This Week's Top stories

Here are the top stories from this week's Day in Rock and the top Day in Rock digest stories

Metallica Party Crashers- Vince Says Motley Crue Distrust Each Other- Van Halen To The Rescue- Naked Bret Michaels- Lordi Fire Unmasked Member- Stone Temple Delay- more

Two Metallica fans scaled the fence around an arena and impersonated staff in a bid to meet their heavy metal idols in Christchurch, reports Stuff.co.nz. In the Christchurch District Court yesterday, student Christopher John Sage admitted pulling the stunt. more

Pop Eater asked Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil about some negative things he wrote about his bandmates in his new book. Pop Eater asked "You wrote that you dread when one of them calls because there is always an ulterior motive." Neil responded, "Yeah, for a while there was always an ulterior motive for everything that was done and I still think that way. When decisions are made about something I always try to figure out the angle. I don't completely trust them but I don't think they completely trust me either. It's a two-way street. That's the way things have evolved. That's with all Motley business, not just the band." He wasn't all negative towards his bandmates, read the full interview here

Poison singer Bret Michaels is scheduled to appear on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Wednesday, October 13th. more

Lordi have fired a member for unmasking. They tell fans, " "It is our unfortunate task to inform that Kita [drums] is no longer a member of Lordi. Kita has made a decision to pursue his own career publicly as himself, without his alter ego Kita. This is in direct conflict with one of the cornerstones of Lordi's image. Therefore it is not possible for him to continue as a member of the band anymore." more

Mew is planning a new compilation of favorites to be released later this month. According to Sound Venue, the disc will be titled Eggs are Funny and it will be issued on October 25, 2010. more

Kid Rock has upload the "Born Free" Album Cover here

Scale The Summit have entered Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, FL with producer Mark Lewis (All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder) to record their next Prosthetic Records release. more

Bullet For My Valentine have been forced to cancel their slot on tonight's (Tuesday, October 5th) Lupo's show in Providence, RI, due to illness. more

My Chemical Romance revealed the cover art for their upcoming new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys is here

Guitarist Dan Rock has rejoined Psychotic Waltz, the reunited cult early 1990s progressive metal band from El Cajon, California. The group, whose lineup now includes all five original members, will embark on a European tour as the support act for Nevermore and Symphony X in February/March 2011. more

Confide has officially confirmed plans to disband following their upcoming tour dates in Japan. more

The L.A. Times is reporting that come the end of this month, Wilco will return to the studio to begin recording what is currently their untitled eighth record. more

Betrayer has announced that they have parted ways with bassist Norm Michaud. The band is currently seeking an experienced bassist. more

Glyder have split up. And it appears a number of factors led to this decision. more

Shai Hulud will be touring Canada along with Lionheart, Counterparts, and Hundredth. more

Live Nation Executive Chairman Irving Azoff told analysts that the concert business will end 2010 on a sour note. Next year may improve, he said, as hitmakers who sat on the sidelines in 2010 plan major tours. He's especially optimistic that Van Halen , Fleetwood Mac among others will fill arenas and ampitheaters. more

Roger Waters' 30th anniversary show of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' has sparked a bit of controversy. NME reports that the historic outing has been accused of being anti-Semitic. The allegations come from the Anti-Defamation League, who claim the stage show uses imagery associated with stereotypes about Jews and money. more

According to the Simon & Schuster web site, Stone Temple Pilots/Ex-Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland's autobiography, "Not Dead & Not For Sale", has had its tentative release date pushed back to April 12, 2011. more

King of Leon's Only By The Night, issued in 2008, has been named the top-selling digital album in the UK, reports Music Radar. According to official figures, the album has been downloaded 276,000 times, just ahead of Lady Gaga's The Fame with 261,000 downloads. more

ASB reports that Pavement left fans at their Las Vegas concert baffled on Friday, October 1 when frontman Stephen Malkmus hinted the reunited band's appearance would be their last. The group reformed earlier this year to play their first live shows in just over a decade following their 1999 split, but their disjointed performance at the Pearl Ballroom in Sin City's Palms Casino appeared to signal the beginning of the end for the California rockers. more

Black Label Society - featuring leader Zakk Wylde (ex-Ozzy Osbourne) who was released from a Nebraska hospital following treatment for a "blood clotting condition" in his leg yesterday - hit the stage again in Milwaukee, WI at Eagles Ballroom last night (Saturday, October 2). Video footage featuring a surprise pre-show jam including a cover of Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer' can be here

Alexisonfire has revealed the tracklisting for its forthcoming release 'iTunes Originals.' The all digital release features short documentary clips as well as five re-recorded tracks. more

Bret Michaels talked to E! about his naked Billboard cover. "I said, 'Listen, I have two requests-good lighting and a warm room. That's all I'm asking for,'" Michaels tells E!. "If I'm walking out with it all f**king hanging out there for the world to see then, well, I need good lighting and a warm room." And some sit-ups! "I didn't eat for a day and I did about 2,000 sit-ups," he says. more

Styx frontman Tommy Shaw has posted an audio clip from his new Bluegrass side-project, The Great Divide, due out in 2011. more

Skarhead will tour Europe in November. The group's line-up will include Lord Ezec, Myke, Riggs Ross, Mike Cools, AK Rey, and Matty BK. more

Glastonbury 2011 tickets sell out within four hours Organizers Michael and Emily Eavis thanks punters for being 'patient' with booking system more

Amazon.com is listing an April 26th, 2011 release date for the official biography from original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley called No Regrets more

A film based around the music of The Beach Boys is reportedly in the works. more

Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who is currently performing with Avenged Sevenfold filling in James "The Rev" Sullivan, met up with Sullivan's family for the first time on on September 17th in Irvine, CA. more

Wrench In The Works has called it quits. Formed in 2004, the group has released three albums, two with Facedown Records. more

Lamb Of God were not be able to perform at the Quito Fest in Ecuador this past weekend. The band were at the airport when their flight, and all flights, to Ecuador were canceled due to the attempt to overthrow the Ecuadorian government. more

Romanian music site Rock Stage sent over a link to photos from Ozzy's show in Bucharest on Saturday. Check em out here

On this day in 1970, Janis Joplin was found dead at the Landmark Hotel Hollywood after an accidental heroin overdose. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here -

Listen To Steven Tyler's Solo Debut

hennemusic has the hook up for Aerosmith fans who want to hear Steven Tyler's solo debut single, "Love Lives."

Tyler recorded the theme song for the live-action "Space Battleship Yamato" movie, which opens in Japan on December 1.

The song premiered on Japanese radio last Friday and has now surfaced online. Grab a listen - here

Former Guns N' Roses Manager Slams Axl's Mistakes

Rock Radio has this report which should interest Guns N' Roses fans: The man who helped make legends out of Guns N' Roses has listed the three main mistakes singer Axl Rose has made since taking over the band. Alan Niven managed GnR through their early days and remained on board until Rose fired him and took over the band, forcing the members to sign their name rights to him.

Now the manager says Rose made three critical errors over his Chinese Democracy album, which has resulted in a negative attitude from former followers. And he says the current GnR is "an insult" to the band who recorded Appetite for Destruction.

"Axl made two huge mistakes: one was releasing it and the other was working with manager Irving Azoff," Niven tells BraveWords. "I'd have done everything in my power to make sure Chinese Democracy was something people always talked about and wondered about – but never got to completely hear." - He has a lot more to say here

Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck Reunion?

(Gibson) Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck are considering a recording project, one of several new albums Stewart hopes to make now that he has decided to end to his Songbook series, after Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook, Volume V is released on October 19.

Stewart told Billboard he hoped to record blues and country albums. "And I may record with Jeff Beck, and I may have to write a few songs… I've got a meeting with Jeff in a couple weeks in London, and we're going to see if we can work together and see what each of us wants to do. We're a little bit older now and we can tolerate each other."

Stewart said his songwriting style had become much looser since the Jeff Beck Group days. "Songwriting, let me tell you, was something that was thrust upon me," he said. "When we were in the Jeff Beck Group, we said, 'OK, let's see if we can do something original,' because everybody was trying to write songs then. This was the late '60s. Woody [Ronnie Wood] started strumming and he said, 'Would you write the lyrics?' And I said, 'Me? What? I've never written a song in my life!' So we wrote a couple songs as the Jeff Beck Group and we never looked back." - -

Chickenfoot May Replace Chad

(Rock Radio) Joe Satriani says he'd love Tommy Lee to replace Chad Smith in Chickenfoot if the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer can't fulfill his obligations with the supergroup.

Satch, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony are gearing up to record their second album with Smith in January – but the skinbeater's duties with his main band could keep him from touring the record.

"We just did two shows with Chad and they were fantastic. Afterwards he said he's still committed to the band, so that was cool. I'm not worried about him completing the album. As for touring – we'll have to see. Obviously he's going to be pretty busy." Satch says in an interview. - more on this story

Why Les Claypool Didn't Join Metallica

(Rock Radio) Primus mainman Les Claypool says rumors about Metallica believing he was too good to join them are just that: rumors.

He was in the running to replace Cliff Burton in the band after the tour bus crash which killed him in 1986. He was far from the only candidate – along with Jason Newsted who finally got the job, wrestling star Hulk Hogan has said he also applied.

But modest Claypool says Metallica frontman James Hetfield is being too kind when he suggested in an interview that the tie-up never took place because his audition was just too impressive. - Find out the real reason here

Alice in 3D Chains

Alice in Chains plan a very special homecoming show and fans will have the chance to be part of AIC history. The band writes on their blog:

The Seattle Blackdiamondskye date on this Friday, October 8, will play host to a very special Alice in Chains 3D concert filming.

If you would like to be immortalized as a part of BDS and Alice in Chains history for this groundbreaking event, hurry and buy one of the remaining tickets for this show -

INXS Announces Singers For New Album

INXS have announced the guest singers from their new album. Gibson has the story: INXS will release a new single on Monday, with Australian vocalist/actor Dan Sultan at the mic.

The song is a new version of their 1980 hit "Just Keep Walking." Sultan - who appeared in the 2009 film Bran Nue Dae with Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush - isn't the only guest vocalist appearing on INXS's forthcoming album. Other singers include Ben Harper, Rob Thomas, Train's Pat Monahan and more, all offering their own takes on INXS classics. The Harper-fronted version of "Never Tear Us Apart" was released in August. The release date for the new album is yet to be announced.

Singer JD Fortune, who won his place in the band via the TV show Rockstar: INXS and performed on 2005's Switch, is still a permanent member of the band, although his job appeared in doubt in 2009 when he told Entertainment Tonight Canada that he was fired at an airport in Hong Kong at the conclusion of the last tour. -

Linkin Park Singer In Saw 3D and American Tour Coming

Two Bits Of News Comes Out Of A New Interview Chester Bennington Gave To MTV. The band do plan to tour the U.S. in January and also Chester will appear in the new "Saw 3D".

"We'll be touring in the U.S. come the end of January; we'll most likely be touring from the end of January until probably the middle of March or into April," Bennington told MTV News according to FMQB . "[It's] interesting because we've always kicked off our touring cycles playing in the U.S., but, crazily enough, we've kind of become a worldwide band... but we're coming back, and it's going to be pretty bad-ass."

As for Saw 3D, Chester was a bit more tight lipped. "I can tell you that my name is Evan," Bennington told MTV. "Other than that, I can tell you nothing else about the character." - more on this story

Zakk Wylde To Write Forward to Randy Rhoads Biography

(Gibson) Author Joel McIver, whose previous books include Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Holy Rock & Rollers: The Story of Kings of Leon, will deliver two new hard rock bios for the coming year. On his website, McIver announced the 2011 release of Crazy Train: The High Life and Tragic Death of Randy Rhoads and Overkill: The True Story of Motörhead.

Crazy Train will concentrate on the impact of Rhoads' all-too-brief career on subsequent generations of players, including interviews with Tom Morello, Annihilator's Jeff Waters, Exodus' Gary Holt and several others. The book will also feature a foreword by Zakk Wylde.

"When Joel asked me to write the foreword for this book about Randy, I was beyond honored," said Wylde. "I figured it was the least I could do, considering how much impact Randy has had on my life." - more on this story

Singled Out: Jody Porter (Fountains Of Wayne)

Today Fountains Of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter tells us about "Aurora" from his new solo album "Close To The Sun," which was released earlier this year. We now turn it over to Jody for the story:

I had the title first. It's about a girl from London who went searching for some new life she saw glamorized in old films that basically over romanticizes New York or the American way. The story had an element of reality but I wanted to fill it in so it wasn't just telling a story and try to give it other angles.

I lived in England for long enough to know the street names that sounded right meter wise and that's where it starts. "From the back of a taxi to a 1 way flight/ she said so long to the simple things in life"... Grass is always greener kind of thing in the first verse. As it goes on... "winter took it's toll/ the garbage in the dirty snow/ everything looks worse in the light/ better in the movies than in real life... She's on the bus to a s***ty 9 to 5/ never takes the 6 train late at night" and so on.

In my mind I was using the night turning into day thing to parallel the disillusion. The suns coming up after a long night of looking for something that's not there. Then choruses -"Aurora I'm not waiting for your new light to shine thru/ this girls been confiscated somewhere underneath yer moon and Daylight always comes too soon." etc..

The recording of the song was pretty straight ahead with 2 acoustics bashing it out in the verses. I used a Nashville tuning on one so the 2 together sound a bit like a 12 string. Then the electrics have a spacey panning thing to give the choruses more depth. It recorded for the album as soon as I wrote it.

I didn't have a demo to reference and the song wasn't lying around for ages. It was written during the sessions and went down fresh so I probably ended up liking it more.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself with a full album stream - more on this story

30 Seconds to Kanye West

(Gibson) The collaboration between 30 Seconds to Mars and Kanye West will see the light of day soon, frontman Jared Leto told MTV News.

A Kanye-less version of the track, "Hurricane," was included on the band's latest album, This Is War, because the rapper's contribution couldn't be cleared in time for the album's December 2009 release. At the time, Leto vowed that the recording would be Released some day. Now he says the band hopes West will even be available to shoot a video for the song.

"Let's put it this way: It's a collision of two worlds, and I think it's a completely unexpected surprise," Leto said. "He's not only on the track, but he's phenomenal on the track... It's one of the strongest things that he's done, in my opinion. It is a song that's on the darker side of things. It's the flipside of 'Kings and Queens' – which has a through line of optimism and hope, and a really strong spirit to it – this song explores a different territory, and his lyrics do the same. His singing is incredible on it, and he's done a lot of really wonderful work, and I think this only adds to his work as a whole. Working with him was an incredible experience." -

Billie Joe Revives Green Day's Broadway Musical

(hennemusic) Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong made his Broadway debut this past week and it was a huge box office success.

Armstrong joined the production of "American Idiot" for a series of eight shows, playing the role of "St. Jimmy," while actor Tony Vincent was on leave due to a family matter.

The New York Post reports that the show grossed $1,092,334 for the week that Armstrong was on hand, producers said, compared to $480,566 the previous week - more on this story

Behind The Music: Remastered Returns with New Episodes

Vh1 Classic's Behind The Music: Remastered returns this month with new episodes featuring Poison, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, Duran Duran and more.

The new season kicks off on Saturday, October 16 at 9 PM and according to the announcement the series picks up where "Behind The Music," left off with brand new interviews, footage, and video clips that update the stories of several classic artists over the last 10 to 15 years.

Starting October 16 at 9 PM*, VH1 Classic will air nine new one-hour episodes of "Behind the Music Remastered" featuring some of classic rocks' seminal artists and bands. - more on this story

Atheist Return With First Album in 17 Years

Atheist will release, Jupiter, their first new album in 17 years, on November 9th through Season of Mist (Nov 8th outside the U.S.). Here is what the label has to say about the release:

In the late 80's and early 90's, this band, alongside fellow Floridians Death and Cynic, handcrafted the sub-genre that spawned bands such as Mesghuggah, Between The Buried And Me and Mudvayne.

Atheist once again shows technical metal who's boss. This highly anticipated album is full of dizzying twists and turns. A collection of songs easily as brutal, if not more so, than 1991's "Unquestionable Presence" which is considered by many to be the alpha album of this extreme style. - more on this story

Dream Theater's James LaBrie Announces Solo Tour

Dream Theater frontman James LaBrie has announced his first solo headlining tour in five years.

LaBrie will be hitting the road in support of his just released solo effort, "Static Impulse".

LaBrie comments: "Hello Everyone, Matt, Marco, Peter, Ray and I are extremely psyched to announce a tour in support of the new album 'Static Impulse'. Everyone that played on the disc will be on stage. This is going to be a very powerful and memorable evening. Just us and the fans doing what we both love doing. You will hear songs from MullMuzzler, EOP and of course the latest, Static Impulse. Come out and support this US/ Canada tour and let's have a blast. We will hit you like a sledgehammer, but I promise it won't hurt... See you out there. Goooooooooo!!!!! James." - more on this story