Opeth Frontman Suffers Serious Head Injury

"Hi guys! I'm writing from beyond the grave. Seriously, I was not in a car crash and I haven't broken my arm. All that happened is I hit my head in mastodons tour bus as I was getting a new pair of (red) underwear out from my suitcase. Wish the story was more rock and roll, believe me. Anyways I split my head open down to the skullbone and had to be taken to the emergency. They gave me a bunch of shots in the wound, cleaned me up and stapled my head shut with 8 metal staples. Head is sore and if I smile it feels like the wound is gonna burst open again, but I'll be on stage by tomorrow again. I feel extremely disappointed that we couldn't play at the myth in Minneapolis, but paramedics told me I couldn't. We will reschedule the show for our next trip to the USA. So all rumors of me being in a car crash are false. I did crash my head into a car though, well…a bus really. Sorry for disappointing our fans in Minneapolis but I hope you understand. See you next time. Best. Mikael Facebook link.

McCartney, Springsteen and Vedder Guest On Jimmy Fallon Album

(Gibson) How many people can say they've released an album that included contributions from Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews? Not to mention Justin Timberlake, Big & Rich?

Perhaps the only person who could pull together this impressive and eclectic lineup is Jimmy Fallon, who has performed with each of the stars on his NBC talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The comedian/musician is compiling those collaborations into a new album, Blow Your Pants Off, according to Rolling Stone.

In additions to team-ups with McCartney (on "Scrambled Eggs") and Timberlake ("History of Rap"), the album will feature Fallon's rock parodies, such as his version of "Charles in Charge" as Bob Dylan and his David Bowie/Tim Tebow mash-up "Tebowie." The album will be released on June 12. more on this story

Axl Inspired Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Jam

(hennemusic) When Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose issued a public statement last month declining his participation in the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, it upset longtime fans, made headlines, and – according to Slash – motivated the former members of the group to get up on stage and play the event.

In a new interview with Madison.com, Slash discussed the Rock Hall experience. "It was a really nice event all around, and it was a special moment for all the guys that showed up," said the guitarist. "It was a nightmare going into it, but when it actually happened it was like, 'This is pretty cool.'"

Asked about his initial reaction to Axl's letter, Slash revealed "The funny thing is we never would have played had he never written it. I think at one point he alluded he was at least going to go, and so we hadn't really prepared to play at all. We were just going to show up as almost an obligatory thing — more for the fans than anything. But that letter set a fire that was like, 'Okay, (bleep) it. We're going to go play.' So it really almost didn't happen. And if it hadn't been for that special letter it wouldn't have." more on this story

Metallica Want Rick Rubin For New Album

(Classic Rock) Metallica aim to stick with producer Rick Rubin to work on the album they'll record in 2013.

He wasn't involved in Lulu, last year's collaboration with Lou Reed, but he worked on 2008′s Death Magnetic and its little-brother follow-up Beyond Magnetic.

"He's a different kind of producer. He's challenging. He's a very cut and dried, to-the-point kind of producer – but he's also very open to lots of ideas." Frontman James Hetfield tells Metal Hammer. "The main thing for us was getting to the core and essence of Metallica, and that's the reason we chose to work with him. He gets the best out of artists who have been around for a while, I believe. That's what we wanted him for." more on this story

ZZ Top Preview New Song In Eliminator Era Styled Commercial

(hennemusic) ZZ Top has partnered up with Jeremiah Weed to bring fans a glimpse of the band's first new single in nine years.

The Texas band is seen playing "I Got To Get Paid" in the new campaign for the Connecticut-based Jeremiah Weed Distilling Company.

The commercial has the look, sound and feel of a vintage 1980s ZZ Top video, complete with flashing lights and plenty of girls dancing around. Check it out here.

Ozzy Osbourne Diary Of A Madman Tour DVD Coming

Eagle Rock has set a July 17th release date for a new DVD release of Ozzy Osbourne's Speak of the Devil.

This show was filmed at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in California on June 12, 1982 as part of the delayed continuation of the "Diary Of A Madman" tour following the tragic death of Randy Rhoads a few months earlier.

The audio has been digitally restored and remastered and is now available in DTS and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time. Speak Of The Devil includes the classics "Mr Crowley" "Over The Mountain" "Crazy Train" "Flying High Again" "Iron Man" "Paranoid" "Goodbye To Romance" and many more. more on this story

The Afghan Whigs Reunion Show Details

The Afghan Whigs have announced the location of their first show together in 13 years and announced a late night TV appearance. We were sent these details:

On tour in support of their album 1965, The Afghan Whigs rolled into New York City on September 29th 1999 for a private show at the club Hush. No one knew it at the time, but it turned out to be the band's last show ever, until now…

The Afghan Whigs will come full circle and make their return to the stage back in New York on May 23rd at the Bowery Ballroom. Very special guest Joseph Arthur will open the show. more on this story

Free Pondered Olympic Reunion

(Classic Rock) Free considered reuniting for the London Olympic Games this summer, Paul Rodgers has confirmed.

If they'd regrouped for the opening ceremony it would have been the first time he, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Andy Fraser shared a stage since 1972. But the singer doesn't believe it will take place because of difficulties replacing guitarist Paul Kossoff, who died in 1976.

In the next edition of Classic Rock, due out on May 23, Rodgers says: "There was talk of possibly something connected with the Olympics, but I don't see it coming together now." more on this story

Soundgarden Eye New Album Release This Fall

(hennemusic) Soundgarden fans are enjoying "Live To Rise," the band's first new song in 15 years. The tune is featured on the soundtrack for the film, "The Avengers," which opened this past weekend.

Now, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell gives Rolling Stone an update on the band's full new album, their first with new material since 1996's "Down on the Upside."

The as yet-to-be-titled album will be mastered in a week's time so, in Cornell's mind, "it's done. It'll be out in probably October," he says. "I would say September but I'm just guessing October. We're pretty much done with everything." "Live to Rise," a riff-heavy rocker, while not necessarily representative of the entire album's sound, the singer says, would "work just fine on it." more on this story

Vernon Reid and Jack Bruce Supergroup

(Gibson) Living Colour guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid has formed a new group, and it includes some pretty impressive names.

Spectrum Road, which specializes in jazz-rock, also features Cream bassist Jack Bruce, Medeski Martin and Wood keyboardist John Medeski and Santana drummer (and Carlos's wife) Cindy Blackman Santana. Their self-titled debut comes out on June 5.

Reid spoke about the group's unique sound with Rolling Stone. "[It's] definitely a jazz-rock thing but it has a rock edge, because one of the architects of modern rock [Bruce] is in the band and he's singing these tunes," Reid said. "It's kind of an odd combination of jazz-rock as we know it. John Medeski is such an odd keyboardist and so quirky, and one of the beautiful things is his use of the Mellotron on the record, because the Mellotron is not associated with jazz-rock and fusion to a large degree. It's more associated with King Crimson, Yes and the Moody Blues. It gives the thing a different feel and sonic signature."

Spectrum Road will play Bonnaroo on June 9, followed by sets at the Playboy Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. more on this story

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Forced To Adjust His Headbanging

(Classic Rock) Last year at the age of 49 Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine found himself struggling with a back problem that left him in agony and has limited his ability to keep headbanging on stage.

"Something had broken in the back of my neck," he recalls. "I had a bone fragment in my spinal column the size of an eraser. The pain had me on my knees, sobbing. My hand went numb. My ring and pinky finger were not communicating with my brain. But the surgery was a complete success.

"The act of headbanging, when it started, was to play guitar, stand in a wide posture and move your head up and down. Now I move my torso a little bit more and get the desired effect. I make the necessary adjustments I need to keep myself healthy. It's been a blessing in disguise." more on this story

Blur Frontman Damon Albarn Plans New Solo Album

(Gibson) While Blur frontman Damon Albarn ponders the future of Blur, he has been talking about a new solo album project. NME reports that the singer told the BBC's Front Row that the project will be "under his own name."

Albarn said: "This week we're mucking around with these Russian synthesizers in a very loose mind of doing some kind of record under my name. I suppose you could call it a solo record, but I don't like that word. It sounds very lonely – solo. I don't really want to be solo in my life. But yeah, I'm making another record."

In the same interview he explained that while he finds the Olympics experience "too corporate," Blur are playing the Hyde Park Olympics show for London. more on this story

Halestorm Make Chart History

Halestorm have become the first female fronted band to score a number 1 hit on the Active Radio charts.

The band claimed the top spot with their new single, "Love Bites (So Do I)," which comes from their new album, "The Strange Case Of…".

Halestorm will be hitting the road this summer for a North American headline tour, festival appearances, a series of European dates, and a number of support slots alongside Avenged Sevenfold. more on this story

Between The Buried And Me Planning Evolutionary New Album

(MetalSucks) MetalSucks have published a new interview with Between The Buried And Me bassist Dan Briggs about his new jazz-fusion project Trioscapes, which hit stores this week.

Towards the end of the interview, Briggs elaborated on what the next BTBAM record, which has now been completely written, will sound like:

I think when people hear what we've been writing for the last few months, they're going to realize that we have evolved. [Laughs] It's really hard to describe this record because I'm still taking it all in. Good lord, it was a lot of fun to write. We pushed it. We pushed it pretty hard. The Trioscapes stuff really helped me because I feel like it unlocked me back into the world of really, really pushing myself and opening myself up to new ideas.

Walter, the saxophone player in Trioscapes, is 20 (seven years younger than me) but he's a wealth of musical knowledge far beyond the influences of what I have. I've showed him a lot of stuff, but it's different stuff. It's stuff that people in our world are very accustomed to. He's never heard of Meshuggah, for example. He blows my mind with some afro-beat stuff that's out of this world that I've never heard before. It gets me thinking in a new way and all of a sudden I'm hearing rhythms a little differently and melodies a little differently. I can bring that to Between the Buried and Me and raise a few eyebrows with those guys. They're like "why not? Let's try it". It's pretty cool stuff.

Read the full interview here.

Stryper Add North American Tour Dates

Stryper have added a couple of North American dates to their upcoming world tour.

The tour will kick off tomorrow, May 10th at Tailgaters in Bolingbrook, IL just outside of Chicago.

The new dates will take place in Orlando, Florida on July 26th and in Nashville on July 27th. more on this story

Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves Released

(Sub) Rush drummer Neil Peart and producer Nick Raskulinecz have teamed up with music software developer Sonic Reality to create the new "Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves" sound collection.

Over 600 grooves performed by Peart are now available in a variety of loop formats such as Rex, Apple Loops, Acidized Wave, R.A.W., Stylus RMX and more to come. Musicians can use these drum grooves to write their own music, practice, jam or play Rush covers inside their computer recording software or iPads and mobile devices.

"When we did the Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1 Series we wanted to present a digital recreation of Neil's amazing DW kit so it could be played from any midi controller such as a keyboard or an electronic drum kit" says Sonic Reality CEO Dave Kerzner "But for Vol. 2 we now also have the isolated drum tracks of Rush songs performed by Neil and cut up into 1-2 bar patterns that can be re-arranged and used in new music made by any musician or songwriter." more on this story

InAeona Kicking Off Spring Tour

InAeona will be kicking off their North American spring tour tomorrow night in Hamden, Ct.

The six week tour will wrap up with a home town show on June 16th, at Radio in Boston.

InAeona are touring in support of their latest release, a split 12" with Seattle's, He Whose Ox is Gored. more on this story

Royal Thunder, Valient Thorr and Holy Grail Tour

Royal Thunder will be hitting the road for a tour with Valient Thorr and Holy Grail this Summer.

The band is hitting the road in support, CVI, the band's debut album, which will be released on May 22 via Relapse Records.

"Finally! We get to tour with our new album,CVI, coming out before we hit the road," said Parzonz about the six-week U.S. trek. "I've seen Valient Thorr several times and every time they make me smile from ear to ear. To be doing this run with them , the Kick Ass and Holy Grail is sure to be a good time." more on this story

Rival Sons Release CD/DVD Deluxe Edition of Latest Album

Earache have released a special CD/DVD deluxe edition of Rival Sons latest album, Pressure & Time.

The Pressure & Time deluxe edition comes housed in a newly designed slipcase and features a host of extra material, essential for die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

Included are two incredible bonus tracks, "Company Man" and "Life For This Road", plus a bonus DVD more on this story

B Sides

Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry Jam

(Gibson) If you're one of the lucky few in attendance at Monday (May 7) night's Dark Shadows premiere party in Los Angeles, you got to see a one-of-a-kind performance. Three rock legends and one rock star actor teamed up to play some rock classics for a VIP audience, according to a post on Alice Cooper's website.

Alice Cooper (who has a small role in Dark Shadows) and pals served as the house band for the party, joined by Dark Shadows star Johnny Depp on his TV Yellow Les Paul Special. Before long the gang was playing Cooper's biggest hits, with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry joining in on his Gibson Les Paul.

As if that wasn't enough star power, Perry's pal Steven Tyler hit the stage to lead the whole group through "Come Together" and "Whole Lotta Love." Check out fan-shot footage of the band playing the Led Zeppelin classic here.

Elvis Costello & The Spinning Songbook Premieres

Elvis Costello & The Spinning Songbook premiered this week in High Definition PPV and starts May 24 on VOD.

The PPV concert will be available throughout May and June at various times in both SD and HD.

Elvis Costello and The Imposters' unique concert style wows audiences when he allows his set-list to be chosen by The Spectacular Spinning Songbook, a monumental game-show type wheel spun by fans. more on this story

Kasabian Guitarist, Will Ferrell, Gerard Butler, Mike Myers For Soccer Aid

(Gibson) Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno will play at the hallowed Manchester United Stadium, Old Trafford, for the Rest of the World in a celebrity charity soccor game against England.

Soccer Aid raises money for UNICEF U.K. and was put together by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2006. Soccer stars and celebrities from England and around the world will play on May 27 and the game will be will be broadcast live on ITV in the U.K.

Music-News reports that Pizzorno will be in a squad alongside celebrities
Will Ferrell, Gerard Butler, Mike Myers, James McAvoy, Patrick Kielty and Gordon Ramsay as well as ex-soccer stars Edwin van der Sar, Roy Keane, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam. more on this story

The Day The Guess Who Took American Woman To The Top

(Gibson) On this day in 1970, The Guess Who started a three-week run at no. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "American Woman."

It was the group's sixth Top 30 hit and only chart topper. The song was born by accident when guitarist Randy Bachman was playing a heavy riff on stage after he had broken a string, the other members joined in on the jam.

A fan in the audience who had recorded the gig on tape presented it to the group after the show and they developed it into a full song. more on this story