Led Zeppelin Streaming Coming?

Among the companies in potential competition for the exclusive rights are Spotify, Rhapsody and Rdio, along with Deezer, which began in France and is interested in the American market. more on this story

Rush's Geddy Lee To Guest Star on How I Met Your Mother

(hennemusic) Geddy Lee of Rush is among several Canadian guest stars set to appear on an upcoming episode of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

The Huffington Post reports the show's return of Robin Sparkles (Cobie Smulders) on Monday, February 4 will see a host of guests – all Canadian – including Lee, Paul Shaffer, Alan Thicke, Alex Trebek, K.D. Lang, Jason Priestley and many more.

The series stars Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alysson Hannigan and Josh Radner. more on this story

Radiohead and Flea Collective Atoms For Peace Debut New Song

(Radio.com) Thom Yorke, Nigel Godrich and Flea (among others) have come together to form Atoms For Peace and the band has revealed more details about their debut studio disc – and a brand new track!

In an interview with the BBC's Radio 1, Yorke explained how the group was brought together as a touring band in support of his 2010 solo album Eraser, "but it sparked something off. So we ended up at the end of that getting into the studio and generating some new beats."

The forthcoming album is reportedly titled AMOK and will be released on January 28 according to XL Recordings' calendar page. Check out the new song here.

Pearl Jam & Alice In Chains Supergroup Mad Season Revisited and Expanded

(Radio.com) At the height of the '90s "grunge" era, members of three of Seattle's biggest bands got together for a side-project that has taken on legendary status. Mad Season featured Pearl Jam's guitarist Mike McCready, Alice In Chains' frontman Layne Staley and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin (along with a lesser-known bass player named John Baker Saunders).

Their sole album, Above, featured a couple of classic songs, including "River Of Deceit," "Wake Up" and "I Don't Know Anything."

Now, surviving members McCready and Martin are putting out an expanded reissue. (Saunders died in 1999 and Staley in 2002.) The Above Deluxe Edition will be out on April 2, and will contain two CDs and one DVD.

It will include the original album with unreleased songs from the band's unfinished second album, with new lyrics and vocals from former Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. Lanegan contributed vocals to Above's "I'm Above" and "Long Gone Day." More details.

Metallica 3D Film Inspired By Led Zeppelin Classic

(Classic Rock) Drummer Lars Ulrich says Metallica's forthcoming 3D movie project could be regarded as their answer to Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same.

Zep's 1976 film The Song Remains The Same, a companion to the live album of the same name, is based on performance footage from New York's Madison Square Garden. But it also features several out-of-concert "fantasy sequences" for each of the band members, as well as for manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole. "There are similarities [to The Song Remains The Same]," Ulrich reveals in the latest issue of Classic Rock.

"There are four members in Led Zeppelin, four members in Metallica, it's a full-length movie, and there's a lot in this film that does not take place onstage.

"The major difference is that the stuff that takes place offstage in the Metallica movie does not feature any members of Metallica. It's two separate worlds – a Metallica show and a story that unfolds in a parallel universe – and at some point they intertwine." More from Lars here.

Rigor Mortis Will Never Play Again Following Mike Scaccia's Death

Warbeast/Rigor Mortis frontman Bruce Corbitt says that Rigor Mortis will never play again following the recent death of Mike Scaccia.

Corbitt was interviewed on the latest episode of the Metal Injection Livecast and was asked about the future of the band.

He responded, "When you lose a guy like Dimebag or Mike Scaccia, there is no way that either band should ever perform under that name again. That's just my opinion. Rigor Mortis is never going to perform again. That's because Mike Scaccia, deep down, was Rigor Mortis so it wouldn't be right. It's just out of respect for him. And I think, Phillip, I can't speak for him, but I think he feels the same way"

Former Pantera and current Down frontman Phil Anselmo was also a guest on the show and added, "I think [Bruce] summed it up very well. Let the legacy speak for itself. It is there, it's history. Music is history, music is tangible. It's a tangible thing, and it lasts for as long as it's relevant. And that brings me to fans, because without the fans, we would be zero, we wouldn't be acknowledged. [Acknowledgement] is a great thing, and all we can do during these trying times, is honor their names. I always send out a song to Dimebag, but there's a new rule now. The same song, it's called "Lifer," that I send out to Dimebag, I'm going to send to Mike as well. Those guys embodied the entire shape of what is a true lifer in music. They were born to do what they did." You can listen to the full episode here.

Tom Waits & Keith Richards Release Duet

(hennemusic) Tom Waits and Keith Richards have teamed up for a track on a new collection called "Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys."

The pair duet on the sea shanty "Shenandoah." Due February 19, the two-disc compilation is executive produced by Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski, and features Waits, Richards, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Sean Lennon and many more.

The album is a follow up to Hal Willner's 2006 production, "Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys." Check out the Waits and Richards Duet Here.

Rare Beatles Photos Set To Be Auctioned

(Radio.com) A rare set of 65 never-before-published color photos taken of The Beatles during their 1964 U.S. tour are set to be auctioned off in the U.K., according to BBC News.

Due to the price of color film, most images of the Fab Four taken prior to 1965 were in black and white. The photos being auctioned were taken by Dr. Robert Beck, a physicist and inventor, who died in 2002.

Part of the large collection of photographs and slides left in his Hollywood home after his death were of The Beatles during their 1964 U.S. tour, both on and off stage. more on this story

Deep Purple Release New Album Preview

(hennemusic) Deep Purple have offered up a teaser for the upcoming release of their first new album in 8 years.

The band issued a video trailer featuring about 50 seconds of music from the project.

After various songwriting sessions in Europe, the band recorded and mixed the project in Nashville with producer Bob Ezrin. Check out the preview here.

Brian Tichy Explains Exit From Whitesnake

(hennemusic) Whitesnake announced the departure of drummer Brian Tichy from the band last week, as he leaves to pursue the S.U.N. project he started with Sass Jordan.

Whitesnake have begun the search for a new drummer, with several musicians already being considered. A spokesman said the lineup change will not affect forthcoming tour dates for 2013.

Now, Tichy has posted the following statement regarding his plans: "My decision to leave Whitesnake has already been announced by David Coverdale but I wanted to at least give a bit of my own explanation and be clear on why this decision was made because it is a simple yet heavy one; heavy cuz it involves jumping off a cliff while you were seemingly and supposedly fine on solid ground. It's a reason that you will only understand if you exist with any amount of dreams, goals, ambition and desire to get to that place you haven't been.

First off, Whitesnake will obviously be fine without me. I gave 100% while in the band, with full intent on making David and the Snakes proud I was behind them as their drummer. If still in WS, I would yet again be giving DC and the guys 100% in 2013, and I'd have a blast doing it! I will never complain about being paid to be an adult that plays in the bands he used to practice to since he was 9 years old! And I will never ever give less than 100% when behind a kit of drums because it is my life. It ties everything together for me. The change of musicians in bands is nothing new. My idols left this band too. But I do think my reason is a little different than the others'. more on this story

The Black Crowes To Unplug For One Night Only

The Black Crowes will be playing a special one-off acoustic concert in Nashville this spring.

The band will be playing Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on April 20 and 21 as part of their upcoming reunion tour.

On the second night of the Nashville run the group announced plans to play a special unplugged show with special guests.

"The Black Crowes road has come calling again for us," says Chris Robinson, "Our music is a living, breathing thing, and we go where ever it takes us. In a world of rock and roll tourists, we look forward to seeing our friends and loyal travelers who will join us and be a part of the shows. The musical horizon beckons." more on this story

Queens Of The Stone Age Tease New Album With Handwritten Letter

(Gibson) In a handwritten letter to MOJO Magazine, Queens Of The Stone Age talk about recording their upcoming album: "There's no way we could have prepared for the journey up the river that is this album. In our grand plan, we envisioned our lives and recordings running like clockwerk [sic]. However, the reality has been manic and unpredictable."

The letter continues by saying "These songs aren't recollections of times we had. They are depictions of what we are going through in real time. It means even a bad event can turn into an unforgettable song. At least for us, HA. The record sound like running in a dream in a codeine cabaret. I hope you understand what that means, cause we don't. Sounds like a load of pretentious (expletive deleted)! What? Gotta go, the therapist says our time is up…"

The album is scheduled to be released in the first half of 2013. It features Foo Fighter Dave Grohl on drums, as well a guest appearances by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and possibly also Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. The album will be the first from Queens Of The Stone Age since Era Vulgaris in 2007. more on this story

Alice Cooper Celebrates Billion Dollar Babies Anniversary In The Studio

(hennemusic) Alice Cooper marks the 40th anniversary of "Billion Dollar Babies" on In The Studio.

Alice was able to say and do what he wanted using his own spotlight to poke not only the Watergate-embroiled Nixon White House, but the rock music establishment as well.

"I think a lot of true musical people who were really into music and that was their life, we were an embarrassment to them, because they couldn't say they didn't like our music," Alice tells In The Studio host Redbeard. "They liked our music, they just couldn't digest our image. You know, everything that was sacred to them, we kinda spit on." more on this story

Mumford & Sons Star Explains Dropkick Murphys Collaboration

(Radio.com) How did Mumford & Sons' banjo-wielding Winston Marshall end up on the new Dropkick Murphys album, Signed and Sealed in Blood?

"We played a festival in Europe and Mumford & Sons were playing," explains the band's mandolin player Tim Brennan in an interview with Fuse. "A bunch of us, if not all of us, were fans had been fans since Sigh No More came out and it turned out that they wanted to come see us later in the night, on a smaller stage. We struck up a conversation." Brennan explains that Dropkick was asked to play a stop on the Gentlemen of the Road Tour. It was during that concert in Portland, Maine that they "kidnapped" Winston and made him play on the record."

"Obviously, we're both bands with banjos, says Dropkick's frontman Ken Casey. "Our single 'I'm Shipping Up to Boston' was probably the largest-selling rock song with a banjo until those bastards came along," jokes Casey. "No, really, we root for any band that's playing with real instruments and real music. To see that go mainstream is inspiring." More including a video here.

Bad Religion, Pennywise and Reverend Horton Heat Lead MusInk Lineup

Bad Religion, Pennywise and Reverend Horton Heat lead the lineup which has been announced for MusInk 2013.

The annual music and tattoo festival, now in its sixth year, will take place on March 8, 9 and 10th at the Orange County Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, CA.

The event will also feature performances from The Vandals, Guttermouth, TSOL, Lagwagon, Lurcero, The Headcat and Jonny Two Bags.

Apart from the music, the festival will include appearances by over 300 tattoo artists including Jack Rudy, Robert Atkinson, Small Paul and Tomas Garcia. more on this story

Black Star Riders Release Studio Video Report

(hennemusic) Black Star Riders entered the studio this week with producer Kevin Shirley to record their debut album.

Black Star Riders are Thin Lizzy alumni Ricky Warwick (vocals), Scott Gorham (guitar), Damon Johnson (guitar), Marco Mendoza (bass) with new addition Jimmy DeGrasso on drums (Alice Cooper, Megadeth, David Lee Roth, Suicidal Tendencies).

A few weeks ago, Thin Lizzy revealed its plans to adopt the new band name while moving forward with a new recording project.

The album will feature material the band wrote whilst touring as Thin Lizzy and the group says the sound retains that classic feel but is very much its own as well.

Now, Johnson and Mendoza give fans an update from the studio in the band's first video report. Watch it here.

New Steve Lukather Album and Tour Coming

Toto's Steve Lukather has set a January 21st UK release date for his seventh solo album "Transition".

"Transition is a turning point for the album and a turning point for me," Lukather explains. "As we were writing the songs, I was thinking about everything I've seen — all the people I've lost in my life, the great and the difficult experiences I've had, and how ultimately it was time to get it together and embrace things for what they are."

To support the effort, Lukather will launch a European tour in March, which includes concerts at the London Islington o2 Academy (March 29) and the Bilston Robin 2 (March 30). more on this story

Kataklysm Recruit Zeuss For New Album

Kataklysm will be heading into the studio this summer to record their forthcoming album, which they expect to release this coming fall.

Producer/engineer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Suffocation, Chimaira, All That Remains) has signed on to mix and master the effort.

Commented vocalist Maurizio Iacono: "It's time for Kataklysm to make a change and challenge ourselves a bit more when it comes trying out new sounds. I think it's healthy to explore other avenues at this stage in our career, and Zeuss has worked with some bands we really like such as Hatebreed and Suffocation.

"When it comes to full blown power and making each instrument flow together in harmony, Zeuss is one of the top producers out there. We're confident he can deliver what the band is seeking to accomplish and the sound we want on the next album." more on this story

Neaera Reveal New Album Details

Neaera have set a March 5th North America and March, 1st/4th European release dates for their new album, Ours Is The Storm through.

The band had this to say, "We are very proud of this record and the hard work we put into making it. We hope that you will be as excited about it as we are.

"Once again, we trusted our good friend Alexander Dietz of Chemical Burn studio with the production as well as the mixing process. The mastering was handled by Tue Madsen at Antfarm studio. We want to thank Alex for his sheer will and tireless work on this record, and Tue for bringing out the details and making them shine.

"This record is one of the most open sounding and versatile we have done so far. We want to challenge ourselves and give you guys something new every time we step up to the plate. There will be some surprises on this one, we are confident you will enjoy the result of our approach. more on this story

Allstar Weekend and Cute Is What We Aim For Tour

Cute Is What We Aim For will be hitting the road with Allstar Weekend later this month.

The trek will also feature Tiffany Alvord, and Beneath The Sun and is set to kick off on January 26th at Denver, CO's Marquis Theatre.

Prior to the tour, Cute Is What We Aim For will be playing three headline shows that include stops in Springfield, Mo, Iowa City and Colorado Springs. more on this story

Jason Newsted On Wikimetal

Wikimetal speak to former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted on their first episode of 2013. They sent over these details:

It was an honor talking to Jason Newsted, bassist that played in legendary bands such as Flotsam and Jetsam, Voivod, and of course, Metallica. Currently, he is releasing an EP called "Metal".

Newsted was really nice, telling us all about the beginning of his career, his influences and, in a historical moment for Wikimetal, gave us the details of the invitation he received to join Metallica. On top of that, we asked how was it to play with the legend Ozzy Osbourne.

Listen to the full episode here or listen to the interview only here.

Chiodos Reunion Video Goes Online

(Banana 101.5) The reunion of Davison alt-rock outfit Chiodos definitely made the Dirt Fest 2012 experience a memorable one. The band has commemorated their return to the stage by releasing this new video of 'Thermacare' performed live at the Birch Run Expo Center.

Fans were all kinds of psyched about witnessing the original line up of Chiodos, including vocalist Craig Owens, back in action at last year's Dirt Fest. Those who weren't on hand for their big homecoming performance can now see some of what they missed via this video shot by David Alexander.

Chiodos perform 'Thermacare' in the video, which was shot on August 11th, 2012 at the Birch Run Expo Center, a song that's had an interesting history to say the least. A demo version of the track was recorded with Owens in September 2009, just prior to his departure from the band. Though the demo was leaked later on, a new version with vocalist Brandon Bolmer (Owens' temporary replacement) appeared on their 2010 album 'Illuminaudio' under the name 'Stratovolcano Mouth.'

Though their original lineup reunion was short-lived — guitarist Jason Hale left the band in November 2012 — Chiodos are currently writing a new album with new guitarist Thomas Erak. Watch the video here.

Lynyrd Skynyrd Release Ready To Fly Lyric Video

(hennemusic) Lynyrd Skynyrd have released a lyric video for "Ready To Fly," the latest track from the band's current album, "Last Of A Dyin' Breed."

The project debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, the highest charting for a Skynyrd album since 1977.

The band kick off their 2013 live dates on January 15 at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Watch the video here.

Dimebag Darrell Jamming Slayer, ZZ Top and Motley Crue Goes Online

(The Metal Den) TMD has obtained rare audio of late guitarist Dimebag Darrell (Pantera/Damageplan) jamming at Z-rock radio station on Nov 1, 1990 in Dallas, Texas.

By request Dimebag cranks out some Slayer riffs and does not disappoint.

You will also hear Dime take his stab at ZZ Top and Motley Crue. Listen here.

The World According to Kurt Cobain

(Gibson) Before Nirvana released their sophomore album Nevermind in 1991, punk rock and indie music was considered niche-- something the masses would never touch. Punk certainly wasn't getting any mainstream airplay, and the focus was on the hair metal bands of the era: Mötley Crüe, Poison, Warrant. With Nevermind, Nirvana brought punk and indie rock into the popular music realm and made alternative music ubiquitous.

Nirvana's success story was short-lived, as tormented frontman Kurt Cobain's body was found at his house outside of Seattle in 1994. It wasn't a huge surprise, as he had threatened to commit suicide for a while, but it left a young generation stunned and without a leader. In this piece, we look back at some quotes from Cobain's life and career.

On handling – or not handling – overnight success, as told to Rolling Stone: "It was so fast and explosive. I didn't know how to deal with it. If there was a Rock Star 101 course, I would have liked to take it. It might have helped me."

On what young bands he was digging before the release of Nevermind, as remembered by CA.MSN.com: "I think the Breeders. I like the Pixies. I don't like their last album though... I like R.E.M. I like the Jesus Lizards, the Melvins, [inaudible] Shonen Knife, Bikini Kills. There are a few other bands I like. I'm kind of picky."

On Ozzy Osbourne digging Nevermind, as told to Kerrang! magazine (via NirvanaClub.com): I can understand Ozzy liking us, because we have some similarities with his former band. Ozzy was also in the same mixing studio that we were in for our last record. There were a few times when we were coming towards each other and I had to move against the wall because he was stumbling past. He also asked us to go on tour with him, but we turned it down. It would have been kind of exciting, but we don't really wanna play in huge arenas supporting someone.

On being labeled the "next big thing," as told to Kerrang! magazine (via NirvanaClub.com): "I think it's embarrassing to have so many expectations of us. It's a superficial label to put on a band, because it is a big let-down if the band doesn't become the next big thing. People are putting the tag on us without really wanting to do that. … We're not going to be. We're prepared to destroy our career as it happens." More.