Kills Frontwoman Denies Jack White Fist Fight (Top 9 Rumors of 09 - No 5)

According to Mosshart, she and The White Stripes man, with whom she's collaborating in the new band The Dead Weather, did no such thing. "I don't usually bother responding to ridiculous fabricated tabloid rumours, but this one is particularly grotesque," she said.
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Rolling Stones Deny Split (Top 9 Rumors of 09 - No 6)

Regular reader may notice that we do not put much faith in "unnamed sources" This rumor about the Rolling Stones is a case in point of why that is: An unnamed source has struck again! Music Radar has the rundown: Charlie Watts Quits The Rolling Stones. That was the shocking headline on the Australian music website Undercover.com.

News of which sent chills throughout the music community. Coming on the heels of Noel Gallagher's decesion to split Oasis, the thought that Charlie Watts would leave the Stones just shy of their 50th anniversary seemed almost too much to bear.

And as it turns out, it isn't. MusicRadar contacted the office of The Rolling Stones' spokesperson, Fran Curtis, who issued the following statement: "Contrary to a fabricated story that ran this morning, Charlie Watts has not left The Rolling Stones.''
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Metallica's Ulrich to Join Deep Purple? (Top 9 Rumors of 09 - No 7)

We could have probably filled this Top 9 list with rumors centered on Metallica (we almost did). In January there was this rumor that Lars Ulrich may be joining Deep Purple:

Nightwatcher reports: Drummer Lars Ulrich is looking to take a break from Metallica to tour with members of UK rock legends Deep Purple. Ulrich has offered to join David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord if the trio reteams for a world tour, as they've intimated in the media. more

Shortly after that rumor surfaced Blabbermouth posted this response: Former Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord has commented on rumors of a possible reunion of the Deep Purple Mk III lineup featuring a special guest appearance by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.

Writing on his official web site, JonLord.org, Jon Lord commented on the report by saying, "It all seems like a lot of hot air and wild speculation to me. I like Lars and what he has achieved with Metallica. He's obviously always been very complimentary in his comments about Deep Purple, and I love the story of his famous nine-years-old 'baptism of fire' at our '73 concert in The KB Halle in Copenhagen, but if I was asked to be involved in a 'Mark III' reunion — (which, by the way, I haven't. All I ever said was that the idea had a few good points and a few not-so-good points.) — and I indeed considered that offer, I would not be able to even imagine it without the presence of Ian Paice" - more on this story

Soundgarden Reunion On Tap? (Top 9 Rumors of 09 - No 8)

Reunions are also ripe for new rumors. There were some rumblings this year about Soundgarden reuniting and it prompted some interesting responses from Chris Cornell. Here is how it all went down: exclaim.ca reports: Legendary grungers Soundgarden mostly reunited for a one-off show at Seattle's Crocodile Café. Three-quarters of the band were there, minus their leader Chris Cornell.

But now there's real reason to get your flannels in a knot: the rumor mill continues to spin that Cornell will be joining his buds for a full-on reunion.
In a recent interview with Kerrang! [via TwentyFourBit], Brent Smith of the band Shinedown dropped hints that he's heard the news, saying, "There's talk of a reuniting of Soundgarden in the States soon. I know actually someone specific who told me that, who is actually specifically in their organization. Kinda told me that they're talking about it." more

Chris Cornell told Rolling Stone that Soundgarden have been talking — not about touring or recording, but about the band's legacy. "The only thing that we have talked about is trying to put together an album of B sides and maybe a box set with some unreleased tracks we have," Cornell says. more

That's fair enough but Cornell then took it one step further: Gibson.com has a new interview with Chris Cornell, here is part of the intro and an excerpt where he discusses his aversion to reuniting with Soundgarden. Here you go: we finally got him on the phone, pulled out our extensive list of queries and got maybe three in before he went on a monologue that lasted nearly 30-minutes, at which point his publicist jumped on the line and said it was time for his next interview. What can we say, the guy is a pro.

Fortunately, Cornell touched on all the things we were dying to ask him about anyway, such as the miracle of Twitter, the backlash against the new album and the general horrors of touring. Sadly, he didn't offer any advice for our ongoing battle with frizzy hair.

Why playing Soundgarden's rocket-fueled metal on the reunion circuit doesn't appeal to him: "That, to me, is similar to playing the back of Chinese restaurant. My heart needs to feel good while I'm playing a song. In order to play old songs from my history, I need to be able to also play songs from the present and songs that will literally turn into the future in a moment's notice. That does work for me." - He goes on to explain why his much hated hip-pop solo album was a good idea - here

The Big Four of Thrash: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax Tour (Top 9 Rumors of 09 - No 9)

In September the rumor started that the big four of Thrash, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, may team up for a tour. The rumor took on a life of it's own with members from the bands commenting on it, some semi confirmations, a denial and finally news that all four bands would indeed share the same stage. Here is the progression of stories:

Slayer guitarist Kerry King has told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine that he has heard through the grapevine that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is plotting a tour that would include Metallica, Megadeth , Slayer and Anthrax. more

Then Blabbermouth) Megadeth's Dave Mustaine was asked during an interview about the rumored "Big Four" tour that would feature Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. Dave being Dave, he had A LOT to say about the rumor: "I don't know... I think anything is possible. But the whole beauty of what we did with the 'Clash Of The Titans' [U.S. tour in 1991] was the three of us [Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax], we really had a common thread that ran through all of us and we were very close in a lot of different areas. Of course, Metallica's success really put them in a kind of unapproachable position where they were just so high in stature, we kind of were all left behind, if you know what I mean. But not saying that in a bad way, because I'm totally satiated with my success right now; I'm very happy with what I've done in my life. Going into what the 'Clash Of The Titans' was, we all had this mutual respect, and we all rotated. And the lineup was always the same — Anthrax played before Megadeth, and Megadeth always played before Slayer. So whoever was headlining, the rotation swapped. Like, if Slayer was headlining, it would be Anthrax, me, then Slayer. If I was headlining, Slayer would open, then Anthrax, then me. Now, I don't know that, because of the stature of Metallica versus [the other three bands], if it would really be a balanced kind of four-way show, you know what I'm saying? . . . [But] I'm not gonna rule anything out.

And as much as I'm trying to tap-dance around in this, it's just gossip and rumors. It would be foolish of me as a businessman to not take that opportunity, and it would be dumb of me as a bandleader to not do that for the guys in my group and for the fans of the band." more

Then Metromix conducted an interview earlier this week with Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo where they discussed the rumor of a possible Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax tour. Here is part of that exchange:

Metromix: There's a rumor going around now about the four classic thrash bands (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax ) touring together. How would you feel about being part of that?

Trujillo: I think it's great. We've had a few different conversations on the subject. I'm friends with (Slayer's) Kerry King and had dinner with him a few months back, and it came up there. I think (Megadeth's) Dave Mustaine is amazing. I've never had a problem with him personally. I think it'd be great if Metallica shared the stage with his band. Metallica's still great friends with (Anthrax's) Scott Ian. There's a lot of history there. I think it'd be great for metal. I don't think all four bands have played together at the same time.

Metromix: So there's truth to the rumor?

Trujillo: There is, but nothing's concrete. It's not a sealed deal. We're working on it. more

Shortly after, Kirk came an rained on the parade: The much-rumored Big Four thrash metal tour is not going to happen, says Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who told the WKLS Project 9-6-1 Morning Show with El Jefe and Shaffee: "That tour is not gonna happen. I've been hearing that. We've all been hearing it for a while. I get asked regularly. It's a good idea and I can see the significance of playing a tour like that." He says. "There's conflicting schedules, conflicting personalities - a lot of conflicting things. It's not gonna happen."

Finally the dream became a reality earlier this month: You wanted the thrash, you got it! Metallica had this big news announcement on their website Monday: You've been posting and chatting about it for months and we're here now to confirm it . . . Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth , and Anthrax will all share the same stage for the first time EVER! Look for the four of us at the Sonisphere shows in Warsaw, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic on June 16 and 19, 2010 with a few more of the festival dates still in the works, you can be sure these shows won't be the only ones. more -

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