Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Metallica Making Progress On New Album
(hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is sharing an update on the progress of the band's first new studio album in seven years. Hammett hosted his second annual Fear FestEvil this weekend in San Jose, California and will return to the studio to continue work on the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic."

"We have a lot of good songs," Hammett tells Billboard. "The songs are ever-changing at this point. Nothing is etched in stone. We still have a lot of material have to sift through, still. We have well over a dozen songs and we still have well over two or three hundred riffs, too, so it's hard to say at what point we actually are in in the project.

"I don't think we hit the middle point yet. I would say we're at the 25 percent point, maybe 30 percent point. It's hard to say, but I mean we are working on it and there are songs and we're making plans to write more songs and record." Read more here.



Jon Bon Jovi Launching Reality TV Show
(Classic Rock) Jon Bon Jovi will return to his hometown for an upcoming reality show in the US. If I Wasn't A Rock Star will follow artists as they go back to where they grew up to see how their lives would be different if they hadn't made it in the music industry.

Bon Jovi, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series, says in a statement, "I was drawn to this project simply because it will be a celebration of the working men and women of this country. They are the real rock stars".

Fellow executive producer Bob Weinstein adds: "The series will offer music fans a chance to see their favorite stars as they've never imagined them before. We can't wait to see what other amazing talent comes on board." Read more here.




Megadeth Call On Fans To Help With New Album
(hennemusic) Megadeth have launched a PledgeMusic campaign for their 15th studio album. Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson recently announced the addition of former Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro to the band, with Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler joining the group in the studio as a guest player.

Megadeth is providing the opportunity to bring fans into the process via PledgeMusic as they work on the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider." "Pre-order the album digitally, on CD or on vinyl plus tons of other unique offerings like signed CDs, signed vinyl, gear from the studio and much more," says the group.

"No matter what you order, you will get access to a variety of behind-the-scenes content such as photos and videos from the writing and recording sessions. You'll get full access to the process in real time." See the campaign promo video here.



Video Of AC/DC Rock Or Bust Tour Kick Off Goes Online
(hennemusic) AC/DC launched their Rock or Bust world tour with a headlining set at the Coachella festival on Friday and half a dozen fan filmed videos from the show have been posted online.

The band performed a 20-song set full of classics alongside three tunes from "Rock Or Bust", including the lead single, "Play Ball", "Baptism By Fire", and the title track.

The event marked the return of guitarist Stevie Young and drummer Chris Slade to the lineup following the retirement of founder Malcolm Young and the dismissal of longtime member Phil Rudd.

AC/DC spent the week before their Coachella debut rehearsing in 6-hour daily sessions for the event, with frontman Brian Johnson revealing he received some advice about performing at the festival from Paul McCartney, who played Coachella in 2009.

"I ran into him downstairs this morning," said Johnson. "He goes, 'Brian, you get on that stage and I'm telling you, you see all these kids looking for the hip-hop acts. Then they see you, and they're like, 'Who's he? Oh, yeah - me dad talks of him.'

"But he said it's great because you're doing your thing, and eventually all the kids go, 'He's cool, this dude!' It kind of takes you right back to the start, when you had to win over an audience. I'm excited." Watch the videos here.




Temple Of The Dog Legal Battle Over Master Tapes
(hennemusic) A legal battle has begun over the master tapes to Seattle supergroup Temple Of The Dog's 1991 self-titled album. The one-off project - which featured members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam - was conceived by Chris Cornell as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone.

The Seattle Times reports A&M Records is suing London Bridge Studios co-founder Rajan Parashar to return the tapes following the 2014 death of his brother and fellow studio co-founder, producer Rick Parashar.

According to the lawsuit, Rick initially produced Temple Of The Dog in 1990 on a verbal agreement with the band before a label contract was signed in 1993, in which A&M alleges Rick agreed to turn over the master tapes and all rights to them for $35,000. Read more here.




Grateful Dead Announce Final 'Fare Thee Well' Concerts
(Classic Rock) The Grateful Dead have announced two more Fare Thee Well farewell shows but insist there will be no more. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir previously announced three Fare Thee Well dates at Chicago's Soldier Field on the weekend of July 3, 4 and 5.

But with the cost of tickets soaring on the secondary market, they've added two concerts at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California on June 27 and 28. The band say in an open letter to fans: "Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello - to each other and to all of you.

"And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California - just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan's Music Store once stood. At Levi's - as at Soldier Field - we will have the pleasure of being joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.

"Ours wasn't just a long, strange trip - it was a VERY long, VERY strange trip. We weren't sure what it was going to be like to put a punctuation mark on the end of it. None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response.

"We have tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honoring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that's hardly comforting when you're sh*t outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too." Read more here.




Stone Sour Preview Their Cover Of Metallica Classic
(Classic Rock) Stone Sour have issued a snippet of their take on Metallica track Creeping Death. It features on their upcoming covers EP Meanwhile In Burbank… which is released on April 18 as a Record Store Day exclusive.

Guitarist Josh Rand says of the project: "The coolest part for me was not only trying to play everything note for note but also trying to match the guitar tone of all these great players."

The EP also features covers of tracks by Alice In Chains, Judas Priest, Kiss and Black Sabbath - although their take on Metal Church's The Dark won't be included on the release. Check out the preview clip here.




Slayer Finish New Album, Already Have Six Songs For Next One
Slayer guitarist Kerry King revealed during an appearance on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" this past weekend that the band already have six songs ready for the album that may following the new studio effort that they just completed.

King tells the show (via Blabbermouth): "What people don't know [is that] beyond [the new SLAYER album], there's six more [songs] towards the next one that are already recorded. So we did a lot."

The guitarist also discussed the song on the new album that was writing by late guitarist Jeff Hanneman and was originally recorded for the band's 2009 album "World Painted Blood."

"When Jeff got injured, I started making up boatloads of stuff, because I didn't know, if Jeff contributed at all, how much he was gonna contribute," he said. "So I just took it upon myself to say, 'Hey, man, if I get too much stuff, good for me.' It turns out Jeff didn't contribute anymore."

He adds: "[Jeff's song] on this record is 'Piano Wire', from the ['World Painted Blood'] recording session. We had [Paul] Bostaph play drums to the existing track. Tom [Araya] re-sang it. So that's Jeff's contribution to this record. And then on the follow-up - assuming there is as a follow-up - we have another one that we don't have lyrics for yet."

He also address the conflicting reports that Hanneman played on the version of the song that will appear on the album. "It's his writing [and] I think the assumption was, [since] it's Jeff's song, [and] we recorded it for the 'World Painted Blood' tracks, [people] assumed Jeff played on it, but as everybody knows, I've done Jeff's rhythm tracks [on Slayer albums] since the '90s. And he has no lead on it, so it's only me."

He had a lot more to say. Read more and watch the full interview here.



Testament's More Than Halfway Done With The Songs For Next Album
Testament's Chuck Billy says in a new interview the veteran thrash group is "more than halfway done with the new songs" for the band's next studio album.

Billy spoke with CrypticRock.com about their current tour with Exodus and other topics. When asked about how the writing process was going for the next album he said:

"We are actually working on the new record so Eric and I have been doing a lot of the work ourselves. This tour will actually be the first tour where we are all together in one place for an extended period of time. This will be a chance to not only talk about the music and mess around with new ideas, I have been thinking that being on the road and playing all the songs from our beginning may allow us to channel those songs toward something new, be inspired, and get ourselves into the right mentality to work together as a unit.

"We are more than halfway done with the new songs, but we keep tweaking it. I think that when we all get together and play it, it will start molding into something workable, maybe even change a bit. Eric really does not write a lot of extra songs; he focuses on exactly what we need to work on for the record and they have to mesh together. We get started and get the work done. I think that is the beauty of our records. They are recognizable as Testament but they do not all sound the same. There is no rehashed material and it is good to keep it fresh with every new record." Read the full interview here.




Former Manager Could Reunite Guns N' Roses?
(Classic Rock) Former Guns N' Roses manager Vicky Hamilton says she might be able patch up the relationship between Axl Rose and original guitarist Slash if she could get them in the same room together.

She was in charge of the band before they signed to Geffen for the release of Appetite For Destruction in 1987 and was instrumental in helping the group establish themselves in Los Angeles in the mid-80s.

In a lengthy feature in the Daily Mail she says, "I sometimes think that if I had Axl and Slash in a room together that I could fix it. There's a difference in how you deal with people when you grow up together with them.

"They know I love them for who they are. I loved them when they were nobody. I didn't have an ulterior motive other than to help them be as good as they can be and I think I was successful in that. I saved them from making major mistakes."

Hamilton's finished writing a book about her relationship with the band titled Appetite For Dysfunction and is now seeking crowdfunding support to have it published. Read more here.




Ronnie James Dio Unseen Book Expanded For Anniversary Reissue
(Classic Rock) A photo book box set celebrating the life of rock icon Ronnie James Dio has been released. Rufus Stone originally published the Ronnie James Dio Photo Biography in 2011, created by his official photographer and friend PG Brunelli.

Now the company have launched an "upgrade" to the first print run titled Ronnie James Dio Unseen to mark the 5th anniversary of his death. The vocalist died on May 16, 2010, from gastric cancer.

The new book contains previously unseen images of the singer and is available in two limited-edition volumes. Version One is aimed at those who already own the previous release. It comes in LP-sized packaging with silver embossed Dio logo, a copy of the new book, a hand-numbered print drawn by tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell and a t-shirt with the same image. There's also space in the box for the 2011 book to slip into. Read more here.




Keith Richards Also Wants Rolling Stones To Make New Album
(Classic Rock) Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says that he's ready to get back in the studio with his bandmates. Last week, frontman Mick Jagger revealed he was keen to start recording fresh material following the band's upcoming 15-date US stadium tour.

Now Richards says he's also thinking about the follow-up to 2005's A Bigger Bang. He tells Rolling Stone: "We're talking about doing some recording after this tour, but there's nothing definite. We just threw out the idea. I'd like to get the boys back in the studio again, yeah. Anything can happen."

The veteran musician recently completed work on a solo album with drummer Steve Jordan, guitarist Waddy Wachtel and Stones' backing singer Bernard Fowler. Read more here.




Previously Unreleased Canned Heat 70s Live Albums To See Light Of Day
(Classic Rock) Three previously unreleased 1970s live albums by Canned Heat are to be issued by Cleopatra Records. The label will release one show from 1971 and two recorded in 1973, starting with Canned Heat With John Lee Hooker - Carnegie Hall 1971, to be issued on April 14.

The second package, Canned Heat - Stockholm 1973, is due on May 12. A third album, Canned Heat - Illinois Blues 1973, will be released on July 7.

The Carnegie Hall set was captured during the band's tour with blues icon John Lee Hooker and will be available on CD and limited edition green vinyl. A Hooker-led version of Tease Me Baby is included as a bonus track and an interview with Canned Heat drummer Adolfo de la Parra also features. Read more including track details here.




Emerson, Lake and Palmer's 'Trilogy' Expanded For Reissue
Emerson, Lake and Palmer have confirmed that they will be releasing a limited edition deluxe 3-disc version of their acclaimed third album "Trilogy" this spring.

According to the band's Facebook page, the new edition will feature "new stereo mixes, a previously unheard version of 'From The Beginning' and a new 5.1 mix courtesy of King Crimson's Jakko Jakszyk."

The first disc of the limited edition set will feature a remastered version of the original album, the second disc will feature alternative mixes and the third disc will be "a surround sound DVD Audio disc produced by Jakko Jakszyk," according to Merch Now.

According to the band's posting, the new deluxe edition will be released in North America on June 30th and on April 27th in Europe. Amazon is taking pre-orders for the import here and MerchNow is taking preorders for the domestic version here.

Here is the product description: "'Trilogy', produced by Greg Lake was ELP's triumphant 3rd album complete with the cover art designed by the legendary Hipgnosis. Typical of ELP, 'Trilogy' covers a broad musical landscape from the ever-impressive display of virtuosity on the often-live highlight Hoedown, the softer delicate composition From The Beginning, and displaying their sense of humour on The Sheriff. Ambitious and often other worldly; If ever there was an album that showed ELP at their fullest and finest, 'Trilogy' was the band's moment of magnificence." See the tracklisting here.




Mark Tremonti Exploring His Metal Roots On Solo Album
(Classic Rock) Mark Tremonti says his solo work's metal edge is something he always wanted to get out of his system. Known for his time with post grunge outfit Creed and later for his work with Alter Bridge, he never got to express his love of speed metal until he launched his solo band's debut album All I Was in 2012.

As he prepares to issue his second solo effort Cauterize, the guitarist tells Loudwire via Anguish Force: "It's something I've always wanted to get out of me. That's what I grew up with, was speed metal. It's just that I got paired with the guys I did in Creed that people didn't really see that."

"It's mostly influenced by a mix of being in the back of mum's car and listening to 70s soft rock and then growing up and being a Slayer fan and Celtic Frost fan.

"I love black metal, speed metal, the San Francisco Bay Area thrash movement. You mix that with 70's soft rock so you've got the melody combined with the thrash, the speed metal a bit of punk here and there - that's what I love." Watch the video here.




Megadeth's New Guitarist Addresses Fans
(hennemusic) New Megadeth lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro is thanking his Brazilian fans and Angra bandmates for their support as he begins his career with the thrash metal veterans.

Loureiro posted a message in Portuguese - an English translation reads as follows: "Hey, everyone!," he says. "I'm here in Nashville, Tennessee, at this beautiful place getting ready to record the 15th Megadeth album and I made this video to thank all of you for the messages and support in this new journey. Especially my bandmates from Angra, who were the first to give me their blessing.

"As a musician, one of my main goals was to take the identity of Brazilian music to the world, so I'm very happy to be part of Megadeth now and share this achievement with you all. Thanks again and stay tuned for updates!" Read more and watch the video here.




Rush Release 12 Months Of Rush Promo Video
(hennemusic) Rush have released an online promo video for their "12 Months Of Rush" campaign, which sees the band reissuing 14 albums with upgraded high-definition audio.

The group are re-releasing material from their years with Mercury Records in chronological order each month throughout 2015; they started in January with 1975's "Fly By Night" and will wrap it up in December with 1989's "A Show Of Hands."

All albums are being reissued on high-quality vinyl with a download card for a Digital Audio version and high resolution Digital Audio releases, while three titles will also be released on Blu-ray Pure Audio.

Rush kicked off the series last year with the release of their self-titled, 1974 debut as part of the band's 40th anniversary. Rush will launch a North American tour on May 8 in Tulsa, OK. Watch the video here.





All Time Low Score Their First UK No. 1
(TeamRock Radio) All Time Low have scored their first-ever UK Number 1 hit - they've topped the album chart with Future Hearts. Their sixth release secured the top spot yesterday by knocking The Prodigy down to number 5, with James Bay, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith in between.

Frontman Alex Garth recently said in an interview with Rock Sound Magazine of the follow-up to 2012's Don't Panic: "It feels like a definite progression. I wouldn't say it's an insane departure or anything like that. We haven't gone completely the other way and tried all kinds of new things.

"We've certainly tried some new things, but I don't think it's necessarily going to alienate anyone or push people away that loved the last record. There's a lot of stuff that's in line with 'Don't Panic', but there's a lot of stuff that's a logical next step from it, too."

Hear Future Hearts in full here.




Videos From Jack White's Coachella Performance Goes Online
(hennemusic) Jack White performed a 20-song set at Coachella on Saturday during the event's opening weekend and video from his performance has been posted online.

The show mixed White Stripes and Raconteurs tunes with solo tracks by the singer as he commanded the main stage to a raucous crowd. White is touring in support of his second solo album, 2014's "Lazaretto."

The singer also recently premiered an inventive and revolutionary new 3-in-1 music video for his latest single, "That Black Bat Licorice." The video offers three original films of differing themes that can be interchanged based on viewers' interaction with their computer keyboard or tablet screen. Read more and see the Coachella videos here.




Videos From Royal Blood's Coachella Performance Goes Online
(hennemusic) UK rockers Royal Blood performed at Coachella on Saturday afternoon during the event's opening weekend and official video from their performance at the event has been posted online.

The duo of vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher are on the road in support of their 2014 self-titled debut album. The band played eight of the album's ten tracks during their Coachella appearance.

"Royal Blood" debuted at No. 1 on the UK album charts upon its release last summer on its way to becoming the fastest-selling British rock debut album in the UK in three years.

The band picked up the Best British Group Award at the BRIT Awards in London in February; the honor was presented to them by fan and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Watch the video here.





Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Reveals Dark Days Cover
(TeamRock Radio) Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe has revealed the final artwork for his upcoming memoir Dark Days. The book, which he admitted he initially struggled to write, details his ordeal in the Czech Republic after being accused and later acquitted of manslaughter following the death of fan Daniel Nosek at a Lamb Of God gig in 2010.

The cover was designed by photographer, director and graphic illustrator Paul R. Brown, who has previously worked with Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx, Marilyn Manson and Corey Taylor.

Blythe says in a statement: "The two photographs incorporated into the design were both taken by me; one is of Pankrác prison- I took this photo when I went back for trial- & the other is a self-portrait.

He adds, "I did NOT want my photo on the cover of the book, as it is not really a typical "rock memoir" & there are more than enough photos of me out there already, but it IS my first book, so I acquiesced to the publisher's request." Read more here.




Singled Out: December In Red's Send Me A Postcard
Today December in Red singer Del McGeachy tells us about the song "Send Me A Postcard" (and the video) which comes from their brand new album "The Way Out". Here is the story:

The song "Send Me A Postcard" was one of the last to be written for our album The Way Out and it's the only one that actually features the album title in its lyrics. It started as something we had on the back burner and weren't intending on including it on the album. While we were doing pre-production demos, we put down all of the tracks as an instrumental that I was going to use for myself when I was working on ideas for the vocals. My part came together quickly and I was ready to put most of it down when I went in to finish my parts for the demos. It's the first song that I wrote my part for and tracked before any of the other guys heard what I wanted to do with it vocally and lyrically. It was fun to bring it to them all tracked and show it off instead of working on my parts to the music as we were writing the rest of the song.

The Way Out applies to all of the songs on the album in different ways. In this one, we are looking for a way out of the path that we are on with where we could be headed as a species. The song is about living in an unsustainable manner in general but was originally intended to be directed to the Earth itself personified as a character that's deciding to be through with us as we are "wearing it down" and "we're all going down with the ship." The lyrics "losing your cool" refers to climate change. I thought it was a clever way to bring it up as if the planet were someone hitting a breaking point and leaving an abusive relationship. Does it sound preachy after I explain it that way? Just a bit, but I said it first.

The video was a great experience for me although the process was a lot more difficult and time consuming than I had anticipated. We shot the whole thing late at night in the few days right after Christmas and it was freezing cold the entire time which made it a lot tougher. I was basically given the go ahead to take on the job of coming up with the storyline, locations, and casting along with help from the crew at Avast Productions. They helped brainstorm and nail down all of the ideas I had to a workable premise. They built a helmet mounted camera for the POV shots. The convenience store is one I go to several times a week as it's right across the street from where I work. They let us come in after they closed on a Saturday night and shoot until 5 am. The scenes inside the house are in Colbey Schnelle (bass player) and his girlfriend Julie's house. The cast of extras include close friends of ours, the kid with the video game who runs into the main character is my 11 year old son Cole, and my sister is also in there. We made sure to include some inside jokes like Colbey with a corn dog, our friend Lenny from The Fail Safe Project putting mustard on a hot dog, and a couple other things throughout the video. Our original bass player's son Brandon plays the main character.

Where we ended up with the storyline was pretty far from what I originally wanted to do because we had to change things on the go mostly due to time constraints. I think most people have to really dig into the video to figure out what they think is happening which kind of sucks but it gives us more freedom to take it somewhere else when it comes time to continue the story in another video, which is something I want to do. Basically, the main character is supposed to be a robot who sets out to observe our society and attempt to blend in. All of the humans around him notice that there is something different about him and react negatively. Another robot, played by Joe Mascerello, who has given up on humans as his system degrades and he gets closer to shutting down follows him through the story and tries to persuade him to abandon his mission. Colbey, Dan, and I played music with Joe for many years and he's one of my best friends so it was very cool to have him involved. He put together everything for his character and made it his own. Every time I explain what's up with the story to someone, it sounds silly because that's what it is and we had a ton of fun with it.