Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


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

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

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



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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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




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

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

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




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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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






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

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

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

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




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

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

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





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

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

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




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

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

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

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





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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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





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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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





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

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

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

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







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

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

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





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

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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