Guns N' Roses Plan New Music But Axl Not Sure About Reunion

During the extended conversation, Rose went on to explain the source of the friction between himself and Slash. "It was really a fight with me and Slash," says Rose of the forces that took down the band. "Izzy was doing the same thing, but the fight with me and Slash started the day I met him. He came in, popped my tape out and put his in and wanted me in his band. And I didn't want to join his band. We've had that war since Day 1." more on this story

Vince Neil Thru With Motley Crue?

(hennemusic) Vince Neil pal Robin Leach of the The Las Vegas Sun reports the singer is seriously contemplating a split from Motley Crue after their series of Las Vegas shows in February. "It's not definite, but I am thinking seriously about it," said Vince.

Neil spoke with Leach from the Bahamas, where the Crue frontman went to relax after the band's recent UK tour. "I'm having a great time here -- I could stay a year!," Vince told Leach. "I'm sitting on my yacht, contemplating my future, and I'm not sure it will be with Motley Crue after Las Vegas. Great things are coming up and pushing me in another direction."

"This is all about me thinking about the second half of my life, thinking about my future, and that future might not include Motley Crue after Vegas. There are so many opportunities that are in front of me that I'm really excited about. I just don't want to look back later in life and regret that I didn't pursue them," added Neil. more on this story

Rare 1978 Van Halen Interview Goes Online

(hennemusic) A rare, vintage interview with Van Halen has surfaced online. It's a 1978 live radio interview with David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen promoting the band's first UK tour.

an Halen's first UK dates were opening for Black Sabbath, starting in May of '78, just three months after the release of their self-titled debut album. The month-long tour featured 26 dates, including 4 shows at London's famed Hammersmith Odeon.

While the broadcast date is unknown, the source is a UK fan who recorded the session from public radio. Referring to the band's cover of The Kinks' classic, "You Really Got Me," Roth says, "That got us into the top 40 in America there, which is the land of the Bee Gee now. It's pretty dominated by top 40 charts, including much middle of the road and disco, and what have you, but there's not much rock going out now…and that's what Van Halen is playing. We play big rock." Listen here.

Beach Boys Plan Busy Reunion Tour

(Gibson) Mike Love says the reformed Beach Boys will play "four or five shows a week" next summer.

The NME reports that the Beach Boys are going to be busy during their 2012 50th anniversary tour. Dates have not been announced but they are confirmed as headliners for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that runs from April 27 to May 6.

Mike Love told Rolling Stone that they plan on using the musicians form Brain Wilson's band: "Brian Wilson has an incredible band. We're using most of his band. And we've got [current Beach Boys touring] drummer John Cowsill and our guitarist, Scott Totten. We're kind of blending things together. I think, musically, it's going to be incredible." more on this story

Macy Gray Rocks Metallica Classic On New Album

(hennemusic) R&B/soul singer Macy Gray has a new collection, "Covered," due for release on March 27.

The album features Gray taking on covers by other artists, including songs by Metallica, Arcade Fire and others.

One of the tracks Macy recorded is a cover of Metallica's 1991 tune, "Nothing Else Matters," from the band's self-titled "Black" album.

Some live footage of Gray performing the Metallica classic in Rio this fall can be seen here.

Classic Pantera Live Recording Goes Online

(The Metal Den) TMD has obtained classic concert audio of Pantera performing "A New Level" during Ozzfest 1997 on June 17 at Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio.

The listener is treated to the undisputed raw power of The Cowboys From Hell. Late great guitarist Dimebag Darrell's guitar wizardry is on full display. More than that, this event would turn out to be quite eventful.

From MTV News: The capacity crowd of 20,000 was less than thrilled with the news that Ozzy himself would not be performing, and about 1,000 of them took their anger out on the venue. Fans smashed box office windows, ripped down panels from a wooden fence, and lit small fires around the amphitheater grounds. According to the "Columbus Dispatch," the crowd also seriously damaged at least one car, and destroyed trees and fences on neighboring property. This riot resulted in the arrest of 23 attendees. more on this story

Paul McCartney Streaming New Song Online

Paul McCartney is streaming the first song from his Brand New as yet untitled album online.

The full album will be released by Hear Music/Concord Records on February 7th 2012.

The album is Paul's tribute to his personal favorites along with two new self penned compositions. Check out the first song from the release, "My Valentine," here.

Gwar Forced To Cancel Tour

Weak-kneed promoters have caused the cancelation of the European leg of Gwar's "Return of the World Maggot" world tour.

The Euro trek, which was scheduled to kick off in January 2012, has been cancelled after several promoters pulled the plug on shows, citing poor ticket sales.

Gwar spokesman Dave Oderus Brockie commented on the tour's cancellation: "Several of the promoters were alarmed by the low ticket sales, and they decided to start pulling the plug on shows. It got to the point where we had lost so many shows that we simply could not afford to do the tour." more on this story

Say Anything Release Video Created By The Dear Hunter Star

Say Anything have released a new lyric video that was created by Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter.

The video is for the song "Burn A Miracle," the first track released off of their forthcoming full-length album, Anarchy, My Dear. The single has been released digitally via iTunes and Amazon but you can check out the lyric video here

"Burn a Miracle" was written as a call to arms of sorts, to rally those who would destroy the boundaries that others and themselves placed on their lives," explains Say Anything frontman Max Bemis. more on this story

Slash Angry Over Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Reunion Story

(hennemusic) Slash is setting the record straight on his current status for Guns N' Roses' induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame next spring.

"For the record, I didn't RSVP, or in any way commit to attending the RRHF. I don't appreciate people putting words in my mouth," tweeted Slash on Tuesday.

The guitarist was responding to comments made on Monday by Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation. more on this story

Beach Boys Not Van Halen Were The Grammy Reunion Surprise

(hennemusic) Last month, the Grammys teased a special "iconic group" reunion announcement was to be made on their sponsor-driven Nominations special, and further complicated the matter with a misleading tweet hinting that the act involved was Van Halen.

In the days following the show, rumors spread that the band the Grammys were planning to have appear on their program was, in fact, The Beach Boys.

This week, Beach Boy Al Jardine confirmed that the 60s surf-pop group was really the band involved with the music industry awards show. W.E.N.N. reports Jardine tells Rolling Stone that he has no idea why the major news wasn't part of the nominations broadcast. "I thought the Grammys might make the announcement," said Jardine. "I don't know what happened… There will be a surprise at the Grammys. We'll do something really exciting… It's going to be a very big operation." more on this story

Public Image Ltd. Remasters Coming

(Gibson) Ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon's other band, Public Image Ltd. are releasing their entire back catalog next year.

NME.com reports that all PiL albums (except Metal Box, which was reissued in 2009) will be remastered for next year.

The albums, which will be reissued by EMI, include: First Issue (aka Public Image Ltd.), Paris in the Spring, Flowers of Romance, Live in Tokyo, This is What You Want... This Is What You Get, Album (aka Compact Disc), Happy, 9, The Greatest Hits So Far, That What is Not as well as John Lydon's solo album Psycho's Path.

Lydon also has been talking about a brand-new Public Image album. read that here.

Rock Hall Invites Original Guns N' Roses Lineup To Induction

(hennemusic) There's been some question amongst fans about which members of Guns N' Roses are actually being invited to the band's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction next April. We now have the answer.

"Who will be invited, obviously, is the original five [that made 'Appetite For Destruction'] and [keyboardist] Dizzy [Reed] and [drummer] Matt [Sorum]," said Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation, during an interview Monday on Sirius/XM's Eddie Trunk Live.

The five GNR members from the Appetite lineup are Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. more on this story

Metallica Release Second 30th Anniversary Show

(hennemusic) Metallica are now offering fans audio of night no. 2 of their recent 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

For the December 7 gig, the band were joined by many special guests, including former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, Lou Reed, Kid Rock, Marianne Faithfull, Mercyful Fates's King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Timi Hansen and Michael Denner, Ray Haller (Sweet Savage) and John Bush (Armored Saint).

Metallica rocked a 20-song set that included covers, some Loutallica, and the debut of a second previously-unreleased "Death Magnetic" track, "Just A Bullet Away." more on this story

Red Hot Chili Peppers Add Another Concert Due To High Demand

Fans are showing their excitement about the return of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The band has sold out yet another show and been forced to add a second concert to meet demand.

This time the second show has been added in the Bay Area at Oracle Arena on Saturday, February 18th following the sell out for the February 17th appearance at the venue. more on this story

Free Download of The Sheds New EP For Christmas

Rite of Passage/Mediaskare Records are celebrating the '10 Days of Christmas' and part of it includes a free download of The Sheds' new EP 'Self/Doubt'.

The 5-song EP was recorded in November at Undercity Studios and features a guest appearance by Joe Boynton and Tim Landers of Transit on the track "Heart". The EP will released on limited edition 7" vinyl and CD in early 2012. you can download your copy of the EP here.

In other news, the band has lined up a short west coast tour alongside Heart To Heart and Currents. more on this story

Lionheart Tap Matt Hyde and Nick Jett To Produce New Album

Lionheart will be entering The Sunset Lodge recording studio in Silverlake, CA in January with producers Matt Hyde (Hatebreed, Slayer, Terror) and Nick Jett (Terror).

The follow up to 2011's "Built On Struggle" is slated for an early 2012 release. "It's an exciting opportunity to be able to work with Matt Hyde and Nick Jett on this album," says Lionheart vocalist Rob Watson.

"Matt Hyde's resume speaks for itself, and we know Nick from previous tours done together so it will be awesome to work together on something like this. We've been working on this record since the release of Built On Struggle, and we can't wait to start recording it. It's heavier, harder, and more pissed than anything we've done to date." more on this story

Blameshift and Evolove Plan Awake The State Tour 2012

Blameshift will be hitting the road early Next Year with Evolove for a three week coheadlining tour.

The trek, that will take the bands along the west coast, has been dubbed the Awake The State Tour 2012 and kicks off on January 25th in Long Beach, Ca.

Upon the tours' end, Blameshift will enter the studio with producer Erik Ron, (Panic At The Disco, Versa Emerge, Four Year Strong) with the speculation of a major label deal. more on this story

Happy Holidays From Aerosmith Guitarist

(hennemusic) Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford has recorded a "holiday" message for fans.

The video was filmed as the Boston band was wrapping up their recent tour of Japan.

A new Aerosmith album – their first of original material in 10 years – is expected next spring. Check out Brad's message

ZZ Top Christmas Memory

(Gibson) ZZ Top mastermind and guitar titan Billy Gibbons has a favorite Christmas memory. It may not be surprising that it involves a certain six-stringed instrument.

In an interview with Men's Journal (via Ultimate Classic Rock), Gibbons recalled Christmas morning at the Gibbons household in 1962, when young Billy was only 13-years-old. "Sitting under the tree was a little Gibson Melody Maker …. and away we went."

Gibbons also shared his musical memories of his family. "My dad was quite the entertainer. He was a classically trained pianist with his five brothers as the Gibbons Brothers Band," he said. "The thing he shared with me that still resonates: Play what you want to hear. And following that, the two golden rules: Play it in tune and play it in good time."

Palisades Preview Online

Rise Records have set a January 24, 2012 release date for Palisades' debut EP, I'm Not Dying Today.

Rise has posted a stream of the song "Immortal," a track off the forthcoming EP on their Youtube channel here.

I'm Not Dying Today was recorded at Chango Gridlock Studios in Orlando Florida. Watch for Palisades on tour throughout 2012.

Singled Out: Atkins May Project (Judas Priest)

Original Judas Priest singer Al Atkins recently teamed with guitarist Paul May for the release of their "Serpents Kiss" album. To celebrate we asked Paul to tell us about the album track "Theatre of Fools". Here is the story:

The "Serpents Kiss" album covers a varied collection of subject matters; from Life Struggles to Betrayal, from Faith to World Events! Something for everyone!! One track I think is particularly 'current' at the moment is the last track on the album, a bit of an epic clocking in at around the 9 minutes mark! It's a track called "Theatre Of Fools" which was quite "Prophetic", in as much as it was written with the Iraq situation and conclusion still fresh in the media and I just felt that there would be more to come. It's a song about tyrants, regimes and dictators! Sure enough, not much later than my pen left the page, the last 12 months has seen the demise of several world dictatorships and the fall of tyrants! I think you can figure those our for yourselves!

The song touches on how madness plays its role, like an act of a tragic play and with such devastation, and as the world looks on in horror at some of these men who try to act like they are "gods", with their only eventuality being their own destruction! Quite a hot subject, but brilliantly portrayed by Al with his vocal skills in what I think is a very emotional performance! It's a big track but it needed to be for such a huge subject.

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