Van Halen Announce Tour

No details, yet, on a single or album release date, but VH did release an image of a freight train with the date 2.7.12 on it. First single? Album? More including the videos

Paul McCartney Falls Down Stairs at Liverpool Concert

Ultimate Classic Rock reports that Paul McCartney returned to his stomping ground of Liverpool, England on Dec. 20 for a sold-out, three-hour performance at the Echo Arena.

During the show, McCartney played more than 30 Beatles and Wings songs, as well as some of his recent solo material. McCartney dusted off 'Penny Lane' for the special performance, and between numbers he spoke about growing up in Speke, his fondness for Liverpool and his friendship with late Beatles guitarist George Harrison.

The UK paper The Sun reported that McCartney fell down a set of stairs at the end of the show, but even that couldn't dampen the spirit of the 69-year old legend, who was allegedly uninjured by the tumble. A lot more details here.

Slash Trying To Put Differences With Axl Rose To Rest

(hennemusic) Slash hooked up with Esquire magazine recently for their "What I've Learned" column. The guitarist rhymes off 25 things he's learned, on topics like people's perceptions of him, why guitars are like women, his taste in women, and the fact that he's intimidated by singing.

There's also a few lines about Guns N' Roses that may be of interest to fans. "Axl and I came from completely different backgrounds. Because of that we made an interesting pair trying to figure each other out," noted Slash.

"When I see footage of [classic] Guns N' Roses, I see that f**king hunger and attitude," says Slash. "You could not f**k with those five guys. It was just raw. It was this lean, hungry thing on its way up. It was as sincere as any rock 'n' roll that I've ever heard, and I'm proud of that."

"The split between Axl and I was a quiet one," recalls the guitarist. "But because there was so much attention on the breakup — and are we going to get back together? — it got built up into this monster that led to a kind of animosity that wasn't the focus for me. Neither one of us wants to be down each other's throats for no reason. At this point, I'm trying to put it to rest. So I try to avoid the subject." more on this story

Prog Supergroup Featuring Steve Hackett and Chris Squire Set Album Release

(Gibson) Progressive rock heavyweight legends Steve Hackett and Chris Squire have formed a new band and have made a new album. Squackett (get it?) will release their first album on Esoteric on May 8.

The former Genesis lead guitarist Steve Hackett was previously joined by one-time Yes bassist Chris Squire on Hackett's solo albums – Out of the Tunnel's Mouth and Beyond the Shrouded Horizon.

Hackett told Blog Talk Radio: "There'll be certain things on there that I think you'll be hard-pressed to say this is a combination of guys that have come from Genesis and Yes. I think it's bigger than that. We cast a wider net over all the genres." more on this story

Richie Sambora Begins Solo Album

(Gibson) While Bon Jovi fields death rumors (yes, he's alive and well), his lead guitarist Richie Sambora is starting work on his third solo album at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood. According to Broadcast Newsroom, Sambora has tapped Luke Ebbin, who manned the boards for Bon Jovi albums Crush and Bounce, for the project.

"Richie and I have worked on and off together for years," Ebbin told Broadcast Newsroom. "Richie came off the Bon Jovi tour energized and we got together to write a couple of songs. The results were very good, so we kept writing more and decided to go in and record them.

"The recordings came out great, so Richie decided why not make this a solo record? There are eight songs in the can now, including a co-write with Bernie Taupin..." more on this story

Queen's Brian May Jams With The Darkness

(hennemusic) As a holiday treat for fans, The Darkness have released footage of the band rocking with Queen guitarist Brian May in London late last month.

May joined the reunited group for their encores at the Hammersmith Apollo, where they teamed up for three tracks – "Bareback," "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" and a cover of Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down."

"Brian May joined us onstage for three songs. A dream came true for us tonight," posted The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins after the gig. Check out video here.

Chevelle Premiere Face To The Floor Video

Chevelle has debuted the new music video for their latest single "Face To The Floor."

"It's an angry song," explains lead singer and songwriter PETE LOEFFLER about the inspiration for "Face to the Floor." "The lyrics are about all the people who have been taken advantage of. I reference Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. He raked people over the coals, stole and is a terrible person. One day, these people have everything, and the next day it's completely gone."

The video was directed by P.R. Brown and shot in Los Angeles. You can watch it online at Vevo here.

Metallica Release Third 30th Anniversary Show

(hennemusic) Metallica are now offering fans audio of night no. 3 of their recent 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

For the December 9 show, the band were joined by several special guests, including former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Glenn Danzig (Danzig, Misfits, Samhain), Pepper Keenan (Down, Corrosion Of Conformity), and Nick "Animal" Culmer (Anti-Nowhere League).

Metallica rocked a 21-song set that included covers, material from various points in their career, and the debut of a (then) third previously-unreleased "Death Magnetic" track, "Hell And Back." more on this story

Tool Fans Hope For New Album In The New Year

(Banana 101.5) Tool has been writing the new material for some time now, leaving everyone curious about whether or not the follow-up to '10,000 Days' will surface in the New Year.

Maynard will hit the road with Tool for some dates prior to the next leg of the Puscifer tour this January. Though it is unlikely they will play any new songs on the tour, once those and the Puscifer dates have passed (March 18th being the last) — Maynard will likely get more involved Tool's next album. In October he gave a status report on the new material and explained the band's creative process to Loudwire:

"I'm allowing them [the other members of Tool] their space to do what they do, so we're still in that mode. Even if they told me how close they are to being done, I couldn't tell you because if I say 60 percent people will start counting down. When it's done everyone will know. But I haven't done anything yet. They write forever and then we go in and knock it all out. We're writing. We're writing vocals. But nothing's solid. With Puscifer, there's ideas and then we'll record stuff. Then we'll go back and change stuff and fix stuff and record new stuff before we finally put it all together. But with Tool, we practice jams, but there's no actual recording going on until it's time to record." more on this story

Kansas Stars InTheStudio For Leftoverture's 35th Anniversary

North American syndicated radio show InTheStudio rocks in the New Year with Kerry Livgren, Steve Walsh, Rich Williams and Phil Ehart from Kansas for the 35th anniversary of Leftoverture.

Hailing from Topeka with its blend of progressive American rock, Kansas cemented their place in ʻ70s rock history with their breakthrough fourth album Leftoverture which would spawn the hit "Carry On Wayward Son" as well as "Whatʼs On My Mind", "The Wall" and the radio favorite "Miracles Out of Nowhere". Kerry Livgren shares with show host Redbeard just how special the recording of Leftoverture was and how, for the band, itʼs never quite been duplicated.

"There was a kind a magic feeling around the recording of Leftoverture that years later, as we recorded our subsequent albums, we kept saying, 'What was it that we did that made this come out that way?' .We went back to the same studio, we used the same place, the same people and we weren't able to recapture that... So I attribute it to the songs."

InTheStudio can be heard on over 50 radio stations across North America. The Kansas/ InTheStudio program will air the week of December 26 - January 1. Stream it online here.

Sammy Hagar Releases Birthday Bash Video

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has released a new video as a treat for fans. The footage is a recap of the 21st annual Sammy Hagar Birthday Bash, which happened at the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past October.

Over four birthday shows in a week, Sammy turned 64 with a celebration that included by a variety of guests like Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Kenny Chesney, Vinnie Paul (Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah), Rage Against The Machine's Brad Wilk and Chickenfoot, playing a mix of Red Rocker songs, Van Halen material and covers.

As for the New Year, Hagar and Chickenfoot head to Europe in January for a week of shows on their Road Test Tour, designed to break in Kenny Aronoff, who's handling drum duties while Chad Smith is on the road with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Check out the video here.

Q&A with Dream Theater

To celebrate Dream Theater's very first recent Grammy nomination for "On The Backs Of Angels", MSO sent over this Q&A with the band.

1. Noting your current album is called 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events,' what dramatic historical event would you like to have witnessed?

John Petrucci (Guitar and Vocals): Many of the events occurring recently that are shaping the world we live in have to do with uprising and breaking free from oppressive rule. Our own American Revolution must have been an incredible moment to have lived through.

Jordan Rudess (Keyboards and Continuum): Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was premiered on May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, along with the Consecration of the House Overture and the first three parts of the Missa Solemnis. This was the composer's first on-stage appearance in twelve years; the hall was packed. I would certainly have wanted to witness that!!

Mike Mangini (Drums): One dramatic historical event that I would have liked to witness was Jesus walking on water to the boat full of apostles. That ranks high on my list of "jaw dropping" events.

2. Can you talk about a song or musical moment on the new album that you feel brings you as a musician and/or the band to a new level?

JP: For me, including the song "Beneath The Surface" on the new album was something unique and special. It is a song that exposes a very personal subject matter in a song structure that is a bit different from what DT is known for. Taking those types of risks makes for a more interesting and compelling album.

JR: I feel that the song "Outcry" really brings our band to the next level. Although it is surrounded by some very majestic thematic sections, the whole center section of the song is the wildest prog we have ever written. When we play it live, it is like this amazing ride that you strap yourself into and make a commitment to and when you finally reach the end, you feel like "wow" that was cool!!

MM: One musical moment on the new album I feel brings the band and me to a new level is the first "riff" section in "On the Backs of Angels." I had practiced hard to play this, so I got better from it. This section features a level of coordination that allows me to orchestrate the simultaneously (but different) parts played by the guys. The 'Johns' [Petrucci,guitar; Myung, bass] are playing in unison and Jordan is playing a different part. I feel that by coloring it in rather than layering on another complex part, or too simple a drumbeat, is very different for DT.

3. If you were to record a duet with an artist outside the genre of music for which you're known, who would that be and what song would you cover?

JP: I would love to record a version of "In Your Eyes" with Peter Gabriel.

JR: It would be cool to do a duet with Yo Yo Ma. Maybe an arrangement of "Ruby Tuesday" by the Rolling Stones--that would be beautiful.

MM: If I recorded a duet with an artist outside of the progressive rock genre, I would record a drum track with Violinist Itzhak Perlman. In this duet, I would orchestrate his violin part on the drums like it was a drum solo with associated musical notes.

4. The new album proves that you guys remain as uncompromising and fearless as ever; 3 of the 9 songs clock in over 10 minutes. What do you feel these expansive song lengths enable the band to achieve musically?

JP: By breaking the boundaries of traditional song arrangements and time constraints, we are able to develop ideas more fully. The music is allowed to take some twists and turns, and take the listener on a more adventurous type of sonic journey. It also enables us to stretch out on record as soloists and to develop our lyrical concepts and musical themes more thoroughly.

JR: As someone who grew up studying classical music, the idea of longer forms feels very natural. It takes a while to fully develop and explore musical themes and emotions. We love the idea of taking the listener on a journey or "experience" and the longer form definitely allows that! All told though, we have nothing against a good standard song format and enjoy working in that form as well!

MM: The expansive song lengths we use in Dream Theater allow us to achieve a level of artistic completion with an idea. By being able to add sections in a song, or expand on them, we're able to explore music like it is a journey rather than to play a recurring theme over and over.

5. If you could have a conversation with any historical figure, living or dead, who would it be and why?

JP: Well, he may not be an historical figure exactly but it would be amazing to sit down and talk with Walt Disney.

JR: I'd like to hang with Jimi Hendrix because to me he was the epitome of cool. He had a flow and trippiness to his music that influenced me so much. It would have been cool to feel the energy of the human being in person!

MM: I would have a conversation with Pope John Paul 2nd out of any historical figure. I would ask him how to interpret the philosophies of Aquinas, Augustine and Marcus Aurelius, as well as his own with regard to the use of musical talent as it affects the human soul.

6. As musicians who tour the world regularly, we're sure you have had that classic night where it all goes wrong a la Spinal Tap. So can you describe your worst night on tour, ever?

JP: Although there are many embarrassing moments that I would rather choose to forget, there probably isn't anything much worse than falling off the stage. It was a long time ago and very early on in our career. I literally walked right off the front of the stage and fell into the audience. You heard a loud "clunk" and it stung a bit but I got up and continued the song! I promise you'll never see me do that again!

JR: The final night of our last tour we were in Mexico City, Mexico. It was a huge show! The total Spinal Tap moment was when 20 minutes into the show, my hydraulic keyboard stand got stuck in the down angle position! I played the rest of the show (one hour and forty minutes) on this very unusual angle, hoping that as each section went by I would be able to keep it all together. The whole band was looking at me and knew that I was in trouble! Some were taking pictures and others just looked at me sadly. It was amazing but true that I managed to play all the keyboard parts fairly well, even in this predicament!

MM: My worst night on tour can appear more than once in that it has to do with not enough warm-up time. This shows itself in the form of a song mess-up because I'm thinking about how to loosen up as quickly as possible. The level of mental and physical pressure I put on myself to play what it is my mind is greater than my body can accommodate if I am not warmed up enough. It is a rare night that I can just walk to the stage with no warm up and play, but it isn't a random thing. I have to be feeling just the right combination of mental calm and physical looseness in order to do that.

Naglfar Announce New Lineup and Stream New Song

Naglfar has revealed that they are currently a three piece and sent over these details about their lineup and forthcoming album Teras, along with a link to a preview of an album track:

"So...It's been quite some time since our last update, and there have been some changes that need to be addressed. For various reasons we won't discuss in public, Naglfar is today a three-piece band. The current line-up is as follows: Kristoffer W. Olivius - Vocals - Marcus E. Norman - Guitars - Andreas Nilsson - Guitars

"Due to this, the writing and recording process had been delayed. We have however finally completed a new album entitled Téras. Drums have been recorded by Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork). Téras will be released on Century Media Records in March 2012. More info about this beast will follow soon."

In anticipation of Téras' release, Naglfar is now giving fans a preview of their new album with the debut of its first single, "Pale Horse". To listen to the track, please head over to the band's official Facebook here.

Daylight Touring In Support of Forthcoming EP

(ESM) Daylight will head out on a European and UK tour in March in support of their new 7" EP The Difference In Good And Bad Dreams, due out January 3rd.

The tour is set to kick off on March 9th in Newport, UK and will wrap up on April 1st in London.

The band will support More Than Life on their final European run. The new 7"s are in and shipping here Grab the tour dates here.

Mars Attacks Kittie

Members of Kittie, Vangough and Edge of Paradise are all featured guest on the latest installment of Mars Attacks.

The latest episode of Mars Attacks contains interviews with Morgan Lander of Kittie, Clay Winthrow of Vangough and Margarita Monet of Edge of Paradise.

All three discuss their latest albums, along with an assortment of other things, such as their gear and voices, touring, what it's like for Morgan and Margarita to be females in the male driven world of metal. What influence if any being from Oklahoma City has on Clay's writing style. How Kittie ended up playing with Jeff Paulick of Lazarus A.D. How legendary players such as Gregg Bissonette and Tony Franklin ended up on Edge Of Paradise's debut album Mask.

Check it out here.

The Madeleine Haze Talk Star Packed Ozzy Tribute

The Madeleine Haze sent over these details about their contribution to the star-filled Ozzy Osbourne tribute coming out next year:

On May 8th, Versailles Records will release the 2-cd set "No More Tears: A Millennium Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne". While the set is headlined by performances from Hard Rock legends such as Vince Neil (Motley Crue), George Lynch (Dokken) and Chris Poland (Megadeth), many of the songs will be performed by some of the hottest new bands on the scene. Among these are Philadelphia-based Progressive Grunge trio The Madeleine Haze, who contribute a cover of Ozzy's classic anti-war anthem "Killer Of Giants".

Crafting a memorable cover of a song by an icon such as Ozzy is no easy task, so the band went in with clear goals for the song. "We wanted to keep the essence of the original, but add a few harmonies and musical flourishes to make it our own", explains vocalist/guitarist Zack Goebbel, "and hopefully the result is something that fans will view as a respectful but fresh take on a classic." Goebbel is a life-long Ozzy fan himself, and fondly remembers saving up his allowance as a child to eventually collect his idol's entire catalog. "Jake E Lee, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde...these were my first inspirations to play guitar, and my first vocal exercises as a kid were Ozzy songs." more on this story

Underwell Preview New Album

(Sub) Underwell have signed a worldwide deal with Wormholedeath/Aural Music Group for the release their debut album "Plan Your Rebirth"

The album includes 10 songs and was produced by Alessandro Paolucci (Raw Power, The Way Of Purity) mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (The Agonist, Cryptopsy).

The artwork for the album was made by G. Petersoo at Machine Room Design. Release date will be announced at the beginning of 2012.

They have posted the song "A Shadow Of the Night" on YouTube, it is taken from the album for preview here.

Singled Out: Neal Smith (Alice Cooper Band)'s Squeeze Like A Python

Today Alice Cooper Band legend Neal Smith tells us about "Squeeze Like A Python" from his brand new "KillSmith Two" album. Here is the story:

'Squeeze Like A Python' is the last song and the finale of my new CD 'KillSmith Two.' As on all of my new songs, I sing the lead vocals and the reinforcement vocals are sung by bassist Peter Catucci.

Lyrically the song is a rock fantasy about a lover who's physical passion is so strong that her love and embrace are as powerful as a constricting python. There's an ancient Egyptian mood cast over the theme of the music and words throughout the song. I played the rhythm guitar on Python and all the songs on 'K$2.' This song is as close to perfection achieving the industrial metal sound is was striving for.

Musically it is a heavy metal-crunch-pop rocker that features a solid driving drum beat and two amazing solos. The first solo is preformed by keyboardist extraordinaire, Pete Hickey. Pete played on several songs on the album and also played on the first KillSmith CD called 'Sexual Savior' as well.

Python's ending guitar solo showcases the talents of Doug Wahlberg, one of two great lead guitarists playing on the album. Both solos are musical highlights of the song and the CD. A video of 'Squeeze Like A Python' is currently in the works and will be released in early 2012.

Now that you know the story behind the song, pick up an autographed copy of the album right here!