David Lee Roth Addresses Van Halen Super Bowl Rumor

Having heard VH blaring through stadium speakers on any given Sunday – more like every given Sunday, the idea of playing there live would be like – 'okay, now we're in the game'. more of his letter

Iron Maiden Legend Retiring From Music

(Classic Rock) Paul Di'Anno has shocked fans by announcing 2013 will be his final year as a performer. The colourful ex Iron Maiden singer has struggled against jail stints, ill health and addiction issues to keep delivering rock shows since rising to fame with the NOWBHM outfit in 1980.

Yesterday he said via Facebook: "I am gonna be 'Pulling The Plug' next year 2013, and making it my 'Farewell Tour'…it was good whilst it lasted."

The news took followers by surprise, many of whom replied with expressions of astonishment and urging him to rethink his decision. More from Paul about his decision

Ted Nugent Bandmate Arrested After Drunk Joyride on Stolen Golf Cart

(Classic Rock) Mick Brown, the drummer in Ted Nugent's band, faces several charges after police in Bangor, Maine, say he was driving drunk in a golf cart stolen from a concert venue. According to reports, there were also two females on board the cart at the time.

Officers working at Nugent's concert last night at Bangor's Waterfront Pavilion – also featuring Styx and REO Speedwagon – were told that Brown was intoxicated, had stolen the cart and was driving it recklessly on a foot path.

Police say when officers tried to stop the cart, Brown accelerated past them and shoved a security officer.

Two security officers then managed to extricate Brown from the cart, and he was arrested. more on this story

Aerosmith Releasing New Video Today

(hennemusic) Aerosmith will release the video for their new single, "Legendary Child," today, Tuesday July 10th.

Steven Tyler shared the news with fans on Monday, as well as posting a few images from the footage.

Directed by Casey Patrick Tebo, the clip will be the band's first video in 8 years. The song is from the band's forthcoming new album, "Music From Another Dimension," which will be released November 6. more on this story

Motley Crue Writing New Music But Might Not Release Another Album

(hennemusic) Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx hooked up with fans for a live online chat on Friday. The event was to help promote the Crue's summer tour with KISS, which will hit more than 40 cities once it kicks off July 20 launch in Bristow, VA.

Sixx was asked about many things, including photography, Sixx A.M., favorite songs, artists and albums, and if – and when – the Crue might release a new album.

"We're writing…and when the songs are ready, we'll record them," said Nikki, "and how we will release them, we don't know, because everything is changing and we kinda like it." more on this story

Official Statement from Lamb Of God Regarding Randy Blyth's Arrest

Over the weekend, Lamb Of God issued an official statement about the manslaughter arrest for frontman Randy Blyth. Here is what they had to say:

First of all, thanks to everyone who has reached out in support of Randy and each of us in this terrible situation. It's noted and very much appreciated.

We have been keeping our heads down and not speaking out due to the fluid nature of the situation and the constantly changing information that even we receive daily. Within an hour things can do endless 180's. It's maddening to try and make heads or tails more on this story

Tareq Salahi's Lawsuit Against Journey and Neal Schon Tossed Out

Scoop Marketing sent over word yesterday: Dennis Hupp, Circuit Court Judge for Warren County, Virginia, dismissed with prejudice, Tareq Salahi's $50 million dollar lawsuit against the rock band Journey and lead guitarist Neal Schon.

After having his initial complaint dismissed on April 13, 2012 for failure to state a claim, Mr. Salahi hired a new attorney and attempted to repackage his legally and factually deficient complaint.

However, after a two hour hearing, Mr. Salahi's litigiousness found no further favor, and his Amended Complaint was, yet again, dismissed - this time with prejudice. more on this story

New Lynyrd Skynyrd Goes Online

(hennemusic) Lynyrd Skynyrd's new album, "Last Of A Dyin' Breed," is due next month and the band has released the album's title track as the first single.

The August 21st release is the legendary band's first studio album since 2009's "God & Guns."

The new project reunites the band with producer Bob Marlette, and sees the debut of new bassist Johnny Colt (Black Crowes, Brand New Immortals, Train, Rock Star Supernova).

When asked about receiving a phone call from Rickey Medlocke to join the band, Johnny said, "What else do you say to Medlocke, Rossington and Van Zant? We're talking southern rock royalty. We're talking Lynyrd Skynyrd. The only thing out of my mouth was when and where!" Listen to the new song here.

Green Day Plan To Release Two Documentaries

Green Day fans will be getting their fill of material from the band, in addition to the release of the previously announce album trilogy, the group also also two new documentaries in the works.

As previously announced, the album trilogy will be released in the span of a few months, ¡Uno!, on September 25th, ¡Dos! on November 13th and ¡Tré! pm January 15th 2013.

In addition to the trilogy, the band have recruited filmmakers Tim Lynch and Tim Wheeler for two documentaries. One will cover the new albums and one will be taking a look way back in the band's history, according to Billboard. Read their report for more details.

Prong Hitting The Road With Static-X

Prong will be hitting the road for most of the dates on the summer leg of Static-X's Noise Revolution 2012 Tour, which will feature support from Davey Suicide and 9 Electric

Static-X frontman Wayne Static comments, "I'm very excited to have Prong join the tour. Over the years Prong has had a huge influence on many musicians, including myself, and I am honored to share the stage with them."

Tommy Victor of Prong adds his sentiment by stating: "Static-X has been carrying the torch for no-nonsense, hard hitting music for many years and it's an honor to tour with them. They've put out great records again and again and I've witnessed their live show so many times and never been disappointed. It's going to be fun to see them every night tearing it up with those killer riffs, great beats and raucous hooks! Prong officially thanks Wayne and company for this opportunity!" more on this story

Anthrax Tribute Ronnie James Dio With Black Sabbath Cover

(hennemusic) A Ronnie James Dio tribute album is in the works for 2013. Anthrax are sharing some video of their work in the studio on the Sabbath classic "Neon Knights."

Organized by Ronnie's wife/manager Wendy Dio, the project will tentatively include contributions from Metallica, Judas Priest's Rob Halford, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, Alice Cooper, Glenn Hughes, Sebastian Bach, Chris Jericho and Dave Grohl.

Fans can check out Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante laying down drum tracks for Sabbath classic here.

Radiohead, Blur, Amy Winehouse on New British Music Compilation

Just in time for the summer Olympics in London, the NOW That's What I Call Music! series is releasing a new compilation celebrating British music.

The NOW That's What I Call British compilation will be released on CD and digitally on July 17th.

The album features a who's who of modern British music stars from Radiohead, Coldplay and Blur to Amy Winehouse, Florence + The Machine to Jessie J. more on this story

Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith Pondering Solo Album Release

(Gibson) Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith says he's considering releasing the instrumental album he shelved half a decade ago.

In an interview with Bravewords.com's Mitch Lafon, the guitarist says the still-in-the-can album - a collaboration with a keyboard player - was a lot of fun to record, and may possibly see the light of day some day. But for now the guitarists' focus is divided between Iron Maiden and his new band, Primal Rock Rebellion, which snowballed from two song demos with SikTh singer Mikee Goodman into an entire album.

"It has a life of its own," Smith said of his side band. "I ended up writing with [Goodman], but I didn't know that it was going to turn into an album. If anything, it was more his solo album to start with me producing and writing, but then it became more of a joint project. It just sort of grew really."

The result is Awoken Broken, released earlier this year. But Smith isn't sure yet if there will be a follow-up album, and there are no plans to take the band on tour. more on this story

Rival Sons Plan Fall Album Release

Rival Sons are planning a fall release for their new studio album, Head Down. The album will be released to the world outside of the U.S. on September 17 with the domestic release to follow in November (exact release TBA).

MSO sent over these details: In order to record the follow-up to their 2011 effort, Pressure & Time, the Los Angeles quartet--Jay Buchanan, vocals, Scott Holiday, guitar; Robin Everhart, bass; and Michael Miley, drums--retreated to Nashville, TN after a four–week stint on the road and holed up in a studio with Grammy Award-nominated producer Dave Cobb (Jamie Johnson, Shooter Jennings) and Grammy Award-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon).

The band wrote, recorded, and mixed the album in just 20 days, and the band conjured the same energy that made their last album a fan and critical favorite, while time treading new territory altogether. The rawness and immediacy-- textured with a myriad of light and shade--produce powerful results. Explains Buchanan: "In the code of the Samurai, any decision must be made between 3 and 5 breaths … Writing by that code forces us to act, go with our instincts and really, truly listen to each other. Creatively, you're bringing your most immediate instincts." The first single "Keep On Swinging" from HEAD DOWN will be available very soon. more on this story

Peter Green Splinter Group's Blues Don't Change Finally Being Released

(Kayos) Eagle Rock have set a July 24th release date for the first-time commercial release of Peter Green Splinter Group's Blues Don't Change.

Spearheaded by British singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Peter Green, this album was recorded in 2001 and heretofore only sold at gigs and via the band's website.

Considered by many to be "the best white blues guitarist ever," according to Fleetwood Mac's John McVie, Green's indelible imprint on Blues Don't Change proves how true the title of this album is. The spirit and soul of these anthems initially inspired Peter Green and the Splinter Group members to play the blues, and encouraged them to record this 11-track album for a new generation of blues fans. Blues Don't Change captures all the majesty and grandeur of songs made famous by BB King, Willie Dixon (1915-1992), Albert King (1923-1992), Jimmy Reed (1925-1976) John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) and Freddie King (1934-1976), among others. more on this story

Dr. Johnny Marr

(Gibson) Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has been given an honorary degree by the University of Salford in Manchester, England.

The presentation takes place at the University on July 19.The Daily Express reports that Marr said of the honor:

"I'm very pleased to be given an honorary degree by Salford University. I've enjoyed working with the students in my capacity as visiting professor and hopefully we can find some more opportunities for creative work in the future." more on this story

Guns N' Roses Success Helped Kill L.A. Glam Scene

(Gibson) Imagine coming home from a work trip to suddenly find that everybody you saw was a clone of you. That's exactly what confronted Duff McKagan after his first Guns N' Roses tour.

In an interview with the New York Times, McKagan said that when the band left on tour, the glitzy glam look that GNR railed against was still in vogue. "We left on tour in June of '87 and were gone for a year and a half," he said. "There were no computers, no social media, hardly even fax machines, so we had no idea that people in L.A. made this shift in culture to look and sound like us. Imagine landing back on Planet Earth: People were all glammed out when you left, and now you could tell the photo of us they were trying to look like. There was the Izzy [Stradlin] guy, the Slash guy, the Axl [Rose] guy, the me guy, the Steven [Adler] guy, and they were walking all over Hollywood. It was weird."

In the same piece, Poison's Bret Michaels describes the appeal of the era. "They solely want to wrap it up as a fashion statement and throw it out," he says. "But when you listen to the musicians who played then — Slash, Zakk Wylde, the songs that we wrote — we really spent time learning our craft. Something stood the test of time? more on this story

Frightened Rabbit Map Out Fall Tour

Frightened Rabbit have set the routing of their upcoming Fall tour of North America.

The tour is set to kick off on October 5th at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia and will wrap up on October 20th in San Diego, Ca.

Frightened Rabbit will be hitting the road in support of their major label debut EP. The as-yet-untitled EP will be released on September 25th. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Another Lost Year

Today Another Lost Year lead singer Clinton Cunana tells us about their new single "War On The Inside" which hit radio today. The track comes from their brand new album which will hit stores next month. Here is the story:

When I sit down to write, I never have a pre-determined idea of what is going to come out, I have certain times when something triggers me to want to write, and when they pop up, I know it's time to stop what I'm doing and write.

I wanted something that everyone could relate to, it wasn't necessarily drugs or alcohol, but everyday we fight struggles, be it relationships, work, family, drugs, alcohol, and so on. I was being pulled in so many directions, and battling demons from my past, so the War On The Inside was created.

At the time we were only 4 months old, getting ready to head out on our first week of touring that would take us from Baltimore to Jackson, TN., I remember it vividly, our first bass player had to quit because he couldn't keep up with the schedule that we had predicted, he was getting married and needed to step down. It had been years since I played bass, but with me being one of our 3 guitar players, in theory it was an easy transition, did I mention this was 2 days before we left for Baltimore. That night I sat down, with my guitar, I had been listening to a ton of Bury Tomorrow and Close Your Eyes at the time, so I was in a little bit of a heavier mood, tuned up and started saying what was on my mind.

There's always a door to choose, with anything, and ultimately you have the deciding factor on which one you open, and in those moments I feel as though I'm standing on a ledge weighing out the scenarios, usually only split seconds decide the door, but it can seem like an eternity. And in about 15 minutes the first draft of War was complete. We had less than a day, and I really felt like I wanted to debut this song, to see the reaction it would get, called the rest of the guys, and we took off with it. War has changed a few times, a few of the lines had been re written, mostly because I never write final lyrics until after we've played it a few times, I'm not a hurry up and write kind of composer.

I've got a very dark past with certain addictions, and I never set out to write a song about it, so when the director of the video (Nick Barton @ Prestigious Films, Wichita, KS.) asked my thoughts, I didn't want to convey my exact thoughts, his concept is what the video is, and coincidentally enough, one of the main factors in the song, a struggling past, came to life. We get a lot of people emailing everyday about how the song tells their story, and for that I am truly grateful that people take our songs and make them their own. Something for them to hold onto, and give them hope. In the end, I'm glad I could help give some hope to people, but at the same time, this song is therapy for me. And I believe the rest of the album follows suit.

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

Tom Waits Makes Rare TV Appearance

(hennemusic) Tom Waits made a rare television appearance Monday night on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Waits joined the host for a chat before delivering the first live performance of material from his latest recording, "Bad As Me."

Joining Waits on stage to perform "Chicago" were his son Casey on drums, long time bassist Larry Taylor, guitarist David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), keyboardist Augie Myers and guitarist Big Bill Morganfield. Watch it here and find out where else you can see him.

Metallica Release Creeping Death Video From Orion Fest

(hennemusic) By all accounts, Metallica's inaugural Orion Music + More festival last month in Atlantic City was a huge success.

Metallica headlined both nights: on Saturday, they played their classic "Ride The Lightning" album in its entirety and, for the first time ever in the U.S., performed the "Black" album on Sunday.

The metal icons are now sharing footage of their opening night performance of "Creeping Death." Watch it here.

Black Sabbath Dream Comes True For Godsmack Star

Wikimetal have posted the latest episode of their podcast which features an interview with Godsmack's drummer Shannon Larkin.

Shannon shares several stories with Wikimetal including the time he was able to perform with Black Sabbath's Ozzy, Tony and Geezer on stage.

It was during the previous Black Sabbath's Reunion Tour, and Mike Bordin (who was playing drums on that tour) couldn't make it to one of the concerts due to a conflict with Faith No More's schedule, so Shannon was invited to fill in for the concert. Hear the full story plus many more here.

KISS Go Global With New Song

(hennemusic) Last week, KISS released their new single, "Hell or Hallelujah." The song is the lead track from the band's 20th studio album, "Monster," due in October.

Produced by Paul Stanley, the album is the group's first studio effort since 2009's "Sonic Boom."

KISS originally offered up an English-language lyric video for the single, and now they've put together regional versions for 11 different languages. Check em out here.