Velvet Revolver Member Talks Break Up

And he had this to say about VR, "Velvet Revolver, in my opinion, was a miracle, in a way. Because here we are, guys in our 40s, putting together a band that's gonna be [perceived] as a modern rock and roll band. And we achieved that. We were competing against much younger guys, we had a huge success with it. I got my first Grammy, which was amazing and it was really, for me, one of the highlights of my life, because number one, I was an original member for the first time ever; I was always the guy that came in and took somebody's place. Velvet Revolver [consisted of] guys that I already played with before, but it was considered a new band." You can stream the audio interview here.

Metallica Giving Away Concert Download

(hennemusic) Metallica are offering up a free download of a 1994 concert at the County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY.

The 2-hour, 19-track concert was captured during the band's "Summer Sh*t" tour stop on June 17, 1994.

The metal legends recently paid tribute to their late bassist, Cliff Burton, on the 26th anniversary of his passing, with a free concert download for fans. more on this story

Jake E Lee Recruits Iron Maiden and Cheap Trick Singers For New Album

(Classic Rock) Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E Lee has begun work on a musical project after nearly a decade of keeping a low profile and he's looking for a singer to front it.

His new album will feature guest vocals from musicians including Paul Di'Anno, Robin Zander and Maria Brink, while the wanted artist will deliver at least one track on the record then perform all of them on tour.

Lee says the singer "must be capable of singing a couple of Ozzy and Badlands songs, while having a strong-enough identity to carry the band into the future." more on this story

Stone Sour Name New Member

(Classic Rock) Stone Sour have announced Johnu Chow as their new bassist following the departure of Shawn Economaki.

Guitarist Josh Rand says: "Johny is a fantastic player and a long-time friend. We are all excited to have him part of what will be our most exciting and ambitious album cycle yet."

Part one of their double-sections House of Gold and Bones, with bass tracks recorded by Rachel Bolan, is released later this month. More rock news.

Static-X Drop Off Emmure and Ill Nino Tour

Static-X have been forced to pull out their tour with Emmure and Ill Nino following Saturday night's show in Flint, Mi, due to the medical reasons.

The band's camp sent over these details: Wayne Static must return to Los Angeles and prepare for some medical procedures to remedy problems that have been hampering his performance.

Wayne relays his personal apologies: "I'm so sorry to all my fans but I cant give you the 1000% you deserve from Static-X every night right now. Evil disco will continue in 2013. Just wait until you see whats next!!!" more on this story

Geoff Tate Blames Queensryche's Labels For Band's Music

(Classic Rock) Former Queensryche singer Geoff Tate has shouted down suggestions that the band endured disappointing album sales because of a lack of quality in their musical output. And he insists the allegation that he refused to play some of their older songs is simply a lie.

Instead he says record labels are to blame for telling them what kind of songs to write then failing to support the resulting releases.

In the latest round of fighting that's resulted in two Queensryche lineups coming into existence, the frontman refutes his replacement Todd La Torre's suggestion that his musical direction was not the fans' satisfaction. Find out what Tate had to say.

Beatles Hey Jude Tops Literature List

(Classic Rock) Beatles classic Hey Jude has been named the song most often referred to in literature and the Fab Four have six tracks in the top 20.

The 1968 work was the first release on their Apple Records label, and has gone on to become a staple of Paul McCartney's solo shows, with a recent internet joke revolving round him providing a Hey Jude-o-gram service.

The literature list was compiled by culture interpretation website Small Demons, with the song placed ahead of material by Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Queen and Bob Dylan. See the top 20.

Gene Simmons Hosting KISS Army Night At Rocktoberfest

(hennemusic) KISS bassist Gene Simmons is hosting KISS Army Night at the first annual Rocktoberfest at L.A. Live.

The festival is presented by Rock & Brews, the restaurant concept founded by Simmons with restaurateur Michael Zislis and concert promoter Dave Furano.

Held at Nokia Plaza – L.A. Live, Rockterfest begins with an opening charity gala October 15 and wraps up with the Craft Brew Festival on October 21. more on this story

Metallica Saves Anthrax's Career

(Classic Rock) Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has credited Metallica for saving his band's career by giving them the "kick up the ass" they needed.

The Big 4 shows in 2010 and 2011 – also starring Slayer and Megadeth – forced Anthrax to refocus on delivering acclaimed album Worship Music, which had been blighted by a series of disasters over a number of years.

"I take my hat off to Metallica. Not only are they our friends, but they really gave us a kick in the ass, which is what we needed to be a band again." Bello tells Pure Grain Audio"Metallica's the biggest band in the world. To be on stage with them, let alone the Big 4, was huge for us. It put us back in the limelight, in front of this whole new fanbase." more on this story

Don Dokken To Stop Rockin' With Dokken

(Classic Rock) Don Dokken says Broken Bones is his last Dokken album, because he wants to move on to other projects.

The vocalist feels he's achieved everything he can in the confines of his current style of music, and he now wants to move in a different direction.

First up will be an acoustic music project with Michael Schenker – which Dokken says will be a departure for both of them. more on this story

Iron Maiden Add Another 2013 Concert Date

(hennemusic) Iron Maiden have announced a Paris concert date as part of their 2013 European Tour.

On June 5, Maiden will bring the Maiden England World tour to Paris Bercy, a venue they have played many times before, including on the original Seventh Son tour back in 1988.

The Paris show is the third date of the 2013 tour revealed so far; Maiden will headline the Download Festival on June 15, and play the new Friends Arena in Stockholm on July 13. more on this story

Motley Crue's Vince Neil Broke His Foot In Two Places

(Classic Rock) Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil says his broken foot requires him to wear surgical footwear on stage.

"It broke in two spots," he comments, "but it broke to where you can't cast it so I have to wear a boot.

"The boot the doctors gave me keeps it pretty steady, so onstage I can get around. I'm mostly hopping – well, not hopping; it's a big boot so it's a little awkward. But I didn't have to cancel any shows." more on this story

Queen Live Album and DVD, Blu-Ray Set For Release

(hennemusic) "Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest" will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, 2CD+DVD Deluxe Edition and a 2CD+Blu-ray Deluxe Edition on November 6.

Originally filmed in 1986, this momentous concert movie has been re-mastered in high definition and superb 5.1 Surround Sound.

Also included on the DVD and Blu-ray is a new 25-minute documentary feature entitled "A Magic Year." This follows Queen from just after their historic show-stealing performance at Live Aid, London, on July 13, 1985, through the year leading up to the epic concert in Budapest. Using archive footage from rehearsals, interviews with the band in the studio and on the road during the Magic Tour — some of which has never been seen before — this fascinating feature has been specially created for this new release. more on this story

Mumford & Sons Set Online Record

(Gibson) Mumford & Sons album Babel has created a new record: it is officially the most streamed album in one week.

According to figures from Spotify, Babel was streamed over 8 million times in the U.S in the past seven days making it the most streamed album ever in the first week of it being on sale. At 8 million streams, Babel has three times more streams than Spotify's previous most streamed title.

According to Spotify, one in 10 Spotify users listened to a track from Babel last week. Perhaps it was to be expected: Mumford and Sons Babel is officially the fastest selling album of 2012 in the USA — it sold 600,000 copies this week making it the biggest debut album of this year. more on this story

The Who's Pete Townshend Was Told To Give Up Music

(Gibson) Pete Townshend's autobiography, Who I Am, is out 11 October. And speaking to The Sun newspaper he says his father told him he'd never make it. Why? Because he couldn't read music.

'"Around the time of my [school exam] '11-Plus' my father didn't think I would ever be a musician because I couldn't read music," says Townshend. "Although I was strumming around on my guitar, he felt I was hopeless and was encouraging me to write instead."

Townshend's father, also a musician, wanted Pete to become a journalist instead. After 100 million albums sold, Townshend thinks it is now much harder for aspiring musicians. ''Today, we see kids who can't afford to leave home. When my flatmate, Barney, and I got thrown out of our flat, we didn't know how to wash up or pay the rent, but it wasn't that we didn't have the money. We were never there when the landlord came so we just didn't bother to pay. One day the locks were changed. Now, many young people can't even get on the [property] ladder." more on this story

Why Donnie Purnell Wasn't Part of Kix Reunion

(Classic Rock) Kix frontman Steve Whiteman has explained why bassist Donnie Purnell was never asked to take part in the band's reunion and insists the fans don't miss him.

The American rockers, who enjoyed the height of their fame in the 1980s, got back together in 2003 with Mark Shenker on bass instead of Purnell. And nearly a decade on, the singer says the band had no intention of ever letting the founding member rejoin.

"When Kix disbanded in 1996 I started a band called Funny Money. I was given a vehicle where I could write my own material, which was hard to do in Kix because Donnie controlled everything in that band," Whiteman tells Sleaze Roxx. "There was a song Donnie and I had written that I wanted to release. I called him up so he wouldn't be blindsided by it – and he tore into me. He called me every name in the book. He accused me of using his name and his talent and said I was taking the song from him. It was the most unpleasant and nasty conversion I've ever had in my life." He had more to say.

B Sides

Led Zeppelin Preview Kashmir From Celebration Day Reunion DVD

(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin are sharing a preview of "Kashmir" from their forthcoming "Celebration Day" package.

The track is the second one to be offered up from the set, which documents the band's 2007 reunion at London's 02 Arena; the first was "Black Dog".

"Celebration Day," will be launched with premieres in New York (Oct 9), London (Oct 12), Berlin (Oct 15) and Tokyo (Oct 16). Watch the video here.

Black Country Communion Share More Making Of Afterglow

(hennemusic) Black Country Communion's third studio album, "Afterglow," will be released on October 30.

The supergroup is made up of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Sabbath), blues rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater).

BCC are also sharing the fourth webisode in a new series entitled "The Making Of Afterglow." Watch it here.

Green Day Release Troublemaker Video

(hennemusic) Green Day have released another new music video from their new album, "¡Uno!"

The video for the song "Troublemaker" features footage of the band in the studio and on stage.

"¡Uno!" was released just days after frontman Billie Joe Armstrong entered rehab last month following an onstage meltdown in Las Vegas. Watch the video here.

Wolfgang Van Halen Explains How He Joined Tremonti

(hennemusic) Wolfgang Van Halen joined Creed/Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti's solo band at the start of their tour last month – on 24 hours notice.

During a recent tour stop in Atlanta, Wolfgang explained how the whole thing came together, as he joined his friends in Tremonti. It turns out the young Van Halen star was in New Jersey hanging out in the studio with Sevendust when he got the call from Mark.

"Mark calls me at about 8:15 pm," begins Wolfgang. "And I'm like, 'Hey dude, what's going on? How are you?' He's like 'Not good. Brian [Marshall] had some personal things he has to take care of so we don't have a bassist. Are you in?' I was kinda like, 'Wow, OK, that's a huge commitment with the first show being tomorrow.' I told him, 'Let me do some thinking and I'll call you back.'" Read the rest of the story here.