Former Motley Crue Singer Questions Sixx's Book- Band Vs Airline- Scorpions Tour- Y&T Return- Get Alice in Chain's New CD for Only $5- F**ked Up Hoax and more

Speaking of April Fools, F**ked Up claimed they were being sued by an apparently non-existent energy drink company that we could find no record of (except a website on a domain that was registered on March 30th). The gist of the story was the band badmouthed this dubious energy drink who had supposedly sponsored a SXSW show for them and the company is now suing them. You'll find plenty of outlets that ran with this story as legit. Still give a damn? The scene of the crime is here. -

Slash's New Album Streaming in Full, Instore Announced

Slash's new self-titled solo album comes out next Tuesday, April 6th, but you don't have to wait to hear it. You can check out the whole Slash CD streaming online right now! Go listen here

Slash is celebrating the release of his first true solo album, Slash, with an in-store signing. Starting on April 6th (release day) at Amoeba Hollywood, the first 300 people to purchase Slash's new self-titled album will get to come back for a special Record Store Day Signing. Fans will get a laminate/pass to bring back on April 17th for admission to the signing. Signing is limited to ONE item per person.

Focused on delivering the most individual, personal project of his career, Slash enlisted the services of producing partner Eric Valentine (Queens of Stone Age, The All-American Rejects) and compiled a rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction) and drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album's guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song. Guest musicians include: Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmeister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. - more on this story

Taproot Previewing First Single From New Album Online

It's been two years since Taproot released their last album, Our Long Road Home, but the wait is finally over. Plead the Fifth, the band's upcoming release, is scheduled to hit shelves on May 11, 2010.

Out on Victory Records, this album proves to draw more from their debut, making it heavier and more aggressive, but holding tight to the melodic style they were once known for. Their first single, "Fractured (Everything I Said Was True)", is available for streaming today on the band's MySpace here

Last weekend, the band filmed a music video for the single, which will make its online debut on Thursday, April 15th at Yahoo! Music. Catch Taproot On Tour This Spring - dates here

Acacia Strain and Deftones Vocalists To Appear on Whitechapel's New Album

Whitechapel is pleased to release details for their third full-length release, A New Era of Corruption due out June 8th via Metal Blade Records.

"The album is finally 100% complete and we couldn't be more excited. I think this record truly represents where we are as musicians at this point in our career. A New Era of Corruption is the heaviest and most aggressive material we have written to date," comments guitarist and founding member Alex Wade. Alex continues: "Some of you may notice that the title of the new record, A New Era of Corruption, is a line from the song 'Possession' off of our last album This Is Exile. We wanted to name the CD this to bring a little flavor from 'This Is Exile' into the new CD, as well as I think the name represents this new age of extreme metal that we are currently rising in. The album is not a concept record like This Is Exile was. It just has its own general theme and each song deals with its own topic track by track."

A New Era of Corruption features guest vocals from Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain on the track "Murder Sermon" and Chino Moreno from the Deftones on the track "Reprogrammed to Hate." Alex elaborates: "Vincent has been a long time friend of the band and we have always talked about him doing guest vocals on one of our records, so naturally his style of vocals fits our music perfectly and sounds great. We're honored to have Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno on our record. All of us are huge Deftones fans so it's pretty surreal for us. He absolutely killed his part on the album and it's everything I envisioned it would be. Plus it's cool that Chino was so opened minded to do vocals on something so extreme; I think that it sounds fantastic." - more on this story

U2 360 DVD Details

We told a little bit about this release yesterday, but here is the official word: U2360° At The Rose Bowl will be released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray by Mercury Records on June 7, and in the US on June 3, 2010.

U2360° At The Rose Bowl was the penultimate gig of last year's U2360° Tour in support of their Grammy nominated album No Line on The Horizon. The Rose Bowl performance was the band's biggest show of 2009 and U2's biggest ever US show, with a live audience in excess of 97,000.

The show was also streamed across seven continents via YouTube. The first ever live streaming of a full-length stadium concert, U2360° at the Rose Bowl had over 10 million views on the channel in one week. - more on this story

Ozzy Osbourne Diary Of A Madman Tour 1982 CD/DVD Coming in June

A reader sent us over some info on an upcoming DVD release of a classic Ozzy Osbourne concert from 1982. We did confirm through Amazon that it is in fact set for release on June 29th in the US. Here is the announcement: Blizzard Of Ozz is a concert film from the Ozzy Osbourne tour of 1982; a tour that had its fair share of success and tragedy.

This DVD release features a concert filmed in Irvine California for television. At the time Ozzy Osbourne was touring to promote his second solo album Diary of A Madman a tour that was marred by the tragic death of guitarist Randy Rhoads in March 1982 in a freak flying accident. By June 12th 1982 the band were scheduled to play at the Irvine Meadows amphitheatre Irvine, California. By this time Brad Gillis who had replaced Randy Rhoads had been playing with the band for almost two months and had a number of high profile concerts under his belt including a radio broadcast.

The set list which was a typical Ozzy set list of the time included numbers from both solo albums (Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman) including Over The Mountain, Flying High Again, Crazy Train, I Don't Know , Goodbye To Romance, Suicide Solution and culminating with three Black Sabbath classics (Iron Man, Children Of The Grave and Paranoid). The concert was televised and then subsequently released on home video in a slightly edited format. More recently the DVD has been available in Japan and elsewhere. - more on this story

Owl City Goes Platinum

Universal Republic Records' artist Owl City continues to garner accolades at an unprecedented pace in 2010, with the RIAA awarding his smash album Ocean Eyes platinum certification this week for selling more than a million units of his Universal Republic debut.

Owl City continues to break boundaries with the record-breaking hit, and the release of his second single, the ethereal "Vanilla Twilight," with the atmospheric video debuting last week to rave reviews and over 1 million views after one day. The clip was filmed in Pittsburgh, PA, and directed by Steven Hoover, who helmed the acclaimed "Fireflies" video and has a surprising cameo by basketball legend, Shaquille O'Neal.

Owl City is also embarking on a sold-out U.S. tour, which kicked off on March 30th in Boise, ID, with Lights and Paper Route in tow as support acts. - more on this story

The Steve Miller Band Loud and Proud Bingo

Loud & Proud Records is pleased to announce a worldwide partnership with American rock 'n' roll pioneers, The Steve Miller Band and Miller's new imprint Space Cowboy Records. Recorded at film producer George Lucas' infamous studios at Skywalker Ranch, BINGO! is the band's first studio album in 17 years. A true return to Miller's roots, BINGO! echoes his early years in the Chicago music scene and features carefully chosen and crafted tracks performed in distinctive Steve Miller Band fashion.

"With the continuing evolution of the music industry and all the new exciting opportunities that are available, I feel this is a perfect time to start a new record company and establish new innovative partnerships. I am looking forward to a long relationship with Roadrunner / Loud & Proud" says Miller of the new endeavor.

Early reaction from fans and industry insiders are comparing the album to Miller's 1968 masterpiece SAILOR. BINGO!, will be the first of two albums that were recorded together as a complete body of work, the second of which will be offered next year via the new label partnership. - more on this story

Alanis Morissette To Deliver Featured Song For Jerry Bruckheimer's New Movie

Alanis Morissette wrote and performed the original song "I Remain," which serves as the end credit track for Walt Disney Pictures' and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time.

The film hits theaters Memorial Day Weekend, 2010 and the soundtrack will be available physically and digitally wherever music is sold on May 25.

Said Morissette of the song: "It's an honor to write from the voice of an empowered princess about a love that empowers them both to new heights, healing and consciousness. The song wrote itself and this story was the ultimate muse." - more on this story

Needtobreathe Won't Turn Back Tour

Catch South Carolina Rockers Needtobreathe On The "Won't Turn Back Tour" which follows last year's successful headline tour - dubbed "The Outsiders Live."

That outing included sold-out shows in virtually every market visited, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Atlanta among others.

The "Won't Turn Back Tour" celebrates Needtobreathe's third album, The Outsiders, which was released last summer to universal critical acclaim and a top 20 debut on the Billboard 200. - dates

Band of Horses Announce Album Details and Tour Plans

Band of Horses, the Low Country's premier rock n' roll outfit, release their third full length LP, entitled Infinite Arms, on May 18th through Brown/Fat Possum/Columbia.

Produced by Band of Horses with additional production from Phil Ek and mixed by Dave Sardy, the songs on Infinite Arms project the essence of the different locales across America that became the setting for the recording and songwriting process behind the album. The rich musical heritage of Muscle Shoals, AL, the sublime beauty of Asheville's Blue Ridge Mountains, the glamorous Hollywood Hills and the vast Mojave desert all influenced the sounds on Infinite Arms and helped yield the group's most focused and dynamic recordings to date. The serene woods of Northern Minnesota and the band's native Carolinas inspired the songwriting, lending the compositions an air of comfort and familiarity.

Look for the band to support Infinite Arms with tour dates across the globe in 2010. A current list of dates is below, with many more to be announced very soon. - more on this story

Heaven Shall Burn Set June Album Release

Germany's hardcore infused death metal outfit, Heaven Shall Burn, has announced that their latest full-length effort, Invictus, is set to release in North America on June 8th, courtesy of Century Media Records.

Invictus is the third part of the "Iconoclast" story, following the 2008 release, Iconoclast (#21 in the German Media Control Charts), and the 2009 DVD, Bildersturm (German DVD Charts #3, album charts #54, Austrian DVD Charts #9).

Like it's predecessors, Invictus [the full title of which is Invictus (Iconoclast III)] will again tell stories about unconventional heroes, while shedding a different light on well-known idols and legends. - more on this story

Rough Demo of Metallica's 'Orion' Goes Online

The Metal Den unearths an extremely rare four minute demo recording of the instrumental song "Orion" off Metallica's epic Master of Puppets album, the legendary band's third and final with bassist Cliff Burton – which was released twenty four years ago on March 3, 1986 via Elektra Records.

This demo was cut at some point in July of 1985 and is still in its 'building stage' at only half the length of the final studio version, but it certainly shows the mutant-like musical genius that was going on at the time in the young band, comprised of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Burton.

This album marked the very first time METALLICA would strike gold record status with over 500,000 copies sold. Believe it or not, this was achieved without any radio airplay or the release of one radio single or music video. 'Master' eventually cruised on to sell over seven million copies in the United States and was certified seven times platinum by the RIAA. Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best heavy metal album ever recorded. - more on this story

In This Moment In The Studio

In This Moment are currently at The Wolves Den studio in Las Vegas once again with acclaimed producer Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch) putting the finishing touches on their much anticipated new album, A Star Crossed Wasteland, which is set for a summer release.

The group are documenting the entire studio process and you can check out part 2 of this webisode series which you can check out at the full story link.

IN THIS MOMENT are extremely excited to be performing on this summer's Mayhem Tour playing on the Mayhem Festival Stage alongside Atreyu, Norma Jean and 3 Inches of Blood. This tour will mark the start of the group's official, massive worldwide touring schedule for their new full-length album, which is set for a summer release. - Video be here

Talking Overkill

The latest episode of "Talking Metal" features an interview hosts Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy conducted with Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill.

Topics include recording Overkill's Ironbound album, Blitz's long-standing partnership with bassist D.D. Verni, drummer Ron Lipnicki, and new thrash artists including Warbringer.

Additional podcast topics include Ace Frehley, Metal Mike Chlasciak, Priestess, Wendy O. Williams, and Shredding the Envelope. Photos as well as the 75-minute podcast can be downloaded at this - location

Look Mexico Heading Back on The Road in May

Look Mexico has announced a new run of tour dates in May. The co-headlining tour with San Diego, CA's Weatherbox will begin in the band's new hometown at Emo's on May 13th and wrap up in San Diego at the Che Cafe on May 22nd.

Look Mexico recently finished a three-week headlining tour that included performances at both this year's Harvest of Hope and SXSW festivals.

Additionally, the band's current single "You Stay. I Go. No Following." is now confirmed for inclusion on the Rock Band Network. The song, authored for the RBN by Explosive Kitty, will be available on the site by the end of the month. - more on this story

Tad Robinson Will Be Back in Style This May

Severn Records announces a May 18 release date for Back in Style, the latest CD from five-time Blues Music Award nominee Tad Robinson, with special guests The Memphis Horns and guitarist extraordinaire Alex Schultz. Severn Records is distributed in the U.S. by City Hall Records.

On his third disc from Severn Records, Tad Robinson puts his stamp on the soul side of today's blues scene with Back in Style. Taking inspiration from the great sounds of Stax and Hi Records, Robinson literally oozes soul with his testifying delivery of the eight originals and two covers on the new CD.

From the opening organ swell of the funky lead track, "Rained All Night," through the soul anthem closer, "Get Back To Love," Robinson explodes back on the scene with his authoritative, singular and passionate style. Throughout this collection, Robinson's voice is suffused with varying shades of blue and exhibits the warmth and power that only the most seasoned vocalists on the scene can summon. - more on this story

New Random Touch Album Coming In May

Through the Lens of the Other Dimension is an evocative work, highly cinematic, heart-felt and softer than more recent works by eclectic music ensemble Random

The sixteen succinct pieces are like poetic soundtracks for various films. Titles such as "Burglars on Tiptoe" and "Morning Rain" are typical and lend an air of the visual and the contemplative to the sound and arc of the individual tracks.

"In a sense, what we are doing is the musical equivalent of channeling. At times it is simply a sheet of aluminum that is being channeled, at others a demon within that is exorcised through my stream of consciousness vocals, or it may be something much bigger and beyond me that seems to inhabit an unknown dimension." - Christopher Brown, drummer/vocalist - more on this story

Free Crack-A-Thon Kick Off Party Announced

As the time between now and the start of GWAR's free web-TV fund-raising drive and entertainment extravaganza, the CRACK-A-THON (April 16th-17th), can be now measured in days, so can the space between this moment and the official kick-off party be measured in minutes, yet thusly all can agree that both events are coming up soon! So in yet another desperate attempt to explain what the hell this is all about, welcome to the latest press release from the greatest press releasers this side of the Vatican! GWAR!

In case you have been away panning for marmalade in the lower Congo--The CRACK-A-THON is GWAR's free webTV show, being broadcast on April 16th-17th, from 7pm-12am, live from the MF Gallery in lovely Brooklyn, New York. Host Oderus Urungus and his co-host, Balsac the Jaws of Death, will be joined by a star-studded list of celebrity (well, sort of...) guests, including Hatebreed lead singer Jamey Jasta, party animal Andrew WK, and mop-wielding super-hero The Toxic Avenger! Completely supported by viewer contributions, viewers will be able to pledge funds via PayPal, in order to not only support Oderus' vicious crack habit, but also begin the domination of the internet through Slave Pit TV, GWAR's 24-7 webTV channel, debuting this year if you give them enough money!

The madness begins April 10th with a free party and "Slave Print" art show. Gallery owner and GWAR-activist Martina Secondo explains... "MF Gallery is proud to announce the release of a brand new series of limited edition art prints created by the GWAR / Slave Pit artists. Contrary to popular belief, Intergalactic Space Monsters GWAR are actually made up of a team of artists from Virginia. These artists, working out of The Slave Pit in Richmond, create and build all of GWAR's props and costumes, but they
also work on their own paintings, drawings, comic books and many other forms of art." - more on this story

Stealing Heather Debut Going Digital Next Week

Stealing Heather is set to release their debut album "Your Mistake" April 6th on AudioLot/Refugee Entertainment, LLC (special exclusive digital release on iTunes).

Written and produced by frontman Joshua Aaron, the band's album, "Your Mistake," follows the unpredictable storyline of the love between two people who mean everything to each other yet seem to excite each other's worst tendencies.

The album's first single, "Breathe Out," is a soaring shot of up-tempo bliss that follows this couple as they each reassess their lives in the hopes that things will improve. It is clear from the album's 12 tracks that Stealing Heather represents a cohesive musical force as they dissect regret and hope, while the album's dual antagonists search for the elusive love that is seemingly right before them and yet always just out of reach. - more on this story

O.Children To Introduce America To Their Classic Alternative Sound With Their Debut US Single

O.Children release first US single 'Ruins' on Deadly People Recordings on April 19th. Co-produced with Jas Shaw (Simian Mobile Disco)

At 6ft 8" tall, Tobi O'Kandi isn't your average looking lead-man of a four piece London band currently causing a huge stir in Europe. Then again, ?O.Children are a far cry from any other band you might be listening to this Spring...unless of course you're listening to early Cure, The Chameleons, Sisters Of Mercy, Bauhaus, Joy Division or Echo & The Bunnymen right now.

O'Kandi, the bands lead singer and chief songwriter channels the undeniable inner and outer workings of a true front-man, reminiscent of the days when the late and great Joey Ramone and Lux Interior ruled the roosts and during a time when to be a freak was to be truly punk. - more on this story

Wicked Jones Announce Live Radio Appearance

Wicked Jones will be performing live on Charlotte's 106.5 The End's "End Sessions" with Nate Richie on Wednesday April 28th, at 1:00 PM EDT and on 1065.com.

Wicked Jones have just confirmed that they will be playing two shows this April in their home state of North Carolina and one in South Carolina in June.

Those shows will be Wednesday April 28th at the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC, Friday April 30th at the Soundvent in Thomasville, NC and June 19th at The Hotbox in Lancaster, SC. - more on this story

Singled Out: Scott Lucas & the Married Men (Local H)

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. A few weeks ago we told you that Local H mastermind Scott Lucas has a new project called Scott Lucas & the Married that recently released their debut album, "George Lassos the Moon". Today we have a treat for you as Scott tells us the story behind the song "Extra Special Bitter," from the new album. Here is Scott with the story:

We called this song 'Mustang Pavement' for a long time. Randy (he's the drummer) thought the chords sounded like a Pavement song--and I wanted to steal the bass'n'drum (NOT drum'n'bass) groove from 'Mustang Sally'. Everybody else seems to think the finished product sounds more like Ian McCulloch's 80s. So, I guess we're pretty good at either concealing our influences, or totally missing the mark.

I have this weird habit of always writing the "single" last. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious thing stemming from the way I always used to wait until the last minute to do my homework in high school. So in that grand tradition, this turned out to be the last one written for the record. I suppose it DOES stick out a little from the other songs-it's a bit more upbeat than the others-and aside from our Dylan cover ('Positively 4th Street'); it's definitely the most "rocking" track on the record.....which--given the laid back mood of the record--really isn't saying much.

I still didn't have lyrics when we went into the studio-so this was the only song tracked without a vocal. Which was fine--this song seems impossible for me to sing and play at the same time, anyway. It's a bit below my range and in order to croon it oh-so-correctly, I have to concentrate like crazy. Singing low is f***ing hard.

The lyrics deal with the usual list of things : breaking up, getting back together, shacking up, getting married. But I think it's mainly about how the bad times turn out to be the good times. I started with the lines :

"Driving through the blizzard of luck
Crawl among the jack-knifed semi-trucks"

Which is a reference to a trip to my parents' house that my girlfriend and I took one Christmas. It was snowing like crazy and we thought we were gonna die. There were semi-trucks everywhere--it was like some kind of elephant graveyard. We were petrified. But that turned out to be one of my favorite moments of us. And I think that's what the song tries to address : skewed memories and shared perspectives. Shit like that. There's also references to neighborhood gossip and our bad luck with restaurants thrown in for color-but the song basically sprang from that terrifying Christmas drive. Songs are weird.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!