Joey Jordison Leaves Slipknot

At press time, Jordison had not issued his own statement about his departure. The last posting on his Facebook page was about the world premiere of the "Soul Disintegration" video from his band Scar The Martyr.

Megadeth, Anthrax, A Perfect Circle Supergroup

David Ellefson of Megadeth and Frank Bello of Anthrax have announced that they have formed a new group that also includes Jeff Friedl (A Perfect Circle).

The new group is called Altitudes & Attitude and will be releasing their self-titled, three-track EP on January 14th that will feature songs written by Bello and David Ellefson.

The project grew out of Bello and Ellefson teaming up to write music together while they were both involved with the Metal Masters clinics. "What started out as simple bass ideas quickly developed into some really great songs together," says Ellefson. "Our fans would probably never suspect that a couple of metal bass players would have songs like these inside of us.

"It's exciting to write melody with diversity while still pushing the limits of lead-bass playing. Frank's singing, and both of us playing guitars and other instruments, gave us a whole new dimension for creative opportunities."

"We thought it would be cool to let fans hear something they wouldn't expect from us- which is what Altitudes & Attitude is," adds Bello.

The EP features a guest appearance from Gus G. who plays lead guitar on the song "Here Again". For the full EP, Bello is credited with Lead vocals, electric guitar, 8 string bass guitar. Ellefson plays 4, 5 and 8 string bass guitars, rhythm guitars and Friedl plays drums and percussion. more on this story

Guns N' Roses Announce First Show Of 2014

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses have announced their first live date of 2014. The band will headline the Hell & Heaven Metal Festival in Feria De Texcoco on Sunday, March 16, 2014.

GNR tops a bill that includes Rob Zombie, Lamb Of God, Opeth, Testament and more. KISS headline the opening night on Saturday, along with Korn, Twisted Sister and others.

Guns N' Roses last live performances of 2013 were a pair of club shows in Montreal and Toronto in July, dates that followed a brief, 9-date series of US concerts in June. more on this story

The Beatles Releasing Massive Box Set

(hennemusic) The Beatles are marking the 50th anniversary of their U.S. invasion - aka Beatlemania- with a new 13-disc box set, "The U.S. Albums." The Beatles' U.S. albums differed from the band's U.K. albums in a variety of ways, including different track lists, song mixes, album titles, and art.

The package celebrates the Beatles arrival in New York on February 7, 1964, and the February 9 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was viewed by more than 74 million in the States (40% of the population), a record at the time and considered a watershed moment in pop culture.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of these history-making events, "The U.S. Albums" is a new collection spanning 1964's "Meet The Beatles!" to 1970's "Hey Jude", on January 20 (January 21 in North America).

The set sees the debut CD issue of five Beatles U.S. albums, including "A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)", "The Beatles' Story", "Yesterday And Today", "Hey Jude", and "Revolver." more on this story

Lars Ulrich Is Anxious About 'Metallica by Request' Tour

(Gibson) Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is a bit queasy about the band's upcoming tour. It's not the playing live part that has Ulrich nervous, but the fact fans will get to pick Metallica's set list for each night.

Speaking with BBC Radio 1, Ulrich says even though he doesn't know what to expect from the fans' picks, he's glad someone else is making the call on what to play on the trek.

"It certainly gives me butterflies in the stomach in a good way and I think it should be a lot of fun for the fans," he said. "This at least put a stop to the whining about the set list because it's basically the fans that's picking it."

Ulrich also said he's excited to play a new song during the tour, even if he's not quite sure which tune they'll pick.

"Since 2014 is basically about the next Metallica record and we're so excited about writing and getting all that off the ground that it only is right to bring a new song out there," he said. "Obviously we haven't quite figured out what that's gonna be, but as we get a little closer, hopefully we'll come up with something cool."

The tour, dubbed the "Metallica by Request" tour, will kick off May 28 and travel through a collection of European countries through July 11. more on this story

Def Leppard Announce A Day of Hysteria TV Special

(hennemusic) Def Leppard are set to host A Day Of Hysteria on AXS TV, as the band takes over the channel on December 29 to present 12 hours of concerts, including the broadcast premiere of their new live set, "VIVA! Hysteria."

Filmed earlier this year at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, "VIVA! Hysteria" includes a full, live performance of the 12-times platinum album "Hysteria", along with hits "Rock of Ages," "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and more. "VIVA! Hysteria" will premiere at 8 ET / 5 PT.

The Day Of Hysteria marathon also features concerts from New York Dolls, Bon Jovi, Sammy Hagar & Friends, KISS and more…including the television premiere of "Cheap Trick at Budokan: The 35th Anniversary Performance" at 9:30 ET|6:30 PT – shot exclusively by AXS TV earlier this year at L.A.'s El Rey Theatre. more on this story

Slayer's Hanneman Tributes Ruined By Management?

(Classic Rock) Slayer frontman Tom Araya says the band's tributes to late guitarist Jeff Hanneman aren't high-profile enough and insists the fault lies with management.

Hanneman, who'd been off the road for three years due to health issues, died in May at the age of 49 as a result of liver damage through heavy drinking.

The band have continued to mark the absence of their fallen bandmate, but they believe they haven't done enough. Guitarist Kerry King tells Fuse: "Every show we've done since May, we've had his Hanneman guitar on stage; we've got the Hanneman backdrop for the last couple of tunes; there was a video that Tom put together that went over the last song or two when we were in South Africa."

Araya adds: "I wanted to do more – I was hoping to do more. But the nature of the business… the management gets involved in anything we do and they f**ked it up. I'm throwing them under the bus. It really upset me, because it would have been more than just that." more on this story

Lamb of God's Feature Film Coming

Lamb of God sent out the following word that they have entered in to a worldwide distribution deal with Specticast (Led Zeppelin Celebration Day, Paul McCartney Rock Show) for their Don Argott (Last Days Here, Art of the Steal, School of Rock) directed feature film "As The Palaces Burn," will debut worldwide on February 27th.

Following the film premiere, a 30 minute Q&A with the entire band and director Don Argott will be shown. The Q&A was conducted by VH1 Classics Eddie Trunk and filmed at the final show of the band's North American tour in support of their most recent release, Resolution.

Here is the synopsis: "As The Palaces Burn," not to be confused with the making-of documentary packaged with the recent re-release of the 2003 Lamb of God album of the same name, was conceived to be a documentary focused on the power of music and its impact on cultures around the world and its ability to bring together people of all nationalities regardless of religious or political differences.

After a worldwide casting call, filming took place in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, India, and the United States. As filming reached its conclusion, the documentary was forced to take a major turn when the band's lead singer, Randy Blythe, was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with the murder of a fan in June 2012.

Granted unique access to Blythe's continuing saga, Argott's filming covered Blythe's 38 day imprisonment in Prague, his release and the band's return to live performances, and finally Blythe's trial for murder in Prague in February 2013.

Abigail Williams Announce Permanent Guitarist

Abigail Williams has announced that Wolvhammer's Jeff Wilson is officially their new guitarist but he isn't entirely replacing Ian Jekelis who has retired from touring.

The band had the following to say: "Please welcome Jeff Wilson to Abigail Williams as an official band member. Jeff has been working with us for the last year or so and will be playing guitar on the upcoming tours and the new album. Many of you will know him from other bands like Wolvhammer, Chrome Waves, and Liar In Wait, amongst others...

"For those of you wondering, Ian Jekelis is still in the band as a creative force but isn't playing live shows anymore. He also sat out the last two Abigail Williams tours in 2012. This might seem odd to some people, but for us it's perfectly natural to have a long-time band member who doesn't tour but is involved on other levels. With the addition of Jeff, it all means even more awesome guitar textures on the forthcoming releases.

"Filling in on bass and drums for the upcoming tour will be our friends John Porada (of Terminate) and Jesse Beahler, respectively."

Albert Lee Recruits All-Star Special Guests For 70th Birthday Show

(Scoop) Guitar legend Albert Lee is celebrating his 70th birthday with a special performance at The Canyon in Agoura Hills, CA on Thursday, January 9, 2014.

The show will feature special guest appearances by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Desert Rose Band (Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Jay Dee Maness, Bill Bryson, Steve Duncan), Peter Asher, Jerry Donahue of The Hellcasters, Lauence Juber, Jack Sh*t Band, Rosie Flores, and Scarlet Rivera, as well as surprise guest appearances.

The night will kick off with opening sets by Wild Ride and Johnny Oskam, beginning at 7 p.m. that will be followed by Albert Lee and friends at 9:00 p.m.

Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres, including the Everly Brothers and Eric Clapton. He has also maintained a solo career of his own and is a noted composer and musical director. In addition to his 70th Birthday Celebration, Lee's next big projects include a solo album, documentary and concert project celebrating his illustrious career in music.

The Crimson Projekct Releasing New Album

(Prog) King Crimson offshoot The Crimson Projekct will release their first official album, Live In Tokyo, on March 3rd in the UK via InsideOut. And the band will play London's O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on March 12 as part of an extensive European tour.

The lineup imitates Robert Fripp's 1990s double-trio format and includes former Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew plus Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto – both of whom have been confirmed as part of the King Crimson revival due to commence next year. The other members of The Crimson Projekct are Markus Reuter, Julie Slick and Tobias Ralph.

InsideOut comment: "The band are happy to announce the release of their first official CD, Live in Tokyo. Performances of classic KC pieces were recorded at Club Citta in Japan in March 2012, and represent the sonic power of this unique band. They were meticulously mixed and mastered in pristine sound quality by guitarist Markus Reuter and his award-winning Unsung Productions team." more on this story

Uriah Heep To Film One-Off Show For DVD Release

(Classic Rock) Uriah Heep will play a one-off show in London's Koko in March, with the show to be released on DVD later. Mick Box and co will deliver a set including classic tracks and brand-new material written for their upcoming studio album, the follow-up to 2011′s Into The Wild.

And the band are hoping fans will come from all over the world to become part of their history. As well as the opportunity to be seen in the crowd, audience members will have the chance to take part in bonus features to be included on the DVD.

Box says: "After playing in 54 countries around the world promoting Into the Wild it's great to be coming back to London where it all began. more on this story

Henry Rollins Plays Cannibal In First Film Lead Role

(Classic Rock) Henry Rollins is delighted at having played a cannibal in his first film lead role. The former Black Flag frontman and spoken-word performer recently finished filming his scenes as main character Jack in He Never Died. The film, tag-lined 'Bullets, blood, bingo', is described as "awkward comedy, stark drama and brutal action", and is due for initial release next year.

Rollins tells Rolling Stone: "He's just bored of everything. He has to subsist on bags of blood brought from interns that smuggle it out of hospital while they're in med school."

And although he's never taken acting lessons, he says he's learned the hard way. "I do all this stuff from being on stage all my life, and having material in my head that I bark out on stage. Doing all that kind of memorisation stuff which I do for tours helps with all this." more on this story

Scott Gorham Says Forget Me, Remember Thin Lizzy

(Classic Rock) Scott Gorham doesn't care if the world forgets his name – as long as it doesn't forget Thin Lizzy. The guitarist is currently touring with Black Star Riders, the band formed out of his 2010 Lizzy revamp. They're turning their minds to their second album, but Gorham isn't going to completely abandon Phil Lynott's band name, and plans to stage some Lizzy shows in 2014.

"If someone asks me, 'What's your name?' and they don't recognise Scott Gorham, well, that's fine," He tells the Independent. "If they say, 'What band were you in?' and don't recognise Thin Lizzy, now that I have an issue with. It's one of the reasons I put Lizzy back together: I was determined to raise awareness of what we achieved. For Phil to be forgotten would not be good."

Lynott died in 1986 – but Gorham has never quite dealt with his passing. He recalls: "When I heard Phil Lynott had died I could not believe it. I mean – this was Phil Lynott. He could take more drugs, screw more chicks, stay up more days in a row than anyone else. He was the guy. more on this story

John Varvatos Launches Jimi Hendrix Collection

(hennemusic) Renowned menswear designer John Varvatos has launched the Jimi Hendrix Collection, featuring select men's apparel and accessories including jackets, shirts, vests, scarves, boots, pants, pouches, belts and selective classic artwork.

"This collection has been a passion project that began as I was editing images for my new book entitled John Varvatos: Rock In Fashion," said Varvatos. "I was exploring the black and white images of Jimi Hendrix by notable British portrait photographer Gered Mankowitz. Jimi was a visionary rocker whose influence reaches beyond music, defining the art of individual style. Using this inspiration, I created a contemporary, non-nostalgic mix that is tactile and precious, in a non-precious kind of way."

Varvatos sat down with Rolling Stone to explain the background and timing of the new collection.

"First of all, nobody's ever done anything with Hendrix other than t-shirts, and the family contacted me about doing something special — something that was an elevated product and done right," said the designer. "The clothes are ripe forever, Jimi's more relevant now than ever for me." more on this story

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Heading Down Under For Solo Tour

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has announced a solo tour of Australia for next February. Vedder will play two shows each in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; shows begin February 7 in Perth and run to February 23 in Brisbane.

Vedder's tour comes on the heels of Pearl Jam's appearance headlining the country's annual Big Day Out festival; the travelling 6-show event runs January 17 to February 2.

Pearl Jam recently wrapped up a fall North American tour in support of their new album, "Lightning Bolt." The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart in October with opening week sales of 166,000 copies. more on this story

Queen Release Video Tour Of The Studio Experience Montreux

(hennemusic) Queen recently launched a new exhibition in Montreux, Switzerland entitled The Studio Experience, and fans have created a 3-part video feature on the opening gala and a tour of the facility.

Located in the original Mountain Studios (as part of the Casino Barrière de Montreux), the exhibition charts the band's association with the studios, their personal relationship with the Swiss town, and the albums that were written and recorded there between 1978 – 1995.

Queen: The Studio Experience highlights Freddie Mercury's personal ties with Montreux and the studio where in his final months Freddie would spend as much time as his health would allow, recording his very last vocal tracks.

An extensive display of memorabilia from the original studio and from the band's personal archives of the period are featured, including original Queen handwritten song lyrics, band members' own instruments and costumes, studio tape boxes - many showing the original and subsequently changed titles of tracks, as well as combining specially created interactive audio and visual environments. Watch the video here.

Augustines Announce North American Tour

Augustines, formerly known as We Are Augustines, have announced that they will be launching a North American headline tour early next year in support of their new album.

The band will be releasing their new self-title album on February 4th and will kick off the tour the next night in Vancouver, BC at the Venue. The tour will conclude on March 22nd in Salt Lake City, UT at Club Sound

The six-week trek will include shows at the historic Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA (February 11) and New York City's Bowery Ballroom (March 3). more on this story

Metallica Visit Russian Research Station In Antarctica

(hennemusic) Metallica visited a Russian polar research station after playing a historic show Antarctica this past Sunday, according to the Moscow institute that runs the station.

RIA Novosti reports the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute said the rockers had accepted an invitation from Russian polar researchers who attended the December 8 show to visit the Bellingshausen station after their show inside a dome at Argentina's Carlini base.

Metallica set a world record on December 8, 2013 by becoming the first and only band in history to perform concerts on all seven continents in under a year. more on this story

Gibson Name The Most Anticipated Rock Releases of 2014

(Gibson) As we approach the end of the year, it is time to take a look at all the new music we can look forward to during the next twelve months. Here we list our ten most anticipated releases for 2014. Some of these bands are confirmed to release new music, as early as January, others are more wishful thinking based on statements from various band members. So let's see what 2014 (hopefully) has in store for us! Be sure to post your own top ten in the comments section.

1. Bruce Springsteen: For someone at his level, Bruce Springsteen is way more productive than he needs to be, having released five albums in the past ten years. On January 14 it is time for High Hopes, a collection of covers, and reworked unreleased material. Some of the recording for the album took place while on tour in Australia earlier in the year when Tom Morello was filling in for Steven Van Zandt. Morello is reportedly playing on eight of the album's twelve tracks, which also feature late E Street Band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons.

2. U2: Could this be the biggest release of 2014? U2 bassist Adam Clayton has said that he hopes the band will wrap up recording for their next studio album before the holidays. "We're in the studio. We're trying to get these 12 songs absolutely right and get them finished by the end of November, and then we can kind of enjoy Christmas," Clayton said on 98 FM's Dermot and Dave show. Rumor has it that the band will announce the new album for an April release during a Super Bowl commercial. If the new U2 song "Ordinary Love" is any indication of the band's sound for the upcoming album we are in for something very special.

3. Metallica: It's been five years since Metallica released their latest studio album, Death Magnetic. In the years since its release, James Hetfield and the boys have been busy doing extensive touring, and working on their 3D movie Metallica Through The Never that came out in September. But both Hetfield, and bassist Robert Trujillo have hinted at 2014 being the year that the band record their next album. Said Hetfield in an interview with Oakland Press : "Hopefully it happens soon. I'm itchin'. We have tons of material to sift through. That takes a lot of time, because there's a lot of great stuff," said Hetfield. In terms of a timeframe for when recordings will start, Hetfield said: "We go full-throttle into something and multitasking is not what we're after. So the next record will hopefully start some time in the spring." Trujillo told Classic Rock: "In 2014 it'll be all about getting new music – without any interruptions, hopefully." Does this mean we can expect a new Metallica album to hit the shelves in late 2014? In any case we're keeping our fingers crossed.

4. Foo Fighters: After what was probably the shortest hiatus in history, workaholic Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl revealed back in August that the band's next album has already been written. "It's a little way off – it's not ready to happen right now, but I think next year is going to be a really big year for the Foo Fighters without question. It's going to be great, I can't wait." Grohl told XFM when asked about when recording will start. Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett echoed Grohl's statement in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying: "We're going to start recording the new Foo Fighters record at the beginning of next year."

5. Slash: Despite Myles Kennedy being busy touring with his band Alter Bridge at the moment, it looks as though the singer will get together with Slash to record a new album during 2014. Back in July Slash told The Salt Lake Tribune that he had started working on demos for his third solo album: "We're actually working up the next one as we speak. Myles has a new album coming out and then a tour, so it'll be after that. But I'm working on material, I'll send it to him, and he'll come in and record. It'll be out early next year." Myles Kennedy confirmed the plans in an interview with Billboard: "We'll probably get together here later with the other guys, start chipping away at some things, and the goal is to record it next year." See who else made the list.

Red Fang Taking On Zombies In 'Blood Like Cream' Video

(TeamRock Radio) Red Fang have released a zombie-infested video for their track Blood Like Cream. The band aren't concerned about the undead rising to eat brains… but when they're told the zombies are drinking all the world's beer, they roll into action.

The track comes from their third album Whales And Leeches, released in October. Frontman Aaron Beam recently said of it: "It's quite possible that everyone will hate the record. The only thing I can be sure of is that we like it and we're proud of it – and that's the main thing."

Red Fang will also be launching a tour of the UK in March. Check out the tour dates and watch the new music video here.

Guardian Release 'The Real Me' Lyric Video

(Classic Rock) Veteran hard rockers Guardian have released a lyric video for their new track The Real Me. It's taken from their album Almost Home, which took almost two years to make as a result of tensions within the band, which comprises vocalist Jamie Rowe, guitarists Tony Palacios and Jamey Perrenot, bassist David Bach and drummer Karl Ney.

Bach says: "This new record was a marathon, definitely not a sprint, with lots of stops and starts along the way – and a few epic band fights thrown in for good measure."

He says of The Real Me: "It's about breaking free and shedding the layers that we all pile on ourselves trying to fit in somewhere. Musically, its loud guitars in your face. It's definitely the opening bell." Watch the video here.

TesseracT's Ashe O'Hara Releases Debut Solo Single

(Prog) TesseracT frontman Ashe O'Hara has launched his first solo single "C.ontinue B.urying W.ires". It's taken from his album Broken Home, which is expected next year although no release date has been confirmed.

The vocalist – who remains busy with his other band Voices From The Fuselage – recently told The Aquarian: "I always try to challenge myself as a vocalist.

"I know I'm not James Earl Jones, I'm more like Joe Pasquale – I've got a squeaky, girly voice! But I try to use that to my advantage and I'm always trying to see how far I can push it." Listen to the new song here.