Family Killed Going To Van Halen Concert

Garcia lost control of his 2003 Ford Explorer on the wet roadway and crossed into the southbound lane; the vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by Thomas Jimenez, of Yoakum, according to the Texas Department Of Safety report. more on this story

Black Keys Vs Pizza Hut and Home Depot

(hennemusic) The Black Keys are suing Pizza Hut and Home Depot, alleging the companies used the rock duo's songs in commercials without authorization.

The group claims Pizza Hut's commercial for their Cheesy Bites Pizza "prominently features significant portions" of their song "Gold on the Ceiling," according to here

The band also sued Home Depot over a commercial for their Ryobi brand of power tools that used parts of their song "Lonely Boy". more on this story

Metallica Ride The Lightning Live

(hennemusic) Metallica pulled out a very rare and special treat for fans on Day 1 of their Orion Music + More festival on Saturday.

The band's headline set at Bader Field in Atlantic City featured the very first performance of their 1984 album, "Ride The Lightning," in its entirety.

Metallica switch things up on Sunday when they play the "Black" album it its entirety for the first time ever in the U.S.; they performed it nightly on their recent European tour. Watch the Ride the Lightning set here.

Radiohead Postpone Tour Following Fatal Stage Collapse

(Gibson) In the wake of the stage collapse that caused the death of Radiohead drum tech Scott Johnson and injured three other crew members, Radiohead have postponed several upcoming European tour dates.

In a prepared statement, the band said new dates for the postponed shows would be announced on June 27. The collapse also destroyed the band's light show and other stage components, which the group indicated would be difficult to replace.

The statement goes on to say: "Whilst we all are dealing with the grief and shock ensuing from this terrible accident there are also many practical considerations to deal with & consequently we have to try and reschedule [shows through July 9th].

"We aim to announce the new dates for these shows on Wednesday 27th of June and will also supply information on how to obtain refunds on tickets if you cannot come to the show on the new date. We will start playing live again at Les Arenes Nimes, Bilbao BBK festival and Lisbon Optimus Alive festival. We will make every effort to offer the fans the very best show possible under the circumstances – thanks for your understanding and support." See the list of shows here.

Thin Lizzy Enter Recording Studio Today

(hennemusic) A Thin Lizzy member announced over the weekend that the band is hitting the studio today to record some new music.

"Thin Lizzy enters the recording studio tomorrow with electric guitars and amps a'blazin'; and Brian Downey's full drum kit!" tweeted guitarist Damon Johnson on Sunday.

The band is fresh off playing the Graspop Festival in Dessel, Belgium on Saturday; they'll perform a full series of European dates throughout the summer. more on this story

Godsmack Cancel Dates Due To Illness

Godsmack announced on Friday that they had to pull the plug on a few concerts on their current European tour while frontman Sully Erna recovers from an illness.

The band told fans: "Erna has been advised by doctors to not sing for the next five days. Their performance at Luxembourg's Rock a Field Festival, The Bataclan in Paris France for Sunday June 24th, and Zurich Switzerland at Komplex 457 on June 26th will unfortunately all be cancelled. Information regarding ticket refunds can be found at the box office for each venue."

The 26th date still shows on their official website, but going by the above it appears the tour will resume on Thursday when they play Wien, Austria. Get the latest here.

Jack White Voodoo For Halloween

Jack White has been confirmed as the final headliner at this year's Voodoo Music And Arts Experience.

This year's Voodoo will take place this Halloween weekend in New Orleans, Friday, October 26, Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28-- and will mark its 14th consecutive year. In addition, for the first time, this year's Voodoo will offer on site camping.

White joins previously announced headliners Green Day and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The Avett Brothers; Kaskade; Justice; Silversun Pickups; JFK of MSTRKRFT; AWOLNATION; Étienne De Crécy; K'Nann; Dave Stewart; The Gaslamp Killer; Thomas Dolby; Borgore; Nervo; and Supagroup round out the developing 2012 Voodoo line-up that features artists from a variety of musical genres. more on this story

Kamelot Announce New Lead Singer

Kamelot have announced Seventh Wonder frontman Tommy Karevik as their new lead singer.

Guitarist Thomas Youngblood says: "We had around 800 candidates for the vacant position, among them a number of really renowned musicians, and having to reject them really wasn't easy. We want to thank all the applicants, thank you for your understanding and we wish you all lots of success in the future!"

In their search for a new singer, Thomas Youngblood found YouTube to be an amazing tool: "I listened to a clip of a studio production featuring Tommy and have to confess that his performance really amazed me. His approach to melodies and themes suits KAMELOT perfectly, and during our European shows we had plenty of opportunity to find out what a great guy he is." more on this story

Tom Waits Going Late Night in July

(hennemusic) Tom Waits has announced the rescheduled dates for appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Waits was originally scheduled to be on both shows in late April, and new dates have been confirmed. Tom will appear on Letterman July 9 and Fallon on July 10.

The music legend will be talking with the hosts and giving the first live performance of songs from his latest recording, "Bad As Me." more on this story

Alez Lifeson Discusses Setlist For Upcoming Rush Tour

(hennemusic) Now that Rush's 20th studio album, "Clockwork Angels," is out, the band is turning its attention to planning for their upcoming tour, which kicks off September 7th in Manchester, NH.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson explains the challenge the group has creating a setlist when they have such a huge catalogue of material to choose from.

"It's very difficult," says Lifeson. "We want to play the new material. We sort of go back and forth. 'Should we play the whole thing? Or should we play most of it, or some of it, and mix it up?' It's always very difficult, and having come off a tour where we featured an album in its entirety, it makes the idea of featuring the whole of 'Clockwork Angels' that much more appealing."

"I think for the first leg of the tour, at the very least, we'll do most of the record – not all of it, but we'll do most of it," Alex continues. more on this story

Steve Winwood Surprise Jam With Tom Petty

(Gibson) Fans of Steve Winwood received an unexpected treat on Wednesday night (June 20) when the former Traffic star joined Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers onstage at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Winwood, who shared tour dates with Petty & The Heartbreakers during their 2008 and 2009 North American appearances, joined the headliners for renditions of his songs, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "Can't Find My Way Home."

The Albert Hall appearance was Winwood's first live performance in the U.K. since he performed at a tribute for George Harrison in 2002. more on this story

Fans Prevent Elvis Crypt Auction

(Classic Rock) The crypt where Elvis Presley's body lay before it was moved to his Graceland home has been pulled from a celebrity auction following a fan backlash.

Supporters erupted in fury after Julien's Auctions announced the empty tomb in Forest Hill Cemetery, Memphis, was to go under the hammer with a starting price of $100,000.

The end price was to include a memorial inscription, use of the cemetery chapel for a service and the opening and closing of the crypt for burial.

The sale was called off before yesterday's event as a result of fan activity. more on this story

Iron Maiden Celebrating Seventh Son Era With New Tour

(Classic Rock) Iron Maiden have kicked off their new retro tour and they're preparing for the barrage of complaints from some sections of their vocal fanbase. But it's business as usual for guitarist Adrian Smith, who insists anyone who's unhappy about their 1980s-themed setlist just needs to look at things the other way.

The band's Maiden England tour focuses on and around their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son era with no up-to-date material making an appearance.

On the opening night of the US leg in Charlotte, North Carolina, Maiden's set list was Moonchild, Can I Play With Madness, The Prisoner, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, The Trooper, The Number of the Beast, Phantom of the Opera, Run to the Hills, Wasted Years, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, The Clairvoyant, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, Aces High, The Evil That Men Do and Running Free. more on this story

Children of Bodom Return To Nuclear Blast For Next Album

Children of Bodom have returned to Nuclear Blast Records and plan to release a new studio album next year under the deal.

"We had a good, productive and long run with Spinefarm Records for fifteen years and now it's simply just time for a change." said Children of Bodom front man / guitarist Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho. "I'm absolutely stoked to start the new chapter of COB's career with Nuclear Blast and look forward to working with them."

"Personally, I am so excited to get to work with Nuclear Blast again." adds COB bassist player Henkka T. Blacksmith. "We have such good memories from the beginning of our career with them. We know the people already and we know how committed they are in doing metal!" more on this story

The Offspring To Rock Jimmy Kimmel

The Offspring are set to perform on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" tonight, Monday June 25th.

The Offspring set will be part of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! summer concert series on the outdoor stage.

The band will be performing their new song "Days Go By," which is the title track and first single from their new album due out tomorrow, June 26 (Columbia Records).

Flaming Lips Aiming For New Album Release This Fall

(Gibson) Flaming Lips leader Wayne Coyne says the band has nearly finished recording their next studio album, with a release tentatively planned for this fall. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Coyne said he "honestly [thinks] it might be the best Flaming Lips record that we've ever made."

Coyne went on to say many of the songs for the album were composed during the sessions for the group's recent collaborative work, Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends. That album, which saw the band team with such artists as Bon Iver and Coldplay's Chris Martin, received a limited release in April, in conjunction with Record Store Day. A proper release is set for June 26.

"Things happen when you're making lots and lots of music and working with lots of freaky people," Coyne said. "It sends you off in directions that you would not think of. That's the magic of music."
more on this story

Sylosis To Release New Album in September

Sylosis have set a September 7th release date for their new studio album, entitled Monolith, which will be released by Nuclear Blast Records.

"Monolith" was recorded with Romesh Dodangoda in Wales at Monnow Valley Studio. Vocalist and guitar player Josh Middleton commented:

"Some people might not have expected us to come out with a new album so quickly but we already had a few songs written for this album by the summer of 2010. We've spent as much time writing this album as any of the others and I think we're all the most proud we've ever been. Monolith is the best representation of us as a band in terms of our diverse influences and stylistically it's what we've always been aiming for. A mixture of thrash, big doomy riffs and dark atmospherics and ambience. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Argonaut's Touch Electric

Today Nathan Lyons from Argonaut tells us about their brand new single "Touch Electric" which is being released today and will be on their forthcoming album. Here is the story:

The title was inspired by a friend of ours who was continually getting electric shocks – he claims to have been struck by lightning a number of times. I'm not so sure, but all that I know is that he would yelp in pain every now and again and claim to have had a shock off the TV, the stereo, even the fridge. Some people say that you get a static shock off him whenever you touched him but I can't verify that!

It was one of the first songs we ever gelled with. Like most of the songs then, it is a love song. It's the story of two people with an over-whelming, all-consuming love for each other. The adrenalin and nervous energy literally make them sick. The emotions are so strong, every touch feels charged, like an electric shock – 'the touch electric'

The music came instantaneously. Music and lyrics probably took an hour to write and record. The guitar riff is a grunged up T-Rex meets the Kills kind of thing. The chorus has the chukka chukka chukka chukka break a bit like in The Breeder's Cannonball – one of the best songs ever written! There's a touch of Mudhoney in the words too – we were listening to a lot of grunge at the time and these things seep through the subconscious.

The bass line wrote itself but was always going to be the driving force. I also love the noise break/ anti solo – great fun to play live. The synths were added by our producer, and sound amazing – they sneak up on you , sometimes they sound like an alarm or phone going off – but they really drive the chorus. There's some great backing vocals too, that Lorna could hear every time she sang. They work really well in the final version and with Abby singing live.

We are really chuffed to have Touch Electric as our first single from the album. It's something that we all agreed with as a band, and were fully backed by Criminal Records. It's loud, heavy and noisy and I think it captures the spirit of some of our influences."

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

Van Halen's Full Manchester Concert Streaming Online

(hennemusic) Van Halen are currently winding down the first leg of their "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour.

The band wraps things up on Tuesday in New Orleans before taking a summer break, with a November series of Japanese dates appearing to be next on their schedule.

"The band is getting along famously, better than we have in quite some time, and I think the shows reveal that through the miracle of YouTube," frontman David Lee Roth recently told fans. "I think we're one of the few bands who relishes you bringing whatever camera — if you can carry it in and pull the trigger on it yourself, then please do. And through the eye of YouTube, you can see that we're having ourselves a hell of a time, and I think that translates into the music."

Plenty of fans have taken Van Halen up on the offer, including some newly-posted footage of their complete March 13 show in Manchester, NH. Watch it here.

Behind The Scenes With Megadeth

(hennemusic) Megadeth rocked the second day of the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dressel, Belgium on Saturday.

The band played on a bill with Thin Lizzy, Twisted Sister, Limp Bizkit, Trivium, Adrenaline Mob and Powerwolf.

The festival appearance was part of Megadeth's "Thirteen" world tour, in support of their 2011 album of the same name. Bassist David Ellefson is sharing behind-the-scenes footage from the June 23 event. Watch it here.

Sebastian Bach Loses His Microphone

(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach has been winding his way across Europe while he tours to promote his latest release, "Kicking & Screaming."

Last Friday, Bach rolled into the Gods Of Metal festival in Milan, Italy to perform on the second day of the three-day event. During his opening number, Skid Row's "Slave To The Grind," Bach lost his microphone while spinning it in the air over his head, ala Roger Daltrey of The Who.

Sebastian had his solo band stop the set, and returned to the stage a few minutes later to restart things once the technical issue was addressed. Watch it here.

Def Leppard Rock Of Ages 2012 Lyric Video

(hennemusic) Def Leppard released newly-rerecorded versions of two of their classic hits from the 1980s: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Rock Of Ages," and have now released a new a lyric video for the 2012 version of "Rock Of Ages."

As to why the band rerecording the classics: "It was, well, let's just say a sensible business decision on our part," Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott tells MTVHive.

"How can I put this politely? We were having a major disagreement with our ex-record label about the digital rights for our back catalog. We couldn't come to a mutual understanding that seemed fair for both sides. So we finally just decided to re-record all our hits. We started with 'Sugar' and 'Rock of Ages,' and I think we did a pretty good job. It's hard work trying to recreate something you did 30 years ago." Watch the lyric video here.

Steve Vai Special Edition of Classic Rock Coming

(Classic Rock) The next issue of Classic Rock (No.174) will be available as a Steve Vai variant edition, featuring his brand new solo album The Story Of Light.

The issue will feature: * The full new album from Steve Vai: The Story Of Light * A 12-page feature on the making of the album – exclusive and unique to this limited-edition version of Classic Rock

* Exclusive interview with Steve Vai unavailable elsewhere * A collector's edition of Classic Rock with an exclusive variant cover featuring Steve Vai more on this story

Anniversary of The Beatles All You Need Is Love Broadcast

(Gibson) On this day in 1967, 40 million people saw The Beatles perform "All You Need is Love," live via satellite as part of the TV global link up, Our World. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon and Gary Leeds provided backing vocals. Gibson takes a look back:

On June 25, 1967, the BBC put on the world's first global satellite television broadcast. The program was called Our World, and consisted of five different segments from five continents, a tremendous technological undertaking in 1967.

Selected countries were to produce two items that best symbolized the their life and culture. The BBC chose to produce a four-minute report on Scottish town Cumbernauld and also asked The Beatles to come up with a special song that would reflect the times and the occasion and be understandable by all watching nations. As an incentive, The Beatles would receive £2,000 for their performance.

John Lennon, always good for a slogan, as he'd show consistently post-Beatles, came up with a perfect summer of love peace anthem, "All You Need is Love."

The ambitious satellite link-up was devised by the BBC and executed by the pioneering producer Aubrey Singer, who pulled in an incredible lineup of contributing countries and networks: Australia (ABC), Austria (ORF), Canada (CBC), Denmark (DZR), France (ORTF), Italy (RAI), Japan (NHK), Mexico (TS Mexicana), Spain (TVE), Sweden (SRT), Tunisia (RTT), United Kingdom (BBC), United States (NET) and West Germany (ARD). Our World was also shown Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland, although those countries did not provide content. It would have been more, but just a week before the planned broadcast, the Soviet Union and several Eastern Bloc countries backed out. more on this story