Nickelback's Chad Kroeger To Marry Avril Lavigne

The entertainment publication reports that a Lavigne "rep" and/or "pal" has exclusively told them that Kroeger proposed on August 8th. You can read their report here.

Kid Rock Surprises Wounded Veteran and Wife With New Home

(Banana 101.5) Kid Rock recently teamed up with Pulte Homes and Operation Finally Home to surprise a wounded warrior and Mount Clemens, Michigan native, Davin Dumar and his wife with a brand new home.

Army Sgt. Dumar served in Afghanistan, where he lost a leg and severely injured his arm, was selected by Operation Finally Home Again thanks in part to Kid Rock, who personally called the founder of the charity to talk about Sgt. Dumar.

The charity has been custom building homes for wounded veterans for seven years and will finish customizing the new Dumar home soon. more on this story

All Star Deep Purple Tribute Behind The Scenes Video Released

(hennemusic) Information about the forthcoming Deep Purple tribute album, "Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head," has been coming out a little at a time, including preview video clips and a few full songs. Now, a full-length behind-the-scenes look at the album has surfaced.

Fans can dig deep into the project, with studio footage and interviews with Metallica, Jimmy Barnes, Chickenfoot, Steve Lukather, Glenn Hughes and many more of the players involved.

"All the stuff that we do, and have been doing for the last thirty years," says Metallica's Lars Ulrich, "and the bands in the 80s and 90s and in the last decade… it all traces back to Deep Purple…and, obviously, to a degree, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin – but Purple had their own niche in that trio."

Watch the 25 minute video here.

New Motorhead Book Coming Next Week

Cleopatra have set an August 28th release date for Alan Burridge's new book Motorhead: Live To Win. They sent over this synopsis:

Live To Win is the full, in-depth Motörhead story, with previously unpublished, revealing facts, rare and early photos, and is fully approved and endorsed by Lemmy (who also contributes to the introduction).

Motörhead formed in England in 1975 by bassist/singer/songwriter Lemmy Kilmister, and was an early part of the NWOBHM, the movement to reinvigorate loud music. With a big dose of punk, Motörhead's sound pioneered speed metal, and continues with consistency to support, elevate, and encourage the genre around the world. The band has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and just finished a North American tour. more on this story

Soundgarden Tease New Track and Announce Album Title

(hennemusic) Soundgarden have revealed the title of their new album will be "King Animal."

The band's first studio release since 1996's "Down On The Upside" is tentatively due November 13.

The Seattle rockers also shared a preview of "Worse Dreams," one of the new tracks on the project. Check it out here.

Stone Sour Layout Initial World Tour Plans

Stone Sour have mapped out the first leg of their world tour plans with dates scheduled on five continents.

The tour is in support of their forthcoming House of Gold & Bones and the initial leg includes their first European tour in two years as well as festival appearances at Loud Park in Japan and Soundwave in Australia (with Metallica and Linkin Park).

Corey Taylor says, "It's gonna be awesome to bring the House of Gold and Bones to the fans live. We're all psyched to come to Japan and South America right away as well- they're some of the best fans in the world! We gave people a taste of Part One, now we're gonna bring them the best Stone Sour show they've ever seen. Get ready: it begins soon…" more on this story

The Smashing Pumpkins To Rock Leno This Week

The Smashing Pumpkins are set to perform their song "The Celestials" on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night, August 23rd.

This will mark the band's first national television performance since the release of their latest album, Oceania.

The band just completed a tour of Australia, New Zealand and South Korea that ran from July 26-August 14. They headlined festivals and, at their own shows, performed Oceania in full, followed by a set of classics and deep cuts. The band is expected to announce their North American tour plans soon. more on this story

Gorgoroth Fire Lead Singer

Gorgoroth have fired their singer Pest and have lined up a guest singer for their next tour and a separate singer for their new album. The band had this to say about the turn of events:

"Out of respect for and loyalty to Gorgoroth's audience and collaborators, Infernus has kicked Pest out of the band, effective immediately. This after Pest informed the band that he would not be prioritizing doing the upcoming Latin American tour after all, just two weeks before the band was set to depart for Brazil.

"Infernus has decided that the tour will go on as planned, though, and Hoest of Taake will replace Pest as vocalist on the tour starting on September 7, 2012. more on this story

Soilwork Begin New Album This Week

Soilwork will enter the studio with producer Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Bloodbath) on Thursday (August 23rd) to begin recording their new album.

The new album, entitled The Living Infinite, will also mark the recording debut of long-time touring guitarist David Andersson (Night Flight Orchestra).

"It's been a pretty long time coming, but as we speak I'm sitting here smiling my ass off listening to the demos that will forge into The Living Infinite," commented the group's vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid. "I've been feeling pretty damn restless from this break to be honest with you, therefore it is with great excitement that I've approached this new album. As soon as we started working on songs in March, all my focus and energy went into building this new beast. We're finished writing songs and I'm currently laying down demo vocals and I'm having a blast. I feel very inspired. more on this story

Cinderella's Tom Keifer Releasing Solo Album

Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer plans to release his debut solo album next spring under a new partnership with Merovee Records (a joint venture with Worldwide Pants, Inc.). His camp put out these details:

The as-yet-untitled collection of 14 new songs ranges from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots.

The upcoming release is a raw, introspective look at the roller coaster ride that has been Keifer's life for the past 15 years. From being told that he would never sing again as a result of a partially paralyzed left vocal cord, to the emotional and personal battles that followed, his solo debut is a story of perseverance, a testament to the power of passion and will, when combined with a true love of music.

Minus The Bear Release New Video and Streaming New Album Today

Minus The Bear have released a new music video for their new song "Steel and Blood" and are streaming their forthcoming album online today.

"Steel and Blood" comes from the band's forthcoming fifth album, Infinity Overhead, which will be out next Tuesday, August 28 on Dangerbird Records. The LP will be streaming in full on MinusTheBear.com all day today.

Filmed in the band's hometown Seattle and directed by Daniel Brown (Portugal. The Man), the tension-filled video follows a reckless, young couple in a destructive relationship of sex and violence. more on this story

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven Campout Music Festival Details

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven have announced the details of their 8th annual Campout Music Festival:

Campout 8 will take place September 13th, 14th and 15th at Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace in the High Desert of Southern California. The locale of this fest ties in perfectly with Cracker's own history as their signature album Kerosene Hat was recorded here back in 1993 in the now-closed movie soundstage next to the Palace.

This year's bill features Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants (of Foo Fighters), Gram Rabbit, Calamity, The Dangers, Lightning Starts Fire, The Piggies and Niantic. Along with full band performances from both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven (the latter previewing new music from their forthcoming studio album), there will also be a number of performances from various members of both bands, including Jonathan Segel (performing material from his recent All Attractions double album), Victor Krummenacher, a special David Lowery/Johnny Hickman semi-acoustic Cracker duo set, as well as Johnny Hickman (performing material from his recent Tilting LP). more on this story

Cerebral Bore Wrapping Up Summer Slaughter and Preparing For Fall Tour

Cerebral Bore are wrapping up the Summer Slaughter tour With Cannibal Corpse, Periphery, Job For A Cowboy and Goatwhore and are getting ready to head to Europe for a tour with Dying Fetus.

Cerebral Bore guitarist Paul Mcguire comments: "We are now heading into the last week of Summer Slaughter, and so far it has been a truly awesome experience. We have gotten to know all bands on the tour as well as their crews, and it's gonna be pretty sad when the time comes to part ways.

The biggest thing for me personally has been getting to know and tour with the guys from Cannibal Corpse. These guys are my heroes, so there is a lot of room to be disappointed... but they have been amazing. We have gone out drinking with them, they've invited us onto their bus many times, fed us, watered us and supported us by wearing our shirts and watching stage-side. A real dream come true for all of us and we can't thank them enough. It's not over yet though, and we have a bunch of west coast shows still to come - the energy levels are still at max and we are raring to go, so bring it on!" more on this story

Jack White Taking His Show Across The Pond

(Gibson) Jack White has just announced a number of shows in the U.K. and Ireland in the fall, as part of his tour in support of Blunderbuss, White's first solo album.

The U.K./Ireland leg of the tour kicks off on October 31 in Dublin before heading to London, Bridlington, Blackpool, Birmingham, and finally Edinburgh on November 8.

The show in Blackpool is set to take place in the Empress Ballroom Arena, which is the same venue in which The White Stripes filmed their DVD Under Blackpool Lights. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Tall Dark Stranger

Today Dee Allen a.k.a. Tall Dark Stranger tells us about the song "Angel of Seduction" from the album "There It Is" which features guest appearances by Ty Tabor (King's X), Josh Henson (Kellie Pickler), Duane Allen (Oak Ridge Boys) and more. Here is the story:

The title phrase popped into my head after meeting a very attractive girl while going to pay my rent. We spoke briefly, and she seemed receptive, and was "my type" appearance-wise, so of course I got all excited about getting together with her. We exchanged numbers. Within a day or two, I got a call from her number, and some dude opens the conversation with "You don't want to know me." (Dramatic much?) He said he was her fiance, and started asking if I was the guy he had caught her in bed with recently. Wowwwwww. She called shortly after that, but at that point I couldn't believe a word she said, so that was the end of it.

It struck me that this woman was so self-centered, and her actions so destructive, that the thought crossed my mind, "Maybe this is spiritual warfare, and she's some kind of demonic spirit in human form". So then, boom, "Angel of Seduction". I did a bit of research on angel lore, and chose to mention the angel Zadkiel, but couldn't find a pronunciation, so if I'm saying it wrong…. sue me, go write your own angel song.

Musically, the idea was to see if I could use the same chord progression through the whole song, but keep it interesting by changing up the arrangement every few bars. It walks the line between heavy and danceable; one friend described it as "Nine Inch Nails meets Duran Duran". The guitar part in the chorus is a nod to one of my heroes, Paul Stanley. It's a close approximation of his live intro to "Black Diamond".

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

Judas Priest Share Us Festival Footage

(hennemusic) On September 4, Judas Priest will release the "Screaming For Vengeance Special 30th Anniversary Edition" package which will feature not only the remastered original album plus bonus tracks, but also a live DVD from the 1983 US Festival show, filmed in San Bernardino, CA on May 29, 1983.

The US Festival live DVD was filmed on Heavy Metal Day, which was headlined by Van Halen. It set the single-day concert attendance record for the U.S. with an estimated 375,000 people. "On the day that we performed, we flew in by helicopter — and the first sight we saw was that of thousands of abandoned cars piled up around the crests of the hills that surrounded the festival arena, which as we went over took our breath away," said Priest in a statement. "For there, below us, spread throughout hundreds of acres was a massive crowd — over three hundred thousand strong! The summer heat was raging and combined with the hot Santa Ana winds made for a scorching metal furnace on stage."

Priest have offered up a preview of their US Festival performance, as they rock through the opening numbers of their set - "The Hellion" and "Electric Eye." Check it out here.

Metallica Streaming Orion and And Justice For All Live Video

(hennemusic) Metallica have posted official footage from the seventh show of their recent 8-date run in Mexico City.

The August 7th video includes the band running through "Orion" in the Tuning Room and the title track to their album, "…And Justice For All," from the concert.

The 1988 'Justice' release was the band's fourth studio album, and first full record since the passing of bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus crash on tour two years earlier. Check out the video here.

Marilyn Manson Releases Slo-mo-tion Video

Marilyn Manson has released a new music video for his latest single release "Slo-mo-tion".

The clip, which was directed by Manson himself, is the second to be released from his latest album Born Villain. Watch it here.

Manson will also hit the road with Rob Zombie this fall, co-headlining The "Twins of Evil" Tour. The tour kicks off September 28th in Phoenix and concludes state-side on Halloween in Dallas. more on this story

Metric Streaming First Part Of Documentary Online

Metric has posted the first of four episodes of their Synthetica mini-documentary.

The documentary is said to be the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Metric's fifth full-length studio album, Synthetica.

Episode 2 will be shared later this week with episodes 3 and 4 to follow next week. For now you can watch episode one here.

The 69 Eyes Release Album Video Trailer

The 69 Eyes have released the second video trailer for their forthcoming album, X.

The album is set to be release in North America on October 9, 2012 via Nuclear Blast. Check out the trailer here.

The 69 Eyes recently shot a music video for the album's first single, "Red," with renowned producer, Patric Ullaeus (Dimmu Borgir, Dream Evil, Keep Of Kalessin), which will premiere in the coming weeks.
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