Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Queen To Stream New Year's Eve Concert Online
(hennemusic) The BBC has announced plans to stream Queen and Adam Lambert's New Year's Eve "Rock Big Ben Live" concert event online for fans around the globe via BBC Music.

The event at Central Hall Westminster in London - close to the iconic landmark of Big Ben - will see just 2000 fans on hand to watch the legendary band ring in 2015.

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




Carmine Appice Wants Led Zeppelin Reunion Gig
(hennemusic) Legendary drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, King Kobra) says he wants to play as part of Led Zeppelin reunion.

"I would like to work with a Led Zeppelin configuration, whether it's just John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page and me and a singer," Appice tells Totally Driven Radio. "I've heard that they're talking, maybe, to Ann Wilson [of Heart]… There's a rumor that Ann Wilson might go out with them. I would love to play drums on something like that."

The late John Bonham's son, Jason, performed with a reunited Led Zeppelin during their December 10, 2007 concert at London's O2 Arena tribute concert for friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

"Everybody in that band there is legendary," says Appice. "They're old school and legendary. Jason isn't legendary, and he's not old school. He's John Bonham's son, but he don't play like John Bonham. He plays more… He plays like him. He's not John. He's got that name, but he's not John Bonham."

"I'm not John Bonham either, but I think my style might be close, 'cause I came first, and John listened to stuff I did and did it his own way. And we took 'em on their first tour. It's very close-sounding stuff in feel." Read more here.




Landmark Metallica Album Predicted By Bob Rock
(Classic Rock) Producer Bob Rock has predicted that Metallica's tenth album may be a "landmark" - but he doesn't believe he'll work with the band again. He first worked with James Hetfield and co on their Black Album in 1991, and continued through the decade on Load, ReLoad, Garage Inc and S&M.

His final collaboration was 2003's St Anger, documented in controversial movie Some Kind Of Monster.But he wasn't on board for 2008's Death Magnetic, and he thinks it's unlikely he'll return.

Rock tells the Eddie Trunk Podcast: "I don't see it happening. I think they've got to keep moving forward. With Death Magnetic they went back to their roots, which was great. I get where they went and they had to go there.

"I think they've got a landmark record in them - and it's probably brewing right now." Read more here.




Slipknot Beats Slash, Mastodon For The Best Riff Of 2014
(Classic Rock) The leading riff from Slipknot track The Negative One has been named the best of 2014 by readers of Total Guitar magazine. The piece from comeback album .5: The Gray Chapter tops a poll ahead of work by Slash, Mastodon, Royal Blood, Steel Panther and others.

Total Guitar say: "The return of Iowa's finest following the passing of founding member Paul Gray was always going to be a raw one. The Gray Chapter certainly lived up to that. It's absolutely encapsulated in The Negative One's riff onslaught - it's Slipknot at their thrilling best."

The track is also nominated for 2015's Best Metal Grammy, with the winner to be named in February. See "Total Guitar readers' best riffs of 2014" top 9 list here.




Bryan Ferry's Son Injured In Serious Car Crash
(Classic Rock) Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry's youngest son Merlin is in the hospital after a serious car crash. The 24-year-old is described as "critical but stable" after suffering multiple injuries including a head wound and fractures to his legs, pelvis and left arm.

Three vehicles including Ferry's and a lorry were involved in the incident near Shrewsbury on Tuesday. One driver escaped with cuts and bruises after his car caught fire.

Firefighters said Ferry's extraction took 45 minutes. They tweeted "Crews worked hard for 45 mins to free the man which was a difficult extrication due to the impact involved." Read more here.




Saxon's Nigel Glockler Getting Better Following Brain Surgery
(Classic Rock) Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler is making progress every day after emergency brain surgery earlier this month, his wife Gina has said in an update about his recovery.

He was rushed to hospital midway through the NWOBHM giants' winter UK tour, and later underwent an operation to address an aneurysm. A second procedure took place after the first was unsuccessful.

But in an update Gina says: "Nigel is getting better each day, and I'm hoping he can be released some time next week. There are certain things the doctors like to watch for, so they're being cautious, which is fine by me. My first and only thought right now is for his recovery."

Read more here.




Alberta Adams, Detroit's Queen Of The Blues, Dead at 97
(The Blues Blues vocalist Alberta Adams has died at the age of 97. Known as Detroit's Queen Of The Blues, she passed away on Christmas morning after a long illness.

Born Roberta Louis Osborn in 1917, she was living alone by the time she was 14, and began her performance career as a tap dancer before starting to sing alongside John Lee Hooker, Duke Ellington and others.

Chess Records signed her in the 1950s and she became a member of the Bluesettes, who toured with Tiny Bradshaw. She recorded for Savoy Records, and began an association with Johnny Bassett and his band that lasted for decades. Other collaborations included T-Bone Walker, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton and Red Saunders. Read more here.




Bruce Springsteen Releases Classic 1978 Club Show
(hennemusic) Bruce Springsteen has released a legendary 1978 Cleveland club show as the second offering in his new archival concert series. Last month, Springsteen launched the archival series with the release of a 2012 live set from New York's Apollo Theater.

The August 9, 1978 show at The Agora was originally simulcast in its entirety by local rock station WMMS and many other stations around the US to an estimated audience of 3 million listeners.

For years bootleg copies of the FM broadcast, in various degrees of quality, widely circulated among collectors and established The Agora '78 as a legendary performance from Darkness-era Springsteen. Read more here.




Black Sabbath Get McDonald's-Themed Tribute Band
(Radio.com) If you like your tribute bands with a culinary orientation, a la Macaulay Culkin's Velvet Underground-themed band the Pizza Underground, you might enjoy a new group paying tribute to Black Sabbath.

If the very idea of this offends you, just skip a few paragraphs. But if that sounds like the band you didn't know you were waiting for, allow us to introduce you to Mac Sabbath (via Funny or Die).

Fronted by a Ronald McDonald lookalike, the band also features an evil-looking Mayor McCheese (with tusks!) on guitar, a bass player who appears as if he's Rob Zombie's nightmare version of the Grimace. And behind the drums sits the Hamburglar.

Like the Pizza Underground, the Mac Sabbath members change the lyrics of the songs to be about their favorite subject, which in this case is McDonalds. For instance, in "Frying Pan" (their take on "Iron Man"), evil Ronald sings, "I once burned your meal/My old job was cooking veal!" Happily, he seems to be a better Ozzy imitator than grill cook. Watch the magic happen in the video here.




Annihilator Reuniting With Classic Era Singer Coburn Pharr
(Classic Rock) Annihilator mainman Jeff Waters has brought back classic-era singer Coburn Pharr for the band's appearances on a metal cruise next month. Pharr joined the Canadian outfit in time to record what remains their biggest-selling record, but he was replaced by Aaron Randall two years later. He hasn't been in contact since then.

Now it's been confirmed he'll take the mic for their shows on 70,000 Tons Of Metal, which sets sale from Florida to Jamaica on January 22 for a four-day trip.

Waters says: "Seeing as it's the 25th anniversary of my favourite Annihilator album, I thought it would be a lot of fun to invite Coburn to perform some of the songs he was part of. Read more here.





Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit Reuniting With Poco For Special Event
(Classic Rock) Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit will reunite with his old Poco bandmates next month for induction into the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame. He joined the band in 1969 shortly after the release of their debut album Pickin' Up The Pieces, taking over from Randy Meisner.

Meisner would go on to be a co-founder of the Eagles and when Schmit quit Poco in 1977, it was to replace the bassist again, this time in the Eagles' lineup.

Now he'll take his place beside former bandmates Rusty Young, George Grantham, Richie Furay and Paul Cotton at the induction ceremony at the Paramount Theater in Denver on January 9. They are expected to play together at the event. Read more here.





Between The Buried And Me Recording New Album With Jamie King
(TeamRock Radio) Between The Buried And Me will start recording their seventh album within the coming fortnight. The follow-up to 2012's The Parallax II: Future Sequence is expected by the middle of 2015 via Metal Blade Records.

The North Carolina outfit report: "In two more weeks we will be reuniting with the master, Jamie King, to record our seventh full-length album together. Until then, enjoy the holidays!"

In September the band launched a live companion to The Parallax II, which saw them playing the record in a studio setting. They explained: "We wanted to give our fans an intimate performance - something that made them feel a little closer to us, almost feel like they're at practice with us." here.




Down's Brutal Assault Performance Video Go Online
(TeamRock Radio) Professionally shot footage of Down's performance at this year's Brutal Assault festival in the Czech Republic has been released. The short set features the tracks Witchtripper, Lifer and Pillars Of Eternity.

They released EP Down IV Part Two earlier this year and frontman Phil Anselmo, who last week revealed he was sitting on a goldmine of material for his band The Illegals, said they would continue to issue EPs rather than albums in the future as the traditional way of delivering music was a "thing of the past."

He said: "Everyone's attention span these days is a little shorter. Honestly, for me, doing a full-length record is a thing of the past. I'm not doing it again. It's boring. If I can concentrate on making five or six songs the best I can, that's the way I would prefer to release it."





Tremonti Completes Recording Of New Album, Release Studio Video
(Classic Rock) Recording work on Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti's second album has been completed. His bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, who Tremonti recently called "the best of the best," has confirmed recording the material for 20-track record has now been finished.

He says on Twitter: "And with that last note, BVs are officially complete. Looks like we're done here. This has been such a great experience. Very happy to have been a part of this."

Meanwhile, Tremonti has issued a video showcasing studio sessions which also highlights a range of exclusive items for fans to buy from his Fret 12 page.

Included are handwritten and signed lyric sheets, guitars used on the album, autographed and framed artwork and the chance to receive a namecheck on the liner notes. View the video here.



UDO Put Out Public Call For New Member
(TeamRock Radio) UDO, led by former Accept singer Udo Dirkschneider, have appealed for applications for the role of drummer after Francesco Jovino quit the band weeks ahead of a world tour.

The German metal outfit are in need of a fully-rehearsed replacement before hitting the road in early March. They say in a statement: "Francesco left UDO due to personal reasons.

"If you feel ready to become the new drummer, feel free to mail your application to fsuepfle@itm-agency.com - please, no big attachments with sound files. If we're interested we will contact you and ask for further information." Read more here.




Citizen Cain's Stewart Bell Giving Away Solo Tracks, eBook
(Prog) Stewart Bell of Citizen Cain has offered three solo tracks and an ebook for free as a Christmas gift to fans. The opening pieces from his debut album The Antechamber Of Being Part 1 can be downloaded from the band's website.

Released in October, it's described as a prog opera based on his childhood dreams, and features guest appearances from Arjen Lucassen, Mekah Mhairi Comrie and others.

The free tracks Decoherence, A World Without Limits and Projections add up to over 30 minutes of music. Also available is the PDF version of his storybook The Cupboard Of Fear, written and illustrated by the composer. Read more and grab the download links here.




Teenage Rehab Release 'Rewind' Video
Teenage Rehab have released a new music video for their song "Rewind" on YouTube. The clip is for the track off the band's recently released 7" EP, "Break Yourself".

Alex Reject had the following to say about the making of the new video, "We had a blast filming this video, the guys are all old skateboarders but I can't skate for sh*t so I jumped on one of my daughters bikes and did some tricks.

"I took on some legitimate scrapes and bruises but the good vibes were ever present!" The new EP, "Break Yourself", was released on December 16th by Revert Records. Watch the new video here.



Furyon Release 'These Four Walls' Music Video
UK rockers Furyon have released a brand new music video for the track "These Four Walls", which is taken from their forthcoming sophomore studio album.

The band had this to say about the new song and video, "'These Four Walls' was the first song to be written for the new album. The song represents repression and is an Insight into Ones imprisoned like state.

"The performance video was shot and produced by Video Ink. Furyon want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and see you in 2015."

Furyon will be releasing the new album, entitled "Lost Salvation", in the UK and Europe on January 26th via Dream Records/Cargo Records. A North American release date is still to be announced.