Slipknot's Corey Taylor Reportedly Robbed By Friend

Police told the paper that Taylor has recovered some of the equipment, but no charges had been filed in the case against any suspect at the time they spoke to police on Monday. Read the report for more details.

Cheap Trick Launch Legal Battle Over Stage Collapse

(hennemusic) Cheap Trick have filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Ottawa Bluesfest over a stage collapse during their 2011 performance at the Canadian festival.

The statement of claim by Cheap Trick Touring Inc. was filed July 4, the opening day of this year's RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest, according to Metro News.

The band's touring company is seeking $400,000 for the repair and replacement of their damaged equipment, including guitars and amplifiers. They are also seeking $600,000 for special damages, which includes interim replacement, labour, and travel expenses.

The statement of claim alleges that Bluesfest breached its contract with the band by failing to provide a stage that is "absolutely level, solid, and secure" at all times. more on this story

Dream Theater Reveal New Album Details

(Classic Rock) Dream Theater have revealed the artwork and tracklist for their self-titled 12th album, which is due for release no September 23rd in the UK and the next day in North America.

It's the second record to feature Mike Mangini on drums after Mike Portnoy's shock departure in 2010 – but it's the first time Mangini's had the opportunity to contribute as a writer, since the material for 2011 album A Dramatic Turn Of Events had been completed before he joined the band.

Guitarist John Petrucci recently said of the work: "I see every new album as an opportunity to start over – to either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time, or to completely break new ground.

"This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We've fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic." Check out the artwork and tracklisting here.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant Says He Doesn't Revel In The Past

(hennemusic) Filmmaker Russ Spencer caught up with Robert Plant for a rare video interview on his current US tour with the Sensational Space Shifters.

The two sat down before Plant's June 28th show at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA to discuss the singer's tour and current inspirations.

"You know, singing in a band, or just singing generally, you've got to be inspired," explained Robert. "So I just choose a path that suits me. When I want to do it, then I do it.

"When you are a performer you love to perform, you know, but monotony is not something I would be a party to...so I have to cut my cloth accordingly. Some people want it the same every night; I can't do that…it's not my gig."

"I'm not a guy who really revels in the past; if I did, I would be in a much different position now," said Plant, making a reference to the difference between playing with Led Zeppelin and his current situation. "But that would be kind of hollow, perhaps." more on this story

Scorpions Guitarist Compares Nickelback To AC/DC and Iron Maiden

(Classic Rock) For many rock fans, Nickelback is the band they love to hate, but Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs, for one, believes the Canadian outfit are comparable to AC/DC and Iron Maiden.

Chad Kroeger's squad have a lively relationship with their haters. In 2011 over 55,000 objected to the band's appearance at a Detroit NFL game. A recent Twitter war saw them replying to angry messages with sarcastic responses. There's even a website called Nickelback Haters Unite.

But Jabs tells The Big DC: "For me, they are one of the really great rock bands that came out after the older generation, like the Scorpions, AC/DC, Iron Maiden – all those.

"I really like what they're doing. They're powerful, they have great songs, and they're really my favourite band from today." more on this story

New Found Glory Releasing Their Very First Live Album

New Found Glory have set an October 8th released date for their very first live album, which will be entitled "Kill It Live" and was recorded earlier this year.

The album will feature 17 tracks which were recorded during the band's two sold out concerts at Chain Reaction, an all-ages venue in Anaheim, Ca, on March 27th and 28th.

The album will also feature three brand new songs that were recorded by Paul Miner and mixed by Kyle Black, which are being billed as "a taste of what's to come from the band very soon." more on this story

Styx and Tourmates Raise Over $100K For Boston Bombing Victims

Styx announced that they and their tourmates REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent raised $108,000 for the victims of the Boston marathon bombings during their recent tour.

The Midwest Rock 'N Roll Express tour raised money by offering fans a chance to purchase a silent raffle ticket to win a guitar signed by all three acts.

The fundraiser was setup by Styx's non-profit charity Rock to the Rescue and 25% of the proceeds went to local charities while 75% will be going to the Boston One Fund, which benefits the victims of the Boston marathon bombings.

Styx had this to say about the results, "Like all Americans, we have watched the events in Boston and wondered what we could do to help. We know the fans of all three bands will once again rise with us to help our friends in Boston. We Are Boston!"

REO Speedwagon add, "We feel such sadness for those innocent people in Boston who have suffered so much and are still suffering now. We think of those victims of senseless violence as we sign the guitar which is to be donated on their behalf each night. In our small way, we do what we do."

Ted Nugent offered these thoughts, "The Nugent band and family are surrounded by Americans who care deeply about each other and are dedicated to give all we got in times of need. We again face a tragedy that we can all help with, and are proud of this charitable heart and soul effort."

Styx originally founded Rock to the Rescue in 2002 as an effort to provide support to families of 9/11 victims. You can find more details about the organization here.

Soundgarden Release Artists Den Preview

(hennemusic) Soundgarden are sharing a preview of "A Thousand Days Before" from the band's appearance on the public television series Live From The Artists Den, which will be broadcast this week.

Premiering as part of the show's 6th season, Soundgarden were filmed in concert at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on the final date of the first leg of their North American tour in support of "King Animal."

The February 17th performance mixed brand new songs with classics, radio hits, and rarities. The episode featuring the Seattle rockers will be broadcast this week of July 11 - check your local PBS station for the time and date in your area.

The 6th season of Live From The Artists Den kicked off this month with Mumford & Sons; other confirmed acts include The Killers, Ed Sheeran, The National and Imagine Dragons. Watch the preview here.

Kyuss Offshoot Vista Chino Announce North American Tour

Vista Chino will be following up their summer tour dates in Europe with a North American headline tour in support of their forthcoming debut album.

The new group was formed by John Garcia and Brant Bjork (formerly of Kyuss) and they will be releasing their debut album, "Peace," on September 3rd in North America.

The North American tour is set to kick off in Calgary, AB on September 6th and will conclude on September 28th in Columbus, OH. The trek will feature support from Black Pussy.

Drummer Brant Bjork had this to say, "Vista Chino is super excited to bring the fresh VC rock to the American fans. We'll be rocking songs from our new Vista Chino record 'Peace' along with some Kyuss classics and the legendary Mike Dean from COC will be bringing the electric bass...so, be there or be square."
more on this story

Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess Releasing New App This Week

Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess will be releasing his latest app at the iTunes store tomorrow (July 11th.) The new app is called Earwizard and MSO sent over these details:

Jordan had this to say, "Ear training is the single most important thing that musicians of any level can do. I have a passion for creating effective ways to help people develop their musical ears!

"EarWizard is a result of my desire to offer a really fun and engaging experience that will challenge and entertain musicians and non musicians alike!"

Rudess' company Wizdom Music teamed up with Chilean developer Felipe Peña to develop the app which is an ear training app that improves memory, Earwizard will be available in 8 languages (Spanish, English, Greek, Dutch, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese and German).

The app trains your ear while improving your memory skills by having the player repeat back a sequence of chords which gets longer with each round of play. As you improve your skills, the visuals disappear and you'll have to depend on your ear.

Check out a video clip of Jordan playing Earwizard here and you can the iTunes store page here.

Joe Silva Sets Release For Anton Fig Produced Album

(ISL) Joe Silva has set a July 23, 2013 US release date for his new studio album, which is entitled "Blue". Silva spent the last year working on the album with Anton Fig (CBS Orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman), who produced the album.

While Silva gears up for the US release of "Blue" with select concert appearances, the album's second single, "Didn't Mean Like This," has been released.

The song basically tells the story of Silva's divorce and shows the "wife" transforming into a wolf during an argument. And yes, that's a real wolf! His name is Koda, and the pet of Silva's friend.

"Hollywood Animal Trainer Steve Ritt had me run to the store the morning of the shoot to buy two whole chickens for Koda to 'nibble on' while we filmed the interior shots. He is well trained and was very cooperative during the whole shoot." See the video here.

"Blue" was previously released only in the UK while Silva was on a 20-city acoustic tour, opening for The Alarm's Mike Peters. The video for the single "Blue" was shot in the desert just north-east of Los Angeles, affording some extraordinary views of the area.

He explains: "The ruins in the desert is a location that I would drive by many times over several years while driving to my friend's ranch in Llano, CA. I felt the desert location was perfect for setting the image for the loneliness and isolation expressed in the song...just remnants of what used to be a home, in the middle of nowhere.' The video for "Blue" can be seen here.

Alice In Chains Announce UK Fall Tour

(Classic Rock) Alice In Chains will tour the UK in November with Ghost providing support. Jerry Cantrell's outfit released The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here in May – it's their second album with William DuVall in place of the late Layne Staley.

Despite having fronted the band since 2006, DuVall recently admitted he was "still settling in." He explained: "It's always work in progress. There are a lot of things that we have in common, then there are a lot of things that set us very much apart from one another."

Ahead of the album's launch the band released a comedy documentary AIC23 featuring cameo appearances from some of their fans including Duff McKagan, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo. more on this story

Iron Maiden Singer's Aviation Venture Expands

(hennemusic) Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's Cardiff Aviation has expanded with the purchase of European Skybus flight training centre in Bournemouth, England.

Insider Media reports the centre — which will remain in Bournemouth for the time being — is an Approved Training Organization and can perform Type Ratings for Boeing 747 aircraft types, approved by the UK/CAA and JAA/EASA authorities.

Its Boeing 737, 747-200/300 Combi, B747-400, BAC 1-11 400/500, and Sikorsky S61N helicopter simulators are used by airlines and aircraft operators worldwide for initial flight crew training as well as MCC, JetOC, IR revalidations, recurrent and refresher training.

"This is an exciting addition to the Cardiff Aviation portfolio of businesses and services," said Mario Fulgoni, joint CEO of Cardiff Aviation Limited. more on this story

Stampede Frontman Reuben Archer Releases Personal Sin Video

(Classic Rock) Reuben Archer, vocalist with hard rockers Stampede, has released a video to support the release of the debut single from Reuben Archer's Personal Sin – his new solo project with hotshot Stampede guitar whiz Rob Wolverson.

The double A-side single includes the tracks Play My Rock'N'Roll (with guest bassist Rocky Newton of MSG/Lionheart fame) and Lately, which features drummer Harry James (Thunder, Magnum, Snakecharmer) and bassist Kevin Riddles (Tytan, Angel Witch). The single will be available digitally on July 22 and precedes the release of the full album Personal Sin on August 19.

Personal Sin consists of 13 tracks written and produced by Archer and Rob Wolverson; it was mastered by Ade Emsley (Iron Maiden, Steve Harris). Check out the video and read more here.

Secrets Streaming Track From New Album Online

(ESM) Secrets are giving fans an advance listen to a track from their forthcoming album, "Fragile Figures," which is set to be released on July 23rd.

The band has premiered one of the album's new songs online. You can listen to a stream of the song, which is entitled "Maybe Next May," on Youtube here.

The album was produced by Tom Denney (ex-A Day To Remember) and is the band's first official release with their new frontman Aaron Melzer, who was previously a member of Author and Finisher.

Singled Out: My Heart To Fear's The Witching Hour Pt II

Today My Heart To Fear frontman Trevor Pool tells us about the song "The Witching Hour Pt II " from their brand new album "Algorithm," which was released this week. Here is the story:

It was August of 2010 when I decided that I was fed up with books/hearsay about seeing the (theology based) supernatural. Like most people I was doubting if God existed at all, so I started an experiment.

The experiment was to see if demons existed, so I could know that there is a God; (these 2 polar opposite theological beings are connected in the fact that demons cannot exist without originally falling from/being created by God) so I stopped praying, reading the bible or saying the name of Christ on my property, and started cursing demons by name.

The activity that followed throughout the entire next year was nothing short of astonishing, including (but not limited to) arms getting cut open, prevalent black mists, things running around the house in plain earshot, videos of voices saying over 30 different phrases, names, and curses, the jacuzzi lid snapping itself in half and being thrown 20 feet, etc...ANYWAYS, years later things still happen, I no longer antagonize them, and we decided to write a song about it entitled "The Witching Hour pt. II"

This story is very condensed, but 100% real; and the difference between pt II and part 1 are just the styles in which the lyrics were written.

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

Queensryche Release Fall Out Video

(Classic Rock) The version of Queensryche fronted by Todd La Torre have released a video for their track Fallout, which comes from the band's new self-titled studio album.

The self-titled album is La Torre's debut with the band after they fired Geoff Tate last year, leading to a court decision that means two outfits called Queensryche will exist until a final ruling in November.

The promo was shot in Germany in May when the band appeared at Glesenkirchen's Hard Rock Festival. Watch the video here.

Devildriver Release 'Ruthless' Lyric Video

Devildriver won't be releasing their new studio album until the end of next month but the band is giving fans a little taste of what to come with a lyric video for the first single.

The new album, "Winter Kills," will be released on August 27th but fans can now check out the lyric video for album's first single "Ruthless" online here.

"Winter Kills" was produced by Mark Lewis (Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, All That Remains) and the instruments were tracked in Florida at Audio Hammer Studios and the vocals were recorded at Dez's home studio in Los Angeles, CA.

Napalm Records will be releasing the album in four different configurations including including a Deluxe Digibook with CD (including two bonus tracks: "Shudder" and "Back Down to the Grave") and Live DVD, a standard CD version, a digital version and a 2LP Gatefold edition.

Tarja Releases 'Victim Of Ritual' Video

(Classic Rock) Inspired by the one-movement orchestral piece Boléro by Maurice Ravel, the almost-six-minutes-long "Victim Of Ritual" is the first single from Tarja's forthcoming album 'Colours In The Dark' and she has released a video for the track.

"Victim Of Ritual" will be released as download, CD single and 7-inch vinyl this Friday (July 12) via earMUSIC. The physical releases are being made available in strictly limited quantities.

The four-song digipak CD single – featuring the tracks "Victim Of Ritual" / "Victim Of Ritual" (First Demo) / "I Walk Alone (Live From Luna Park)" / "Underneath (Live From Luna Park)" – is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, while the two-track 7-inch vinyl is limited to 1,500 units.

"Colours In The Dark "will be released on August 30. Mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, U2) in Austin, Texas, it features 10 brand new songs and over an hour of music from the Finnish soprano. It's said to showcase some surprising musical turns, introducing new sounds and new musical atmospheres. Check out the video here.

Metallica Released 'Blackened' Video From Orion Fest

(hennemusic) Metallica has released video footage of the thier performance of the 1988 track, "Blackened," at last month's Orion Music + More music festival.

The opening song from "..And Justice For All" was featured in Metallica's headlining set, which closed out the weekend festival at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI.

The group also performed a surprise afternoon set on the festival's opening day, which saw Metallica perform their 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All," in its entirety. more on this story