Bret Michaels Heart Surgery This Month- Coheed and Cambria: 2001-2011- Rev Theory Go Back- New Seether CD- Solo Slipknot- Grave Digger- Twisted Sister Broadway- more

On this day in 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

Chuck Berry Show Cut Short For Medical Reasons

There were various reports on Sunday that rock legend Chuck Berry collapsed on stage in Chicago on Saturday night. antiMusic's Anthony Kuzminski was at the show and tells a different tale.

In his review of the show, Tony writes: "Despite reports from various media sources, I can without question say that when Berry sat behind that keyboard, his hands came alive the same way as they do when he is grasping a guitar." Later in the show, "After a dispirited 'Reelin' and Rockin'', Berry once again banished the keyboard player to the side and sat behind the keys. This is where reports are appearing to vary. From my viewpoint, at no point did I see him collapse. He may have been ill but to my eyes he seemed dispirited and broken."

"...After sitting behind the keyboard, a number of personnel came to the stage, surrounded him and whisked him away. The crowd was appreciative and applauded and then announcement came that the bars would remain open and that DJ's would provide music for the rest of the evening. Then 10-minutes later, Berry reemerged from the backstage, slid his guitar on and made his way to the front of the stage. He struggled with getting his guitar in tune (something that had been an issue most of the evening) and after a few minutes, he was whisked away once again. An announcement was made to stick around for 15-minutes as Chuck Berry would be checked by a doctor backstage. The crowd cheerfully waited and 15-minutes later, Berry emerged for the final time without an instrument in tow. He came out to apologize to the crowd and explained he had been backstage being checked on by doctors. He wished the crowd a good evening and then proceeded to do his infamous 'duck walk' and like that, he was gone." Read Tony's full review

Roger Waters Filming The Wall Shows

(hennemusic) If you haven't seen Roger Waters' current touring edition of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," you may soon be able to – from the comfort of your own home.

An update on Roger's site has confirmed plans to capture the experience: "Roger Waters will be filming and recording all 6 shows at The O2 Arena in London in May.

"For these shows, photographs are permitted but we must insist on NO Flash photography. Flash wipes out the images projected on the Wall, which are the most important part of the show. Any person who uses Flash will have their camera confiscated and could be removed from the Arena."
more on this story

Zakk Wylde To Bring Metal To The Children

(hennemusic) Guitarist Zakk Wylde has some road stories to tell. We'll find them out on May 10 when his new book – "Bringing Metal To The Children" – is published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Billed as "the handbook to all things heavy metal," the new book by Wylde, guitar legend and Black Label Society frontman, invites all who dare onto the tour bus for tales of glory, debauchery, and general mayhem. The book is co-authored by Eric Hendrikx.

Wylde shares what really goes on behind tour bus windows and backstage doors. The twenty-five year music veteran of the Ozzy Osbourne band and Black Label Society details his survival techniques for maintaining a life on the road, managing a band of raging vikings, and somehow making it on stage and blowing the crowd away night after night. more on this story

U2 Duals Coming

(Gibson) Over the last 30 years, U2 have shared the stage and recording studio with a wide array of musical artists, including such notables as Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z.

From rock and punk to country, R&B and gospel, U2's collaborations have spanned many musical genres and introduced their fans to a broad spectrum of music.

U2 are putting the finishing touches on an exclusive package that will put many of these collaborations together in one collection. Titled U2:Duals, the album will be available exclusively to U2's fans through the band's official website and will not be available in shops or online. more on this story

Def Leppard Plan Live Album

(hennemusic) Expect live Def Leppard in 2011 – both on the road and on disc. We told you, back in September, about the band's intention to tour, and now comes news that a live album is in the works.

"In the old days, a band would call in the Rolling Stones Mobile [mobile recording studio owned by the musical group The Rolling Stones] and record a gig and hope that it worked well — and probably cheat and re-record it all," Lep's lead throat Joe Elliott told Artisan News Service.

"In this day in age, you record every show onto a hard drive. So we've got the entire tour backed up onto three or four hard drives. So we have the unenviable task of listening to probably 50 versions of every song we've ever played. We've got our sound guy from the studio - who's a fantastic engineer and a great co-producer - he's actually listening through to all the versions of the songs and kind of rating them on a 1-10 level of performance and excitement, if you like." more on this story

Steven Tyler and Jimmy Page Top Artists To Watch in 2011

hennemusic has a look at the rock forecast for 2011 and lays out 10 artists to watch in the coming year. Here are the top 2:

01 - Steven Tyler on American Idol: Could be a wild ride. Or a train wreck. Either way, expect rock fans to check it out. Premieres January 19.

02 - Jimmy Page: According to the 2010 hennemusic Rock News Story Of The Year, Jimmy plans to get out and play some shows in the year ahead. Who will he play with? Where will he play? One-off events, or a regular tour? Zepheads need to know and will be anxiously awaiting news on Mr. Page's plans.
Check out the full top 10

Paul Gray's Widow Wants Fans To Remember Slipknot Star As More Than Just A Drug Addict

(Rock AAA) The widow of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray says she wants people to remember him as "more than just a drug addict."

Model Brenna Gray was six months pregnant with the couple's daughter when the tragic musician was found dead in an Iowa hotel room in May. He was 38. Police later confirmed he'd taken an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

But Brenna doesn't want people to focus on what she says was the one negative aspect of her husband's character – and she's determined to make sure his death saves other people's lives. "He was a great guy, a great musician, a great husband, a great friend, a great brother and a great son. I want people to know that." more on this story

Tenacious D Working on New Album

(Gibson) Although Jack Black has been doing plenty of non-Tenacious D things lately (starring in Gulliver's Travels, teaming up with Jason Segel for a remake of "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy"), he assures fans that there's more music to come from "The D." He said that he and musical partner Kyle Gass have a new album in store.

"We're in the middle of recording it," he told Spinner.com. "We're about halfway through the writing process. We need another few months. But you can look for it at the end of 2011."

As far as subject matter, Black offered a few clues: "We're gonna be talking about love, there are gonna be some songs about sex and there's gonna be songs about food." more on this story

Singled Out: Ekotren's The End Of The Day

Today Ekotren's John Sheldon (vocals) and Keith Finnell (guitar) tell us about "The End Of The Day" is from their upcoming CD "The Dead Of Night" which comes out everywhere on 1-25-11. Here is the story:

John- This song was basically written about how we weren't going to listen to outsiders ideas of what we should be writing. We have always written music for us and always will. Things start to come over as artificial when you start trying to force things into being something else.

Keith- It was kind of a challenge when we were writing The End Of The Day. The opening riff for the song was the first piece written for the song. We were in our rehearsal space, and Sheldon and I were there before Derek and Frankie showed up. I was messing around on the guitar and I started coming up with the riff, I had the idea, but I couldn't get the riff to sound the way I was hearing it. It probably took me 3 days to get down what i wanted the riff to sound legible to present to the guys, I was playing it so sloppy! Once I got the rif down, we hammered the song out pretty quick. When we were in pre-production, this song didn't have a title, so it's working title was "Slayer riff". Hopefully if Kerry King hears the song, he doesn't think it sucks!

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

Billy Corgan Says Labels Destroyed Music Biz

(Gibson) Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has been relishing his latest project, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, because it's allowed him to share music with fans for free through his band's website.

"I like the idea that there's no prohibition in listening," he told Spinner.com. "I grew up in the '70s and listening to the radio was important. We all listened and we all had a common experience. Whether it's like Boston's 'More Than a Feeling' or whatever, you were like, 'Yeah, I know that song, too.' We've kind of lost that."

Corgan went on to blame corporate labels for the current state of recorded music. "Something about the need for the major label system to corner the market has squeezed the excitement out of music," he said. "It's almost like the restaurant where the prices are too high – you can't enjoy your food. You feel like you're getting ripped off, but you don't know why. Fans overall have rebelled." more on this story

Eddie Van Halen Attends Ex-Wife's Wedding

(hennemusic) Valerie Bertinelli married her boyfriend of 7 years – financial planner Tom Vitale - on New Year's day at the couple's Malibu home.

People.com reports the two exchanged vows in front of about 100 guests, including Bertinelli's son Wolfgang, 19, from her marriage to Eddie Van Halen, who was also on hand with his wife, Janie Liszewski.

In addition to 'Hot In Cleveland' co-stars, and close buddies Jane Leeves and Wendie Mallick, Mackenzie Phillips and Pat Harrington from 'One Day at a Time,' the long-running 70s sitcom that launched her career, were there. more on this story

Sebastian Bach and John Mellencamp Divorcing Their Wives

(Rock AAA) Ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and singer John Mellencamp are both to divorce in 2011, they've revealed.

But Slash's wife Perla Hudson says their relationship is stronger after they filed for annulment in August last year – then withdrew the papers in November.

Bach has issued a statement explaining that he and high school sweetheart Maria Bierk are ending their marriage after 18 years. He says: "For the record, my wife and I have decided to separate. In all but every way, we have actually been separated since last April. more on this story

John Peel Returns To The Airwaves

(Gibson) BBC Radio 6 Music is to begin broadcasting 15-minute segments of classic John Peel broadcasts during the Marc Riley morning show. According to the Guardian, they will also be available as podcasts.

BBC Radio 1's longest-serving DJ died in 2004 at age 65, while on vacation in Peru. The Peel/Riley connection goes back to the days when Peel championed Riley's old band, The Fall.

Riley said: "Listening to various clips of John in preparation for these programmes it all came flooding back. John's warmth, his bone-dry humor, his passion for the eclectic mix of music he played not to mention his wonderful sense of mischief. more on this story

Cheap Trick Go To Austin City Limits

(hennemusic) Cheap Trick helped Austin City Limits bring in the New Year with a rock n' roll bang.

They appeared on the first episode of the venerable PBS series in 2011. The hour-long show featured a variety of tracks from the band's career.

The program was taped back in March of last year and finally saw its release this past weekend. You can check out the Full Show here

Anniversary of The Bay City Rollers Saturday Night Hit

(Gibson) It's kind of funny to think about now, but for a short time in the '70s, the Bay City Rollers were considered to be "the next Beatles." Yes, in the middle of the decade, Rollermania was in full effect, starting in Britain and eventually reaching American shores, thanks to a certain blockbuster single. On this day in 1976, the band's "Saturday Night" hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

But that success was more than a few years in the making. The band that would become the Bay City Rollers was formed in 1966 as the Saxons, with founding members Alan Longmuir (bass), Derek Longmuir (drums) and Gordon "Noddy" Clark (vocals). Unhappy with their moniker, the guys chose a new name by throwing a dart at a map. It happened to land near Bay City, Michigan – and thus a bunch of Scottish guys became associated with a Midwestern U.S. locale.

The Rollers scored their first U.K. hit in 1971 with a cover of The Gentrys' "Keep on Dancing," but had trouble landing a follow-up on the charts. An earlier version of "Saturday Night" barely missed the charts in 1973. Fed up with the lack of success, Noddy Clark left the group and was replaced by new frontman Les McKeown. By this time, long-term members Eric Faulkner and Stuart "Woody" Wood had also joined the Longmuir brothers in the group. more on this story

Blues Greats Tribute Robert Johnson

(Gibson) Blues greats B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Honeyboy Edwards, Ruthie Foster, Cedric Burnside and Hubert Sumlin are part of a Robert Johnson tribute album set for release on February 1 by Ryko/Big Records.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters are behind the album, 100 Years of Robert Johnson, and tour and have named themselves the Big Head Blues Club – Todd Park Mohr (guitar, vocals), Rob Squires (bass), Brian Nevins (drums) and Jeremy Lawton (keyboards).

According to Undercover.fm, producer Chris Goldsmith said the band worked hard to give Johnson's music the respect it's due. Mohr said: "In so many of the takes on Robert's stuff, you don't get the depth of emotion that's in the lyrics and in Robert's voice. That's one thing that Chris and the band and my voice were able to bring to it. Chris had great ideas about how to represent the stuff, and all the musicians were just so good at what they did, the unique arrangements just came naturally." more on this story

Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood And Son Helping Each Other Stay Off Drugs

(Gibson) Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood thinks he's the perfect one to help 34-year-old son Jesse go through rehab because he's been there, done that – seven times over.

Over the last 30 years, Ronnie has entered treatment for his drug addiction seven times, and now he says he and Jesse, who plays bass in rock band The Black Swan Effect, are motivating one another to stay sober.

Wood told Uncut magazine, "Jesse's going through rehab. We're helping each other out. I'm over six months clean and good with it. Boredom is a killer as is the idea that I can always have just one drink. Once I got rid of that, I could take my life back and be more focused at everything, my music and my painting." more on this story

.... MorleyView: Black Country Communion (Glenn Hughes)<

In a time of recycled riffs and American Idol blandness, BCC recalls a time where hard rock ruled. Morley I had the great pleasure of speaking with Glenn a few weeks back. Glenn was engaging, humble and completely stoked about his new band. - Read the full Black Country Communion (Glenn Hughes) MorleyView

Day in Rock 2010 Rewind: Top Stories From December

We conclude our look back at the top stories of 2010 as we flashback to December

Van Halen To Begin New Album

(hennemusic) Van Halen's plans for 2011 are coming into focus. The Van Halen News Desk reports that the band will enter the studio in January to begin work on a new album, their first with David Lee Roth since 1984, and their first new music with Roth since '96.

Sources tell the VHND that the band is very eager to tour, and that they want to tour behind new material. Eddie Van Halen has been very busy during most of 2010 writing music. Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen often join Eddie in the 5150 studio and the three of them have been hard at work jamming and recording demos. The three Van Halens have been sending the music to David Lee Roth, who's adding the lyrics. Two of the VHND's sources have heard some of the early versions of the tracks (without vocals) and were very pleased. The music is said to sound like straight ahead rock 'n' roll and "very Van Halen."

After talking to several producers, the band has chosen Grammy award winner producer/songwriter/musician John Shanks who has worked with Miley Cyrus, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Santana, Rod Stewart, Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette, Hilary Duff, Train's Pat Monahan, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Pink, Liz Phair, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt, and many more - more on this story

Axl Rose Accused of Lip Synching

Guns N' Roses are facing a backlash after a recent concert in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

First the band reportedly took the stage 2 hours late and Rock AAA reports that the led them to break their performance curfew and they wound up setting off fireworks at midnight on a weekday, angering near by residents.

But now Axl Rose faces accusations of lip-synching during the performance. Rock AAA report that a New Zealand TV report from 3news shows that while the lead vocals on Welcome to the Jungle are coming through the PA, Rose doesn't always have his mic to his face.

Rock AAA had a follow up report with two videos from different angles so you can judge for yourself if Axl did or didn't. Check it out - here

Judas Priest Farewell Tour

(Rock AAA) Judas Priest have announced their Epitaph world tour in 2011 will be their last. They'll headline Classic Rock Magazine's High Voltage festival in London on July 23.

The following night, Dream Theater will make their first appearance with their replacement drummer for Mike Portnoy.

The festival takes place at Victoria Park and will also feature the Ace Cafe London experience and an Evel Knievel exhibition, with many more details to be announced in due course. Judas Priest say: "After storming the world for nearly 40 years, this will be our final world tour." - more on this story

Slipknot Announce Live Return

(Gibson) Slipknot will return to the stage in the middle of next year to headline Europe's Sonisphere festival – the same festival which this year saw the unprecedented "Big Four" thrash lineup of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax.

It will be Slipknot's first run of shows without founding member Paul Gray, who passed away earlier this year.

In a statement, the band said: "We're looking forward to spending our summer in Europe. This tour is about us and our fans. It's about celebrating the life of our brother, Paul, and his legacy. The door is neither open nor closed. This tour is about burning down that door. See you this summer." - more on this story

Avenged Sevenfold Fire Mike Portnoy

(Rock AAA) Mike Portnoy has left Avenged Sevenfold at the band's request, he's revealed. The drummer has been standing in with the band since Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan died last Christmas, appearing on current album Nightmare and touring with them since the middle of the year.

Portnoy left Dream Theater in September, shocking fans and ex-bandmates alike since he'd founded the band 25 years previously. One of the reasons he gave was that he'd enjoyed his tenure with A7X more than he'd been enjoying working with his own outfit.

Now he says: "Sadly my time with Avenged Sevenfold has come to an end. The band has decided to carry on into 2011 without me." - more on this story

Led Zeppelin Reunion DVD?

(hennemusic) Jason Bonham sat down with KLOS' Sal Cirricione before hitting the stage for the Mark & Brian Christmas Show at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles Thursday night.

It's been three years since Bonham played the Led Zeppelin reunion show at London's 02 Arena, and he was asked about any possible DVD release plans.

"Nothing is official, as yet," said Jason. "I only know that because Robert (Plant) had said that he'd watched it. I really do hope that it eventually will see the light of day. It's just nice to know that Robert had seen it, so I knew something, but it was nice that he rang up and said 'Wow, it sounded great.' Fingers crossed, everybody… fingers crossed." - more on this story

Velvet Revolver May Have Found New Singer

(hennemusic) It's possible that Velvet Revolver's needle-in-a-haystack-like search for a new singer is nearly over.

Blabbermouth is reporting that VR drummer Matt Sorum has updated VH1 Radio Networks' Dave Basner on the band's singer search.

"We're real close [to finding the right person]," said Sorum "We got a guy that we like, but we haven't sat around a table and said to each other, 'Okay, let's shake hands and do this.' Hopefully we'll be able to… I mean, I know this has been going on for a while but the reality of it is Slash has been on the road [promoting his solo album] for the last year. We only started rehearsing last week after a year off and we're going to rehearse again in January with this particular person." - more on this story

AC/DC Drug Bust

(Rock AAA) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been convicted for being on possession of cannabis – and his criminal record could affect the band's future touring plans.

Rudd, real name Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis, was fined $250 and ordered to pay costs of $133 in Tauranga District Court, New Zealand, after police searched his boat in October and found 25g of the illegal substance.

The 56-year-old's lawyer had asked for his client to be discharged because a court conviction could affect his job. - more on this story

Rock Rules Top Tours of 2010

(hennemusic) Rock still rules the live concert industry, as Bon Jovi, U2 and AC/DC landed in the top three spots on Billboard's Top 25 Tours of 2010.

Bon Jovi grossed $146.5 million through 69 sold-out shows, playing to 1.5 million fans.

U2 were a close second, with $131.5 million over just 22 sold-out shows before 1.3 million fans.

Hard Rock kings AC/DC landed in third place with $122.6 million over 28 shows (including 19 sell-outs) before 1.1 million fans - more on this story

Big Four 2011: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax Teaming Up Again

(Gibson) After delivering a run of acclaimed shows earlier this year, the "Big Four" will be back together in 2011. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, the so-called "Big Four" of thrash metal, will headline the first night of next summer's U.K. Sonisphere Festival on July 8.

"As soon as the 'Big Four' gigs started rolling across Sonisphere festivals in Eastern Europe last summer, we all felt we were part of something special," Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement. "The vibe within the bands was more than anyone had anticipated and the vibe with the fans was so next level, it completely blew our minds... there was no way this should not happen again!!! So I am beyond psyched that the first 'Big Four' show in Western Europe will take place on the hallowed grounds of Knebworth, where so many unique and special gigs have happened over the years."

Members of the other bands also weighed in on the news. Slayer's Kerry King: "Always excited to do 'Big Four' shows. Now England is in line to be devastated by this heavy metal powerhouse!" - more on this story

Pearl Jam Plan Music Festival

(Gibson) Continuing to celebrate 20 years as a band, Pearl Jam have some big plans for 2011. With the Live on Ten Legs live album schedule for release in January, the band have announced that they will host, curate and (presumably) headline their own music festival during the summer.

Longtime Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis broke the news on the group's new Sirius XM channel. He did not have details on exactly when or where the festival will take place, although Pearl Jam's hometown of Seattle has been ruled out. According to Curtis, it will happen "somewhere in the middle of the country."

Other details (list of performers, how many days, etc.) will have to wait until the band make a big announcement about the festival. -

Ozzy Denies Getting Rid of Zakk Wylde

Ozzy Osbourne was a guest on the Howard Stern radio show this week and when asked about the ouster of Zakk Wylde, Ozzy had an interesting response.

According to Sleaze Roxx, when asked why he'd parted ways with guitarist Zak Wylde, Ozzy shrugged: "I didn't get rid of him. He had his own band and he was only helping me out...I said to him, 'It's time for you to do your Black Label [Society]."

Ozzy bemoaned the business side of music: "It's more like a job now than it ever was...people only want one track off the album...the art of the game is gone. It's all tricks and mirrors." Howard then asked if Ozzy could be become a part of American Idol's tricks and mirrors machine, but Ozzy dismissed the idea: "I couldn't do that...the fact that they get up there in the first place and have a go--my heart goes out to them." - more on this story

Axl Rose Gives Rare Interview

(hennemusic) The "how" and "why" are a mystery, but Guns N' Roses leader Axl Rose sat down for an extremely rare interview to speak with the United Arab Emirates Newspaper Gulfnews.com this week, prior to the band's December 16 gig in Abu Dhabi.

Axl on the current state of GNR: "For me, one of the really cool things is I don't have to get on at everybody in the band. Hey do this, do that, you know. Because they're excited. Everybody takes a certain amount of pride in what they do. Plus they all get on at each other about it anyway. Everybody goes out there and tries to give everything they can. And we stay out there a couple hours more, you know, until we feel the crowd is happy. Or until we feel like we've done a good job. It's kinda like going to the gym or something, you know, you don't leave until you feel like you're supposed to."

Axl on fan support and reaction, and the pressure the band faces to live up to their past: "I think it's a lot to do with the material from the past and a hell of a lot to do with the heart that was put into it then. But if we weren't putting the heart into it now, if I wasn't putting my heart into it, the fans, they're not gonna let me get away with it. We have to live up to something, have to work a bit harder because you're living up to the legend or a myth or whatever. It's more pressure when you're playing to live up to myth." - more on this story

Rage Against the Machine Working On New Album?

(Gibson) Rage Against the Machine may be headed to the studio, according to a translation of an interview with vocalist Zack de la Rocha by La Tercera.

A translation of the interview by gunshyassassin.com quotes de la Rocha as saying the band is older and more mature. "We are working on a new album due out next year, perhaps for the northern hemisphere summer," he said.

The band reformed for some festival performances in 2007 and have played sporadic shows since, but have not been eager to rush into the studio. In fact, since the first round of Rage reunion shows, guitarist Tom Morello has released an album with Street Sweeper Social Club (his duo with Boots Riley of The Coup), collaborated with Steve Earle and Cyprus Hill, and made a surprisingly shreddy guest appearance with Ben Harper and Dhani Harrison's band Fistful of Mercy on Conan. -

Steven Tyler Out Ditzes Paula Abdul?

(hennemusic) Steven Tyler is reportedly proving to be a hit with American Idol bosses. ShowbizSpy reports the Aerosmith rocker — who replaced Simon Cowell on the hit TV talent show — has impressed producers by being perpetually confused and lacking focus.

And insiders believe Tyler will become the new Paula Abdul! "Steven's the new Paula Abdul," a source told American tabloid the National Enquirer, "and producers couldn't be happier."

"He's hilarious! Viewers are in for a real treat when they watch the auditions in January! Steven's incredibly comical without realizing it. Who'd have thought it was possible to out-ditz Paula?" - more on this story

Dave Mustaine Teams With Anthrax's Dan Spitz

(Gibson) Megadeth main man Dave Mustaine and former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz are making an album together. Mustaine revealed the news to New Zealand's 3news.co.nz and said that Spitz invited him to work on the record, which will be released under the moniker Deuxmonkey.

"He was working on a little side-project I'd heard a while ago and I asked him, 'Do you think it's done?' He asked me why and I said, 'Well, I would kind of do this and that.'" Mustaine said. "And he said, 'Go ahead.' So I rolled up my sleeves and completely dedicated myself to Danny's record."

Mustaine said the album sounds like Soundgarden, Disturbed and Rage Against the Machine. He also said that Megadeth will begin recording their new album in the new year. -

Paramore Plan Next Album

(Gibson) Paramore have been on the road for most of 2010, playing songs off their huge hit album, Brand New Eyes. But 2011 will find the band returning to the studio to record their follow-up release. Singer Hayley Williams told MTV.com that that Paramore will write and record in their home state of Tennessee.

"We like to do it at home mostly," Williams said. "We like to wait and kind of really focus on the records when we have time off." Guitarist Taylor York said it's not easy moving on to a new project: "We're kind of at the end of this record, but it's bittersweet."

But Williams seems a little more gung-ho. "[This year has] just been, like, one thing after another," she said. "[It's been a] high climb, and I hope we get to keep climbing for a little bit longer. - more on this story

Jimmy Page Has Recorded New Music

(Rock AAA) Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith says Jimmy Page has written and recorded new music, and he's itching to get out and play live.

The pair share the same managers, and Smith admits he'd love to play with Page if the chance arose. "But supposedly he has a bunch of ideas and a bunch of stuff recorded. That's what I've heard. I can tell he wants to play. He's frustrated," Smith said.

Meanwhile, Zep singer Robert Plant has revealed he's bored with constant reunion rumors and wishes everyone would move on – because he has. - more on this story

Cheap Trick To Stage Dream Police Shows

(hennemusic) More than thirty years after the release of the internationally acclaimed album "Dream Police," Cheap Trick is staging a multi-date show featuring songs from the platinum record.

The Rhythmic Noise Philharmonic Orchestra & Mind Choir will perform alongside these, and other hits, from Cheap Trick's extensive catalog.

The series of shows - at Milwaukee's Northern Lights Theater at Potawatomi Bingo Casino - kicks off January 20th, 2011 and includes 12 dates through February 26th. - more on this story

Kid Rock Angered

(Gibson) Kid Rock is none too pleased with ticket brokers who purchased blocks of tickets for his January 15 birthday concert at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. More than 45,000 tickets sold out in less than 19 minutes for Rock's show. As is common practice for big concerts, brokers bought lots of tickets and are now selling them for a premium price.

"I am a musician. I did not attend college and barely made it out of high school," Rock wrote on his website. "I try my hardest to keep my ticket prices low. This I have control of!! I cannot control nor do I understand how the [expletive] the scalpers and all the secondary websites and [expletive] get them.

"I feel like someone is beating up a close friend or family member while I'm chained to a chair. I try to understand it, I try to ask my managers and people in the business I know to help me understand it, but it seems they don't either. The only way I know right now to stop it is to not buy from these people or wait till the last minute when they're scared they can't sell them and have to sell them cheap." - more on this story

New Dio Song Coming

Look out for new Dio tracks next year. The band were working on a new album before Ronnie James Dio's death earlier this year.

Guitarist Craig Goldy told Classic Rock magazine, "We were working on tracks for a new Dio album just before Ronnie died in May. And we did almost finish one song. Wendy [Ronnie's widow] has been talking about reissuing the Magica album with bonus tracks, including this one.

"The thing is that the lyrics deal with what Ronnie was going through at the time, when he was battling cancer. So now they are very emotional. It's hard to listen without a lump in your throat." For more on this story, click - here

Jeff Beck Leads Rock Grammy Nominations

(hennemusic) Nominations for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were announced Wednesday night in Los Angeles, and Jeff Beck was the big story on the rock front.

Beck leads the rock field with 5 nominations with material from his "Emotion & Commotion" release, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Instrumental Performance ("Hammerhead"), Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("I Put A Spell On You" with Joss Stone), Best Pop Instrumental performance ("Nessun Dorma"), and Best pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Imagine" with Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1 & Oumou Sangare).

Neil Young was also a multiple rock nominee, a finalist in three categories: Best Rock Album ("Le Noise") and two nods for "Angry World," including Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. - more on this story

Rare Early Led Zeppelin Recording Online

The Metal Den has obtained the earliest known live recording of "Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin.

The recording took place on October 10th, 1969 at The Olympia in Paris, France.

It's also a soundboard quality recording which makes it even more of a rarity. "Heartbreaker" comes off Led Zeppelin II, the legendary band's second studio album released October 22, 1969 on Atlantic Records. - Check it out here

George Harrison and Ozzy Classics Among The Top Ten Solo Albums That Shook the World

Gibson have released their selections for the "Top Ten Solo Albums That Shook the World." Here are a couple of the highlights:

6) George Harrison - All Things Must Pass: George Harrison had a few very notable chances to show off what he could do in the later days of the Beatles. "Something," "It's All Too Much" and "Here Comes the Sun" are standout examples of the beautiful work he was capable of. But nobody quite expected such a torrential outpour of music as that which Harrison offered on 1970's All Things Must Pass. The three-disc, 106-minute set comprised two discs of rock songs and a third disc made up of a bunch of loose jams. It was the highest selling of any Beatles solo album, and would be worthy of name checking as a classic on the strength of "My Sweet Lord" alone.

1) Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz: Ozzy could have descended into obscurity after his sacking from Black Sabbath — certainly lesser setbacks have befallen stronger men than he. But Ozzy turned into that skid, straightened out and — with the help of Bob Daisley's inimitable bass playing and world-class songwriting, Lee Kerslake's steady work behind the drum kit and the phenomenal guitar wizardry of Randy Rhoads — recorded one of hard rock's true classic albums. While Sabbath's work always felt very English, Blizzard Of Ozz took on the sounds of both Los Angeles and Europe, taking Ozzy's sound out of the dungeons and into the castles. The quartet redefined hard rock with "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley," "I Don't Know" and "Suicide Solution," and presaged late '80s progressive rock with "Revelation (Mother Earth)." - more on this story

Annihilator Star Loses Cancer Fight

(Gibson) Annihilator guitarist/vocalist Jeff Waters has posted a message about a former member on his band's website. He announced that former touring drummer Dave Machander passed away from cancer.

Waters explained how he met Machander under stressful circumstances in 1996, when Annihilator's current drummer left the band 12 days before a tour. "Dave Davis, our long-time guitar player, suggested his friend Dave Machander and thought he could handle the gig/pressure. I was not convinced but had no other option than to literally say 'you are in' before I even heard him play drums!"

During a few days of rehearsals, the band played with Machander (who was playing to a "click" track in his headphones). Waters said that it wasn't working out and he was about to fire the drummer, before Davis suggested that Machander try playing without the headphones - more on this story

New York Dolls Announce New Album Release

(Sacks & Co) New York Dolls will release their fifth full-length record Dancing Backward in High Heels March 15 on 429 Records.

Featuring original members David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, the album was recorded in Newcastle, England and produced by Louis XIV's Jason Hill.

Dancing Backward in High Heels is the follow-up to 2009's 'Cause I Sez So'. - more on this story

New Anthrax Album Almost Done

(Gibson) Thrash legends Anthrax are nearly done recording their new album, the band's first since 2003's We've Come For You All. Tentatively titled Worship Music, it will be the first Anthrax album with frontman Joey Belladonna since 1990. It's the group's ninth studio album overall.

"We're almost ready to go," guitarist Scott Ian told Artisan News Service. "Eight things are recorded and we've only got to go back and re-record two or three things. And Joey's singing on all of it."

Belladonna is the second guy to provide vocals for Worship Music. Former Anthrax singer Dan Nelson originally did work on the album. The release should be out next year and reportedly includes covers of Alice in Chains' "We Die Young" and Refused's "New Noise," according to NME.com. - more on this story

John Lennon Said He Didn't Want To Be Dead Hero In His Final Interview

(Rock AAA) John Lennon said he didn't want to be a "dead hero" in his last interview – recorded just three days before he was shot dead 30 years ago today.

The ex-Beatle spoke to Rolling Stone journalist Jonathan Cott on December 5, 1980, and although excerpts of the conversation have been released in the past, it's the first time the entire interview has been published.

Lennon, who was 40 when he died, talked about stardom and being a father, while saying he had "plenty of time" to achieve his ambitions. "Critics only like people when they're on their way up – I can't be on the way up again. What they want is dead heroes like Sid Vicious and James Dean," He told Cott. "I have no interest in being a dead f**king hero – so forget them." - more on this story

Fan Will Have To Wait For Black Sabbath Reunion

(Gibson) The past year has had plenty of will-they-won't-they moments for fans of the original Black Sabbath lineup. Nearly every member of the band professed a desire to reunite the legendary hard rock band in the near future. But with Ozzy Osbourne embarking on a lengthy tour with new guitarist Gus G., Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler says fans will have to wait.

"I have no idea what's happening with that," Butler told AOL's Noisecreep. "It's not going to happen next year. Ozzy's on tour with his own band for the next year or whatever. The idea of doing another Sabbath tour always comes up. It's just something that's always talked about and there if we want to do it. It's sort of really early days, though. I'm sure Ozzy will say 'yes' and 'no' every week for the next year while he's on tour. It's one thing to want to do something like that just before you go out to tour a record. You say, 'Oh yeah, I'm gonna tour for the next five years.' And then six weeks into it, you can't wait to get home. So we'll just see how he feels when he finishes his Ozzy Osbourne tour."

Butler also dispelled any hopes for "lost" Heaven & Hell material to be released after the death of singer Ronnie James Dio. "There is no more stuff. That's it. We've never had leftover material ever. That's how we got back together when they wanted to put out [the Black Sabbath compilation] The Dio Years. They wanted some extra tracks to put on it, and we didn't have any, because whatever we do we put out. That's why we got together to do the three extra tracks on the compilation. And it went so well, we went from there and toured and did another album. We were having a great time. We never imagined that we wouldn't have the chance to do more." -

Nick Cave Car Crash

(Rock AAA) Nick Cave lost control of his Jaguar in Hove, England yesterday, with his twin sons as passengers.

His car drove into a speed camera pole. No other vehicles were involved. The police say: "Nobody has been arrested but police inquiries are continuing."

Meanwhile, another rocker Ross the Boss guitarist Patrick Fuchs suffered broken ribs, cuts and bruises yesterday when he lost control of his car in winter weather in Germany. - more on this story

A Real Highway To Hell For Bon Scott

(Gibson) If fans get their way, a lane in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine might soon be named after Bon Scott. The late AC/DC singer was a resident of Sunshine, and a group of fans have launched a campaign to name a street after him, according to Brimbank Weekly.

Scott lived in Sunshine between 1951-56 and attended Sunshine Primary School. Former Sunshine resident Paul Murphy is advocating for the Brimbank council to christen an unnamed lane, between Derby Road and Corio Street, Bon Scott Lane.

"More people know AC/DC than they do HV McKay and having a Bon Scott Lane will make Sunshine famous all around the world," he said. "Bon lived in Sunshine, went to school there and played one of his first gigs there. He would have walked down the laneway we're looking to dedicate to him, because it was a shortcut for kids to get to Sunshine Tech and Sunshine Primary." - more on this story

Rare Van Halen Fair Warning Era Footage

(hennemusic) Some rare 1981 Van Halen concert footage has surfaced. The footage comes from Van Halen's 1981 "Fair Warning" tour.

The video features a news report on the band, live footage and an interview with David Lee Roth.

It is being used by eBay sellers EliteWorks to promote their Classic Rock auctions series. - check it out here

Metallica Were Unsure of Big 4 Success

Slayer frontman Tom Araya has revealed there were so few Big 4 shows because Metallica weren't sure the package would be successful.

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax shared the same stage for the first time ever at Sonisphere festival across Europe during the summer. The show in Bulgaria was shown in cinemas worldwide and has now been released on DVD. But many fans in the US, UK and elsewhere were disappointed not to get the chance to see the Big 4 live for themselves.

"The shows were entirely scheduled and decided on by Metallica. It was their decision," Araya tells Noisecreep. "When it first came together a journalist asked James Hetfield about the tour, and he said Metallica weren't really sure about how well it would do, and they'd have to do a little bit more homework on it.

"I'm sitting there thinking, 'If you asked me that question I'd say let's do a worldwide tour.' - more on this story

Coldplay Plan Concept Album

(Gibson) Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has revealed that the band's fifth, full-length studio release will be a concept album. He told BBC News about the as-yet-untitled record.

"It's from the point of view of two people who are a bit lost," he said. "Two like-minded outsiders who meet in a very difficult environment and therefore have a journey together."

Martin said that the sound of the album will be markedly different from the grandiose sounds on Coldplay's previous album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. "It's a concept album but it's supposed to be very personal within a big framework," he said - more on this story

Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Tom Waits Confirmed For Rock Hall

(hennemusic) Looks like the rumors were true, as the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2011 was made public on Tuesday through a number of media outlets, a day ahead of Wednesday morning's official announcement by the Hall.

Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Darlene Love will enter the Hall at the 26th Annual Induction Ceremony on March 14, 2011 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

"I was elated," Cooper told Rolling Stone, "and I called the original band guys immediately, and said, 'Well, remember when we started in high school?' [Laughs] 'Here we are. Only took 45 years." - more on this story

Pink Floyd Win Royalties Battle

(hennemusic) Pink Floyd have won a Court of Appeal battle against EMI over online royalties.

In March, the band won their case at the High Court barring the record company from selling single downloads from their concept albums.

EMI were found in breach of agreements by "wrongly exploiting" album works by releasing singles online. The group also claimed they were not paid properly for the digital downloads - more on this story

Mark Hoppus Explains The Direction Blink-182's New Album Is Going in

Mark Hoppus spoke with MTV about Blink 182's upcoming album, how it is progressing and what musical direction they are going in.

"We've gone through a lot of really heavy stuff over the past few years. ... There's plenty of heavy stuff to write about," he said. "I think in moments it will [be dark]. We're still just barely getting into the whole writing process. We have about three or four songs done.

"I wouldn't say it's going to be a dark record; I think it's really an expansive record. There's stuff that sounds like what we were doing on the last Blink record, and there's stuff that sounds like what we were doing 10 years ago and stuff that we've never done before." - Read the full MTV feature here

Original Alice Cooper Band To Reunite For Tour and Rock Hall Induction

(Rock AAA) Alice Cooper says his original band have always been victims of the "misconception" they were more concerned with theatre than music – when the reverse was true. And their upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a good enough reason to reunite and play a series of major city shows.

The band known as Alice Cooper formed at school and released a stack of world-class tracks – including I'm Eighteen, School's Out and the acclaimed 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies – before splitting up, leaving frontman Cooper to continue with the same name.

Now the shock rocker tells Rolling Stone: "When I heard we'd made it into the Hall of Fame I called the original band guys immediately and said, "Remember when we started in high school? Here we are. It only took 45 years." - more on this story

Duff McKagan Denies Cocaine Relapse Report

(hennemusic) Duff McKagan has responded to suggestions that his sinus surgery this week is due to a relapse and that he's back on the blow.

"Thx 4 the well wishes on my sinus surgery," Duff posted to Twitter. "all went great! This is NOT from cocaine relapse ( was reported somewhere!). Just old scar tissue."

The surgery was needed after McKagan developed a hole (perforation) in the cartilage of his nasal septum as a complication from years of cocaine use - more on this story

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Up Against Coldplay's Chris Martin

(Gibson) Come next February, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder or Coldplay's Chris Martin might be thanking the Academy.

Both rockers have written original songs for films this year, and those songs are among the 41 that have been shortlisted for the Best Original Song category at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony. The list will be whittled down to no more than five entries when nominations are announced in January.

Vedder wrote a tune for Eat Pray Love, while Martin penned "Me and Tennessee," a country song, for Country Strong, which stars his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. Other potential nominees include Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" (from The Karate Kid), Randy Newman's "We Belong Together" (from Toy Story 3) and Metric's "Eclipse (All Yours)" (from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) - more on this story

Ozzy Car Crash Aftershock

(hennemusic) Ozzy Osbourne finally gets his driver's license at the age of 62, buys a Ferrari, has his first minor fender-bender, and is now too scared to drive.

WENN reports that Ozzy only recently passed his driving test and immediately headed to a car dealership to purchase the luxury sports vehicle, but he was left with a bruised ego this week after becoming involved in a minor collision while out and about in Los Angeles on Monday.

His wife Sharon reveals Osbourne had lost his way when he shunted his Ferrari and he was sent into a panic when he discovered the other motorist was a lawyer. And the unidentified driver was so formal when taking down Osbourne's insurance details, the rocker likened his behaviour to fictional defense attorney Perry Mason. - more on this story

Captain Beefheart RIP

(Gibson) Rock and Roll lost a visionary and a pioneer on Friday. Captain Beefheart (born Don Van Vliet) died December 17 of multiple sclerosis. He was 69.

Captain Beefheart, a friend and collaborator of Frank Zappa, recorded 12 art rock albums from 1967 to 1982. Beefheart's groundbreaking 1969 album, Trout Mask Replica, produced by Zappa, is considered an art rock classic with its surreal fusion of imagery, sounds and musical genres.

Van Vliet forged a successful career as a painter after quitting rock and roll in 1982. According to Entertainment Weekly one of his paintings had recently been priced at $40,000 - more on this story

Jimi Hendrix Biopic Killed

(Gibson) A planned Jimi Hendrix biopic has been respectfully dropped at the request of Experience Hendrix, overseers of the Hendrix estate.

The film had secured financing from Legendary Pictures, and Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass had committed to the project. The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie was set to star in the film. But Deadline New York reports that the Hendrix estate was concerned that the movie could possibly hurt sales of the back catalog, which Deadline says supposedly happened to The Doors catalog following Oliver Stone's biopic.

Deadline says the film could have been made with songs Hendrix covered but did not write, as these are not controlled by Experience Hendrix, but that the filmmakers refused to move forward without the approval of the estate. Deadline says Legendary Pictures chief Thomas Tull, who financed the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud, was motivated purely by the prospect of making a studio-caliber movie about his hero. "Unless Experience Hendrix has a change of heart, the movie has gone up in flames," Deadline says. -

Dio Era Black Sabbath Album Going Deluxe

(Gibson) Black Sabbath have announced yet another rerelease in the coming months, this time from an under-appreciated Dio gem. Dehumanizer was a reunion album of sorts for the band's Heaven and Hell line-up.

Recorded in 1991 and 1992, the album was the first collaboration of Ronnie James Dio and the Sabs in over a decade, and it featured the Wayne's World soundtrack nugget, "Time Machine," as well as the single, "TV Crimes."

The Deluxe Edition of Dehumanizer, to be released on February 7th, will feature one disc of the original album and one disc of B-sides, alternate versions and live tracks. The five live tracks are from a 1992 Tampa, Florida show, featuring a combination of Dehumanizer tracks and Heaven and Hell classics - more on this story

Staind's Aaron Lewis Country Hit

(Gibson) Aaron Lewis hasn't even released his country album, Town Line, yet, but country fans are already tipping their ten-gallon hats to the Staind frontman's first single, "Country Boy." With 20,000 downloads in its first week, the song debuted at #9 on the Billboard Country Digital Singles sales chart.

CMT Senior Vice President of Music Strategy Jay Frank said, "The minute Aaron walked into CMT with this song, we knew it would be a smash." Endorsements like Frank's have been widespread, as radio stations add the song into their playlists.

WCCC (Hartford, CT) Assistant Program Director Mike Karolyi told press, "From the first moment 'Country Boy' hit the air, it became our most requested song. - more on this story

Simon Cowell Beats Slipknot's Corey Taylor and Biffy Clyro

(Rock AAA) Simon Cowell has secured the UK's Christmas Number One slot despite brave efforts from Corey Taylor and Biffy Clyro fans. The X-Factor boss spent an extra £1m on making sure he won this year's race, after losing out to Rage Against the Machine last year.

And by allowing gameshow winner Matt Cardle to cover a Biffy Clyro song, he managed to divide and conquer fans of real music, who were forced to choose between backing Biffy's original version of Many of Horror and Corey's track XM@$.

Many of Horror reached No10 while XM@$ hit No37 – which is still a significant result for a metal artist like Taylor. - more on this story