No More Def Leppard Albums?

"I'm not sure if it will be a full-length album. I don't see the point, since the goalposts have shifted," He tells Artist Direct. People aren't interested in full lengths. It used to be ten to twelve songs that the record company wanted and you'd go into the studio and do it. But there's so much going on and there are so many things vying for people's attention that epode don't have time to listen to a full album. Very few will do that. I'd rather put out less music with more quality – we want to give people quality." What about the new songs on Mirrorball?

Fishermen Vs Steven Tyler

(Rock News Desk) Fly fishing fans are no fans of Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, it seems. Since the American Idol judge appeared on the gameshow wearing rooster feathers in his hair, fashion outlets have been scrambling to get their hands on the items.

But the hard-to-find feathers are those used by fly fishermen, and tackle suppliers are running out of stock.

Whiting Farms, one of the biggest producers of the specialist feathers, say they can't currently keep up with demand. more rock news

Ozzy Hopes To Grant Teen Fan's Dying Wish

(Rock News Desk) Ozzy Osbourne has promised to make a dying 14-year-old fan's wish come true by visiting him – if he can hold on long enough.

The Prince of Darkness is currently on tour in Europe but he was told about the plight of Californian Kyle Rodas, who's entering the last stages of a battle with a brain tumor.

The youngster is a fan of Ozzy, Linkin Park and Green Day. He'd love to meet any of his heroes and his mum Marty Valle recently pleaded: "Anyone who can help grant his wish, please do it." Osbourne rose to the occasion: On Monday he called Rodas at home, and said he'd pay him a visit in person as soon as his European tour was over. more on this story

Dream Theater's Post Portnoy Album Set For Release

(Rock News Desk) Dream Theater's first album without founding member Mike Portnoy will be called A Dramatic Turn of Events and is due for release in early September.

The band started work on the record three months after drummer Portnoy sensationally quit. They replaced him with Mike Mangini, who appears on the album although he didn't co-write any of the material.

Singer James LaBrie says: "In the grand sceem of our career the last several months have been an incredibly positive, fulfilling and rewarding experience. The songs and the sound have never been so rejuvenating." more rock news

Aerosmith Back In The Studio Next Month

(Rock AAA) Aerosmith are getting back in the saddle again. "Whole band has plans to go into the studio with Jack Douglas second week of July to work on new Aero CD," guitarist Joe Perry said Tuesday on Twitter.

Interestingly, Perry added, "Laying down some new tracks this week. Been listening to fans comments over last couple of yrs putting that in creative blender."

Reuters reports the album will be recorded in the Massachusetts studio the group built six years ago expressly to work with Douglas, Perry said last month. The band held an eight-day writing session earlier this year in Los Angeles with producer/songwriting partner Marti Fredericksen; Perry was unavailable to join them at the time due to a "prior commitment." more on this story

Evan Seinfeld Leaves Biohazard- Neil Peart Late Night Solo Cut Short- Rob Zombie Cancels Dates- Judas Priest Box Set- Limp Release- System of a Down Stream- more

(Lambgoat) Blabbermouth.net is reporting that bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld has left Biohazard. Reasons for Seinfeld's departure have yet to be disclosed, though guitarist Bobby Hambel had the following to say: "We have a long history together, but it's time for a change. We wish Evan well." more

(Rock News Desk) Neil Peart had to do some fast calculations when he was invited to play a drum solo on the Late Show tomorrow night. His on-tour virtuoso section lasts over eight minutes, but the TV directors needed him to crowbar his performance into four minutes. more

(Metal Underground) High quality DVD style footage of System of a Down's June 5, 2011 performance at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nurburg, Germany has been made available for streaming, courtesy of Zildjian. You can view the concert spread across three parts here

(Classic Rock) Judas Priest are to release a 20-CD box set in late August. Titled Singles Cuts, this features all the UK singles the band released for Columbia from 1977 to 1992. There are 52 songs in all. Tracklist here

(Punknews.org) Adeline Records has announced a bunch of new releases from One Man Army. The label is planning to start by reissuing the band's first two full length albums, and 1998's Dead End Stories and 2000's Last Word Spoken. Each will include two bonus tracks and will be available on vinyl along with a digital download. Wait there is more

(Rock News Desk) Rob Zombie has cancelled his two shows in Ireland at the end of the month for "personal reasons" more

(Billboard) Limp Bizkit are back with a new record, "Gold Cobra," that will be released on June 28. The band will be in full force as the album features the band's original line-up more

(Punknews.org) With their mildy controversial Australian tour wrapped, Propagandhi plan to record their new album in September. more

(Metal Underground) Bison b.c. has announced that it has parted ways with drummer Brad McKinnon, who has performed on all three of Bison's full length albums. No explanation was provided for the split but it is said to be on good terms from both parties. more

(Rock News Desk) There may be no love lost between Motley Crue and Poison, but Mick Mars says he's enjoying touring with the New York Dolls, the third act on their summer roster, even though he'd never met them before. more

Take It Back!, Rust Belt Lights, and Boys No Good will be touring together this summer more.

(SRX) Guitarist Edd Myers is now an official member of Crazy Lixx and will surely play a big role on the upcoming album's sound more

Metallica's Kirk Hammett Talks New Album Plans and Big 4 Shows

Gibson caught up with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett as the band prepared to play India. They covered a lot of topics ranging from Kirk's early experience with Joe Satriani, his guitars as well as the Big 4 shows and the band's future album plans. Here are a couple excerpts:

With all the touring, has the band been able to get cracking on a new album? We haven't really started yet; we're thinking about it though [laughs]. There's just a bunch of other things that we're doing right now. We keep telling ourselves that we're going to get 'round to start writing songs but you know, something comes up. Normally it's a show or us having to travel to India to play or something or the other, and then the album gets put on the backburner for a bit. But I think personally, the new album will just happen when it happens.

Let's talk about the Big Four, the run of shows you've been doing with Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth. The four biggest thrash metal bands in the world on the same stage. How did that happen? Actually the idea came from us thinking about how cool it would be if all the old San Francisco thrash metal bands came together in like a festival sort of situation; maybe play a festival in San Francisco. As we started talking about it we realised that the four main metal bands of the '80s – Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth and us – had never played a show that included all four bands together. We decided to see if it was possible, if we could actually do it. As it turned out, the other bands were into it. We played that first show in Europe [16 June, 2010 at the Sonisphere Festival in Warsaw, Poland] and it turned out great.

So now it's something we know we can actually do and it's evolved into a cool heavy metal event. It's also a pretty cool way to celebrate the fact that we've been here for so long now and we're still together, we're still making albums, we're still playing shows. Just for that fact I think it's a pretty cool thing. Read the full interview here

Anthrax's New Album Finally Ready

(Rock News Desk) Anthrax's four-year nightmare over the making of their tenth album is finally over. Worship Music will be released on September 13, the day before the band join their fellows in the Big 4 of thrash for a concert at the Yankee Stadium in their native New York. And the band admit there were times they didn't know if the album – or the band – would make it.

They were left without a singer when they suspended John Bush in 2005 to reunite with classic era frontman Joey Belladonna for an anniversary tour. It ended in acrimony and Bush refused to return, so they hired Dan Nelson instead. He began recording vocal tracks for the record but was suddenly and sensationally fired in 2009. Bush returned to stand in for a series of shows, but despite fan acclaim decided he didn't want to take the job full-time again.

They finally settled their differences with Belladonna in time to have him perform with them on the first Big 4 shows last year. He helped the band revise the material for Worship Music and has now recorded all the vocal tracks. more on this story

Judas Priest Kick Off Final World Tour (Video Online)

(hennemusic) Judas Priest kicked off the Epitaph tour Tuesday in Tilburg, Holland, with a setlist heavy on hits and classics... and there is video!

"It's not exactly the end of the band, it's just the fact that we won't really be doing any more world tours," guitarist Glenn Tipton told Rolling Stone recently.

"It takes a big chunk out of your life. We've been doing it for 40 years now or close to it, and we all love that moment on stage, but it's difficult to be away from home and all the traveling involved. Now, if somebody came along and said, 'Would you do a small string of dates,' we wouldn't automatically say no to that. But in general, this is probably the last chance you'll get to see Priest live." Check out video from the kick off show here

Arctic Monkeys Use Old School Approach on New Album

(Gibson) After working with Josh Homme on 2009's Humbug, Arctic Monkeys have released their fourth album, Suck It and See.

Lead singer/guitarist Alex Turner and drummer Matt Helders recently spoke to Reuters about the new recordings. When asked if Suck It and See had a more a vintage sound, Turner said: "I suppose you could say that. The recording techniques were a little bit more traditional. We did a lot of live takes, with the four of us playing and we wanted to get a human feel to it."

As for U.S. success, Turner said, "Our last album (Humbug) went down pretty well over here, we seem to get a good response to that. We have never had a bad response to any of our records or new albums, it has grown the more and more we have come back over here." more on this story

Kid Rock Roast Off?

(TMZ) Comedy Central's Roast of Kid Rock is looking like it will NOT happen as scheduled -- and it's all a matter of location, location, location.

During an event last week, Kid told reporters that he would only be a part of the event if it went down in his native Detroit. According to our sources, Comedy Central looked into the possibility of holding the event in Motor City, but the financials didn't work.

We're told there is no way the event will happen on August 14 as was previously announced, but the network is hoping something can be worked out. more on this story

Black Country Communion Man in The Middle Video Released

(Noble) Black Country Communion have premiered their new video for their new song "Man In The Middle".

The song is taken from their forthcoming album "2", released in the UK on Monday June 13th.

Black Country Communion is the Anglo/American rock band featuring Glenn Hughes (vocals, bass), Joe Bonamassa (guitar, vocals), Jason Bonham (drums) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards). The forthcoming album is currently #2 on both the Amazon UK and Play.com album pre-order charts. Check out the video here

New ZZ Top Song Debuts in Space

(hennemusic) The good news is ZZ Top has finally produced some new music, but the bad news is that you would have to be in outer space right now to hear it.

HoustonPress.com reports the first bit of music from ZZ Top's long-awaited, long-delayed, semi-mythical forthcoming album has leaked...but not anywhere on Earth.

Astronaut and friend of ZZ Michael Fossum, currently headed to the International Space Station on a Russian spacecraft, is carrying a copy of "Flyin' High," which the band evidently plans to put on this album, according to a release from longtime publicist Bob Merlis Tuesday afternoon. more on this story

Willie Nelson Plea Deal For Drug Bust

(TMZ) Willie Nelson can breath easy again in Texas -- TMZ has learned the singer struck a plea deal in his marijuana case ... and will NOT have to do any hard time.

Sources close to Willie tell us ... Nelson agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia ... stemming from an incident last year, when cops say they found weed on the singer's tour bus at a border checkpoint.

Nelson was originally charged with marijuana possession -- but the singer worked out a deal with prosecutors in which they agreed to reduce the charge in exchange for a no contest plea. As part of the deal, Willie has also agreed to pay a $500 fine -- and if he can stay out of trouble for 30 days, the judge will dismiss the case entirely. more on this story

Crowded House Frontman Neil Finn's Pajama Club Coming

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, and his wife, Sharon Finn's Pajama Club have set a September 13th release date for their self-titled debut and have announced some U.S. shows this month with more coming this summer.

The New Zealand-based group also include local indie musician Sean Donnelly (SJD), and in its touring incarnation, former Grates drummer Alana Skyring.

The skeleton of the songs were formed when Neil and Sharon began jamming together just for fun at home, drinking wine, wearing pajamas and realizing they had something going on, other than a raw groove. Eventually Neil added additional layers of guitar, keys, and other melodic lines to the bare-bones songs while he toured with Crowded House in 2009. more on this story

Johnny Rotten Happily Misunderstood

(Rock News Desk) Sex Pistols and Public Image Limited frontman John Lydon thinks he's been misunderstood from time to time during his career. In fact, he's counting on it. And he vows there's much more to come from him as he regards himself as "50 years young."

Lydon tells the Sheffield Star: "I hope I've been misunderstood. I think that happens with anyone in the public eye – you leave yourself open every time you communicate with the media.

"You become the victim of their attitudes and aspirations towards you, and that can be negative. A lot of journalists aren't qualified in the psychology department. Particularly music journalists. You have to deal with a lot of spite.

"But that's life. That's the road I chose – and for all those pitfalls I'm doing alright." more on this story

Volbeat North America Tour

Volbeat are hitting the road this summer for a North America tour that brings the band coast to coast, and in to Canada for multiple dates.

Volbeat will be touring in support of their latest album Beyond Hell / Above Heaven which has now sold in excess of 300,000 copies worldwide.

The tour will begin in Toronto, Ontario on July 24th at Metal TO, and conclude with a two-night stand on September 3 & 4 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. more on this story

Escape The Fate's Ronnie Radke Returns With Falling In Reverse

Epitaph sent over word that former Escape The Fate frontman Ronnie Radke is returning with Falling In Reverse who will release their new album The Drug In Me Is You on July 26th. Here is what the label had to say

After years of drama and speculation following Ronnie Radke's departure from Escape The Fate, the talented frontman lifts himself from the depths of adversity to emerge as one of the most dynamic and talented stars in the music scene today. Joining Radke on his forward climb to claim his position at the top are Jacky Vincent (Lead Guitar), Ryan Seaman (Aiden, I Am Ghost) on drums, bass player Mika Horiuchi and rhythm guitarist Derek Jones.

"Raised By Wolves," the first digital single from Falling In Reverse is a 3:25 minute journey into the mind of Radke - where his brutally honest lyrics break down his tumultuous past, while Falling In Reverse's ferocious sonic breakdowns pick up right where Ronnie leaves off - shredding guitar solos, massive hooks and in your face guitar riffs, reminding us all of what Ronnie is capable of…

Dinosaur Jr. In The Hands Of The Fans

MVD have announced that Dinosaur Jr. are putting themselves In The Hands Of The Fans on June 25th.

Just like Iggy and the Stooges did with "Raw Power" last September, Dinosaur Jr. and MVD are offering fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to film and interview their performance of the classic album "Bug" at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. on June 25.

Six lucky fans will be chosen by way of a video submission contest to join director Dave Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke, Desperate Teenage Lovedolls) on location. more on this story

Deep Purple Legend Sick of Metallica Comparisons

(Rock News Desk) Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover is sick of rock bands being compared to Metallica when they decide to work with orchestral instruments.

Glover's outfit have just started a tour with a 28-piece orchestra, but it's not their first foray into such waters – they recorded then-keyboardist Jon Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra in 1969.

"When you mention rock bands and orchestras everyone says, 'Oh, like Metallica,'" the bassist says. "It sticks in my throat a little bit – nothing against Metallica, but bands have been doing it way before Metallica." more rock news

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy: Most Hilarious Misheard Lyrics

Gibson has come up with their top 10 list of the most hilarious misheard lyrics in rock music history. Here are a few of them: 4. Black Sabbath, "Paranoid" - The title track of Black Sabbath's 1970 sophomore album was panned by critics for the line "I tell you to end your life, I wish I could but it's too late." Only problem was, the line was actually the much more upbeat "I tell you to enjoy life," although the "I wish I could but it's too late" part was accurate, so the line was still a bit of a downer.

2. Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Bad Moon Rising" - This classic CCR track is notorious for the misheard lyric "There's a bathroom on the right" instead of "There's a bad moon on the rise." This particularly common mis-hearing is probably due in part to the slapback echo employed on John Fogerty's vocals, which tends to throw the ear off the trail a little bit.

1. Jimi Hendrix, "Purple Haze" - One of the most common misheard lyrics of all time, a great many people thought that the classic line "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky!" was "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy!" This one is so common that it was used as the title for a popular book on misheard lyrics by Gavin Edwards. more on this story

Ghost Announce First North American Tour

Ghost will be hitting the road this fall for their very first North American tour that will also include Enslaved and Alcest.

Ghost cult leader "The Ghoul with No Name" (who takes the stage in the form of "a satanic pope") and his anonymous ghouls will launch the three week trek on September 23 in Springfield, VA.

Ghost will be touring in support of its debut album Opus Eponymous, which was released internationally last Rocktober and stateside in January. more on this story

Ra Ra Riot And More For The Free Make Music Pasadena Festival

89.9 KCRW have announced the initial lineup for the free Make Music Pasadena festival.

The 2011 festival line up featuring performances by Best Coast, The Morning Benders, Ra Ra Riot, Hello Seahorse!, Zola Jesus, Kisses, Ben L'Oncle Soul, and many more.

The event takes place on Saturday, June 18 from 11 am until 11 pm throughout Downtown Pasadena. A list of confirmed acts follows. more on this story

Billy Joel, Dwight Yoakam, Bill Medley and More Songwriters Hall of Fame Event

(Rogers & Cowan) The 2011 Songwriters Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Dinner will be packing with stars including Billy Joel, Dwight Yoakam, Bill Medley, Boz Scaggs, Chrissie Hynde, Dominic Chianese, Jimmy Jam, Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Sam Moore, Skylar Grey and Trisha Yearwood.

This year's dinner will be held Thursday, June 16th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC. Inductees at the 42nd annual event include John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly and Allen Toussaint.

The Johnny Mercer Award will be presented to Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and the Towering Song is "It Was A Very Good Year," to be accepted by composer and lyricist Ervin Drake. more on this story

Fear Factory Announce In-Store

Fear Factory have announced an in-store signing session on Friday, June 10, 2011 at Soundcheck Hollywood.

The event it set to begin at 7:00pm PST. Soundcheck Hollywood is located on 8872 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood, California.

The band is currently on tour in support of Mechanize full-length, released in the U.S. in February 2010 via Candlelight Records. The CD was co-produced by the band with Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assemply. Paradise Lost) and mixed by Greg Reely (Paradise Lost, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy). more on this story

Kinks Ray Davies Holding On To Konk For Now

(Gibson) Kinks main songwriter Ray Davies has delayed the proposed sale of his legendary Konk recording studio in London. According to the Daily Express, the '60s legend had thought about selling the premises for $3 million.

He told the BBC, "It was up for sale but I've got another record I've got to do so we're debating what to do now. It's open for discussion.

"There's a lot of history with The Kinks, we bought it as a hang-out really, somewhere we could rehearse and record and it mushroomed into a studio. We've had some really good acts over the years come here." more on this story

Dirty Thieving Pistolero Rip Off Bastards

Gypsy Pistoleros sent over word about their new release: "My Big Fat Gypsy Party album!! By those Dirty thieving Pistolero rip off b**tards! Cover album!!!

This special covers album will be released in November to coincide with a full blown Euro Tour! More Festival appearances TBA

Gypsy Pistoleros are out on a U.K tour with LA GUNS & on their own throughout June, till 4th July more on this story

LCD Soundsystem Offshoot Fall On Your Sword Free Event On Sat

(PWPR) Fall On Your Sword will play a free event at the Lincoln Center's brand new Film Society Center this Saturday, June 11th at 9:30pm. Immediately following our show will be a super-secret screening of an as yet undisclosed film.

Fall On Your Sword are Will Bates and Philip Mossman - Philip was a founding member of LCD Soundsystem and played the MSG final show extravaganza - James Murphy has said, "Fall On Your Sword are quite possibly the coolest thing on the planet at the moment."

The show is part of the center's preview weekend which includes screenings of movies, panels with amazing directors such as Mike Nicols, Jason Reitman, Oliver Stone and Mike Cahill (director of this summer's upcoming Another Earth, scored by Fall On Your Sword). More details

Vegan Black Metal Chef TV?

(Rock News Desk) Vegan Black Metal Chef Brian Manowitz has just released the follow-up to his global hit video which has notched up 1.1m views on YouTube – and reveals he's poised to sign a broadcast deal with MTV.

VBMC's light-hearted bonding of his two passions, black metal and vegan cooking, became an internet sensation when it was posted last month. The resulting media frenzy has seen him talking to the TV company about making a series.

"MTV has been in contact with me. Nothing is worked out yet, but feel free to send them emails of encouragement," he said during a Washington Post live chat. "I've proposed an idea to them – and the show would have a huge twist if it's accepted. Of course I'd want to jam with all my favourite musicians." more on this story

Godflesh Making Triumphant London Return

(Earache) Godflesh have announced a headlining show at the HMV Forum in London, UK, on June 16th. Their first London headline show in over a decade.

Godflesh made their first UK appearance in over ten years at last year's Supersonic Festival in the band's hometown of Birmingham, where the group were one of the headlining acts.

Now, Godflesh are returning to London for their first headlining appearance in the city since 1999, with Goatsnake and D.R.I. also appearing as special guests. more on this story

Anton Fig Kicks Off Drum Solo Week on Letterman

(hennemusic) Anton Fig kicked off Drum Solo Week on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday night.

Fig was joined at the start and finish by the CBS Orchestra, but had the spotlight on his skills for the bulk of the performance.

Sheila E. was on Tuesday, followed by jazz drummer and bandleader Roy Haynes on Wednesday, with an extremely rare solo TV performance by Neil Peart of Rush on Thursday. Check out Anton here

Singled Out: Knights On Earth's Gentle Spoken Fight

Last month Grey Mcmurray from Knights On Earth told us about a track from their brand new album, "Move Slow, Life Ends," today he tells us about "Gentle Spoken Fight," which appears on the bonus EP "From The Rubble To The Sky," which also stores this week. Here is the story:

In the past couple years I've been lucky enough to start to wake up. Not a new age wake up but just quite literally, eyes open. There are many versions of being asleep and I've been many of them for most of my life. One part of my waking has been coming to terms with how much I lie to myself still and the epic novels of lies I've self-directed in my past.

This whole song, the plaintiff and the jury are all one, are all me. Of course, if you feel different, then they're not. But in the moment of inception, "I mean to say I meant to stay" was itself a microcosm of a trick that I pulled on myself, on girls, on friends and on my mother as a youngster. Sly, manipulated, seemingly related statements that could mean something, but most of the times were merely a way of buying time to get to the next lie/line. A poetic way out, "a practiced line spoke too many times." The point of view in the song moves back and forth between the jury and the plaintiff. They take on each other's attributes when addressing the other, or they are each other's attributes. They're both annoyed and scared at times, trying to find some truth as well as place for truth. It sounds funny to say it that way, and by funny I mean presumptuous and self-important. I suppose that's also part of the reason it's said in a slightly convoluted way: in order to point out the gravity of the quest, this other heaviness or heavy otherness, I unwittingly - or wittingly - add obstacles that will maybe help show the seeker the true girth of what they find. The convolutedness is also most definitely a by-product of my fear of utter vulnerability. So maybe that's what it's about? Or maybe it's just about girls.

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

. Queen - A Night At The Opera [2011 Remaster]

Queen is a band that could very well have written and recorded a fairly respectable authentic opera album. This is an album with as many sharp twists and turns as a San Francisco street. All these years later, Queen remains the king of weird AOR rock. (3 stars) - Read the full Queen - A Night At The Opera [2011 Remaster] review