Slayer Fire Dave Lombardo?

"Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer's tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band's business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents. more on this story

Soft Machine's Kevin Ayers Dead At 68

(Gibson) Kevin Ayers, one of the most influential figures in U.K psychedelia, has died. The singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist was a founding member of the band Soft Machine. He was 68.

Soft Machine were a key psychedelic band, playing alongside Caravan, Egg, and Hatfield and the North. The group became a fixture at the UFO Club in London in the late '60s.

The group toured with Jimi Hendrix – Jimi liked Ayers, and encouraged him to write more music, giving him a Gibson guitar to do so. 1968's debut, The Soft Machine, is considered a classic of the psych genre. Soft Machine took their name from William Burroughs' 1961 novel, after receiving permission from the author.

In the '70s, Ayers released whimsical solo albums - Whatevershebringswesing, Bananamour and The Confessions Of Dr Dream And Other Stories. Patchy albums followed sporadically, up to his return to live performance with '92's largely acoustic Still Life With A Guitar. In 2007, he released The Unfairground, with guests including Phil Manzanera, as well as members of Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Ayers also worked with Brian Eno and Elton John. more on this story

Guns N' Roses' Steven Adler Plans Club Tour

Original Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler has announced a North American club tour for his solo band Adler.

The summer "Back From The Dead" tour will kick off on May 16th in San Juan Capistrano, CA and is set to conclude on July 28th in El Paso, TX.

The band also have three concerts lineup for next month including a one-off in Ramona, Ca followed by two dates with Steven's former Guns N' Roses bandmate Duff McKagen and his band Loaded in Tokyo, Japan.

The North American leg will be followed a European leg next Fall with dates still to be announced. more on this story

Pearl Jam Hit Major Milestone

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam's Mike McCready reacted to news that the band's 1991 debut album "Ten," has reached the 10 million mark in US sales.

Billboard reports that "Ten" surpassed the 10 million U.S. sales mark this week according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers.

"I'm happily shocked to hear that. Wow," Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready tells Billboard. Back when the album was recorded, "we had no idea that it was going to ever do that well. I just felt like it was a really cool record and that I was in a good band." more on this story

David Bowie May Tour In Support of New Album

(hennemusic) David Bowie will release his new album, "The Next Day," in March, and speculation continues about whether the singer will tour behind the project.

"I would say that it's 50-50," Bowie's musical director and guitarist Gerry Leonard tells Rolling Stone. "A couple of times, when we played back one of the more kick-ass tunes from the new record, he'd be like, 'This would be great live!' Of course, everyone was like, 'What? Did he just say that?' But other times he'd just roll his eyes if someone brought up playing live."

"If he gets the bug in him to do it, it'll happen," continues Leonard. "His voice is sounding great and he's looking great, too. He could totally do it. You never know with David, though. I feel he might want to make another record before he plays shows. He's being really prolific right now." more on this story

Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Mumford And Sons Lead Bonnaroo 2013

(Gibson) Paul McCartney and Mumford And Sons are among the headliners for the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The four-day festival will take place June 13­-16 2013, with a more varied line-up than usual.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers return for another headliner spot. But they will mix with veteran R&B star R. Kelly, Bjork and rappers Wu-Tang Clan. Wilco, The Lumineers, The National, The XX, Kendrick Lamar, Nas and ZZ Top are other big names confirmed.

McCartney will be making his first appearance at Bonnaroo. Mumford And Sons are fresh off their album of the year win at the Grammys – they first played Bonnaroo in 2011 on the second stage in an acclaimed show.

It's an eclectic lineup. Billy Idol will play. And Jim James will host a Soul SuperJam with John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. more on this story

Alice Cooper Horror Cruise Plans Sink

(hennemusic) Ship Of Fear: A Horror Cruise, which was supposed to sail this year between October 28 and November 2, has been officially cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

The event was to feature Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider as musical guests, with appearances by directors and actors from genre-defining films, including "Child's Play", "Candyman", "The Fly", "Fright Night", "Gremlins", "The Howling", "Pet Sematary", as well as macabre illusionists, performance artists and rock stars for five full-moonlit nights.

A post on the event web site read as follows: "After careful consideration, we have decided not to continue with the 'Ship Of Fear' cruise and we will not be sailing in 2013. Those guests who already purchased cabins will be given a full refund. We feel that we had a strong combination of talent, programming and promotion; however, we did not receive the consumer demand required to continue." more on this story

Soilwork, Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, The Browning, and Wretched Tour

Soilwork have announced the dates for their North American Infinity Tour that will also feature Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, The Browning, and Wretched.

The 55-date tour is set to kick off on March 12th in West Springfield, VA and wrap up on May 7th in Worcester, MA.

Soilwork will be hitting the road in support of their new double album, "The Living Infinite," which is set to be released on March 5th in North America.

"All of us in Soilwork are excited to announce the first of many killer tours to come," said drummer Dirk Verbeuren. "We can't wait to take some of our new songs to the stage, and with two CDs worth of material, picking a set list is gonna be interesting to say the least... We look forward to once again bringing you metal the Soilwork way!" more on this story

Dave Grohl 'Kinda Made' Soundgarden Make Video

(hennemusic) Soundgarden brought in Dave Grohl to direct their video for "By Crooked Steps," a track from their new album, "King Animal" and Grohl explained how it happened.

The video shoot took place in mid-December, and it might not have happened at all without a push by the Foo Fighter to put something together for the group.

"I called my manager and said 'I think I have an idea for a Soundgarden video'," Grohl tells Fuse TV. "I wrote out the idea and I sent it to the drummer [Matt Cameron], and he said, 'Ya that's kinda cool, I don't really know if we're going to make a video.' And so we kinda made them make the video." more on this story

The Devil Wears Prada's Chris Rubey To Miss Part of Tour

The Devil Wears Prada have recruited New For Today guitarist Sam Penner to fill-in for lead guitarist Chris Rubey for part of their upcoming tour.

The band is scheduled to hit the road with As I Lay Dying tomorrow but Rubey informed fans that he has a newborn child and will be skipping a portion of the trek.

The band released this message from Rubey, "Hey guys, wanted to make everyone aware that I'll be staying home for a portion of our current tour with AILD to take care of my newborn.

"Samuel Penner from For Today will be filling in for the time being and we're very glad to have him. I'll be back as soon as possible, and I hope you all can go check out a show!"

The message did not indicate when he expected to rejoin the tour. more on this story

Former Rock Hall Director Claims Their Voters Know Too Much

(Classic Rock) The former director of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame says the induction process he helped set up works well. And contrary to claims the judges don't know what they're talking about, he insists they actually "know too much."

Terry Stewart bowed out of the Cleveland establishment in January after 14 years at the helm. Previously the head of Marvel Comics, he says the only thing bigger than his record collection is his graphic novel collection.

The Hall Of Fame will this year induct Rush, Heart and Albert King – but also Randy Newman, Public Enemy and Donna Summer, while big names including Deep Purple, Kiss and Iron Maiden remain on the sidelines.

Discussing the constant controversy over their decisions, Stewart tells AL.com: "I've taken a lot of crap about Rush and Kiss. I've gotten Kiss nominated but they've never gotten in. Read their supposed criteria which should have seen Iron Maiden inducted their first year of eligibility.

Tomahawk Coming To Late Night TV and New US Dates

Tomahawk fans will be able to catch the band on late night TV next week and back on the road for a handful of dates in June.

The band will be featured on Last Call with Carson Daly on the February 28th broadcast (1:35/12:35 am) where two songs from their show this week in Los Angeles will be featured in the broadcast.

Tamahawk will be kicking off their Australian tour this weekend but they have just announced some new major market shows back in the U.S. for late spring.

The new U.S. dates will include stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Chicago. more on this story

Taproot Kicking Off Mini Tour Tomorrow

Taproot will be kicking off a 10-date mini U.S. tour tomorrow night (Feb 22) in Riverview, Michigan.

The trek will include stops in Toledo, Reading, West Greenwich, Dover, Bristol, Pennellville, Utica, Hagerstown and Vienna, WV.

Taproot will be hitting the road in support of their 2012 studio album release, The Episodes. more on this story

P.O.D. Announce Coheadlining Dates With Hellyeah

P.O.D. will be following their current North American tour supporting Three Days Grace and Shinedown with a European tour.

The new European tour dates feature appearances at the Download Festival and Hellfest and a few coheadlining dates with Hellyeah.

The new dates will kick off on June 12th in Moscow and conclude on June 25th in Koln, Germany. The North American tour with Three Days Grace and Shinedown is currently underway and schedule to wrap up on March 30th.

P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval had this to say about the new dates, "We're excited about heading back to Europe later this year. It's been a while since we've been over, we look forward to sharing stages with a lot of great bands we don't always get the opportunity to tour with in the U.S." more on this story

Steph Carter Leaves Gallows For Ghost Riders

Gallows have undergone another lineup change after guitarist Steph Carter left the group for an undisclosed reason.

The band announced Carter's departure with the following posting on Facebook, "Steph has left Gallows and we wish him the best of luck with his future projects. We will be moving on as a four piece like the early days. First stop Australia."

While the band has not said why Carter left, he posted the following message on his Twitter account, "Yes, it is true. I have left Gallows. Thank you for the kind words. Onwards and upwards" which then linked to a Soundcloud page for the band The Ghost Riders In The Sky. Check it out here.

Deftones Frontman's New Band With ISIS Members Set Debut

(Radio.com) Last April a new band was announced containing names that should have peaked some attention, but little fanfare was raised on purpose. Fronted by the Deftones' Chino Moreno, Palms was kept under relative wraps while Deftones launched their latest album Koi No Yokan.

In addition to Moreno, the Los Angeles based quartet is comprised of former ISIS members Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris and Clifford Meyer. Formed in 1997, ISIS was an award-winning experimental post-metal band, that disbanded in 2010 shortly after their final tour.

"Being a huge ISIS fan I've always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound," said Moreno. "I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so."

Palms is set to release its self-titled debut album on June 25. more on this story

Australian Pink Floyd Show Plan Big Dark Side Anniversary Show

(Classic Rock) The Australian Pink Floyd Show will play at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in the shadow its giant Lovell Telescope on July 6, it's been confirmed.

Officially approved by Floyd themselves, the outfit have won a stack of awards for their show, which includes lighting based on the original band's concerts and original Floyd props. They even performed at David GIlmour's 50th birthday party.

The collective headline Transmission 004, the latest in a series of outdoor events at the Cheshire observatory. In doing so they'll follow in the tracks of The Flaming Lips, whose frontman Wayne Coyne said: "To stand here in the symbolic shadow of this great achievement, I think, is the greatest place to be on all of planet Earth right now."

The gig celebrates the 40th anniversary of classic Floyd album The Dark Side Of The Moon. more on this story

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson To Give Business Talk

(hennemusic) Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson will be a guest speaker at Humber Business Week in Hull, England.

"The Humber Luncheon is one of the highlights of our events calendar – we always aim to secure high-profile speakers and this year is no exception," said IoD chairman Richard Tuplin.

"Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer of one of the world's greatest rock bands, a commercial pilot, business angel, entrepreneur and creative business thinker. With his captivating style and humor he is sure to entertain and motivate." more on this story

HIM Announce North American Tour

HIM have announced a short North American headlining tour which will be taking place this spring.

The band will be hitting the road in North America in support of their forthcoming album, Tears On Tape, which is set to be released stateside on April 30th.

The "Tears on Tour" trek will be kicking off on May 3rd in Los Angeles and includes stops in San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, New York City and Philadelphia.

May 3 – Los Angeles, CA- House Of Blues
May 5 – San Francisco, CA- The Fillmore
May 8- Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
May 9 – Toronto Canada -Danforth Music Hall
May 10 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
May 12 – Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts more on this story

Krokus Talk Dirty Dynamite In New Video

(Classic Rock) Krokus have released a video in which bassist and producer Chris von Rohr talks about the making of their 17th studio album Dirty Dynamite.

The band – who recently reunited with guitarist Mandy Meyer after a 30-year absence – recorded much of the record in London's Abbey Road Studios.

Von Rohr says: "I thought, as a producer, I have to give something nice to my singer. And what's the most prestigious, world-famous studio? Abbey Road."

The first thing they did in the hallowed Studio 2 was jam the album's title track. "For me it was emotional," says von Rohr. "It was perfect, the ambience – it wasn't renovated. In one corner you find the water-pipe of Yoko Ono then the amp of Keith Richards. You go nuts – it throws you back to childhood when you worked to buy albums.

"For us it was a mega-boost to work in that studio. For me as a producer it was the highlight of my career to work in that place." Check out the video here.

Black Star Riders Excited With How New Album Sounds

(hennemusic) Black Star Riders, featuring former members of Thin Lizzy, have posted an update on the status of their forthcoming debut album.

"We're at The Cave, which is [producer] Kevin Shirley's studio," says frontman Ricky Warwick. "He's mixing the album and it sounds amazing … the drums are huge, the guitars rip, the bass is pounding and the vocals are great."

The band has said the album will be released at the end of May, with the first Black Star Riders live appearances happening around the same time. Watch the video report here.

David Coverdale Interviews Producer Keith Olsen on Whitesnake TV

(hennemusic) The latest episode of Whitesnake TV features singer David Coverdale sitting down for an extended conversation with music producer Keith Olsen.

Olsen worked with Coverdale on a few of the band's albums during the 1980s, including 1984's "Slide It In," the self-titled 1987 record, and 1989's "Slip Of The Tongue."

Whitesnake kick off the "Year Of The Snake" 2013 world tour in mid-May with a UK trek, before the group hits Europe in June. Check out the interview here.

Tyketto Frontman Guests on Rage Of Angels' Debut Song

(Classic Rock) Tyketto frontman Danny Vaughn has made a guest appearance in the debut track of new band Rage Of Angels.

It's taken from their album Dreamworld, the brainchild of former Ten man Ged Rylands. The album also includes appearances by Matti Alfonzetti (Red White And Blues, Jagged Edge), Robert Hart (Bad Company), Ralph Santolla (Obituary, Iced Earth) and Vinny Burns (Ten, Asia, Ultravox).

Rylands explains how one track, Requiem For The Forgotten Soldier, features guitar work by Santolla and Burns together: "Ralph messaged me and said, 'I challenge Vinny to a guitar duel on your album!' How could I refuse? I wrote the track so we would all have a mighty show-off battle." Check out the video and read more here.