Injury Forces Neil Young Tour Cancelation

"It's a mild fracture," a source close to the Young camp tells Rolling Stone of Sampedro's status. "He's expected to make a complete recovery in time for the North American tour." more on this story

Queen's Brian May Undergoes Surgery

(hennemusic) Queen's Brian May has undergone successful knee replacement surgery. The guitarist has been keeping fans updated on his status with a series of postings via Bri's Soapbox.

"My knee is deteriorating in spite of intensive physical therapy. I'm heading for the knee replacement op," he wrote on July 27. "I have great trust in my knee Prof. I am in good hands."

"From a hospital bed, but I'm still on it rather than in it!," wrote May on Tuesday. "About 1pm I go down for the chop. I may be quiet after that."

Late Tuesday, the procedure was complete. "I'm THROUGH !!! With a shiny new knee," posted the guitarist. "This no walk in the park (!) but for 1st time in months I feel optimistic and free of that OLD pain. Thanks so much for the great messages - it means a lot."

By Wednesday, May was already feeling an improvement in his system. "Hopefully I will leave hospital on Saturday with just a stick," he wrote. more.

Panic At The Disco's Spencer Smith Leaves Band To Deal With Addiction

(Radio.com) Despite Panic At The Disco's success with their new single, "Miss Jackson," drummer Spencer Smith announced Wednesday (August 7) that he would not be joining the band on tour in order to work on his sobriety, leaving singer Brendon Urie as the band's only remaining founding member.

Late last month Smith revealed his four-and-a-half year struggle with drug and alcohol addiction through a detailed letter posted on the band's website.

Smith revealed the first time he took a drink and smoked marijuana. "I smoked weed and had my first drink in the same night when I was 19. I loved it, and from that point on I made sure to make up for all those years I had spent abstaining."

Smith went on to explain how prescription medications Xanax and Vicodin came to become part of his daily life, and how deeply he fell into addiction before he was able to finally enter treatment through the support of his band, family and friends.

Before starting the tour, Smith told MTV that though he was excited to hit the road he was concerned about the effect it could have on his sobriety. "Coming into it I feel really positive about where I'm at, but I can't know every situation I'm going to be in on tour. I'm going to be in hotel rooms where there's alcohol readily available," he said. "But I'm lucky to be in a band that isn't Guns N' Roses or something; it's a great thing to not have to feel like I'm having to alter everybody else's life so that I can fit in. That's something I didn't want to do."

But after just a few shows, Smith pulled out of the current tour. "Spencer and I have been through a lot of hurdles together, but witnessing one of my closest friends immersed in such a battle has been the most difficult," Urie wrote on the band's website Wednesday. more on this story

Iommi Would Like To Record Another Black Sabbath Album

(Classic Rock) Tony Iommi would love to record a follow-up to Black Sabbath's latest album 13, but he knows the future of the band is dependent on his health.

The cancer victim continues to receive medical attention for his illness, and that's put a limit on how much he can achieve. Asked whether there's more music to come from Sabbath, Iommi tells CT.com: "It's a question that's been asked a few times. I don't really have an answer. Because of my treatments and stuff I can't commit to doing another two years or anything like that. I have to play it as it comes now."

But he adds: "I'm really enjoying it. If the rest of the year goes well, then we'll look at it and see if it's possible to do another album. It would be very nice to.

"You can't beat that feeling of walking onstage, especially with your old mates, you know. I think it's better than it was 40 years ago." He also discusses a possible live treat for fans.

Robert Plant Offering Free Download As He Launches Twitter Account

(hennemusic) Robert Plant relaunched his website Wednesday with a new look and content, and the singer also joined a variety of social media platforms, as well.

Plant's site now features an extensive multimedia collection that includes rare artifacts and never-before-seen archival content, including photos, video and audio.

Plant also joined social media platforms Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus. The music legend offered the first 25,000 fans to follow him on Twitter (@robertplant) an exclusive free download of Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters performing the Led Zeppelin classic, "What Is and What Should Never Be", live in concert from their 2012/2013 world tour. more on this story

Outside Lands To Stream RHCP, NIN, Phoenix and More

(Radio.com) Being at San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park is no longer a prerequisite for watching the performances at Outside Lands, you will be able to watch it online.

The three day fest, which kicks off today (Friday, Aug. 9), will stream a number of high-profile sets this weekend via Ustream. The Outside Lands webcast includes headlining performances from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, and Vampire Weekend.

As the musical acts are largely first class, festival organizers can only improve upon smaller, more intimate activities found inside the grounds.

"You know this year for instance, we're growing out the Beer Lands area that we introduced last year," told Outside Lands co-founder Rick Farman to Crave Online.

"We are adding this Cheese Land area that we're excited about. So you know, it's really about how much more creative, how many more interesting things can we do with the festival?" See the streaming schedule here.

Cage The Elephant Streaming New Song

(Radio.com) Cage The Elephant has released the first single from their upcoming album Melophobia. Teased via YouTube one week ago (August 1), "Come A Little Closer," will hit iTunes August 13.

"Musically, what we're trying to do is to be super thoughtful but blend that with the playfulness," said frontman Matthew Schultz of the album's feel to Consequence of Sound.

"It became a game to juxtapose and blend those polar opposites. We wanted to see how we can take those odd spectrums and marry them cohesively."

Following Cage The Elephant's September tour with Muse, the Kentucky rock band will release their third album, Melophobia, October 8 on RCA Records. Check out the song and grab the tour dates here.

Sammy Hagar Announces Free MLB Postgame Concert

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar will play a Washington Nationals postgame concert following the MLB team's August 29th home game against the Miami Marlins.

The Nationals/Marlins game begins at 7:05pm and Sammy will take the stage for the free concert approximately 15 minutes after the final out.

The Red Rocker is making the rounds to promote the September 24th release of his new album, "Sammy Hagar & Friends". Check out Sammy's video announcement about the postgame concert here.

Chris Cornell Announces Acoustic Tour

(hennemusic) Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has announced a fall North American tour comprised of intimate, acoustic shows that will kick off October 15 in San Diego, California.

Cornell will play solo concerts under his "Songbook" format, performing tracks from throughout his career, while offering fans their first chance to hear acoustic arrangements of songs from 2012's "King Animal", Soundgarden's first new studio album in over 16 years.

American/Sri Lankan folk artist, Bhi Bhiman, will open for Chris. You can grab the dates for Cornell's Songbook tour as well as ticket information here.

Rise Against Preview Their Springsteen Cover

(Gibson) Rise Against have a release of B-sides and covers on the way called Long Forgotten Songs: B-Sides & Covers 2000-2013, and while the collection won't be released until Sept. 10, fans can hear a snippet right now.

Rise Against are previewing their cover version of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad" here. The group performed the tune in September of 2012 with a few friends: Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon and MC5's Wayne Kramer.

"This whole experience was surreal and serendipitous," Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath told the magazine about getting the guests together on one stage. more on this story

Mark Knopfler's Privateering Set For Release In The U.S.

(Gibson) Universal Music Group has announced a worldwide deal with guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler. Knopfler's album Privateering, will be released in the Unites States on UMG's Verve Records on September 10.

Max Hole, Chairman and CEO UMG International commented: "Mark has long been one of the most innovative and successful artists in music and we're thrilled he's decided to sign to Verve so that we are now working with him everywhere across the world."

The album is Knopfler's first double album of new music in his long recording career. Knopfler said, "I chose to make a double album this time just because of the sheer volume of material. I didn't want to separate songs into genres and I didn't want to leave too many songs on the shelf.

"I just wanted it to be a reflection of the fantastic sessions we had. With a great bunch of players, it's the same as a great group of actors reading a script from the page, the thing can come alive in ways it just never has before. This is the band I have been working towards my whole life." more on this story

Five Year Wait For Thought Chamber Album Almost Over

(Prog) Thought Chamber will finally release their second album, "Psykerion" this fall, which comes five years after the launch of their debut record "Angular Perceptions."

Vocalist Ted Leonard, now also a member of Spock's Beard, has collaborated once again with mastermind Michael Harris on the 16-track work, which also features bassist Jeff Plant, keyboardist Bill Jenkins and drummer Mike Haid.

"We're all very excited about finally releasing Psykerion. A lot of changes have occurred since our first record," Harris explains. "Mike, Jeff and Bill all did a stellar job, and they're all great guys on top of that, so our chemistry is perfect. more on this story

Guns N' Roses Guitarist Gets Engaged

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba is engaged to marry his actress/model girlfriend, Nathalia Henao. Ashba joined the band in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck.

Ashba revealed the news on his Facebook page, writing "She said yes!!" along with an image of the couple holding hands to show off the ring, later adding, "We can't thank you all enough for the beautiful love and support that you show us! Much love!!"

Guns N' Roses also shared the news on Facebook: "Congratulations and best wishes to DJ and Nathalia." See the photo here.

Black Sabbath Concert Canceled

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath have cancelled an October 16th concert that was planned for Lima, Peru as part of a Latin American tour in support of their new album, "13".

Peru This Week reports show promoter JF Show Espectaculos announced the news. In a press statement released by the promotion company, it clarified that the band's Latin American tour will proceed as announced and that only the Peru show was taken off the schedule.

Neither the promotion company nor the band has explained the reason for the cancellation of the concert, which was to also feature Megadeth. more on this story

Samantha Fish Announces New Album

(The Blues Rising-star guitarist Samantha Fish has confirmed her second album, Black Wind Howlin', will be released on September 20 (September 10 in the USA).

It follows her debut outing Runaway, which won her the Best New Artist gong in last year's Blues Music Awards.

Fish says: "We've got a lot of cool stuff planned to promote the record as well as some big tours in the works." more on this story

Progressive Music Award Named After Storm Thorgerson

(Classic Rock) Classic Rock's sister title Prog Magazine have renamed one of this year's Progressive Music Awards categories after late album designer Storm Thorgerson.

In his honour the Grand Design Award is now known as the Storm Thorgerson Grand Design Award. It will be given to the creator of the year's best-packaged product, from nominees 10cc, Hawkwind, the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Peter Blegvard & Andy Partridge, King Crimson, Family, Peter Gabriel, Arve Henriksen and Rush.

Thorgerson, known for his work with Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon, Pulse), Led Zeppelin (Houses of the Holy), Genesis, Muse (Absolution), Black Sabbath (Technical Ecstasy) and many others, died in April.

Prog Magazine editor Jerry Ewing says: "Storm's contribution to prog rock and beyond is incredible. We felt it was only right to pay tribute to the man who has given so much to music through his art. more on this story

AFI Take Dark Direction

(Radio.com) AFI doesn't stand for "A Forever-changing Identity," but perhaps it should. Though the compound modifier might be cheating a bit, the sentiment describes the group's transformation from hardcore punks to arena rock gods – and much in between.

Their eight-album discography spans nearly two decades, each effort putting a new stylistic layer over the poetic lyrical flair and complex guitar riffs that mark the band's unmistakable sound.

AFI will release their ninth full-length, Burials, on October 22, and are already teasing fans (who know the group by its true moniker, A Fire Inside) with two new singles: the dark and moody "I Hope You Suffer" and a pop rock ballad, "17 Crimes."

The four years since 2009′s Crash Love has given the band plenty of time to hone their affinity for switching up sub-genres, but with two markedly different lead singles it's hard to say exactly how Burials will define the evolution of the group.

"This record is of silence, of burials, and the burials that result from that silence," frontman Davey Havok said in a recent statement. "It's of betrayal, cruelty, weakness, anxiety, panic – deep and slow – despair, injury and loss. And in this it is shamefully honest and resolutely unforgiving."

A seemingly anguished Havok confirmed that the record has been in the works for two years, though he, guitarist Jade Puget, drummer Adam Carson and bassist Hunter Burgan remained mum for most of that time. With nary an update or interview, rumors of a breakup were put to rest when they broke their silence earlier this year with a series of cryptic teaser videos, a fresh start with Universal Republic, and, finally, new music.

On Burials, the band teamed up with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters and Pixies) and engineer Andrew Scheps (of Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) to help define the dark sound Havok describes. But with such a broad and bleak themes as Havok describes, the group could move in one of many directions. Read more and what possible directions AFI could take.

Singled Out: Los Lonely Boys' Blame It On Love

Today Henry Garza from Los Lonely Boys tells us about their brand new single "Blame It On Love" which was just released and is just a taste of the new music that the group is working on. Here is the story:

We just want to first start off by saying thank you to antiMusic for the feature! It is really exciting to finally be back in the studio and making new music!

Our new single, "Blame It On Love," which was released on iTunes last Tuesday, is the first taste of this batch of new music we have recorded during our touring breaks. We picked this track to be the first to be released because we felt that this song really took us back to our Texican roots, and it was a song that almost anyone could connect with. The real inspiration behind this song was love, and we were looking for a way to say that love is the reason for everything. In all honesty, who hasn't had a situation where they could blame the outcome on love!? If we really pay attention, everything we do is motivated by love.

As for the actual recording of the track, the track was recorded in Austin, TX at Bismeaux Studios. We worked on this track with Don Gehman, and that was awesome. He has worked with so many greats (John Mellencamp, R.E.M.), and it was a humbling experience to be in the studio with him. Don just has a way of knowing how to make a track pop, and he did that with "Blame It On Love."

Overall, it was a great experience laying this track down, and we are very excited to share this new collection of songs. We are extremely blessed to continue to have the opportunity to spread the gospel of Texican rock and roll, and we hope that you like what you hear!

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

The Rides Release 'Search And Destroy' Video

(Classic Rock) Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg have formed The Rides and debuted a new music video for their track "Search And Destroy."

Their first album "Can't Get Enough" is set for release via Provogue Records on August 26 – and a second record is already in the works. CSN icon Stills says the supergroup's work is "in the spirit of that simple, raw authentic 40s and 50s blues music the three of us love."

He continues: "We got in there and boom – a few takes and we were done. The songs have muscle; they don't sound dated or contrived. They're very natural and organic. I can't wait to tour with these guys and start recording again." Check out the video here.

Halestorm Release 'Here's To Us' Video

(Classic Rock) Halestorm have released a new music video for their track "Here's To Us," which comes from the band's 2012 album "The Strange Case Of…"

Vocalist Lzzy Hale tells Rolling Stone: "We wrote this song literally as our personal anthem. We've been through a lot together as a band, and we've learned to celebrate the low times as well as the highs.

"It's about toughin' out and respecting the journey for us, and that's how we have kept it together as a foursome for ten years." You can watch the video here.

Megadeth Acoustic Session Video Preview Goes Online

(hennemusic) Megadeth performed a three-song acoustic set at the VEVO studios in New York City on Wednesday, and a video preview of the session has surfaced.

The band played their classic "Symphony Of Destruction", "Kingmaker" from its latest album, "Super Collider", plus "She-Wolf" from 1997's "Cryptic Writings", before a group of invited fans and contest winners.

VEVO will reportedly be posting video of the full session soon. The VEVO mini-set took place hours before Megadeth headlined the second of two back-to-back nights of their Gigantour festival at the city's Hammerstein Ballroom. Check out the videos

Skid Row Release 'This Is Killing Me' Lyric Video

(Classic Rock) Skid Row have released a lyric video for their track This Is Killing Me. It's taken from recent EP "United World Rebellion: Chapter One," which was launched in May. It's the first of a planned series of extender-players, with the second under production at the moment.

Bassist Rachel Bolan recently said: "The idea really appealed to me, especially with the constantly changing musical climate. I like the idea of a steady flow of new music, as opposed to releasing a full-length album, then riding it for the next two years."

Drummer Rob Hammersmith comments: "Our sound and energy is what resonates with people and knocks them on their ass. We had a lot of great ideas to work with, so we're all really excited about this new music." Check out the video here.

Mars Attacks Iron Maiden's Powerslave

(Mars Attacks Radio) The latest installment of Mars Attacks Classic Albums Column focuses on Iron Maiden's Powerslave. As has become customary for the albums column, the post is split into written comments and audio comments that have been submitted regarding the album.

Some of the written comments come from members of Megadeth, In This Moment, Death Angel, White Wizzard, Gorgoroth, Gypsyhawk, among others. Here are some comments you'll find posted regarding the album:

David Ellefson - Number of the Beast was the last Maiden album I bought as for me it was the essence of the 'best of the best' of Maiden. However, some albums get better to me over time and one of those is Powerslave. It had a great album cover and the title track is just a classic. Plus, Aces High and Two Minutes To Midnight are like metal standards in every rock bar around the planet. 'Up The Irons' for Maiden on this one!!

Chris Howorth - F**king love this album, the artwork is epic (used to get stoned and try finding all the eddies or little creatures hiding throughout the artwork) I also took this album into my 8th grade history class taking advantage of the subject matter as an excuse to play rhyme of the ancient mariner during class, haha my favorite songs are Aces High, Powerslave and of course 2 Minutes To Midnight, this is easily my all-time favorite album from Iron Maiden!

Steve Smyth - One of my alltimes favorite albums, next to Somewhere in Time. I learned this whole album by ear as soon as I heard the first notes of Aces High! Every songs is a favorite here, and the band is on fire throughout, great performances from everyone on this. Only wish I could have seen the tour!

Patrick Kennison - My first concert ever. WASP opened. My 11 year old mind was blown. I wore the 3/4 WASP jersey from the show til it literally became a rag. Many concerts after that one couldn't touch it. I still have the ticket stub today. Powerslave is my 2nd fav Maiden album after NOTB. The concept & lyrics were like metal history to me.

The podcast portion of the column contains comments from Jon Schaffer, Gene Hoglan, Richard Christy, Brian Tichy, Glen Drover, Alan Tecchio, author Martin Popoff, Mark Strigl, and several others. Check out the episode here.

Gibson Honor Guitar Pioneer Scotty Moore

(Gibson) The bikers had taken over Beale Street in Memphis that night of August 3rd, but the real action was one block south, on the corner of 2nd Street and Lieutenant George W. Lee Avenue, where Gibson Memphis was hosting a tribute to Scotty Moore.

Scotty, in case you don't know, is the lone survivor of a trio that included Elvis Presley and Bill Black who were in the Sun Records Studio birthing room the day that country music hooked up with rhythm and blues and launched Elvis to superstardom.

To honor one of the world's greatest guitar players, Gibson Memphis put together an evening of entertainment featuring artists from Scotty's early days with Elvis and special guests who worked with Scotty over the years.

Gibson hosted the festivities to launch a new limited edition Scotty Moore Signature guitar, which is the exact replica of the gold ES-295 Scotty bought new in 1953, and to celebrate the publication of Scotty and Elvis, Aboard the Mystery Train.

Legendary Sun Recording artists Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, who toured with Scotty and Elvis in their glory days, kicked off the night's entertainment with a collection of songs from the '50s, '60s and right on through to their latest recording session.
Sonny was followed by Billy Swann who resurrected Buddy Holly with rendition of "Maybe Baby," and Pete Pritchard, a bass player who flew in from London, sang like Conway Twitty and did a haunting version of "Sea Cruise."

Scotty spent much of the night signing his book and guitars and meeting friends old and new. He must have scribbled his name on more than 80 replica signature guitars that filled an entire wall in a mountain of gold.

Scotty even took the stage with his partner, Gail Pollack, to give back to those who have helped him through the years. He donated one of Elvis's Baldwin pianos to Gibson, along with a couple rare vintage guitars, and gave some new signature guitars to friends and family members. more on this story