Bon Jovi Blocked Shinedown Covers Album

"That's when you get into publishing – you have to get permission, and two of the artists were like, 'we don't like anyone covering our songs.' I'm not going to say who… Bon Jovi… and so that was kind of that." more on this story

Original KISS Lineup May Reunite For Rock Hall Induction

(hennemusic) Following news that KISS will be inducted into the 2014 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Gene Simmons tells Rolling Stone that the band's original lineup may reunite at the event. Asked if he is open to the idea of playing with Peter Criss and Ace Frehley that night, Simmons says, "Sure, why not?"

Having previously stated that he never wanted to play with them again, Gene clarified his position. "That was for a tour," he explains. "But they were equally important in the formation of the band. When you have kids with your first wife, you give kudos. The fact you got remarried doesn't delete or minimize the important. Hey, 'You have gave birth to this thing, Kiss, with Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene.'"

"There's never been bad blood," he continued. "I love them as people. I just hate drugs and alcohol. I don't care if you are Mötley [Crüe] or Springsteen. If you don't have the balls to get on the stage straight, it's an insult to the fans and the band members." What might they play?

Megadeth Go Thrashing Through The Snow

(Classic Rock) Megadeth got into the seasonal spirit during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week. Dave Mustaine and co were there to promote current album Super Collider – but they took time out to shoot a comedy advert for an imaginary Christmas album entitled Thrashing Through The Snow.

Singer Jenny Lewis and a group of children got in on the act as Megadeth dirtied up Frosty The Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy, Do You Hear What I Hear and Baby It's Cold Outside.

And their Christmas message to fans was: "These are the carols we grew up loving, and you'll love them too – or Santa will kick you in the throat." The band also found time to perform their Super Collider track Kingmaker, without woolly jumpers.

Watch both videos here.

Why Queen Dropped Sacha Baron Cohen From Playing Freddie

(Classic Rock) Sacha Baron Cohen's larger-than-life movie characters made him the wrong person to play Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Queen movie, says Brian May. But he and bandmate Roger Taylor didn't realise it was a problem at first.

Last week they confirmed that lesser-known actor Ben Whishaw – who played Q in James Bond movie Skyfall – will take on the role of Mercury, and the film will be produced by Dexter Fletcher.

Now May tells Rolling Stone: "There was a story put out that Sacha had walked out in disgust, but none of that was true. We parted amicably – we're still in touch and we're still good friends.

"We just came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work with Sacha in the leading role. He's brilliant; but we felt having him in there would be distracting because he's such a powerful persona."

"The characters he makes tend to stand out in a way that wouldn't be suitable for the film. Freddie has to be completely believable – you have to not question for an instant that you're watching Freddie, and that couldn't have happened with Sacha." May goes on to explain when he came to that realization.

The Beatles Releases Bootlegs To Avoid Losing Copyrights

(hennemusic) The Beatles released a new rarities collection, "The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963", on iTunes Tuesday in an effort to stop them from falling out of copyright and into the public domain.

The BBC reports the band issued the 59-track collection – which features unreleased outtakes, demos and BBC sessions from 1963 – to avoid copyright issues as European Union (EU) copyright law covers recordings for 70 years if they have had an official release or 50 years if they have not.

If The Beatles chose not to release the recordings before the end of the year, other record labels could theoretically put them out and profit from them next year. more on this story

Dream Theater Announce North American Tour

Dream Theater has announced that they will be hitting the road in the spring for a North American headline tour that have dubbed the "Along For The Ride" tour.

The tour will be kicking off on March 20th at Massey Hall in Toronto, ON and will conclude on April 26th in Guadalajara, Mexico at the Auditorio Telmex.

The North American trek follows their winter tour of Europe in support of their self-titled album that features the Grammy nominated single "The Enemy Inside."

Dream Theater's guitarist John Petrucci had this to say about the tour, "We are all really pumped and excited to bring our new live show to North America and to take all of our amazing fans 'Along For The Ride'! Returning to the 'An Evening With' format will enable us to deliver the best DT live experience yet with time for lots of music, and we can't wait to share it with all of you. With this tour, our goal is for you to be able to step into the world of Dream Theater from the moment you enter the venue. We hope to create an intense and stimulating night both musically and visually and have prepared some really cool things this time around. We'll be premiering some songs we've never played live before, as well as featured tracks from our latest self-titled release and plenty of classic DT songs for all of our long time and hard-core fans. We are all looking forward to a great night of music and super-psyched to kick it all off!" more on this story

Ace Frehley Open To KISS Reunion At Rock Hall Induction

(hennemusic) Following comments by Gene Simmons that the original KISS lineup may reunite for the band's induction into the 2014 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame next April, guitarist Ace Frehley says he's open to the concept.

"That sounds like a great idea," Frehley tells Rolling Stone. "Absolutely. Are you gonna want us to put makeup on? It's been a while for me. The last shows I did with Kiss was in Australia around 2002."

As for Ace, he's thrilled with the recognition for the band. "It's such an honor," he says. "I'm so excited. I learned about it last night when my assistant called me. I didn't sleep very well afterwards. It surprised me, but when I saw all the people we were up against I had a feeling we were going to make it in…It should be a great evening. I'm really excited and looking forward to the night."

"It's going to be intense, but it's going to be great," Ace continued. "I don't foresee any negative vibes. I don't foresee any bad blood. I think that myself, Peter, Paul and Gene, we're the four guys that started the group and brought it into international success. I think that sometime in the late 1970s we were listed as the number one group in the world by some polls. We achieved what most people only dream about. I'll never forget it. And that's something nobody can take away from me." But what about a longer term reunion?

The Cult of Luna Going On Hiatus

The Cult of Luna has announced that after a hectic 2013 they will be going on a semi-hiatus next year, but they assure fans that they are not breaking up and will return.

The group posted a message on their Facebook page on Tuesday announcing the move. They told fans "The Beyond the redshift festival in London on may the 10th will be a very special show for Cult of Luna. It will mark the end of an era and after that we will slowly disappear before we reappear again in some form in some indefinite future."

That message caused fans to worry about the band's future, so they posted this follow up message: "The Cult of Luna is not breaking up, the Swedish post-metal band made it clear today that their output will be unpredictable going forward. Here's the official word:

"We are not quitting. 2013 have been a very active year for us and neither do we want or think it is good to continue in that pace. We will not be a band that put out an album every 18-24 month anymore. We did that for almost 10 years when we were younger and were able to focus more on the music. After 'Beyond the Redshift' we might do a festival or two but after that we have nothing planned. Maybe we'll release another album next year or maybe in a decade, we honestly don't know. Sooner or later we will return in one form or another. Cult of Luna will not die."

Michael Kiske Slams Helloween Reunion Rumor

(Classic Rock) Michael Kiske has slammed rumors that he's set to rejoin power metal icons Helloween. He says the story originated from his former bandmates, but there's no truth to it. And while he'd be happy to make amends with the people who fired him in 1993, that doesn't mean he wants to work with them again.

Kiske, now fronting Unisonic, tells Dead Rhetoric: "That's something the Helloween guys are bringing up. They have that in their head for whatever reason – I don't know why," he said. "I wouldn't do that. I'm up for peace, for talking everything out and getting everything out of our system."

Kiske reports he recently met guitarist Michael Weikath, saying: "He was extremely nice and friendly. It was clear they have changed their attitude towards me.

"They really did me a lot of wrong over the years – they've accused me of doing things that they know very well are not right." He had a lot more to say.

Former Nightwish Singer Anette Olzon Releases First Solo Song

(TeamRock Radio) Anette Olzon, who was fired from Nightwish last year, has released her debut solo lyric video. It's for the song "Falling," which comes from her album, Shine, which has been under production since 2009 and will finally see the light of day on February 28.

Olzon recently said: "The overall message is that life can be really dark and filled with hardship and sadness – but you can always choose to see some light coming through, to make you stronger and full of life, making you shine, no matter what.

"In the end it's a rock album. Well, a pop rock album, maybe. Or would you call it pop metal?" Take a listen to the first song and you can decide for yourself here.

Alter Bridge Release Tour Outtakes Video

(TeamRock Radio) Alter Bridge have released a light-hearted outtakes video shot during their recent European tour. The band were playing in support of their fourth album Fortress, which was launched in September.

Ahead of the tour, which included six dates across the UK, guitarist Mark Tremonti said of the record: "Everything we could throw at these songs, we did. They have you never knowing what you're getting next."

Alter Bridge are gearing up to release a limited-edition 27-disc box set. Only 3000 copies will be made available with 1500 of those on offer to fans in the UK and Europe. Watch the video here.

Gregg Allman, The National and Stephen Colbert Perform Christmas Song

(Radio.com) Stephen Colbert is celebrating "Christmas Carol Week" this week on The Colbert Report, kicking things off Monday night (December 16) with a collaboration between indie rockers The National and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman.

The National frontman Matt Berninger alternated lead vocals with Allman and Colbert on the classic holiday track "Silver Bells." Berninger's deep baritone blended surprisingly well with Allman's familiar wavering vocals. Meanwhile, Colbert assisted on harmonies, not to mention an intriguing yet questionable spoken-word portion mid-song.

Also ahead on The National front, the band is nominated for Best Alternative Music Album for Trouble Will Find Me. In an interview with Radio.com earlier this year, the Brooklyn rockers spoke of their Grateful Dead tribute album, due out next year. Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, Kurt Vile and the War on Drugs all signed up to take part in the project. More on that and the video of the performance here.

Nirvana Members Comment On Rock Hall Induction

(hennemusic) Nirvana were among the 2014 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees announced Tuesday, and surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are sharing their reaction to the news.

"For once… I'm speechless," said Grohl. "From the basements, to the dingy clubs, to the broken down vans, to… the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I'd like to thank the committee not only for this induction, but also for recognizing Nirvana for what we were: pure rock and roll. Most of all, thank you to all of the fans that have supported rock and roll throughout the years, and to Kurt and Krist, without whom I would not be here today."

"This is a great honor," added Novoselic. "Thank you to the people who nominated and voted for us. Thank you most of all to Kurt Cobain. And to everyone who's kept rock music going strong for 60 years and counting." more on this story

Slayer Manager Addresses Band's Current Label Situation

Slayer manager Rick Sales has issued a statement to reassure fans after Tom Araya and Kerry King mentioned in a recent interview that the band is without a record contract after fulfilling their obligations with their long-time label American Recordings, which is run by Rick Rubin.

Here is what Sales had to say, "With Jeff's [Hanneman] tragic passing and Slayer's eventual hectic touring schedule over the past several months, there has been a bit of mutual 'holding off' on jumping into any new long-term recording commitment, but we would like to clarify the comments that Tom and Kerry made in [a recent] interview.

"It is true that Slayer is currently out of contract, as they delivered their final required album to American Recordings some time ago. Rick Rubin began a new distribution agreement with Universal last year and American/Universal absolutely has made a significant proposal to re-sign the band.

"Both parties had been in substantial negotiation over that proposal at the time of Jeff's passing; and in fairness to everyone, a little space has been given on all sides in terms of closing any new deal.

"We are excited about the possibility of re-signing with Rick Rubin's venture, and are also considering several other options that have been presented since the previous long-term contract with American expired.

"The band has been taking much needed time to regroup and consider their various options for the future, and looks forward to a new beginning, wherever that may be."

Def Leppard's Rick Allen Selling Limited Edition T-Shirts

(hennemusic) Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen is selling limited-edition "StikRick" Christmas 2013 T-shirts to raise fund for his Raven Drum Foundation charity.

Rick has added a Santa hat to his "StikRick" drawing along with wishing everyone a "Merry Stikmas!" Once the shirts sell out after December 25th, no more will be made.

Organized and established in 2001 by Allen, and Lauren Monroe, the foundation provides free educational programs to inspire personal growth during times of adversity. more on this story

Charles Bradley and The Budos Band Streaming Black Sabbath Cover

House of Soul Daptone Records has published an online stream of Charles Bradley collaboration with The Budos Band on a cover of the Black Sabbath classic "Changes."

The cover track was originally released on Black Friday as a special Record Store Day 7" and due to the fan response the label has decided to share the song online here.

Fans can catch Bradley on the road in support of his latest album, Victim of Love, including a special New Years Eve show in Pittsburgh at First Night on the Highmark Stage.

In addition to the North American tour dates, Bradley will also be heading down under for tour dates in New Zealand and Australia in February and March. more on this story

Edison's Children Release Epic New Album

(Prog) Marillion and Transatlantic bassist Pete Trewavas and his collaborator Eric Blackwood have released their second album as Edison's Children. The Final Breath Before November features just three tracks – but final number Silhouette takes up 67 minutes of the 79-minute total.

The record was mixed by John Mitchell, Jakko Jakszyk, Robin Boult, Mike Hunter and Trewavas and mastered in Marillion's Racket Studios. Both Trewavas and Blackwood recorded vocal, guitar, bass and keyboard parts, while Henry Rogers (DeeExpus, Touchstone) contributed drums and Blackwood's wife Wendy Pastore performed backing vocals.

The Final Breath Before November is the follow-up to the Edison's Children debut In The Last Waking Moments, released in 2011. Hear opening piece Final Breath here.

Rosco Levee and the Southern Slide Releasing New Album

(The Blues Rosco Levee and the Southern Slide will release their second full-length album, Get It While You Can, on January 27th in the UK – and The Blues Magazine believes it's so good that they sneaked a track onto their Best Of 2013 CD, available free with the current edition.

The follow-up to their 2012 LP Final Approach To Home sees the band moving forward from their rootsy sound towards what they call "good hard rock'n'roll for today's ears."

Red Train Records say: "Rosco's influences are hints of Delaney Bramlett, Derek and the Dominos, the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers – and yet he has a style of his own. The Southern Slide groove permeates tracks bound by fine songwriting, insistent rhythms and fresh melodies, allowing everyone to strut their stuff and shine." more on this story

Added Fees Dramatically Hurting Ticket Sales

(Classic Rock) UK Consumer watchdog Which? claim that almost 90 per cent of people object to additional charges when buying event tickets and up to half have decided not to buy after seeing the total price of a purchase.

The results of their survey suggest that out of 78 sample ticket transactions only two were completed without previously unseen charges being added. Of 20 ticketing companies surveyed, seven did not offer the total price at the beginning of the transaction, making it difficult for buyers to shop around for the best deal.

Buyers are also upset at being charged to print their own tickets at home, says Which?. Boss Richard Lloyd tells the BBC: "Consumers tell us they're feeling ripped off by the level of ticketing charges. And the lack of transparency means it's almost impossible for people to compare prices." more on this story

Matt Bellamy Remembers Muse's First Time On Radio

(Radio.com) Matt Bellamy and Muse have come a long way from the band's humble beginnings in Devon, England, back in 1994. Long before the group was headlining stadiums and lead singer Bellamy was playing family man to Kate Hudson, Muse was just another British rock band with lofty aspirations. A big break came via a long-standing BBC Radio DJ, who played Muse on-air the first time Bellamy heard himself over the airwaves.

"I was about 18 or 19. It was a guy called Steve Lamacq," Bellamy recalled. "I was in London with my girlfriend at the time. She was studying art at some art college in London. I was staying in her sort of like squat flat with a bunch of flatmates. The radio was there, and a song called 'Muscle Museum' [originally found on the Muscle Museum EP, also appearing on Muse's 1999 debut album, Showbiz] came on and I was like, 'Yeah man, it's happening. It was good!"

While Muse recently wrapped a long round of touring in support of the band's most recent album, 2012′s The 2nd Law, Bellamy has said that the group is already looking ahead at the next full-length, which they expect will be a much "rawer" affair than recent efforts. See what he had to say here.

Singled Out: The Disparrows Tell Story Behind 'Detroit City'

Today Stephen Tecci from The Disparrows tells us about the song "Detroit City" from their brand new album Making Others Rich," which was produced by Grammy Award winner Ken Wallace. Here is the story:

Greetings everyone: As with most our songs, "Detroit City" was written from a personal level – more subjective to the band hanging out and talking about places we've been, lived, and about cities that are home to music we like. Doc Loosvelt is from Detroit and the conversation was about how Detroit is getting such a bad rap these days. The city used to be such an industrial power and at one point the center of music with Motown; now, it has sunk into an economic abyss.

The next day, Grant emailed us a few YouTube videos that Detroit independent filmmakers had made about the economic plight of the city, really pointing out that as industry and the economy had gone down, art and inspiration in the city had been going up.

It was Daniel's idea to do the song. He showed up in the room a few days later – very excited, I must say – and said, "I'm writing a song about Detroit." It was initially inspired by videos – I think. Grant popped in a few "must have" references and personal adventures, and cleared up a few things Daniel remembered. The lyrics came pretty quick; I think over the course of two or three days. The only changes came after the music was complete with a few words and harmonies to match the final arrangement.

The music was originated by Daniel as well. If I remember correctly, he was on fire with songs for a few weeks in pre-production...every day, something cool. "Detroit City" really stood out with the full band harmonized intro, pulling back into a rockin' bluesy verse with the guitar solo, and the downbeat rocking chorus.

Grant and I went back and forth matching the piano to the bass line on the verse riff – I think that took the longest to work out. We were trying to work a bluesy riff in G adding the Bb fifth note every other pass, with Daniel adding the guitar harmony on the up-beat, and then walking back to the G from the same Bb.

We tried to stay true to a sound that would come from our genre in Detroit. Kid Rock popped up a lot, White Stripes, John Lee Hooker (I am a huge fan) – I kept telling Daniel listen to him – "We gotta have some guitar work from him!" Bob Seger was another that popped up a lot.

We kept the guitar solos in between the verse but had the song's main solo on the B3; Grant is from Detroit – very fitting that his solo climax the song. We really pushed Grant on this solo too – I remember taking it again and again at Ian London Studios. Frustration set in, so we took a break and listened back to the previous takes, talked about what we liked and didn't like. Ken (Wallace) is great at getting you to relax and let yourself go musically. Grant sat down and nailed it – one of those moments that when it was happening, in the control room, we knew it was the one. Just that energy of it loud and live and knowing – you know that feeling as a frustrated musician or artist, or just with work in general, when you can't skip it and it cannot suck, and the right take finally happens – this solo was one of those moments.

The end rant was a last-minute idea from Daniel – it didn't come until after the final pre-production studio sessions were done, and I never even heard it until we started into the final mixes. Story is that the more he heard about Detroit in the news and listened to the pre-production of the song, there came a sense of energy – I don't remember his word, frustration or anger maybe – that needed to be in there. The idea came to him on the flight from India to New York to track vocals. He had Ken run the session, he got on the mic and let the lyrics go – listened back, cleaned up the words, did one more take and it was done. Kind of a last minute "in-the-moment" thing.
Thinking back, this song was really fun to make. It is fun to play live as well, just not first – it's a fast paced, very notey song and a bitch to play without being warmed up!

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