Godsmack Rule?- Bret Michaels Has Meningitis- Ozzy Club Gigs- Pearl Jam Boots- TSOL N Friends- Google Vs Label- Twilight Finale- New Korn Song and more

Due to personal health issues Josef Echter will not be able to continue to play in MetalForce. This has been a very hard decision for him but the band supports his decision. more -

Van Halen's Earliest Recording Hits The Web

The Metal Den have unearthed what they report is the earliest known demo recording by legendary hard rock act Van Halen. This extremely rare cut entitled "Glitter" is rumored to be from 1973, but is most likely 1974 based on the time line of the group's development.

It is also rumored that Mark Stone played on the bass guitar at this time… but interviews place Michael Anthony in the band as early as 1972, so it is highly unlikely.

Another story claims that when Michael Anthony joined the band, Eddie & Alex Van Halen handed him a tape that included "Glitter", along with two other songs. - more on this story

Anthrax Belladonna Reunion Rumors Heat Up

(Rock Radio) Rumors that Joey Belladonna is returning to front Anthrax are growing after the band announced a string of extra European dates for the summer.

At a total of 14, it's ten more than 'Mark III' singer John Bush signed up to perform - and he's also said he doesn't want to tour extensively with either Anthrax or his own band Armored Saint.

Stories began circulating after Belladonna, who fronted the 'classic era' band between 1985 and 1991, was seen with band leader Charlie Benante in New York last week. - more on this story

Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society New Album Details

Black Label Society's brand new album is officially confirmed for an August 10th North American release date. Order Of The Black will feature Black Label at its best with frontman/lead axeman Zakk Wylde's signature guitar virtuosity and howling vocals, as well as a propulsive rhythm section, courtesy of bassist J.D. Deservio and drummer Will Hunt, along with a few surprises.

Wylde commented in jest, "The Doom Crew and I have been holed up in the Black Label Bunker for the last few months laying down some of the heaviest, sexiest tracks imaginable. We can't wait for Berserkers worldwide to hear the symphonic masterpiece that is the new BLS record!" Order Of The Black will be released in North America via E1 Music.

In other news, Black Label Society has just been confirmed to headline the second stage of 2010's Ozzfest. This marks the band's sixth appearance on the explosive hard rock package tour. Please see below for tour dates. Following Ozzfest, BLS will head out on its own worldwide headlining tour in support of ORDER OF THE BLACK through 2011. - more on this story

Flyleaf, 10 Years and Fair to Midland Unite & Fight Tour

Flyleaf will hit the road with 10 Years and Fair to Midland for the Unite & Fight tour, set to kick off May 4th in Albuquerque, NM.

The Texas rock group will bring their undeniably uplifting live show to audiences in every corner of the country throughout the headlining run. They will be supported by alternative mainstays.

Flyleaf's lead singer Lacey shed some light on the name of the tour, and the message it carries for the band: "The charge "Unite and Fight!" is a lyric from the opening song "Beautiful Bride" on our latest record, Memento Mori. It is time to fight for unity because so many divisions are wreaking havoc on our broken hearts. Whether it's in relationships between family, friends or the unknown passerby, peace can sometimes be a battle that needs to be fought. " - more on this story

Bachman & Turner Giving Away Their First New Song in Over 20 Years

Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, two giants of rock n' roll, are finally back together as Bachman & Turner after being apart for over 20 years.

The group is giving away the first track "Rock n' Roll is the Only Way Out" on their website www.bachmanandturner.com - a glimpse into Bachman & Turner's brand new album slated for release September 7, 2010 through E1 Music.

"I'm thrilled to be working on new music with Fred and feel a sense of excitement and anticipation," says Randy Bachman. "I feel like I'm coming full circle with a completeness that I never ever thought I'd feel again." - more on this story

AC/DC Rule The World

AC/DC official rule the world with AC/DC Iron Man 2, the official soundtrack to this summer's blockbuster movie. Released globally on April 19, AC/DC Iron Man 2, debuted at #1 in fourteen countries including United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, New Zealand, Greece, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

AC/DC Iron Man 2 also score top ten debuts in twenty six countries worldwide, including Canada (#2), Denmark (#3), Argentina (#3), Australia (#4), U.S. (#4), Spain (#4), Italy (#4), Norway (#4), Netherlands (#4), Spain (#4), Hungary (#4), France (#5), Finland (#5), Poland (#5), Mexico (#5), Thailand (#7), and Portugal (#9). - more on this story

Muse: The Resistance Tour Streaming Online

"Muse: The Resistance Tour - Live from Seattle," the first concert to be aired from the band's sold out US tour has been posted on Myspace. The show, which was filmed April 2, premieres today on the site and is available for streaming now.

This special provides an unprecedented glimpse of Muse in their most comfortable setting, live in front of their fans on their purpose-built 360 stage. After the show's filming last month in Seattle, three lucky fans from around the globe were flown to their April 14 show in San Francisco, CA, as part of MySpace Music's "Get Close" program. "Get Close" awards fans special access to their favorite bands. Muse's winning fans had the opportunity to come behind the scenes of their current tour and interview the band.

MySpace Music will also give the winners a spotlight of their own by featuring their rock journalism experience with Muse when footage from each of their "Get Close" experiences is aired on the site beginning May 12. - Check it out here

Built to Spill Confirm Dates With Kings of Leon

Built to Spill have confirmed a string of shows with Kings of Leon which begin in Chula Vista, CA on July 9 and end in Bristow, VT on Aug.7. Additional headline dates will also be announced shortly.

Built to Spill will once again tour in support of their current Warner Bros. Records album, There Is No Enemy, their seventh, which was recorded in Los Angeles and released last October. - more on this story

Singled Out: 2Cents' Get What?

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. 2Cents just released their heavy hitting new album "Dress To Kill" last month and kicked off the Jagermeister tour this week. We caught up with frontman Adam O'Rourke and asked him to tell us about the new single "Get What?" Here is Adam with the tale!:

'Get What?' came about as sort of a sarcastic celebration of our cultures obsession with instant gratification. I was on tour a year or so back staring out the window, watching the world pass. I was thinking of all the crap reality shows on TV. Thinking about how people wanted fame without talent, success without sacrifice, that sort of thing. It was disturbing to me why we gave a f**k about people like Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie.

I began relating our society to a guy at a bar. He looks across the room and sees a beautiful woman. His concern is not to meet her, get to know her build something lasting it is to simply f**k her and move on. That metaphor fueled the chorus to the song, "If you came to fall in love baby your outta luck, cause everybody here just came to get ------". People want what is going to distract them or give them a quick fix. I believe 'Get What?' possesses the question why, without condemning or condoning.

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

Drive A Bamboozling With All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind and more

MSO tells us that Drive A are revving up for a summer run on the Bamboozle Roadshow which features All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, among others.

That outing will kick off May 21 in Washington D.C. Before then, you can catch them with Finnish heavyweights HIM on our tour which wraps up this week with a three night stand in NYC.

A new exclusive track "Take A Side" is also currently available to fans free by signing up for the DRIVE A mailing list via their website - more on this story

Jackson Browne and David Lindley To Deliver New Live Album Next Week

Jackson Browne and David Lindley will release a new 2-CD live album called "Love Is Strange," on May 11th through Browne's label Inside Recordings.

Love Is Strange was produced by Jackson Browne and Paul Dieter, and presents highlights from the tour of Spain that Browne and Lindley played in 2006, in grand concert halls, rock venues, and intimate clubs.

The recordings are "en vivo"—live, and "con Tino"—with celebrated Spanish percussionist Tino di Geraldo, and guest players and vocalists from Spain. "En vivo con Tino" is somewhat of a play on words; it also means to do something cleverly, or to "do it right." - more on this story

Psychostick To Deliver New Humorcore Songs Next Week

Humorcore rockers Psychostick are set to unleash their The Digital Sampler on May 11, 2010 featuring three new tracks that will be available via their website (www.psychostick.com), MySpace page (www.myspace.com/psychostick) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/psychostick). The song titles are "Cockblock," "Tuff Luv," and "iSong."

Psychostick plan to hit the road in June and July with one of their favorite underground bands, Look What I Did (tour dates to be announced soon). The six-week run has been titled "The Pay Off the Van Tour."

"We've been making payments on the chariot for what seems like forever," says Psychostick vocalist Rob Kersey. "Our goal is to pay off the final few thousand this summer and relieve some of the financial strain on our bank account. It's a noble cause." - more on this story

Shadows Fall Heading South

Shadows Fall are set to perform in several cities in South America this summer. Dates currently released are listed below, and one more date is to be added to the run.

"All of us in Shadows Fall are extremely excited about our first trip to South America," states vocalist Brian Fair. "Traveling to new places and sharing our music with the fans is the best part about being in a band. I can't wait to explore some new cities and throw down some serious metal onstage. We will see you this summer!!"

Shadows Fall is also eager to head out on the road with the Mayhem Festival this summer. Shadows Fall will be performing on the Jagermeister Stage alongside fellow vicious acts Hatebreed, Chimaira, and Winds of Plague. - more on this story

Straight No Chaser Extend Tour Plans

Straight No Chaser have announced their 2010 fall tour plans. Kicking off September 17 in Jacksonville, OR, the three-month-long trek winds through North America, culminating in a December 23 show in Melbourne, FL. Current dates are listed below and more will be added over the next several months.

Straight No Chaser's current spring tour, in progress (dates below), has seen the group performing for sold-out crowds around the country.

This summer, Straight No Chaser will hold a residency at Harrah's in Atlantic City, NJ. Extending from July 2-August 28 (Wednesday-Sunday nights, excluding July 4), the group will perform "Songs of the Decades," a musical revue featuring selections and medleys spanning all genres and decades from the 1950s to today.
- more on this story

Free Jackal From Villagers

Villagers will release their limited edition 'Becoming A Jackal' 7" on May 11. The release features the album track "Twenty-Seven Strangers" on the flip.

Domino Records is now giving away a download of the single "Becoming A Jackal" to preview the 7" and forthcoming debut album out June 8 in the U.S. Grab it here http://bit.ly/cskVDQ

Frontman Conor J. O'Brien, who co-produced and plays almost all the instruments on 'Becoming A Jackal,' also drew the evocative album art (on the right). Conor was 12-years-old when he wrote his first song, and he picked up painting and drawing at an early age from his father. - more on this story

Allison Moorer Crows Acoustic

Allison Moorer will show fans a different side to her Crows album with the digital release of the Crows Acoustic EP on May 25th.

The new release features six solo and acoustic versions from her critically acclaimed Ryko debut, Crows. The 13-track Crows, is a refined and lyrically honest collection of songs that is a marked stylistic departure from her previous work.

When speaking about the Crows Acoustic EP, Allison Moorer stated, "I always like to give people an opportunity to hear a song in the form it was born in. And sometimes with a twist. That's what this recording is about." - more on this story

The Acacia Strain Post New Studio Vlog

The Acacia Strain have launched the third video blog documenting the recording of their new album. In this one, we discover what Really goes on in the studio, and what singer Vincent Bennett's rigorous daily regimen consists of.

Bennett demonstrates he's the hardest working vocalist in music today! The band recently entered Planet Z Studios with producer Zeuss to record the follow up to 2008's, "Continent." The album will be released later in 2010 by Prosthetic Records. Check out the video, here.

Don't forget, the band has a live webcam in the studio daily between 12pm and 2pm EST - more on this story

7 Inch Loose Limbs

Loose Limbs releases its debut recording Red Hands, today, on Seaport Music Records, a venture launched this past December by the team behind Seaport Music Festival (SMF), the acclaimed independent music-oriented series staged each summer on Pier 17 in lower Manhattan.

Available at Insound.com, the new limited-edition 7-inch vinyl release (250 pressed) features three tracks. The double A-side includes "Red Hands" and "Underdog," both recorded and co-produced at The Wild Arctic studio (Long Island City) with engineer/ producer Dean Baltulonis (presently producing The Hold Steady's latest record).

The flip side features a remix of "Red Hands" by Dublin-based musician and producer Martin Clancy, the current Seaport Music Records Artist in Residence, who is commissioned to "create, collaborate, and produce" a series of releases for the label in 2010-11. - more on this story

Bullet For My Valentine Top Rock and Alt Charts

Bullet For My Valentine's album Fever debuts this week at no 1 on both the Rock and Alternative charts and #3 Billboard's album chart.

The 11-track was released on April 27 and is BFMV's top selling debut to date, selling over 71,000 units in the first week, a 34% increase over BFMV previous 2008 release Scream Aim Fire.

Bullet For My Valentine is currently in the midst of a sold out national tour with support from Chiodos and Airbourne. - more on this story

I Am Abomination Previewing New Album Across The Web

I Am Abomination are pleased to release their Good Fight Music debut, To Our Forefathers, this coming Tuesday, May 11th.

I Am Abomination will be on tour for the next month! I Am Abomination will play a few hometown headlining CD release shows before jumping on tour with Jamie's Elsewhere and Memphis May Fire from May 21st through June 13th.

In addition to the release, I Am Abomination are debuting each individual track this week on the web! - more on this story

The Jayhawks Debut Finally Coming To CD

The self-titled debut album from alt-country pioneers The Jayhawks will be released on CD for the first time on May 18th by Lost Highway.

The Jayhawks (often referred to by fans as The Bunkhouse album) was originally released in 1986 on Bunkhouse Records, with a pressing of only 2000 vinyl copies. The album will finally be available on CD, and again on vinyl for the first time in nearly 25 years.

The Jayhawks reissue will include a new essay by Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson about album producer and then band manager Charlie Pine. The tracks are the original thirteen songs that appeared on the 1986 album. - more on this story

Keller Williams On Your Couch

Keller Williams will release his first-ever all-covers collection, amusingly titled Thief, on May 25, 2010. Recorded with the Keels—husband and wife duo Larry and Jenny Keel—Thief includes songs originally written and recorded by as wildly diverse an assemblage as anyone's ever likely to dream up.

Now, with the announcement of his "Keller On Your Couch" contest, Keller and the Keels are on the lam, and they have no idea where they'll end up. The reward for assisting in their capture is a 90 minute private acoustic performance by Keller and The Keels in the winner's living room for them and up to 49 of their friends.

Those who purchase Keller's new album, Thief, at Keller's Official Merch Store by August 31, 2010 will be automatically entered into the contest. Those who preorder Thief through www.kellerwilliams.net before its May 25, 2010 release date will receive two entries into the contest. - more on this story

The Red Chord To Be Slaughtered This Summer

The Red Chord are confirmed for this summer's Summer Slaughter Tour featuring Decapitated, The Faceless, All Shall Perish, Veil of Maya, Cephalic Carnage, Decrepit Birth, Carnifex, Animals As Leaders, and Vital Remains. The tour kicks off in San Diego, CA on Saturday July 17 and finishes up in San Francisco, CA on Monday August 23.

Here's what bassist Greg Weeks has to say about being out on the tour; "Summer Slaughter! Looking forward to old friends, new friends, borrowed and blue friends, cookouts, dance-offs, smelly people, burgers, long van rides, karate lessons, octopus balls, seedy areas, elastic waistband jeans, laughter and enjoying myself. See you there!!!"

Vocalist Guy Kozowyk adds; "We are excited to perform on a tour of bands slightly closer to our core style. It has been a while. Hopefully volcanoes and other natural disasters don't piss on our parade this time around. Fingers are crossed!" - more on this story

Municipal Waste Team With Fangoria for New Horror Filled Video

Municipal Waste are collaborating with Fangoria Entertainment to create a music video for "Acid Sentence" -- a fan favorite favorite track from the band's 2009 Billboard Heatseekers-charting debut, Massive Aggressive.

For more than 30 years Fangoria has been providing the best in horror entertainment. With a magazine, radio show on Sirius-XM, film production/distribution division, comic book line, website, convention circuit, and Fangoria OnDemand, Fangoria is the authority in all things horror. Fangoria knows what scares you. Municipal Waste, themselves connoisseurs of horror, blood and gore are a natural fit to team up with Fangoria to create a music video experience more intense than both parties have ever created before. - more on this story

The Dirty Heads Plan Sublime Summer

The Dirty Heads have announced their first round of summer tour dates. The band will continue to support Sublime with Rome, including dates now featuring Matisyahu, as well as perform its own headlining shows, summer festivals with their television debut slated for May 13th on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The Dirty Heads debut album "Any Port in a Storm," also makes its Billboard chart debuts this week landing at #10 Independent Albums chart, #16 Rock Albums chart and #55 on the Billboard 200. Executive Music Group recently released the expanded, special edition CD through Fontana, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

Rooted in the Orange County community of Huntington Beach, the Dirty Heads emerged onto the Southern California music scene with a unique sound inspired by the rock and reggae sounds of Bob Marley, Sublime, 311 and The Beastie Boys. - more on this story