Metal Guitarist Dies- Puscifer CD Release Set But A Perfect Circle May Be Done With CDs- Mumford & Sons Unplugged- The Early November Reunion Show- Poison- more

Kill Devil Hill — the new band featuring Vinny Appice (Heaven & Hell, Black Sabbath, Dio) on drums, Rex Brown (Down, Pantera) on bass, Mark Zavon (Ratt, W.A.S.P., 40 Cycle Hum) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (Pissing Razors) on vocals — has scheduled a couple of west coast dates for August. more

Glen Campbell Has Alzheimer's

(Gibson) Guitar great and country music legend Glen Campbell has revealed that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The Country Music Hall of Famer, who has scored more than 80 top 10 hits and sold more than 45 million albums, just recorded his final CD, Ghost on the Canvas, with help from rock luminaries like Jakob Dylan, Billy Corgan, Dick Dale, Chris Isaak and Rick Nielsen.

But with a final tour also being planned, Glen and his wife Kim decided to go public with news of Campbell's condition. Kim told People magazine,"Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer. But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused on stage, I wouldn't want people to think, 'What's the matter with him? Is he drunk?'" more on this story

Metallica Go Corporate

(hennemusic) Everyone has their price. Metallica must be able to name a fairly hefty one, because they've just confirmed that they'll be playing at one of those corporate (read: BIG bucks) gigs we've heard other artists do.

They won't even have to leave their hometown of San Francisco to do it. "It all started when [guitarist] Kirk [Hammett] mentioned that his next door neighbor had invited us to play at his party in San Francisco and we figured 'why not?'" wrote Metallica to fans. "After all, it has been quite some time since we've played in our hometown, and we haven't exactly been getting out a lot lately. Well, it turns out that Kirk's neighbor, Marc Benioff, is the top dog at a "small" company called Salesforce.com and his shindig actually lasts for four days and hosts over 30,000 people! So much for a little backyard barbeque . . ."

"Following in the footsteps of Neil Young, the Foo Fighters, Black Crowes and Stevie Wonder, we are excited to announce that we have been invited to play at the ninth annual Salesforce.com Dreamforce convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, August 31. It promises to be quite the party . . . where else can you learn everything you ever wanted to know about cloud computing during the day and then rock out with the 'Tallica at night?" more on this story

Blink-182 Wrapping Up Comeback Album

(Gibson) Blink-182 bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus has issued an update on the status of his band's new album, according to NME.com.

Hoppus posted on Facebook: "I'm very excited. We're getting to the point of the album where we talk about mixers and finishing up the songs."

He said that fans can expect the new album before year's end. "We deliver the album to the label on July 31, so it will be coming out during the tour," he wrote. "The most recent batch of songs are some of the best of the entire record. Very happy it's all coming together."

The tour that Hoppus is referring to is an upcoming U.S. trek more on this story

Kings of Leon The New Spinal Tap

(Gibson) Kings of Leon will debut their documentary movie, Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, in July and have admitted their story is not only a "rockumentary" but close to a "mockumentary."

Bassist Jared Followill told Bang Showbiz: "Oh, we are Spinal Tap, totally, I don't know how they got that film so perfect." Guitarist Matthew Followill added: "You'd think the actors were in a band, maybe they were in a band before, they nailed so perfectly, it was like the beginning years of our band."

In This is Spinal Tap, the hapless eponymous rockers get lost in a maze of corridors as they try to reach an arena stage and Jared confessed it remains all too real. "Spinal Tap was a huge downward curve, the whole film, and when you're in a band coming up you see the same people and go through the same venues and have the same complaints, it's really funny," he said. more on this story

U2 Box Set Coming

(Gibson) U2's Achtung Baby marks its 20th anniversary this year and the Irish rockers are planning to release a deluxe edition of the album to celebrate. The 1991 album also will be paired with U2's 1993 release, Zooropa, in a special edition box set, according to Rolling Stone – via Slicing Up Eyeballs.

"There will be multiple formats," said U2 manager Paul McGuinness. "If you pile a lot of extra material and packaging and design work into a super-duper box set, there are people who will pay quite a lot for it, so you can budget it at a very high level and pump up the value."

The plan is for each album to be issued on its own and that the set will include bonus audio and video material from U2's ZOO TV concerts. more on this story

ZZ Top Return To Their Roots With Loud And Fast New Album

(Gibson) ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons says the Texan trio plan to release their first studio album since 2003's Mescalero before the end of 2011.

"This year's going to be a banner year on a number of levels, but we're throwing our hat in the ring," Gibbons told Houston's Fox 26, shortly before leaving for the band's summer European tour.

Gibbons confirmed that producer Rick Rubin was on board for the as-yet-untitled album, which has now "finished tracking" and awaits mixing. "Rick has successfully brought in his particular piece of magic in offering a few suggestions," Gibbons said. "Basically he stepped back and said, 'You don't have to get much better, just do what you do.' So that's what we've been up to." Gibbons also mentioned that tracks so far recorded are "loud and fast" and "a return to the roots." more on this story

Bruce Springsteen Remembers Clarence Clemons At Memorial

(hennemusic) Family and friends gathered for a private memorial service in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday to say goodbye to Clarence Clemons.

The Palm Beach Daily News reports Bruce Springsteen, playing solo, offered a softened, almost tender version of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," the song that recalls his first meeting with Clemons in an Asbury Park bar on a snowy day.

Bruce then went on to eulogize his late friend – breaking down only once, when describing that first meeting – as a man not only big in stature, but big in heart and spirit. He said Clemons was hardly the uncomplicated man many thought him to be. "Clarence was a man of unconditional love, but his love came with a lot of conditions," he said, drawing chuckles and murmurs of agreement from many in the assemblage. "He was a complex guy … an ongoing project. But when you were in his presence, it was like being in a sovereign nation." more on this story

Nirvana's Nevermind 20th Anniversary 5 Disc Box Set

(Gibson) Twenty years after its initial release, Nirvana's Nevermind will be reissued in a massive Super Deluxe Edition. Available September 19 (in the U.K.) and September 20 (North America), the 4-CD/1-DVD set will include previously unreleased recordings, rarities, b-sides, BBC radio appearances, alternative mixes, rare live recordings and an unreleased concert in its entirety on the DVD. Exact details of these extras are yet to be revealed.

Although a slow-seller on release, Nevermind has since sold more than 30 million copies, and the editors, writers and readers at Gibson.com recently voted Nevermind the greatest album of the 1990s. Produced by Butch Vig, it was Nirvana's second studio album and the first by the iconic trio of the late Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and (now Foo Fighters mainman) Dave Grohl.

According to a press release, the 20th anniversary of Nevermind "will be marked throughout the year, with various events and releases." more on this story

Killers Making Progress On New Album

(Gibson) Killers frontman Brandon Flowers recently discussed the band's progress on their next album. Flowers told BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe that they've "found a groove."

"When something's good and we feel like it's going to be a keeper, we put it up on a board and we have four or five up there right now," he said. "We've had a few breakthroughs and so it's exciting to have those moments again and to reminisce about great moments that we've had together. It's nice, the idea of putting something new out again."

The album will be The Killers' first full-length studio release since 2008's Day & Age. In the meantime, drummer Ronnie Vannucci and Flowers each released solo records. The singer said that creating his own album, Flamingo, helped his approach on the new Killers stuff. more on this story

Coldplay Live from Glastonbury To Air on Vh1 and Palladia on Saturday

We received this big news for Coldplay fans: VH1 and Palladia will exclusively air "Coldplay Live from Glastonbury" Saturday, June 25 at 10PM ET/PT.

This will be the first time in the festival's 41-year history that a full concert will be broadcasted to television audiences in the U.S.

Six years since Coldplay's last performance on the famous Pyramid stage, the renowned band will take the stage once again offering VH1 and Palladia viewers a front row seat. more on this story

Machine Head, Bring Me The Horizon, DevilDriver and Darkest Hour Tour

Machine Head are teaming up with Bring Me The Horizon, DevilDriver and Darkest Hour for the "The Eighth Plague" tour.

"This will no doubt be the heaviest show you're going to see this year" states Machine Head frontman and guitarist Robb Flynn. "A lot of the greatest shows of our last touring cycle were in Europe and the U.K., so the prospect of this lineup combined with these crowds has us extremely stoked to get out there and tear it up! New material, great venues, killer fans... we absolutely cannot wait!"

Adds Bring Me The Horizon vocalist Oliver Sykes, "We're proper excited for these dates with Machine Head! We were listening to them before we even started BMTH, so to be going on tour with them is blowin' our minds! These will be our last U.K./Euro dates before we take a break to record our next album as well, so it's gonna be mental! We honestly can't wait." more on this story

Hawthorne Heights Announce North American Tour

(Submitted) Hawthorne Heights have announced dates for their upcoming You Are Not Alone North American headlining tour.

The band said in a statement: "We hope that you are as excited to see us, as we are to see you. We are currently charging our engines with new music, while rehearsing songs from our entire catalog to bring you the You Are Not Alone Tour.

"We will be stopping in over 50 different cities spread throughout North America to spill our hearts onto the stage for you. The energy you provide us each and every night is immeasurable, and we cannot wait for that. more on this story

Band Discourse Inspired New Chimaira Album

Earlier this month, we told you that Chimaira announced that their new album "The Age of Hell" will be release in the US on August 16. Today, RockAAA has a little more insight into the release.

After suffering a degree of upheaval and the replacement of keyboardist Chris Spicuzza and drummer Andols Herrick with Sean Zatorsky and Austin D'Amond respectively, the band remains focussed and determined. Hunter continues: "There is no more doubt. We won the war inside our minds… nothing can stop us now."

The lead track from the album is "Trigger Finger." Hunter says the upheaval within the band was the inspiration behind the song: "When life presents you with a fork in the road, sometimes the choices you are forced to make mentally drain you. When those moments occur and you feel threatened, sometimes you have to bring a gun to a knife fight." more on this story

Axel Rudi Pell Covers Dio's Holy Diver on New Album

Spv/Steamhammer have set a September 27th North American release date for Axel Rudi Pell new album, "The Ballads IV," which will feature his version of Dio's classic Holy Diver.

Another seven years has passed since the release of the "The Ballads III". Seven years of writing, recording and collecting even more emotional and melancholic songs. To keep with the tradition, the band decided to record 3 brand new tracks for this ballad compilation.

Here is a short introduction by Axel himself to every new song in the specific running order: Where The Wild Waters Flow -"My own composition in the true ARP ballad style. This song is not about love, it has a more mysterious content and it captures the long and hopeless journey of human beings trying to get away from some dark nights. One can apply this to many different thoughts and situations nowadays. I definitely think that this song is one of the strongest ballads I´ve ever written with a hookline that will stick to everyone´s ears !" more on this story

Sly Stone To Release First New Album Since 1982

(Sub). Cleopatra Records have set an August 16, 2011 release date for Sly Stone's first new album since 1982.

I'm Back! Family & Friends is an 11-track celebration of Sly's best-loved hits featuring guest appearances by music legends.

Classics from "Everyday People" and "Family Affair" to "Dance to the Music" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" are given updates, sounding fresh and continually meaningful, while retaining the patented Stone rock-funk infusion. Adding to the interpretations are contributions from icons Ray Manzarek, Bootsy Collins, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, Ann Wilson and more. The album is topped off with three previously unreleased tracks, including Sly's take on the traditional "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." The CD version also adds three club mixes. I'M BACK! FAMILY & FRIENDS was produced by Jurgen Engler, Chris Leitz and Sly Stone. more on this story

Saving Abel To Play Guantanamo Bay

(EMI) USO have announced that Saving Abel will make a trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on June 23-26 to visit and perform for members of our Armed Forces and their families.

Over the past several months the quintet has toured extensively across the U.S. as well as touched down in Kuwait and Iraq as part of a USO tour. The band also visited and performed a USO show in the middle of the Pacific Ocean aboard the USS Carl Vinson as the vessel returned from Haiti and a three-month deployment at sea.

Most recently, the band played a free concert for the troops at Fort Carson as part of their 'Miss America' tour. This visit will mark the band's third USO tour. more on this story

Linkin Park To Perform New Transformers Single Live From Russia on MTV and Vh1 Tomorrow

MTV sent over this bit of news: In celebration of Paramount Pictures' Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, MTV and VH1 will broadcast a special performance of Linkin Park's new single, "Iridescent," across its screens on Friday, June 24th.

Performed at a special outdoor concert at Vasilyevsky Spusk of the Red Square in Moscow – with the Kremlin and St. Basil's Basilica as the backdrop, the performance will be featured on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, VH1 Classic and Palladia at 8:55pm ET/PT. In addition, VH1 will feature the performance later that night at 11:30pm ET/PT.

Linkin Park's performance of their new single, "Iridescent," which is the end title song in the upcoming third Transformers film, is taking place the same night the 3D Michael Bay film will open at the Moscow International Film Festival. The movie opens worldwide beginning June 29th. Stars from the film are scheduled to attend, along with director Michael Bay. more on this story

Biffy Clyro Vs Fan

(RockAAA) Biffy Clyro have slammed a 'fan' who snapped up some of the band's clothes which they donated to a Glasgow charity shop and subsequently listed for sale on internet auction site eBay. And the Scottish rockers have also labeled the seller a liar for falsely claiming the jacket they are trying to sell appeared on a Biffy album cover.

On Sunday afternoon the band posted a message on their Facebook advising fans of where to grab a piece of the Biffy wardrobe: "Anyone around Glasgow's west end…? You might want to check out Oxfam Music, Byres Rd shortly… We cleared out our dressing room wardrobe."

The Tweet prompted a rapid response from their army of local fans in their home country who reportedly stripped the shelves in the store within five minutes. Reports suggest the coffers of the Glasgow charity shop were boosted by a whopping £500 by the sale of the band's new and second hand gear. However, just a couple of days later and the eagle-eyed band spotted someone trying to make a quick buck by reselling some of their charity shop stock on eBay. more on this story

We Came As Romans Set New Album Release

We Came As Romans have set a September 13, 2011 release date for their brand new full-length album, Understanding What We've Grown To Be.

For their sophomore release, We Came As Romans returned to Foundation Recording Studio with their longtime friend and producer, Joey Sturgis [The Devil Wears Prada, Asking Alexandria, Attack Attack!].

"All of the lyrics on the new album are pages out of my personal diary," states guitarist and lyricist Joshua Moore. "Each song holds different meanings that are all very close to my heart. This song in particular is about the feeling of giving everything I have, but not seeing any change in the world as a result of it. It's about how I've tried to be a positive light, but still see so many wrong things happening around me. It has allowed me take a step back and realize what I can do to improve things and have better control over my life." more on this story

Chiodos and Madina Lake Tour

Chiodos are heading overseas this November for a European/UK tour with Madina Lake.

Chiodos will serve as direct support on the UK dates and will co-headline on the remaining European dates. Super Happy Fun Club will open on the entire tour.

This summer, Chiodos will be performing on the 2011 Scream It Like You Mean It tour alongside Breathe Carolina, I See Stars, The Color Morale, Mod Sun, and The Air I Breathe. more on this story

Gregg Allman Feared Losing His Voice More Than Death

(Gibson) Even though Gregg Allman went under the knife in 2010 for a liver transplant (due to his Hepatitis C), he wasn't worried about coming out OK on the other side. Allman recently spoke to Spinner.com about the situation.

"I don't think death crossed my mind twice," the Allman Brothers Band singer said. "I just thought, 'Hey, I got stuff to do!' There was a long time that I wondered [about my voice]. They did the surgery just right above where you sing from. I was in the clear on that one. About four days after the operation, I started trying to sing. And it came back … It was probably the only place on my body that didn't hurt."

Allman said that he's feeling good these days and that his doctor told him that his new liver "likes" him. He'll join his buddies in the Allman Brothers Band for a Hepatitis C benefit on July 27 in New York City. The singer/keyboardist talked about his involvement in the cause. "I just reasoned in my own head, if someone had of come along just a few years earlier and told me, 'Hey, Look! You should go get checked for this thing, 'cause there's getting to be more and more cases, right?' then I would have gone and got it checked and they would have killed it with the medication that they use," he said. more on this story

Weezer Cover The Cars You Might Think For Cars 2 Film

(Gibson) Disney and Pixar's sure-to-be-blockbuster, Cars 2, comes out Friday, and in advance of the animated film's opening, Weezer have released a video for their contribution to the movie.

For the soundtrack, Rivers Cuomo and Co. performed their version of "You Might Think" by The Cars (get it?). Below, you can check out the video, which features live and studio footage of Weezer as well as clips of Lightning McQueen and pals from the flick.

The Cars 2 soundtrack also includes songs from Brad Paisley ("Nobody's Fool") and Robbie Williams ("Collision of Worlds"), as well as selections from the score by Michael Giacchino (Lost, The Incredibles). more on this story

U2 Tribute Clarence Clemons

(hennemusic) U2 paid tribute to the late E Street Band legend Clarence Clemons during their Anaheim show Saturday night.

Just hours after news broke of Clemons' passing, U2 took to the stage as their 360 World Tour winds down with its final leg of shows in North America.

"I want you to think about the beautiful symphonic sound that came out of one man's saxophone," said Bono. "I want you to think about Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Brothers. I want you to think of Clarence Clemons. This man carried music and music carried him until this day..." See video here

Ronnie James Dio Really Enjoyed Working With Black Sabbath

(Gibson) Ronnie James Dio's widow Wendy had been talking at length about her late husband.

In an interview with Goldmine magazine she said that Dio particularly enjoyed his time with Black Sabbath: "Musically, Ronnie really enjoyed working with Sabbath, because now he could go darker, he could explore more. Him and Tony [Iommi] had a fantastic relationship writing-wise; and the rest of the band playing-wise. They were musical geniuses, all of them."

She also cleared up rumors about the autobiography Ronnie is said to have been working on before his death: "Ronnie had written – was writing – a book, right up until a couple of days before he passed, an autobiography, and he finished about three-quarters of it. What he would do is handwrite everything and then he would send it over to me and my assistant would type it up. That's how we worked. So we read chapter by chapter, until the last months, of course. And I had already gotten an agent for him. So they want me to finish it, and I will finish it, and it will come out in 2012. I haven't actually gone back and read the last part, because it's too soon for me to do that – the memories are too precious. But I will do it." more on this story

Mike Portnoy Talks Adrenaline Mob

(Gibson) Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy has spoken about his new band Adrenaline Mob. He told Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com, "I think people are going to get pretty excited once they see us."

The band also includes frontman Russell Allen (Symphony X), guitarist Mike Orlando (Sonic Stomp), bassist Paul DiLeo and guitarist Rich Ward (Mojo/Fozzy).

Formed this year, while Portnoy busied himself with projects involving Steve Morse as well as Beatles tribute band Yellow Matter Custard (with Paul Gilbert), Adrenaline Mob "didn't require overthinking," said the drummer. "It wasn't a master plan to join this band, but once I heard the material, I was in."

Portnoy says Allen encouraged him to fire up the drums: "He always liked that I was a rock drummer in a prog band – not to dismiss my prog influences – and he always thought I was more of a harder-edged, metal kind of drummer." more on this story

Your Chance To Own A Jimmy Page Property

(hennemusic) Talk about the ultimate Led Zeppelin collectible: a boathouse once owned by Jimmy Page is up for sale.

Newbury Today reports a River Thames boathouse in Pangbourne, UK with ties to Zeppelin's history is on the market – asking price £1,100,000.

Page owned the property from 1967-1973, during which time he formed Zeppelin. The guitarist paid £6,000 for the property in 1967, which had been a boathouse with wet dock and offices belonging to Hopps of Henley from the 19th century until its 1959 conversion into a residential dwelling. more on this story

The Browning, The Devastated and Allegaeon for Metal, Arise Tour

(Sub) The Browning have been confirmed for the first ever "Metal, Arise!" US tour, which features developing metal artists that will also feature The Devastated and Allegaeon.

The Browning, who are currently on the road in the US on the "Get Nude & Tattooed" tour, will be heading back out on the road in August for the "Metal, Arise!" tour.

The Browning have released the following statement: "It's a pleasure and an honor for The Browning to be featured on the 'Metal, Arise!' tour! What a great opportunity for us to be performing alongside such amazing talent and working with some awesome companies in the industry. We can't wait to get out there and show the metal community what we're made of, meet some new people, and broaden our fan base. We're coming for you!" more on this story

Singled Out: The Black Rabbits' My Baby Don't

Today Jetson Black from The Black Rabbits tells us about "My Baby Don't" from their brand new album "Hypno Switch" (produced by Stan Lynch and Billy Chapin of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers). Here is the story:

"My Baby Don't" deals with the frustration, anger, and desperation of trying to help someone change, but not knowing how. The song was written the night before the first show we ever played in front of an audience. We threw a party in our backyard and opened up for Austin, Texas indie rock group The Murdocks. I threw up twice before the show and felt like weights were tying me down to the stage from nerves.

Over the years we recorded many demos of the song and it eventually ended up being recorded for our debut full-length. When our producers were going through possible songs with us to record "My Baby Don't" stood out to them. I specifically remember Stan Lynch (of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) saying something along the lines of, "Hmm, this song has some sex to it."

I like to think of "My Baby Don't" as our "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies. It has a similar story (and twangy sound) behind it being that Black Francis wrote it when he was young and it ended up being placed on an album. Not to mention The Pixies reffered to the song as "the Tom Petty song."

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

. The Blues: Chicago Blues: A Living History- Rory Block- Samantha Fish- Cassie Taylor- Dani Wilde

Get the blues as Kevin Wierzbicki takes a listen to new rockin blues releases from Chicago Blues: A Living History, Rory Block and Girls With Guitars Samantha Fish/Cassie Taylor/Dani Wilde. - Read the full Chicago Blues: A Living History- Rory Block- Samantha Fish- Cassie Taylor- Dani Wilde review