as "an eerie mix of ambient textures, experimental sounds, and field recordings," adding: "Subterranea is closest in tone and style to the more ambient moments of Tomorrow's Modern Boxes or the music for Radiohead's Polyfauna app than anything else in the band's catalogue." Read more here.




Metallica's Master Of Puppets Gets St. Anger Makeover
(TeamRock Radio) Metallica's "St Anger" featured one of the most talked about and understandably disliked snare sounds of all time, so how would it sound slotted into one of heavy metal's greatest songs?

You don't have to guess as YouTuber data_dreams 2000 (we're guessing the 2000th member of the data_dreams family) has replaced every snare hit on Metallica's Master Of Puppets with the snare sound on St Anger.

The results are interesting to say the least, but we'll let you decide on whether or not it's an improvement... Check out the stream of "Master of Puppets" (St. Anger version) here.




Twenty One Pilots Score No. 1 Hit With New Album Blurryface
(TeamRock Radio) Twenty One Pilots have scored their first-ever number 1 hit in the US. Their fourth album Blurryface topped the Billboard 200 chart this week, selling a total of 146,000 during its first seven days on sale.

The group's previous outing Vessel reached number 58 on the chart, although the chart firm says its sales have remained consistent since its 2013 launch.

Ohio duo Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun say: "We created Blurryface for you - 14 songs that you accepted and embraced. This is your album. Thank you for putting it on top. Stay strong. Live on. Pass on these songs." Read more here.





Paul McCartney Turned Down Role On 'Friends'
(Radio.com) Paul McCartney was almost there for you. Unfortunately, he did not get by with a little help from his Friends. In a new interview with the Huffington Post, Leslie Litt, the casting director for the sitcom Friends, admitted that they tried to get McCartney to appear on the show during the season 4 two-part finale in 1998.

If you recall, that was the finale where Ross marries Brit Emily Waltham. The show wanted McCartney to play Ross' father-in-law who spends his time threatening the groom with lines like "You want a piece of me, sir?" and "I could kill you with my thumb, you know." But, could you blame him really? Ross does go on to say the wrong name at the altar.

Litt explained that she tried to convince McCartney to play the role by giving the details to his manager. "One day, someone in the office brought me a faxed letter written to me by Paul himself!" Litt said, but unfortunately it was a letter to politely decline. Read more here.




Motley Crue Ask Fans To Vote For Cities On Farewell Tour Leg
(hennemusic) Motley Crue have launched a fan vote to decide which cities they will play on their upcoming farewell European tour. While no official announcement has been made about the timing of a European leg, the band are offering fans the opportunity to have their say as the group winds down its 34-year career this year.

Votes can be cast daily at demand.motley.com and by using the hashtag #demandthecrue across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and fans can track the progress through an interactive heatmap on the website.

Motley Crue have just completed a tour of Australia and New Zealand and will perform at three European festivals in June: the Sweden Rock Festival, Austria's Nova Rock and UK's Download.

A North American summer run starts July 22 in Eugene, OR, and a recently-announced final leg kicks off October 5 in Hidalgo, TX. Read more here.





Blink-182 Talk Friendly Divorce From Tom Delonge
(Radio.com) The drama surrounding Blink-182 and their replacement of Tom DeLonge with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba for a few live appearances quieted down once those shows concluded, as the band had no immediate necessity to continue on with or without DeLonge.

But, the next chapter in Blink-182 seems to be beginning, with a new Rolling Stone story highlighting a recent NME interview with Blink leader Mark Hoppus, in which he revealed that "we are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist. Hopefully things clear up and it doesn't get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward."

As for what "moving forward" means, replacement guitarist Skiba has been quoted to saying that the possibility of him recording an album with Blink remains open. Read more here.




Slipknot Lead Aftershock Festival Lineup
(Classic Rock) The Aftershock Festival is returning for its fourth year this October and it's packing one helluva line-up! Taking place over two days at Gibson Ranch near Sacramento, California, the weekend extravaganza is topped by Slipknot, Faith No More, Deftones, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson and Jane's Addiction!

Speaking about the headline opportunity, Corey Taylor says "We are really looking forward to playing Aftershock in Sacramento! Can't wait to see everyone, from Manson to Clutch. Sacramento won't know what hit it when me and my friends are through."

Elsewhere on the bill you've got the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Eagles Of Death Metal, Beartooth, Helmet, Glassjaw and more. You can see the full line-up here.




Vinnie Paul Reveals Hellyeah's New Album Plans
(Classic Rock) Hellyeah will enter the studio to begin work on the follow-up to last year's Blood For Blood early next year, according to drummer Vinnie Paul. The band, who parted ways with Bob 'Zilla' Kakaha and Greg Tribbett last year, are currently on tour across Europe which includes an appearance at next month's Download.

They'll then embark on a run of shows across the world which will take them into 2016. And once they come off the road, they'll sit down and plan their fifth album, according to Paul.

He tells NECR: "As soon as we get back we do Mayhem all summer with Slayer and the mighty King Diamond, which is going to be an absolutely amazing tour.

"We go to Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia, and then we come back and do another run here early next year. Then we start working on a new record."

Despite their punishing schedule, Paul says they have no plans to stop. "We've worked very hard from day one," he says. "We haven't slowed down, we haven't stopped, and we don't intend on it.

"We're not 25 years old any more so we don't have any time to waste. We really enjoy what we're doing, and luckily, all of us are in great health right now, happy and loving what we're doing. And the stage is what we live for." Check out the full interview here.




Beatles Considered Recording At Stax Studios
(Classic Rock) A previously unseen letter handwritten by Beatle George Harrison in 1966 has sold for $20,000. The note, posted on May 7 to DJ Paul Drew, reveals that the band had considered recording at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, with producer Jim Stewart. It would have been the only time they'd have recorded without George Martin.

Harrison wrote in the letter: "We would all like it a lot, but too many people get insane with money ideas at the mention of the word 'Beatles' and so it fell through."

He said of Revolver: "The album we are making now should be out around October. But I hear Capitol will make an intermediate album with unused tracks from Rubber Soul, a few old singles and about two or three of the new tracks we have just cut." Read more here.




Backyard Babies Announce Long Awaited New Album
(Classic Rock) Swedish icons Backyard Babies have confirmed their long-awaited seventh album, Four By Four, will be released on August 28. They've launched a stream of lead track Th1rt3en Or Nothing.

Nicke Borg, Dregen, Johan Blomqvist and Peder Carlsson are back after what was expected to be a brief hiatus began in 2009 and only recently finished. Their last studio album was 2008's self-titled work, followed in 2009 with 20th anniversary compilation Them XX.

Frontman Borg says: "The break has developed us individually as songwriters and musicians, and we've come up with what we feel is our strongest material to date.

"For the first time we've had the chance to look back on our catalogue, and get a firm grip on why our audience - and ourselves, for that matter - loves Backyard Babies so f***ing much.

"It's been a mixture of personal development and finding our way back to the band's essence." Read more here.




Whitesnake Hit The Charts With Deep Purple Tribute Album
(hennemusic) Whitesnake's tribute to frontman David Coverdale's time in Deep Purple has debuted on the US charts. "The Purple Album" opens at No. 6 on the Top Current Hard Music Albums, No. 15 on Top Current Rock Albums, No. 43 on Top Current Albums and No. 84 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts.

The project has charted in several other countries, including No. 18 in the United Kingdom, No. 9 in Finland, No. 17 in the Czech Republic, No. 11 in Switzerland, No. 34 in Norway, No. 18 in Sweden (including No. 1 on the Hard Rock Charts in Sweden), No. 13 in Germany, No. 24 in the Netherlands and No. 8 in Japan.

"The Snakes & I are thrilled with the incredibly positive response to The Purple Album," says Coverdale. "Our sincere thanks to ALL for the amazing support we're receiving for the album & The Purple Tour!!"

The group's 12th album sees Coverdale re-recording classic songs from the Deep Purple Mark 3 and Mark 4 records he appeared on: "Burn" (1974), "Stormbringer" (1974) and "Come Taste The Band" (1975). Read more here.




Pop Evil Reveal New Album Release Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Pop Evil will release their fourth album titled Up on August 21, they've announced. The record will be issued via eOne Music and was recorded with producer Adam Kasper who's previously worked with Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters and Soundgarden.

The Michigan-based band have also announced they'll release the track Footsteps on June 1 In the latest behind-the-scenes clip from the making of the album, guitarist Dave Grahs reports how satisfying it is when he hears how their music affects people.

He says: "We do hear some of the most moving things about how the music has moved and touched certain people in their lives. I hear stories from people like we've saved their lives.

"They've contemplated suicide and say, 'Hey man, you talked me out of that.' To be part of that is huge." Read more and check out a series of making of videos here.




We Came As Romans Set Release Of New Album
(TeamRock Radio) We Came As Romans have confirmed their fourth album is to be self-titled, and it's released on July 24 via Spinefarm Records. The 10-track follow-up to 2013's Tracing Back Roots is headed up with the launch of a single entitled The World I Used To Know.

Frontman Dave Stevens describes writing sessions with producer David Bendeth as "very intense," adding: "If a song wasn't great, it was rewritten until it was - and if it still wasn't great, it was cut.

"We wrote close to 40 songs for this record and only 10 made the album. Beyond becoming better writers and musicians, it made us stronger as a band and as a team." Read more including the tracklisting here.





AC/DC Brian Johnson To Appear On Jim Breuer's New Album
(hennemusic) AC/DC singer Brian Johnson will guest on comedian Jim Breuer's upcoming rock album. The SiriusXM host and diehard metal fan revealed the news during an interview on the Opie Radio show, where he raved about Johnson's performance.

"He comes in the studio," begins Breuer, "Dude, let me tell you something. Why this guy is a real…probably the only rock star that does this. He comes in there and goes, 'Ah, I'm ready to go.' And we go, 'Well, we're ready for you whenever you're ready. We've got this studio.' So he goes, 'F***! I ain't going in there. I wanna do it right here in the f***ing board room. That's where I record. And I don't want no headphones; that's f***ing cheatin'. I wanna stand here with a mic like I'm on stage.'

"And he recorded in the board room with no headphones - just standing there. I mean, he was sweatin', he was so into it." Known for his bang-on imitations of metal legends, Breuer described his efforts to work with producer and current Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano to set the song up for his AC/DC hero.

"Before he came in, I laid the vocals down to kind of give him an idea to sing along to it," explains the comedian. "That's what the producer does for me. I don't know my voice. I can imitate people. I can do Ozzy or I can do James Hetfield, or whoever, but I don't know what my real voice sounds like. So I didn't know what I was gonna sound like.

"So what the producer would do is, like, 'Breuer, you need to hit this note…' So he would go in and go, 'Sing it it the way…' and then I'd listen and copy. So that's what we did for Brian.

"And he comes in, and he's listening, and at one point it was me, him, the producer and one other guy, and we're listening, and none of us knew who was doing the lead vocal. I went, 'No, that's… Wait. That's Brian.' And Brian's, like, 'No, that's not me. That's Jimmy.' And I'm, like, 'No, Brian. That's definitely you.' And he was, like, 'F*** no. I know my f***ing voice. That's f***ing you, Jim.' And then the producer's, like, 'I think it's… no, it's you, Brian… No. F***! Maybe it is Jim.' We had no clue who it was. We had no clue." Stream the interview here.



Steven Tyler Explains Musical Direction Of Solo Album
(Radio.com) Steven Tyler's forthcoming country album is already one of the most talked-about country music releases of 2015, and now, two weeks after he released his debut country single "Love Is Your Name," the Aerosmith frontman spoke with Minneapolis' Buz'n 102.9 (a CBS Radio station) about what to expect from his upcoming country release.

"I can't hide my voice, everybody knows that," he told the station. "…I want my harmonies to be heard good and loud and vocal to be out a couple DB more.

"I've certainly got a dark side like Johnny Cash's last album, Mumford & Sons where it sounds like love and fun. I've got a band here with Marti Fredriksen called Loving Mary and three girls in the band, background harmonies loud." Read more here.




Paul Stanley Of KISS Launching Royals & Rebels
(Classic Rock) Kiss frontman Paul Stanley is to launch a 'lifestyle brand' which will sell clothing, booze, cookware and home decor. Paul Stanley: Royals & Rebels will be officially unveiled at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas next month, with the items expected to be available for sale in the autumn of 2016. Stanley has teamed up with marketing company Epic Rights for the venture.

Stanley says: "I am excited to watch Epic Rights' great team of branding professionals seek out and find opportunities and outlets that will reflect a lifestyle and point of view that I am passionate about and do it imaginatively and creatively in the years to come."

He adds that the items won't be aimed exclusively at Kiss fans, telling WWD: "If that were the point, I wouldn't even bother doing it. What am I going to do? Make jackets with bat wings? Am I going to include a make-up kit? Kiss is a fragment of who I am and what I chose to create." Read more here.




Halestorm To Play The Wild Life Album In Full At Upcoming Shows
(Classic Rock) Halestorm will play their latest album Into The Wild Life in full at two UK gigs later this year, the band have announced. The US rockers will play Liverpool's O2 Academy on August 17 and London's Koko on August 18 - and they're planning on having a wild time over the two nights.

Frontwoman Lzzy Hale says: "We've decided to embark on something we've never done before. We are doing A Wild Evening With Halestorm - that means no openers, just us all night long.

"For two nights we will be performing our new album Into The Wild Life, live, in order and in its entirety for your viewing and listening pleasure. Then we will do yet another set with all your favorite Halestorm songs, and we've even decided to throw in some surprise 'deep tracks'" Read more here.




Robert Plant Reveals Little Feat Singer's Influence
(Classic Rock) Robert Plant has revealed listening to American songwriter and Little Feat singer Lowell George in the 60s helped develop his solo sound. Speaking with Bob Harris on the radio icon's upcoming series of previously unheard interviews titled Legends Vault, the former Led Zep man says seeing George on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test had a lasting impression.

Plant says: "I was really moved by Lowell George's approach, his vocal performances and stuff which was great. I was such a fan of American music - I'm still searching.

"Although I wouldn't have gone into that zone myself as a singer - I'm not a blue-eyed soul singer, I was just a kind of blues singer of the late 60s, I've been able to develop my style from then on. But I think Lowell George's vocal work was tremendous." Read more here.




Knifeworld Changing Things Up With Third Album
(Prog) Kavus Torabi says Knifeworld's third album will move on from the dark theme of last year's The Unravelling - and concentrate more on the characters within the eight-piece band.

Debut release Buried Alone: Tales Of Crushing Defeat was almost entirely a solo project, while the follow-up was based on the frontman's relationship with Tim Smith of Cardiacs, who suffered a heart attack and series of strokes in 2008.

Torabi tells Echoes And Dust: "I don't want to go through that again. The second album was trying, but we got it out there. This one's going to be about us."

He adds: "I write to the strength of the characters and everyone is moving in the same direction. The first album was done on my own, by and large - now, everybody gets it."

That includes dedication to the cause despite the challenges of balancing the books with such a large lineup. "We're a balanced eight-piece. Any band bigger than five is not economical," he accepts. Read more here.




Mike Portnoy's Son Explains Father's Influence On Next To None
(Prog) Next To None drummer Max Portnoy says recording the band's debut album came naturally to him, thanks to the influence of his father Mike. The teenage prog outfit issue A Light In The Dark via InsideOut on June 29. It's produced by former Dream Theater sticksman Mike Portnoy, who previously said he was "blown away" by the musicianship on display.

Now his 15-year-old son Max tells Metaholic Magazine: "It all kind of just came naturally for me. Growing up with dad, and always being with him when he was recording with his bands and listening to the demos, it showed me what to do in those sorts of scenarios."

Max is joined by frontman Thomas Cuce, 16, guitarist Ryland Holland, 16, and bassist Kris Rank, 15. On the album's concept and influences, Max says: "It's mix between prog and metal, and basically any genre that interests us. We've changed a lot.

"Thomas mostly came up with the concept while he was writing the lyrics. Most of the lyrics go together for those songs, but we also have some hints musically in each song that put them together." Read more and watch the full interview clip here.




Sabaton Star Reveals New Album Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Sabaton expect their next album to be released in the summer of 2016, according to bassist Par Sundstrom. The band are still touring in support of 2014's Heroes, but already have a number of ideas jotted down for the follow-up.

Sundstrom tells FeMetal TV: "The next album's gonna come out at the end of next summer, if everything goes well. We have topics for it, we have plans for it, but we can't tell yet, because it's still a secret. And also, we don't wanna tell things which might change. Because until it's recorded, you never know if it's gonna change.

"We have some good topics. We haven't really written any songs yet. We've got ideas for some songs, some good ideas. Because we are touring so much, and it's really complicated to write music on tour. And so, we're gonna start in the autumn writing songs." Read more and watch the interview here.




Inside Track: Faith No More's Sol Invictus and Superhero
Faith No More have made an epic return with their new album "Sol Invictus" which just debut at no. 1 Billboard's Hard Music and no. 6 on Billboard Top Albums charts. Matt Wallace, who worked on the album, gives us the inside track for the single "Superhero". Here is Matt:

Hey. Matt Wallace here giving you the inside scoop about Faith No More's song "Superhero" which is the second single from their brand spanking new album Sol Invictus.

I'd been in contact with Bill Gould for the better part of last year in hopes that I'd be able to participate in their new album in some way. I'd offered (about a thousand times) to head on up to San Francisco and help them with the recording process, be a cheerleader, assistant… anything. However, he insisted that they were doing it on their own. So, about six months ago Bill came to me with the recordings in progress as he wanted to make sure that the sonic quality was of good quality. He copied the entire album over to my computer and we spent the better part of a day listening to all of the tracks (without vocals, as they weren't completed yet) and I was beyond thrilled to hear the band sounding confident and at the top of their game. They sounded confident, relaxed, focused and, as always, ready to go in any musical direction that their guts told them to go. After Bill left I was looking forward to pulling up the tracks and enjoying making my own mixes of their unfinished music so that I could listen to it. But, as fate would have it, Bill called me 30 minutes later and asked me to erase all of the new FNM music off my computer's hard drive. Let me tell you, nothing was more difficult to do than to erase music that I'd waited a long, long time to listen to. I was seriously looking forward to getting into every nook and cranny of what they'd created but I had to, reluctantly, erase it all from my computer. It was difficult to do but it was the right thing to do.

Fast forward six months and Bill is in my studio with me and we're mixing "Superhero". He'd sent it to me a few days prior and I'd spent the better part of two days mixing it and was very excited to see what he had to say about my mix. Well, Bill didn't like my mix. I'd gone in a different direction than what he wanted and, at that moment, I thought that I'd lost the job. So, I asked him to give me a few hours and I undid my mix and started from scratch and quickly (and somewhat stressfully) pulled together a mix that was more in keeping with what Bill wanted. Thankfully, it was much closer to what he'd intended and, together, we finished the first mix. After getting many positive comments from the rest of FNM we made the changes to the mix, it was approved, and we completed our first mix together!

Fortunately for me, Bill and FNM then hired me to do a second song and, after that went well, they invited me to do a third song and so on and so on until, voila!, I ended up co-mixing the entire album with Bill. It was an amazing experience to be allowed to participate in working together on their first album in about 18 years and, it was really lovely being reunited with the band as I'd been their friend, engineer, producer and mixer over the course of their early demos up through the album entitled "Angel Dust". I'm honored and thrilled to have been able to contribute to mixing "Superhero" and, then, co-mixing the entire "Sol Invictus" album with Bill Gould, Mike Patton, Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum and Jon Hudson.

p.s. Some cool technical info: We used an amazing plugin from Sonarworks that flattens out the frequency response of your monitors (any make and model) which helped Bill and I better capture the essence of their music. We mastered it with Maor Appelbaum who was very dedicated and patient with

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

Tim Abrigg Jr.'s Rock and Roll News Of The Day!: Today's Day in Rock News!: Today's Day in Rock Police Investigating B.B. King Murder Claims (Classic Rock) Two of B.B. King's daughters have claime...

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Police Investigating B.B. King Murder Claims
(Classic Rock) Two of B.B. King's daughters have claimed he was poisoned to death by members of his management team, according to court papers. Las Vegas police confirmed that homicide detectives were investigating the claims.

Patty King and Karen Williams made legal documents available to the Associated Press in which they allege executive LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson killed their father.

King died on May 14, aged 89. Plans for his burial have been put on hold as his body has been returned to a mortuary pending the results of an autopsy, which may take up to eight weeks. Read more here.



Duff McKagan On Guns N' Roses Break Up and Possible Reunion
Duff McKagan spoke with WIND-FM's Hunter and Michaels morning show about the break up of the original lineup of Guns N' Roses and also his views on the possibility of a reunion.

McKagan had this to say about the break up, "I think every band is different, for sure. With our band, it was a lot of things. We just got really big. Once we started getting big, we got really big really fast. And there's no 'how-to' instructional manual for that thing, what happens to your life. We just fall into every kind of stupid typical thing that we thought we'd never fall into."

He also had this to say about the possibility of a reunion, "It could happen, and it could not. And I think it would be wonderful, one day, if we reconciled, first and foremost. That alone would be cool." Stream the full interview at Loudwire here.




Fear Factory Set Release Of 'Very Special' New Album
Fear Factory has announced that Nuclear Blast will be releasing their new album, entitled "Genexus," across the globe on August 7th. Dino Cazares provided some more details:

"The sensation of finalizing our newest album is one of relief and joy, wrapped within a massive whirlwind of excitement," says Cazares. "We really feel this is a very special Fear Factory album.

"While being careful not to replicate ourselves, this album still has a very classic Fear Factory vibe that we feel will appease both old and new fans. The aggressive, melodic and industrial elements are all intact and shine more than ever.'

"Burt and I produced the album with Rhys Fulber co-producing. Damien Rainuad and Giuseppe Bassi handled most of the keys and pre-production. We also enlisted the masterful metallic skills of Andy Sneap for an amazing mixing job!"

"We would like to thank everyone who has been a big part in the making of this record. We can't wait for everybody to hear it."



Corey Taylor Calls Out 'Popular' Artist That Are 'Hailed As Geniuses'
Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor is making the rounds promoting his new book "You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look At the Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left" and during an interview he discussed his view of the current music scene.

Taylor tells Kerrang (via Blabbermouth), "I take a lot of 'popular music' to task and people who are hailed as geniuses but didn't really earn it. Some of the things that come out of these people's mouths are just f-ing unbelievable."

He also took exception to Fall Out Boy's recent album title. "I've got a couple of friends who are in this band, but Fall Out Boy saying they're going to 'save rock 'n' roll' … Are you f-ing kidding me? You? With the s-t that I've heard for the last two albums, that's you saving f-ing rock and roll? No, I don't think so."

He then ties that album title in with recent claims by Gene Simmons of KISS about the state of the rock music scene by saying and how he doesn't see things the same way, "But whether it's Fall Out Boy saying they're saving rock 'n' roll or Gene Simmons saying rock is already dead, I'm standing here with sold out shows, a No. 1 album around the world and I'm going, 'Really? When did this happen?'"

Taylor adds, "Rock ebbs and flows. It always has. As shiny and new as these people like to think pop music is, it's the same six people who write every f-ing song for some of these talentless f-holes and I'm not worried about anything. These people have been trying to kill us for 30 years and it keeps not happening."




Arch Enemy Lead Summer Slaughter Tour Lineup
Arch Enemy have announced that that they will be headlining this year's edition of the Summer Slaughter Tour that will be hitting North America this July and August.

The tour will also feature sets from Born Of Osiris, Veil Of Maya, The Acacia Strain, Obscura, After The Burial, Cattle Decapitation, and Beyond Creation.

The tour will be kicking off in Denver, Co. On July 28th at The Summit Music Hall and the announced dates will be wrapping up on August 23rd in San Francisco, CA at The Regency Ballroom, with more dates still to be announced.

Arch Enemy's Michael Amott had this to say: "Very pleased to be returning to North America on our current 'War Eternal' campaign...It's an absolute honor to headline the 2015 edition of the legendary Summer Slaughter tour! See you all very soon!" See the tour dates here.




Slipknot's Clown Explains Timetable For Next Album
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot percussionist Clown thinks the band's sixth album could appear in early 2017 - and he says passion for the project is already there. They're on the road for the rest of this year with some shows already booked for next, meaning they won't find time to concentrate on the follow-up to .5: The Gray Chapter until mid-2016.

Clown tells Loudwire: "It takes six months to make a record, so it could be as early as the first quarter of 2017. We're in the rhythm of writing all the time, which is a very helpful tool. It's not anything that won't get used. Usually if we're writing, it's passion."

Guitarist Jim Root told Metal Hammer earlier this month that it was difficult to say what direction the material would take. He said: "There's a couple of different ways to approach it - we could approach it like we did Iowa compared to the first release, or we could approach it like picking up where The Subliminal Verses or The Gray Chapter left off." Read more here.




Soilwork Expand Tour Plans Until Late December
Soilwork have revealed that they will be following their North American tour and European summer festival appearances with a full European tour this fall.

The fall trek will be dubbed The Tour Majestic and will feature support from Hatesphere. The tour will be kicking off on November 27th in Malmö, Sweden and concluding on December 19th in Lyon, France.

Soilwork Dirk Verbeuren had this to say about the tour, "It's been ten years since an unforgettably epic European tour with our brothers in Hatesphere. Now that our tenth album is almost ready to be unleashed, we can't wait to once again share the stage with Hatesphere and bring you another monumental dose of top class melodic death metal!"

Prior to that outing, Soilwork will be hitting the road across North American with Soulfly, Decapitated and Shattered Sun on the "We Sold Our Souls to Metal Tour" which will launch on September 30th in Los Angeles and wrap on October 30th in Albuquerque, NM. See all of the tour dates here.




DragonForce Announce 'In The Line of Fire' Details
DragonForce have set a July 10th release date for their very first home video release "In The Line of Fire". The band has revealed the tracklisting and a trailer for the new DVD.

"In The Line of Fire" was captured during the band's Ultimate Stage headline set at the Loud Park Festival in the Saitama Super Arena, Japan back in 2014.

The DVD was mixed and mastered by Damien Rainaud in Los Angeles, CA., produced and edited by Herman Li and will include the following songs: "Fury of the Storm," "Three Hammers," "Black Winter Night", "Tomorrow's Kings," "Seasons,"" Symphony of the Night," "Cry Thunder," "Ring of Fire," "Through the Fire and the Flames" and "Valley of the Damned."

It appears that there will also be a two-disc DVD/CD version that will include the CD bonus track "Defenders". The DVD will also include bonus behind the scenes footage. See more details and the trailer here.




Home Of Late Singer Ian Curtis To Become Joy Division Museum
(Gibson) The former home of late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis will converted into a museum honoring the classic band, reports London's The Guardian. Joy Division fan and entrepreneur Hadar Goldman purchased the house after fans failed in an attempt to buy the property in order to prevent developers from taking it.

"Although I paid nearly double the asking price, I felt as if I had to get involved, especially after hearing the plight of fans who had failed to raise the necessary funds to buy the house owned and lived in by one of the musical heroes of my youth," Goldman said.

"Joy Division left a musical legacy which has influenced many of today's bands. The Joy Division legacy deserves to be taken into the 21st century, to raise awareness into one of the most seminal bands in the history of contemporary music."

Curtis's bandmate Peter Hook praised the movement to convert the house into a museum. "I think it's a great compliment if someone wants to make it into a museum for a group that culturally changed music, not once but twice," he said. "Ian has such a fantastic legacy and the fact people are inspired by it all around the world can only be a good thing." Gibson report here.






Cavalera Says Sepultura Deteriorating The Brand With Current Lineup
(Classic Rock) Founding Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera says that the current lineup of the group is "deteriorating the brand" by continuing without him and his brother Max.

While proud of everything he and Max achieved with the band before Max left in 1996 and he walked away 10 years later, Igor says it's tough to see the band continue with vocalist Derrick Green and drummer Eloy Casagrande in their places.

Cavalera - who now plays with Max in Cavalera Conspiracy - tells AntiHero: "It's tough, because, of course, we're super proud of everything we've done with Sepultura. The little thing that bugs me is that I think they're deteriorating the brand itself of Sepultura with fans by doing the tours and continuing without me and Max being there. So it's tough. But at the same time, there's nothing that we can do about it. We've gotta do what we do and keep playing."

On the chances of a reunion of Sepultura's classic lineup, Igor adds: "I don't know if, in the future, we're eventually gonna do the reunion. Right now, what I can say is me and Max are having a blast doing what we do with Cavalera Conspiracy and also playing songs that we wrote when we were kids, like Troops Of Doom and stuff like that, so I don't really see that we really need the reunion thing." Read more and watch the full interview here.




Sebastian Bach Says Bolan Is Skid Row's Bill Ward
(Classic Rock) Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has described bass player Rachel Bolan as 'the band's Bill Ward.' Bach - who was sacked by Skid Row in 1996 - says Bolan is the only member of the band who has a problem with him. Comparing the situation to that which exists between Black Sabbath's estranged drummer Ward and frontman Ozzy Osbourne, Bach hints that jealousy could be at the heart of Bolan's dislike of him.

He tells Metal Injection: "I've talked to all of those guys except the bass player, and he is the one that has it in for me. Some of these musicians like to use this term 'lead singer's disease,' and I think that's a way of dealing with the extra attention that the frontman gets.

"And it's not just Skid Row - it's Aerosmith, Van Halen, Kiss and Black Sabbath. I guess Rachel is, like, the Bill Ward of Skid Row. I think that's really what it is. Because I haven't given that guy any reason to dislike me in 19 years." Read more here.





Trent Reznor Part Of Batman: Arkham Knight Game
(TeamRock Radio) Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor is behind the music for upcoming video game Batman: Arkham Knight. He's listed as music consultant on the title, set to be launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 23.

Producers have released a trailer for the game last week featuring NIN track The Wretched, and tweeted: "Please join us in thanking Trent Reznor for his vision."

It's been suggested by fans that he was instrumental in getting directors Tim and Jeff Cronenweth to work on the project, after collaborating with them on Gone Girl and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - the latter winning Reznor a Grammy. Check out the trailer here.




Clutch's Tim Sult Reveals The Changing Roles Of Neil Fallon
(Classic Rock) Things could have been so different for Clutch, had frontman Neil Fallon continued in his early role as the band's DJ. The singer started out as the group's guitarist before a stint handling samples and spinning discs. Guitarist Tim Sult recalls the origins of the band and how a change in musical direction led to Fallon switching roles.

Originally called Moral Minority, the band featured a singer called Brian who left before a name change to Glut Trip and the addition of a new singer, Roger Smalls.

Sult tells My Global Mind: "Neil sang on the second Moral Minority demo if I remember correctly. Then Brian decided he wanted to be the singer and wanted Neil to do samples. Brian got really into Ministry and he wanted to do a Ministry type thing.

"We were only teenagers and went through phases really quick. So in 1989 he brought me into the band to play guitar and Neil was doing the samples. This guy Brian sang, so that was really the original first line up of Clutch. Neil was the DJ, literally." Read more here.





Bullet For My Valentine's Tuck Hopes For 'Biggest Metal Record' Of 2015
(TeamRock Radio) Bullet For My Valentine frontman Matthew Tuck believes upcoming album Venom will be the "biggest metal record of the year." The follow-up to 2013's Temper Temper will be released on August 14 and the band have lined-up a 19-date UK and Ireland tour to support their fifth studio outing.

Tuck tells Kerrang (via Blabbermouth): "We've got massive hopes for this album. We truly believe it's going to be the biggest metal record of the year. We've had these feelings in the past and we've always been spot on, but this one feels way more special than anything else we've ever done. So fingers crossed, it's going to do what we want it to do."

Tuck also praises bassist Jamie Mathias who was brought into the fold earlier this month to replace Jay James who departed in February. He adds: "We held auditions for a few guys, and when he came, he just smashed it. He fitted in instantly, especially with the Welsh connection. He plays like a beast and he sings like an angel." Read more here.




Steven Wilson Says Concept Dictated New Album's Different Sound
(Prog) Steven Wilson says the more electronic feel of latest solo album Hand. Cannot. Erase. came purely from the storyline - and that's why it's so different to previous record The Raven That Refused To Sing.

While his second outing was inspired by 19th-century material, its follow-up is based in current times, which suggested a different direction to him. Wilson tells the Boston Globe: "For me, the concept is always responsible for the musical palette.

"The Raven was an album where the underlying concept was the classical ghost story, with an emphasis on so-called 'Gothic' fiction. That suggested to me a more vintage musical palette.

"Now, here's a concept that's set in the heart of the city in the 21st century. To me that says, 'Okay, you're going to need more electronic sounds, almost semi-industrial sound design, if you want to reflect life in the heart of a metropolis.

"That stylistic range, and the fact that it's distinctly different from the previous record, ultimately grew out of the story." Read more here.



Bong Streaming Epic New Song 'Time Regained'
(TeamRock Radio) Bong have released a stream of the 17-minute song "Time Regained" which is from their brand new studio album "We Are, We Were And We Will Have Been".

"This is a song about living...," says frontman Dave Terry, "weathering the storm, standing unyielding against the forces that assail us on all sides, revelling in the short time we have to live, knowing that whatever may befall us, this time will never be undone; we will always exist, in the past, from today to the most distant of futures."

The three-piece have made their vision of the boundless nature of time, and our place within it more explicit than ever. TeamRock offer an exclusive glimpse through the aether and into the undulating realms beyond in the elongated form of the first track of two here.





Exmortus Begin Recording New Album This Week
Exmortus have announced that they have returned to Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, Ca with producer Zack Ohren (Suffocation, Immolation) this week to begin recording their new album.

The band expect to release the new album this fall via Prosthetic Records and the effort will be feature their new bass player Michael Cosio (ex-Abysmal Dawn).

Drummer Mario Moreno had this to say, "2014 was a great year for Exmortus and the campaign for 'Slave to the Sword' has been relentless since its release. This year has been a little quiet for us but with good reason.

"We're excited to announce that we'll be entering the studio at the end of this month to once again record with the mighty Zack Ohren. Zack did a phenomenal job on 'Slave to the Sword' and we're ready to record some more bone-crushing, face-melting shred for you all!"

The band has also lineup some live performances in July. See the tour date here.




Lower Than Atlantis Announce Their Biggest UK Tour Yet
(TeamRock Radio) Lower Than Atlantis will tour the UK again in December, they've confirmed - and it sees them headlining at their biggest venues to date. The run of seven gigs follows a journey around the country in April, and appearances at the Slam Dunk festivals last weekend.

The band launched their self-titled fourth album in October. Last month frontman Mike Duce said their belief in music had been rekindled after a period in which they "lost their way."

He added: "We just care about music again. If we cared about money we'd be f***ing investment bankers or something." Check out the upcoming UK tour dates here.





Spiders & Snakes Recording Live Album For 25th Anniversary
(Glass Onyon) Spiders & Snakes have announced that they will be recording their first-ever live album in honor of their 25th Anniversary at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in W. Hollywood, CA this Thursday, May 28th 2015 at 10pm.

The all ages show is in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the "Glitter n Glam Rockfest" shows that once ruled the Hollywood underground glam rock/shock rock scene of the mid-late 90s and includes sets by Rebel Rebel, Willow Wisp and Molly Vamp. Doors open 8pm.

The 2015 Spiders & Snakes lineup is comprised of band co-founders Lizzie Grey (London, Ultra Pop), on Lead vocals and Tim Yasui (London, Ultra Pop) on drums/Lead/backing vocals and long-time band members Phil St. Vincent on Bass/Lead/backing Vocals and Chris Sheridan (Sweet Savage/James Kottak) on Lead Guitars/Lead/backing Vocals - the very same lineup who recorded the band's ninth studio album "Year Of The Snake" and that is currently on tour this summer in support of this new album.

Year of the Snake features appearances by Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa), Angelo Moore (Fishbone), Ryo Okumoto (Asia feat Jon Payne/Spock's Beard/Aretha Franklin), Betsy Bitch (Bitch) and Rik Fox (Steeler, Wasp) and was produced by Gavin Ross in Burbank, California, mixed by Anthony Focx (Steven Tyler, Vince Neil, Nightranger, Ted Nugent) in Nashville, Tennessee and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Yngwie Malmsteen, Rob Halford, Sepultura, Yes) in Los Angeles, California during the Chinese calendar Year Of The Snake.







While She Sleeps Lead Additions To Camden Rocks Festival
(TeamRock Radio) Yorkshire metallers While She Sleeps lead the additions to this year's Camden Rocks festival on May 30. Also joining the bill are: Red House Glory, Flies + Flies, No Sugar, The Touch, Fake The Attack and B Movie Thieves.

The festival - which is in its fourth year - will take place in most of Camden's venues, pubs and bars, including Electric Ballroom, Underworld, Proud Camden, Barfly, Jazz Cafe and Dingwalls.

While She Sleeps frontman Loz Taylor says: "We're stoked to be a part of this year's Camden Rocks Festival! It's already shaping up to be a killer day. We can't wait to tear Camden up!" Read more here.





Slash Interview About Performing With Michael Jackson Animated
(Radio.com) The latest Minimation, where Radio.com animate interviews with legendary artists goes back to last year when Slash spoke to them about going on tour with Michael Jackson. He clashed with MJ's guitarist over one issue, and it wasn't about who gets to solo first.

In last week's Radio.com Minimation, Slash told us the story of how he ended up playing guitar on Michael Jackson's 1991 album, Dangerous. The two artists hit it off pretty well. MJ was used to playing with great six-stringers (he'd worked with Eddie Van Halen and Steve Stevens on previous albums). And Slash was used to working with eccentric singers (perhaps you've heard of one W. Axl Rose?).

And so, Slash did a few shows with the King of Pop as his special guest. Of course, MJ already had a guitar player - namely Jennifer Batten, a face-melting soloist in her own right. But no matter how good you are at your instrument, when you're in Michael Jackson's band, there are rules you must follow. Such as, taking part in on-stage choreography. So, it's understandable that she figured, he she had to learn to dance, Slash would as well.

Slash, who at the time was a member of Guns N Roses, the baddest band in the land, was pretty firm on his stance: He was not going to dance. As he told Radio.com, Batten was "losing her mind about it."

At that point, Michael got involved, taking her down to "the sports bathrooms" (i.e. the locker rooms) and moderated. Spoiler: Slash didn't learn choreography.

But Batten wasn't the only person annoyed by Slash performing with Jackson; if a recent interview by Guns' former manager is accurate, the Jackson/Slash shows led to Slash exiting GNR. Watch the video here.




Singled Out: Anti-Flag's Brandenburg Gate
Today Chris #2 from Anti-Flag tells us about the song "Brandenburg Gate" (featuring Tim Armstrong) from their brand new album "American Spring". Here is the story:

I wanted to write about a track from our new record American Spring. I think out of all of the songs in our bands history "Brandenburg Gate" is maybe the greatest example of how up for interpretation music can be.

For me it started in a real personal place. Before writing this record I had what I believed to be the most important relationship in my life end. I was searching for self worth and identity. Forced to face and work on things that ultimately could have been the same reasons for my relationships end. In my mind, the lyrics were not metaphorical. I had particularly difficult moments in Berlin, I was referencing those in the song. Knowing that Anti-Flag is not the type of band to put ourselves first I was worried at how my band mates would react to the song. I was worried they would have no personal attachment to it, and it's our experience as a band that those are the songs that die. The ones where all 4 of us are not whole heartedly behind either never see the light of day or are recorded and never played live. So hesitantly I brought it to the others.

Pat (the drummer in Anti-Flag) had a completely different view of Brandenburg then anything I could have seen. I was too close to it. His zoomed out perspective on the lyrics created this backstory about a love song for socialism. My imagery of Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate became a metaphor to Pat for socialism being seen as untouchable in America. How vastly far away universal health care and education seem to be to us in the states. He had parallels for each line. Ones that I would never had seen. We then shaped the remainder of the lyrics to both mirror and reference my emotions but our collective understanding of how no matter how far away the things you want or believe to be important or things you know to be just, they are attainable. The Brandenburg Gate was locked away during the era of the Berlin Wall. Closed form society. It now stands alive, tourists flock to it, it's a meeting point, a protest square. It was once also untouchable, these "socialist" ideas of treating humanity with the respect it deserves will not be untouchable for much longer.

(Side note. Having Tim Armstrong sing on the track was unbelievable to us. Having him sing the word "salvation" made my inner punk rock kid believe that anything is possible.)