Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi Fighting Cancer

"Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan. The Iron Man of rock and roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery." more on this story

At the Drive-In Reunite

At the Drive-In surprised fans yesterday with a Twitter message which hints that the group is regrouping.

On Monday morning ATDI fans received the following tweet, "¡ ATTENTION ! To whom it may concern: AT THE DRIVE-IN will be breaking their 11 year silence THIS STATION IS …NOW…OPERATIONAL."

AntiQuiet dug a little deeper and report: Reliable inside sources have led us to confidently believe that At The Drive-In will in fact be reuniting at Coachella 2012, with all Relationship Of Command-era members, including super famous martians Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López. But wait there is more!

Woman Blames Marilyn Manson For Arson

(Rock News Desk) A 29-year-old woman accused of arson has become the latest person to claim rock music made her do it. Christina Paz of Cileo Vista, Texas, says Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails inspired her to try to burn down her parents' house.

After she became convinced they were trying to kill her on Christmas Day, she's believed to have set fire to a bed covered in flammable glue then attempted to light a set of curtains in another room.

Court papers say Paz "was angry at her parents for trying to kill her, that they had planned to sodomise her and chop her up with the help of a neighbour."

Asked how she became aware of the alleged plot, she replied: "Through the music of Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails." more on this story

Metallica Aim For Black Album Sounds On New Album

(Gibson) The next Metallica studio album will feature concise, groove-oriented songs akin to their breakthrough 1991 self-titled chart topper.

In the January 19 edition of Rolling Stone, guitarist Kirk Hammett says the album will be the logical successor to "the black album" in the same way that Death Magnetic carried on the progressive song structures of 1988's …And Justice For All.

Hammett said, "This stuff we're coming up with is more groove-oriented, a heavier version of what we were doing in the early '90s."

Drummer Lars Ulrich says the shorter, more to-the-point material is not likely to be completed this year. "If I said 2012, I'd be lying," Ulrich said. "I hope it's not later than 2013." more on this story

Charlie Watts Comments on Possible Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Plans

(Gibson) With rumors buzzing that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been warming to the idea of a 2012 Rolling Stones tour to mark the band's 50th anniversary, drummer Charlie Watts has chipped in with his thoughts.

Watts told BBC 6Music: "It would be lovely next year to do some shows because it will be 50 years. Ronnie plays, I still play, Mick sings, he can do it anyway, I think Keith is doing some records."

Watts, however, also explained that such a tour is a vast undertaking, saying: "It would be great if we did, we are just getting to an age where it's getting a bit difficult to get it together and it's such a bloody performance getting us together." more on this story

Jack White To Unearth Unreleased White Stripes Tracks

(Gibson) Jack White will release alternate versions of the White Stripes tracks "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "Let's Build a Home" as part of the Vault series by his record label, Third Man Records. The two tracks were originally recorded for the duo's 1999 self-titled debut, but those versions weren't used.

The songs were eventually rerecorded for White Blood Cells and De Stijl. The 1999 versions will be presented on White Stripes Outtakes, a 7-inch record in Vault Package #11, a set which will also include the third and final triple-album volume of the White Stripes' Singles Compilation on black, white and yellow vinyl, as well as a fold-out poster integrating with the previous albums and a solar-reactive color-changing Third Man Records T-shirt. Pre-orders for the set are open until January 31.

Meanwhile, White will appear on an episode of American Pickers on The History Channel tonight, welcoming the show to the Third Man Records base in Nashville to offload personal artifacts such as the actual photo booth used for the Dead Weather's "Hang You from the Heavens" video. more on this story

Rob Halford, Ian Gillan, Alice Cooper, Lemmy and More To Tribute Dio

Some of the biggest names in hard rock and metal are reportedly signed on to appear on the forthcoming tribute album to Ronnie James Dio.

Blabbermouth.net reports that the project will include Judas Priest's Rob Halford, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, Alice Cooper, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Chris Jericho (Fozzy) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters).

"I'm letting them pick what songs they wanna do in the way they wanna do it," Wendy told Artisan News at last month's Dimebash event in Hollywood, California. Some more details here.

Godsmack's Erna Recovering From Surgery

Godsmack announced last week that their frontman Sully Erna is at home resting and recovering from knee surgery.

Loudwire reports that: The injury to Erna's left knee isn't new or recent. He actually sustained a sports injury a while back and only recently had the surgery to repair the problem.

According to a post on Godsmack's official site, the singer is hardly interested in rest for the wounded. more on this story

Evans Blue Releasing New Album This Spring

(Banana 101.5) Evans Blue have finally announced the name and release date for their upcoming album — it's called 'Graveyard of Empires' and will be in stores this April.

'Graveyard of Empires' is the fourth full-length studio release, the second with vocalist Dan Chandler, and the first with new drummer Mike McClure.

Their latest effort was recorded mostly in Traverse City, Michigan with producer Trevor Kutsiak and will be available at digital outlets and stores everywhere on April 17th via Sights + Sounds Entertainment. more on this story

Engineer Talks Up New Van Halen Album

(hennemusic) Van Halen entered the studio twelve months ago with producer John Shanks and engineer Ross Hogarth to work on the first VH album with David Lee Roth in almost three decades.

Now that fans are only a few weeks away from having the new record in their (digital) hands, Hogarth is sharing his post-production thoughts.

In a new post on his website, entitled "Here they come 2012," Ross says: "I can finally say that for the last 18 months on and off I have been working on the new record coming out for Van Halen. A Different Kind of Truth is being released Feb 7 and it ROCKS !!!!. You will not be disappointed. We made a rock record and it kicks ass. Trust me." more on this story

Jesse Leach Has Fun With Killswitch Engage Reunion Speculation

With Howard Jones leaving Killswitch Engage this has naturally sparked hopes that Jesse Leach will return to the helm of the group and Jesse is having fun with the speculation on his Facebook page.

Jesse has posted some cryptic messages on his Facebook over the past couple of days, which have led some fans to assume that he is hinting at a reunion with Killswitch Engage.

On Sunday he wrote, "I go where the spirit leads me." Then on Monday he wrote, "No matter insignificant it may seem in the moment, the smallest change can spark a revolution!" That got some juices flowing but he then posted, "stop trying to read Inbetween the lines of my posts. If I have something to say, I WILL say it. For the moment I have no comments on KSE." And a couple hours wrote "You know what reunion I excited for? At The Drive In !!!"

What will he post next? Find out here!

Iron Maiden SikTh Rebellion

(Rock News Desk) Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith has collaborated with former SikTh frontman Mikee Goodman on a project called Primal Rock Rebellion.

Smith says: "It was interesting doing this album, not least because we have quite different influences. It has a really fresh feel to it."

Goodman adds: "This album takes you on a really deep journey, lyrically and musically. We were both very open to experimenting with each others' musical styles and influences, which we feel created something new and exciting." more rock news

The Yardbirds Announce North American Tour Dates

(Kayos) The Yardbirds will land in North America next month for a series of tour dates in the Northeast (including several coheadlining dates with Vanilla Fudge) starting February 1 in Buffalo, New York.

The lineup includes critically-acclaimed original drummer/composer Jim McCarty, guitarist Ben King, who has garnered a reputation as one of hottest, most tasteful young guitar players around, bassist David Smale (a much-respected and admired UK-based musician) and vocalist Andy Mitchell, whose sound is straight out of the mid-'50s Chicago school of blues. Chris Dreja, guitarist and co-founder, is recuperating at home after a recent illness and regrets that he won't be able to be a part of this short tour. He thanks all his fans for their good wishes and looks forward to seeing them again when he re-joins the band later in the year for a more extensive tour.

The Yardbirds spearheaded the British Blues Boom of the 1960s and brought the world Eric Clapton in 1963, Jeff Beck in 1965 and Jimmy Page in 1966 (who played in the band with Beck for four months), the band that continues to inspire artists worldwide. more on this story

Fear Factory Sideband City of Fire Returning With New Album

(Gibson) City of Fire, the heavy rock band featuring Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell and Byron Stroud, have released the first track from their forthcoming sophomore album, Trial Through Fire.

The song, "Bad Motivator," was unveiled on the band's Facebook page over the weekend, after earlier being sent out to fans who helped fund the album's recording costs. A video for the track will debut shortly on Metal Hammer UK.

City of Fire consists of Bell, Stroud, guitarist Terry Murray and drummer Bob Wagner. When the band toured Australia and New Zealand in 2010, Stroud's former Strapping Young Lad bandmate Jed Simon filled in on second guitar. The band has its roots in Caustic Thought, a classic late '80s/early '90s thrash band from Vancouver, Canada, who at one time counted a young Devin Townsend among its ranks. more on this story

Duff McKagen, Billy Sheehan and Warren DeMartini Making Namm Appearances

Rotosound announced that Duff McKagen, Billy Sheehan and RATT will be making appearances at Winter NAMM 2012: Rotosound are at the Winter NAMM 2012 with a select group of endorsees making an appearance on their booth on Saturday 21st January.

Joining them fresh from his European tour with Loaded is the legendary metal bass player Duff McKagan at 1pm. Famed for his roles in Guns 'n' Roses and Velvet Revolver, Duff has had a busy year what with the tour, new album and a book.

Next is the virtuoso veteran bass player, Billy Sheehan will be signing at 3pm. He is responsible for shaping a whole new generation of bassists with his fret board pyrotechnics. Again he has had a busy year with a USA tour and new album with Mr. Big.

Then back at the Rotosound booth for another year will be Ratt's Warren DeMartini at 4pm.

For further information and to see the latest new products visit Rotosound Booth ♯5596, Hall B http://www.rotosound.com/

American Idol A Major Boost for Aerosmith

(hennemusic) Steven Tyler and his fellow American Idol judges – Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson – are doing major press interviews these days to promote the return of the popular talent series.

In a new session with Access Hollywood, Tyler talked about the transition he made from rock star to TV star during Season 10 of Idol.

"[Last season] it wasn't really accepted up front [with the rock community], mostly from my own bandmates because they didn't know what was going on with the Aerosmith thing at the end. But it's brought younger kids to our music anyway," said Steven, noting Aerosmith sales last year were up 260 percent. more on this story

Mindless Self Indulgence Spring Tour

Mindless Self Indulgence have announced a North American tour in support of their latest release Tighter.

The acclaimed group will hit the road on March 3rd in Worcester, MA and will wrap up the trek on April 1st in Tempe, AZ.

In 1999, Mindless Self Indulgence burst onto the NYC scene, f**king up jaded audiences at smoke-filled clubs like CBGBs, Coney Island High, Brownies, and The Knitting Factory. That same year, they put out their debut album for their fans, which they recorded over the course of 48 hours. The result was a 15-track release called Tight, which became so sought-after that it quickly sold out and remains out-of-print to this day. The only available circulating copies of Tight still sell today for as much as $300 on EBay. more on this story

Puscifer Add New Tour Dates

Puscifer have added two dates to their upcoming Conditions of My Parole tour which kicks off next month.

The tour is now set to include the following additional stops: Mar. 16 at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and Mar. 17 at Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside, Ca.

The tour is support of the group's sophomore album Conditions of My Parole and the touring band members are Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis, Carina Round, Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl. more on this story

Rise Against Add New North American Tour Leg

Rise Against have mapped out the second leg of their 2012 spring tour which will also feature A Day To Remember and Title Fight.

The first leg gets underway on January 17th in Austin, TX and features A Day To Remember and The Menzingers.

The second leg kicks off on April 15th in San Diego, CA and will wrap on May 10th in Toronto. more on this story

Alter Bridge Feel Free After Leaving Universal

(Rock News Desk) Alter Bridge drummer Scott Phillips says their new record deal means the band are now free to write the material they want rather than constantly trying to create hit singles.

He says: "We were signed to Universal Records, but a company that big are always looking for the next radio smash. As soon as a new thing came along and caught their attention, we fell by the wayside. Roadrunner understand us for who we are and who we want to be."

He is also grateful to Slash for taking on their singer Myles Kennedy for his solo album. "There were people who took notice of us when they saw Myles with Slash. It was nothing but a positive force." more rock news

RIP NRBQ Drummer Tom Ardolino

(Gibson) Longtime NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino passed away on Friday at age 56 after a long battle with an unidentified illness.

In a posting on their Facebook page, the band wrote, "Friends, we regret to inform you that Tom Ardolino passed away today. Tom will be missed but his spirit lives on through those who were touched by him."

Ardolino appeared on 15 albums with the band between 1974 and their hiatus in 2004, which was necessitated by keyboardist Terry Adams' treatment for throat cancer. The band reformed in 2011 but Ardolino was too ill to participate due to his health issues. more on this story

Axel Rudi Pell Sets New Album Release

Axel Rudi Pell's new album "Circle Of The Oath" will be released through SPV/Steamhammer on March 23rd in Germany, March 26th in Europe and on March 27th in the USA/Canada.

Singer Johnny Gioeli, drummer Mike Terrana , keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg , bass player Volker Krawczak and guitarist Axel Rudi Pell entered the studio in late November 2011 with Engineer and Co-Producer Charlie Bauerfeind, to record the album.

Recordings are finished now and the final touches regarding mixing and mastering will be made this week. more on this story

The Melismatics Release New Album and Launch Tour This Week

The Melismatics are their latest album, "Mania!" today (January 10th) which features collaborations with Dan Wilson (Adele, Semisonic) and Jon Auer who lends vocals to several tracks.

The band will kick off a national tour on January 12th at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln before heading to the West coast.

"Mania!" was produced by Jon Auer of The Posies and Big Star, along with Ed Ackerson (Motion City Soundtrack, Golden Smog, The Replacements) and was mixed by John Fields. more on this story

100 Club Denied Government Help

(Gibson) London's 100 Club, a venue making the news recently as a host or rock stars rallied to try and stop its closure, has been dealt another blow.

According to the Daily Express, the guardians of England's past, English Heritage, submitted a request to the government to have the club listed as a historic building. Their application describes the club as "the oldest continuously running (and surviving) live music venue in the capital."

The British government declined the bid, however, with a spokesperson for John Penrose, the minister responsible, telling the Sunday Telegraph: "There's no denying the club's place in British pop music history but in the end it's only the stage and the signage that mark it out as being any different from any other basement club. I can't help but feel that giving the cradle of punk rock listed building status would not be quite in tune with that movement's driving spirit." more on this story

Singled Out: Wazu's Murder 1

Today Matt from Wazu tells us the incredible story behind "Murder 1," the hit single from their brand new self-titled EP which hit stores today. Here is the story:

There is a story about the inception of this song that proves it's really a small, strange world.

While we were in Los Angeles in 2009-10, during the end of our previous band, we were struggling and trying to find whatever work we could to get by while writing new music, rediscovering ourselves and figuring out what to do next. I ended up finding a job with an ex-attorney who had become a part time magician. His stage name is Fantastic Fig and he was 75 years old at the time, and he still maintained a small law office and would perform magic at as many parties as he could in the hope of finally achieving his lifelong dream of being a magician. His father had pushed him into law, he had become incredibly rich and successful during the 60s and 70s, lost it all in the 80s, recovered during the 90s and then realized being a magician was what he really wanted to do all along. He was good at it too…now he was scraping by on law while trying to chase the dream of magic. Anyway I digress...

While working at his office, I got a call from a man named Jack Hollywood. He told me his son had been incarcerated for murder but he insisted his son was innocent. He went on for around 10 minutes about the injustice of the situation, how he could not afford proper legal representation (my boss was struggling, therefore would work for very little or for media exposure), and assured me that this case would be a big deal in the media, his son would be vindicated and if my boss took on this case it would be a once in a lifetime win-win.

His son's name was Jesse James Hollywood.

Anyway, we pressed on for another few months, did some shows in LA, Vegas and Texas with some temporary Australian band members, but still playing our old songs under our old band name. Our mini tour came to an end, and we decided it was time to head home to regroup. It was around this time Rizz and I decided to become a duo. One night in Sydney we were watching a movie called 'Alpha Dog.' This movie was basically a true story about a small time LA drug dealer who - long story short - kidnaps a rival's younger brother. The dealer and his friends have no real intention of hurting him, and they even strike up some unlikely pseudo-friendships, but the longer they hold on to his young man, the more jail time they face if they let him go. Eventually, even though the young man pleads for his life, they make an ill-fated decision to kill him.

I found out after watching this movie, the drug dealer's name in real life is Jesse James Hollywood. It was the son of the man I had spoken to in Fantastic Fig's office.

This was too much of a twist of fate to ignore. We were inspired by the story, and the wider themes it generated…

Musically, Murder1 feels very much about LA. We were pretty fascinated by its heavy contradictions – glittering promise vs broken dreams, sunshine, beaches and palm trees vs poverty and inequality. It's a place where dreams and promises are often very different to reality. But we were also influenced by the beauty of old cinema, which was born in LA – hence the cinematic feel of the track.

Lyrically, the song also touches on a few themes…the first verse is all about promise – and how it can be deceptive. What you sign up for is not always what you get. It also ties into the dynamics of a dependent relationship, especially one in which you look up to the other person or people. This happens a lot in 'the biz' in LA, it happened in Alpha Dog, but obviously it just happens in life too. The person you need provides the promise, their promises may be true, they may not. Sometimes that kind of intensity can be a beautiful thing….but it's a multi-faceted contradiction in the end, and it's always unclear.

From there, the song wrote itself. I've often found the song to be a bit of a strange contradiction, which maybe suits…but that's just my view…I can never tell!!

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