Today's Day In Rock

Metallica Release New EP
Metallica celebrated their 30th birthday last week with a star-studded celebration in San Francisco but they have now given their fans a birthday present with the release of a new EP.
The band's official site had these details: Last week we celebrated our 30th anniversary together with Fan Club members from around the world by playing four nights at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco . . . it was quite the bash each and every night! If you were able to join us at any or all of the parties, thanks for coming out to hang with us. And whether or not you were there, you may have heard that we added some unreleased tracks from the Death Magnetic sessions to the set list – one "new" song each night as part of the shenanigans on stage.

This week, we're releasing those four tracks through iTunes exclusively in North America and on iTunes and additional digital retailers in other parts of the world as the Beyond Magnetic EP. All four studio versions of these songs were sent to Met Club members for free immediately following their live debut on stage at the Fillmore and [they are now] available to everyone via the magic of digital downloading. They are the rough mixes, unfinished to their original degree of mixing from March of 2008, and those of you with very keen senses of sound might recognize bits and pieces from the 'Mission Metallica' videos posted in the summer of 2008. more on this story

X Rated Christmas Song
(hennemusic) Steel Panther are feeling the holiday spirit these days, and they have recorded their own unique version of the 12 Days Of Christmas, which they bill as their X Rated Christmas song.

Steel Panther are currently rocking a UK tour with Def Leppard and Motley Crue in support of their new album, "Balls Out."

On December 16, Panther return to play shows across North America through the remainder of the month and into 2012.

Check out the "X Rated" Xmas Song here.

Suspected Gene Simmons Hacker Busted
(hennemusic) A computer hacker who allegedly attempted to shut down KISS bassist Gene Simmons website last fall has been arrested.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the alleged hacker Kevin Poe, of Manchester, CT, was arrested by FBI agents at the federal courthouse in Hartford.

The FBI alleges that during a five-day period in October 2010, Poe and others linked to the hacking group Anonymous allegedly conducted a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against Simmons' computer systems, sending tens of thousands of electronic requests designed to overload the computer server and render the website useless. more on this story

Duff N' Roses Shows This Weekend
(hennemusic) Duff McKagan is opening two shows for his former group, Guns N' Roses, this weekend. McKagan's band, Loaded, will open for GNR at the Key Arena in Seattle on Friday and at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum on Saturday.

These shows mark the first time that founding GNR bassist McKagan will open for the current version of the group, fronted by Axl Rose, the sole remaining member of the band's classic lineup.

Duff actually joined GNR last fall in London for four songs: "You Could Be Mine," "Nice Boys, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Patience." more on this story

Pearl Jam Announce 2012 Tour Dates
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam are looking ahead to the New Year and have announced dates for their 2012 UK and European tour.

The band will headline three European festivals and six of their own shows between June 20th and July 10th, 2012.

Los Angeles punk rockers X will serve as the support act for all Pearl Jam's own headlining shows. more on this story

Tool 2012 Tour Plans Confirmed
(Audio Ink Radio) Audio Ink Radio dug a little into the recent disappearing Tool tour dates mystery and confirmed the band's plans to rock next year. AIR report: Last week, Ticketmaster posted two mysterious Tool shows for 2012, without a peep from the band.

Fans flocked to check out the Arizona and New Mexico event details, but a few hours after appearing, the dates vanished from Ticketmaster's site, leaving the band's fans heartbroken. But, there is a happy ending to this story.

Today (Dec. 12), the tour dates reappeared on Ticketmaster's site, and just to make sure, Audio Ink Radio has confirmed with Tool's management that, yes, the 2012 dates are correct. Grab the dates here!

Lost David Bowie Footage Discovered
(hennemusic) Some lost David Bowie footage has been found. The BBC reports a retired cameraman has unearthed footage of Bowie performing "Jean Genie" on Top Of The Pops in January of 1973.

John Henshall unveiled the video on Sunday at the annual "Missing Believed Wiped" event held by the British Film Institute, marking the first time it had been seen since originally broadcast almost 40 years ago.

The footage had been "wiped," or erased, by the BBC and presumed lost forever. After the original recording, Henshall asked producers for a personal copy on 2in (5cm) broadcast videotape because he wanted it for his show reel. more on this story

Radiohead Releasing New Music Next Week
(Audio Ink Radio) Radiohead fans should set their alarm clocks to get up early this coming Monday (Dec. 19), as the band have announced they will release two fresh songs that morning: "The Daily Mail" and "Staircase."

As reported by At Ease , the tracks, which were taped during studio sessions for the group's latest album, The King of Limbs, will be available via the music streaming service Deezer starting next Monday. Let the countdown begin.

"The Daily Mail" and "Staircase" aren't completely new to fans' ears, in that both of the unreleased songs were played on the band's From the Basement live session with longstanding producer and collaborator Nigel Godrich. A lot more details here.

Tracii Guns Speaks Out on Dilana Leaving L.A. Guns
(superLOUD) A little over 2 months ago, Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns announced a new lead singer to replace Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate, ex-Ratt), who had recently quit. Tracii's interesting choice of a replacement was the female singer Dilana, most well known as the runner-up contestant from the Rockstar: Supernova T.V. show.

Rumors of Dilana being out of the band started to surface this weekend on the superLOUD message boards. Today, Tracii has addressed these rumors with the following message on our forums:

"I think it's pretty clear why she is gone. It speaks for itself. I don't dislike her or hate her , although she did piss me off to the point where I did tell her I hate her guts and I probably really did at that moment. I also asked her if she wanted to finish out the tour and the reply from here manager was " She wants to do Atlanta and New Years eve" I said its all or nothing, and she said no. I think it's safe to say she quit lol!. Btw her manager is still working with us to get the tour finished out so, it's also safe to say that no one is freaking out except one person. I will say this though, what a bitchen band it was for a few minutes! Smile new year comin, time for a change. "


Queens of the Stone Age Top Secret Album Coming
(Banana 101.5) Not much is known about the current status of Queens of the Stone Age's first new album since 2007′s 'Era Vulgaris,' but there have been a few mentions of the currently in-the-works project. While the band initially said the album would be further in the direction of 'Era Vulgaris,' Homme later told The Guardian that rehearsing the debut album had influenced the writing process:

"Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was kind of bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are back!"

Outside of that there has not been much said of the album that was believed to be out by the end of 2011. According to frequent collaborator Alain Johannes, the band is keeping a pretty tight lid on the "super top secret" album — which he is involved with in at least a production capacity. more on this story

Mumford and Sons Aim For Black Sabbath Meets Nick Drake
(Gibson) Although Mumford and Sons are busy touring the West Coast, the band's primary focus is working on their new album. The record will be the follow-up to 2010's Sigh No More.

"We're trying to stay as not stress-y and hectic as we can to write the best record we can," keyboardist Ben Lovett told Rolling Stone. Bassist Ted Dwane said that the album is almost done.

"[It's] certainly more mature, I'd say," Dwane said. "The second record is just a reflection of our mindsets, where we're all at. It's doom folk, kind of like Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake." more on this story



Sublime with Rome Address Drummer Drama
(Banana 101.5) Saying that Sublime with Rome's recent onstage drama and abrupt announcement of drummer Bud Gaugh's departure sent some mixed signals would be an understatement. After the media ran the news of Gaugh being replaced by Josh Freese — the band released a statement to properly address the situation.

Sublime with Rome were apparently not happy with the picture that the media and the band themselves had painted regarding their current status — so they sent out an official statement to let their fans know exactly what is going on. Not a bad idea considering their recent string of misleading and contradicting statements and actions.

"Hey Everyone – it's definitely been a crazy weekend. There have been some misunderstandings and miscommunication on what exactly is going down with us so we wanted to set the record straight. First off, rest assured that Sublime with Rome is NOT breaking up. Our brother Bud is about to have a baby and, understandingly, taking some time off to be with his family. We couldn't be happier for him and welcome him back out on the road with us as soon as he needs a break from the diapers and baby bottles. We already have some major touring plans for 2012 that we'll be announcing very soon so we've started talking to a few drummer friends." Read the rest of their statement here.

Megadeth Release Guitar App
Megadeth have released the "Dave Mustaine: Guitar Prodigy," an iPad application where Mustaine teaches fans to play hits like Tornado of Souls or Public Enemy No. 1 from the band's new album, TH1RT3EN.

Guitar Prodigy shows you how to play a real guitar just like Mustaine. The app uses his master tracks and listens to the notes you play, giving you instant feedback on your performance.

Mustaine digs into rhythm, technique and theory. It's the next best thing to taking private lessons with Dave. more on this story

Ultra Rare Sex Pistols Up For Grabs
(Gibson) The Sex Pistols' incredibly rare "God Save the Queen" single is up for sale for £10,000 ($15,000).

According to the Daily Express, the single is valuable because the Sex Pistols were dropped by their label, A&M, before it could be released and most copies were destroyed.

The record can be purchased at www.991.com, which describes it as a "mint, unplayed copy... obtained from an ex-industry source with impeccable credentials." The description states, "This is not only one of the rarest records in existence but is certainly the most sought after and no serious record collection is complete without it." more on this story



Rod Stewart Over The Moon About Faces Rock Hall Induction
(hennemusic) Rod Stewart is headed back to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame for a second time and is over the moon about it.

In 1994, Stewart was inducted as a solo artist, and will now re-enter the Hall in 2012 as a member of The Faces, who are being inducted alongside the band's original version, The Small Faces.

Rolling Stone caught up with Rod to get his reaction to the news. "I was absolutely over the moon, as one should be," says Stewart. "I never thought that would happen. I was a little disappointed with Ian McLagan's remarks about how the two bands shouldn't be lumped in together. I think that was a little out of order. I think Mac should think himself lucky that he's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I know that Woody [Ronnie Wood] and I talked about it and we're over the moon. I'm in as a solo artist and now as a group member, and he being a Stone and a Face. I'll knock him into shape when I see him, McLagan. It's great. It's wonderful. Hopefully the band is going to get together. I said that I'd do it if we can get the rest of the band together. I was with Ronnie a couple of weeks ago. He came up to Las Vegas with me and he said, 'I'd love to do it.'" more on this story

Red Hot Chili Peppers Expand Tour Plans
Red Hot Chili Peppers have mapped out even more dates for the North American leg of their I'm With You World tour.

The 2012 arena tour is the band's first full-scale tour of the U.S. since 2007 when they hit the road in support of 2006's Stadium Arcadium.

Red Hot Chili Peppers were also recently announced as 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. more on this story

Guns N' Roses Second Longest Serving Member Talks Axl
(hennemusic) It's hard to believe, but keyboardist Dizzy Reed has spent the most time in Guns N' Roses, besides Axl Rose, that is. As the Journal And Courier points out, Reed has been on board GNR since 1990 – that's 21 years of service.

Dizzy knew Axl before he joined GNR, and the paper asked him what his impression of the singer is after all these years. "We've always got along pretty well," says Reed. "I remember the first time I ever met him: He walked into this studio that they were moving into. My band at the time was moving into the studio next door. I was sort of entertaining this young lady on this mattress on the floor of the studio. There was garbage everywhere because we just moved out. He walked in and saw us and he said, 'I like that dude.' That was the first thing I remember him saying. And I was like 'All right, well ... .' Then I saw them play for the first time and I thought, 'I have to join that band. Those guys are amazing.'"

It wasn't long before the band and band offer was extended to Reed by Rose. "He heard me play and he said, 'You're going to be the guy. When we add a keyboard player, it's going to be you.' That all kind of worked out in a weird way," admits Dizzy. "I'm just happy I'm still here, man, and being able to make music has always been awesome. He's one of a kind, man. Always has been, always will be." more on this story

Celestial Season and The Howling Void Reissues Coming
Metalhit.com have announced Valentine's Day reissues from Celestial Season and The Howling Void. Here is the official word:

Long out-of-print, hard-to-find, and a classic...Metalhit.com will reissue Celestial Season's debut 1993 album, "Forever Scarlet Passion," on Digipak CD, under license from France's Adipocere Records.

Though hailing from The Netherlands, Celestial Season was often considered the perennial "fourth wheel" of the early UK tricycle of doom, ala My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost. Prior to the band's departure into psychedelic stoner doom, "Forever Scarlet Passion," remains a solid work of early 90's doom as the genre began taking its grip on the hearts of metal audiences worldwide. more on this story

After The Burial and Whitechapel Recorruptour
After The Burial will be hitting the road with Whitechapel for the "Recorruptour," which kicks off on March 10th.

The trek will also feature Miss May I and The Plot In You with Structures and Within The Ruins on certain dates.

Justin Lowe (guitars) states: "We're all super happy to announce that we are going to quit drinking for a couple days and write a new album. There is no telling what it is going to sound like, because it is hasn't been recorded yet. However, one thing we can say, is that it will be an After The Burial album because we will be the ones performing on the record, and that is the name of our band. Ok, now seriously! We are really excited to have the opportunity to get back into the studio to complete a new album by early next spring. It will be just in time for us to hit the road with our friends in Whitechapel. more on this story

Singled Out: Jonny Lives! - Parking Lot
Today Jonny Dubowsky from Jonny Lives! tells us about " Parking Lot " from their new album "Revolution For Free". Here is the story:

The most interesting factoid about "Parking Lot", the new single off the album "Revolution For Free" is that the recording uses an unheard of technique of data transfer that is probably a one-of-a-kind technique for how to get a super analog sound when mixing a track.

We recorded "Parking Lot" as part of a two song session at Dangerous Music in NYC. The A room at Dangerous has been home to recordings for The Rolling Stones, Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambatta, Don Was and many other incredible bands. The equipment, A 19th century Steinway , a mint original AKG C12 next to a Neumann U47 fet, ELUX251, KM86s and the latest Royer stereo ribbons, create am environment of pure audio bliss. So it's pretty funny when you end up forgetting to calibrate the right tape speed when you move the session from one Studer tape machine to another for mastering.

It's even funnier when this mistake winds up making the song 1/2 pitch lower and slower then it's supposed to be!

This is what happened during the production of Parking Lot and fortunately for us, it was only after pressing 300 cd's that we figured this out.

We had a really great vibe going on in the studio during the tracking of this song, and I remember finishing a guitar part and walking into the control room to find Jon Weber, who plays drums on this song, with an electric guitar, playing along with the track and auditioning a part for Albert Hammond Jr. who had stopped in to check out the mixes. Jon has a tendency to get what he wants musically and he is also usually right in the end, if ever there's a difference of opinion. He had been lobbying to play guitar on this song and I was pretty against it, as I thought I had all the parts worked out on my own.
While I was tracking my parts he was in the control room playing along and convincing everyone to let him play on the record.

I walked in and saw everyone rocking out to his part and I gave in, proclaiming, "ok Jon, you can record the guitar part". Then everyone started laughing because it turns out that the entire last playback of the song when I thought we were just listening back, they were actually recording Jon already and just left it out of my headphones. It's the guitar part that sounds like Cheap Trick's Rick Nielson, and it comes in after the 2nd chorus and then it really wails over the end.

It was actually Jon Weber who saved this song in many ways. It was ultimately him who discovered that we had mixed the song down with an incorrect sample rate, which wound up slowing down the pitch. We had just received back the 300 cd's that we were planning on selling as singles, and giving away to radio, and we were listening at Jons apartment and he grabbed a guitar to play along with his now epic guitar part and it was out of tune. He had just tuned his guitar, so we were extremely puzzled. Then it hit us! We realized it was a 1/2 step lower then it should be. To fix this, we sped up the tape machine to adjust the track to its correct speed and then bounced the track back to digital for the manufacturing of the C.d. We got to run this mix through the famous Dangerous 2 Bus to add in even more warmth and the ultimate end product was much warmer sounding then it would've been without the mistake. In hindsight it is pretty noticeable with my voice sounding like Al Green on the mistake c.d, and by the way, I still have 300 of those lying around if anyone wants a "collectors item"...

'100 Greatest Living Rock Stars' Spotlighted In New Issue Of REVOLVER Magazine

Dec. 13, 2011

Revolver magazine is celebrating the release of its "Mega 100th Issue" by spotlighting the "100 Greatest Living Rock Stars." From Ozzy to Axl to Lemmy, the issue features those who have rocked the hardest and lived to tell about it. On newsstands now and available online right here, the issue also features Revolver's Top 20 albums of 2011, which crowns KORN's controversial dubstep-infused record, "The Path Of Totality", with top honors.

The "100 Greatest Living Rock Stars" list takes a no-holds-barred look at the rock arena and highlights those artists who embody rock and roll's rebel attitude. Whether it's the well-chronicled debauched exploits OF MÖTLEY CRÜE or newcomer James Durbin bringing metal to pop's biggest forum, "American Idol", these artists have what it takes to stand out from the pack. Included in the feature are rock star tips and tales from Gene Simmons, Chris Cornell, Bret Michaels and Dave Navarro, among others.

"Some would say the era of the rock star is dead," says Revolver editor-in-chief Brandon Geist. "And those are probably the same disbelievers who have told us many times that rock is dead, that metal is dead, that print is dead. And yet, here Revolver is at 100 issues —100 real, tangible, bathroom-ready printed issues — celebrating 100 rock stars who are very much alive and kicking ass. Needlessly to say, reports of all these deaths are greatly exaggerated."

The cover of Revolver's "Mega 100th Issue" features 22 notable rockers partying hard in celebration of the milestone in a special illustration created by famed horror-artist Jason Edmiston. These rock stars include: GUNS N' ROSES' Axl Rose, Ozzy Osbourne, METALLICA's James Hetfield, KISS' Gene Simmons, KORN's Jonathan Davis, Marilyn Manson, Slash, MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M.'s Nikki Sixx, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR's Corey Taylor, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy Kilmister, FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, SLAYER's Kerry King, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's Zakk Wylde, LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows, JANE'S ADDICTION's Dave Navarro, Sebastian Bach, BLACK VEIL BRIDES' Andy Biersack, and FALLING IN REVERSE's Ronnie Radke.

The cover of Revolver was recently named by Billboard to be the #1 place to get maximum exposure as a hard-rock artist; Revolver expands its reign as the leading hard-rock and heavy-metal destination with its 100th issue, which is its first issue ever to be sold at Walmart. Kicking off the relationship, 775 of the retailer's top locations will feature custom Revolver displays in their music sections to make the issue easily accessible for music fans around the country. The celebratory issue is also the first to feature a redesign to both the up-front and back-of-book sections.

Also included in the "Mega 100th Issue" is Revolver's highly anticipated list of the Top 20 albums of 2011. "Album Of The Year" honors go to KORN for their album "The Path Of Totality", which sees the pioneering metal band collaborating with such dubstep producers as Skrillex, Excision, Kill the Noise and Nosia. Other albums making the cut include MACHINE HEAD's "Unto the Locust", MEGADETH's "TH1RT3EN", the FOO FIGHTERS' "Wasting Light" and EVANESCENCE's self-titled release.

In addition, the issue features a commemorative fold-out poster of late, great PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott; a download code for 15 free songs, including tracks by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, HATEBREED, HIGH ON FIRE; articles on BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, GWAR, SKELETONWITCH, CLUTCH, and many others; as well as the "Top 10 Presents to Kick 2012 Up to 11," Revolver's holiday gift guide with the perfect items for the rockers on your list.

Today's Day In Rock

Our office was shut down by a planned power outage. As a result we were unable to put together a Day in Rock report today. Instead we are bringing you the Top 11 Rumors, Feuds and Break Up stories of 2011! Enjoy, we will be back with a full report tomorrow!

Top 11 Rumors of 2011



Velvet Revolver Recording With New Singer
Speculation about who would replace Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver just barely edged out Van Halen to become the No 1 rumor in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is: (hennemusic) Velvet Revolver have been doing some studio work with their potential new singer.

Drummer Matt Sorum posted an update to Twitter on Monday: "Did 4 days with an amazing singer and VR and have 9 killer demo tracks. Going to make the decision one way or another this week."

At least publicly, this sounds like things are further along than the band has been with any of the many singers who have auditioned to join VR. more on this story

New Van Halen Next Week?
Van Halen and rumors. The tightlipped group is easy fodder for keeping fans guessing and while we are used to some less than credible sites running stories based on so-called "insider sources" that often are proven wrong, when a mainstream newspaper runs with a rumor it becomes big news. Such as the case with the No 2 story in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(hennemusic) The Boston Herald reports a rumor generated through distant sources that the first Van Halen single from their new album, "Late Term," is set for release next Tuesday, August 23. The paper admits the rumor is based on somewhat shaky information, so it's too early to tell if there's anything to this but mere speculation.

Since VH themselves never provide comments on things like this, the closest confirmation/denial of anything VH-related seems to be coming through the Van Halen News Desk, who have unofficially taken on the role on VH spokespeople, for some reason.

The VHND quickly shot down the Herald's rumors Thursday, saying: "There is a new, widespread rumor that specifically states the release date and song title of what would be the first single from Van Halen's upcoming album. As with nearly all rumors like this, this rumor is completely FALSE. Stay tuned to VHND.com for news you can trust…" more on this story

Upcoming Slipknot Shows May Be Their Last
The future of Slipknot has remained unclear after the tragic death of Paul Gray, this story where Corey Taylor expressed that uncertainty lands at No 3 in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) Slipknot's Corey Taylor says the band's upcoming festival shows will help him decide if he can continue after the death of bass player Paul Gray.

According to the Daily Express, Taylor is still unsure whether the band can continue. He said: "There's a part of me that's ready and there's a part of me that's not."I have a lot of trepidation about it. I don't know how to feel. I know a lot of the guys in the band are trying not to show that side, and I can't."

While Gray's bass duties will be handled by the band's original bassist, Donnie Steele, Taylor is unsure whether Gray can be replaced. "Without Paul Gray, there would have been no Slipknot, and I mean that sincerely... It's strange for me to think about the future of Slipknot without him.

"This tour coming up is definitely going to be like baby steps... It's going to be a long time before I feel OK about it. I'm not saying that I'm not open to it. I'm just saying that I'm not there yet, and I don't know how long it's going to take me to get there. So we're just going to have to see what happens. Only time will tell." more on this story



Dave Mustaine Hints At Megadeth Retirement
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine scared die hard fans when he danced around the issue of retirement, earning the No 4 spot in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Dave Mustaine is currently working on a new Megadeth album and the band will participate in Big 4 shows across Europe and in the US throughout the year. But he hints the outfit will roll to a halt at some point in the future.

"I've got the dubious honour of managing a band called Baptized in Blood, and my manager and I are managing Testament, which is awesome. We're doing some other things outside the scope of playing music, so once I hang up my guitar I'm still going to be very much involved – and I'm excited about that."

Mustaine also says rumors circulated about him in the press made it more difficult for him to clean up his life. And he regrets the fact that negative headlines were published about him even after he'd stopped saying and doing things which upset others. A lot more on that here

Vinnie Paul Responds To Asinine Pantera Reunion Rumor
Pantera fans did their best to put together a semi reunion as a tribute to Dimebag but when Dime's brother responded to their attempts that became the No 5 story in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock AAA) Vinnie Paul has responded to rumors that Pantera could reform without his brother, late guitarist Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott.

In an interview with Russia's Darkside, the current Hellyeah drummer – who was a founding member of Pantera alongside Dimebag – slammed the suggestions as 'disrespectful.'

He says: "It's ridiculous. Dime was such a huge part of it; it would be just completely asinine to even consider that. I think it's pretty disrespectful from people to even suggest it."

Kings of Leon Tour Canceled For Rehab?
Kings of Leon famously had an on stage meltdown earlier this year leading to the No 6 story in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown when the rumor mill heated up in the aftermath. Here it is:

(RockAAA) The real reason for the cancellation of the Kings of Leon tour is so frontman Caleb Followhill can get help for his out of control drinking, claims US Weekly.

It has been claimed the remainder of their summer tour has been canned so Followhill can rest and recover from 'vocal issues and exhaustion' but US Weekly claims a source close to the band has laid the blame at the door for his boozing.

"They are trying to get Caleb to go to rehab. It is mostly for alcohol," the source says. "[That's why] they ended up cancelling the whole tour… he drinks like a fish."

Ozzy's Kids Fuel Black Sabbath Reunion Rumors
Black Sabbath fans were elated when months of speculation about the original lineup getting back together became a reality. There were numerous reports about the denials, guessing and behind the scenes actions in the Sabbath camp but when Ozzy's kids played coy earlier this year it captured the No 7 spot in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Ozzy Osbourne was notably absent at the premiere of his documentary movie this week, fuelling rumors he's in England working with the original lineup of Black Sabbath.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne was shown in Hollywood at a charity event for MusiCares, and while his son Jack, who filmed and produced the movie, was there, the star of the show wasn't.

Daughter Kelly Osbourne said: "My dad is doing something that is very, very exciting. But I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you. He's just finished a tour but he's doing something very exciting."

Jack said: "I can neither confirm or deny who he is with or where he is."

Dancing With The Motley Crue Star
A Motley Crue star in Dancing With the Stars? It would have happened had Tommy Lee accepted the offer. His response became the No 8 story in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(hennemusic) "I've never hit the PASS button so quick." That was Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee's reaction Tuesday to receiving an offer to appear on the next season of "Dancing With The Stars," the tv dance contest show.

"Ok! Ready for the funniest sh*t ever!!!," tweeted Lee. "Dancing With The Stars just offered me a spot on the show!! I've never hit the PASS button so quick."

So, no high-stepping for Tommy, who will be back on TV soon enough: Lee is developing "Culture Shock with Tommy Lee," an investigative travel show for the SyFy network. more on this story

Ringo Shoots Down McCartney Reunion Rumor
The idea of the two surviving Beatles getting back together is always huge news so when Ringo addressed the latest rumor that easily landed the No 9 spot in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) Despite rumors suggesting that ex-Beatle Ringo Starr may be part of an Olympics 2012 supergroup, the drummer has said he will not be involved at all.

According to the Daily Express, it was multi-gold-medal-winner Steve Redgrave who hinted that there could be a Beatles reunion of sorts with Starr and Paul McCartney and other iconic stars like Mick Jagger and John Lydon teaming up for the opening ceremony in London next summer.

Whatever the musical lineup, they'll have to find a different drummer. Ringo told Sky News: "I'll be touring America so I won't be doing it." more on this story



Mike Starr's Friends Refute Suicide Rumors
The sad death of former Alice in Chains star Mike Starr led to speculation that he commited suicide. When his friends spoke out against that talke that became the no 10 story in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Friends of former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr have refuted the suggestion he killed himself – saying that he was making big plans for the future.

Starr, 44, was found dead on Tuesday after mixing methadone with an anti-anxiety drug, three weeks after having been arrested in possession of prescription pills for which he had no prescription. The mixture can stop the breathing reflex – and that's what's believed to have killed Starr. But his associates insist it was accidental, and he didn't plan to end his life.

Brett Gunn, a bandmate and Starr's sponsor on the Alcoholics Anonymous programme, tells the Salt Lake Tribune: "I don't think it was suicide. We had a lot of plans. more on this story

Axl Rose Addresses Guns N' Roses Rumors
Rumors and Guns N' Roses go hand and hand and when the often quiet Axl Rose speaks in public about anything, let alone rumors, that makes big news. When Axl took to Twitter earlier this year to talk GNR rumors that became the no 11 rumor in our top 11 rumors of 11 countdown. Here it is:

Axl Rose once again took to his Twitlonger account to address the recent rumors swirling around Guns N' Roses and also to announce yet another change in management.

The key issues addressed were the rumored U.S. tour plans as well as the relaunch of "Chinese Democracy." Here is what he had to say:

Contrary to anyone's claims there are no concrete plans nor were there ever for a tour, a relaunch or sponsors (n' certainly not to replace anyone in the band) beyond a collection of random ideas thrown out by various individuals w/out any real foundation or negotiations in place other than our prior involvements (which wouldn't take a rocket scientist to put together). And 4 the record Doc McGhee is no longer involved w/either myself or GN'R.

Axl's post

Top 11 Break Up Stories of 2011

The White Stripes Break Up
Meg and Jack White made waves when they announced they were parting ways and landed as the No 1 story in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

Meg and Jack White had bad news for fans of The White Stripes on Wednesday: they have decided to break up. Here is the what they had to say:

The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011, Their band has officially ended and will make no further new recordings or perform live. more on this story

Disturbed Breaking Up?
Disturbed lived up with their name with fans when speculation began that the band were planning to call it a day and as a result had the No 2 break up report in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) Disturbed singer David Draiman has revealed that the band are preparing to enter an indefinite hiatus. Speaking to KQXR in Boise, Idaho, Draiman said the band were looking at an extended hiatus, and had "some things going on internally …personal things going on."

Later Draiman took to Twitter to elaborate: "We don't know what we're doing yet," he wrote. "All I can say is that we're certainly going away for a long while."

Draiman said the band would not be undertaking its Music as a Weapon tour in 2012, but might consider leasing the brand name out to other bands to use. "It has kind of become its own entity," Draiman explained. "It's something we have talked about in the past, and that's possible. But you're not gonna see a Disturbed tour for a while." more on this story



Judas Priest Star Quits The Band
K.K. Downing shocked fans when he parted with Judas Priest, he explanation for the departure captured the No 3 spot in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

The now former guitarist for Judas Priest, K.K. Downing has once again addressed fans about his decision to leave the legendary heavy metal band.

He writes on his website, "I would just like to say a big thank you for your support and kind words. It is most heart-warming for me to be the recipient of such graciousness and compassion from you all.

"For some of you that would seem to desire some more details as to why I have resigned from the band, I can only say that there is nothing more underlying than I have already put in my initial statement. I would like to reassure you that I am still here for you and I am still the same person with the same feelings and sentiments. more on this story

Staind Not Breaking Up
Staind suffered a lot of turmoil during the recording of the latest album. When the band addressed rumors of their breakup that became No 4 in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Staind have shouted down rumors they're about to break up. The band's future became the subject of fan speculation after drummer Jon Wysocki left in May. More stories circulated after a documentary about the making of their recent self-titled album appeared to show an outfit dissolving in acrimony.

The success of frontman Aaron Lewis' country music side project has provided yet more grist to the rumour mill. But he and guitarist Mike Mushok say Staind have a long future ahead of them – although Lewis will be taking time out to work on his solo projects.

The band are currently touring Europe and Lewis explains what will happen afterwards: "I go back to doing my solo stuff and filming for my hunting TV show. After Thanksgiving Staind goes out for a couple of weeks.

"Then in January and February I finish up my solo stuff then we start our world tour in February. Then we're back for a States tour, then back to Europe, then I'll come back here and do something on the solo side. Then a Staind headlining tour in the States." But where did the signals get crossed?

Steven Adler's Appetite Loses Core Member
Steven Adler's Appetite's lineup looks a little like his former band's with members coming and going constantly but when he lost the other core member of the group, that made headlines and earned the No 5 spot in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is: (superLOUD) There's surprising news developing out of the Adler's Appetite camp today.

Bassist Chip Z'Nuff just announced on Twitter and Facebook that he's out of the band. Here is Chip's Facebook message:

"To Quote the Late Great George Harrison , All things must pass. So I move on with my life, as I'm no longer with Steven Adler's 'Adler's Appetite'. Keep your ears open for new music coming soon! Peace and Love, Chip!" more on this story

Marilyn Manson Loses Longest Running Member
Marilyn Manson has been a little quiet in 2011 perhaps that's why he lost his longest running member this year, landing the No 6 slot in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is: MansonWiki.com sent over word about a major personnel change within the Marilyn Manson band. They report:

Kenneth Wilson, better known as Ginger Fish has announced via Facebook that he is leaving Manson to pursue other opportunities. Ginger was the longest running member of Manson, after replacing Sara Lee Lucas in 1995.

Official statement from Ginger Fish: I am regretful to inform the fans that I have decided to step down as a member of Marilyn Manson, and see where my life , and the knowledge of my availability cares to take me . I can't stand by to watch opportunities pass me by simply because the knowledge of my availability wasn't clearly expressed by me .

http://www.mansonwiki.com/

Silverchair Break Up
90s rockers Silverchair decided to call it as day this year, earning the No 7 spot in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) Silverchair have announced they are calling it quits, at least for the foreseeable future. In a lengthy statement posted on their Facebook page this morning, the veteran Australian three-piece said that "after much soul-searching … [we're] putting Silverchair into 'indefinite hibernation'."

"Back in 2009 we went into the studio to start work on a record," the statement reads. "Initially things were going well and as a result we did some shows in 2010 to maintain creative momentum. However, over the months that followed in the studio it became clear to us that we were moving in different directions. Despite our best efforts over the last year or so, it's become increasingly clear that the spark simply isn't there between the three of us at the moment."

Silverchair, which includes singer/guitarist Daniel Johns, bassist Chris Joannou and drummer Ben Gillies, released their last album, Young Modern, in 2007. In their statement, the band said the parting is amicable, and that they remain friends. "The three of us still truly care about each other," the statement goes on to say. "At the moment Ben's busy in the studio recording his own music, Chris is working on various business, musical and charitable ventures while Daniel is creating a film soundtrack and working on other musical projects. We hope you'll continue to take an interest in our individual work over the years ahead." more on this story



30 Seconds to Mars Send Mix Signals Over Break Up Rumors
When rumors that 30 Seconds to Mars were planning to break up or go on hiatus began the surface the band poured gas on the fire but sending mixed signals to fans which resulted in the No 8 story in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) 30 Seconds to Mars are refusing to take seriously rumors that the band is about to split but won't entirely discount the idea of taking a break.

Speculation has been building over brothers Jared and Shannon Leto's plans for the future after frontman Jared said the band might not record a follow-up to 2009 album This is War, adding: "We're not bound to continue walking down a path unless we're really inspired to do so."

But in an MTV interview they respond to straight questions with sarcastic answers. Shannon says: "We've been touring a long time, man. I mean, look at us – we're broken down. We're tired." more on this story

Phil Collins Explains Retirement Plans
Phil Collins saddened fans when he announced he was stepping away from music this year. His explanation for his decision was the No 9 story in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

Yesterday we told you that NME was reporting that a spokesperson for Phil Collins had denied reports that the star was planning to retire from music. It seems the spokesperson spoke out of turn because now Collins himself has announced his plans to retire and disputed press reports about his reasoning.

The Genesis star tells fans via a message on his official website: Greetings to all, I've decided to write this in response to the articles that surfaced last weekend regarding my retirement. Why they were printed at all is a mystery, as I haven't spoken to anybody in the press for a few months.

However, many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted. Therefore, I would like to add my comments and try to explain again my reasons for calling it a day. more on this story

The Who's Roger Daltrey Talks Retirement
When a legendary rock frontman talks about retiring people take notice as they did with the No 10 story in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) The Who's veteran frontman Roger Daltrey is gearing up for his performance of Tommy for the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at London's Royal Albert Hall next month.

According to Music-news.com, Daltrey doesn't think he'll be performing for much longer: "I've probably got two or three years left to do that kind of music and I want to make the most of it, because again I've been given a gift, use it, use it or lose it, so I'm going to do Tommy at the Albert Hall.

"I'll start painting then. I do a bit of daubing in my spare time, but I know that when I start that seriously it's going to have to be serious, there won't be room for anything else." more on this story



RIP For R.E.M.
News of the break up of the once popular R.E.M. landed in the No 11 spot in our top 11 break-up stories of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Gibson) R.E.M. have decided to "call it a day as a band." After 30 years together, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have had enough. Founding drummer Bill Berry left in the mid-'90s.

In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on ending the band. Mike Mills: "During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next?' Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.

"We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this – there's no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We've made this decision together, amicably and with each other's best interests at heart. The time just feels right." more on this story



Top 11 Feuds of 2011

Glee Creator Calls Slash A Stupid, Uneducated Has-Been
When the creator of the auto-tuned TV show Glee went after Guns N' Roses' Slash for refusing to let the show's Gleekbots butcher their songs, this became the No 1 in our top 11 feuds of 2011 countdown. Here it is:

Appetite for Destruction continues to outsell most new album releases, so will people still be listening to Glee's auto-tuned karaoke in 25 years... or even 5 years? Something to ponder as you read about the ironic attack from the man who gave us this decade's answer to Cop Rock and the Partridge Family. Gibson has the story:

After Slash called Glee "worse than Grease" in Entertainment Weekly, Glee creator Ryan Murphy lashed out at the guitarist via Rolling Stone. "Usually I find that people who make those comments, their careers are over; they're uneducated and quite stupid," Murphy said.

The former Guns N' Roses guitarist previously said that he does not want to see Glee do a GN'R-themed episode or see one of the band's songs sung on the show. "We got asked about that once already but it got turned down," he said. "In the current climate of what's going on in entertainment these days, I try to be more optimistic than negative because it's really easy to get negative about it, but I draw the line at Glee." more on this story



Sammy Hagar Vs Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen feuds are legendary and Sammy Hagar's lashing out at Eddie Van Halen easily captured the No 2 spot in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Sammy Hagar's career with Van Halen started out so well the band nearly changed their name to "Van Hagar" but by the end of his time with them he was desperately trying to wriggle out of his contract.
The singer reveals he tried to quit after 40 shows of their disastrous 2004 reunion tour, during which guitarist Eddie Van Halen regularly turned in substandard performances. And he says the reason he's telling all in his book Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock is to explain to the band's fans why he did what he did.

"Eddie's always made me out to be the bad guy. He's always had the upper hand when it comes to the press, and he could tell the story and frame it the way he wanted," Hagar tells MusicRadar. "I thought the story needs to be told so the fans know why everything's happened the way it has. I didn't like what was going on at the time. I didn't like the way Michael Anthony was treated and the way they tried to treat me. Eddie and Alex Van Halen really made the experience unpleasant.

"After 40 shows I tried to quit – that's how bad it was. But they and their management had me sewn in and I was stuck. It was hell." He's not done.

KISS Off: Shannon Tweed Vs Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed's made for TV argument over marriage captured a lot of attention leading to the "reality" TV wedding landing as No 3 in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(hennemusic) Shannon Tweed completely busted Gene Simmons' family jewels on US national TV Monday morning. The pair's visit to the NBC Today Show was scheduled to promote the upcoming new season of the KISS bassist's alleged reality series.

In a teaser clip from the show, Tweed confronts Simmons about a photo of the rocker posing outside a Hollywood restaurant with two young blondes on his arm. Simmons tries to explain that he had no idea who the women were, prompting Tweed to snap, "I'm sick of hearing it, I'm sick of seeing it, and I'm sick of looking at it... Gene, please don't play me for a fool."

Tweed looks visibly upset throughout the NBC interview while Gene is clearly uncomfortable, even to the point of being speechless, and how many times has anyone seen the fast talker in that shape?

When asked about their 28-year relationship, Tweed responded "the last two were a bitch," adding the relationship "has pretty much unraveled."

"I'm done. We held it together until [the kids] got to college," Shannon said. more on this story

Aerosmith Working On New Album Without Joe Perry
Not really a genuine feud but there was trouble in Aerosmith camp in 2011 so the news of Joe Perry not joining his bandmates in the studio lands at No 4 in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is: (hennemusic) Aerosmith are back in the saddle. Well, most of Aerosmith is: there's still no sign of guitarist Joe Perry.

But longtime Aerosmith collaborator Marti Frederiksen insists the group has been very productive during its first few days of writing for a new album at his studio Monrovia, Calif.

Frederiksen began working on Jan. 22 with frontman Steven Tyler, guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer, with plans to continue through Feb. 2, when Tyler begins his live appearances as an "American Idol" judge. Guitarist Joe Perry was unable to attend the sessions due to an unspecified commitment, according to Frederiksen, but his bandmates were "missing" him. more on this story

Guns N' Roses Beat Up Fan
You can always count on plenty of drama and speculation when it comes to Guns N' Roses and they did not disappoint us in 2011. This tale of the band going after a drunk fans lands at No 5 in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock News Desk) Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba has recounted how he and frontman Axl Rose "literally kicked the sh*t out of" a drunk fan who'd gatecrashed a private party.

The guitarist insists it was "all good" and that the fan in question took the attack in good spirits, later admitting he'd deserved it. "Me and Axl kicked the living sh*t out of this dude," Ashba tells Guitar International. "He snuck into this private aftershow party that was just held for the band and the crew. He was a drunk obnoxious big dude – he walks in and he's telling everyone he's our tour manager. We're like, 'What the f**k?'

"He actually punched one of our tour managers. I saw it, so I grabbed the guy by his throat and slammed him up against the wall and I said, 'You need to leave now,' he continues. "I walked him over to the door, but he turned round and punched me in the face. I just started unloading on him. Axl saw him hit me and flipped, and jumped in." more on this story

Johnny Rotten Vs Green Day
The Godfather of punk, Sex Pistols legend Johnny Rotten went after Green Day for their lack of punk credentials earning the No 6 spot in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Rock AAA) John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) has dubbed Green Day 'coat-hangers' insisting they haven't done enough to earn the punk tag. The former Sex Pistols singer blasted the band in an interview with the LA Times this week although he was more generous with his praise for pop princess Lady Gaga. Speaking to the LA Times he said:

"Many of the punk bands are cop-outs and imitators and have made it easy for the likes of Green Peace – Green Day, who I hate. I really … I can't stand them.

"To me, they're like coat hangers, and haven't earned the right, they haven't earned the wings, to be wearing the mantle of punk. They haven't had to go through the violence, and the hate, and the animosity that us chaps way back when had to put up with.

Corey Taylor Slams Scott Weiland
Slipknot's Corey Taylor was considered for the frontman spot in Velvet Revolver. When he shared his feelings about the man he would have replaced in the group, that captured the No 7 spot in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(Banana 101.5) Corey Taylor continues his pull-no-punches approach to the Q&A portion of his solo shows. At Monday's gig the Slipknot vocalist called Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland "a lazy piece of s—" and ridiculed his recently released Christmas album.

Just a few shows after he verbally assassinated mega-producer Rick Rubin for being "overrated," "overpaid," and "lazy," the outspoken Corey Taylor began disassembling Scott Weiland without even being prompted by the audience. Taylor started talking about commercials and movie remakes and eventually began warning the audience to be cautious of those looking to cash in on their curiosity and give them nothing in return. His first example ended up being the man whose old job (as Velvet Revolver's vocalist) he recently auditioned for: "I'll give you another example. Does anyone know who Scott Weiland is? Do you know that Scott Weiland has a Christmas album now? Oh, it's bad. It's bad. Let me f—ing explain to you how bad it is. There is a video online of him singing, and he's very serious. 'Cause Christmas is serious. His hair is all slicked back and he's in his f—ing s–-ty tuxedo."

Taylor began his lifeless impression of Weiland's take on 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' which ended with him attempting to swallow the microphone mid-lyric. He then further explained his beef with Weiland. Read what that was and check out video of Corey's rant here

Mike Portnoy Vs Dream Theater
Mike Portnoy's very public split with Dream Theater created plenty of headlines this year and this story of his legal wrangling with his former group lands at No 8 in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(hennemusic) Here's some not-so-groovy news: drummer Mike Portnoy sued Dream Theater after he left the group last fall.

Courthouse News Service reports Portnoy, who left the band on his own after failing to convince fellow band members to take a break from the write/record/tour cycle, filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates in April claiming that they "wrongfully excluded" him from the group and continue to "wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with [their] recording of an album without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]."

The suit further alleges that Dream Theater "are wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with the promotion of live performances by the individual defendants, without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]. more on this story

AC/DC Singer Slams Reality TV Talent Shows
A lot of rock veterans have problems with TV talent shows for various reasons, when AC/DC frontman laid out his reasons that became the No 9 story in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(RockAAA) AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has hit out at reality shows which turn wannabes into overnight music stars and claimed the format is chewing up and spitting out young hopefuls.

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph the legendary AC/DC singer insists the only road to glory is the old fashioned graft to the top method. He said: "There's only one way to do it.

"You get on the stage, you learn your trade and you get out and play in front of people. You serve your apprenticeship just like anybody else. The shortcut ways leads to tears at the end of the day. It's all hype. And it's not fair on the kids to make them famous one week and then nobodies the next. It's just not right."


Def Leppard Vs 'Moron'
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott suffered the tragic loss of his father this year, so perhaps that wasn't the best time to criticize the band's choice of songs they play in concert. Joe's response became the No 10 story in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott has lashed out at a fan who criticized their choice of songs on tour while they were trying to get to grips with the death of the singer's father.

Joe Senior, who'd actively supported the band since their earliest days, died last month. But he'd insisted they kept to their touring schedule despite his illness, and Elliott has admitted "I wasn't at the top of my game" during the difficult period.

Now he's called one supporter a "moron" for emailing him to complain about the band's setlist on the shows they did just after his dad passed away. "The guy accused me of being a fraud because on the first four gigs we did after the break we did exactly the same set," Elliott tells Spinner. "I wasn't going to say to the guy, 'Well, you know, my father just passed away – let's just keep it simple for the first week then we can get into the experiments.'" He goes off from there and moron is the tamest word he used

Steven Tyler Slams Simon Cowell
When Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler landed the gig on American Idol fans were split of their reaction. Steven's clarification on what makes him different from the man he replaced became the No 11 story in our Top 11 Feuds of 11 countdown. Here it is:

(hennemusic) Steven Tyler was a guest on Fox & Friends on the Fox News channel, talking about his purpose for being on the show and had a little go at his predecessor.

When asked about his love of country music, Tyler took the opportunity to clearly distance himself from previous judge, Simon Cowell.

"Well, it's not like that other guy who says 'I hate Country.' That's the one thing that turned me off about the show was that Simon passed on this kid and said, 'besides which, I hate Country.' Not my cup of tea. If I'm judging music, you don't judge the genre."

Top 25 Hair Metal Albums Of All Time: The Complete List

Top 20 Hair Metal Albums Of All Time: The Complete List
By LA Weekly

History has not been kind to hair metal. The bulk of the Sunset Strip '80s stalwarts have become resigned to touring out-of-the-way clubs before diminishing crowds. But many of us still have a strong passion for this era. In The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke's titular character and Marissa Tomei's reluctant stripper dance to Ratt's "Round And Round" in a dive bar, drinking beers and agreeing on one thing: The '90s sucked.

Lots of us feel that way. The '80s have come back into fashion because people remember it as a halcyon time. The economy was picking up speed and kids were sowing the seeds of their parents' sexual revolution; in the early part of the decade, anyway, you could hook up without worrying about contacting much worse than crabs. Sure it was heyday of the "me" generation -- epitomized by oversexed pop metalers as much as greedy Wall Street traders -- but it also emphasized self-expression and big dreams.
Hair metal represented both our id and our ego - wild, unfettered, and hell-raising in some ways, but deeply conservative and reactionary in others. It didn't stand for political ideals like the punks, or gender boundary-pushing a la British glam acts like David Bowie. It wasn't artsy like the New York Dolls. Many of the acts comfortably shared the radio dial with both Boy George and REO Speedwagon. Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine maintains that "Glam" is an acronym for "Gay L.A. Music," but though they may have dressed like women, the Sunset Strip bands literally shoved their heterosexuality in your face. They eschewed the politics of punk and the existential despair of thrash because they were focused on winning over the chicks.

Hair metal groups made no bones about their intentions, and probably would have laughed at this sentence. In this spirit, then, West Coast Sound presents the top 20 hair metal albums of all time. -Ben Westhoff


Lita Ford - The Queen of Metal

In the process of putting together our top 20 hair metal albums list -- which we're counting down this week -- we compiled suggestions from writers around the country. We were honored to get input from Klosterman, and you can see his top 25 below. Oh, and check out his most recent novel, The Visible Man, which concerns a character possessing the technology to make himself invisible. Does he use it to visit Lita Ford in her boudoir? There's only one way to find out.


20. Junkyard
Junkyard (1989)
Featuring ex-members of punk groups including Minor Threat and The Big Boys, Junkyard were part of a small contingent of bands who could play both Sunset Strip glam slams and L.A.'s punkier spots. Plenty of other bluesy/punky bands were marketed to the boys-in-makeup scene, but Junkyard actually had the goods. Released on Geffen in '89, Junkyard shone brighter than the rest. Sure, it lacked the compelling severity of Appetite For Destruction, but its looser Southern rock feel made way for the Black Crowes. For what it's worth, "Hollywood" is one of the best odes to the L.A. rocker lifestyle in the '80s ever. -Lina Lecaro



19. White Lion
Pride (1987)
White Lion didn't have much cock in their rock. Instead, on songs like "When The Children Cried," they traded in the quasi-philosophical. ("No more presidents," they reasoned, "and all the wars will end.") They most excelled, however, on fast-and-squealing tales of teenage lust like "Wait" and "Tell Me." The production, helmed by underrated hair metal architecht Michael Wagener, is nearly perfect, as are the earnest heart spills of frontman Mike Tramp and fret-board gymnastics of guitarist Vito Bratta. Like the best hair metal there's nothing metal about it; it's pure, transcendent pop. -Ben Westhoff


18. Dokken
Tooth And Nail (1984)
Formed in 1978 on the streets of L.A., Dokken has at least one thing going for them: they helped create the hair-sprayed look. The official coiffed, spandexed uniform of the times, in fact, came largely from them. They didn't pull it out of thin air, but rather nabbed style cues from The New York Dolls, the manufactured glam of KISS, and S&M black rubber from the streets of England. Adding in the early career prog tendencies of the Scorpions, they put it all together on their second album Tooth and Nail. The slow smoldering guitar whine on ballad "Alone Again" and the hot tease of "Into the Fire" and "Just Got Lucky" helped lay the foundation for many who were yet to come. (No pun intended.) -Nikki Darling



17. Europe
The Final Countdown (1986)
Will things ever be the same again? Sure, The Final Countdown's title track from has become the ultimate hair metal caricature -- damn you, Gob Bluth! But a deeper inspection reveals Europe's 1986 masterwork to be chock full of exuberant, nothing-held-back pop metal anthems. Lousy with hooks, the subjects are that of a 12-year-old boy's fantasy --- ninjas, Indians, space exploration, mysterious beauties, and, um, danger on railroad tracks. This album is lightweight and funny in the same way the wind and the trees and the earth and the stars are lightweight and funny. -Ben Westhoff



16. Whitesnake
Whitesnake (1987)
Whitesnake was formed by singer David Coverdale after leaving Deep Purple, and Whitesnake features the still-a-Hollywood-movie-staple smash "Here I Go Again." The chorus was especially fitting, as Coverdale had just fired his entire band; he recruited Dutch guitarist Adrian Van den Berg to re-record some parts, but former axe-man's John Sykes's work remains on standout "Cryin' in the Rain", in which his guitar does not gently weep -- it wails. The album's muscular riffs, synth-textured power ballads and aggressive vocals are all unapologetically massive. -Linda Leseman



15. Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap soundtrack (1984)
Rob Reiner's brilliant mock-rockumentary sends up longstanding hard-rock obsessions like Druids and getting super-heavy. (Aspiring local hair-metal god Paul Shortino of Rough Cutt even makes a cameo in the film.) Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer seethe with bewildered sexuality on tracks like "Sex Farm," "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight," and "Big Bottom." (You know: "My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo.") Some of the old vets like Aerosmith didn't appreciate the joke, but a new generation embraced Tap as one of their own. Their trick was transcending the parody label, which they did in part by touring as a real band. They even scored an invite to the metal answer to "We Are the World" - famine relief benefit Hear 'n Aid. -Steve Appleford


14. Queensryche
Operation Mindcrime (1988)
A rock opera in the tradition of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," Operation Mindcrime tells the story of Nikki, a heroin addict who -- through his involvement with a cult -- is forced to carry out the missions of one Dr. X. When he wakes up to find his true love murdered, Nikki imagines he is responsible for her death. Sounds and dialogue carry this story though ethereal and violently emotional songs. Highlights "Breaking The Silence," "I Don't Believe In Love" and "Eyes Of A Stranger" make this -- Queensyche's magnum opus -- a masterpiece. -Chris Lane

Metal Sludge editors note: Umm, fail. Queensryche? This should have the been the LA GUNS debut with "Sex Action" leading the leather boys inside the Top 15.


13. Twisted Sister
Stay Hungry (1984)
Stay Hungry has the requisite shout-along anthems ("We're Not Gonna Take It," "I Wanna Rock"), but Twisted Sister had an edge that made them feel more dangerous than other bands featured on this list. Poison and Cinderella, for example, most certainly did not have a "Burn In Hell" in them. Even power ballad "The Price" takes a darker outlook than the slow songs of their contemporaries. All in all, Stay Hungry is satisfyingly bleak. -Jason Roche

12. Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet (1986)
Bon Jovi's third album seems to have sprung from a real-life hit factory. New Jersey's be-coiffed superstars created an album of rousing, stadium-status workouts that is still without peer. "You Give Love A Bad Name" was followed by "Livin' On A Prayer," which is as beloved by teens today as it was 25 years ago. Jon Bon Jovi today cringes when reminded of his hair metal roots, but there's no doubting his prayers sent many to hard rock heaven. -Phillip Mlynar



11. Cinderella
Night Songs (1986)
Cinderella was essentially discovered by Jon Bon Jovi, and the Philadelphia rockers toured in support of his band following Night Songs. While the music on that work bears some stylistic similarities to Bon Jovi, singer and guitarist Tom Kiefer has inarguable chops. At heart, he's a bluesman, evidenced in his guitar work and in his unmistakable sandpaper vocals that approach Janis Joplin territory on songs like the title track and "Nobody's Fool." -Linda Leseman



10. Warrant
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1989)
RIP Jani Lane. Warrant's lead singer, who was found dead in Woodland Hills this summer, didn't have the strongest voice, or, per this quote, the strongest songwriting skills. But he understood the latter-year hair metal zeitgeist better than anyone. Despite its subject (excess) Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich manages to somehow sound hungry. She may be so damn pretty (should be against the law), but, you know, sometimes she also cries. Cherry Pie was self-satisfied, but DRFSR was a quite tight work that holds up. -Ben Westhoff


9. Ratt
Out Of The Cellar (1984)
"Round and Round" is fantastic, and deserves all of the airplay it receives today. There are plenty of other reasons to revisit Ratt's Out Of The Cellar, however, like "Wanted Man," which gives the badass Western tale an '80s rock makeover. Then there's the fact that Juan Croucier's unique bass sound would be replicated by others for the rest of the decade. Finally -- not for nothing, video vixen Tawny Kitaen makes her hair scene video debut on the "Back For More" video, beating Whitesnake by three years. -Jason Roche



8. Def Leppard
Hysteria (1987)
Four long years in the making following the phenomenally successful Pyromania, Hysteria was an act of faith. The band and producer Mutt Lange wanted to kill each other in the studio, and drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident. But the glue held, and the work is a seemingly-endless string of dramatic, note-perfect gems. No one took themselves more seriously than Def Leppard, and god bless them for it; even if "Pour Some Sugar On Me" makes no sense as a heterosexual come-on. -Ben Westhoff


7. Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat (1987)
As vampy and volatile as the Russ Meyers film that inspired their name, Faster Pussycat's self-titled debut captures the sex-charged debauchery of L.A.'s glam scene better than most. For one thing, few rockers were as immersed in it; singer Taime Downe co-created hair metal hub The Cathouse, after all. Downe's sleazy snarl and the group's ballsy, bluesy licks on "Don't Change That Song," "Bathroom Wall" and "Babylon" show them at their blaring best here, referencing the New York Dolls and Aerosmith but with a swagger that was all Hollywood hellion. Sure, they were pretty (guitarist Brent Muscat... swoon!), but this release proved their talents went beyond pouncing and posing. -Lina Lecaro



6. Poison
Look What The Cat Dragged In (1986)
Speaking of feline...Sure, it's hard to get beyond Poison's looks here; with their eye liner, high hair, puckered lips, and even high heels at one point, Poison were the forerunners of cross-dressing in hair metal. But though the band was not initially known for their musicianship, there are real riffs on Look What The Cat Dragged In, courtesy of guitarist C. C. DeVille. As for flagrantly-smutty boasts, it's hard to top Bret Michaels. "I got a girl on the left of me, a girl on the right/ I know damn well, I slept with both last night." Meow! -Phillip Mlynar


5. Motley Crue
Shout At the Devil (1983)
Motley Crue's second record stands as an old fashioned ode to Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and the play-your-records-backwards satanism of the '70s. It's also their hardest album. Though it was initially panned -- Rolling Stone gave it two stars -- it's now seen as the work that defined the band, portraying them as loud, fun absurdists. Of course, one could also argue that they were eerily talented; from the opening chords of "The Beginning" to Mick Mars' slithering shreds throughout, Shout At The Devil established the Crue as the era's band to beat. -Nikki Darling



4. Skid Row
Skid Row (1989)
Skid Row struck a resonant chord with teens on their self-titled debut. Sebastian Bach looked like the kid you would befriend if you weren't scared of him. His "Youth Gone Wild" wail served as a call to arms for misfits, while "18 And Life" trades in some first-rate working class melodrama. We'll gloss over the part about Bach then going on to rock a t-shirt that said "AIDS Kills Fags Dead." -Phillip Mlynar



3. Motley Crue
Too Fast For Love (1981)
The hesher-in-leather crotch shot cover almost belies what's inside Too Fast For Love: wistful Cheap Trick-ish power pop that's less about guitar assaults than potent grooves. The work foreshadowed Motley Crue's mainstream accessibility of later years with its dramatic starts and stops, layers of riffs, and Tommy Lee's thunderous drums. Meanwhile, Vince Neil's vocals more than hold their own -- especially on the mid-tempo cuts -- and Nikki Sixx, who did most of the writing, knew what he was creating here: a little pop metal masterpiece with very big balls. -Lina Lecaro



2. Def Leppard
Pyromania (1983)
Pyromania took Def Leppard from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal into the stratosphere. Uber-producer Mutt Lang was known as an incessant micromanager, but it paid off here, as the songs are flawlessly crafted for maximum pop appeal. Pyromaniagave the band three huge hits -- "Photograph", "Foolin", and "Rock of Ages," pushing the band into freaking diamond platinum status. 10 million copies sold, baby. -Linda Leseman



1. Guns N' Roses
Appetite for Destruction (1987)
This is the sound of sleaze. Though they're rarely lumped in with the hair metal scene, at the time of Appetite for Destruction's release Guns N' Roses were still very much a part of the Sunset Strip scene. Rude, decadent, and doomed to implode, G N' R crafted their debut amid an alcohol-soaked hurricane of wild sex, rage, and dysfunction -- that managed to capture them in all their grit and glory. Witness the terrifying, beautiful chaos of Axl Rose's shriek and the furious guitars of Slash and Izzy Stradlin. The album's furious tracks of metal, funk, punk -- and no fucking ballads -- sounds as great now as ever. Thankfully, this gang of misfits stayed intact just long enough to get it all on tape. -Steve Appleford

Metal Sludge would like to give a shout out to our friends over at LA WEEKLY

Chuck Klosterman's Top 25 Hair Metal
25. Junkyard
Junkyard (1989)

24. The Cult
Electric (1987)

23. Living Colour
Vivid (1988)

22. Ratt
Out Of The Cellar (1984)

21. Ozzy Osbourne
Bark At The Moon (1983)

20. Britny Fox
Britny Fox (1988)

19. Def Leppard
High N' Dry (1981)

18. Tesla
The Great Radio Controversy (1989)

17. David Lee Roth
Eat'Em And Smile (1986)

16. Ace Frehley
Frehley's Comet (1987)

15. KISS
Animalize (1984)

14. Poison
Open Up And Say...Ahh! (1988)

13. Ratt
Ratt (EP) (1983)

12. Warrant
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1988)

11. W.A.S.P.
Live...In The Raw (1987)

10. Skid Row
Skid Row (1989)

9. Cinderella
Long Cold Winter (1988)

8. Motley Crue
Too Fast For Love (1981)

7. Poison
Look What The Cat Dragged In (1986)

6. Def Leppard
Pyromania (1983)

5. Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat (1987)

4. Guns N' Roses
G N' R Lies (1988)

3. Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Invasion(1986)

2. Motley Crue
Shout At The Devil (1983)

1. Guns N' Roses
Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Today's Day In Pop

Today's Full Report

Due to a planned power outage affecting our office, Tuesday's report will be published early and may be shorter than normal. We will be back at the normal time and with a full report on Wednesday.

Nude Lindsay Lohan Photos Leaked
(TMZ) Lindsay Lohan's highly classified Playboy photo shoot leaked to the Internet Friday morning -- one week before the issues was set to hit newsstands -- and TMZ has learned Playboy honchos are "freaking out."

First off -- the pics aren't bad .. it's a Marilyn Monroe thing ... and it works. Playboy sources tell us ... there are fears the leak could significantly damage sales of the magazine ... which is expected to be the best seller of the year.

The shoot was a massive investment for Playboy -- the mag shelled out nearly $1 million to Lohan for the spread and we're told the company has printed thousands of extra copies in anticipation of a sales boom. more on this story

50 Cent's G-Unit Rapper Arrested For Strangling Girl Friend
(TMZ) Rapper 40 Glocc -- once signed to 50 Cent's G-Unit record label -- has been arrested in Vegas after cops say he nearly choked his girlfriend to death THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ, 40 Glocc -- real name Lawrence White -- was arrested on October 3rd ... after he allegedly unleashed a brutal beating on the woman.

Cops say 40 Glocc accused his GF of "playing him" -- so he hit her several times about the head, face, legs and rib area ... and choked her to the point where she "could not speak or breathe."

In the report, the GF claims Glocc strangled her twice more before falling asleep -- at which point, she snuck away and called 911.

When cops arrived, officers noticed bruising and swelling all over her face -- and "significant bruising to her throat, consistent with strangulation injuries."

40 Glocc -- reportedly a member of the Crips -- was arrested as he tried to drive away from the house.

The woman then told police Glocc had been abusing her for more than a year ... once handcuffing her and locking her in the truck of his car -- but she was too afraid to go to police, fearing he would kill her.

Glocc was taken to a nearby jail -- where he was charged with three counts of domestic battery by strangulation and coercion with force.

A rep for 40 Glocc tells us ... the rapper's team is working on his release, and they're hopeful he'll be a free man very soon. more on this story

Katy Perry Spoofs Christina Aguilera
(popmusiclife) Katy Perry had some big fun hosting Saturday Night Live on the weekend. The pop superstar appeared in several sketches, playing mostly light-hearted characters.

Perry did get a chance to imitate some fellow pop stars, including Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine, and Christina Aguilera.

In "The Apocalypse," a taped commercial spoof based on the film, "New Year's Eve," Katy played Aguilera, contemplating the end of the world with NBC weatherman Al Roker (played by Keenan Thompson). Check it out here.

Adele Is Billboard's Top Artist of 2011
(popmusiclife) In a year full of pop hits, Adele tops them all. The UK singer has been named Billboard's Top Artist of 2011.

With singles like "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You," Adele's "21" went on to become the best-selling album of the year, hitting 4.8 million copies sold in the States.

Adele came out ahead of Rihanna (#2), Katy Perry (#3), Lady Gaga (#4) and Lil' Wayne (#5). more on this story

Kirsten Dunst Restrains Stalker
(TMZ) Kirsten Dunst got a protection order today against a 51-year-old French man she claims has flown to the U.S. more than 5 times to see her -- and even confronted Kirsten's mother on her doorstep.

An L.A. County Superior Court Judge granted Kirsten a temporary restraining order against Jean Christophe Prudhon -- who, according to the docs sent dozens of letters to Kirsten, and tried to call Kirsten directly hundreds of times.

According to Kirsten's mom ... one of Prudhon's letters said he "came across the oceans 5 times to try and meet you, always frustrated by fate who took you away each time."

In the docs, Kirsten accuses Prudhon of flat out haunting her -- saying he's admitted sitting in his car outside her home 10 times, and on one occasion walked up to her doorstep and confronted her mother.

The order forces Prudhon to stay at least 100 yards away from Kirsten and her mother. A hearing is scheduled for December 21 to determine if the order should be extended. more on this story

Watch Justin Bieber Perform With Usher and Busta Rhymes
(popmusiclife) Justin Bieber was center stage in Rockefeller Center earlier this month for the annual tree-lighting ceremony.

With "Under The Mistletoe" high on the charts, Bieber performed a few tracks and had some help from his friends.

On "Drummer Boy," Justin was joined by Busta Rhymes, while Usher stepped in to help with "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)." Watch video of both performances here.

Coldplay New Year's Eve TV
(popmusiclife) Americans can ring in the New Year with Coldplay. The band are featured in concert on the first-ever Austin City Limits New Year's Eve special.

The rare 90-minute episode can be seen on PBS stations across the U.S. on Saturday, December 31 at 11pm ET.

The band are plugging their new album, "Mylo Xyloto." MTV described the taping: "It was one of those special nights when a band with a major arsenal finds a way to take its giant energy and squeeze it down into a much smaller space, without losing any of their arena-packing magic." more on this story

Tim McGraw Gives Fans Free Christmas All Over The World
If you missed the free download of Tim McGraw's "Christmas All Over The World" last week, don't worry he is now offering a download of the track directly from his website.

The song, which he recently co-produced with Byron Gallimore at Nashville's Blackbird Studio, is a joyful celebration of the season penned by Daniel Tashian and Troy Verges. The track is being released through McGraw's own label, StyleSonic Records.

"I'm very appreciative of the support my fans have given me over the years, and I wanted to say 'thank you' to them with this new holiday song," said Tim McGraw. "I'm really excited to be recording again and I'll have new music to share early next year."

Fans can get a free download of Tim McGraw's new song, "Christmas All Over The World," and share it here.

Goldfrapp Set New Release
Astralwerks records have set a February 7th, 2012 release date for Goldfrapp's new release The Singles.

The album is a career-spanning overview featuring tracks from their five albums, alongside two brand new songs written especially for this release:

"Yellow Halo" a slow building synth-pop wonder, and the introspective and defiant new wave ballad "Melancholy Sky". more on this story

Jason Aldean, Big & Rich, Toby Keith, And Blake Shelton For Country Thunder
Jason Aldean, Big & Rich, Toby Keith, and Blake Shelton will be the headliners for the 20th Annual Wisconsin Country Thunder Festival.

Webster sent over these details: Headlining Thursday night is multi-platinum duo Big & Rich who's raucous-raising performance will be the perfect way to kick off the 4-day festival extravaganza. Comprised of Kenny Alphin and The Celebrity Apprentice winner John Rich, the duo has garnered multiple GRAMMY, ACM, CMA and CMT Music Award nominations. Their hits include their infectious smash-hit singles, "Fake ID," "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" as well as "Comin' to Your City," "8th of November" and "Lost in this Moment." Joining Big & Rich on Thursday, is hot new All In/Elektra Nashville/ New Revolution country act, THE FARM, whose debut single "Home Sweet Home" is currently building at radio.

Georgia native Jason Aldean will headline Friday night, with Steve Holy and Wade Bowen in the opening slots. Aldean recently earned two CMA Awards, six ACA Awards and three nominations for the upcoming GRAMMYs, and was chosen as a CMT Artists of the Year honoree for the second consecutive year. Also joining Friday's line-up is Aldean's tourmate Luke Bryan, who has performed numerous hits including "All My Friends Say," "Country Man," "Do I," and the chart-topping singles "Rain is a Good Thing," and "Someone Else Calling You Baby." more on this story

Kris Humphries Claims GMA Ambush With Kim Kardashian Questions
(TMZ) Kris Humphries is telling people he felt "ambushed" by "Good Morning America" Friday morning -- claiming he was put under the impression the interview was NOT going to focus on his split from Kim Kardashian ... but "GMA" is calling BS.

Sources close to Kris tell TMZ ... the NBA player claims he knew he would be asked about the divorce during the sit-down ... but he didn't expect to be grilled like a cheeseburger.

During the interview, Kris appears VERY uncomfortable as he's hit with question after question about Kim ... and things got downright awkward when interviewer Josh Elliot asked Kris' mother about the relationship.

We're told Kris is saying ... he only agreed to do the interview to promote his charity work and to support his mother's cooking segment on the show ... and he's "livid" about the way it turned out.

But a rep for ABC tells us no pre-show deal was made to limit the interview ... saying, "There were no ground rules." more on this story

Nicole Scherzinger Break Down After Rachel Crow X Factor Elimination?
(TMZ) Nicole Scherzinger ran off the set of 'X Factor' in tears Thursday night ... when the audience booed her like crazy for eliminating Rachel Crow ... and TMZ has learned she was hysterically crying in her dressing room for nearly a half-hour.

Nicole was charged with casting the final vote between Crow and Marcus Canty ... but didn't want to eliminate either .. so she sent the vote to "Deadlock" -- which meant it all boiled down to the audience vote.

Crow lost ... and broke down in tears ... and when the host of the show asked Nicole to comment, the crowd unleashed a chorus of boos.

Sources connected to the production tell TMZ ... Nicole bolted right for her dressing room ... and was "inconsolable" about the situation.

We're told Crow -- who was a crying mess herself -- heard about Nicole and went to the judge's dressing room ... where the two cried together and Crow told Nicole she was not mad about the decision.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Scherzinger -- as TMZ first reported, she had already been getting death threats and hate mail for voting Drew Ryniewicz off the show last week. more on this story

Robyn Appears on Saturday Night Live
(popmusiclife) Swedish pop star Robyn was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

On an episode hosted by Katy Perry, Robyn performed two tracks: "Call Your Girlfriend" and "Dancing On My Own."

Robyn expressed her thoughts on the experience the day after the show on Twitter, saying, "Thank you @nbcsnl @katyperry @cherrytreerec and @decida And thank you for all the love on twitter. I'm in a daze. Band and I are happy!" Check it out here.

Jersey Shore Mall Fight Leads To Legal Battle
(TMZ) Angelina Pivarnick sued first, but she did not sue last -- the girl who allegedly fought with the former "Jersey Shore" star is now firing back with a lawsuit of her own ... TMZ has learned.

As TMZ first reported, Pivarnick sued a girl named Kelsey Balzafiore over a fight that went down at a Staten Island mall last November. In the suit, Pivarnick claimed she "was wounded, bruised, and injured and sustained severe shock to her nervous system."

But Balzafiore claims it was Pivarnick and her friend, Jeanine Vaiana, that started the fight with Balzafiore and her friend, Victoria Aviles.

Balzafiore claims she tried to intervene when Vaianaa and Aviles came face-to-face, and it was Vaiana who struck her first. Once she fell to the floor, Balzafiore claims Pivarnick struck her. The fight was broken up soon after.

Balzafiore is suing both Pivarnick and her friend for unspecified damages. more on this story

Eric Church Among The Best of 2011
iTunes named Eric Church their 2011 Country Breakthrough Artist of the Year for 2011.

In addition, NPR Music hails CHIEF as one of their Top 50 Albums of the Year noting, "On his third album, Church hits his stride, chronicling wild nights and epic hangovers with just the right amount of critical distance.

The album also landed an impressive spot at No. 19 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 50 Best Albums of 2011 and it sits at No. 9 on Amazon's Best Country Albums of 2011. more on this story

Gucci Mane Strikes Custody Deal
(TMZ) Rapper Gucci Mane is doing good by the woman he knocked up -- agreeing to fork over $2,026 a month to help support his 4-year-old son ... this according to new legal docs.

Gucci -- real name Radric Davis -- stepped up to the plate after establishing he was the father, striking the child support agreement with his baby mama Sheena Evans in Georgia court.

According to the docs, Gucci makes $24,908 a month. It was pretty amicable all around -- both sides also agreed to let Sheena take primary physical custody ... giving Gucci visitation as his schedule permits.

See, it doesn't always have to be difficult. more on this story

Rachael Yamagata Selling Out
(Sub) Rachael Yamagata has sold-out 10 of the dates on her current U.S. tour in support of her third release Chesapeake.

Sold out markets on the tour (so far) include: Northampton (10/28), Boston (10/30), Washington, DC (11/1), Baltimore (11/2), Brooklyn (11/4), Pittsburgh (11/5), Los Angeles (11/29), Hoboken (12/20), and New York (12/21-22).

Yamagata also recently stopped by NPR's Tell Me More while on tour in Washington , DC. Listen to the interview and live performance here.

Singled Out: Laura Warshauer's I Love You Mr. Grinch
Today Laura Warshauer tells us about her original holiday song "I Love You Mr. Grinch," which she is giving away as a Christmas present to fans. Here is the story:

I remember loving the book Tom Sawyer when I was in middle school. One day, we got to watch a movie that was about the characters as if they were all grown up and what had happened to them. Oftentimes, when I read a great book or see a movie that I really like, I find myself so taken with the story and the protagonists, that I'm actually sad when it's over. Writing this song, "I Love You, Mr. Grinch" was my way of continuing the famous Christmas classic that we all know and love, Dr. Seuss' "When the Grinch Stole Christmas". I pretended I was the little girl in the story, Cindy Lou Who, as if I was all grown up and had secretly harbored a crush on Mr. Grinch for years. This was just a fun story to tell, and that's the place I was in as I was writing this song. Not to mention when I wrote the song, I had just made the cross-country move to Los Angeles right around the holidays, and was thrown off by the amazing California weather. I loved it, but I was used to growing up in New Jersey where the wintery weather would set in along with all the holiday lights, window displays and music. This all created the spirit of the holidays for me. So, 3000 miles away, writing "I Love You. Mr. Grinch" helped me get into holiday mode without the cold weather. As soon as the sleigh bells kick in when the song starts, I could easily be in some winter-wonderland.

Today's Day In Rock

Due to a planned power outage affecting our office, Tuesday's report will be published early and may be shorter than normal. We will be back at the normal time and with a full report on Wednesday.


Metallica and Dave Mustaine Reunion Jam
(hennemusic) Metallica invited many special guests to be a part of their 30th Anniversary shows at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco this past week.

Some of the most special included former members of pre- and early-Metallica, including Dave Mustaine, Hugh Tanner, Lloyd Grant and Ron McGovney.

It was all hands on deck for the pre- and original Metallica crew on Saturday, as Mustaine sat in for five songs, while Grant and McGovney played on two, and Tanner joined the team for the night's closer, "Seek & Destroy." Check out video here.

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx Falls On Stage
(hennemusic) Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx took a tumble on stage Thursday night in Nottingham.

Currently touring the UK with Def Leppard and Steel Panther, the Crue's set of classics and hits was unfazed by Sixx' slight fall, which happened during "Shout At The Devil."

Sixx had climbed down off a riser and was walking across the stage towards drummer Tommy Lee's kit when he slipped and wiped out. Nikki tweeted about it after the show: "Slipped and fell onstage. Fun. Smashed blood bass. Fun. Guitar cabinets blown up. Rock n roll. Nottingham. Loud." more on this story

Guns N' Roses Train Wreck For Rock Hall?
(hennemusic) When it comes time for Guns N' Roses to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of fame, former GNR drummer Matt Sorum is hoping for the best, but preparing himself for the worst.

"It's going to be as big of a train wreck as The Sex Pistols, Blondie, or any of those other bands," Sorum tells Australia's The Vine.

"That's my prediction. Or Van Halen, which I don't know if you saw, but we [Velvet Revolver] were involved in that. Train wreck; it was a complete train wreck. But maybe it won't; maybe it will be a miracle; I hope for that and put out the positive vibrations. But it's coming up pretty quickly. That's in March, so we'll see." more on this story

Mick Jones and Paul Simonon Jam Clash Classics
(Gibson) On Thursday night (December 8), Mick Jones partnered with former Clash bandmate Paul Simonon to perform Clash material together for the first time since 1982. As reported by NME.com, the show, staged at the Scala in London, saw the duo perform 12 Clash songs in total.

Musician guests who joined in included singer-songwriter Pete Wylie, Richard Archer of the band Hard-Fi, and members of The Farm. The set included several Clash classics, including "London Calling," "Train in Vain," "Guns of Brixton" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Jones wrapped up the show with a rendition of The Farm's "All Together Now," which he dedicated to the memory of John Lennon.

The event was part of a series of concerts staged throughout England to support the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. The organization was formed in the wake of the 1989 Hillsborough football tragedy, in which 96 people lost their lives. more on this story



More on Clash - Clash Music - Clash CDs, vinyl and rarities
Alice Cooper Documentary Coming
(Gibson) Rock and roll eccentric Alice Cooper will be the subject of a documentary film to be unveiled next summer.

According to Classic Rock magazine, Banger Films, which produced documentaries for Iron Maiden and Rush, is producing the Cooper film that will debut in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Sam Dunn from Banger Films spoke to Spinner.com, saying, "We're in the early stages of telling the story of his career. We're probably going to focus in on his early years up to his comeback in the '80s. We're exploring a different stylist approach with this film. It won't be talking heads; it's going to be more of an archival and animated journey through his career." more on this story



Rare Early Van Halen Photos Surface
(hennemusic) Some rare photos of Van Halen from 1978 have surfaced. The Van Halen News Desk reports they have posted 15 photos of Van Halen making a special in-store appearance at a record store during their first world tour back in 1978.

A promotional flyer on the wall shows an image of Van Halen's only album cover and reads "APPEARING IN STORE FRIDAY 2:30 – 4:00″.

In the pics, the band is seen drinking cans of Schlitz Malt Liquor – their favorite beer at the time. Check some of them out here.

ZZ Top Eye Spring Album Release
(hennemusic) ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons provides an update on their forthcoming album, courtesy of a new interview with Rolling Stone.

"When you add up the days in the studio, it hasn't allowed us much time to do much else than plug straight into an amp and play as a trio," says Billy. "We're still not afraid to experiment when time allows, but these are things that don't normally pop up in a ZZ session. It's just, go in and get it."

"Presently, it would be safe to say that by spring of the year 2012" is when fans can look forward to some new ZZ in their collection, according to Gibbons. more on this story

iTunes Release Free Beatles Yellow Submarine Book App
iTunes Store have released a free exclusive Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' book that lets readers tap their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to immerse themselves in the legendary film's colorful sights and sounds.

The iBookstore's exclusive 'Yellow Submarine' book takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic, music-filled journey with The Beatles to an underwater dreamland featuring animated illustrations and text from the 2004 book, 14 full-color video clips from the original 1968 film, audio clips of classic Beatles hits and Sir George Martin's original score, original dialogue from the film, "read aloud" functionality to follow along as actor Dean Lennox Kelly narrates, as well as interactive features that let you tap the story's wild array of butterflies, starfish and sea monsters to make them come alive.

The vibrantly illustrated book was designed by Fiona Andreanelli using Heinz Edelmann's original artwork from the film, and its story has been adapted by Charlie Gardner from the film's original screenplay, co-written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn and Eric Segal. more on this story

Wayne Static Extends Solo Tour
Wayne Static has extended his solo tour plans which kicks off this month with two additional months of dates.

Static will start the new run of shows beginning January 25, 2012 in Farmington, NM and spanning until February 23rd, 2012 in Reno, NV.

Polkadot Cadaver and Canada's The Agonist will also be performing on all the newly added 2012 shows. more on this story

Soul Coughing's Mike Doughty To Launch Book of Drugs Tour
Soul Coughing's Mike Doughty is releasing his memoir "The Book of Drugs," on February 1st and will be hitting the road in support of it.

"The Book of Drugs" is described as his memoir of his life, career, addiction, and the doomed-from-the-start, eight-year roller coaster ride of his former band, Soul Coughing.

Doughty will tour the eastern U.S. in February, performing music solo, reading from the book, and answering audience questions each night. more on this story

Awolnation Announce Initial 2012 Tour Dates
Awolnation have announced their initial eight North American tour dates for the New Year, with more dates coming soon.

The North American trek kicks off January 5 in Anchorage, Alaska and highlighted by a live performance at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado on January 28.

The band, currently on the road performing at holiday concerts and festivals throughout December, recently wrapped their sold out "Fall Harvest Tour." more on this story

Lindsey Buckingham Postpones Tour Due To Band Injury
Lindsey Buckingham has been forced to postpone his UK tour due to a band member injury.

Lindsey's camp put out the following: 'Lindsey Buckingham unfortunately needs to postpone his upcoming UK shows as his guitarist has severely injured his back and is not able to presently perform.

"All tickets will be honored at the soon to be announced rescheduled dates.' The tour was scheduled to start last Thursday and run until December 16th.

Eric Clapton Bandmate Dick Sims Dies
(Gibson) Dick Sims, a Tulsa-based keyboardist who was a longtime member of Eric Clapton's band, has died. Details regarding Sims' death have yet to be revealed, but tributes are pouring in to his Facebook page. Sims and his self-designed Hammond B-3 first appeared with Clapton on the 1974 album, 461 Ocean Boulevard. He and fellow Clapton backers Carl Radle (bass) and Jamie Oldaker (drums) had previously been members of the Tulsa County Band. Together, they helped pioneer the so-called "Tulsa sound."

"461 Ocean Boulevard was Eric Clapton, but that was [also] the Tulsa County Band," Sims told Tulsa People, in 2010. "They weren't going to name it 'Eric Clapton and Tulsa County,' because Eric was already a solo act. And the bands he'd been in before, they only lasted one album and then they'd break up. And we were with him for nine years."

"It was a great band," Sims added. "I was blessed to get to experience that quality of music." Sims went on to record with J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh, Vince Gill and others. He released a solo album, titled Within Arms Reach, in 2008. more on this story



Steve Perry Reflects On His Journey
(hennemusic) Steve Perry may never reconnect with Journey, but he's beyond thrilled with the work he did during his time in the band.

Perry had a little refresher course in his history with Journey's while helping put together tracks for the band's "Greatest Hits: Volume 2" release this year.

"When I heard these tracks come off vinyl again, I got emotional beyond my wildest expectations," Perry tells the St. Petersburg Times. "I forgot how good they were! The stereo separation. The echoes. The snare drum sounds. Neal [Schon]'s guitar is stupidly amazing, and completely still to this day underrated in my opinion." more on this story

Queen's Roger Taylor Picks Queen Extravaganza Band Members
(hennemusic) After reviewing months of auditions, Queen's Roger Taylor has confirmed the lineup for the Queen Extravaganza touring band.

The lineup of six musicians will tour North America in 2012 backed by a huge production that features all the classic Queen songs.

"The Queen Extravaganza" band line-up consists of singers Jennifer Espinoza (San Antonio, TX) and Marc Martel (Montreal, QC / Nashville,TN), guitarists Tristan Avakian (Toronto, ON) and Brian Gresh (Tulsa, OK), drummer Tyler Warren (Camden, TN) and bassist Francois-Olivier Doyon (Quebec City, QC). more on this story

Dying Fetus Begin Recording New Album
Dying Fetus have entered the studio to record their next full length album, which they will once again be working with longtime producer Steve Wright (Slipknot, Misery Index) at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore, MD.

Set to be released in mid 2012 through Relapse Records, the album will feature nine tracks and is a "return to roots" with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works. An official release date and album title will be announced shortly.

"The last album had some groove in it," stated guitarist and vocalist John Gallagher, "but [it] was basically a lot of tech; this one is a return to form of older Dying Fetus albums, so to speak- more modern production though, of course." "Everything's tight," John adds; "...the sound is crushing, the drums are amazing". more on this story

Drunken Prayer Set New Album Release
Fluff & Gravy Records will release Drunken Prayer's sophomore full-length, Into the Missionfield, on February 7, 2012.

The announcement describes the release as an eleven track collection of dark tales and darker melodies. A journey down a path less traveled, but always more rewarding.

Some may categorize it as alt. country, Americana, folk-rock, or a number of other genres, but, to Drunken Prayer mastermind Morgan Christopher Geer, the songs aren't trying to be anything; they're just his way of letting out a howl formed by life and the history of music. more on this story

Megaton Leviathan Plan New Album
(Earsplit) Megaton Leviathan are set to begin work on their new full-length album, which includes a "smacked-out version of Judas Priest's 'Here Comes The Tears,'" according to the band, will be unleashed during the latter half of 2012.

Further comments vocalist/guitarist Andrew Costa on the direction of the new material: "The new tunes are dark but still retain the trademark Megaton Leviathan hooks and dreamy atmosphere fans have come to expect from us.It's a transmutation of a lot of my personal experiences in Alaska as well as our recent trails and tribulations as a young band. It will be delivered in a way most everyone can identify with."

The band is also working on a split release with LA noise band Actuary. Further details to be unveiled soon. In addition, the eclectic ensemble will kick off the new year with a short string of West Coast headlining dates. more on this story

The Intersphere Release New Video
(Freeman) The Intersphere have released a new video for their new song "Sleeping God" from their forthcoming album.

After playing over 350 live shows all over Europe including major festival appearances at Rock Am Ring and FM4 Frequency, The Intersphere returns with album number three.

"Hold On, Liberty!" will be released in North America on January 31st via Long Branch Records/SPV. Check out the video here.

Sting Playing Christmas Party
(Gibson) Sting has been lined up to play a Christmas office party for a cool £1 million. According to NME.com, the Police man will perform for Czech tycoon Petr Kellner at Prague Castle in Prague.

Meanwhile, the "Roxanne" singer is working on a musical show based on life in his hometown of Newcastle in the 1980s. The musical will be called The Last Ship and Sting is co-writing it.

Sting recently celebrated his 60th birthday with a charity concert in New York where Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder all performed for him.

JUDAS PRIEST Singer Interviewed On San Antonio's X106.7 Radio Station

On October 11, Tom "T-Bone" Scheppke of San Antonio, Texas' classic rock radio station X106.7 conducted an interview with vocalist Rob Halford of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST.





JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the North American leg of its "Epitaph" farewell tour on October 12 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas (with support from THIN LIZZY and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY).

"The Chosen Few", the newly released compilation album from JUDAS PRIEST, sold 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The collection, which came out on October 11 via Legacy/Sony, contains songs that were selected by some of the biggest names of the hard rock/heavy metal world, including KISS' Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Alice Cooper and SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor.

Regarding JUDAS PRIEST's farewell world tour, Rob Halford previously said, "We're pulling out all the stops. We've built a brand new stage set, we've got all the effects that people love us for — the lasers, the fire, the bombs, the smoke, new costumes, and the bike. It's just a full-on metal extravaganza."

As for whether this is really the end of JUDAS PRIEST's touring days, guitarist Glenn Tipton said, "We don't plan on retiring. We've said that this is our last world tour. It takes a chunk out of your life — 18 months. We won't be doing any more world tours as such and in many parts of the world, it will be the last time people will get a chance to see us. But we're not gonna stop. We've got an album in the can now, we will start to write with [new guitarist] Richie [Faulkner], there will be more albums, and who knows?! There might be a string of dates that we can manage to do. We're just not gonna do another major world tour. We've been doing it for 40 years and it's time to let the younger bands have the chance."

Quality video footage of JUDAS PRIEST performing the song "Beyond The Realms Of Death" on December 1, 2011 at Bayfront Park Amphitheater in Miami, Florida can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Rapid Fire
02. Metal Gods
03. Heading Out To The Highway
04. Judas Rising
05. Starbreaker
06. Victim Of Changes
07. Never Satisfied
08. Diamonds & Rust (JOAN BAEZ cover)
09. Prophecy
10. Night Crawler
11. Turbo Lover
12. Beyond The Realms Of Death
13. The Sentinel
14. Blood Red Skies
15. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (FLEETWOOD MAC cover)
16. Breaking The Law
17. Painkiller

Encore:

18. The Hellion (taped intro)
19. Electric Eye
20. Hell Bent For Leather
21. You've Got Another Thing Comin'