Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Megadeth Loses Two Members
(Classic Rock) Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover have quit Megadeth, they've announced separately. Guitarist Broderick says he's left due to "artistic and musical differences" after seven years in Dave Mustaine's outfit, while drummer Drover reports he wants to pursue other musical interests after a decade-long stint.

The split leave Mustaine and co-founding bassist David Ellefson as the only current members of the thrash giants - despite plans to start recording their 15th album in January.

Broderick's statement reads: "It is with great reluctance that I announce my departure from Megadeth to pursue my own musical direction. I want all of you to know how much I appreciate the amount that you, the fans, have accepted and respected me.

"I wish Dave and everyone in Megadeth all the best. I am working on a few things of my own, and hope that when they come out, you'll all dig it." Read more here.




New Court Drama For AC/DC's Phil Rudd
(Classic Rock) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd faced a new arrest warrant after arriving at court late to answer a charge of threatening to kill today. He'd been accused of attempting to procure a murder earlier this month, although that charge was dropped by New Zealand authorities the following day. He could spend up to seven years in jail if found guilty of the charges that remain, including possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

Rudd, 60, had been ordered to appear at Tauranga High Court at 9am, but failed to arrive in time. Justice Timothy Brewer was in the process of issuing an arrest warrant when the drummer entered the room. The warrant was then dropped.

He entered no plea via attorney Paul Mabey and Justice Brewer ordered the case to be sent down to a lower court, since the most serious charge had been dropped. Read more here.




Guns N' Roses Members Says Band Has Fantastic New Songs
(Classic Rock) Guns N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed says the band have a great mix of new and previously recorded tracks to hand. He previously stated they had a "sh*tload" of songs written, while frontman Axl Rose revealed they had what he called the second half of Chinese Democracy. It launched in 2008 and Reed says the leftover material from the sessions is so good he's desperate for people to hear it.

He tells BackstageAxxess: "There's a lot of music that's been recorded, a lot of stuff that's done and a lot of stuff that's almost done. The main thing is, when it's ready to come out, it'll come out.

"There's a lot of material. You can call it leftovers, but since no one's heard it, technically it's new material. But there's stuff that's been recorded and conceived since then as well. But it's fantastic music, and I really hope it gets out because people need to hear it. It's great stuff." Read more here.





Metallica To Headline Iconic Festivals
(hennemusic) Metallica have confirmed headlining slots at two UK festivals as part of their summer 2015 European tour. The band will play the Reading Festival on August 29 and the companion Leeds Festival on August 30.

"It's been seven long years and we can't wait to hit the stage for one of the longest running, most historic rock festivals," said the group about playing the events.

The UK shows follow previously-announced slots at three European festivals, including Der Ring - Grüne Hölle Rock at Nürburg, Germany and Munich's Rockavaria Festival - both running May 29-31 - and Vienna, Austria's Rock In Vienna on June 4.

Metallica will launch the summer 2015 run at the inaugural Rock In Rio USA festival in Las Vegas next spring. Read more and check out the promo video for the festival appearances here.




Red Hot Chili Peppers To Begin Recording New Album
(Classic Rock) The Red Hot Chili Peppers aim to start recording their 11th album in January, says drummer Chad Smith. He reports that writing for the follow-up to 2011's I'm With You is nearing completion - and they're not planning to work up as many tracks as they did last time round.

Smith tells MusicRadar: "We're really close to getting in to start recording. I think we'll probably go up to December, do a little pre-production, then take a little Christmas break. I hope to recording after the first of the year.

"We probably have close to 30 songs. I think last time we overdid it a little; traditionally we've always recorded 25 or 40 songs. It won't be 50, like last time. " Read more here.




Kurt Cobain Documentary Coming
(hennemusic) "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck", a new documentary about the late Nirvana frontman, will premiere on HBO next year. The film will feature dozens of Nirvana songs and performances as well as previously unheard Cobain originals.

Directed by Brett Morgen ("Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane"), the project is the first film to be made with the cooperation of Cobain's family, with daughter Frances Bean Cobain serving as executive producer.

"Montage Of Heck" is billed as a raw and visceral journey through Cobain's life, providing no-holds-barred access to Cobain's archives, home to his never-before-seen home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, journals, demos, personal archives, family archives and songbooks.




Pearl Jam Release Live No Code Performance
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam have released a concert bootleg featuring the first-ever performance of the band's 1996 album, "No Code", in its entirety. Part of the group's fall US tour in support of their latest release, "Lightning Bolt", the October 17 show at the I Wireless Center in Moline, Illinois also featured the debut of a new song, "Moline", written just before showtime.

"It literally was written about 10 minutes….it was finished right before we walked out here," frontman Eddie Vedder told the crowd. "But now we've played all those songs and I've had just a little bit of wine -, just a litte bit - so just give me one second to learn it and I'll be right with you."

The concert also featured covers of songs by Pink Floyd ("Interstellar Overdrive"), John Lennon ("Imagine"), Van Halen ("Eruption") and Neil Young ("F***ing Up"). Read more and check out some videos from the show here.




Jimmy Page Announces Unusual Book Event
(Classic Rock) Jimmy Page will give fans a unique memento at a book 'signing' event in London. The Led Zeppelin guitar hero will meet fans at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstones on December 2.

But rather than sign copies of his book Jimmy Page, he will be hand pressing them with a 'Zoso' stamp which features a design unique to the event. Only 250 people will be given access and Page will not sign any other items or pose for photographs on the day.

Page says: "I always like to do something different - if you're inspired by an idea, really make something of that inspiration. To have a photographic autobiography is a totally different way of looking at things, but it does the job very well and I think it will bring a lot of pleasure to people." Read more here.




Wet Nuns' Alexis 'Leki' Gotts Takes His Own Life
(TeamRock Radio) Wet Nuns frontman Rob Graham has paid tribute to late drummer Alexis 'Leki' Gotts. Graham reports on the band's Facebook page that Gotts took his own life after a "long and terribly difficult battle."

Graham says: "It's with a deep sadness and a heavy heart that I try to find the words to express the deep sense of grief that I feel as I come to terms with the loss of my friend, band mate and brother Leki.

"It's only really the sense of duty to you all as fans of our band that I wrote this now as I think it will take a good while to really understand what has happened.

"Leki took his own life as an end to a long and terribly difficult battle." Read more here.




Amy Adams To Star In Janis Joplin Biopic
(Classic Rock) Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Amy Adams has reportedly signed on to portray rock icon Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic about the late singer.

The Hollywood Reporter claims in a new report that Adams has finally been confirmed for the role, after she was first linked with it in 2010 before withdrawing.

The film has been in the works for years, with various directors and stars taking an interest and dropping out. It's now set to begin filming in 2015, with director Jean-Marc Vallee at the helm. Read more here.




AC/DC Frontman Hoped For A Miracle For Malcolm
(Classic Rock) AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has recalled the pain of realizing that Malcolm Young wasn't going to recover from dementia. The Aussie giants' mainman was forced to retire before work began on 17th album Rock Or Bust. Brother Angus recently reported that, although Malcolm is credited as a co-writer, he hasn't heard the record.

Speaking at a promotional event for the Alzheimer's Association's Highway To Help initiative, Johnson tells NC9: "Malcolm was the man who started the band. He was our spiritual leader. He was our Spitfire.

"I guess we're like everyone else with loved ones who have this condition. It was that desire to fix something that's unfixable. You just expect that they're going to get better. You think there's going to be a pill that's going to fix them. You think there's going to be a miracle - and of course, one day you wake up and realise there isn't, and it hurts." Read more here.





Beatles' Abbey Road Photos Fetch Big Money At Auction
(Classic Rock) A collection of rare photographs that were taken during the photoshoot for the Beatles' iconic Abbey Road album cover have sold for £180,000 at auction.

The images were put up for sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. The set of six snaps include the pictures used on the front and back cover, along with four rare outtakes and were taken by Iain Macmillan, a friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, on August 8 1969.

Lennon selected image number five for the Abbey Road album sleeve. They were originally expected to fetch between £50,000 and £70,000. An overseas buyer made the winning bid over the phone. Read more here.



Sanctuary Announce European Tour
(Classic Rock) Sanctuary have announced a European tour for March next year. They'll kick off the live jaunt with a gig at London's Underworld on March 3 - their only UK show.

They'll then hook up with Overkill for a run of 13 dates across mainland Europe before playing two headlining slots in Greece at the end of the month.

Four of the band's original members, Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard, Lenny Rutledge and Dave Budbill got together in 2010 after splitting in 1992 for a run of live shows.

They then inked a deal with Century Media and brought in guitarist Brad Hull to replace original member Sean Blosi. Read more here.




Vision Of Disorder Reissuing Still EP
(TeamRock Radio) New York hardcore outfit Vision Of Disorder are to reissue their Still EP. The record was originally launched on 7-inch in 1995. And as it approaches its 20th anniversary, it will be released on limited-edition 12-inch vinyl and digital formats on December 9 via Dignified Bastard.

Along with the four tracks that appeared on the original disc, three extra recordings will be included on the new release - all taped during the Still sessions.

The 12-inch vinyl comes in six colours, while a box set including all six discs along with signed test pressings is also available to pre-order. Read more here.




Dave Ellefson's Johnny Wore Black Streaming New Album Online
(Classic Rock) Johnny Wore Black have issued a stream of their latest album ahead of its official release. Walking Underwater Pt. 2 launches on November 26 via Dead Cherry and the band are letting people listen to the album via Yahoo! Music

Along with Megadeth's Dave Ellefson, the album features mainman Jay, aka Johnny Wore Black, who says Ellefson's contribution brings a "unique flair" to the record.

He tells Yahoo! Music: "It's great to work with Dave because he's an extremely talented bass player with his own unique flair and style which adds a distinctive sound to the music."

And while the sound on the project is a departure from Megadeth, Ellefson reveals it works as both artists are open to new ideas. He reports: "I would send him back things that were clearly not thrash metal. It's cool because we live in this world of virtual recording studios, so we didn't have to be in the same place to work on the songs."







Tomas Lindberg Officially Leaves Lock Up
(TeamRock Radio) Grindcore supergroup Lock Up have confirmed At The Gates' frontman Tomas Lindberg has left the band on a permanent basis. The group, Anton Reisenegger (Pentagram, Criminal), Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Venomous Concept, Brujeria) and Nick Barker (Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir), have issued a statement stating he's departed because of his commitments with his main band.

They say: "Unfortunately, we have to announce the departure of our brother and long-time vocalist Tomas Lindberg. There is absolutely no bad blood or drama involved and we wish Tompa nothing but the best in all his future endeavours.

"At The Gates have just released a brand new, killer album and the subsequent touring schedule that will follow means Tompa simply won't have any free time to commit to Lock Up's imminent future plans of recording a new album or any live performances that will follow." Read more including who is signing for them now here.




Eddie Jobson Announces UK's Final Tour
(Prog) Eddie Jobson has confirmed the last six shows UK will ever play, including one in London on March 1. He'll bring the curtain down at a star-studded event in Tokyo, Japan, on April 1, following a short European tour.

The violinist and keyboardist believes it's time to "focus on a more creative future" after masterminding the band on and off from 1977 until 1980 then again from 2011. The band for his last tour will feature John Wetton, Alex Macchacek and Virgil Donati.

Details of the Tokyo show are yet to be revealed, although Jobson has promised "very special guests" will take part. Check out the announced tour details here.





Ensiferum Announce Tour With Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum
(TeamRock Radio) Ensiferum have announced a 2015 European tour with Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. The three Finnish bands hit the road in March - just weeks after Ensiferum release their sixth album One Man Army on February 23.

In a post on their Facebook page, Insomnium say: "We'll be moshing alongside Ensiferum and Omnium Gatherum in March and April 2015 around Europe. Finnish melodeath to the max."

Also on Facebook, Omnium Gatherum add: "We've already been busy touring Europe, Asia and North America after the release of Beyond but apart from that we've had some secret time to forge some new OG anthems in the woods too, so we're on a good path towards the next album sessions.

"For now it's seven songs ready and willing, nothing confirmed with the schedules and all yet, but just to say that the great days of the next chapter are coming nearer."

Check out the dates here.





Patrick Kistler Says He Was Fired By Eluveitie
(TeamRock Radio) Former Eluveitie piper Patrick Kistler says he was fired from the band after a democratic vote - but that he didn't want to go. He's denied drugs were involved in the breakdown of relations that led to his departure. And he's suggested that some band members have forgotten the values that created their six-album legacy.

The Swiss folk metal outfit last week announced the lineup change midway through a European tour in support of latest record Origins. Matteo Sisti of Krampus has taken his place on a temporary basis.

Kistler says in a statement: "Personal issues increased within the past 12 months in my life, as well as in the Eluveitie hood. I have been going through some personal difficulties that also affected the relationship to some band members, and my ability to fulfill expectations. No addiction problem and they are solved in the meantime.

"All this got more exaggerated with the album production and intensive touring. In the end the majority of the band decided to expel me from the hood by a democratic vote - we're still very Swiss." Read more here.





Palm Reader Reveal Album Release Plans
(TeamRock Radio) Palm Reader have confirmed details of their upcoming second album. The UK hardcore outfit will release Beside The Ones We Love next spring, they tell Rocksound. They released debut album Bad Weather in 2013.

Singer Josh McKeown says: "We couldn't be happier with the end result. It's been 18 months since we released Bad Weather where as songwriters and people, we've grown a huge amount.

"We can't wait to give everyone more details about the release and for everyone to begin the next journey for Palm Reader with us." They also will head out on a UK and Ireland tour with Protest The Hero this week. Check out the dates here.




Singled Out: Sunshine Riot's Dead Baby Cocaine Blues
Today from Sunshine Riot tells us about "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues" from their forthcoming sophomore album "Black Coffee Sigh," which will be released in January. Here is the story:

Mark, our lead guitarist, wrote this song about a year ago. Mark's a great guitarist (if we do say so ourselves) and a great dude. He's also straight up f***in' bonkers. So, when he walked into our rehearsal space one night and said he'd written a song called "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues", none of us were too surprised.

Strictly speaking, the song is about the practice of prescribing cocaine medicinally at the turn of the century, even for children and babies. The results of that practice were predictably not-so-great and often led to death (this phenomenon has recently gained attention on the Cinemax series, The Knick). The subject fascinated Mark enough to write a song about it.

Beyond the literal translation, though, I think what we're trying to get at is the notion of bad medicine as a metaphor for bad love or toxic relationships. To quote Simone Felice, formerly of the Felice Brothers, we all have a way to love badly. Sometimes in an effort to save someone or something, we break it. That's a tough pill to swallow. No pun intended.

As a band, we love playing this song live. We're big believers in the classic high point / low point set list structure - lots of high energy tunes punctuated with a few soft, low and slow ones. Dead Baby is definitely a high energy one. I think because the title is so absurd, we all feel a responsibility to play with a commensurate level of madness. We typically lose our sh*t when we play Dead Baby Cocaine Blues and we encourage the audience to do the same.

Honestly, we want to entertain people. That's our job, and we don't hesitate to be ridiculous...in fact, that's kind of our thing. So, "Dead Baby Cocaine Blues" fits pretty well into the Sunshine Riot song book.









Nickelback Poke More Fun At Themselves Than Net Haters
(TeamRock Radio) Nickelback say no amount of internet hate can match the harshness of the jokes they make about themselves. The Canadian rockers are regular targets of online haters, but insist it's nothing compared to their self-effacing tour bus banter.

Frontman Chad Kroeger tells Absolute Radio: "We are one of those bands that a lot of people think take themselves seriously. And no one - and I know this is hard to believe - can make as much fun of us as we make fun of ourselves.

"And we are harsh. If you think the internet's rough, you should sit in a van with us. We make up the best alternate lines to our own songs. And this is some top-shelf stuff."

Guitarist Ryan Peake adds: "I go home crying sometimes - and it's jokes I've made about myself." Read more and stream the video here.




Nikki Sixx Calls On Musicians To Stand Up For Themselves
(Classic Rock) Nikki Sixx has called on musicians to stand up for themselves in royalty battles if their managers and lawyers won't. The Motley Crue bassist has taken direct aim at a practice known as "digital breakage" which can be used to reduce the amount of money an artist receives from streaming services.

The concept of breakage arises from traditional media, where record labels covered the costs of manufacturing, distributing and marketing music, and also carried charges associated with the return of unsold and damaged items. Those costs were removed before calculating musicians' share of income.

Since there are no such costs associated with streaming, it's possible for labels to use the breakage concept to secure a clear stream of profit without having to share any with artists. The amount of breakage can be extended when labels argue that having their music available via a streaming service increases the value of that service - and once again, none of that income has to be handed on to musicians.

Sixx says: "A record label signs an artist to sell music at different destinations. They license music to streaming companies, and when they do, they get around 70% of the money. On downloads, just like on CDs, they pay a royalty to the artist. But on streaming they don't - they use a legal loophole called 'breakage.'






Soundgarden Release Storm Video
(hennemusic) Soundgarden are premiering a new music video for the song "Storm", a track from the band's new collection, "Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path."

The package is a 3-disc, 50-track rarities compilation of original B-sides, unreleased tracks, instrumentals, covers and demos curated by guitarist Kim Thayil.

Disc 1, dubbed "Originals", is filled with Soundgarden songs - mainly B-sides - in addition to two unreleased tunes, "Kristi" and "Storm." Disc 2, "Covers", presents covers of tracks by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Ramones, Devo and others. Disc 3, "Oddities", offers instrumentals, remixes and demos, including Steve Fisk's unreleased "The Telephantasm (Resurrection Remix)", "Twin Tower", and "Night Surf", an instrumental performed by bassist Ben Shepherd.





At The Gates Animated For Heroes And Tombs Video
(TeamRock Radio) Swedish death metallers At The Gates have unveiled this new animated video for Heroes And Tombs, taken from their comeback album At War With Reality (out now on Century Media).

The bleak video was created by Costin Chioreanu who designed the artwork for At War With Reality. At The Gates' frontman Tomas Lindberg says of the video:

"To have Costin work on one of our songs this way has been very rewarding. It's like the next step of the album artwork, and basically more than I could have ever hoped for."

He adds: "Costin paints up a fevered and dark nightmare world that complements the lyrics and music up to the point of perfection. Now I just have to go convince him to do a full length movie for the whole album..." Watch the video here.




Mogwai Release Teenage Exorcists Video
(Prog) Mogwai have released a music video for their track Teenage Exorcists. It's taken from upcoming EP Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1 which launches on December 1.

It will be their first studio release since eighth album Rave Tapes, which launched in January via Rock Action Records. The EP features three tracks recorded during the Rave Tapes sessions along with three remixes of tracks from the album by Blanck Mass, Nils Frahm and Pye Corner Audio.

Along with a digital release, the EP will be available on CD and limited-edition 12-inch vinyl. The band were nominated in the Band/Artist Of The Year category at this year's Progressive Music Awards. They've lined up a date at the Sydney Opera House in March and will then head to Japan for three shows later that month.





Status Quo Release Unplugged Matchstick Men Video
(Classic Rock) Status Quo have released a short video clip to accompany the acoustic version of the band's early classic Pictures Of Matchstick Men. The song, first released in 1967 on the Picturesque Matchstickable Messages album, was re-recorded earlier this year for the band's Aquostic set.

The clip features the whole band apparently naked, although several eagle-eyed viewers have pointed out that guitarist Rick Parfitt does appear to be wearing a pair of slender black briefs.

Status Quo announced the Aquostic album in an exclusive interview with Classic Rock in August and released a promo for And It's Better Now in September, before playing at the Roundhouse in October. Watch the video here.




Thunder Release Wonder Days Video
(Classic Rock) Thunder have released a video for Wonder Days, the title track of the band's forthcoming album. Full details surrounding the release, the follow-up to 2008's Bang!, will be announced tomorrow. The video was filmed recently in Tokyo in front of 15,000 fans.

Singer Danny Bowes says, "What can I say about 'Wonder Days'? Well, it's the title track from the new Thunder album, our first in six years, and if you listen closely it tells the story of why we came together all those years ago to form the band. So with that in mind, we thought it's the perfect track to introduce everyone to what we've been up to recently… which is making an album that we are all incredibly proud of! We played it live for the first time last month at Loud Park in Tokyo and filmed it for your pleasure. We like the song so much, we think we'll play it again next March, along with a lot more from the new album. Come see us - a good time is guaranteed for all!"

Last month Thunder played a free show for fans at London's Brooklyn Bowl venue, a show recorded for release as a cover-mount CD accompanying the January 2015 edition of Classic Rock. In September, the band promised the new album would be worth the wait, and announced a short UK tour for March 2015, where they'll play alongside Reef and Tax The Heat. Watch the new video here.



Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band Stream New Song, Announce Album
(The Blues Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band will launch fifth album So Delicious on February 17 via Yazoo Records, they've confirmed. They've launched a stream of Let's Jump A Train to act as a taster for the follow-up to 2012's Between The Ditches.

The Rev tells American Blues Scene: "I've been obsessed with the idea of taking fingerstyle guitar to a place it's never been before." He adds: "When people hear So Delicious and see us play live, I think they understand that what we're singing about is real to us.

"We believe in the stories we're telling and in the way we play. And when we're on stage or off, there's nothing fake about us. We are what we do, and I'm proud of that."

Stream the new song here.



Eli Cook Releases Baby Please Don't Go Video
(The Blues Eli Cook has released a video for his instrumental track Baby Please Don't Go. It follows the 27-year-old bluesman's fifth album Primitive Son, launched earlier this year via Cleopatra Records.

Cook tells The Flame Still Burns: "I try to put an emphasis on original songwriting, lyrical content; I try to give it a bit of a unique presentation. My vocal style is a little different than the typical blues and R&B vocalists.

"I try to do things with a little bit more intensity - for lack of a better word, do them a bit heavier, even if it is an acoustic song. Just make it bigger and more dynamic, but organically, if at all possible."