Van Halen Plan To Resume Touring This Fall

The band will have completed more than 40 shows on this leg, and "a lot of the canceled dates were in cities we already played," he says. "So in November we'll hit Japan, and in the new year we'll possibly do something special, but I can't talk about it." more on this story

AC/DC Singer Burned By Cannon

(Classic Rock) AC/DC singer Brian Johnson says he's spent 30 years being burned by the cannon fired during their track For Those About to Rock We Salute You.

He's also experienced a number of near-miss accidents when swinging from the Hell's Bells stage prop. And the veteran singer says the band would consider making more festival appearances in future after breaking their own rule to play the Download event at Donington, UK in 2010.

Johnson recently revealed the Australian giants were preparing to discuss work on a new album after taking time off following their two-year Black Ice world tour. He's already ruled out another global trek of that magnitude, describing it as "body-breaking" – and suggests their no-festival policy is a thing of the past as a result. more on this story

Scorpions To Play World Cup Concert and Give Up Retirement Plans

(Classic Rock) Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs has confirmed the band have given up on their plan to split – although they probably won't keep going the way they have in the past.

He says they've been invited to play at the opening ceremony of football's 2014 World Cup competition in Brazil. And he adds their next studio project is likely to include completed versions of songs they didn't finish in the 1980s and 1990s.

The German outfit announced their intention to break up after one last work tour in 2009. But as more and more dates were added they admitted they were reconsidering the decision. more on this story

Soundgarden Reverse Black Sabbath Insult

(Classic Rock) Soundgarden are no longer the band who said they wanted to be "Black Sabbath without the parts that suck."

That's a statement guitarist Kim Thayall made long before their public meltdown in 1997, when bassist Ben Shepherd threw down his instrument and marched off ahead of official confirmation they'd split. But now singer Chris Cornell tells Classic Rock: "We're trying to add all the parts that suck back in."

His comments appear in the current edition of the magazine, dated July 2012, as Cornell talks about the organic nature of their reunion – which came about as they discussed tidying up business arrangements such as merchandise deals and online presence. more on this story

Motorhead Launch Their Own Beer

(hennemusic) A year after rock legends Motorhead launched their own brand of red wine, the group has unveiled their own beer.

Bastards Lager is brewed by Swedish brewery Krönleins and can be ordered by the whole case from Systembolaget, the Swedish state liquor shop.

"You're never too old for rock 'n' roll and good chilled beer. That always works well together!" says Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee. more on this story

Riot Fest Expands To Five Cities Across North America

It looks there will be riots across North America this summer as the Riot Fest will be holding one day events in Brooklyn, NY, Toronto, ON and Dallas, TX in addition to the previously announced events in Philadelphia, PA and Chicago.

Philadelphia: Riot Fest lineup includes: Refused, The Promise Ring, August Burns Red, Off!, Gameface, Boy Sets Fire and Hirs performing at Festival Pier at Penn's Landing one day only on Thursday, July 19.

Brooklyn: Riot Fest line-up includes: Descendents, Hot Water Music, The Bronx, Screaming Females, The Menzingers and Larry And His Flask, performing at Williamsburg Park on Saturday, September 8.

other city's lineups

Hank3 Adds Summer Tour Leg

Hank3 has added a third leg to his 2012 U.S. tour with a new string of dates taking place this summer.

The next leg of the tour kicks off on August 10th in Fort Worth, TX at the Rail Club, and will blaze through several western states up until September 4th when it comes to a stop in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Theater.

Late last year, Hank3 released four new records to fans simultaneously. These titles include Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown, Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin. more on this story

The Ataris Frontman Releases Free Album

The Ataris frontman Kristopher Roe if offering fans a free download of his acoustic album, Hang Your Head In Hope.

Included in the 14-track album are quite a few old Ataris songs, along with some new songs that will appear on The Graveyard of the Atlantic, out this fall via Paper + Plastick Records.

Among the new songs are "All Souls Day" and "The Graveyard of the Atlantic," which were first released on 7-inch vinyl via Paper + Plastick. Both of those songs will appear on The Ataris' new record, due for a fall release on the label.

The old songs are taken from The Ataris' spanning discography and include many fan favorites. "San Dimas High School Football Rules," 'Your Boyfriend Sucks," "In This Diary," "The Hero Dies In This One" and more are sure to pique the curiosity of old fans. Hang Your Head In Hope offers a different way to freshen up on The Ataris' history and provides a small holdover until The Graveyard of the Atlantic comes out later this year. Grab the free album here.

Prong To Follow Clutch Tour With Corrosion of Conformity Shows

Prong have confirmed a new batch of tour dates for this July where they will be hitting the road with Corrosion of Conformity.

These dates follow the string of dates that Prong is already scheduled to play with Clutch in July.

Prong has been selected as one of the bands to play on this year's inaugural "Knotfest" hosted by Slipknot. The two date festival will take place August 17th in Pacific Junction, IA and August 18th in Somerset, WI. more on this story

Nada Surf Plan North American Tour

Nada Surf will be hitting the road next week for a North American summer tour before they head over to Europe and extensive trek.

Nada Surf's North American tour will also feature Waters and will kick off on June 19th in Lancaster, PA, and wraps up July 5th in Baltimore, MD.

The band has also released a new music video for the song "Waiting For Something," off their recently released seventh album The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy more on this story

Corey Taylor Explains Stone Sour's Double Concept Albums

(Gibson) Corey Taylor, singer with Slipknot has announced plans for his other musical project, Stone Sour. He says the band's fourth album will be a two-part double concept album called House of Gold and Bones.

According to NME.com, Taylor tweeted at Twitter.com/CoreyTaylorRock: "I promised today you'd get the explanation to HoGaB. Well, today that's exactly what you get. The new Stone Sour album is a two-part double concept album called 'House of Gold and Bones' (HoGaB), parts 1 and 2. Part 1 will drop in October 2012. Part 2 will drop next year. 24 songs, 12 on each disc."

He explained that, "each disc will include one half of the story – for lyrics, you'll have to visit our site. Once I lock in the company who will help me put it together, there will be a comic book as well. Song titles include 'Absolute Zero', 'RU486', 'A Rumor Of Skin' and 'Taciturn'. Very excited for everyone to hear it! Stay tuned!" more on this story

Fang Island Map Out Summer Tour Plans

Fang Island will be hitting the road in July with headlining shows in North American in support of their new album release (Zechs Marquise will appear at several dates).

Their new album, Major will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on July 24th, 2012.

"One of our core ideas has always been that our songs would be all of your favorite parts of the song that other bands make you wait 8 minutes to get to," explains guitarist/vocalist Jason Bartell. "We wanted to be the band that's nothing but your favorite hooks back to back." more on this story

The Bouncing Souls Kick Off Summer Tour

The Bouncing Souls kicked off their two-month long North American headline tour last night in Washington, DC.

The band is on the road supporting their brand new studio album, Comet, which hit stores yesterday.

Comet was produced by the legendary Bill Stevenson (Descendents, ALL, Black Flag) at The Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, CO. more on this story

Band of Skulls To Tour With Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers

Band of Skulls will be kicking their North American tour at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 3rd before embarking on a few headlining dates intermingled with opening spots for Jane's Addiction.

In October, they'll be opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers for six dates before ending the trip at the Austin City Limits Festival on October 13th.

Band of Skulls will be continuing to tour in support of their most recent release, Sweet Sour, which was released in February of this past year. more on this story

The Flower Kings Streaming New Music Online

The Flower Kings are giving fans an advance listen to their new album Banks Of Eden, which will be released on June 19th in the US and June 18th in Europe.

The band are currently a medley of the 25-minute opening track to the album, entitled "Numbers." you can listen here

Banks Of Eden was recorded with the band playing live in one room in a studio in January 2012, a recording much like in the old days of classic prog, before computers hit the market. more on this story

Russian Circles Summer Tour Plans

Russian Circles have mapped out headlining tour dates in both North American and Australian/New Zealand.

The band will be supported by various bands on the trek including And So I Watch You From Afar, Chelsea Wolfe, Marriages, Indian Handcrafts, Deafheaven and Crypts.

This continues Russian Circles' already lengthy treks in support of their new album, Empros. more on this story

The Dirty Heads To Rock Jimmy Kimmel and Stream New Album Online

The Dirty Heads will celebrate the release of their forthcoming album, Cabin By The Sea, with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on July 10th.

The appearance will feature the first-ever nationally televised performance of their hit "Spread Too Thin" from JKL's famed Outdoor Stage. The album is set for global release on Five Seven Music on June 19th.

Fans can get an advance listen to the album which is currently streaming in full at Spotify right here.

Madness To Follow Buckingham Palace Roof Gig With Tour

(Gibson) Madness made history when they played on top of Buckingham Palace for the Queen last week, now the band is preparing for a winter tour of the U.K.

The Charge of the Mad Brigade tour kicks off with a House Of Fun Weekender at Butlins Minehead from November 23-26, and winds up in London on December 14.

Madness will also release a new album, Liberty Of Norton Folgate, at then end of 2012. more on this story

TesseracT Vocalist Leaves The Group

The TesseracT camp sent over word yesterday that the band has parted ways with frontman Elliot Coleman.

"Sadly, our good buddy Elliot has decided to leave team TesseracT," said bassist Amos Williams in a statement. "We'd like to thank Elliot for everything he has done for us. We have loved having him be a part of this beast. He introduced us to a completely different side of our sound, as well the delights of Pho! Things we will always be grateful for.

"So, as well as continuing to write and record album 2, we are also on the hunt for that special (shpecial) person to be the new full-time TesseracT vocalist." A video statement from Elliot can be seen here.

Hour Of Penance Announce New Member

Hour Of Penance have recruited drummer James Payne (Hiss From The Moat, Broken Heart Collage) to join their lineup.

Guitarist Giulio Moschini had the following to say: "Please welcome our new drummer James Payne. I've known him for quite a long time and he's a very talented drummer. We're proud to have him on board! James will be playing with us starting at Hellfest this weekend, and all of our dates on the Extreme fests here in Europe."

Payne commented, "I started my drumming career as a death metal drummer, but over the years I ended up playing several different styles. While I still enjoy playing those styles, death metal has always remained in my heart and now it's time to bring it back! I am honored to be playing with a great band such as HOUR OF PENANCE!" more on this story

Social Distortion Star Added To The Hootenanny

The Hootenanny has added Jonny Two Bags (of Social Distortion) and his band Salvation Town to the festival's lineup.

They will join Rancid, The Rev. Horton Heat, Lucero, Bouncing Souls and others at Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado Canyon, Ca on July 7.

Jonny Two Bags joined Social Distortion in 2000. Jonny is currently performing solo shows and working on a forthcoming solo album. The Hootenanny performance will be his first with backing band Salvation Town. more on this story

The Apache Relay To Tour With Young The Giant and Mumford & Sons.

The Apache Relay will busy on the road this summer having announced North American tour treks with both Young The Giant and Mumford & Sons.

The band will be hitting the road in July beginning with a date at Milwaukee Summerfest on July 5, before heading out on the road supporting Young The Giant for a number of dates and a headline date on July 22 at New York City's Mercury Lounge.

The band will follow up these shows by following good friends Mumford & Sons on their specially curated "Gentlemen of the Road" Stopovers across the United States in August. The Apache Relay are one of the only bands that will be playing at every Stopover. more on this story

Icarus Witch To Rise in July

Cleopatra Records have set a July 3rd release date for Icarus Witch's new album, entitled Rise.

Says Jason Myers, "On RISE, all restrictions of what we could or could not do were removed. The result is a completely fresh approach, new territory being explored, more diversity, better energy, by far the biggest progression in songwriting in the band's history. This album took courage to create. We certainly didn't take the safe or expected route and know that we're rolling the dice with some bold moves." Continues Tom Wierzbicky, "This was a very unique album that we put together. There were times where you would be pulling from the other side of the spectrum, sometimes taking yourself out of your comfort zone."

The band will be hitting the road with White Wizzard and Widow in August to support the new album. more on this story

Get New Erik Norlander Release Now Ahead of August Release

(Glass Onyon) The official release date for the DVD/CD sets, Erik Norlander: The Galactive Collective "Definitive Edition" and "Live in Gettysburg," is August 6th, 2012 when the titles will be available at retailers worldwide, but you can get them NOW from Gonzo Multimedia in the UK and on June 21st from Think Tank Media in the USA.

In 2009, master keyboardist, Erik Norlander, went into the studio with a new set of virtuoso musicians to record re-imaginings of his favorite instrumental compositions as a project called "The Galactic Collective." In 2010, Erik released a preview of the project on CD-R through Chian Productions in Ohio. In 2011, Erik took the project on the road and recorded the results.

Now in 2012, we finally have the complete document of Erik's massive undertaking in two remarkable releases, one in studio, the other on stage. Each title includes a video DVD and two audio CDs released by Erik's company, Think Tank Media, in partnership with UK prog giant, Gonzo Multimedia. All discs are replicated -- not CD-R or DVD-R -- and each contains deluxe, full-color 5x7" booklets with extensive liner notes written by those directly involved with the project. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Ryan Humbert's Mayday

Today Ryan Humbert tells us about the song "Mayday" from his brand new album "Sometimes The Game Plays You," which was released this week. Here is the story:

"Mayday" is a song that started off in a very different spot from where it ended up. When I wrote it originally, it was faster and with completely different music. The band even played it out for a while. It was fun and sounded like something Sonny & Cher might do if they were still putting out new music. However, lyrically it was much darker than the melody and tune led you to believe.

While I was trying to figure out what to record for this album I came across "Mayday" again. After playing through it I realized the music wasn't allowing the lyrics to do their job properly. I ended up scrapping the music completely. I changed it from the key of B flat to the key of D and started from scratch, coming up with a new melody and chord structure. I didn't change even one word of the lyrics though.

After playing both versions for the band, they agreed with me that the new version was far superior. We ended up recording "Mayday" in Nashville, with Ken Coomer (Wilco) on drums, in it's new, darker and more introspective clothing. That version is what you hear on "Sometimes The Game Plays You."

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

Sebastian Bach, Duff McKagan and Lar Ulrich's Wild Night

(Classic Rock) Sebastian Bach has recalled one of his earliest experiences of being a rock star and it has all the trappings of 1980s Sunset Strip excess.

His big night on the town saw him downing Quaaludes with Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, while Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich tried to take advantage of their wasted state by selling photo opportunities to passing fans.

Like many of the greatest stories in West Hollywood, events unfolded in the Rainbow Bar and Grill. Bach tells the New York Times of an evening that took place around 1989, soon after Skid Row had released their single Eighteen And Life. He'd hired a white Corvette and felt like the Pied Piper: "I walked from the Hyatt Riot House over to the Rainbow and by the time I got there, there were 300 people behind me going, 'Is that him? That's him!'" more on this story

Five Finger Death Punch Release Coming Down Video

Five Finger Death Punch have released their new music video for the song, "Coming Down". We were sent these details:

The visually arresting video that addresses teen suicide was directed by Nick Peterson, with Randi Wilens serving as executive producer, in association with NXTdream Films LLC. The final screen of the music video offers a call to action in sharing, "Don't ignore the chance to get help for you or someone you know who might be in crisis. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline now at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), suicidepreventionlifeline.org." Watch the video here.

Last week, Five Finger Death Punch announced a suicide prevention initiative promoting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In cooperation with the Lifeline, the band has filmed a public service announcement, which will be placed on all broadcast, cable and web outlets interested in supporting the initiative. more on this story

Slash Jams Guns N' Roses Classic With Halestorm's Lzzy Hale

(hennemusic) Slash is currently touring Europe in support of his newly-released sophomore solo album, "Apocalyptic Love."

On Sunday, Slash and company rolled into Amsterdam for the first of two shows at the Heineken Music Hall.

The guys were joined by Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale for a run through the Guns N' Roses classic, "Out Ta Get Me." Watch the video here.

Boys Like Girls Go Behind The Scenes Of Their Crazy World

Boys Like Girls released a behind the scenes video showing footage of their time creating their upcoming record Crazy World.

The album was produced by the band's frontman Martin Johnson, whose recent credits also include Taylor Swift, Victoria Justice, Hot Chelle Rae, and more.

The band will be shooting a music video for the track "Be Your Everything" next week and the album is expected to be released this fall on Columbia Records. For now check out the behind the scenes footage here.