Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Original Santana Lineup Record 9 New Songs
(TeamRock Radio) The original Santana lineup have recorded nine tracks for their upcoming album, drummer Michael Shrieve has confirmed. The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame sticksman hooked up with the guitar icon again in 2013 to record fresh material along with guitarist Neal Schon, percussionist Mike Carabello and keyboardist Gregg Rolie for the record. It will be their first together since 1972's Santana III.

He tells Hit Channel: "We have recorded nine tracks and we are getting together in April for a couple of weeks and we will be able to finish that up as well. I think that it sounds great. It's beautiful. It's like putting on a pair of old jeans."

The drummer also says late Santana promoter Bill Graham, who died in 1991, was like a family member who pushed the band to success. Read more about that here.




Tom DeLonge Teases Songs Meant For Blink-182?
(Radio.com) Tom DeLonge posted two song clips online which he says have no home. Well, at least he labeled them #songwithoutahome and #March1, which we can only surmise is a release date.

After a listen or two to the fast pop-punk clips, fans began speculating the tunes were meant for Blink-182 as Alt Press points out. When one of his Instagram followers asked if the songs were meant for Blink-182, DeLonge responded with a clapping hands emoji, basically congratulating him on the correct assumption.

The Angels & Airwaves singer parted ways with his Blink-182 bandmates last week in a very public, yet civil back-and-fourth. Despite DeLonge's open letter to fans stating that he never left the band, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker say otherwise.

So, if these two tracks were bound for Blink-182, they are now in fact homeless. Listen to the songs here.



Black Sabbath Secret Revealed By Iommi and Geezer
(Gibson) "Black Sabbath recorded their first album in one day." It's one of those diluted facts that rock trivia buffs like to whip out from time to time, but the truth about the recording sessions for the first Black Sabbath album is even more impressive.

In a new interview with Guitar World magazine, Sabbath's Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler reveal that not only was the band's 1970 debut recorded in a single day (February 13, 1970), it was supposed to take two days and they didn't even use the second day!

"We had two days to do it, but we didn't know any better," Butler says. "We just went in there and recorded it like a live gig." Butler says Sabbath weren't even there for the mixing because they had to scoot off to a gig in their rickety van. Read more here.






Gwar Fans Petition To Make Late Singer Mortal Kombat Character
(TeamRock Radio) Gwar fans have launched an online petition to have late singer Dave Brockie, a.k.a. Oderus Urungus, included as a character on an upcoming Mortal Kombat video game.

The petition originally set out to gain 8000 signatures, but has amassed close to 16,000 already. The latest in the successful Mortal Kombat video game series, Mortal Kombat X, is expected to be released in April. And Gwar fans hope Urungus - aka Dave Brockie - will be included as a playable character alongside favorites Scorpion, Sub Zero and Raiden.

Launched by Boston Brand, the petition targets Mortal Kombat X producers NetherRealm Studios. The petition reads: "People who are familiar with Gwar know Oderus Urungus, the former singer of the band, unfortunately passed away last March. Oderus was as hilarious as he was viscous, and also one of the most colorful and creative characters not only in rock history, but also history in general. Read more here.




Black Sabbath Star and Iron Maiden Manager Take On Scalpers
(Classic Rock) Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood have backed a campaign to change UK laws over secondary ticket sales.

PutFansFirst.co.uk has been organised with the help of the House Of Commons' All Party Parliamentary Group For Ticket Abuse, who believe the industry needs urgent legal support to fight against organised online touts and botnets, who buy tickets before fans have a chance then resell them at massively inflated prices.

After a recent amendment to the Consumer Rights Bill were defeated in an MPs' vote, co-chairman Mike Weatherley MP wants everyone from musicians to fans to become proactive in ensuring lawmakers realise how they feel about secondary ticketing.

Weatherley tells TeamRock: "Our creative industries generate more than £36bn and employ 1.5m people. For success to continue it's necessary to ensure that artists and fans get a fair deal.

"Society has moved on from a few touts outside venues selling tickets at marked-up prices. The new issue is botnets, which buy up tens of thousands of tickets seconds after they've gone on sale, so genuine fans are unable to buy at source prices." Read more here.




Sebastian Bach Denies Michael Sweet Album Claim
(Classic Rock) Sebastian Bach denies a claim by Stryper singer Michael Sweet that he was asked to produce an album by the former Skid Row frontman. Sweet recently revealed that he was asked to help Bach return to a classic Skid Row-era sound by producing an album by the singer.

But Bach insists that was never the case. Responding to a comment by a fan on Twitter, Bach says: Fact: No member of Stryper was ever asked to produce any album by Sebastian Bach. Ever."

Sweet moved to clear up the matter by saying he was approached by Bach's label as opposed to the singer himself. Sweet tweeted: "I was asked by the label to produce @SebastianBach. I never said by Sebastian." Read more here.




Joke Saved Machine Head From Breaking Up
(TeamRock Radio) Machine Head mainman Robb Flynn has recalled how a joke about quitting saved the band from doing just that. Last year he revealed that he, drummer Dave McClain and manager Joey Huston had all threatened to leave at the same time, then laughed about it - but the moment made them realize that bassist Adam Duce had to go.

Now Flynn tells Full Metal Jackie: "We reached this point where we just couldn't take what was going on, and we laughed. All this frustration had been leading up to it for so long.

"We were like, 'What are we doing, man? The three of us have all independently come to this thought and we don't want to lose this thing.' So we made a decision to make a change - and here we are." Read more here.




Slipknot's Clown Inspired By Paul Gray
(TeamRock Radio) Slipknot's Clown says his artistic side was allowed to flourish thanks to the early support of his parents and the band's late bass player Paul Gray. And the percussionist, aka Shawn Crahan, says Gray - who died in 2010 - influences his artwork to this day. Crahan creates Slipknot's album artwork as well as other pieces and says he owes much of his expressiveness to childhood friend Gray, as well as his late parents who encouraged his artistic side.

Clown tells TeamRock Radio's Metal Hammer Magazine Show: "Paul loved my art. He believed in me all the way back then. He saw something in me. When I have my stuff I laugh and I'm like, 'This is some sick sh*t, he'd love this.' He's always on my mind man, he's always there.

"My mom must have recognised something really early because for whatever reason I grew up on fine art books like Rembrandt and Matisse that were written for kids. They were the photos very big, big sentences, very simple. And I have early childhood memories of staring at this stuff. Also Dr Seuss. Those were the two things in my world.

"That's really what started it. I'm positive my mom recognised it but she didn't push it. They always just encouraged me and were there for me. Everybody in my childhood and my life are always pushing that art on me, and it's who I am. It's what I live for." Read more here.




Journey Announce Canadian Summer Tour
(hennemusic) Journey have announced dates for a summer tour across Canada. The month-long, 16-show run starts July 6 in Winnipeg, Manitoba before crossing the country from west to east, wrapping things up in St, John's Newfoundland on August 2.

VIP Packages will be available through VIP Nation, including premium seats, exclusive merchandise and more, starting Tuesday, February 3 at VIPNation.com.

Journey recently announced their first Las Vegas residency, which will see the band perform 9 shows at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino between April 29 and May 16. Read more here.




Slash To Rock Conan This Week
(hennemusic) Slash will perform as the musical guest on TBS' late night talk show Conan on Thursday, February 5th as he continues a world tour in support of his latest album, "World On Fire."

The guitarist was recently honored with the Les Paul Award at the 30th annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards in Anaheim, California.

Slash was joined for a performance at the January 24 event by Richie Sambora, Orianthi and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. You can watch video of the performance here.




Pat Travers Goes Retro For Upcoming Album
(Classic Rock) Canadian guitar icon Pat Travers says he's stripped back his sound on his upcoming album Retro Rocket. It's set for launch on March 17 via Cleopatra and he reveals he took the decision as he wanted to capture the sound of the 70s.

He tells Classic Rock Revisited: "With Retro Rocket all I really did was just strip everything down. I had a '57 Gold Top Les Paul and no effects, and I just played it all one time through. I did a couple of overdubs, but nothing major. I just tried to get that raw kind of feel that bands were doing in the 70s because they had to - there was no other way to record then.

"More and more, I am using less and less of any kinds of effects on guitar. I am even using less guitar picks and I am playing my Fender Telecaster a lot more. I am into finding things on a simple guitar that sound great without having to sex them up to make them sound good."

He continues: "A couple of weeks ago I got thinking about Paul Kossoff and Free. I went on YouTube and called up a bunch of their early live concerts. I think I have as much of a connection with him as I do with Jimi Hendrix - maybe even more so." Read more here.




Todd Rundgren Announces New Album and Tour
Todd Rundgren has announced that he will be releasing his new studio album, entitled 'Global', on April 6th in North America and he will be launching a tour in support of the effort that same week.

'Global', which mixes rock, soul and EDM, will be released internationally on April 6th and Rungren has also announced that a 180g-vinyl edition of the album will be released on April 27th.

Rundgren will be kicking off the first leg of his North American tour on April 10th in Park City, UT at The Egyptian Theatre. He has announced dates through May 23rd in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and will be revealing the dates for the second leg soon. Check out the tour dates here.




The Sword To Begin Recording New Album After March Dates
The Sword has announced a handful of live dates that they will be launching next month leading up to them entering the recording studio to begin tracking the follow-up to their 2012 album "Apocryphon."

The band will be kicking off the live dates on March 11th in New Orleans and have also announced additional shows in Monroe (LA), Memphis and Oklahoma City.

Following the shows, the band is scheduled to enter a recording studio in Austin, Texas on March 16th. The album will be produced by Adrian Quesada and their label Razor & Tie anticipate a late summer release. See the tour dates here.




Steve Howe Releasing Solo Anthology
(Classic Rock) Yes and former Asia guitarist Steve Howe has curated a 33-track compilation entitled simply Anthology, which is to be released on March 10. The 2CD set contains material recorded between 1975 and 2011, and it's launched ahead of a 12-date UK tour.

Rhino Records say: "Anthology maps his musical journey across 36 years, 16 albums and countless genres. It provides an enlightening showcase for Howe's six-string prowess on songs like Pennants, The Collector, Maiden Voyage - one of many featuring his son Dylan on drums - and King's Ransom from his 2011 album Time. The collection also includes covers of two Bob Dylan songs, several cuts from Motif.

"In addition to selections from his studio albums, it also includes tracks from a pair of compilation albums: Sharp On Attack from 1988's Guitar Speak, and flamenco-flavored Mood For A Day, one of Howe's signature songs with Yes. The version included here is taken from the 1993 album Symphonic Music of Yes." Check out the track details here.




Monster Magnet Trying To Distance Themselves From Metal Reputation
(Classic Rock) Monster Magnet frontman Dave Wyndorf has revealed that working on last year's Milking The Stars has convinced the band to keep experimenting with their sound.

The album was an alternative take on their 2013 record Last Patrol. But rather than remixing the original tracks, the band reworked the entire recording in order to give it a psychedelic "weird 60s vibe."

And Wyndorf says the idea behind the project was to distance himself from the group's metal tag - something they'll continue to do. He tells Smells Like Infinite Sadness: "I keep trying to step away from Monster Magnet's reputation that we're a metal band - which is not the case and has never been. I guess me singing it and still playing loud music is still confusing people.

"So I'm like, 'You know something? How about this? Are we still metal guys?' So this is the way it's going to be from now on with me. That experiment just proved to me that I'll just do this stuff on a regular record from now on - even if I can't reproduce it live." Read more here.




Faith No More Star Discusses Comeback Album
(Classic Rock) Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum promises the band won't let their fans down with their reunion record. The follow-up to 1997's Album Of The Year is expected later this year, following the release of a single entitled Superhero next month.

Bottum reports that bassist Billy Gould is nearing completion on the mixing, and that frontman Mike Patton has "done an amazing job" with his contribution.

He adds: "I can only say it sounds like us and it doesn't - in the best possible way. You know what to expect, and we are going to honor that expectation the only way we know how." Read more here.




The Used's Quinnn Allman Taking A Year Off
(TeamRock Radio) The Used guitarist Quinnn Allman is taking a year off from the band, he's announced. The move comes just ahead of the band's UK tour in support of sixth album Imaginary Enemy, launched in 2014.

Co-founder Allman will be replaced by Justin Shekoski of Saosin for 2015. The Used say: "We are saddened to announced that Quinn will be taking a temporary hiatus from the band for the next year.

"Quinn is a vital part of the group and we wish him the best in his upcoming endeavours, and look forward to the day he rejoins us on the road. We are thrilled to share that Justin will be filling in this year." Read more here.



Special Providence Set Release On New Album
(Prog) Hungarian progressive metal/jazz outfit Special Providence will release their fourth album in March, they've announced. Essence Of Change will launch on March 30 via their new label GEP and will be the follow-up to 2012's Soul Alert.

And the band say they decided on the name as 2014 was a year of transition for the group following the departure of keyboardist Zoltan Csery after a 10-year spell.

They say in a statement: "2014 was probably one of the most memorable years in the band's life with all the major changes and new adventures: The band member change, working on the new material, recording the new album and signing to a new label. These changes have taught us and given us a lot.

"We've learned about each other, about relationships, about life itself and above all, to deal with the flow of change which always allows us to be reborn time after time, to be creative, to take on and fight for new things, to change our beliefs and help us evolve. That's why the upcoming album is called Essence Of Change." Read more here.




Seven Year Storm Releasing Debut EP
(Prog) Seven Year Storm will launch their debut EP Aion I later this month, they've confirmed. They've made the track Dyatlov available to stream and download via their Bandcamp page and issued a video teaser for the EP.

The outfit is the brainchild of drummer Sean Lang and the five-track he recorded with guitarist Dean Lamb and bassist Brent Mackenzie will be released on February 24 thanks to an IndieGoGo crowdfunding drive.

The Vancouver-based band also plan to release EP Aion II later in the year and Lang, who is also a drum instructor, reveals he never initially intended to make his material public.

He says: "I am seriously passionate about drums - even more so about music. Over the past few years I have written hundreds of songs without any real plan to do anything with them.

"I played along to a few of these songs on some of my video lessons, and then requests like, 'When is this coming out?' started pouring in. My stock answer was always, 'It's not - it's just music I wrote for fun.' But after years of the same conversation, I finally got the hint."






Genesis Cofounder Anthony Phillips Reissuing Solo Album
(Prog) Genesis founding guitarist Anthony Phillips has announced that he will release the Definitive Edition of his 1997 solo debut, The Geese And The Ghost, on March 9 via Esoteric Recordings.

The three-disc set presents a remastered version of the original record, a second disc of demos and early versions, plus a DVD featuring a 5.1 Surround Sound mix. Unreleased tracks include the unreleased single version of Silver Song from 1973 and the previously unreleased Only Your Love - both with Phillips' former bandmate Phil Collins on vocals.

The project comes on the heels of the five-disc anthology Harvest Of The Heart, which offered a thorough 90-track career overview of Phillips' work and included 10 previously unreleased tunes. Read more here.




Devin Townsend Taking Fan Requests For Royal Albert Hall Show
(Prog) Devin Townsend has asked fans to make their setlist suggestions for his show at London's Royal Albert Hall in April. He wants those who won't be there to make their own choices, because the performance is likely to be released on DVD at a later date.

And he says his band are prepared to play anything at all from his catalogue - except material from his Strapping Young Lad era. The Canadian last year confirmed the Albert Hall show, which has sold out, ahead of three UK tour dates, saying he'd aim to outdo his 2012 Retinal Circus event at the same venue.

Now Townsend says: "I'm here to ask you what you'd like to hear if I was to do a by-request show for the second half of the Royal Albert Hall performance. We're going to do the Dark Matter and Ziltoid set, take a short break, come back and do a by-request." Read more here.



Anathema, Haken, Alcest Added To Ramblin' Man Fair
(Prog) Anathema, Haken, Alcest, Knifeworld, Anna Phoebe and Unto Us have been added to the Prog Stage bill for the inaugural Ramblin' Man Fair. The event - run by The Rock Collective and sponsored by TeamRock - takes place on the weekend of July 25-26 at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent.

Headliners Camel and Marillion plus Dream Theater and Blue Oyster Cult will all play exclusive UK sets at the festival. The Prog Stage also features Ian Anderson playing the best of Jethro Tull, Pendragon, Riverside, The Pineapple Thief and Messenger. More acts are to be announced in due course.

The Ramblin' Man Fair also features Classic Rock and Blues stages, with the Scorpions, Gregg Allman and many others already revealed for the bill. Read more here.





Pearl Jam and Soundgarden Rock Mad Season Tribute
(hennemusic) Members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden performed a tribute to Seattle band Mad Season with the Seattle Symnphony as part of their Sonic Evolution series on January 30 and video from the shows has been posted online.

The show at Benaroya Hall saw Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready play three songs with the Symphony - under the direction of conductor Ludovic Morlot.

Commissioned by the Symphony, the songs included French composer Yann Robin's "Ashes", a piece inspired by Nirvana; "Beyond Much Difference" by Angelique Poteat and inspired by Pearl Jam; and, "Waking The Horizon", a piece conceived by McCready.

The Pearl Jam guitarist and the Symphony were then joined in the second half of the evening by bassist Duff McKagan, drummer Barrett Martin, Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron for a tribute to Mad Season, the 1990s Seattle supergroup made up of members from Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees.

The Sonic Evolution performance also included covers of two songs by Seattle supergroup Temple Of The Dog, "Call Me A Dog" and "Reach Down."

Mad Season released one album, "Above", in 1995 before going on permanent hiatus the following year due to the conflicting schedules of the group's members; Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley later died of a drug overdose in 2002.





Director Warned Kurt Cobain's Mother Before Watching Film
(Classic Rock) The director of the upcoming Kurt Cobain documentary says it features scenes that the Nirvana singer would have been embarrassed to let his mother see.

Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck director Brett Morgen says he warned Kurt's mother Wendy O'Connor about some of the scenes in the film , including Cobain discussing his drug use and intimate footage of him and his wife Courtney Love.

Morgen tells Rolling Stone: "When I showed Wendy the film for the first time, I told her there were things that no mother should see. And it was very difficult and painful for me to show her some of the stuff in the third act of the film.

"I know that she would prefer that not be in the movie, and I don't blame her. Even seeing him having intimate relations with Courtney - I don't think Kurt would have wanted Wendy to see that.

"But we weren't trying to bring him down. We were trying to look him in the eye. I didn't want to humiliate him. I don't think there has ever been, or will ever be, another movie about an icon that's this raw or intimate." Read more here.



Joe Bonamassa Previews Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf Tribute
(Classic Rock) Joe Bonamassa has released an online video preview trailer for his live forthcoming DVD Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks - his tribute to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

It was recorded in Colorado last year when he played in front of the biggest audience of his career to date. He began the show by saying: "They always try to write off the blues - well, we've proven tonight that at least 9,000 people like the blues."

Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks will be released on multiple formats on March 24, with Blu-ray and DVD editions featuring over 90 minutes of bonus features, including behind-the-scenes video, photo gallery and more.

Watch the preview here.




Uli Jon Roth Sometimes Glad Fans Film Gigs
(Classic Rock) Uli Jon Roth says he doesn't allow himself to get annoyed by fans recording his shows on their phones - and adds that sometimes he's glad they do. The guitar icon is on the road in the US ahead of the release of his upcoming double album of reworked Scorpions tracks - Scorpions Revisited, out on March 10 via UDR.

And while he understands that it could be a distraction, he won't insist fans keep their mobile phones in their pockets while he's on stage. Roth tells Rockeyez: "It could be annoying but I don't allow myself to be annoyed. Usually when they are standing in front of the guitar, that is all they hear and it sounds ridiculous.

"Sometimes it's actually welcome because sometimes we're on stage and then I think, 'Wow that was really good.' You play a song and it's a really good improv and I think, 'I wish I had recorded that.' And then I see a guy with a cellphone and I say, 'Oh yeah, someone did record it.'

"Yesterday that was exactly the case. We played in Seattle and we jammed for quite a long time and it was the best we ever did. I was hoping someone was there with a cellphone and recorded it." Read more here.




No Sin Evades His Gaze Release 'Filth' Video
(TeamRock Radio) The tech metal newbies No Sin Evades His Gaze have given TeamRock's Metal Hammer the premiere of their new video for the song Filth, which comes from the band's debut album Age Of Sedation.

Filth is the follow-up single to the title track. Speaking about the video, the band say: "While the Age Of Sedation video had quite a large, epic scope to fit the theme, we wanted Filth to be more fast-paced and somewhat chaotic.

"We had the idea of having the camera actually been pushed and thrown into the following shot to give the visuals quite a fluid and aggressive look. We're all incredibly stoked with the results!" Watch the video here.



Megadeth's David Ellefson Announces Peavey ReValver Artist Bundle
(hennemusic) Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has teamed up with Peavey for the David Ellefson ReValver Artist bundle. In association with Peavey's ReValver 4 amp modeling software, the bundle features the Hangar 18 bass amp and cabinet, modeled after the head and cabinet Ellefson uses for live shows.

Peavey has also leveraged its ground-breaking ACT(Audio Cloning Technology) process to capture instrument models of the bass guitars most associated with Ellefson.

To round out the bundle, Ellefson has personally created a bank of presets that recreate the sought-after signature sounds from throughout his career. "When Peavey approached me about introducing bass amp models to ReValver and developing a signature bundle," says Ellefson, "the thing that excited me the most was the opportunity to model my whole rig from the instrument, to the amp, to the cab."

"While I've always been aware of the depth at which Peavey models amplifiers, I think their ACT technology, which they use to model instruments, is pretty amazing."

"The results I've heard in the modeling process are really exciting. I hope this bundle will help players find their sound like I did. But mostly, I hope it makes them excited about playing." Read more and watch the promo video here.



Singled Out: You Win Again Gravity's Skyline
Today UK progressive/alternative outfit You Win Again Gravity tell us about their new single/video "Skyline" which comes from their latest EP "Let Go Lightly". Here is the story:

'Skyline' is the focus of the new EP, Let Go Lightly, and was the obvious choice for the first single. Amongst the other two tracks on the record, it ties together and concludes the theme of deciding between a life of secure conformity and uncertain creativity, and the arguments that can then ensue inside a person's head. This also ties in with the EP artwork and the video, where we wanted to create a mini-story to support this theme, but also help the song stand out without the need of the other two tracks to help explain it.

The video begins by introducing our main character, standing on bridge, clearly struggling internally with something, and outwardly struggling to create and sell his own music. He's living on the edge of poverty and is very quickly confronted by the dangers that come with that life. The second character enters during the middle section of the song; a confident, arrogant businessman, secure in his career and opinions. He refuses the work that our artist has put forward and from then on acts as a point of frustration, appearing obnoxious in his successful position and contrasting with the main character. This drives the artist into a rage and appears to give him the impetus he needs to send him back to the bridge we saw him at to begin with, where instead of meeting his own end, he finds someone familiar already there with similar intentions...

The idea behind this is that you can never tell much about someone from how they look, and that in our experience, it's not always the people that seem obviously downtrodden that are actually miserable. People are complex, and so on a simple level this purely reinforces the whole 'book/cover' motto, although it does also show that at least some of the best artists can face the most difficulty being recognised.