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Wonder why the music business is in such dire straights? The answer just might be here -

System of a Down Reunion Show?

(Gibson) The longstanding System of a Down will-they-or-won't-they-return-from-hiatus guessing game just got a little more interesting, with a report out of France that the band will play at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy in Paris in June 2011.

The news comes from the blog of Francis Zégut, host of Pop Rock Station on France's RTL2 radio station.

The succinctly phrased blog post was simply "System of a Down, Paris Bercy, 6 juin 2011. Tout est dans le titre," which translates as "System of a Down, Paris Bercy, June 6, 2011. Everything is in the title." - more on this story

Slash Picks A Singer

(hennemusic) Slash plans to use Myles Kennedy on his next solo album, but – unlike the list of stars on the current self-titled project – Kennedy will handle all the vocals, according to a report by SundayMercury.net.

Slash was interviewed after receiving "Album Of The Year" honors at the 2010 Classic Rock "Roll Of Honour" Awards in London on November 10.

Kennedy appeared on some of the album, but has responsibilities with Alter Bridge, who have just released a new record of their own, "Alter Bridge III." Kennedy will continue to tour with Slash in 2011, juggling both projects. - more on this story

Early Van Halen Live Recording Posted Online

The Metal Den has posted a rare master audience recording of the classic Van Halen lineup jamming "On Fire" live at Theatre Mogador in Paris, France on May 10, 1978.

This show was played only three months after they released their legendary debut Van Halen.

Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the United States alone, proving to be an extremely explosive album that would introduce "Eddie" and his incredible heavy metal guitar talents to millions of fans all over the world. - Check it out here

Arcade Fire Tap Spike Jonze

(Gibson) Arcade Fire have re-teamed with director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are), this time for a music video that brings their single "The Suburbs," available December 20, eerily to life. The band previously worked with Jonze when he commissioned a new version of their song "Wake Up" for his 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are.

Last spring Jonze told MTV that he wanted "The Suburbs" video to play out like a short film. Captured in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, the music video features a group of bored teenagers riding bikes, shooting off BB guns, getting into trouble and eventually getting in over their heads.

"It was great just hanging out with these 15-year-olds for a week and writing down all the funny things they said," singer Win Butler told Pitchfork.com. "It was cool to revert to being a 15-year-old for a little while." - more on this story

Roger Daltrey Slams Simon Cowell

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey is the latest star to have a go at the X Factor / American Idol mastermind Simon Cowell.

The veteran rocker believes the music industry is in crisis - and he blames Simon, according to an article in the Sun newspaper. Roger said: "We really need to break away from The X Factor and American Idol - that Simon Cowell thing....I really think the music industry will beat this slump and come back stronger.

"Groups like The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles wouldn't have made it past the audition stage, let alone be shown on TV. That's the joke of it. The music they make on the shows is absolute tripe. He's made a good industry out of it, but it's belittled the power of music. He wouldn't know what the 'X Factor' was if it bit him on the b******s." - more on this story

The White Stripes Reissues Coming

(hennemusic) Jack White's Third Man Records have announced the long-overdue reissues of the first three LP's by The White Stripes starting November 30th.

Out-of-print in North America since 2005, TMR says the utmost care was taken in presenting these records in the best way possible:

"We started by mastering each LP from the original analog master tapes, the first time this process had been used for any of these titles. While extremely labor-intensive, this method ensured that the material was never converted into a digital signal. The result is an audio quality that stiffens the hairs on the back of your neck." - more here

The Klaxons Surfing the Void Soon

The Klaxons are back with their new album, Surfing the Void, which is set for physical release on January 18th via tinyOGRE Entertainment.

The release includes a bonus disc, featuring an acoustic live performance of "Echoes" and three other previously unreleased tracks.

Produced in Los Angeles by rock legend Ross Robinson (Sepultura, Slipknot, At the Drive In, The Cure) and written over the course of a three year musical journey, the ten-track album is a brilliantly diverse and engaging alternative rock record.
- Check out their new video

Cage The Elephant Offer Up Free Song

Cage The Elephant are giving fans a free download of their new song "2024" on FilterMagazine.com.

"2024" is the first track that has been made available from the band's sophomore album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, due out January 11th on Jive Records.

Thank You, Happy Birthday, produced by Jay Joyce and recorded at Tragedy/Tragedy Studios in Nashville, TN, is the band's follow up to their 2009 self-titled debut.
- Grab the free song here

Kelly Shaefer's Velvet Revolver Experience

Our very own Mark Hensch caught up with Kelly Shaefer to discuss the first Atheist album in 17 years but they also discussed how Kelly's fans viewed him auditioning for Velvet Revolver. Here is that part of the exchange:

antiMusic: You also tried out for the lead singer position in Velvet Revolver. Did you ever worry that metalheads would accuse you of "selling out?" Why or why not?

Kelly: Initially I sent the Neurotica record to Slash (Velvet Revolver's guitarist) and he called me three days later and said he and Duff McKagan (the group's bassist) liked what they heard from my voice so they sent me three tunes to write for. I did just that and they called me back and brought me to Los Angeles to write and rehearse. They had been looking through 650 singers before getting to me. I hit it off well with Slash and we wrote some cool music together, but in the end Scott Weiland got the gig. It was amazing being able to cross to the other side and jam with what is really The Rolling Stones of our generation. I've got nothing but great things to say about all those guys.

What about me "selling out," you ask? I don't worry about that. No one is going to tell me that if Slash calls them and asks them to sing on a tune, or if Brian Johnson from AC/DC asks you to sing some tunes he wrote, that they are not going to sing. I have no regrets – for a death metal guy from Sarasota, Florida, it was a crazy experience for me and I loved it. I love trying to fit myself around situations outside my comfort zone. I highly recommend it to broaden your horizons musically. - Check out Mark's full interview with Kelly here!

Metallica Wrap Up Massive World Tour

(hennemusic) Metallica wrapped up their 2-year long World Magnetic Tour on Sunday, with the third of three shows at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.

The numbers are impressive...Metallica issued the following tour summary: "The World Magnetic tour crossed 45 countries, 143 arena shows, 34 festival shows, 29 stadium shows, 4 club/theater shows, three tv/radio shows, two hall of fame shows, 3790 songs, and not a single setlist was the same."

That's 216 shows in 992 days. The tour opened with a European promo show on September 12, 2008 in Berlin, and hit virtually every corner of the globe, - including

New John Lennon Footage Airs Tonight

(Gibson) Never-before-seen-footage of John Lennon has been included in a new PBS documentary set to air tonight Monday, November 22. The film, called LennoNYC, covers Lennon during his time in New York City, where he lived from 1971 until his murder in 1980.

Plenty of famous faces can be found in the film, including artist Andy Warhol, poet Allen Ginsberg (shown hanging out with Lennon and Yoko Ono) and Elton John.

"The film is an attempt to look at his post-Beatles life," said director Michael Epstein during an interview with the BBC. "New York meant freedom for John. It was an opportunity for him to be just John Lennon." - more on this story

Nine Inch Nails and Filter's Liesegang Teams With Chris Holmes for Ashtar Command

Ashtar Command, formed by DJ/producer Chris Holmes and former Nine Inch Nails member and Filter founder Brian Liesegang have released "Gravity," the debut video from their forthcoming album American Sunshine Vol. 1.

On American Sunshine Vol. 1, Holmes and Liesegang are joined by an array of like-minded performers including Berg, Alex Ebert (Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros), Joshua Radin, Har Mar Superstar and Rachel Yamagata on vocals, guitarists Stephen Fitzpatrick [Veruca Salt] and Johnny Radtke [Kill Hannah], drummers Matt Walker [Filter, Smashing Pumpkins] and Joey Waronker [Beck, R.E.M.], Solomon Walker [Morrissey] on bass, Mike Garson [David Bowie] on piano, Oliver Kraus [Beth Orton] on cello, and Stewart Cole [Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros] on horns.

"Gravity" is inspired by interviews Holmes conducted with members of the Heaven's Gate cult in 1994 before their mass suicide in 1997 , and features Z Berg, lead singer of The Like, on vocals. The video disseminates the message that if you want to reach the kingdom level above human, you have to leave everything you know behind - and only then can you become an ascendant master. The video is the first in a series of short films that will coincide with the release of the LP over the next year. - Check out the video here

Motorhead To Rock Conan

(hennemusic) Motorhead have announced that they will perform on the January 26, 2011 episode of Conan O'Brien's new TBS show, "Conan."

A day earlier, Motorhead will play the Anaheim, California House of Blues' 10th-anniversary show.

The appearances are part of Motorhead's ongoing 35th Anniversary celebration, and in support of their new album, "The World Is Yours." - more on this story

Anniversary of INXS' Michael Hutchence Death

(Gibson) On this day in 1997, INXS singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel suite in Sydney. He was 37. Hutchence's body was found at 11: 50 a.m. naked behind the door to his room. He had apparently hanged himself with his own belt and the buckle broke away and his body was found kneeling on the floor and facing the door. Gibson takes a look back:

Being a performer was always in Michael Hutchence's blood. Born Michael Kelland John Hutchence on January 22, 1960 in Sydney, Australia, the Hutchence family moved to Hong Kong when Michael was four. His first real taste of performing happened when he appeared in a local toy store commercial when he was eight. The Hutchence family moved back to Sydney when Michael was in his late teens, and he soon befriended Andrew Farriss at Davidson High School, who convinced him to join his band, Doctor Dolphin.

In 1977, Andrew's older brother, Tim, invited Andrew, Hutchence and Doctor Dolphin's bass player, Garry Beers, to join him and his schoolmate, Kirk Pengilly, in a new band. With the addition of Andrew and Tim's younger brother, John, they formed the Farriss Brothers, with Andrew on keyboards, Jon on drums, Tim on lead guitar, Geoff Kennelly on drums, Pengilly on guitar and sax, and Hutchence on lead vocals. The Farris Brothers made their debut in August of 1977 at Whale Beach, just north of Sydney. - more on this story

Singled Out: Notar's Stranger (feat. Adam Duritz)

Today Notar tells us about "Stranger" (which features his label boss and Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz) from his self-titled EP. Here is the story:

I was inspired to write stranger for two reasons. One being my best friend Karl Piper White and the other being my Brother in law, Brian Solecki. Both have served this country honorably. Karl served in the US Army and Brian served in the US Marines. The character in stranger is a culmination of these two men at war and what it must have been like for them. I took two of my best friends and made them one. The song "Stranger" is my interpretation and artistic relay which looks through their eyes, the eyes of a soldier.

"Felt like a stranger there people would look at me crazy my nerves were shot being there was making me shaky/ walk in the front door and see the face of my lady/ leaning over the crib gently kissing our baby/ she froze up/ Tears rolling down her cheek/ she put her finger on my lips and told me please don't speak/ through my arms around her/ my heart was beating out my chest/ her look alone let me know that she was all I had left…"

This is an example of me speaking about Brian and my Sister Lisa's relationship at the time he was overseas. Their love for one another, a depiction of what they must of been going through and the difficulty of having a child and Brian not being there...I would talk to my sister and my mom during this time, watch the news etc. I wanted to be the voice of what so many maybe never got to explain.

"Before death my last breath I needed to do/ that's why this moment feels way to good to be true/ Is this real? Let me touch you!? i need to know.../ wait what's the deal love? there is no need to go/ her face started to fade/ this just wasn't what it seems/ she told me I must wake/ wait is this only a dream?!/ I'm still here back to feeling boxed in/ I'm nationwide on every corner but where does the block end?"

The above segment as you can see (the return home) turns out to be a dream and the character wakes up actually still trapped in the middle of the battlefield, I did this to emphasize the harsh realities of war the best way I could.

"I SEE ROCKS BEING THROWN BOMBS BEING BLOWN A CONSTANT REMINDER THAT I JUST AINT HOME"

I wrote "Stranger" as a stranger. I am a stranger to war. Writing about War and hardships that others feel was not easy, but because of the love I have for them and all those protecting our freedoms it came from an honest true place.

I hope this song resonates with the ones I wrote it for and inspires all in one way or another.

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

AC/DC Trading Cards Put on Ice

(hennemusic) Collectible and trading card company Press Pass have announced the postponement of the new line of AC/DC Trading Cards that were originally scheduled release this month.

A statement on the company's website says: "We regret to announce that the AC/DC product has been postponed indefinitely. We will let you know if the situation changes. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us."

The 100 card set was designed to follow AC/DC through the band's history, from their Australian beginnings to the recent "Black Ice" tour – the top selling trek of 2010. - more on this story

Peter Hook Bringing Joy Division To The U.S.

(Gibson) Former Joy Division and New Order bass player Peter Hook says he's taken more than his fair share of criticism for his forthcoming U.S. tour, during which he will play Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album in its entirety.

Hook told Spin that fans have accused him of cashing in on Joy Division and late vocalist Ian Curtis. "But it took 30 years to cash in," he said. "So does that count? Usually you cash in after waiting 30 minutes. I should be able to go out and play the most important record I've ever made. Literally my whole life and career have been founded on that record."

Hook's band includes Paul Kehoe on drums, Andy Poole on keyboards and Nat Wilson on guitar, as well as Hook's son Jack on bass. "When I decided to sing, I realized I needed a bass player," Hook said. "Funny enough, my son Jack, who also happens to play bass, is the same age now as I was when we started Joy Division. Playing Unknown Pleasures and seeing myself in my son 30 years ago is quite an uncanny, eerie feeling." - more on this story

Ramming Speed, Municipal Waste and Saviours Winter Tour

Ramming Speed have announced a fall European tour with Municipal Waste and Saviours.

Ramming Speed will kick things off in Berlin, Germany on November 25th, hittig the UK & Ireland on their way, before winding down in Deutschland with a show in Hamburg with Doom.

Drummer and chief instigator Jonah commented: "We're kicking off our three week European winter with Municipal Waste and Saviours this Wednesday! To celebrate the awesome run and our upcoming split with ANS (Tankcrimes Records), we decided to put our entire side of the 12" online for streaming. You will be able to check out all four of the brand new songs for the next month on our Facebook (facebook.com/RammingSpeed) and Myspace (myspace.com/OfficialRammingSpeed) pages. - more on this story

The Cult Set For The Guitar Center Sessions

(hennemusic) The Cult are the next artists featured on The Guitar Center Sessions. The Cult episode premieres via DirecTV channel 101 (and is 3D on n|3D) on December 4 at 9PM ET/PT.

The band are on a US tour in support of their recent recordings on the newly formatted 'capsule' collection.

Rather than revisit the traditional method of releasing a long-form CD, the "capsule" is a collection of not just new music, but film, art and fashion. - more on this story

The Smashing Pumpkins Releasing Another EP

(Gibson) The Smashing Pumpkins will release the next EP installment of the 44-song Teargarden By Kaleidyscope project on Tuesday, November 23.

Head Pumpkin Billy Corgan has abandoned the traditional album format in favor of recording songs in batches of four, offering them for free online, then releasing them as four-song EPs in limited edition CD and deluxe 12" vinyl picture disc form. The second such release, Teargarden By Kaleidyscope Vol II: The Solstice Bare, features "The Fellowship," "Freak," "Tom Tom and Spangled" as well as unreleased B-side track, "Cottonwood Symphony." The lid covering the 12" box is a metallic/foil wallpaper motif designed by The Flavor Paper Co.

As for the future direction of the project, Corgan told Mixdown magazine, "I have more than enough written but I would say probably half or less than half is worth recording, because I'm still evolving with the quality level and maybe what I'm trying to say. Now that the band has really come together as a unit, I'm looking at the material in a completely different way. We're sort of back into a dynamic rock outfit. So that opens up my mind. It brings the musicianship back into the equation in a way that maybe it hasn't been in a while." -

Deadlock's Bizarro World Is Coming

(Lifeforce) Deadlock's new album "Bizarro World", will be released February 25th, 2011 in Germany and February 28th in the rest of Europe via Lifeforce Records. Release dates for the US and Japan will be announced soon.

You can still follow the progress of the album by checking the studio updates at Deadlock´s facebook profile here

The band will play a couple of exclusive record release shows in Germany around the album release. - more on this story

Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 2 Features Soul Asylum, Mason Jennings and more

Sixteen bands consisting of more than 125 musicians will release the Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 2 to help fund music and art education programs in Minnesota. This program puts instruments, supplies, and tools in the hands of young artists and musicians across the state.

The new collection of 16 originally arranged Beatles cover songs recorded exclusively for the project, will hit store shelves December 8th. The LP features songs by standout artists with Minnesota roots, ranging from Soul Asylum and Mason Jennings, to P.O.S., Cory Chisel, and 3-time Grammy Award winners Sounds of Blackness. The album also features the Edison High School Concert Band, located in Northeast Minneapolis, which was a 2010 grant recipient of more than 50 instruments.

Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 2 will be available in CD, digital and new limited-edition double LP vinyl formats. It can be purchased online at Target.com and at Minnesota Target stores. It also will be sold at independent record stores throughout the country, and songs will be available for download through iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and Rhapsody. - more on this story

David Crosby Books First L.A. Show in 20 Years

(Gibson) Twenty years since he last played a solo show in Los Angeles, David Crosby will perform on Monday, December 13 at the Avalon Hollywood. The gig will be a benefit for The Blank Theatre Company, according to vintagevinylnews.com.

TV star Noah Wyle from ER is the company's artistic producer and vice chairman of the board.

Crosby said, "My friend Noah Wyle took me to see a few of The Blank's shows. I was duly impressed by the quality of production and the daring nature of the work. Supporting The Blank is just one small way that I can help." - more on this story

Steve Vai Private Sessions

(hennemusic) Guitar Center present Private Sessions with guitarist Steve Vai. This event featured Vai in an intimate Q & A with the 10 winners of the Steve Vai: Guitar Center Private Sessions Contest.

In May, Vai announced the contest: guitarists were invited to submit a recording of themselves playing over one of Steve's "Naked Tracks" – the guitar master explains:

"This series of CDs is designed for the jammers – those who crave playing their instruments along with a band, but don't have the band to back them up." - more on this story

SwampVoodoo CD Release Party

SwampVoodoo is planning their CD Release Celebration for December 18th at Toot's Tavern in Crockett, CA with opening act Midnight Train.

Attendees will have a chance to experience this musical act as they listen to those sordid stories on SwampVoodoo's debut CD release "At the Wheel A' Betty", all from the days of yore - stories of gamblers and grifters, voodoo queens, vampire hunters, smugglers and the like - told by SwampVoodoo's clan member Slick Black.

The first ten attendees to enter the door will receive a free SwampVoodoo CD. Swampvoodoo will be selling their CD for a special price of $5 at this show only. - more on this story

Crowbar Headlining Tour Starts This Week

This week heavy rockers Crowbar will kick off their first headlining tour in over five years.

The trek will begin on Saturday in Savannah, GA with Black Tusk joining them.

On December 3rd they'll team up with Eyehategod for a run of dates that will keep them on the road until December 18th where they'll wrap up the tour in Shreveport, LA - more on this story

Asheville Punk and Alternative Compilation Coming

(Glass Onyon) On December 11, 2010 Umbrella Tree Records will issue their first CD release, Natural Selections: Sounds of Asheville's Indie Underground, a compilation of local punk and alternative bands.

The release will include the Forty Furies, Grammer School, the Machiavillains, Solito, Balloon Wars, the Spandrels and Pallas Cats. The many different styles that permeate the CD correlate the richness and incredible variety that's all too often underappreciated due to the over-saturation of the local music scene.

Represented styles could be described as power-pop, soul, chamber-pop, post-hardcore, post-punk, post-rock, math-rock, art-punk as well as many other genres come to mind, making this release as fun as it is prescient. Recorded locally at Anarchy Audio and locally mastered by J Ferris at Discfunctional Family Studio, the album has a warm lo-fi sound from the integration of key analog instruments used during the production process giving it a fluid consistency from track to track. With the release of Natural Selections, Umbrella Tree hopes to invigorate the region's indie music community and to instigate greater interest into these up and coming artists as well as this thriving music scene. - more on this story

The Meads Of Asphodel Announce Candlelight Debut

Candlelight Records have set a January 11, 2011 release date for The Meads Of Asphodel's new album The Murder of Jesus The Jew, in North America.

Continuing their notoriously bizarre integration of torrid black metal, infused with countless other styles, and the band's unique style of theatrical storytelling, the madness runs rampant on the new album, sure to be one of the most talked about black metal releases of 2011.

The Murder of Jesus The Jew Track Listing: 1. Boiled In Hell Broth And Grave Dust (Intro) 2. My Psychotic Sand Deity 3. Apocalypse Of Lazarus 4. Addicted To God 5. Stiller Of Tempests 6. Man From Kerioth 7. Dark Gethsemane 8. Jew Killer 9. Genesis Of Death 10. From Eagle To Cross 11. Apostle Of The Uncircumcised 12. A Canticle for the lost amputees of Aelia Capitolina who have been trampled under the iron shod hooves of salivating Hell Rams and impaled on the shimmering tusks of salvation within the abandoned tabernacle of a Bronze Age myth -

Hull Announce Show With Pentagram

Hull have announced their appearance on a very special show this January opening for doom icons Pentagram.

The performance will take place at Brooklyn's Club Europa on January 6, 2011. Additional support will come from Judas Priestess and Bezoar.

Commented the band : "This year being the first of the future, twenty-ten, it marks the starting point of a whole new century of sonic learning that we can't even begin to imagine. Twenty-eleven has been foretold to perhaps even melt the faces of those who aren't listening to the learning. The first of these twelve or seventy-three different events to mark the future will fall upon the sixth day of twenty-eleven at eight of the clock, when the bare moon is halved and then thrice cloven, thus appearing to be full. - more on this story