Lamb of God Frontman Arrested For Manslaughter

The arrest was made over a 2010 incident where a fan allegedly jumped on stage and got into a physical altercation with Blythe. The fan later died and Blythe is now reportedly facing manslaughter charges. more on this story

Motley Crue Drummer Chastises Fans

(hennemusic) On Thursday, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee took to the band's Facebook page to post an open letter to fans.

He writes in part [profanity replaced with *]: What I have a problem with is... taking pictures! I hate it! Irritates the * out of me when people say... 'You owe it to your fans, they put you where you are, etc. etc.!' I certainly don't owe anybody anything!

When I bought all my Led Zeppelin records and concert tickets, I didn't say, 'One day these * are gonna owe me a picture.' It's the least they can do for me!...

[What the *], people? You don't admire something so that it can give back... You just cherish it! And to those who say, 'You should be grateful that people wanna take your picture. Maybe one day they won't want it!' That day can't come soon enough!

[By the way]… I'm not here to take pictures with you, I'm here to entertain you!

Nobody put me where I am but ME! He continues....

Red Hot Chili Peppers Tribute Late Friend With Death Song

(Gibson) The latest video from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a tribute to the group's long-running pal Brendan Mullen, who died in 2009. "Brendan's Death Song" features Anthony Kiedis and Co. taking part in a New Orleans Funeral for their fallen friend.

As the Peppers and a horde of others, parade through the Crescent City, the song rises from hushed elegy to a surging anthem. Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer leads the charge on a pretty, red Gibson. The video, directed by Mark Klasfeld, was filmed in one day in New Orleans.

According to Rolling Stone, Brendan Mullen was a club owner and booker in the Los Angeles music scene. In the early '80s, after hearing a Chili Peppers demo tape given to him by Kiedis and Flea, Mullen gave the band an opening slot for Bad Brains – a huge moment for the young band. Mullen and the band quickly became great friends. Watch the video here.

Eddie Van Halen Was In Back to the Future

(TMZ) Eddie Van Halen swears ... it was really him shredding guitar in that famous scene from "Back to the Future" -- when Marty McFly pops a cassette tape into his walkman ... and blows out his father's eardrums.

Don't pretend like you forgot -- Marty puts on that radiation suit and wakes his dad up with a Van Halen cassette tape, saying, "Silence earthling." IT'S CLASSIC!!!

In the movie, the tape says "Edward Van Halen" on it -- but there's been a lot of speculation over the years about what song it was ... and whether it was even Eddie playing the music ... but yesterday in L.A., the rock legend put the rumors to rest.

Eddie insists it WAS really him on the tape -- but as for whether the guitar lick was part of a real song ... Eddie said it was him "just playing a bunch of noise."

So there you have it. Watch the scene here.

Soilwork Replace Peter Wichers

Soilwork have tapped Night Flight Orchestra's David Andersson to replace founding guitarist Peter Wichers.

"We're super stoked to have David with us", said vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid. "He's a blast to be around and a kick ass guitarist. Plus, we've known him for so many years, from all the touring together, we just know he's a perfect fit for us." Andersson has toured on and off with Soilwork since 2006, and most recently during the 2011 festival season in support of the band's acclaimed eighth album "The Panic Broadcast."

Regarding the recently announced split with Wichers, who first left the band in 2005 only to return four years later, Speed commented: "We just had to do this. It's in the best interest of both him and us. Soilwork was born to be out there, tearing up the stage. Peter's been unable to commit to the kind of touring we need to do and it's time for us to move on. David's played with us for so long, he's really grown into the band. It feels natural, like a seamless transition. We're thankful for everything Peter has contributed to Soilwork over the years and we sincerely wish him the best." more on this story

Alex Lifeson On Rush's Clockwork Angles Concept and 2112 Connection

Our friends at Classic Rock Revisited have a new feature interview with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson where we learn a lot about the band's new album, Clockwork Angels. Here is an excerpt:

What is most unexpected about Clockwork Angels is the band's return to a concept album. The album tells the story of a young man's quest to follow his dreams and all of the good, the bad, the magnificent and the horrible that he encounters along the way. "We did a number of strictly concept pieces, but a long time ago we decided that we'd run that format through. We moved away from that in the late 1970's," explained Lifeson," At the same time, all of our records are all thematic and loosely connected; sometimes it is broader and sometimes it is narrower. Nick [Raskulinecz, Producer] was really pushing for something like that; not specifically a concept but a story."

Clockwork Angels cover art is as fun and interesting as the music on the album. The cover shows a clock with the time 9:12. Hugh Syme, Rush's cover artist of choice, played a fun trick on the cover. If you make the time PM, then the military way of announcing the time is 21:12, as in the band's classic release from 1976. "Hugh Syme is a very clever and able designer," says Lifeson. "He works very closely with Neil on all of the artwork. He has done some really dramatic artwork for this record. It made me smile; I got it."

In reality, Clockwork Angles began years ago but Rush's touring schedule kept the project from being completed. Lifeson comments on working over such a long period of time, "We spread this one out over a couple of years and it ended up being a very nice way to work. It gave us a bit of breathing space, as we wrote in groups of songs. I think that always helps to get a little bit of variety. When you get into the studio and you record everything together then it brings that consistency through it. I think we really achieved an interesting dynamic. We have a lot of songs that are different from each other. I think a lot of the songs are very cinematic and part of the story.

"The first batch we did consisted of five songs that we wrote several years ago. When I think of the songs on the album I think of them in the little groups that we wrote them in." Read the rest of the feature here.

Metallica Recap Day One Of Orion Festival

(hennemusic) Metallica's inaugural Orion Music + More festival happened last weekend at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In addition to more than 30 artists on the bill, 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 have put together a video recap of DAY 1 of the event, including "The Call Of Ktulu" and "Escape" from the show. Check it out here.

Anberlin Frontman Releasing New Anchor & Braille Album

Anberlin frontman Stephen Christian will release a new album from his solo project Anchor & Braille on July 31st.

Anchor & Braille was formed by Christian as a solo project in 2008. The new album, The Quiet Life, is the follow up to 2009's Felt and was written over the past three years.

Written wherever and whenever he could, The Quiet Life reflects the experiences of life as a nomadic musician and draws influence from the music Christian was personally listening to during the process. more on this story

James Iha Previews New Solo Album

James Iha of A Perfect Circle, Smashing Pumpkins and Tinted Windows fame will be releasing a new solo album, entitled "Look To The Sky," on September 18th. We were sent these details as well as a link for you to check out a song from the effort:

Produced by Iha and guitarist Nathan Larson (formerly of beloved indie rockers Shudder to Think) at Iha's own studio Stratosphere Sound in New York City, the sessions for "Look To The Sky" were designed to create an atmosphere of freedom, experimentation and shared fondness for a variety of enduring genres: from bright, modern rock, to 60s nuggets and cool, clean 80s new wave.

"I wanted this record to be more eclectic and reflect all of my tastes which is why it took so long," Iha explains. "It was important to me for the record to be multi-dimensional and complex. Being a part of the Smashing Pumpkins, and working with so many other bands and artists since my last album [1998's solo debut 'Let It Come Down'] gave me a fresh perspective on what music could be." more on this story

Former Bauhaus Frontman Peter Murphy Plans Intimate Shows With Ours

(Nettwerk) Former Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy has announced a final run of intimate shows in support of his latest album, Ninth.

The 11 dates include a stop in Hollywood, CA at The Roxy on Thursday, August 16th as part of the Sunset Strip Music Festival, as well as an east coast date in Brooklyn, NY at The Wick on Sunday, August 26th. Ours will support all dates except for the Brooklyn show.

Peter Murphy returned in 2011 with his ninth solo album, aptly titled Ninth. Murphy has toured extensively behind Ninth—including a major headline tour, a second co-headline tour with She Wants Revenge, and spurts of smaller, intimate gigs around the country. more on this story

Tomahawk Return

Tomahawk, featuring Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard, Unsemble), Trevor Dunn (Fantomas, Melvins Lite), Mike Patton (Mondo Cane, Faith No More) and John Stanier (Battles, Helmet), have returned and will release their new album, entitled Oddfellows, in January.

"It's dark and claustrophobic here, light and spacious there," says Denison of the new album. "Live in the studio, all together in one room. Oddfellows indeed." Oddfellows was recorded at Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville (which is owned by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach) and co-produced by Tomahawk and Collin Dupuis (The Black Keys, The Nocturnals).

As Denison recently told Rolling Stone that Tomahawk is essentially re-launching after a lengthy hiatus. Oddfellows is the band's first new album in five years and marks the addition of bass player Trevor Dunn (Patton's longtime cohort dating back to their teenage years in Mr. Bungle). more on this story

Testament Stream New Song and Release Album Option Details

Testament are streaming a new song from their forthcoming album, Dark Roots Of Earth, which is set for release on July 31st in North America. The band also released package options details for the album.

"True American Hate" is the first track to be previewed from the band's 10th studio album, Dark Roots Of Earth, its first release in over four years following 2008's, The Formation Of Damnation. Listen to it here.

The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (Arch Enemy, Nevermore, Accept, Exodus). Special bonus tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga (Machine Head,Exodus, Ted Nugent, Night Ranger) at his Trident Studios. Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with Atheist, Sigh, Anacrusis and Gwar, among others, provided the cover artwork. more on this story

Staind's Aaron Lewis Sets New Album Release Date

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis has moved the released date for his debut solo full length album, "The Road", from the originally announced June 26th release date to September 11th. Webster sent over these details about the album:

Co-produced by Lewis and legendary Nashville hit-maker James Stroud (Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Chris Young), "The Road" follows Lewis' debut solo EP, "Town Line," which bowed at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart last year.

The forthcoming album contains ten brand-new songs, including first single "Endless Summer," which CMT has hailed as "the anthem of the Summer of 2012." It also contains the Rhett Akins/Dallas Davidson/Bobby Pinson-penned "Granddaddy's Gun," marking the first time in Lewis' entire career that he has cut a song he didn't have a hand in writing. more on this story

McCartney Says Elvis Cures Headaches

(Gibson) Paul McCartney told some fascinating stories to Ronnie Wood on the Stones' guitarist's Absolute Classic Rock show.

Elvis Presley cured a McCartney headache: "...the healing power of music is serious. I remember I had a mate called Ian James and I remember one day, I went back to his house and I had a headache, steaming headache, and I thought 'Oh God,' but we put on 'All Shook Up' by Elvis. By the time that record had ended I didn't have a headache!"

As for sparring partner John Lennon, Macca recalled that John would take off his glasses when girls were around despite being "blind as a bat." more on this story

Lita Ford Finds Redemption With New Album

Classic Rock Revisited recently caught up with Lita Ford to discuss her new album, Living Like A Runaway. Here is an excerpt:

CRR: Living Like a Runaway is an album of redemption. Do you agree? Lita: Yeah, I have risen from the ashes. My girlfriend called me and said I was like the Phoenix. She said she was going to buy me a tattoo of the Phoenix. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I Googled it. When I learned what that was, I related to it because I really did have to dig myself out of my situation and rise again.

I am very happy with the record. My manager, the record company and everyone that helped me with the record is happy, too. I can't wait to start playing these songs live.

CRR: How important was it to you to make this album sound like you? Lita: I had to make it sound like me because I had to bury the last album. The only way I could do that was to make a true Lita album. Gary brought the best out of me, on guitar and vocals. I didn't have anybody squashing me down saying, "No, you're doing it all wrong. You're not playing that riff right." You know what? I wrote that f**king riff, so I know how to play it.

I have really had a lot of freedom on this record and that is what makes it sound so True Blue, because it's real. There is no doubling the vocals and tripling the guitars and quadrupling this or that. I really went back to basics on this record. We stuck to bass, drums, guitar and vocals. Read the rest of the interview here, this only scratches the surface.

Engel Set Album Release Date and Post Video Online

FrostByte Media have set a September 25th North American release date for Engel's new album Blood of Saints.

Blood of Saints was produced by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Hatesphere, Dark Tranquility).

Hailing from, Gothenburg, Sweden, Engel is the brainchild of In Flames guitarist Niclas Engelin.

Check out the video for new single "Question Your Place" here.

Sammy Hagar Excited About His Growing Alcohol Empire

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar continues to build his alcohol empire with the recent addition of Sammy's Beach Bar Rum.

Distilled on Maui by Mark Nigbur of Pau Vodka, Sammy launched his Beach Bar Rum in Hawaii last fall and it has recently been made available on the US mainland.

On Thursday, Sammy checked in with some photos and an update: "I'm in Hawaii with Mark at the Sammy's Beach Bar Rum distillery! Here I am signing some of the bottles (see photo at the full story link). Behind me is white rum in the barrels that has been aging for 6 months and soon to come to stores in the mainland!

"I have other rum news too!! Sammy's Beach Bar Rum is now in the following states distributor warehouses: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. If you ask your local retailer and bars and restraints etc to order it for you they can get it in a day or two. Let's go!!! Other states should be added shortly with all having product by mid July." Read more and see the photo here.

Stone Axe Going On Hiatus, Not Breaking Up

Ripple Music sent over a statement from Stone Axe which dispels rumors that the band is breaking up but are instead going "on hiatus for a short while."

Tony Reed, after catching wind of the purported news, posted this statement on the bands website to help clarify the issue:

"Since getting back from the UK/Europe tour in April Dru & I have been taking some time to step outside of Stone Axe and work on some other projects. Dru has been working on a project with Steve Holt from 36 Crazyfists called Cokewulf (Facebook/Cokewulf) and I have been doing a lot of work mixing and mastering bands and also working on the new Mos Generator (Facebook/MosGenerator) album. None of this means there won't be any new Stone Axe. After three years of going full-on, we just need a little break. There are already a few songs recorded for the next record and many more to come. Right now we are riding on the two releases that we hope will keep the listeners satisfied until we can get a new album out. The Stone Axe II: Deluxe & Stone Axe: Captured Live! releases are jam packed full of previously unreleased material and well worth the money. Give 'em a spin and let us know what you think."

B Sides

Linkin Park Play New Song on Kimmel

(hennemusic) Linkin Park are back with this week's release of their new album, "Living Things."

The group stopped by Jimmy Kimmel's show Wednesday for the first of a two-night appearance to play the new album's lead single, "Burn It Down."

"Living Things" is expected to debut atop the Billboard 200 album chart next week, according to the music industry trade magazine. Watch the TV appearance here.

Wolfgang Van Halen Thanks Fans For Successful Tour

(hennemusic) Van Halen wrapped up the first leg of their "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour Tuesday night in New Orleans.

After the show, bassist Wolfgang Van Halen tweeted a photo and added, "Thanks everyone for such an incredible tour! It's been a wonderful experience. You guys are the best! ‪#grateful"

Van Halen's 2012 live shows began with an invite-only performance at the legendary Café Wha? in New York in January, followed by a similarly intimate gig in Los Angeles in early February. See the photo here.

The Offspring Rock Jimmy Kimmel

(hennemusic) The Offspring are back this week with the release of their new album, "Days Go By."

Ahead of the album's release, the band played a full series of shows on the European festival circuit; they'll kick off US dates at Cleveland's House Of Blues on July 17.

On Monday, the Offspring stopped by Jimmy Kimmel's show to rock the title track from the album as well as one of their classics. Watch it here.

The Day George Martin Became A Knight

(Gibson) On this day in 1996, Record producer George Martin received a Knighthood. Plus, music promoter Harvey Goldsmith became an MBE and Van Morrison an OBE. Gibson looks back:

Back in the '60s, George Martin probably felt unappreciated by his bosses. He was stuck on a meager salary throughout The Beatles' and Parlophone's commercial heyday, forcing him to go independent in 1965. Even The Beatles seemed to take his talents for granted at the end and didn't even credit his preliminary work on Let it Be.

But he'd have the last laugh. On this very day in 1996, George Martin, producer extraordinaire, was honored for all his contributions to British music with a Knighthood from the Queen of England. He was the fist of the Beatles camp to be honored so highly. Paul McCartney would have to wait another year for his.

And nobody could say that Martin's honor wasn't deserved. Producing music that is both artistic and commercial is nigh on impossible, but Martin managed it with apparent ease.

Of course, working with The Beatles helped him amass his 30 #1 U.K. singles and 16 #1 albums and 22 #1 singles and 19 #1 albums in North America. But at Parlophone in the early '60s, he also produced worldwide hits for Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Fourmost and Cilla Black. In fact, in 1963, Sir George Martin produced the #1 song on the U.K. singles charts for 37 weeks of the year. more on this story