New Van Halen Not Really New?

Sammy Hagar: I'd be curious to be a fly on that wall. I heard this record is old outtakes from the old days. I mean, stuff from before I even joined the band. I heard this five years ago though. Michael Anthony was curious if his background vocals would wind up on the album. I don't think it's a bad idea. It's kind of interesting. Bob Seger did it, and so did the Rolling Stones. I think it's an interesting thing to do in your old age if you can't come up with fresh, good stuff – or you can't get along. more on this story

Bee Gees Star Fighting Cancer

(Gibson) Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees is undergoing treatment for liver cancer. Last week, Gibb was taken to the hospital following an emergency call from his 12th century home in Oxfordshire, the Daily Mail reports.

The Daily Mail says the 61-year-old Gibb has been undergoing cancer treatment for several months, and that he was joined in the hospital last week by his 91-year-old mother Barbara and 65-year-old fellow Bee Gee brother Barry.

Gibb appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show last month promoting this year's Poppy Appeal single, a cover of The Bee Gees' "I've Gotta Get a Message to You." more on this story

Metallica Have To Learn Metallica

(Gibson) Metallica are set to perform 1991's "Black Album" in its entirety when they perform at next June's Download Festival at Donington in the U.K. But, according to the NME, drummer Lars Ulrich said the band will have to re-learn some of the album – including two tracks that Metallica has never played live.

The concert will include 'The Struggle Within' and 'Don't Tread on Me," Ulrich confirmed, and said: "Although to be honest with you, a song like 'The Struggle Within' is a lot easier to relearn than 'The Frayed Ends of Sanity [from …And Justice for All]. I don't think it's going to be too difficult for us to figure out these songs."

He said that the idea to play the album straight through came from Download Festival organizers.

"The people at Download asked. It wasn't our idea," Ulrich said. "The thing is, although we haven't played at Donington for six years, we have been to England pretty much every summer since then. So they wanted us to do something different, and that's what they came up with." more on this story

Depeche Mode's Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore Reunite

Mute announced that Vince Clarke (Erasure / Yazoo / Depeche Mode) and Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode) come together for the first time since 1981 as VCMG to release a brand new album preceded by a series of EPs.

VCMG is the fruit of initially tentative discussion and subsequent enthused collaboration where Vince and Martin, both influential as pioneers in electronic music, get to exercise their lifelong love of the genre as the techno inspired VCMG.

As Vince explains: "I've been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music and I got really intrigued by all the sounds… I realised I needed a collaborator… so it occurred to me to talk to Martin." more on this story

Corey Taylor, Scott Ian and Dave Navarro To Play Henry Rollins Show

(Gibson) Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Scott Ian from Anthrax and Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro will play at a charity concert organized by Henry Rollins.

The show is to benefit Drop in the Bucket, a charity that helps with water and sanitation projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Daily Express, Dave Lombardo from Slayer and assorted members of Rob Zombie's band also will performat the Avalon Hollywood on November 30. more on this story

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Confirm Initial Tour Dates

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have confirmed their plans to hit the road next year and release a new album. They released their initial tour dates via their official site.

The site had this message for fans: "A lot of you have been hearing that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be on tour in 2012. That is absolutely correct. The European dates run from the middle of May until end of July and are being announced this week. Info on the US dates and the World tour dates will coming up shortly.

"In addition, we want you to know that the music is almost done (but still untitled), we have almost settled on the release date (but not quite yet), and that we are all incredibly excited about everything that we're planning for 2012. That's all the info we have for right now, but we'll get back to you--real soon." more on this story

Ozzy Osbourne Radio Coming

Ozzy Osbourne fans will be able to enjoy the Prince of Darkness 24/7 with the upcoming launch of the Black Sabbath frontman's new SiriusXM radio channel.

Ozzy's Boneyard, channel 38, will feature classic hard rock and metal music from artists like Black Sabbath, Metallica, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, Pantera and Van Halen. The music channel is expected to launch later this year.

SiriusXM listeners will hear Ozzy present music as well as share personal stories about his career as a solo artist and as front-man for Black Sabbath. The channel will also air shows and specials hosted by Ozzy family members, Sharon, Jack and Kelly. more on this story

Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys for Lollapalooza

The South American installment of Lollapalooza has been expanded for 2012 to include two festivals in two countries.

The second edition of Lollapalooza Chile will take place in O'Higgins Park in Santiago, March 31 – April 1, 2012, and the first-ever Lollapalooza Brazil will take place at the Jockey Club in São Paulo, April 7-8, 2012.

Lollapalooza Chile and Lollapalooza Brazil will both welcome the Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex, Calvin Harris, MGMT, TV On The Radio, Bassnectar, Band of Horses, Thievery Corporation, Peaches, Cage the Elephant, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Friendly Fires, Foster the People and Tinie Tempah. more on this story

Slash Making Progress On New Album

(hennemusic) Slash continues work on his next solo album, due out next spring and has updated fans on the progress.

The guitarist and his touring band - Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (Sin City Sinners, formerly of Age Of Electric), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of Theory Of A Deadman) – have been holed up at Barefoot Studios in LA with producer Eric Valentine getting ideas together and songs down on tape.

"Ok, 13 songs ready to record," writes Slash in his latest update to fans. "3 already done. 2 more to finish writing before Dec. 12 on the record, 6 bonus trx, Woohoo!" more on this story

Jon Anderson Hitting The Road

Original Yes frontman Jon Anderson has announced a series of select solo concert dates this December in South America.

Jon Anderson, who has one of the most recognizable voices in music, and is best known for his work with YES, Vangelis and Kitaro, as well as his solo efforts, recently completed a successful tour of the east coast in the US with fellow YES member Rick Wakeman.

Jon's South American solo tour promises to deliver an mixture of material from his solo career, collaborations with Vangelis and classic YES songs, along with new compositions from his new CD 'Survival & Other Stories'. more on this story

Aerosmith's Hamilton Issues Post Tour Update

(hennemusic) Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton checks in from the road with a recap of the band's recent South & Central American tour.

The 10-show tour kicked off October 22 in Lima, Peru, where singer Steven Tyler was already feeling the effects of flu-like symptons; the band dropped several classics from the setlist (no "Dream On" !) to accommodate his voice issues. At the tour's second stop - in Asuncion, Paraguay – Tyler's illness hit him hard while in the hotel shower, causing him to pass out and hit his head. Some broken teeth, bruises and cuts were touched up and Tyler was back on stage after a day's delay in doing the show.

The rest of the tour went by without headline-making incidents, but as Hamilton reports, the support of fans made them feel right at home. "What a great time we had," says Tom. "What great fans." more on this story

Morrissey To Play Intimate Show Tomorrow and Be On TV Next Week

(Girlie) Morrissey will play a very intimate performance at Los Angeles' Henry Fonda Theater tomorrow, Wednesday, November 23 and will also will also perform on TBS' Conan on Tuesday the 29th.

The sold-out North American tour follows sold out tours of Europe and the UK. It will conclude on December 18 in Royal Oak, MI and also includes a sold-out date at Los Angeles' legendary Shrine Auditorium.

He will be performing songs from throughout his unparalleled catalog including new unreleased tracks. more on this story

Springsteen and Rolling Stones Classics For Grammy Hall of Fame

The Recording Academy has announced the 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees which include classics from The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Santana and Paul Simon.

The class of 2012 range from Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A. album to civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech from his historic 1963 address at the March on Washington. Also on the highly regarded list are Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," the Rolling Stones' album Exile On Main St., Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's single "The Message," Bill Cosby's comedy album I Started Out As A Child, the Original Broadway Cast recording of "St. Louis Woman," and Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It."

Others inductees include the entire Anthology Of American Folk Music, Gene Autry, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Doris Day, the Serge Koussevitzky-conducted Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Panchos, Santana, and Paul Simon, among others. more on this story

Elvis Country: Legacy Edition Coming In January

RCA have announced the release of Elvis Country: Legacy Edition, the newest entry in the series of multi-disc package.

The deluxe two-CD package will be available at all physical and digital retail outlets starting January 3rd through RCA/Legacy.

Forty years after its release in 1971, Elvis Country, an LP that found him getting back in touch with the Nashville country music mainstream. more on this story

Nachtmystium Set To Play Instinct: Decay In Full at Friday The 13th Concert

Nachtmystium fans will get very lucky on Friday, April 13th, when the band will be playing a very special show at Roadburn 2012's Voivod-curated Au-delà du Réel event where for the first and only time, they will play their landmark USBM album Instinct: Decay in its entirety.

When Instinct: Decay was released in 2006, branded as a psychedelic extreme metal record, it was met with deeply divided feedback -some highly laudatory and some derisive. Five years later, the record sounds as good as ever and it seems clear that the derision was merely the backlash of closed-minded black metal fans. Change turned out to be a good thing - now Instinct: Decay is hailed as an enormous milestone in USBM history.

In fact, along with Leviathan, Krieg, and Wolves In The Throne Room, Nachtmystium are considered instrumental in forging a unique musical identity for the USBM scene. This is a unique chance to hear the entire album at this one of a kind show, something definitely not to be missed! more on this story

Holy Grail To Give Fans Seasons Bleedings

Holy Grail have announced the release of a holiday-themed 7-inch, "Seasons Bleedings," which will be limited to 500 copies (250 red, 250 green), and will be available digitally on Dec. 6 and ship to customers shortly thereafter.

The release includes covers of King Diamond's "No Presents For Christmas" and the Rainbow classic "Kill The King," and features artwork by Sam Turner (3 Inches of Blood). This marks the first time that guitarist Alex Lee (ex-Bonded By Blood), who joined Holy Grail in the spring, has recorded with the group.

The digital version of "Seasons Bleedings" will also include covers of Judas Priest's "Exciter" and Accept's "Fast As A Shark," both of which originally appeared on the group's out-of-print debut EP "Improper Burial." (A limited number of "Improper Burial" 7-inches, which do not include the covers, are still available.) more on this story

Singled Out: Spacecamp's Miko D.T.B.

Today Jon Wiley from Spacecamp tells us about "Miko D.T.B." from their brand new EP "Alibi", which was released today. Here is the story:

Miko D.T.B. started off as a jam session in our rehearsal space I'm pretty sure. Or maybe it started off as a jam that Steven, Chris, Omer and I would play on stage at soundcheck during some Adam Green tour we did as his backing band. I can't remember which. I think the first part of the song, the versey-chorusey parts were put together long before the whole crystal-cavern-disco-outro part which probably just came out spontaneously after a joint or a lemon-ginger tea from Pies and Thighs, our favorite snack spot across the street from our space.

The problem is, we've had that song around for a long time but are just now releasing it. That's why it's so hard to remember exactly how it evolved. It's a weird song so maybe it doesn't matter when it was written. The recording doesn't really feel like it fits in any particular two year-pop-trend-pattern-cycle that industry stiffs like to believe exist, maybe some combination of Jan '76, Feb '86, May '96, Sept '06 (what a weird month) and a few weeks ago. Who knows.

Lyrically, the song is about a boat captain who is running a shipment of guns and narcotics from Brazil to the Keys for export to the states. He is betrayed by his lover. His boat is boarded by a group of very good soccer players. They carry golden revolvers and fight valiantly for their heroine (not the drug), Sister Crystalline, also the Captain's fraudulent bed-mate. Her actions are sanctified by the fact that she is the leader of an ancient-mystic-shamanistic-psychotropic religious society. Her motives are unclear, even to me. If only I had a few more hyphens I could probably figure it out. She probably means well, even though she behaved badly.

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