Vince Neil Accused of Assaulting Woman- New Van Halen Coming- Dio Memoirs- Big Country Reunite- Anselmo Comments on Pantera Reunion- Alice in Chains- more

On this date in 1956, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan show, performing "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender" and "Ready Teddy" from the CBS TV Studios in Los Angeles. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here -

Metallica Announce 8-Song EP

Metallica have announced the release of a special 8-song live EP to celebrate the last leg of their epic World Magnetic tour. Here is what the band had to say about it on their official site:

We're getting psyched up for our return to Australia and New Zealand next week . . . it's been six long years since we've visited and we're ready to throw down! The nice people at Universal Music were so darn excited that they actually suggested that we release something special to commemorate this last run of World Magnetic tour dates, so . . . ta-da . . . we present the "Six Feet Down Under" limited edition EP! Coming to Trans-Tasman record stores and right here at the Metallica.com Store on September 20.

Here's the story . . . the collective brain trust came up with what we thought might be a kinda fun idea . . . how about some live recordings from each time we have been lucky enough to visit the area? It was all well and good until we realized that we did not start making multi-track recordings of every show until 2004 . . . oops! But you guys, the fans, came to our rescue with some pretty decent bootleg options and we trimmed those down to two songs from each tour in 1989, 1993, 1998, and 2004. In digging a little deeper, it occurred to us that we had tracks that had never before been released as "live b-sides" (we're not counting the bonus songs on i-Tunes, okay?) and that that added to the adventure of pulling it all together. Be gentle with us . . . a few of these songs are, well, we'll say "rough," which may be an understatement!! They do, however, capture the live moments and hopefully you'll have as much fun listening as we did playing on those nights. - tracklisting

Mike Portnoy Quits Dream Theater

Mike Portnoy dropped a bombshell on Dream Theater fans on Wednesday, announcing that he is leaving the group after 25 years.

Portnoy is currently playing with Avenged Sevenfold, taking the place of drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan who was found dead in his home last December.

Both Dream Theater and Portnoy have issued statements about splitting (you can read both in full at the full story link) but Portnoy summed us his reasons for leaving by saying, ""After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater" - more on this story

Dave Matthews Band Fall Tour

Dave Matthews Band will be hitting the road again this fall in the U.S. for an arena tour which will feature support acts Amos Lee, Punch Brothers, John Butler Trio, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at various stops.

The outing will start on November 2nd at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY, and include the group's first-ever concert at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY (November 3rd).

In the middle of the tour, the band will play two consecutive two-night stands - Boston's TD Garden (November 9th and 10th) and New York City's Madison Square Garden (November 12th and 13th). - more on this story

Suicidal Tendencies Fall Tour

Suicidal Tendencies have announced a U.S. tour this fall, which kicks off on October 15 and will roll through late November with additional dates to be announced soon.

The trek coincides with the No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family offering released September 7 via the band's own Suicidal Records.

No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family features re-recorded tracks from Suicidal Tendencies' second album, Join The Army originally released in 1987, as well as tunes from the second full-length from No Mercy, Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Mike Clark's speed metal band (which found ST vocalist Mike Muir on vocals) from 1986. Also included is a new version of the classic ST track, "Possessed To Skate." A video for the song is also in the works. - more on this story

3 Inches of Blood Video Too Bloody For MTV

3 Inches Of Blood's new video for "Silent Killer" has been banned by MTV because of its bloody content so it is only appropriate that Bloody Disgusting have offered to premiere the clip.

The video was directed by Rick Podd (The Watcher, Hellraiser), who previously shot their "Battles and Brotherhood" video.

Shane Clark (guitars) offered up these comments: "The concept of the song is about an assassin, so naturally we first thought of a concept featuring an assassin going around doing what they do, but in a style that is more influenced by movies that we liked. At first we thought about a simple performance style video but we've done that a few times and this seemed like a much more entertaining thing for us and our fans. Therefore, we brainstormed a bunch of ideas with Rick Podd and thought of our own killing scenes. I wanted to get poisoned and puke blood and vomit all over the place, and after that it was all in the hands of Rick. I really had a good time with the acting stuff; it was great to work with Chris Valago as well. Some know him as the Heathen from Zimmer's Hole, he's the big FX banana in the Vancouver TV & Film industry, more importantly he's a good friend of mine so we got to sit and plan out the puking at great length, I'm really happy with how that turned out. As for the entire final product, I'm very happy with it, having everyone work together on something and have it turn out great is really satisfying." - Check it out here

Disturbed Debut Strong Across the Globe with Asylum Despite Drop in Sales

We told you yesterday that Disturbed's new album would debut at No. 1 on the American album charts. The album also had a strong showing across the globe where it debuted at #1 in New Zealand, #2 in Australia, #4 in Germany, #3 in Austria and #7 in the UK.

According to Reprise Records, Asylum is the band's fourth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1, a feat achieved by only two other rock groups in history: Metallica and the Dave Matthews Band.

However, with first week sales of only approximately 179,000 copies, their sales are down significantly from their previous releases. Their last album, "Indestructible," had first week sales of approx 253,000, 2005's "Ten Thousand Fists" had first week sales of approx 238,000 and 2002's "Believe" had first week sales of approx 284,000. -

Crime In Stereo's Alex Dunne Explains Breakup and Announces New Projects

Alex Dunne of Crime In Stereo issued a statement for fans explaining why the band broke up and also announced what he is up to now: We'd like to thank everybody for the kind words and well wishes.

Many of you are requesting that we reveal the reasons behind the breakup. Like any divorce, there's no one reason. It's the cumulative effect of many problems left unchecked/unresolved over the course of years. Many of these reasons are personal and we ask that you respect our decision to move on. We appreciate the support that's been given to us over the years, and we feel truly blessed to have done this for so long. I think the longevity of Crime in Stereo was more a testament to you than it was to us.

However, to quell any speculation, we should make it clear that Kristian's surgery had absolutely nothing to do with the announced hiatus. It was purely coincidence, as Kristian and I had decided to make this move before he got sick. His face/jaw/voice/throat is totally fine. He's singing as great as ever and there are no lasting residual effects. - more on this story

Antony and the Johnsons Orchestra One Off

Antony and the Johnsons have announced a special show with an orchestra. According to the announcement the band will play their only North American live show of 2010 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall on Saturday, October 30.

They will be performing with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, which will be conducted by Rob Moose.

Chiaki Nagano's film "Mr. O's Book of the Dead" starring Kazuo Ohno will be featured during the performance. The performance kicks off Lincoln Center's White Light Fest. - more on this story

Bob Dylan, Wilco, The Avett Brothers Power Parenthood Soundtrack

Arrival Records have announced the physical release of the Parenthood soundtrack which features Bob Dylan, Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Brett Dennen and more which was released on digitally Aug. 31 (to coincide with season one's DVD release on Universal Studios Home Entertainment) and will now be in stores on Oct. 5.

The album features 12 tracks all of which are featured or will be featured on the show, including the much talked about theme song - Bob Dylan's "Forever Young. " The physical CD also includes an exclusive version of that song sung by the iconic John Doe and rising star Lucy Schwartz as well as Schwartz's "When We Were Young," which is the international theme song for the show.

The talented artists who contributed to the soundtrack include: Bob Dylan, Brett Dennen, Amos Lee, The Avett Brothers, Corrine Bailey Rae, The Eels, Josh Ritter, Lucy Schwartz, The Swell Season, Wilco, Ray LaMontagne and John Doe & Lucy Schwartz. Liza Richardson is the show's music supervisor and soundtrack co-producer and music supervisor for the series along with Jonathan Platt, Jonathan Miller and Jonathan McHugh. The soundtrack is licensed through NBC Universal television, DVD, music and consumer products group. - more on this story

The Gaslight Anthem, Dr. Dog and More for Nor'easter Fest

The Gaslight Anthem, Dr. Dog, The Walkmen, !!! (Chk, Chk, Chk), Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, Alberta Cross, Rubblebucket, The Constellations are just some of the acts who will appear at The Nor'easter Festival.

The Nor'easter is the Northeast's premiere mountain life festival, combining multiple outdoor sports, conservation efforts and the Northeast's premier music lineup.

Taking place Friday, September 24, 2010 through Sunday, September 26, 2010, at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH, the three-day event will include: two days of music, pro rock climbing at The Unified Bouldering Championships Pro Tour Championships, An international Cyclocross race and even a costume "Fun run" with top musical acts, professional athletes and the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School. - http://www.noreaster.ems.com/

Free Fistful of Mercy From Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison

(Vagrant) Fistful of Mercy (Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison) have announced a free download and tour dates and special pre-order deal for their debut album As I Call You Down which is set to be released October 5th on Harrison's own Hot Records.

Pre-orders for the album are currently available here. The first 300 pre-orders will come with a signed poster from the band. Limited edition vinyl will be available in stores a week early starting September 28th.

Fistful of Mercy will offer their fans a free download of the self titled song, "Fistful of Mercy" from their website in exchange for an email sign up or tweet about the release of the album. See www.FistfulofMercy.com/download for details. Watch the video here. Finally, Joseph, Ben and Dhani will hit the road this November. - dates are here

When The Doors Met Jim Morrison

(Gibson) With the recent release of the documentary, When You're Strange, The Doors are, once again, in the news. The film, directed by Tom DiCillo and narrated by Johnny Depp, is a more balanced account of the band's meteoric rise from the L.A. club scene to international superstardom and their ultimate collapse with the death of Jim Morrison than seen in Oliver Stone's biopic, The Doors.

Robby Krieger and John Desmore sat down with The Brief to take a look back at the band's career, beginning with their introduction to Jim Morrison. "It was Ray [Manzarek] who introduced us to Jim and we didn't know what to think," said Densmore. "Ray said he had never sung before and he was extremely shy, so I thought, 'He's not going to the next Mick Jagger.' But he turned out to be the only Jim Morrison. He was perfect as a frontman. You know, back then, the words 'rock star' weren't in our vocabulary, it wasn't even an energy drink."

"Jim didn't seem that different when I first met him," recalled Krieger. "He seemed like a normal kind of guy, a very good looking guy, but just normal. It wasn't until we started rehearsing that I had an idea of how crazy he was. The first time we realized was when we all went out. We all took things, but he just took more. Way more. And one night he took 10 tabs of acid, that's when we knew he was different and would do everything too much, whether it was booze or drugs. We were always worried about him. At one of our early rehearsals, Ray and John and me were all there but Jim never showed up. We made some calls and found out he was in jail out in the desert somewhere for fighting with some bikers." - more on this story

Jimi Hendrix Book Signing Event

The San Francisco Art Exchange will be hosting a book signing for "The Experience: Jimi Hendrix at Masons Yard" on Friday, 10/1 from 5-7pm with photographer Gered Mankowitz.

Mankowitz is a rock and roll photographer who captured iconic images of Hendrix back in the 60s, and he is releasing the book on 9/18, which is the actual day Jimi Hendrix passed away in 1970.

The book "The Experience: Jimi Hendrix at Masons Yard" features photos taken by Mankowitz, some which are unseen. The signing is open to the public, and anyone attending the signing can kill two birds with one stone by meeting Mankowitz and viewing the San Francisco Art Exchange's Hendrix show at the same time.
- http://www.sfae.com/

They Might Be Giants Free Show

They Might Be Giants continue their US tour which will include a special free show as part of the Milennium Stage Series at the Kennedy Center in DC in addition to two performances at New York City's Town Hall and the 5th annual "fan appreciation show" at Mohegan Sun.

The band is scheduled to play both days of this year's Life is good Festival in the Boston area alongside three stages of headliners, including Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, OK Go, Ben Harper & Relentless7 and many more.

All proceeds go to benefit The Life is good Kids Foundation whose mission is to provide support to kids who face life-threatening conditions such as the trauma of violence, poverty and loss. - more on this story

Mike Patton's Mondo Cane to Make U.S. Live Debut

(PR) Mike Patton (Faith No More, Peeping Tom, et al) will bring his orchestral Italian language project Mondo Cane to U.S. shores for the first time on Oct. 3, with a performance at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

Patton released the self-titled Mondo Cane debut in May on his own Ipecac Recordings but unveiled the live incarnation years earlier through a series of European recitals. Videos from the overseas concerts have racked up hundreds of thousands of views with music fans outside of the EU eager to get a glimpse of Patton performing standards including "Scalinatella" and "Il Cielo In Una Stanza" as well as lesser known gems like the late '60s Italian civil rights opus "Urlo Negro."

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival (strictlybluegrass.com) is a free three-day concert, Oct. 1 to 3, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. This year's line-up features a wide variety of musicians including Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes, Joan Baez, Bonnie Prince Billy & the Cairo Gang, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Patty Griffin and numerous others. -

Five Finger Death Punch Announce Godsmack Off Dates

Five Finger Death Punch have announced a number of special headlining shows that will take place during their already announced tour with Godsmack.

Here is the PR on the tour and the full tour routing: Five Finger Death Punch continues their hard rock dominance this fall on a massive tour with Godsmack.

"The Oracle 2010" tour is easily one of the most exciting events to come along this year as these two rock titans unite to bring fans a spectacle that they will remember for a lifetime. - more on this story

Kings of Leon Surprise

(Gibson) Kings of Leon rallied enthusiasm for the October release of their fifth album, Come Around Sundown, with a small surprise show in their hometown and the online release of the music video for their exuberant new single "Radioactive." The video hit their website today, just hours after the band took the stage at Nashville skate park Rocketown on Tuesday night.

Twenty-four hours before the Nashville show happened no one even knew it would. The day prior, the band's management quickly rounded up a couple hundred fans online to attend the intimate showcase – a preview of new tracks from Come Around Sundown, due out Oct. 19 in North America and Oct. 18 in the U.K. Besides playing tried-and-true KOL hits "Sex on Fire," "Use Somebody," "Closer" and "Notion," the band trotted out many of their new songs, among them "Radioactive" and "Back Down South."

Clutching the 1972 ES-325 that Gibson Repair & Restoration rebuilt after he smashed it on-stage in 2009, frontman Caleb Followill apologized to the audience that he'd be playing mostly new songs but asked that they act like they knew the songs because, "It'll look better on television." (The event also served as a videotaping for European television network ITV.) - more on this story

Hey Monday, Cartel, The Ready Set, This Century and We Are In The Crowd Tour

The Ready Set have announced a fall tour with Hey Monday, Cartel, This Century and We Are In The Crowd.

The nationwide tour kicks off in St. Petersburg, FL on October 20th and runs through November 27th in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

The Ready Set is comprised of 20 year-old Indiana-born drummer, singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jordan Witzigreuter. The Ready Set's debut album I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming is the first release from the joint venture between Sire Records and Pete Wentz's Decaydance Records. - more on this story

Machine Head Star Offers Reward for Stolen Guitars

Here is a follow-up to a story in yesterday's digest about Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn being robbed. He is now offering a reward for the return of his prized guitars. We received this announcement on Wednesday: Robb Flynn suffered a severe invasion of personal property Tuesday, September 7th, as thieves broke into his home between 1:15pm and 3:15pm PST. Flynn and his family were not present during the invasion, and many priceless items were stolen from his home.

These items include the guitar that Flynn recorded Machine Head's first album, Burn My Eyes, with, a gifted guitar from late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, and Flynn's son Zander's mini Flying V; a gift he received from his family for Christmas. Other items stolen include Flynn's wife's jewelry, laptops, wakeboards, and cash.

"I am offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the black Ibanez Strat along with many stickers, a 'Designated Drinker' sticker," announces Flynn. "Additionally, I am offering a $2,000 reward for the safe return of the blue Washburn Dimebolt prototype. - more on this story

Firewind Album Release Shows

Firewind, led by Ozzy Osbourne's new guitarist Gus G, have announced a limited number of special North American headlining shows.

The show are in support of their forthcoming studio album, Days of Defiance, which is due to hit stores on October 25th, The mini tour will kick off on November 4th with support coming from Powerglove and The Absence.

Gus G. states: "We are very happy to announce four special album release shows in North America this fall in support of our new record, Days of Defiance. It's been awhile since Firewind played North America, as our last tour was Spring/Summer 2008. - more on this story

Nocturnal Fear Replace Longtime Member

Nocturnal Fear have replaced their longtime drummer Aggressor and have announced a replacement.

Here is what their label had to say: New drummer Witchhammer is already learning the band's set, and the band is rehearsing tracks for forthcoming new album Excessive Cruelty, to be released next year on Moribund Records.

Says founding guitarist Rev. Chris Slavehunter PhD., "It's not easy being in Detroit's and arguably the USA's fastest and most face-ripping thrash band. Witchhammer has the devotion and drive to become a true NF shock trooper! Our new album and shows will bear this out. Heed my words, posers - the knock on your door in the middle of the night may be us! Death to false metal!" - more on this story

Singled Out: Dashdown's We Gotta Fix It

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Dave Ashdown tells us about "We Gotta Fix It" from his solo debut album "Rock & Roll Vacation" which was released under the moniker of Dashdown. We now turn it over to Dave for the story:

hello, my first solo release Dashdown - Rock & Roll Vacation was a personal labor of love that really pushed me to expand my horizons as a writer, as a drummer, as a guitarist, and as a lyricist. There was no way it could suck, It had to be special. I tried to approach it with as much musically as I could bring to the table so I could, in one snapshot, have a little something for everyone.

The first single on the record is, based on tons of feedback from friends, the somewhat edgy "We Gotta Fix It". It's a funny choice in the sense that it was the very last song recorded for the cd, when I had thought it was already done. I was putting the finishing touches and final mixes together before sending to get her mastered and inspiration hit me in the form of the BP oil f-up. - read the rest of the story here

Mark Mallman's 78 Hour Long Song Marathon 3

Mark Mallman will perform one of the greatest musical feats of his career thus far with the 78 hour long song Marathon 3. His non-stop performance from the Turf Club in St. Paul, MN will include well over 400 pages of lyrics and nearly 100 backup musicians over the course of 4 days.

It's been six years since Mallman's last marathon performance (Marathon 1 happened Sept 10-11 1999, and Marathon 2 took place September 4-6, 2004).

This Piece is representative of one of indie rock's unsung heros life's undertaking. "This piece represents 3 marathons. Each phase is 26 hours long, like a Marathon is 26 miles. The first phase is called 'A Giant Wave,' the second 'Blood Flow,' and the 3rd "Liquid Moth."" The 3 phases of the song will be performed consecutively, without breaks, totaling 78 hours. - more on this story

American Hardcore: A Tribal History Second Edition Announced

American Hardcore: A Tribal History is getting a new second edition printing, 9 years after the first edition hit shelves.

Here is the announcement: American Hardcore: A Tribal History was released in October, 2001 to great success. The book is now in five languages, and led the way to the creation of the acclaimed documentary AMERICAN HARDCORE: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006, and was released theatrically later that year by Sony Pictures Classics. With the resurgence of punk rock, and continued interest in the significant American DIY movement, Blush has expanded the book and will release the second edition on November 1, 2010.

Unlike many second editions, this offering is a new book. The author has updated all of the chapters, added a new one titled "Destroy Babylon," which explores the mutant forms of spirituality that came from the movement, and interviewed over twenty-five new subjects. Blush also has unearthed over a hundred new pieces of artwork, drafted two hundred plus new band bios, and radically expanded discography. Most significant, he has offered a new conclusion which is an anomaly within the realm of period studies. The original book was 328 pages, and the revised edition is now 408. - more on this story

Noel Gallagher Restrains His Mouth At GQ Awards... Almost

(Gibson) Noel Gallagher came armed with quips to the GQ Men of the Year Awards Tuesday night at London's Royal Opera House. The former Oasis guitarist was on hand to present Kinks frontman Ray Davies with the Outstanding Achievement award. Also on hand was Gallagher's former Britpop nemesis Damon Albarn, whose Gorillaz pocketed the Best Band award. Gallagher refused to take the bait when asked by The Sun about whether Albarn's animated project deserved the victory.

Said Gallagher, "Gorillaz definitely deserve some kind of award – if only for having 104 people on stage at Glastonbury. What a [expletive] rider that must've been to organize – more complicated than a Big Brother shopping list!"

Gallagher did take a potshot at Ryan Giggs, who won the Sportsman of the Year Award. The Manchester United midfielder took it on the chin from the die-hard Man City fan: "Giggsy-wiggsy? Sportsman of the Year? When you consider the gymnastics Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and little Peter Crouch have been getting up to lately, that award was a bit of a sham." - more on this story