Van Halen Expand North American Tour

The band has confirmed a total of 48 shows kicking off February 18th in Louisville, Kentucky through June 26th in New Orleans, Louisiana. more on this story

KISS' The Elder Movie Finally Being Made?

(hennemusic) A film inspired by the 1981 KISS concept album "(Music From) The Elder" may be coming to the big screen.

The album was intended to be the soundtrack to a movie — a movie which, due to the relative commercial failure of the album, was never made.

30 years after the album's original release, U.K.-based writer, musician and independent filmmaker Seb Hunter has announced plans to produce a "post-apocalyptic road movie" based on '(Music From) The Elder'", with production slated to begin this summer. more on this story

Guns N' Roses Have Big Plans

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses wrapped up their Chinese Democracy tour with two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2011.

In a new interview with Philadelphia 76ers reporter Matt Cord, bassist Tommy Stinson sheds some light on what's next for the band.

"I can't say officially, but we're leaving again in two weeks," said Stinson. "We're playing some stuff. It's all big stuff. When I call you in two weeks and tell you, you're gonna go, 'I wanna come!' It's gonna be awesome though." More from Tommy here.

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Set For Solo Tour

(Banana 101.5) Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will be taking his solo act on the road for a brief tour beginning in April.

His first true solo outing came in the form of 2008′s 'Into the Wild' soundtrack, for which Vedder performed every song. He followed the well-received soundtrack with the first Eddie Vedder album 'Ukulele Songs' this past May and embarked on a brief solo tour early last summer.

Vedder's camp announced today that he will again tour the U.S. unaccompanied by Pearl Jam this spring. At last report, the band was set to finish recording their tenth record around the same time Vedder will embark on the 13-date tour. more on this story

Metallica Add More Black Album Tour Dates

Metallica's summer vacation just keeps getting longer with the band announcing two additional dates to their upcoming summer trek where they will be playing their self-titled (Black) album in full.

On Monday the band had these details: We'll be kicking off our European trek this year by starting in Prague, Czech Republic on May 7, 2012 at Synot Tip Arena, followed the very next day by a visit to Belgrade, Serbia at Usce Park on May 8th.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 'Black Album' is on the agenda (of course!) in keeping with the theme of the summer, and these will be the first two performances of it in its entirety. more on this story

Ozzy Misses Zakk Wylde Roast

(Gibson) Zakk Wylde was roasted at Guitar World's Rock and Roll Roast at City National Grove of Anaheim on January 19.

Rolling Stone reports Wylde was targeted by Corey Taylor, Duff McKagan, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Chris Jericho and others. Taylor told Rolling Stone: "We've all known each other for a while, we all love each other. So let's just rip the crap out of each other."

Sharon Osbourne was happy to host the event and explained that she's known Zakk for many years. She said: "I've known him since he was 18. He calls me 'mom,' and I feel like his mom. So I can be disrespectful, horrible, mean to him for two hours and get away with it."

Since Ozzy was unable to make the event, because he's busy working on the new Black Sabbath album, Sharon passed on his thoughts about Zakk. "Ozzy is very proud of Zakk – very, very proud. He's proud of the man he's become – he's sober and fabulous."

See photos from the event

Pulp Coming To America

Pulp reunited last year but American fans will get their first chance to see the group this spring when they make a limited number of appearances in the U.S.

Pulp announced this week plans to play Coachella, The Warfield in San Francisco, and Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The shows will involve all the original members of the band -- Nick Banks (drums), Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Steve Mackey (bass), Russell Senior (violin, guitar) and Mark Webber (guitar) -- and they will be playing songs from all periods of their career. more on this story

Five Finger Death Punch and Soulfly Tour

Five Finger Death Punch are hitting the road in March for a North American tour focused on Canada and the Western United States.

Five Finger Death Punch have tapped Soulfly as direct support, and the tour will also feature Windowpane and Persist.

5FDP will headline Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and more, while also playing a special Las Vegas hometown show alongside other western-US markets. more on this story

Lamb Of God Announce New Resolution Tour Leg

Lamb Of God plan to head across the Atlantic this spring for the European leg of the Resolution tour.

The tour encompasses all of the major European festivals as well as a number of headline theater and club shows.

In addition to Europe, the tour will include Lamb of God's return to India and Israel, which were two highlights on the 2009/2010 Wrath tour. more on this story

Portugal. The Man and The Lonely Forest For Jagermeister Tour

Portugal. The Man have been announced as the headliners as this year's Jagermeister tour that will feature support from The Lonely Forest.

The North American trek is set to kick off on April 3rd and will hit 26 cities across the United States.

John Gourley, lead singer of Portugal.The Man said, "We were planning on taking a short break from the road, but Jägermeister presented an opportunity for us to visit a handful of cities that we have not been to in ages, so we jumped at the chance to play these shows." more on this story

Puscifer To Rock Kimmel

Puscifer will be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 16th ahead of the kick off of their North American Tour.

The second leg of the band's North American tour in support of their latest album, Conditions of My Parole, will kick off on Feb. 23 at The Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Tex.

Puscifer's touring band members are Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis, Carina Round, Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl. more on this story

Alice Cooper To Drop The Puck For Phoenix Coyotes

(hennemusic) Longtime Phoenix resident Alice Cooper will be the guest of honor at a Phoenix Coyotes home game next month.

Alice will be on hand to drop the puck for the February 18 match between the Coyotes and the Dallas Stars.

The Coyotes will be giving away Alice Cooper bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans in the door as part of military appreciation night. more on this story

Janus Announce New Album and Tour With Chevelle and Middle Class Rut

Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group have set a March 27th release date for Janus' sophomore album, Nox Aeris, and the band is hitting the road with Chevelle and Middle Class Rut on February 24th.

The record's title, which is Latin for "night air," comes from the 14th Century, a period where a third of the European population was killed off by the plague. Then, people believed going outdoors at night would cause them to succumb to the Black Death. While writing Nox Aeris, Janus found this idea to be an apt metaphor for their own journey, preconceived notions of their own being flipped around as they became a bigger, more established band since the release of Red Right Return. Nox Aeris reveals who Janus is and what they've gone through.

The album's first single "'Stains' explores what can happen when you don't follow your heart, the marks left on your spirit when you become someone you're not. "It embodies what I was trying to say on the record," says singer David Scotney, "it's a dark point of view, but represents a cathartic process of self-healing." more on this story

Ben Kweller Taps Sleeper Agent For Tour

Ben Kweller has invited Sleeper Agent to support him on a spring tour of North America.

The tour is set to kick off March 20th in Hartford, CT and will wrap up on May 1st in Denver.

Sleeper Agent have also announced that they will perform both weekends of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on April 15th and 22nd. more on this story

Limited Edition Alex Harvey Book Coming Next Month

Alex Harvey: Last of the Teenage Idols, a limited edition photobook is set to be released on February 4th. Here are the official details: In 1974 a young photographer in Cleveland, Ohio, met the Sensational Alex Harvey Band – and the encounter led to a lifelong, award-winning career. Twenty-five years later a young journalist met the surviving members of SAHB – and that encounter led to another award-winning career.

Alex Harvey, known to many as 'the last of the teenage idols,' took his band from the slums of 1960s Glasgow to the stages of the world. Their unique brand of Vaudeville-inspired concerts and theatrical musical compositions made them one of the most respected live acts of the era.

Their onstage energy was so powerful it brought fans of Slade, the Who, and many others to heel. They opened the Reading festival in 1973 and headlined it in 1974 – the first band to perform such a feat. They even survived the punk revolution, when leading lights including the Sex Pistols proclaimed their admiration for Alex. SAHB were the darlings of the celebrated TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test and, in the mid-1970s, they were the biggest-grossing live act in the UK. more on this story

The Belle Brigade, Good Old War and Family of the Year Tour

The Belle Brigade plan to hit the road this spring with Good Old War and Family of the Year.

The North American trek will also include a stop at this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

The tour will kick off on March 8th in Knoxville, TN and will wrap up on April 27th in Philadelphia, PA. more on this story

Here's Little Richard Getting Expanded Reissue

(Conqueroo) Here's Little Richard, Concord Music Group's expanded reissue of the original Specialty Records album from 1957 is set to hit stores on April 17, 2012.

Rock 'n' roll may date back to Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" in 1951 and perhaps further to blues/swing hybrids of the 1940s. But many would contend that Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio in new Orleans in September 1955, was the first great rock 'n' roll record. "Tutti Frutti" kicks off Here's Little Richard.

In addition to the original recordings of Little Richard's best known hits — "Long Tall Sally," "Ready Teddy," "Jenny Jenny," "Rip It Up," "Slippin' and Slidin'" and more — the Concord remastered reissue features two bonus tracks (Specialty demo recordings of "Baby" and "All Night Long") and two videos (screen tests of "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally"). The set contains liner notes by R&B musicologist Lee Hildebrand, as well as the notes from the original LP. more on this story

Scale The Summit Kick Off Tour This Week and Announce Vinyl Release

Scale The Summit will be hitting the road for their first-ever headlining tour this week and have also announced a special vinyl release.

The Their Strings Are Voices tour kicks off in the band's hometown of Houston on Friday, and will wrap its way through the U.S. before concluding on February 20 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Support will be provided by Elitist at most shows.

Prosthetic Records will release Scale The Summit latest album, The Collective, on vinyl next month. more on this story

NME Dub Noel Gallagher Godlike Genius

(Gibson) Former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher will be given the Godlike Genius Award at the 2012 NME Awards.

The leader of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will be celebrated at the ceremony on February 29 at London's O2 Academy Brixton, according to NME.

In response to the accolade, the guitarist/songwriter/vocalist said: "I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God." more on this story

Singled Out: Primal Fear's Born Again

Today Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear tells us about "Born Again" from their brand new album "Unbreakable," which was released today. Here is the story:

In the morning before going to the funeral of a football mate (socker) and schoolmate of mine, I remembered that I still needed to write some lyrics and to find a melody line for our song "Born Again" for the UNBREAKABLE album.

Actually right at that same day in the afternoon I sat down and wrote the very lyrics of that song. I was just brainstorming and it was obvious to me to write about my feelings I had that sad day, so I let it all flow out of me. I was in deep mourning and I transformed my sorrow into words……. I didn't actually write about my buddy specifically but turned the story into a general feeling and the great question behind it all if there is a life after death…. I think the theme of the song and the perfect atmosphere of the track, which was written by Mat and Magnus simply are like chalk and cheese to the melody and the lyrics.

I often do this when I write lyrics. I combine all my experiences and real happenings with invented stories around it to avoid the fact to be too personal etc… I think personal stories belong to appear on solo albums as there is one name on the album cover and people can relate the songs and lyrics of the solo artist to the human being behind it.

It's quiet different, so there might be no formula which works always…. It's a bit of everything in the end….just like you use different spices to prepare a good meal.

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