Anvil Cooper Tour?- Duff McKagan Telling A Different Tale- Hanneman Plays Big 4 Show- Behemoth Live Return- Morrissey Finishes Memoir- Weird Alpocalypse- more

On this day in 1981, Denny Laine left Wings, effectively ending Paul McCartney's post-Beatles band. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

Fan Injures Bret Michaels

(hennemusic) Strange story this week about a new health issue facing Poison singer Bret Michaels. As if Bret hasn't been through enough in the past year, Michaels is now dealing with the effects of a corneal ulcer due to an infection in his eye.

Michaels tells the Birmingham News that his eye problem began after fans accidentally hit him with a glass during an impromptu nightclub appearance in Panama City, Fla., during spring break.

Although he wasn't scheduled to perform at Club LaVela, Michaels said he agreed to "go in and give them a free show, three or four songs." All went well until Michaels began to walk out of the venue. "Someone said, 'Bret, you rock!,' and this glass filled with vodka and Red Bull fell on my head, and something in the glass scratched my eye," Michaels said. "It was this comedy of errors that I survived through." more on this story

Vinnie Paul Addresses Pantera Reunion Effort

(Rock News Desk) Former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul has made his strongest statement yet to shout down rumors of a band reunion without his brother Dimebag, who was shot dead on stage in 2004.

Paul says: "It's ridiculous – Dime was such a huge part that it would be asinine to even consider it. I think it's pretty disrespectful of people to even suggest it. Dime's amazing legacy is going to be left untouched.

"I don't know where the idea comes from… it might have been some other clowns who used to be in that band, but not me."

[The idea appears to have come from a Facebook campaign which is encouraging a reunion as a tribute to Dimebag.] more rock news!

Metallica Looking Ahead At Next Album and Another Possible Big 4 Show

Palm Springs radio station 93.7 KCLB Rocks! have posted a new audio interview that the station's Kevin Conklin conducted with Metallica's Robert Trujillo on Saturday at the Big 4 show in Indio.

During the conversation Robert expresses his enthusiasm at the idea of working with Rick Rubin again and even hints that another U.S. Big 4 show is possible.

Here is what he had to say about Rick Rubin and their next album, "We're really excited to write some new music. There's no shortage of riffage in Metallica world right now. And I think it's only gonna get better. The first album with Rick was also the first album for me, so in a lot of ways, you're kind of testing the water. Now that we're comfortable with Rick and his incredible engineer, Greg Fidelman, who worked with Slayer, actually, on this last record, it's a great team. It's only gonna better, I really believe that. So I'm super-excited. I know that we've got another couple of records in us. There's a demand and it seems like we've got some new fans, and they're waiting."

You can stream the full interview on 93.7 KCLB Rocks! website here or check out video of the backstage interview here

Corey Taylor N' Duff McKagan Jam

(hennemusic) Club Nokia in Los Angeles was definitely rocking last Wednesday, as the hard rock and metal community gathered for the third annual Revolver Golden God Awards.

Lotsa collaborations happened over the course of the evening – everything from Sebastian Bach doing Skid Row's "Youth Gone Wild" with Asking Alexandria; Scott Ian of Anthrax covering Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You" with Volbeat, and Avenged Sevenfold rocking Guns N' Roses "It's So Easy" with Duff McKagan.

When McKagan's Loaded hit the stage, they were joined by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and Slipknot/Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor for a crack at Judas Priest's "Electric Eye," which originally appeared on 1982's "Screaming For Venegeance" album. Check out the Electric Eye Jam Here

Why Led Zeppelin Offer Didn't Fly With Yardbirds Star

(Rock News Desk) Original Yardbirds guitarist Top Topham says Jimmy Page asked him three times to join the band which would become Led Zeppelin.

Topham, now 63, began playing with the influential Yardbirds at the age of 15, but left in 1963 and was replaced by Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page later played six-string for the band before it folded.

Page went on to form the New Yardbirds in 1968, which soon became Led Zep. And Topham, a respected blues player and a painter, confirms he was invited to play second guitar with the new outfit – but said no. "I was making my Ascension Heights album when I received three telegrams, which I still have, from Jimmy and his manager Peter Grant," He tells Guitar International. "They expressed an urgency for me to get in touch with them, saying, 'Great news for you'. I called them from our local phone box – we didn't have a phone in those days – and Jimmy said he wanted to reform the band under the name the New Yardbirds, and hit America, and asked if I would be interested.

"Wait for it… I said no. I was writing and playing on my own album at that time so it seemed like the right choice." more on this story

Rock Band: KISS Classics

Rock Band 3 will be adding live versions of two of KISS' greatest hits "Rock And Roll All Nite" (live) and "Strutter" (live) tomorrow (April 26th).

The live KISS tracks were both recorded during KISS' 1975 "Dressed To Kill" tour, the same tour that ended up forming the epic "Alive!" album.

"Strutter", from the band's 1974 debut album, was featured on the Guitar Hero II soundtrack. "Rock and Roll All Nite" was originally released on KISS's 1975 album, Dressed to Kill. A live version of the song reached No. 12 on the Billboard singles chart and became the first of six of KISS's Top 20 songs in the 1970s. more on this story

New Red Hot Chili Peppers This Summer

(Rock News Desk) Chad Smith says the Red Hot Chili Peppers' comeback album will be released during the last week of August – but despite their light-hearted public comments it still doesn't have a title.

The drummer explains: "It has no name, but it's going good. We've got lots of songs and we're just choosing the ones for the album. Everybody's happy, healthy and excited to get back out there and play."

It's the band's first release since guitarist John Frusciante was replaced by Josh Kilnghoffer. Chad talks about how that is working out here

The New Regime (Nine Inch Nails, Lostprophets) Singled Out Week: Day 1 - Live In Fear

The New Regime, the one-man outfit created by Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails and Lostprophets fame, releases 'Through Speak Through the White Noise' this week. To celebrate we asked Ilan to tell us about some of his favorite tracks from the album. Today he tells us about "Live In Fear":

Live In Fear was the first song written for Speak Through The White Noise, long before the idea of starting a second album was even conceived. I remember writing the main riff and B sections while being stuck in a hotel room in Cardiff, Wales, when I was there writing with Lostprophets for a few weeks. I borrowed one of their guitars to escape boredom at night. The majority of Live In Fear came together there pretty quickly.

At the time I was listening to quite a bit of Jeff Buckley (still do) and my ear was getting very used to the sorts of chords he used to play, like in the chorus of "So Real", for example. I wanted the chorus to open up and be powerful yet remain dark and driving, so the "6th" chords I learned from him did the trick.

The brief second verse has a pretty interesting sonic quality to it. It was one of those moments where you put a lot of time and effort into producing what you hear in your head, all for a whopping 9 seconds of music. Everything from numerous synths, backwards guitars, organs, effects pedals, nylon and steel string acoustic guitars, even a ukulele, were used to build that sound.

Lyrically, the song is about public unrest. In an age where so much information (current events to be specific) is available and practically thrown at you from every direction, who do you trust?

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you preview the album right here!

Hesher Inspired By Metallica's Cliff Burton

(hennemusic) Metallica's influence on society is real, of course, but like layers of inspiration, some are more obvious to others than not.

Take actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt's portrayal of a troubled heavy metal fan in the new film, "Hesher"; the actor admits he based much of his title character's behavior on late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who died when the band's tour bus crashed in Sweden in 1986

While the general public likely won't make the Burton/Hesher connection, Gordon-Levitt's performance was a success to some key figures: Metallica. Joseph said he was stunned when his rock idols recognized the similarities without prompting. "They dug the movie," he said. "And when the band saw it, they were like, 'You know what, he reminds us of Cliff,' and we didn't even tell them that's what we were going for." more on this story

Sebastian Bach Jams Skid Row Classic With Asking Alexandria

(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach was a busy guy this week at the third annual Revolver Golden God Awards in L.A. on Wednesday.

Bach hosted the VH1 pre-show "black carpet," doing interviews with all the rockers, before joining Asking Alexandria on stage for a cover of Skid Row's "Youth Gone Wild."

While Bach did issue a "kiss my ass" edict to his former bandmates recently, Sebastian continues to perform songs he wrote from back in the day, aware of the staying power of some of his work. "Well, the Skid Row material just makes people keep liking it," said Bach. "They like the songs. I'm not a youth anymore, I'm 43 years old but they (Asking Alexandria) are like 20. So they're youth and they get right into it, so that's killer!" Check out the jam here

Big 4 Recap and Jam Video

(Rock AAA) Metal's Big 4, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, played their only Stateside appearance this year on Saturday in California. Reports indicate more than 50,000 fans rocked the event, which culminated in a jam by all four acts on the Diamond Head track, "Am I Evil?," just as the bands did last year at the Sofia, Bulgaria performance broadcast to theatres around the world and, eventually, released on DVD.

When bringing on the members of the other three bands for the "Am I Evil?" performance, Metallica's James Hetfield said, "Can you believe it? Thirty years, man. I don't know how many of you have been around that long, you know?! It doesn't matter; you're here right now to see the 'Big Four,' and we're getting this prepared for a big jam, alright? It's pretty important.

"We just wanna take the time to say 'thank you' to all of you metal fans out there who have supported all the bands — not only the 'Big Four,' but the big however many out there. There's many, many other bands that have been around as long as us, and, unfortunately, broke up because of business or some other crap. There's a lot of great bands out there and we'd like to celebrate all of them, and especially the 'Big Four', getting out here and jamming, and just saying 'thank you' to the world of metal fans for just giving us your support, giving us your heart and giving us your passion, man, 'cause that's what it is for us." Check out the setlists and a video of the Big 4 Jam

Slayer's Jeff Hanneman On The Mend

(Gibson) It's been an intense year or so for metal titans, Slayer. The Huntington Park, California band have hit audiences far beyond their previous reach on the wildly successful Big Four tour, alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. On the flip side, the group have suffered through back surgery, vertigo and flesh-eating spider bites, as well. Still, frontman Kerry King is grateful for the position the group finds itself in.

"We are making relevant, good music," he told MyDesert.com. "We're still putting on good shows and having fun. That's what it's all about."

With spider-bitten co-guitarist Jeff Hanneman reportedly on the mend ("He seems to be getting better from what I hear," he said), King set his sites on this past weekend's Big Four gig at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, near the group's hometown. "The tornado is coming," he said ominously. "I've always lived in California, so that show is definitely important to me. The war face will be on. I don't want to suck in front of my friends." more on this story

Guns N' Roses, New York Dolls, Hanoi Rocks Supergroup The Compulsions Announce Free Show

The Compulsions have announced a free show at The Library Room at The Hudson Hotel in New York City this Thursday, April 28 at 11pm.

The Compulsions features Sami Yaffa formerly of The New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks along with Frank "Thunderchucker" Ferrer and Richard Fortus of Guns N' Roses and front man Rob Carlyle.

Carlyle, Ferrer, Fortus and Yaffa are also the core line up on the group's forthcoming full length album titled Beat The Devil. more info on the group

Two Former AC/DC Stars Involved in Bon Scott Birthday Jam

(Submitted) Australian all-star band Raise The Flag lure two ex members of rock legends AC/DC for the first time! In a world first they join the lineup and help Oz rock fans celebrate the world's #1 rock singer, Bon Scott on his 65th Birthday weekend.

On the rhythm section Simon Wright (UK/USA), best known for his drum work with AC/DC, UFO, DIO and who recorded on albums 'Fly On The Wall', 'Who Made Who', 'Blow Up Your Video' along with six DIO albums, joins Mark Evans, bass man during AC/DC's rise to fame in the 70's and who's work is on albums 'High Voltage', 'TNT', 'Let There Be Rock' and 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'.

Raise The Flag features guitars by ex The Angels star, James Morley powering one Marshall stack and introduces Mick Adkins who drives the second Marshall stack and takes on the big task of laying down Angus solos. The pair belt out the songs in 'Young' fashion and are elevated by soaring rock vocals delivered by Anthony 'Skenie' Skene of The Poor. more on this story

Dez Fafara Quit Coal Chamber To Save Bandmates Lives?

(Rock News Desk) DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara insists he had to split previous band Coal Chamber before any of the members killed themselves through drug abuse – and he was perfectly aware the move might involve killing his own career.

Fafara formed DevilDriver in 2002 and Coal Chamber disbanded the following year. At the time he cited a change in musical direction, but he now explains that wasn't the case.

"Hard drugs and hard alcohol will take tour life away. I left Coal Chamber because of that, not the music. I said I wanted to go in a different direction – but that was because I was friends with all the families in the band and I didn't want to call them out and say, 'They're doing mountains of speed,'" He tells Disciples of Metal. "I realised that if I kept feeding them money they'd keep buying drugs, and they were going to kill themselves." There is a happy ending

Dave Grohl Looks Back on Nirvana

(Rock AAA) Dave Grohl has revealed he took a trip down memory lane and even blasted out his first rendition of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in almost 20-years when his former Nirvana band mates Krist Novelsic and Pat Smear and producer Butch Vig all came on board to lend a hand with Foo Fighter's brand new album.

The Foo's main man, and former Nirvana drummer, claims he hadn't even played the note of his former band's iconic hit since the band parted ways following the death of singer Kurt Cobain as he found it too hard to even talk about the band while he was also keen to avoid the band overshadowing his new project.

But now with Teen Spirit 20-years-old, and with so many pieces of the Nirvana jigsaw in the same place at the same time, Grohl reveals it felt natural to play some of their old classics. He told Entertainment Weekly: "Deciding to work with Butch on this record was a big step for me, personally, because I've had to walk this really fine line between the Foo Fighters and Nirvana for 17 years." more on this story

Liam Gallagher Gives 60K To Teenage Cancer Trust

(Gibson) Former Oasis frontman and now Beady Eye star Liam Gallagher raised some $60,000 for charity after donating one of his own Pretty Green label shirts. The shirt was subsequently sold for $60,000.

According to the Daily Express, Gallagher made an unannounced visit to the Teenage Cancer Trust offices in Newcastle last Tuesday (April 19) to deliver the donation personally.

He told The Sun: "Those young people are inspirational. I hope this makes a difference and helps raise awareness of teenage cancer. Pretty Green will continue to support the TCT." more on this story

X Japan Crystal Piano Japan Relief Auction Relaunched After Bogus Bids Discovered

(HER) Yoshiki, leader of X Japan, the biggest rock band in Japan, put his "crystal" piano, a see-through Plexiglas Kawai grand, up for auction on April 17 to raise money for the Japan Relief Fundraising Auction in conjunction with Yahoo! Japan.

About eight minutes into the auction, the bid shot from $.01 to $42,000.00; within hours, an online bidder pledged a staggering $73-million.

On Tuesday, 4/19, Yahoo! Auctions temporarily suspended he auction, citing an overload of unexpected high volume of traffic on the site, high bidding prices, and the time required for bidder confirmation procedures. Yahoo! Auction's systems have now been restructured, new bidding policies are in place, and Yahoo! has identified the last confirmed bid for the piano as $512,231.70. more on this story

Blues Great Albert King Remembered On His Birthday

(Gibson) "Born under a bad sign / I been down since I begin to crawl / If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all." Whether or not it was under a bad sign, this was indeed the very date in 1923 when Albert King was born. Known as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. and Freddie), he was a hero to such titans of the instrument as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he brought the Flying V to prominence with his beloved "Lucy." But the circumstances of his early years were hardly regal.

King was born under the name Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in rural Indianola, Mississippi. Somehow he managed to feed himself well enough, at a table shared with 12 brothers and sisters, to grow to a robust size of 6'4" and 250 pounds. It was a frame built on hard work in the family fields, especially after the Nelsons moved to Forrest City, Arkansas in 1931. But amid the blisters and sweat of everyday life there was music—blues and gospel music. Young Albert learned to sing in the fields and at church, where he performed with a family gospel group. And then there was the music he loved, the guitar-based music of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson. Piercing slide, powerful bends, single notes that spoke volumes—these were the things that the young man they would later call "King" picked up in the fields and, later, in the juke joints of the South and Midwest.

Young Albert Nelson had taught himself to play on a homemade, cigar-box guitar, upgrading to the real thing around the time the Nelsons moved to Arkansas. Being left-handed, he found it a challenge learning on a right-handed guitar—strung for a right-handed player. But he stuck with it and eventually started sitting in with Yancey's Band in Forrest City. more on this story

The Atomic Bitchwax Produce 42 Minute Song

Tee Pee Records have set a June 21st release date for The Atomic Bitchwax's new album The Local Fuzz.

The trio's fifth full length effort delivers a 42 minute song titled "The Local Fuzz" that contains no less than "50 riffs back to back.",

The Atomic Bitchwax is currently headlining the 2011 Tee Pee Records European label tour which kicked off on April 5 and also features Naam, Quest for Fire and Mirror Queen. more on this story

The Von Ehrics Kick Off Two Foot Stomp Tour

Texas cowboy punks The Von Ehrics kicked off their Two Foot Stomp tour last Friday in San Angelo, TX.

The band is touring in support of their new CD Two Foot Stomp, which is scheduled for release on Lucky Buck Records.

The Von Ehrics also have a new line-up which now includes original members songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Robert Jason Vandygriff and Gabe Aguilar on drums along with new bassist Paul "Santi" Vaden (Ghoultown) and new guitarist Clayton Mills (Dixie Witch, Riverboat Gamblers). more on this story

Sleeper Agent Announce Dates With Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra

Sleeper Agent will hit the road with Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra beginning May 27th.

Sleeper Agent band will be giving audiences a taste of what's to come when they release their debut album, Celabrasion, on mom + pop music this August.

Not only do they cite such musical artists as Jay Reatard, The Strokes, Pixies, T-Rex, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin as influences, they are also influenced by horror and sci-fi flicks, as well as stand-up comedians. "We just want people to listen to the music and have fun," says Smith. "It's pretty obvious that's what we want when you listen to the album." In regards to their song "Get It Daddy," My Old Kentucky Blog today said "this raggedy rouser chugs out of the garage firing on all cylinders, crazy legs and rubberneckin like so much foam over the rim, up in your grill with a level of unmitigated joy rarely heard since Jack and Meg got so serious... Keep your good eye on these kids, and good luck getting' this one removed from the old cranium." more on this story

Teen Black Metal Band Massakren Release New Video

Teen black metalers Massakren are giving fans an online taste of their recent self-titled EP with the release of a music video for the track 'Threshold'.

At the time of recording, the members of Massakren were between the ages of 16 and 20-years-old.

Self-produced by the band and recorded at Bota Studios (Born of Osiris, Oceano) in Lake In The Hills, IL Check out the video here

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne Premieres

(hennemusic) "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne," a new documentary about Ozzy's life and times, debuted this week at the 10th Annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Directed by Mike Piscitelli and written and produced by Jordan Tappis, it is the first release from Jack Osbourne's company, Jacko Productions.

The project – originally entitled "Wreckage Of My Past: The Ozzy Osbourne Story" - is billed as "an intimate documentary that delves deep into the life of music icon Ozzy Osbourne. A sober Ozzy has reached a point of clarity as he looks back on a lifetime of unparalleled success, misdiagnosed disease, unrelenting fear and a recurring dependency on drugs and alcohol. This is a film about reconciling the past and looking toward the future."

The younger Osbourne stopped by the "Good Day New York" studios this past Thursday morning (April 21) to talk about the film. Check that out here

Out of Print General Surgery Debut To Be Reissued

Relapse Records plan to reissue General Surgery's 1991 debut EP Necrology on June 21st.

The long-out-print EP has been completely remastered by Scott Hull and repackaged with three previously unreleased bonus tracks. The Necrology re-issue will be available on CD and digitally.

General Surgery, one of the first bands to carry on along Carcass' gore-grind path, formed in 1988. After releasing Necrology, the band was mostly inactive until 2003 when they began recording and touring again.