Velvet Revolver Is Not Over

Duff also shared his thoughts about the recent drama between Stone Temple Pilots and Scott Weiland. Read about that here.

JJ Cale Dead at 74

(Classic Rock) Acclaimed singer-songwriter JJ Cale, who penned two of Eric Clapton's biggest hits, has died at the age of 74 after suffering a heart attack, his official website has confirmed.

The singer-songwriter released 14 solo albums starting with 1972′s Naturally. His most recent outing was 2009′s Roll On. He was a pioneer of the Tulsa sound – an amalgamation of blues, country and jazz known for its laid-back feel.

Eric Clapton was a fan, recording a cover of Cale's 1976 track "Cocaine" after having previously released a take of "After Midnight." Cale's songs were also covered by acts as diverse as Captain Beefheart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carlos Santana, Kansas and Tom Petty.

A statement on his official website says: "JJ Cale passed away at 8.00pm on Friday July 26 at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA. The legendary singer / songwriter had suffered a heart attack. There are no immediate plans for services."

More including a video of Cale performing "Cocaine" here.

Newsted Streaming Entire New Album Online

Former Metallica bass player Jason Newsted's new band Newsted have posted a stream of their entire forthcoming album, "Heavy Metal Music," online.

"Heavy Metal Music" is the follow up to Newsted's debut "Metal EP" and the band have posted a HD stream of the album on YouTube ahead of its August 6, 2013 release. Stream it here.

Apart from Jason Newsted, the new band also features drummer Jesus Mendez Jr., guitarist Jessie Farnsworth, and Staind guitarist Mike Mushok.

The band have been spending the summer on this year's Gigantour before being forced to sit out several dates after Jason came down with walking pneumonia.

Here is what he had to say about it, "I'd been feeling a bit under the weather while performing the most recent Gigantour shows so I went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia! So under doctor's orders, I'm taking a week to rebuild...my apologies to our Canadian brothers and sisters in regions where we will not be appearing this week. I'm gonna work on keeping me alive so together we can keep the metal alive!"

Journey's Neal Schon Extends Olive Branch To Steve Perry

(hennemusic) Journey guitarist Neal Schon has extended an olive branch by reaching out to connect with the band's former frontman Steve Perry, who left the group in 1998.

"Great Steve Perry interview," posted Schon on Facebook, referencing a link to a 2012 interview with the singer. "I hope we can can reach out to each other and connect once again. We had amazing chemistry together. I love him with all the love and admiration you could even have. Steve let's talk soon."

Journey had their most successful commercial period with Perry, who joined the group in 1977; a string of multi-platinum albums followed, and the band eventually went on hiatus between 1987 and 1996.

Last month, Perry revealed that he recently underwent treatment for skin cancer. Read about that here.

Iron Maiden Beat Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber

(hennemusic) Iron Maiden have topped music industry magazine Billboard's Hot Tours list, ahead of Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. The metal legends reached the top spot with $19 million (US$) in box office revenue reported from its Maiden England summer European tour.

Ticket sales from 13 venues in seven countries were reported this week beginning with a sold out performance on May 29 at Lisbon's Pavilhão Atlântico.

Altogether from 14 concerts, attendance totaled 259,298. Included in that count is a sellout crowd of 55,531 at a football stadium, Friends Arena, in the Stockholm suburb of Solna, Sweden. More including video

Slash Promises New Album Early Next Year

(Gibson) Slash and the Conspirators are currently touring the U.S and the Les Paul-playing legend has told the Salt Lake Tribune that a new album is on its way.

"We're working up the next [album] as we speak," says Slash. "Myles has a new album coming out and then a tour, so it'll be after that. But I'm working on material, I'll send it to him, and he'll come in and record. It'll be out early next year."

Slash also talked about play South Africa with Kings Of Chaos [alongside Duff McKagan, Joe Elliott, Glenn Hughes, Matt Sorum and many others], saying, "That was an experience — all the one-offs I was doing. And to travel to a country as exotic as South Africa was amazing." There is also a new signature Slash Les Paul.

Paul Di'Anno Cancels North American Tour

Paul Di'Anno, the frontman for metal legends Iron Maiden on their first two studio albums, has announced that he has been forced to cancel his upcoming North American tour.

Di'Anno posted a message online to fans to explain that he had to pull out of the tour due to an issue with the tour's promoter. He wrote, "Due to a snake (supposed USA booking agent) ripping everyone off in every way possible known to man (and a few ways not heard of yet) the USA tour will not be going ahead.

"After waiting and waiting and waiting and lies and lies and more lies (and then just a few more lies and bullsh**) just like happened to many others before me - I have had to admit defeat to this lowlife and forget about the USA tour for now.

"As you can imagine, money changed hands over there in the USA (not my hands I might add) and keeping me suppressed was the best thing to do whilst it was all stashed away.

"My apologies to the American fans who have been let down and to the various promoters who got so badly burnt in this way. This slime bag snake knows who he is (and so does half of the metal and rock business) so lets hope his fall is a steep one…"

Lou Gramm Announces North American Tour Dates

Lou Gramm, the original lead singer of Foreigner, has announced a string of late summer live appearances as well as one show that will be taking place this fall.

The North American dates will kick off on August 9th at Navan Fair 2013 in Navan, Canada and the final announced date will be taking place on October 11th in Port Washington, NY.

Most of the tour dates will be taking place in late August, with a September 2nd show in Memphis. The tour will visit Massapequa, NY, Upper Sackville, Monroe MI, Hanover MD and Clarksburg, WV.

Gramm has spent most of the year promoting his autobiography, 'Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock 'n' Roll,' and recently reunited with Foreigner's Mick Jones when the two were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. more on this story

Deviants Singer Mick Farren Dies After Collapsing On Stage

(Classic Rock) Author, journalist and Deviants singer Mick Farren has passed away at the age of 69. He's reported to have collapsed on stage while performing at London's Borderline venue on Saturday night.

He co-founded the band in 1967 and they released three albums over the following two years. Later he was one of the activists who tore down the fences at the Isle Of Wight festival, and he wrote lyrics for Hawkind and Motorhead.

Farren recently told The Quietus: "I'd already got a grounding in Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent and Miles Davis, and the rougher end of the Beat Generation, and I'd seen Marlon Brando in The Wild One, and that was my heritage and baggage that I took to the psychedelic party. And it really wasn't welcomed too much by Krishna's Children. And yeah, there were some clashes. At the same time though, I was required." more on this story

Nine Inch Nails Debut New Songs At First Show Since 2009

(Radio.com) Nine Inch Nails took the stage at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival on Friday to play their first show since 2009, treating fans to new songs off their upcoming album, Hesitation Marks, due out September 3.

Trent Reznor and the band played the record's first single, "Came Back Haunted" and premiered two other new tracks including songs "Copy Of A" and "Find My Way," which you can watch here.

They also played hits like "Hurt," "Closer," "The Hand That Feeds," "Head Like A Hole" and "Sanctified," off their 1987 debut, Pretty Hate Machine. It's the first time the band's played that song live since 1996.

In an recent interview with the New York Times, Reznor talked about his approach for the band's upcoming festival dates, which include Chicago's Lollapalooza and San Francisco's Outside Lands, saying that he was inspired by Talking Heads' 1983 tour, famously documented in the concert film, Stop Making Sense. He explained that for these festival gigs, he will start out onstage alone before the band gradually appears around him. More including video and the setlist.

Def Leppard's Joe Elliot Pays Tribute To Mike Shipley

Acclaimed recording engineer Mike Shipley, who worked with Aerosmith, Van Halen, Scorpions, Ratt, Winger, and with Def Leppard on their albums spanning from 1981's "High 'n' Dry" to 1992's "Adrenalize," has died. The cause of death was not known at press time.

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott had the following to say about Shipley, "I'm devastated to hear of the passing of Mike Shipley. He was a fantastic engineer and a good guy.

"Nothing got past him if it wasn't up to scratch, hence Leppard's nick name for him, 'bat ears'. From the High & Dry album in 1981 to the last thing we did together, 1993's Two Steps Behind he was a joy to work with. RIP Shippers."

Kings Of Leon Announce Live Concert Steam

(TeamRock Radio) Kings Of Leon have announced that they will be streaming a live concert from London on August 9th. It's part of their support for upcoming album Mechanical Bull, due for release on September 24.

The American Express Unstaged online show is described as "a first-of-its-kind, live and digital concert series that redefines and captures the journey to the live event."

Guitarist Matthew Followill says of KOL's new work: "We kind of got to fall back in love with what we loved about it in the first place." more.

Ozzy Says Rubin Helped Black Sabbath Find Their Way

(Gibson) Black Sabbath recently enjoyed a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart with their new studio album, 13, and now, singer Ozzy Osbourne is opening up about the recording process behind the set.

Osbourne says producer Rick Rubin helped the band go back to their early days and, in the process, make an album that sounds more like Black Sabbath's debut than previous releases.

"He just said forget formula, just forget it," Osbourne said in a recent press conference (according to Blabbermouth). "I couldn't for the life of me understand what he was trying to say.

"I'd go to him, 'Rick, I don't really understand what you're trying to do. We are heavy metal, we're supposed to be the godfathers of heavy metal, so what are you saying?' And he said, 'Just go listen.'" more on this story

New Korn Album Has 'Old Korn Vibe With A Fresh 2013 Sound'

(TeamRock Radio) Korn have released more details of upcoming album The Paradigm Shift – their first with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch since 2003's Take A Look In The Mirror.

The 13-track record is set for release on September 30th in the UK and October 1st in North America, and Head says it's got "the old Korn vibe with a fresh 2013 sound."

He adds: "All this stuff came in the perfect time. I knew it was meant to be because it was so smooth – everything fell into place. When we started writing, everything started falling into place better." More including the tracklisting.

Avenged Sevenfold Discuss 'Hail To The King' In New Video Interview

(TeamRock Radio) Avenged Sevenfold have talked about upcoming album Hail To The King in an exclusive video interview. A7X are the cover stars of the current edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now.

They'll release their sixth full-length studio record on August 26. It's their first work to be entirely created without input from late drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan, who died in 2009.

In the magazine guitarist Synyster Gates discusses how his band compare to some of the biggest in the world, saying: "The amazing thing about the Metallicas and the Iron Maidens is that they're so timeless, they still resonate with the youth, and that's f**king incredible. Those bands are still holding on to the torch, they've not passed it on. But I definitely feel that we're heading their way." Check out the video interview here.

Killswitch Engage Announce Two UK Club Shows

(TeamRock Radio) Killswitch Engage have confirmed that they will be playing two UK club shows in August in order to make up for the cancellation of this year's Hevy Festival.

Instead of that planned appearance they'll play the Garage in London on August 4 – joined by Hatebreed – followed by a show at Rock City in Nottingham on August 6.

But drummer Justin Foley won't be there. KSE explain: "Justin recently had a bicycle accident and broke his collarbone. Luckily we were able to find a replacement drummer on short notice, so we will not be cancelling any dates." Find out who will be filling in and more.

Lennon and McCartney Top Songwriters Poll

(Classic Rock) Lennon and McCartney have topped a poll of the world's best-ever songwriters. MusicRadar ran the survey as part of their Songwriting Week, celebrating the "most crucial – and potentially the most lucrative – music-making discipline of them all."

And while the Beatles icons hitting the number one position might be regarded as a foregone conclusion, things get less predictable further down the list.

Bob Dylan is second, followed by Queen, Neil Young and Kurt Cobain. But Oasis' Noel Gallagher is at number eight and Radiohead are at nine, ahead of David Bowie (10), Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (12) and Joni Mitchell (15). Read more and see the full top 15 list.

Sebastian Bach Working On 'Balls-Out' Rock Album

(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach is in the studio working on a new album with producer Bob Marlette, and has posted an update on the project and says it is going to be "balls-out" rock album.

"Well, I am happy to say we have spent the last two days in studio and we know exactly what to do with this new record," writes Bach. "It is going to be balls-out, kick-ass rock 'n' roll with tons of vocal histrionics and harmonies especially. That is what I am hearing so far on this record."

"I am going to really concentrate on harmonies and pushing my voice to the maximum you have ever heard it pushed," he continued. "The riffs are crazy and cool and we have 13 or so songs so we are right on track and we know exactly what to do to kick your ass into 2014!" More including video

The Cult Kick Off Electric 13 Tour

(hennemusic) The Cult kicked of their Electric 13 tour last Thursday at the House Of Blues in San Diego, and video from the show has surfaced. The tour sees The Cult performing its 1987 album "Electric", in its entirety, and a second set featuring tracks from the band's career.

The tour coincides with the July 30 release of the 2-disc set, "Electric Peace." The collection pairs "Electric" with the group's abandoned "Peace" album, a project The Cult recorded as the follow-up to 1985's "Love." After recording the full album with producer Steve Brown, the group weren't happy with the final results, which seemed too polished.

The Cult then contacted producer Rick Rubin to remix the lead track, "Love Removal Machine," and Rubin agreed, but only on condition that the track was entirely re-recorded. Thrilled with the results of the Rubin sessions, the band abandoned the original "Peace" recordings and re-recorded the entire album in New York with him, resulting in "Electric."

Check out the videos from the show and the setlist here.

Arc & Stones Kick Off Tour With Kansas Tonight

Up and coming blues rock/alternative rockers Arc & Stones have announced a series of North American tour dates including some shows where they will be supporting Kansas.

The group kicked off their tour last night in Yonkers, NY with their first show with Kansas. They will be joining the veteran rock band at shows in Carmel In, Pocono PA, Shippensburg PA, Roanoke Rapids NC, Allentown PA, Collingswood NJ, and Chicago.

In between the dates with Kansas, Arc & Stones have announced their own shows including a stop at the famed Mercury Lounge in New York City on August 7th.

Arc & Stones are touring in support of their self-titled EP, which was released earlier this year. more on this story

Bruce Springsteen Won't Have To Pay Parking Tickets

(TeamRock Radio) Traffic bosses in Leeds have cancelled parking tickets that were issued to Bruce Springsteen's truck drivers last week when the Boss visited the city.

The Boss was preparing to play the city's brand-new Leeds Arena last week, when vehicles that carry his touring equipment were judged to be illegally parked outside by a traffic warden.

Council officials – who run the venue – have said the penalty charges won't have to be paid. "We accept this is a little embarrassing," a spokesman admits. "But, to be fair, the attendant was doing his job… if a little too efficiently." more on this story

Singled Out: The Candles' Believe You Now

Today The Candles frontman (and Norah Jones bassist) Josh Lattanzi tells us about the song "Believe You Now" from their brand new album "La Candelaria". Here is the story:

This song was one of the first I wrote for the batch that would eventually make up La Candelaria. Lyrically, it's pretty self explanatory. Not too many hidden messages. It's really an observation of several friends' simultaneous experiences with their significant others that didn't end up well. Most of us have experienced, at one point or another, being told they need to change certain aspects of their life or the other person ain't gonna stick around. I thought it was a universal enough theme to write about. The gist of the chorus lyrics is, "Hey, you're telling me to change or you're gonna leave. Whatever, you're bluffing. Then - the other person is gone. OK, I believe you now." Them's the breaks!

Harmonically, it's got a real mid 70's country rock sound. Post Flying Burrito Brothers with some more modern guitar elements thrown in. To me, Jason Roberts lead bits bring to mind Nels Cline of Wilco, especially in the first of the two back to back solos. Specifically, the rhythms he plays are a bit angular and not necessarily steeped in classic rock like the rest of the song. The second solo, which I play, is a most definite ode to Mike Campbell. I love everything about his playing. A heavy dose of Chuck Berry but with a bit more melody as opposed to straight blues. I don't know if it sounds like it, but that's what I was going for.

Structurally, this song ended up quite bit different than it started out. James Iha deserves some credit for this. I brought the song over to his place to get his opinion. At the time, it had a bridge with lyrics and the pre chorus was only four bars. His first idea was to have the pre chorus double up to eight bars. He thought it was hooky enough to bear repeating. Definitely a good call. That meant I had to write a few more lyrics. So I did. He also thought the bridge made things too convoluted and I agreed. Scrapped it. Also, the second guitar solo section (the one I play) has a new chord progression. It's not the typical "solo over the verse or chorus chords". So in a way it serves two functions: first as a bridge section, in that it introduces some new chord changes. Second, as a solo section. Definitely a good call on James' part to ditch the other bridge. Less is more. He knows this. He reminded me.

Hope you guys dig this tune. That's a bit of the back story.

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

Alice In Chains Release 'Voices' Lyric Video

(hennemusic) Alice In Chains have released a lyric video for "Voices", which is the latest single from the band's recent studio album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here".

The track follows the project's first two singles, "Hollow" and "Stone", whose companion videos have amassed over 3 million YouTube views combined.

The band's fifth studio album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones).

The record sold 62,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. Check out the video here.

Hey! Hello! Release 'Swimwear' Video

(Classic Rock) Hey! Hello! have released a video for their track "Swimwear." The band consists of Ginger Wildheart and New York vocalist Victoria Liedtke.

Ginger recently told antiMusic the band came about as a result of a "silly, semi-drunken conversations about making a noisy pop record where I play all the instruments."

He describes the track as a "two minute and fifteen seconds summer anthem." You can watch their new "Swimwear" video here.

Aerosmith Release 'Love In An Elevator' Video From New DVD

(hennemusic) Aerosmith have released their performance of "Love In An Elevator," the second live video the band have shared from their new "Rock For The Rising Sun" DVD.

The 1989 classic from the album "Pump" is just one of the tracks featured on the project, which shares the story of the band's tour of Japan following the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the region.

In the autumn of 2011, despite advice to the contrary, Aerosmith brought their "Back On The Road" tour to Japan, a country with which they'd always had a special relationship. Check out the video here.

Ancient VVisdom Release Video For Sabbath Inspired 'Never Live Again'

(Classic Rock) Ancient VVisdom, who were nominated in the Best New Band category at the 2012 Classic Rock Roll Of Honour, have unveiled a video for their Black Sabbath-influenced song "Never Live Again."

The track comes from the Texas-based occult rockers' second album "Deathlike," which was released via Prosthetic Records back in February on this year.

Ancient VVisdom vocalist Nathan Opposition explains: "In this video we wanted to portray horror and the fine art of self-awakening. The executioner stands as the final act of judgment upon your mortal existence. Because we're all dying to live, I challenge the listeners and viewers to go beyond the realms of their own consciousness to expand the mind into a new positive reality while they still have time. Inspired by Black Sabbath's Killing Yourself To Live, I wrote this song to invoke change. I believe this generation needs to learn a thing or two about their own existence." Check out the video here.

The Slam Release 'Tears In The Rain' Video

(Classic Rock) The Slam, founded by Canada-raised lead singer and guitarist Serge Simic, have released a new music video for their single, which is entitled "Tears In The Rain."

The Slam specialize in strong, riff-based rock that's heavily influenced by the music Simic used to listen to as a teenager. It's a recipe that includes healthy dollops of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Boston, Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.

Says Simic: "The Slam is all I have ever dreamed of. A sublimation of all the musical influences that determined my course of life. No-compromise, straight-on rock'n'roll!" Check out the video here.

Megadeth Share Behind The Scenes Footage

(hennemusic) Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has posted a video online featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the July 26 Gigantour stop at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

The festival, which launched earlier this month in New Hampshire, sees Megadeth headlining the event with tourmates Black Label Society, Device, Hellyeah, Newsted and Death Division – all personally picked by Dave Mustaine.

The guitarist founded the tour in 2005 and over the years has had established artists such as Volbeat, Motorhead, Anthrax, Fear Factory and Dream Theater, as well as giving (then) up-and-coming artists Lacuna Coil, Into Eternity and Sanctity their first break on a national festival tour.

Megadeth are on the road in support of their latest album, "Super Collider," which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart last month with opening week sales of 29,000 copies. Check out the video here.

Aeon Zen Tease New Music

(Prog) Aeon Zen have released a teaser clip featuring music from their fourth album. The new album will follow release number three, Enigma, came out in January.

In Prog's review of " Enigma" they said it was "loaded with fire, ambition and musicality… There is an overwhelming sense of cohesion – Enigma oozes so much charisma."

Mainman Rich Hinks says: "Here is some brand new Aeon Zen music. It's part of one of the many new tracks that we're working on. This is currently instrumental but the final version will feature vocals." Check out the preview here.

40th Anniversary Of ZZ Top's Breakthrough Album Tres Hombres

(Radio.com) Radio.com celebrate the 40th anniversary of ZZ Top's 1973 breakthrough album "Tres Hombres" for the latest installment in their Not Fade Away series.

In 2013, they still refer to themselves as "That Little Ol' Band From Texas." But after Tres Hombres, there was nothing "little" about ZZ Top. The group (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) had already released two albums by this point (ZZ Top's First Album and Rio Grande Mud), and while we now recognize some of the songs as classics–"Goin' Down To Mexico," "Just Got Back From Baby's" and "Just Got Paid," for instance–they weren't hits at the time. Tres Hombres, though, changed the game. Released 40 years ago this month, it contained "Waitin' For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago" and a pair of anthems that still can rock a party, decades later: "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers" and "La Grange." Suddenly, ZZ Top was no longer just a Texas band, it was a celebrated American institution.

Singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons tells Radio.com that Tres Hombres brought the trio to the so-called next level, although they only noticed gradual differences due to their hectic life on the road. "Let's just say it was a big door opener for us," he says. "The band entered the nonstop, continual touring mode before Tres Hombres hit, then we noticed the venues were getting bigger and the road map was getting longer, both nationwide to worldwide."

In an era when lots of bands were getting more "progressive," the members of ZZ stuck to their working class blooze-rock roots. Not every rock fan may have followed the lyrics of, say, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Yes. But in "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers"–when Gibbons sang "I'll be here around supper time" and bassist Hill answered "With my can of dinner and a bunch of fine!"–you can bet that plenty of fans from Texas to North Dakota to California knew what they were talking about and were singing (and partaking) right along with them.

"[That was] ZZ's continual sound of the endless party," Gibbons says of the dual lead vocals. "Lots of people, lots of fun, maybe some mayhem. Sin, sand, suds, and a second line dual singer's salvation to bring the message across."

Speaking of "sand" and "sin," another song on Tres Hombres turned its attention to the world's oldest profession. "La Grange" celebrated a particular Texas bordello known as "The Chicken Ranch," and it became the band's biggest hit yet–not to mention one of its most enduring.

Did the bandmembers, though, know "La Grange" would be a hit when they recorded it?

"Well, it's fair to say we liked the blues groove," says Gibbons. "And, of course, the subject matter. It was a pleasant surprise when it began making its splash. The popularity was noted in a somewhat delayed fashion since the band were on the road… nobody called up on our nonexistent cell phones or sent an email through the nonexistent Internet. It was, to say the least, a shockingly pleasant surprise." more on this story