Motorhead Murder Investigation- Wolf Parade Over?- Dimebag and Paul Gray Documentary- Marduk Boxset- Tour Van Chase and Gunfire- Ozzy for Kids- more

Farewell To Freeway will release their next Victory Records release on January 18th, 2011. Titled "Filthy Habits," the effort was produced by Eric Arena more -

Bon Jovi Going On Hiatus

(Rock AAA) Bon Jovi are set to go on a long hiatus after completing their current world tour, with mainman Jon Bon Jovi admitting the stress is getting to him.

The band's fourth greatest hits compilation has charted well around the world, but the continued strain of delivering the goods means Bon Jovi will alter plans to keep travelling throughout 2011.

Instead, they'll stop by the middle of the year – and don't plan to return any time soon afterwards. - more on this story

Early Metallica Demo Posted Online

The Metal Den have posted another rare early Metallica demo online for your headbanging pleasure. Here is what they had to say:

Ready to hear some more early Metallica? Judging from the avalanche of views TMD received when they first brought worldwide exposure to the 1982 "Hit The Lights" Demo that was featured here back in March/2010…
you die hard fans want historic metal music now more than ever before.

This time it comes in the form of a Diamond Head cover entitled "The Prince", from the original 8 song demo that was recorded in Ron McGovney's garage on March 14, 1982. - Check it out here

System of a Down Reunite

(Rock AAA) System of a Down will headline next year's Download festival at Donington as part of a reunion tour.

But the band say they have no big plans for new material or a long-term continuation – they're just playing some shows because they want to.

Rumours had been rife after it was said SOAD had booked an appearance in the Bercy venue in Paris on June 6, put together with Download promoter Andy Copping's comment that he'd already confirmed two headline acts for the event, which takes place a week after the Paris date. - more on this story

Why Robert Plant Rejected Led Zeppelin Reunion

(Gibson) As his Led Zeppelin Experience tour prepared for a stop in Hollywood this past week, Jason Bonham sat down with LA Weekly to discuss the tour, his father's drumming legacy and his chance to sit in with his father's band at London's O2 Arena three years ago. Regarding the reunion, Bonham said the band themselves weren't quite as dangerous as one might imagine.

"They are the most normal bunch of guys you could be around," he reflected. "At one point we were in rehearsal, and this old lady turned up with sandwiches: 'Robert, here you are, I put an extra pickle on for you ... Jimmy, yours are here; John, here's your salad.' When we took a break, everyone would take a section of the newspaper and read. And I'm going, 'Where's the debauchery? Where's the upside down crosses and naked girls and sacrificial tables with virgins on them?' But, boy, when they played ... The key to me pulling off the gig was that all I was only looking for was the reassurance from the three guys on stage. I didn't care that anyone else was in the audience."

After the success of the O2 show, there was great anticipation that Led Zeppelin might continue on together. But singer Robert Plant proved unwilling to relaunch the band that broke up in 1980 after John Bonham's death. "Robert always expressed to me: 'Jason, you know I love you, I loved your dad, and I know how great you are as a player. And on the night, you were great. But to me Led Zeppelin's John, not Jason.' Although it would benefit me to go do it, I also agree with what he says. I understand." - more on this story

Genesis' Steve Hackett Locked in Tour Bus

(Rock AAA) Ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett was trapped in his tour bus hold last week after the door closed on him, leaving him stranded in the dark.

And when the lock failed to open rescue services had to be called to rescue him in time for his appearance at Bath's Komedia venue.

"Half an hour before showtime Steve realised he was missing his favourite guitar. Everyone was busy so he decided to retrieve it from the bus himself," Hackett's spokesperson says. "The guitar had slid to the back of the luggage hold, so he climbed in – and the door swing shut, locking him in. - more on this story

Wendy Dio Wants Heaven and Hell To Continue

(Rock AAA) Ronnie James Dio's widow wants his band Heaven and Hell to continue with surviving members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice.

Wendy Dio, who was also the singer's manager, understands the musicians have all struggled with his death from cancer in May – particularly bassist Butler.

But she believes Heaven and Hell should live on, although under a new name. Dio says: "I don't really know what they're doing right now. But they should do something. - more on this story

Lost Randy Rhoads Solo Posted Online

The Metal Den has obtained a rare Randy Rhoads guitar solo that was part of the Ozzy show that was recorded live in Cleveland, Ohio on May 11, 1981.

However, unlike the majority of songs from that night that were ultimately used for Ozzy Osbourne's Tribute album released in 1987, Rhoads' legendary guitar solo spot in "Suicide Solution" featured on the classic live record is actually taken from another show that took place in Montreal, Quebec on July 28, 1981.

Whatever happened to the original solo from that historic night? Why was it left off the Tribute album? Did Randy Rhoads honestly ever have a bad performance? Upon closer examination, you are going to hear that the lost Rhoads solo itself is nothing short of incredible. - Listen here

Kid Rock Birthday Sell Out

(hennemusic) Kid Rock is a hot ticket in his hometown. The Detroit Free Press reports that tickets sold out in 19 minutes, Friday morning, for Kid Rock's January 15 birthday concert at Ford Field.

More than 45,000 seats, including several thousand purchased in a private presale earlier this week, were snatched up.

Fans who came up empty aren't necessarily out of luck if they're determined to attend the event, a 40th birthday celebration that's expected to include a star-powered guest list. - more on this story

Motorhead Use Internet To Record New Album

(Rock AAA) Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell recorded his parts for the trio's new album thousands of miles away from his bandmates – because his dad was dying.

Campbell's tracks for The World Is Yours were laid down in Wales then emailed to the band's studio in the US.

"Doing the album was exactly the same as the previous ones, Motorizer and Kiss of Death. But there was one difference – Phil had to do his parts over the internet," Lemmy tells Radio Metal. "He was in Wales because his dad was very ill – and he died. So we had to do it by email. It worked out alright." - more on this story

Sammy Hagar Autobiography Coming

(hennemusic) It's been about 5 months since Sammy Hagar and publishers Harper Collins announced that the Red Rocker had signed on to write his autobiography.

Time for an update on "Red: My Uncensored Life as a Rocker," due next year.

"The book's basically done, but the editors want me to go deeper in a couple of areas," Hagar tells the Marin Independent Journal. - more on this story

Metallica Smashes Britney Spears Record

(hennemusic) Metallica recently wrapped up their 2-year World Magnetic Tour with an extended series of shows in Australia, and made some history in the process.

Billboard reports Metallica smashed the ticket sales record at Sydney's Acer Arena, selling 74,244 tickets over four sell-out dates in September and November.

Metallica's feat at the 21,000-capacity arena eclipsed the previous record of 66,247 set by Britney Spears over four nights on her Circus tour in November 2009. - more on this story

Mason Explains Absence From Pink Floyd Reunion

(hennemusic) Remember the Pink Floyd "mini-reunion" that happened over the summer? In July, Roger Waters and David Gilmour teamed up for a benefit show in what amounted to a Pink Floyd mini-reunion.

The two played the Hoping Foundation benefit in Oxfordshire, England to a crowd of about 200 people.

Well, news this week from Classic Rock magazine that drummer Nick Mason was to be a part of the event, but backed out due to the location: the home of UK socialite Jemima Khan. - more on this story

Paul Rodgers Taps Joe Elliott's Down 'N' Outz For Tour

(Gibson) Rock legend Paul Rodgers, of Free, Bad Company and The Firm, will tour the U.K. solo next April.

Music-news.com reports that Rodgers will play 10 shows supported by Joe Elliott's Down 'N' Outz.

BMI recently presented Paul Rodgers with a Million Air Award for more than four million plays of Free's "All Right Now" on U.S. radio. "When I started writing 'All Right Now,' the lyrics and the melody flowed easily," Rodgers said. "It felt special then and still does. It's a must-play in my solo set." - more on this story

Iron Maiden Supergroup Debut Cancelled Due To Press Attention

(Rock AAA) Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith has cancelled the first-ever show booked by his supergroup – because it was advertised.

Smith plays guitar in side-project Primal Rock Rebellion, which also includes singer Mikee Goodman, bassist James Leach and drummer Dan Foord from Sikth, guitarist Dan Marshall from Murder One and keyboardist James Manning from Vacant Stare.

The band arranged a concert at the Bucks University Students Union, Wycombe. But now word has got out, Smith believes they'll be unable to achieve their aims on the night. - more on this story

Bret Michaels Releases Sublime Video

(hennemusic) Bret Michaels has released a new video on Thanksgiving.

"What I Got" is a cover of the 1996 Sublime hit, and is included on Bret's latest solo effort, "Custom Built."

Michaels' continues his solo tour, with dates booked through the end of the year. - Watch the video here

Duff McKagan To Get Loaded Again This Spring

(hennemusic) Duff McKagan's Loaded is riding a wave these days. Following the thrill of playing at his hometown favorite Seattle Seahawks game, Duff and crew have more good news to share: new album details for 2011.

The band just signed with Eagle Rock Entertainment, who will release Loaded's new album, "The Soundtrack," on March 22, 2011.

The project was recorded at a Seattle-area studio with producer Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera, Deftones). - more on this story

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Top Rock Feud List

(Gibson) Many of the greatest bands in rock and roll history have been founded on fractious friendships and love/hate relationships that sometimes lean more heavily on the latter half of that equation. In tribute to rock's most uneasy partnerships, Rolling Stone magazine has a new list of the Greatest Rock Feuds of All Time.

Topping the list are the Glimmer Twins – Rolling Stones bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards who have had more than their share of famous dust-ups over the years.

The top five also include "old friends" (and occasional enemies) Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and brothers Ray and Dave Davies, of Kinks fame. In fact, the Davies boys recently had a disagreement in the press. After Ray suggested a possible reunion for The Kinks, Dave quickly shot down the idea, saying, "You don't need to see silly old men in wheelchairs singing 'You Really Got Me.'" - more on this story

Robert Plant To Appear On Jimmy Fallon

(hennemusic) Ahead of his North American tour in the New Year, Robert Plant is scheduled to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, December 9.

No official word, yet, on whether Plant will be interviewed or is set to be the musical guest that evening.

But his name does appear in the music performance slot on the Late Night TV Page's schedule for the show. - more on this story

Jimi Hendrix Film Coming

(Gibson) Jimi Hendrix's February 1969 London gigs at the Royal Albert Hall are the subject of a new documentary to be released next year.

Janie Hendrix, Jimi's half-sister and president/CEO of Experience Hendrix, told Billboard: "There were about four cameras that followed Jimi and the guys around in Europe and filmed the two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as them coming off trains, planes and automobiles, signing autographs, Jimi backstage getting ready, in his apartment doing little apartment jams with his friends and then later playing the Speakeasy."

The documentary movie is expected to get a theatrical and DVD release and a soundtrack album is set to be released as well. - more on this story

KISS Museum Selling Eric Carr's Drum Set

(hennemusic) KISS Asylum reports that the Kiss Museum is selling one of the late Eric Carr's drum sets.

The chrome "Chikara" drum set was the main work-horse of the 1988 KISS Crazy Nights tour and was played at the majority of the shows.

Kiss Museum has 18 pieces of the kit up for sale (some items are already listed as sold) if you would like to have a chance to own a piece of KISStory. - more on this story

Eric Clapton Named Top UK Guitar Hero

(hennemusic) Iconic status has been placed on Eric Clapton for most, if not all, of his career, but it's impressive that fans have continued to hold the guitarist in high regard more than 40 years after his career began.

Clapton was voted the U.K.'s #1 Guitar Hero, according to a poll by the country's largest musical insurer, Allianz Musical Insurance.

At the London guitar show Guitar Nation Live, guitarists that visited the Allianz stand were asked to declare their guitar idols - those famous guitarists who have been a great musical influence on them. - See who else made the list

Anniversary of George Harrison's Death

(Gibson) On November 29, 2001, media outlets all over the world reported that former Beatle George Harrison had passed away, having lost his battle with cancer. But such statements were grossly insufficient to capture the breadth of Harrison's life. Though he contributed mightily to The Beatles — with his guitar playing, his vocal harmonies and as a burgeoning songwriter — Harrison's life encompassed much more than those 12 years on the Beatle rollercoaster.

When the group split in 1970, Harrison took a stockpile of songs — many of which he was unable to release with The Beatles due to the Lennon/McCartney stranglehold on the band's songwriting — into the studio to record what turned out to be a triple album, All Things Must Pass. Aided by such legendary friends as Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Billy Preston and Beatle pal, Ringo Starr, Harrison laid down such classics as "My Sweet Lord," "What Is Life" and the gorgeous title track. The resulting album is considered by many to be the best solo record by any of The Beatles.

During the following decade, Harrison was unable to match the critical or commercial success of All Things Must Pass. Still, his musical output was more than noteworthy. He released the hit single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," and wrote or produced multiple hits for Ringo Starr, including "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph." He also appeared on albums by John Lennon, Harry Nilsson and Billy Preston. Eclipsing all of this, though, was his role as organizer of The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star charity event featuring the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr and others. The Madison Square Garden concert, which was filmed and recorded for subsequent commercial release, set the template for later events like Rock for Kampuchea and Live Aid. - more on this story

Children Of Bodom Set New Album Release

Children Of Bodom will release their new album Relentless Reckless Forever on March 8, 2011 via Universal Music.

Recorded in Finland's Petrax Studios with famed rock producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Monster Magnet), Relentless Reckless Forever is the seventh studio album of COB's career and the first new record from the band since 2008's Blooddrunk, which debuted at #22 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart and scored the quintet its third consecutive #1 debut in Finland.

"We worked super hard on this album, at least for me it was pretty much no sleep or rest for six weeks," stated Laiho. "But we were determined to make the best COB album ever, so we were willing to do whatever it took. Of course, having our producer Matt Hyde kicking our asses 24/7 definitely made the results even better, so obviously we're more than anxious to get this album out there" -

PJ Harvey Sets New Album Release

(Gibson) PJ Harvey's new album will be released next February and will be titled Let England Shake.

According to NME.com, the official release date is February 14. The album will be PJ Harvey's first full solo record since she put out White Chalk in 2007. The record has been produced by Flood with production credits also going to Mick Harvey and Jean-Marc Butty.

"We played most of the music live," Harvey said. "I didn't set down any rules. For some reason, we were all in a very good place, with a lot of energy, intensity and vitality in us at that time. It was a really enjoyable experience, and I think the record's ended up full of energy and quite an uplifting experience because of it." -

Tom Waits Releasing Book in March

(Gibson) Tom Waits will publish a book of poetry in March 2011. Hard Ground will feature Waits' words alongside photographs of the homeless taken by award-winning photographer Michael O'Brien.

According to the publisher, University of Texas Press, the book is "a portrait of homelessness that impels us to look into the eyes of people who live 'on the hard ground' and recognize our common humanity." The book is in the spirit of the 1941 book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, which chronicled the spirit and hardships of the American farmer during the Great Depression.

According to the publisher, the book is much more than a documentary piece: "Letting words and images communicate on their own terms, rather than merely illustrate each other, Hard Ground transcends documentary and presents independent yet powerfully complementary views of the trials of homelessness and the resilience of people who survive on the streets." -

Miles Kane and Noel Gallagher Collaborating

(Gibson) Both Miles Kane and Noel Gallagher have been at work on their respective solo albums, but that didn't stop them from enlisting one another's help on the projects.

English musician Kane — former frontman of The Rascals and current co-frontman of The Last Shadow Puppets — told BBC Newsbeat this week that Oasis' Gallagher sings on his upcoming solo album and that he's returning the favor by playing guitar on Gallagher's solo album.

"I texted [Gallagher] saying, 'I need some icing on this tune,' and he said, 'Icing is what I do very well,'" said Kane. "I'm very honored that he did it. It's a nice little touch." - more on this story

Kasabian and The Chemical Brothers To Headline RockNess Festival

Kasabian and The Chemical Brothers are confirmed to headline the RockNess festival in the Scottish Highlands.

Speaking about their return to RockNess, Ed and Tom of The Chemical Brothers said "This will be the first time we have played in Scotland since 2008 and so it's really exciting to be headlining one of our favourite festivals. RockNess is an amazing place to play and we can't wait to be back there again".

RockNess Festival Director Jim King commented "We said last year that we really wanted a big rock band and in Kasabian we have the biggest rock band in the UK today. They're going to take the roof off. As for The Chemical Brothers, they epitomise everything we ever dreamed about as a RockNess headliner. They are one of my favourite bands of all time, true pioneers and RockNess legends" - more on this story

Jarvis Cocker Goes Classical

(Gibson) Jarvis Cocker is going to try his hand in the classical music world, as narrator of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.

The Daily Mirror reports that the Pulp frontman will work with the Philharmonia Orchestra at London's Royal Festival Hall on December 29 and 30.

Cocker told the Daily Mirror, "I love telling stories and this one has the added bonus of having a fantastic musical accompaniment. I'm also honored to be following in the footsteps of such luminaries as David Bowie, Sean Connery and Dame Edna Everage by narrating this classic tale for young and old." - more on this story

Mickey Finn Issues Apology Over Comments Made When He Left Jetboy

(Submitted News) Mickey Finn, former lead vocalist for Jetboy would like to clarify some remarks made in a previous press release and subsequent interviews regarding that release.

In the initial release, Mickey gave the impression that he was unhappy with the way the band has been managed for the past four years. Mickey Finn in no way meant to include Richard Riis of R&R Management in that assessment.

"Richard got us some amazing gigs, and some guarantees that never would have materialized had he not been in the picture". Says Mickey "We played Rocklahoma, M3 (twice), South Texas Rock Fest, and a myriad of other amazing shows. Good Lord, the guy got us gigs we never could have dreamed of on our own". - more on this story

Elvis' Favorite Roller Coaster Saved

(Gibson) Green Bay, Wisconsin Mayor Jim Schmitt is going to continue fundraising activities to build the Zippin Pippin roller coaster in Green Bay, reports Tennessean.com.

Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster was originally located in Memphis, Tennessee, but was sold and moved to Green Bay in 2010.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that the project is now expected to cost $3.5 million, up from the original $3 million estimate. Mayor Schmitt says $300,000 in city reserves has been tapped and that private donations will cover the remaining deficit. - more on this story