Velvet Revolver Find Perfect Singer... But

Perhaps they will work it out in the future? You can read the full interview with Slash here.

Ex-QOTSA's Nick Oliveri Avoids Jail For SWAT Standoff

(TMZ) Former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri just dodged a major bullet after his 4-hour standoff with a S.W.A.T. team last year -- cutting a MAJOR deal with prosecutors that will keep him out of jail.

Oliveri's lawyer tells TMZ, "Mr. Oliveri agreed to plead to one count of possession of cocaine and a dismissal of the remaining SIX felony counts."

If you recall ... Oliveri was arrested last July in L.A. after a fight with his GF resulted in a S.W.A.T. standoff. Cops eventually searched his home, and claim they found a loaded shotgun along with cocaine and methamphetamines.

The musician had faced up to 15 YEARS in the slammer for the combined charges -- but under the deal, he'll only get 3 years felony probation. Oliveri also agreed to 52 weeks of anger management and 200 hours of community service.

A judge signed off on the deal today, claiming if Oliveri stayed clean during the length of his probation, he'd expunge the entire case from Oliveri's record. Not bad. more on this story

Fan Dies At Wacken and Lollapalooza Evacuated

(Classic Rock) A metal fan has died of carbon monoxide poisoning at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival, organisers have said. The as-yet unnamed person fell asleep under a tarpaulin on a truck and breathed in the poison gas pumped out by a generator, which was also under the tarpaulin.

A statement says: "Friends of the deceased discovered the body under the canvas. Emergency services couldn't successfully resuscitate the person."

Meanwhile, the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago was evacuated for three hours at the weekend due to a powerful thunderstorm. Several bands' sets were cancelled in the delay, but authorities allowed the event's curfew to be extended so headline act the Red Hot Chili Peppers could play. more on this story

Van Halen Turn Down Tour Offer

(Classic Rock) Van Halen have pulled out of plans to tour Australia for the second time in recent months.

Promoter Patrick Prendergast says: "They have passed on playing this year, which is a shame."

Last year they withdrew from the country's touring Soundwave festival in order to complete comeback album A Different Kind of Truth. More rock news

Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan Charity Single A Success

(Classic Rock) Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has thanked fans for buying his WhoCares charity single and album, made in conjunction with Ian Gillan and others.

As a result of fundraising efforts a new school will commence construction in Armenia on August 15.

Iommi says: "This is just the beginning, so please continue to support us. The album will be available in the US at the end of August." More rock news

Lamb of God's Randy Blythe Vows To Clear His Name

(Classic Rock) Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe has vowed to return to the Czech Republic and face a manslaughter trial if he's called.

He was set free on Thursday after five weeks in jail and arrived home in the US last night. He'd been arrested in June in connection with the 2010 death of fan Daniel Nosek at a Lamb of God concert in Prague.

Nosek died a month after the show, during which he'd rushed the stage at least three times. It's alleged he sustained a head injury after being pushed off the platform, and that later led to the brain haemorrhage that killed him. There appears to be no evidence that the injury was sustained at the concert, or that Blythe was involved in any way.

Although never charged with any crime, prosecutors objected to his bail twice. A final 16-hour hearing saw the court overruling all protests and setting him free. Randy had a lot to say.

Iron Maiden Slowing Down With Age

(Classic Rock) Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain admits the band aren't playing their old songs the way they used to, because they're not able to.

Maiden's current set includes songs they wrote 25 years ago, many of which they haven't played in nearly as long, including the Seventh Son title track. That involved a bit of homework for the band – and a stark realisation for McBrain.

"I'd listen and go, 'Gosh, I can't believe we played that song that fast.' We still have a lot of energy, but as a player I've realised we couldn't play at that speed today and make it work," He says. "We were younger and it was a lot more crazy. We're a bit more refined with where we go with tempos now. There are still nights when I go a bit quick and the rest of the band moan." A lot more from Nicko

Jack Russell Fires Back At Former Great White Bandmate

(Classic Rock) Former Great White singer Jack Russell has lashed out at ex-bandmate Mark Kendall, saying the guitarist's messages of goodwill are fake. And he's ordered Kendall to stop suggesting the frontman is still drinking.

Russell now fronts his own outfit, Jack Russell's Great White, after health problems related to his alcohol addiction sidelined him in 2010. That led to his sacking from the band he co-founded in 1978 as Dante Fox.

He's previously slated his former group as a whole – but now he's turned his ire on Kendall, the man he started out with. In an angry outburst on Facebook, Russell says: "In an interview he insinuates and/or alleges that I am not sober. Ordinarily I do not let such idiotic comments bother me – but at this point I have had enough. My AA sponsor will verify that I am sober. I will take my one-year cake and coin on August 10." He's just getting warmed up.

Rolling Stones Documentary To Air Later This Year

(Gibson) The "will they / won't they?" talk of a Rolling Stones tour continues. One fact is there's a new Stones documentary movie out by the end of 2012.

HBO are making a new movie about the rock veterans, helmed by documentary filmmaker Brett Morgan, best known for The Kid Stays in the Picture. "Nobody has put the story together as a narrative," Morgan tells Rolling Stone. "We've been looking under every rock, going through their archives. It will be music never heard before, and I've conducted 50-plus hours of interviews so far. By the time we're done, they will be the most extensive group interviews they've ever done."

The as yet untitled movie will air on US TV this winter and will undoubtedly get a wider release around the same time. It could well be a teaser for a full 2013 tour. more on this story

Kittie To Release Retrospective

The female metal group Kittie will be releasing a new retrospective compilation next month.

eOne Music have set a September 11th release date for the set which will be called "Not So... Safe."

The retrospective will feature tracks from their records, "Spit," "Oracle," "Safe," "In The Black," and "I've Failed You." more on this story

The Dan Reed Network Plan Reunion

(Classic Rock) The Dan Reed Network will reunite for a one-off show on New Year's Eve in their home town of Portland, Oregon.

Frontman Reed says: "It will honour the 25th anniversary of the band and celebrate the energy shift in December 2012. It will be a true joy sharing the stage with the guys again."

The show will be filmed for a DVD release by guitarist Dan Pred. More rock news

Why Herman Rarebell Left The Scorpions

(Classic Rock) Drummer Herman Rarebell says he left the Scorpions in 1995 because he didn't think the band's material was strong enough.

He explains: "One of the reasons I left was the album Pure Instinct. That was a really bad album, followed by an even worse record, Eye II Eye. I kept saying to stop experimentation and write songs that Scorpions fans would expect."

But he adds: "The last one, Sting in the Tail, is really good." Rarebell is currently a member of Michael Schenker's touring band. More rock news

Isis Set New Rarities Release

Ipecac Recordings have set a November 6th release for a new Isis retrospective featuring unreleased rarities, remixes and videos, entitled Temporal.

Temporal spans the groundbreaking band's entire discography with inclusions from Mosquito Control to the band's final full-length album, Wavering Radiant.

"It was fun and also very nostalgic collecting material for this release," commented Aaron Harris. "I hear our catalogue differently now that I'm not living with these songs day to day. This is a special collection of outtakes, demos, unreleased tracks and videos; some of which I think we even forgot about.

Deep Purple Recording With Bob Ezrin, Will Play Major Metal Fest

(hennemusic) Just as the 23rd Wacken Open Air drew to a close, organizers released details on some of the confirmed artists for 2013, including the first-ever appearance by Deep Purple.

The rockers are currently in the studio in Nashville working on a new album. "We're producing an album with Bob Ezrin, who's done KISS, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, and he also worked on the last Kansas album, when I was with Kansas," guitarist Steve Morse told Glide magazine recently.

"So he's one of my favorite producers and that's going to be our studio album. It's probably going to be more of an extravaganza." more on this story

Blur Play Reunion Show at London Club

(Gibson) Blur continued their comeback with an intimate show at London's 100 Club on August 2. The 100 Club, in London's Oxford Street, became renowned from the '60s to the punk era, and was recently saved from closure. It holds just 350 people.

Blur's show took place as part of the on-going series of "Converse Represent" shows at the iconic venue, which has also seen performances by Paul Weller, among others.

Blur concentrated on older "Britpop" era material from the early 1990s. From 1993's Modern Life is Rubbish album alone, the band played "Advert," "Colin Zeal," "Oily Water" and "For Tomorrow." After just an hour, Blur closed with new track "Under the Westway." They didn't play an encore. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Jimmy at the Prom

Jimmy at the Prom's new song "Escape" caught our attention with their unique sound which seems to cross The Mars Volta with The Doors (you may very well hear something completely different!), when we found out a member of Alice Cooper's band produced the song it became even more interesting. So we reached out to see if we could get the story behind the track. Here is what they told us:

Jimmy at the Prom is a band formed by Matt Turner and Sean Williamson with the vision of bringing "prog" and "arena" rock a little closer together. Both players have run the gamut of side men to session players, and tour dogs for the better part of the last decade.

Now writing collectively, J@TP has released the single Escape. This track in particular revolves around the main riff in 3/4, brought to the table by Williamson, and arranged by both Williamson and Turner. Initially recorded at The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee WI, the song has now taken a different flow with the help of Chuck Garric, bassist of Alice Cooper and frontman of new project Beasto Blanco.

After the Riverside sessions, Turner reached out to Garric to produce the track that would be to released on vinyl. "I wanted to bring in Chuck because he's a rock solid player and has a great ear for what a song should be" says Turner.

"Escape is about detaching from the things that are bringing you down or drawing away from the positives in your life," adds Williamson, "whatever they may be...even yourself; and it's meant to go beyond the context of real life and into the story of "Jimmy" at the Prom that takes place within the artwork by Steven Bossler." A common feeling of an adolescent with a mowhawk trying to fit in, he's unwilling to conform to the hand society has dealt him. "Jimmy" is escaping from the tv in the cover art and conveying a strong message by doing so," adds Williamson.

This imagery is explored even further in the music video to "Made of Wax," a partially animated piece done by Dave Kiehl and edited by Bryan Mir of Blend Studios. "Jimmy" is as fictional as you want him to be.

Plans are in the works to get even more involved with Chuck both on the producer and touring level. "A full length album with Chuck's insight will be key in shaping and perfecting our sound," says Turner. "Playing with his band Beasto Blanco out on the road will help too," adds Williamson, as the bands plan on joining forces in the near future.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself right here!

Video of Black Sabbath's Lollapalooza Set Goes Online

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath played their third and final show of their planned 2012 reunion Friday as headliners at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Video of Sabbath's performance has surfaced for fans to check out.

Once again, Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were filled out with drummer Tommy Clufetos (from Ozzy's solo band) handling drum duties in the absence of original sticks man Bill Ward, who continues to sit things out over a contract dispute.

After concerts in Birmingham (May) and at Download (June), Lollapalooza was the only North American date on the schedule for the partial Sabbath reunion. Watch the video here.

Watch Metallica Ride The Lightning In Mexico

(hennemusic) Metallica recently launched a series of concerts in Mexico City. Metallica kicked off the dates with a new stage set and an explosive performance.

The band are now sharing some footage from the July 28 show, including video of "Creeping Death" in the tuning room and "Ride The Lightning" from the concert.

Opening night at the city's Sports Palace lived up to the band's pre-show hype, which billed the event as "a brand new show that features your favorite iconic elements spanning our entire 30 year touring career all on a massive stage that is twice the size of the World Magnetic set up... we think it's something that needs to be seen to believed!!!" Check out the video

Rush's Neil Peart Makes Anthrax Drummer's Day

(Classic Rock) Troubled Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante was blown away when Rush counterpart Neil Peart said he knew about the thrash band's plans to cover the Canadians' track Anthem.

Guitarist Scott Ian reports: "Neil said to Charlie: 'That's so cool. We put the clip of you playing drums up on our website.' Charlie, I swear to God, the glow that was coming off him – I'd never seen anything quite like it."

It's thought a number of covers will be included in a re-release of recent Anthrax album Worship Music. [Artisan] More rock news

Video of Red Hot Chili Peppers' Lollapalooza Set Goes Online

(hennemusic) The Red Hot Chili Peppers rocked Lollapalooza at the end of a chaotic Saturday for concertgoers in Chicago.

The festival site was evacuated mid-day due to severe thunderstorms. After a 2.5 hour delay, the gates re-opened to the public.

Fans return to catch acts on several stages before the Peppers closed out the evening. Watch video of their performance here.

Watch Jack White Rock Lollapalooza

(hennemusic) Jack White had the honor of closing this year's Lollapalooza festival on Sunday night in Chicago.

It was a weekend of extreme heat, a storm that caused the first full-scale evacuation at the site's Chicago event on Saturday, and headlining sets by Black Sabbath and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Organizers announced the weekend drew a record-tying 270,000 fans to the city's Grant Park. Watch some video from White's set here.

Video Of Scorpions Wacken Fest Performance Goes Online

(hennemusic) The Scorpions rocked Germany's Wacken Open Air festival on Saturday and video of their set has surfaced online.

The annual heavy metal event takes place in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.

The festival gig was part of the band's Final Sting world tour, which sees the group performing its final live dates. Watch the video here.