Avenged Sevenfold Member Found Dead

The band released the following statement on their official site: It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time. - read the full Antiquiet report here

Metallica's Ulrich Struggling with Tinnitus

Metallica's Lar Ulrich suffers the ear condition known as tinnitus. Here is part of a CNN report: "I've been playing loud rock music for the better part of 35 years," said Ulrich, 46, drummer for the heavy metal band Metallica. "I never used to play with any kind of protection."

Early in his career, without protection for his ears, the loud noise began to follow Ulrich off-stage. "It's this constant ringing in the ears," Ulrich said. "It never sort of goes away. It never just stops."

Except the ringing is not spurred by actual sound. It is a condition called tinnitus, a perception of sound where there is none. "It's a phantom auditory sensation like phantom limb pain when an arm is cut off, and you feel pain in that missing limb," said Richard Salvi, a leading tinnitus expert and director of the Center For Hearing and Wellness at the University at Buffalo in New York. "Much the same seems to happen when you have tinnitus."
- Read more here including more comments from Lars

Top 9 Rock Feuds of 09

We're taking advantage of the slow news cycle to continue our look back at some of the top stories of 2009. Today we are looking at some of the more memorable feuds of 2009. Check them out below

War of the Guns N' Roses (Top Feuds of 09 - No 1)

Guns N' Roses, both past and present, were the most proliferate feuders of 2009. Here are some of the highlights! In February Axl Rose told Billboard that either he or Slash would have to die before the classic Guns N' Roses lineup would reunite. "In regards to Slash," he said, "I read a desperate fan's message about, 'What if one of us were to die, and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now.' My thoughts are, 'Yeah, and while you're at the show your baby accidentally kicks a candle and burns your house down, killing himself and the rest of your family.'

"Give me a f--king break. What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly, or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man. " more

Shortly afterwards, Axl told Del James: "I suppose (former bass player) Duff (McKagan) could play guitar on something somewhere but there's zero possibility of me having anything to do with Slash," Rose said. "In a nutshell, personally I consider him a cancer and better removed, avoided -- and the less anyone heard of him or his supporters the better." more

Steven Adler took every opportunity during the year to insure that the original lineup will never reunite with comments like: "If I could finish what I started with the GN'R guys, as a band, I know I could die happy. But I'm not gonna wait for him (Axl Rose). I waited and cried for decades, and no more. F**k him!"

And when asked to look back on his GNR days: "Oh, those were great days. It was a great time. It's a shame that Axl [Rose, GN'R singer] put me through all that ... he did. He likes to blame people, like everything's Slash's fault, that's why we're not going to do a reunion. What did Slash do? He didn't do anything." On Chinese Democracy, Adler said ""He should have called it 'WAR.' W-A-R. W. Axl Rose. It only went gold, and that's not Guns N' Roses. They go double platinum in the first week." more.

Adler was asked whether he is still hopeful of a GN'R reunion: "Axl is being a real selfish prick about it," he said. "Forget about the original band for a second. Axl's not thinking about the fans. The fans want a reunion desperately. It's really sad because we are all still alive and I know there's so many people that want to see us. I hope Axl gets it together soon while the fans still want it." more

Duff McKagan and Slash would go back to playing with their former Guns N' Roses bandmate Axl Rose before reteaming with former Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland according a Jam! report. McKagan says, "Some bad s**t happened at the end of the last Velvet Revolver tour. It was brutal... There were late gigs... I just wanted it to be over." more

On the other hand while other Guns N' Rosers were taking the low road, Duff took the high road when speaking with Classic Rock magazine: Classic Rock: What did you think of [the latest Guns N' Roses album] "Chinese Democracy"? McKagan: I was glad to hear Axl's [Rose] voice. I've always been a fan of his voice. He's one of the real ones. I'm in sort of a different position listening to that record, because I'm not listening to it for it to sound like anything I was part of, because I know it's not that. I think Axl sang his ass off. He made the record he wanted to make and I'm happy for him. I thought he did a great job." He goes on to discuss the possibility of the original GNR member reconciling here.

Josh Freese also couldn't be baited into trashing Axl: "Everyone always baits me to give them a crazy Axl story. I don't really have any," he told the online pub. "I spent two years in a studio with him [and] I never saw any mood swings. He was never not cool to me. So, I am always quick to defend the guy, even though I know his reality is different than mine. Then again, everyone has a different reality." more

Motley Crue's Vince Neil has slammed Axl Rose for letting the Guns N' Roses fans down. Guns N' Roses' latest album, "Chinese Democracy", the band's first since 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident", failed to live up to the hype its 10 years in the making generated. more

Song theft? A lawsuit alleges that Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses band members and album producers copied portions of two of Ulrich Schnauss' songs for the song "Riad N' the Bedouins" off of "Chinese Democracy" more.

The GNR camp quickly fired back: "The band vigorously contests these claims and intends to respond accordingly," said manager Irving Azoff. "The band believed when the record came out and still believes that there are no unauthorized samples on the track. The snippets of 'ambient noise' in question were provided by a member of the album's production team who has assured us that these few seconds of sound were obtained legitimately. Artists these days can't read the minds of those they collaborate with and therefore are unfortunately vulnerable to claims like this one. While the band resents the implication that they would ever use another artist's work improperly and are assessing possible counterclaims, they are confident this situation will be satisfactorily resolved." -

Aerosmith Vs Steven Tyler (Top Feuds of 09 - No 2)

Before Steven Tyler checked himself into rehab last week, some of his Aerosmith bandmates were left to wonder publicly what was going on with their troubled frontman. It all started with a canceled summer tour followed by comments that Tyler made to a reporter after a music festival appearance.
In November, Steven Tyler told Classic Rock, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself – Brand Tyler." more

But even before those comments there was trouble in paradise. In September Joe Perry spoke with AP about the canceled tour: "The tour was building up to be a great tour, and I was pretty (upset), you know," Perry said. The guitarist hasn't even spoken to Tyler recently: "I haven't talked to him in over five weeks. I don't know what's going on with him. I hear he's getting better, but I don't know I really don't know what's going on with him. more. A few weeks later he told Billboard: "The thing that bothers me the most is how it affects the fans. The only reason you're there is because of the fans. You owe them a lot, and when you start taking them for granted, it's just wrong. I think that a lot of what happened with Aerosmith over the last two or three years has been a case of that. And I'm not talking about everybody in the band. I think at this point the four band members are willing to not play for a while until the fifth member gets together and decides to come and join us again." more

Then on November 9th Joe Perry dropped the bombshell: He tells the Las Vegas Sun: "Steven quit as far as I can tell. I don't know any more than you do about it. I got off the plane and saw online that Steven said he was leaving. I don't know for how long." more.

The next day Joe Perry said that he and his Aerosmith bandmates were "positively looking for a new singer to work with," following a rift with energetic frontman Steven Tyler.

A couple of days after that Tyler attended the 2009 Glamour Women of the Year awards and when asked if he was leaving the band, he responded, "does it look like I'm leaving Aerosmith?" He then reportedly added, "You know what it is, it's those people who are putting out Joe's [Perry's new solo] album." more.

The next day Perry told AP that he thinks front man Steven Tyler wants to take some time off from the band — even though the two appeared together on a New York stage. "As it stands, Steven wants to take a couple years off and do some of whatever he wants to do and the rest of the band wants to keep working," Perry said in a telephone interview. "The band is a really well-oiled machine and we're going to work one way or another and I don't know what form that's going to take," he added. more

Perry wasn't the only one concerned: "I suspect there's a lot more going on than we know about," Aerosmith's Brad Whitford told Reuters. "He has a well-documented history of drug abuse, and I find myself very suspicious. I haven't seen him do this or ... have any personal knowledge, but the isolation is very typical of addictive behavior, and his -- what I call -- irrational behavior."

Joey Kramer says in a different interview "Steven has made some poor choices as of late, and he's got some bad influences around him, and I think that for the most part he's his own worst enemy ... I just really hope that Steven puts the focus on Steven and gets healthy."

And then right before Thanksgiving: Steven Tyler is taking some time off to write a book while his injured shoulder heals. Guitarist Joe Perry recently claimed Tyler is planning to take a "two-year" hiatus, leaving the band in turmoil. However, a spokesperson for the frontman is adamant Tyler is just taking a quick break while he recovers from a shoulder injury. more

Finally last week, Tyler checked into rehab and expressed his desire to return to Aerosmith: "With the help of my family and team of medical professionals, I am taking responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford." more
-

Van Halen Vs Michael Anthony (Top Feuds of 09 - No 3)

Michael Anthony's falling out with Van Halen continued to be a topic of discussion by both camps during 2009. Here are some of the highlights: In February, Eddie smashed hopes that Anthony would be welcomed back into the group: Eddie Van Halen has told RollingStone.com that his son Wolfgang Van Halen, 17, who spent the last year on the road with his dad's band Van Halen, playing bass, is a "permanent" member of the group. more.

In May Anthony told BW&BK: " When I actually found out that I wasn't going to be part of the last reunion thing with Dave, I heard about it like all the other fans did. Through the press or whatever. The one thing that hurt me more than anything else was that they launched their new website as they announced the tour, and I looked on the website and they had on the side of the screen on their home-page, all the early Van Halen records and on a couple, they actually took my image off the record. On the first record, if you look very close, he put an image of his son on there. And that's the one thing that actually hurt me, that they - whoever it was, because I'm not pointing any fingers, but I think I know who is behind it - would want to erase me from the history of the band." more.

Soon after Eddie told Rolling Stone that Anthony wasn't fired, he quit: RollingStone.com interviewed Eddie Van Halen and when the discussion turned to Chickenfoot, the new group featuring his former bandmates Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar , Van Halen had this to say, "I wish them well. The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It's like, 'No, dude, you quit the band.' So my son became the bass player. But we didn't give Mike the boot to have my son play. He was around. We didn't have a bass player. 'Hey Wolfie, you want to play?'" more

Anthony quickly responded with this: "Why would I have quit Van Halen ? It never happened. And what's weird is, he was being asked about Chickenfoot, whether he had heard us or not, and suddenly he launches into this thing about me quitting the group. What does one thing even have to do with the other?" more.

Then he spoke with Classic Rock revisited about Eddie's comments: " I was kind of forced into a situation like that. I never quit the band. When we did the 2004 reunion, Eddie didn't even want me to be a part of that because he was so torqued up that I was buddies with Sammy. Why can't I be buddies with Sammy and still play with Van Halen? With those guys, it was a cut-and-dried situation. You are in or you are out. You are with us or you are not. He still keeps bringing this stuff up. I talked to Joe Bosso [of MusicRadar.com] yesterday about it, because Rolling Stone was on his back for a response. I wanted the fans to know that I never left the band. For whatever happened, I am not a bitter person about it. I loved Van Halen; I loved everything we did. Hell, I was one of the only two guys who showed up for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. I love the legacy of the band but I am moving on. I am in a great place with Chickenfoot. Ed needs to do that too." more

Speaking of the Hall of Fame: Although both Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 with Van Halen , the band never performed at the induction since Eddie and Alex Van Halen were no-shows at the event. Artisan News Service recently caught up with Hagar and Anthony to get their thoughts on the induction. "You know, it was a pretty bittersweet thing for me," said Anthony "It was uncomfortable. It was one of the greatest nights, you know, one of the biggest accolades a person in the business can have. To be recognized for everything that we've done. I remember turning to Sammy, I think R.E.M. was playing and we were going, 'Man, it should have been us.'" more -

Pearl Jammer Vs Robber (Top Feuds of 09 - No 4)

In May Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament had a run in with a robber. Here are two reports about the incident including a link to video of that attack:

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was the victim of a violent robbery outside Southern Tracks Recording studios in Atlanta, where the band is recording their ninth studio album with producer Brendan O'Brien, according to a Rolling Stone report. The bassist was chased and knocked to the ground, sustaining a head laceration which was treated by EMS.

Surveillance camera footage of Jeff Ament attacked and robbed outside Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta, has been posted over at - Redlasso

Black Sabbath Vs Ozzy (Top Feuds of 09 - No 5)

While Heaven and Hell era Black Sabbath fronted by Ronnie James Dio was riding high on the success of their new grouping, problems with their former frontman Ozzy Osbourne made some news in 2009.

In April Geezer Butler went on the record about the difference between Dio and Ozzy: Heaven & Hell/Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has told Decibel magazine that working with singer Ronnie James Dio is a hell of a lot easier than working with Ozzy Osbourne.

"Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas," the bassist said. "Whereas Ozzy... in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."

Ozzy never took Butler's musical ideas seriously, either. "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks," Butler said. "When we tried to do a Sabbath album in 2001, we all gave each other CDs of our riffs or song ideas. Ozzy didn't even listen to mine. Because I'm not a guitarist, he felt I shouldn't be playing guitar. That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."

Geezer Butler on Heaven & Hell's debut CD, "The Devil You Know": "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track." more.

Then in June Ozzy decided to take legal action over Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne has launched legal action against Tony Iommi, demanding a share of the rights to the Black Sabbath trademark.

Iommi owns the name outright and is entitled to do anything he likes with it. But Osbourne says he's been arguing the point for three years, and believes all four founding members of the band - himself, Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - should co-own the brand.

He says he's been forced to go to court after failing to persuade Iommi to "do the right thing" by any other means - and he's only taking action "with regret". In a statement Osbourne explains: "In the mid-1990s, after constant changes in band members, the brand of Black Sabbath was in the toilet, and Tony, touring under the name Black Sabbath, was reduced to performing in clubs. Since 1997, when Geezer, Bill and myself rejoined the band, Black Sabbath has returned to its former glory. - It did? Read more here

Coldplay Accused of Song Theft (Top Feuds of 09 - No 6)

While this story original broke in December of 2008, much of the drama surrounding it took place during 2009. It all started when Joe Satriani sued Coldplay, accusing them of plagiarizing one of his songs. Satriani's copyright infringement suit claims the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida " incorporates "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly." more

The first response from the Coldplay camp was footage of Chris Martin joking about "Moe Batriani" and insisting Coldplay didn't steal the song. What's interesting is that Martin made the quip long before Satch sued Coldplay. The clip is from the Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music concert that Coldplay taped in October. Watch the video here

A week later: Coldplay's record label, EMI / Parlophone, have forced YouTube to take down the original video that mashes-up Coldplay's Viva La Vida and Joe Satriani's If I Could Fly. more.

In April, Coldplay has denied in federal court that it copied parts of Joe Satriani's music for its hit song, "Viva La Vida ." Attorneys for Coldplay's band members also argued that any similarities between "Viva La Vida" and Satriani's "If I Could Fly" weren't enough to warrant damages. Satriani's song "lacks originality," Coldplay's response claims, and shouldn't receive copyright protection. [ouch thems fighting words! But what does that say about Coldplay's music?]

Then another singer jumped into the fight: Singer-songwriter Cat Stevens agrees that the Coldplay song, "Viva La Vida," sounds like one of his 1973 songs, but he stopped short of saying he would sue for plagiarism. "My son brought it to my attention and said: 'Doesn't that sound like 'Foreigner Suite?'" the musician, now known as Yusuf Islam, told Reuters. "The song definitely sounds like it," he said of his song. "It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is..." more.

Did something good come out of this mess? Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says that being sued for alleged plagiarism has inspired him to become a better songwriter. Martin says that he has tried to turn a negative experience into a positive: "Some people are suing us at the moment and although it was initially a bit depressing, now it's become really inspiring," he said in an interview for Coldplay's official website more

But it all came to an end in September with this news: Guitar hero Joe Satriani and British pop-rock band Coldplay have settled their legal entanglements and the guitarist's lawsuit alleging copyright infringement has been dismissed, Satriani's representative confirmed to Billboard today. - more

Wait! There is more!

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