Five Finger Death Punch Almost Fired Singer Over Alcoholism

However, Moody explains that it was Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, who had his own struggles early in his career, that helped him come to his senses. "I went on his bus and he sat there," Moody said. "He lit me a cigarette and he looked me in the eyes and said, 'First things first, dude. You need to get off the juice. You've got the most talented band and you're a great performer, but you're f**king up and I've been there.' What he was saying was so potent because he was someone I had looked up to my entire life. I was crying when I walked off the bus. It hurt me because I knew he was right." Read the Team Rock Radio report here.

Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones and Ghost Announce Fall Tour

Avenged Sevenfold have revealed some of the details for their upcoming North American Fall headline tour that the band will be launching in October.

The arena trek will feature support from Deftones and Ghost (aka Ghost B.C.) and Avenged Sevenfold have revealed the dates and cities for the tour but have yet to release venue information.

Avenged Sevenfold will be launching the tour, their first full North American tour since 2011, in support of their new album, Hail To The King.

The new album was produced by Mike Elizondo and is set to be released on August 27th and yesterday the band gave fans a taste of what is come by releasing an online stream of the album's title track here.

Avenged Sevenfold have also announced a special free Hail To The King record release show on August 26th at the Hollywood Palladium. The band will be releasing information about how fans can obtain tickets to show soon. more on this story

How Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Joined Stone Temple Pilots

(Classic Rock) Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo didn't realize how easy it was going to be to persuade Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington to join the band.

He'd known that Bennington was a fan – but he didn't know how much of a fan. And after Bennington had accepted the role that became available when STP sacked Scott Weiland, he told DeLeo the whole story.

The guitarist tells Nikki Sixx on his Sixx Sense radio show: "I was on a European tour, in my room, late at night. I turn on the TV and there's Linkin Park doing this massive festival, and Chester's hitting it with a Stone Temple Pilots shirt on. It put a smile on my face, it brought me back to home, and I could feel my heart again.

"When the time came to think about a singer we reached out to him."

Bennington, who readily describe accepting the invitation as a "no-brainer," went on to record the track Out Of Time with STP, who launched it in May as their first musical act without Weiland.

It was around that time the singer told DeLeo: "When I was dating my wife, about eight, nine years ago, I said: 'One day, they're going to call me to be in the band.'" more on this story

Mazzy Star Releasing First New Album In 17 Years

Mazzy Star have set a September 24th, 2013 world wide release date for their first new album in seventeen years, and fourth studio album overall, Seasons Of Your Day.

The band is teasing the album's release with an online streaming preview of the first single "California." Mazzy Star will be releasing a music video for the track in August, but you can listen to it right now at this location.

The new album features the original Mazzy Star lineup and will also feature special guest appearances including My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig and the late Bert Jansch (Pentangle).

Seasons Of Your Day was produced and co-written by David Roback and Hope Sandoval and will be released on their own label, Rhymes Of An Hour Records, in CD, 180g vinyl double LP, and digital download formats. more on this story

The Cult Reuniting With James Stevenson For Electric 13 Tour

(hennemusic) The Cult have announced that guitarist James Stevenson will be joining them on the band's upcoming Electric 13 tour. Stevenson, who previously toured with The Cult in the mid-90s, is replacing Mike Dimkich, who has left the band to play with Bad Religion.

The Electric 13 tour, which kicks off in San Diego on July 25, coincides with the release of the new 2-disc set, "Electric Peace", on July 30.

"We stared of rehearsals as a trio with me, Chris [Wyse, bass] and Johnny [Tempesta, drums] as we felt like we just wanted to get a bit of the rust off as we haven't played together for a while," says guitarist Billy Duffy.

"Obviously, 'Electric' is very much a two-guitar album, one rhythm and one lead, so with Mike moving on, we've decided to welcome back James Stevenson back into the fold to play rhythm for the tour. As a Cult alumni of 94/5, James was the obvious choice."

"The plan is to play the 'Electric' album in order then break and play a bunch of other stuff from the other eras, similar to the 'Love Live' tour from a few years back," added Duffy. more on this story

Dave Grohl Takes Part in Grease Sing-A-Along

(Radio.com) At famed Los Angeles venue the Hollywood Bowl, the Grease Sing-A-Long has become an annual tradition, with fans packing the amphitheater to belt out the hit songs from the enduring 1978 movie musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. This apparently now involves Dave Grohl.

To mark the film's 35th anniversary for the 2013 event (July 13), the Hollywood Bowl secured actress Didi Conn (she played "Frenchie" in the original movie) and the band Sha Na Na, who were cast as the band Johnny Casino and the Gamblers in Grease and are featured on six songs from the soundtrack.

During Sha Na Na's warm-up set, the Foo Fighters frontman, resplendent in a shiny red blazer, joined the band on drums during a cover of Little Richards' 1957 Grease-era hit, "Lucille."

In fan-shot video from the moment, Grohl can be seen rocking out with the band, with singer John "Jocko" Marcellino shouting-out Grohl's jacket at the song's conclusion. more on this story

Panic! At The Disco Announce Album and Fall Out Boy Tour

Panic! At The Disco has announced an October 8th release date for their forthcoming studio album, "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!" and they will be launching two tours prior to the release.

The album's first single "Miss Jackson," was released exclusively to iTunes this week and the band premiered the music video, which was directed by Jordan Bahat (Grouplove, Fitz and The Tantrums) and stars 30 Rock's Katrina Bowden. You can watch the clip here.

Ahead of the album release, Panic! At The Disco will be hitting the road for a short North American headline tour that will be visiting intimate venues and they will then hit the road with Fall Out Boy.

The headline tour will be kicking off on August 4th in Norfolk, Va at Jewish Mother and will conclude on August 24th in Salt Lake City, UT at the Gallivan Center.

The band will then begin the Fall Out Boy Save Rock And Roll Arena Tour 2013 on September 5th in Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun. That tour will conclude on September 29th in Tampa, FL at the USF Sun Dome.

Panic! At The Disco's new album, "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!," was produced by Butch Walker and Urie offered up these comments about the effort. "I had these sounds in my head," he said. "I just had to figure out how to get them out.

"So I just kept writing, writing, and writing until eventually we had all these songs and I was like, 'This is it. This is the record I want to make.' I knew it would happen, and finally it's here." more on this story

Vivian Campbell Reclaiming Dio Heritage With Last In Line

(Classic Rock) Last In Line is all about reclaiming lost heritage for guitarist Vivian Campbell. The Def Leppard axeman has reunited with fellow founding Dio members Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Claude Schnell. Together with singer Andy Freeman they're gearing up to tour the UK, playing the tracks they wrote as part of the late Ronnie James Dio's band.

And Campbell – who was fired by Dio in 1986 – asserts the move to reclaim material he co-created is long overdue. He tells Classic Rock: "I've got a different way of looking at it now than I've had for almost 30 years.

"I was fired, then I was portrayed as the one who'd turned my back on the band. It wasn't true: I never wanted to leave Dio," he said. "I will admit that, at the time, I was experiencing growth and I wanted to try different kinds of music.

"That obviously rubbed Ronnie the wrong way. Perhaps that's what he construed as me not wanting to be in the band – but I certainly did not want to leave."

As a result of the experience, Campbell turned his back on the music he'd written with Dio, and he's still upset about the way he and his bandmates were treated. more on this story

The Joy Formidable Announce Fall Tour With Passion Pit

The Joy Formidable will be celebrating the release of their new EP by extending their upcoming live plans into the Fall by joining Passion Pit on the road.

The North American tour will be kicking off on September 29 in Charlottesville, VA and will be concluding on November 10th in West Palm Beach, FL.

The Joy Formidable will be embarking on the tour in support of their brand new "The Silent Treatment EP," which they released digitally yesterday (July 16th).

The new EP features 4 tracks, including a new mix of the title track done by William Orbit (Blur, Madonna, Pink), a live version of "Tendons" recorded at London's Roundhouse, and previously unreleased song "All This Promise" from the sessions that produced the band's most recent album, Wolf's Law. more on this story

Elvis Costello, Glenn Hughes, Dave Matthews On New Gov't Mule Album

(Radio.com) "Gov't Mule is almost finished with a new release that we're hoping to have out in September. The upcoming tour is called 'Prepare To Shout,' the record is called Shout. I also think–at the risk of sounding cliche–this is possibly the best record we've ever done. The band feels great, sounds great. The significance of the title, Shout, is that we are going to create a bonus disc with alternate versions of the same songs with a bunch of different singers. The alternate versions will be someone other than myself singing."

When Gov't Mule frontman Warren Haynes told us this a few weeks back, we were certainly curious over the identities of said guests. If a band could pick any artists to cover them, who would they pick?

Not that Haynes would reveal his big secret — and for good reason. The guest list, as Gov't Mule just recently revealed, is a formidable one, including: classic rock legends Elvis Costello and Steve Winwood, reggae icon Toots Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals, New Orleans royalty Dr. John, along with Ben Harper, former Deep Purple member Glenn Hughes, Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge and also Slash's band, Dave Matthews, Grace Potter and Ty Taylor of Vintage Trouble.

The unconventional concept apparently began when Haynes asked Costello for microphone advice. One of the new songs, "Funny Little Tragedy," reminded him of the Clash or Elvis from his Attractions era. So he asked Costello what kind of mic he should use to get the late '70s/early '80s vocal sound.

"Elvis sent me a very elaborate response explaining how he recorded this vocal and how he recorded that vocal, going all the way back to My Aim is True," Haynes said in a statement. more on this story

Bob Dylan Classic 1969 Performance With The Band Set For Release

(Classic Rock) Bob Dylan's set with The Band at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1969 is to be released in full for the first time. Columbia Records are promising to offer a "new perspective" of the iconic artist in upcoming rarities collection The Bootleg Series Vol 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-71).

The live recording, remixes from the original source, is among 35 rarities and previously unreleased tracks which will be made available on August 26. It's accompanied by a new painting by Dylan himself.

The collection includes an unheard version of Only A Hobo and a demo of When I Paint My Masterpiece. Liner notes are provided by journalist Greil Marcus, who, in 1970, reviewed Self Portrait in an article that started: "What is this sh*t?"

The Isle Of Wight show appears on the four-disc deluxe edition, packed in a slipcase and featuring two hardback books, and a remastered version of Self Portrait. A two-disc standard configuration will also be on sale, along with a three-disc vinyl set. More details and tracklisting.

Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne Releasing Limited Edition Comic Book

Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne will be releasing a special limited edition of his very first comic book release, The Sun Is Sick, at this year's Comic-Con.

The extremely limited print edition will be sold at Comic-Com 2013 which will be taking place at the San Diego Convention Center on July 18th through 21st.

The adult themed comic features 40 6 ½" x 8 ½" full-color pages. Coyne will also be making the comic book available at the Flaming Lips webstore beginning on July 22nd. more on this story

Sammy Hagar's New Single To Feature Kid Rock and Joe Satriani

(Gibson) The Red Rocker Sammy Hagar is getting ready to release his next album. This time it's not a Chickenfoot album, and not quite a solo album either. The album, which is called Sammy Hagar and Friends, is collaboration between Hagar and a multitude of his musician buddies.

The first single to be released is "Knockdown Dragout," on which Hagar collaborates with Kid Rock, Joe Satriani, and drummer Denny Carmassi from Hagar's first band Montrose.

Aside from Satriani, Hagar's other two Chickenfoot bandmates, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony, also appear on a couple of tracks. Along with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, the pair rock out with Sammy on a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and the track "Going Down."

The album will be released on September 24 through Frontiers Records. Other guests on the album include Nancy Wilson of Heart, and the members of Hagar's backing band The Waboritas - David Lauser, Mona Gnader and Vic Johnson. more on this story

Steely Dan Kicking Off Mood Swings Tour This Week

Steely Dan will be kicking off their North American tour on Friday where the veteran band will be playing various albums in full at select stops on the tour as well as some additional special shows.

The "Mood Swings 2013: 8 Miles To Pancake Day" tour will be kicking off this Friday night, July 19th, in Atlantic City, NJ at Revel Ovation Hall and will conclude with a string of shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City from September 30th through October 8th.

The Beacon Theatre shows will feature special sets each night including full performances of the Aja, Royal Scam and Gaucho albums, two greatest hits set nights and an audience request night.

The band will also be playing special format shows in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Bristow, Va and Boston. The band explained each special concert set as follows:

Audience Request Night (NY): Becker and Fagen have built fan-pleasing sets for decades. But for tonight, they want to hear directly from the hometown faithful. Attendees are asked to submit their top song request on Ticketmaster's checkout page (one request per purchase).

Classic Album - Plus Selected Hits: Setlist is one of three classic Steely Dan albums — Aja, Gaucho, or The Royal Scam — performed in its entirety, start-to-finish. The evening then continues with additional selected favorites, making for a wide-ranging, hit-strewn ramble through Steely Dan's extraordinary catalog.

Greatest Hits: An evening of ... well, this one pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it? more on this story

Springsteen & I Is An Unconventional Documentary

(Radio.com) Springsteen & I has been billed as a documentary about Bruce Springsteen's fans. It is that, though as documentaries go, it's unconventional. The film is made almost entirely of clips shot by fans who submitted them for inclusion in the documentary, likely making it one of the first crowd-sourced feature-length films with actual distribution in history.

To be clear, the filmmakers shot no footage, nor did they record any voiceovers. Other than some performance clips, it is really the fans telling their own story. Over 2,000 fans around the world submitted their own video testimonials, not counting the thousands more whose stories did not make the cut (if you search "Springsteen & I" on YouTube, there are millions of results).

How you actually like the film depends on a) your definition of the term "documentary" and b) how much you appreciate Springsteen and the devotion he gets from his fans. That level of devotion can sometimes inspire eye-rolls from non-believers, and director Baillie Walsh gives a non-fan some airtime in the film as well (having been dragged to Springsteen shows by his significant other, he laughably asks Springsteen to make his concerts shorter). Walsh himself has said he isn't a fan, and the film probably benefits from his more objective eye.

The documentary lacks any real narration, and at first plays like a YouTube playlist. But as the film goes on, the clips tell their own story. Even the biggest Springsteen cynic may give the man a listen after watching the film. At the very least, they'll walk away with more appreciation for his bond with fans. more on this story

Led Zeppelin 2 Launching Summer Tour

Led Zeppelin 2, the tribute band led by Yakuza's Bruce Lamont, have announced a series of North American tour dates where they will be hitting various major markets beginning this month.

The band will be kicking off the string of live dates with a special set at Chicago's Ben Fest this Saturday, July 20th, which is being billed as the group's only Chicago area appearance this year.

The band will then kick off a series of dates on August 15th in Sacramento, Ca. The tour will feature stops in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Detroit. more on this story

Curved Air's Darryl Way Releases New Solo Album

Curved Air founding member Darryl Way has released his first solo album in 20 years, 'Ultra Violins,' digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com as well as a traditional CD format. Glass Onyon sent over these details.

'Ultra Violins' features Darryl's own interpretations of several well-known classical pieces, as well as a re-recording of Curved Air's classic hit "Vivaldi".

Says Darryl, "The motivating force behind creating 'Ultra Violins' was to introduce some new material for solo violin that came from the vocal repertoire and the world of orchestral music, rather than music specifically for solo violin." more on this story

Motley Crue's Vince Neil Plans Tatuado Vodka Event

(hennemusic) Motley Crue singer Vince Neil will showcase his Tatuado Vodka brand at the San Diego Spirits Festival next month. Initially released in Las Vegas last fall, the San Diego Spirits Festival will mark the official California launch of the brand; it is already available in Nevada and Texas, with new States opening soon.

Tatuado Vodka is billed as a five times-filtered pure spirit. Given the Spanish word tattooed, Tatuado represents a libation that is simply about fun, enjoyment and making good memories.

Vince Neil will be at the San Diego Spirits Festival hosting a two-day meet-and-greet with a taste extravaganza on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25 between 1:00 p.m. and 5 p.m. more on this story

Heaven and Earth Singled Out Week: A Day Like Today

Heaven and Earth recently released their new studio album, "Dig" and celebrate we are asking the band's guitarist and founder Stuart Smith to tell us about some of his favorite tracks. Today he tells us about the song "A Day Like Today":

This is a song that I had the idea for quite a while ago and was written by Kelly Keeling, Howard Leese and myself. It was originally intended for what would have been the follow up Heaven & Earth album to "Windows to the World" and came from me messing around with a movement from Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto", more of a finger exercise in fact. Howard Leese and I felt we could make something interesting out of it so we took the classical piece in question, reduced it to the root base notes, replaced them with chords and came up with the song. We wait till the end of the first verse to give a hint of where it came from then give it away when we hit the guitar solo.

I gave Kelly Keeling the title and he came up with the lyrics. The original plan I had was to call it "A Day Like Today" about the time in World War One, and I believe it happened in WW2 as well, where the British and German soldiers, on Christmas Day, would stop fighting, get out of their trenches and exchange cigarettes and food, then go back to killing each other the next day. The idea was that you can kill anyone you like but not on a day like today. The way Kelly wrote it really didn't have anything to do with that but I liked it as I felt it perfectly described the feeling of falling in love.

This song was the only one we actually recorded in stages. Arlan Schierbaum played piano to a click track with Richie Onori drumming and Joe Retta singing a scratch vocal track. Then Chuck Wright added the bass. This was all done at Ocean Studios. We then took those tracks to our own Wine Cellar Studios where Joe sang the final vocal and Howard Leese and I played an acoustic rhythm track together. Howard then added the strings and I finished off by playing an acoustic solo on my Breedlove guitar and the final one on a Gibson Les Paul. Howard used a Paul Reed Smith acoustic guitar and I also used a Telecaster for rhythm in the choruses.

I always like to mix it up on Heaven & Earth albums and this one is no exception. I used to love it back in the 70's when bands would put all sorts of different styles of music on a single album and I try use that same philosophy today. I feel that diversity is sorely lacking from today's music. This song being in 6/8 waltz time is the only classical piece on "Dig".

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

Video From Pearl Jam's Summer Shows Kick Off Posted Online

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam returned to live action Tuesday night at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario and several video clips from the concert have made their way online.

The event marked the band's first show since spring, and only one of two scheduled this summer (the other is Chicago's Wrigley Field on Friday); a North American tour is set for the fall.

The London Free Press reports massive singalongs marked the early going after Pearl Jam opened with "Present Tense" (from 1996's "No Code").

Read more and watch the video clips here.

Dream Theater's James LaBrie Releases Lyric Video For Solo Song

Dream Theater's James LaBrie has released a new a lyric video for the song 'Back On The Ground,' which comes from his forthcoming solo album "Impermanent Resonance".

LaBrie's new solo album, "Impermanent Resonance", will be released on July 29th, 2013 in Europe and August 6th, 2013 in North America. You can watch the lyric video for 'Back On The Ground' here.

The album will be released in standard CD and digital formats. In Europe, the album will also be offered as a special limited edition Digipak that will feature alternate artwork and two bonus tracks ("Unraveling" and "Why") as well as on limited LP version (with the full album as bonus CD).

The previous James LaBrie album, "Static Impulse" from 2010, will also be released for the first time as LP (with the full album as bonus CD) on the same street date of the new album.

Both LP's will be available on 180gr. black vinyl but also on strictly limited clear vinyl (only 200x copies each). more on this story

Soundgarden's Ben Shepherd Previews Another Solo Song

(hennemusic) Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd is previewing "Collide," a new track from his forthcoming debut solo album, "In Deep Owl," due August 27. The song follow's the project's lead single, "Baron Robber."

Billed as HBS (Hunter Benedict Shepherd), the album is a collection of songs recorded in the industrial neighborhoods of Georgetown and Interbay in Seattle, Washington.

Produced by Shepherd, Dave French, Chad MacMurray and Nathan Yaccino, "In Deep Owl" features guest appearances by Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain.

Shepherd's debut solo album hits stores a week before Soundgarden kick off a series of European dates as part of their "King Animal" world tour. Check out the new song here.

Baby Bee Release High Heel Leather Boots Video

Baby Bee have released a new music video for the song "High Heel Leather Boots," which is the first single from the brotherly duo's self-titled debut EP.

The band features brothers Joe Stark [vocals, guitar] and David Stark [drums] and their debut EP was produced by Brendan O'Brien [Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Stone Temple Pilots].

Joe had this to say about the EP, "It tells three different stories. The first is about a kid who's getting his ass handed to him and growing up like every kid has to do. Then, it tells the story of somebody becoming an adult and wanting to fall in love but not knowing how.

"Finally, it expresses where we are now as young men chasing down this dream and desiring to live in some f**ked-up pseudo responsible way. Still, we've got to satisfy this longing to play music. You've just got to do your thing." Check out the video here.

Metallica Release I Disappear Video From Orion Fest

(hennemusic) Metallica have released video footage of their performance of their "Mission Impossible II" soundtrack song "I Disappear" at last month's Orion Music + More festival.

The tune was featured in Metallica's headlining set, which closed out the festival at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI. The group has also released video of "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "…And Justice For All" and "Harvester Of Sorrow".

Up next, the band will make an appearance at Comic-Con in San Diego this week – and play a secret show in the city; the group will launch an 8-date Asian tour on August 10 in Tokyo, a trip that will see Metallica's first shows in China. more on this story

We The Kings Play Acoustic Show For Gibson

(Gibson) Florida based rock outfit We The Kings kicked off a mega summer tour last week alongside Breathe Carolina, T Mills, The Ready Set & Keep It Cute.

The day before the band played in Austin, TX, a tweet was sent to fans that said: "Ticket holders of tomorrow's show in Austin come to Gibson's Austin Showroom at 1:00pm for an acoustic pre show and meet the band."

People started lining up outside the Gibson Showroom early in the morning in 114-degree heat. WTK gave them a blistering 4-song set before signing autographs and meeting fans for a couple of hours. more on this story