Video footage of OPERATION: MINDCRIME, the new band led by former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate, performing on June 4 at the Metallsvenskan festival in Örebro, Sweden can be seen below.

Joining Tate in OPERATION: MINDCRIME's current touring lineup are guitarists Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Scott Moughton, drummer Scott Mercado (CANDLEBOX), bassist Tim Fernley (THE VOODOOS) and keyboardist Randy Gane (MYTH).

"I love touring and I love playing live, performing with like-minded people in front of like-minded audiences and being there in the moment together when all of our passions collide," Tate told Digital First Media. "Typically I play a few songs off the new album, but really I focus on playing songs from my catalog of albums. I typically try to pull out different things that people haven't heard before or that I haven’t played in years or ever. I like doing that surprise thing during the show."

Asked if touring is something that he will be doing indefinitely or if he has a timetable as to when he will cease touring altogether, Tate told Oregon Music News: "I will always tour. I can't see myself stopping. I love performing live and I'm a believer that music is always best when experienced live. You're seeing it, you're experiencing it and you're witnessing the moment. It's incredibly special. I think a lot of us lose track of that in the 20th century digital age. There's nothing that compares to a live performance. I don't think there ever will be anything that will come close to it."

He continued: "I'm still relatively old school in the sense that I buy music on release date and whether you buy it online and have it shipped and it arrives on release date or if you go out and track down a hard copy. Nothing compares to tearing off the cellophane, popping the CD in and looking through the liners. It's sad that those rituals are essential a thing of the past, don't you think?"

Tate added: "In the United States, music has become a disposable commodity for people. It's not part of their lives like it once was. That's due to our cultural shift. I saw something similar happen in Japan in the early '90s; people grew out of music that was dear to their hearts. That's how the music industry treated music as if it were a passing thing. It was like this is what you liked in your youth and then you grew up to be an adult and then you didn't have anything or want anything to do with that music anymore. [Laughs] Music is art and music is essential to the human environment and essential to the human story. We need art. It's one of the most essential things to human existence."

"The Key", the first album of an ambitious trilogy from OPERATION: MINDCRIME, sold around 2,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was made available on September 18, 2015 via Frontiers Music Srl.

On the latest episode of Digital Tour Bus' Dream Tour, the hard rock band The Answer discusses their ultimate tour line-up while on tour with Whitesnake. Check out the clip below. 

"So folks, we’re excited to announce that we’ve got this brand new record which we've been working on for the last six months and it’s just about ready to go," comments The Answer vocalist Cormac Neeson.  

"It's called Solas which is the Gaelic (Irish Language) word for Light and also the title of the lead track on the album. All I will say about this record is that it's a journey and one we've never really taken before so prepare yourselves for a few surprises. But don't worry they are ridiculously good surprises... well I think so anyway. Oh and we'll be giving you a few tasters of what's to come when we take to the stage this summer!"

"Solas is going to be released on October 14th, has been produced by our Rise producers Andy Bradfield and Avril Macintosh, and we’ve had a great time working with them again. It's all good people!"

As high as The Answer have soared in their decade together, the band is reflecting on their roots with a special 10th anniversary edition of their debut, Rise, released on June 17th. Rise: 10th Anniversary Edition comes on 2-CD hardback digipak or 180g vinyl along with a special 12" hardback book marking this milestone in The Answer’s career. The album features never before heard 2004 demos, rare acoustic versions and exclusive mixes of tracks that never made the original album, all presented alongside revised artwork, brand new merchandise, and special bundles that you can check out at this location.

Lead singer and frontman Cormac Neeson said, “This album will forever hold a special place in our hearts. As with most of the music we release, we approached the 10th Anniversary of Rise from a music fans perspective. We spent weeks sifting through our old demos and photos from that period in our lives and found some stuff I’d forgotten even existed! We also went back into the studio to freshen up a new version of 'Under The Sky' and of course there’s a never before released vinyl format of this record which I’m personally looking forward to annoying the neighbours with when I get back home to Belfast!”

The release also includes an exclusive Rise poster, t-shirt and personally signed band autographed copies of all formats. The artwork has been revised by original designer Paul Chessell and developed to include lots of old photos, liner notes and period memories penned by each member of the band. The tracklisting includes the original album re-mastered, ten demos from 2004, three exclusive mixes of tracks from 200, five rare acoustic versions plus a brand new mix of "Under The Sky".

Rise gave the band, who hail from Northern Ireland, a hit not only in The UK but in other key international territories, notably Japan. The 2006 album set them on their way to not only performing shows with the likes of AC/DC, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Rolling Stones and Paul Rodgers but also headlining shows across the world. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who has attended several concerts, also gave them his seal of approval.

Metal Wani's editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with guitarist Herman Li of British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about the reactions from metal music elitists in North America about the style of the Japanese teenage girl pop metal band BABYMETAL — considered to be by far one of the most polarizing acts in metal today — Herman said: "I think metal fans, or generally people in rock and metal are divided anyway. People that like, say, DREAM THEATER, a lot of them don't like the metalcore stuff, and people that like metalcore don't like some of the other stuff; they don't like power metal, for example. Obviously, there are people that like different kinds of music, but it's a matter of taste, and there's no way… No one is forcing them to listen to it, and the same thing is, no one is forcing them to listen to BABYMETAL."

He continued: "BABYMETAL, in a way, the funny thing is… The way they combine the music and the show together with metal and the J-Pop stuff, they actually unite people that don't listen to rock and metal into metal… I believe they're definitely a band which is able to influence a lot of people that don't listen to rock or metal and discover guitar music — rock [and] heavy metal stuff — and I think that is a great thing."

Herman added: "Usually, it's not very easy to be able to inspire people and influence them into a new style; you really have to do something interesting that's never been done before. So BABYMETAL have done that combination that hasn't been done before. Like SLIPKNOT, when they came out, they were doing something different too. I was never a fan of that music, but I recognized their approach and how good they were doing what they do. So I view it as some kind of the same way."

BABYMETAL's song "Road Of Resistance" (formerly referred to as "The One"), which was debuted during the band's November 8, 2014 concert at the Brixton O2 Academy in London, England, was a collaboration between BABYMETAL's production team and Li and Sam Totman of DRAGONFORCE, whose guitar playing can be heard in the studio version of the track.

DRAGONFORCE recently began recording the follow-up to 2014's "Maximum Overload" album at Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with OPETH, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK and SYMPHONY X, to name a few.

DRAGONFORCE, will release a comprehensive career-spanning "best-of", "Killer Elite - The Hits, The Highs, The Vids", on July 23 through Spinefarm. The 22-track set contains two hours and 30 minutes of music, featuring both studio and live material, with promo clips added to the deluxe set. DRAGONFORCE will headline the ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta on Wednesday September 7 and a special "up close and personal" show at St. Vitus in Brooklyn on Saturday, September 10. At both shows, the band will play a "best-of" set to reflect the track listing of the "Killer Elite" album.

In a brand new interview with Reverb.com, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was asked for his opinion the current state of metal music. He responded: "I think there are a lot of exciting new bands out there, but I also think that inasmuch as there are great bands out there that need to be heard, they may not be ready to go on the road. I think that's one of the things that's hurting these young, talented musicians: they get ready to go on the road, they make a bunch of empty promises, and [they] go on the road and crash and burn."

He continued: "You have no idea how many new Randy Rhoads there are out there or other fantastic talents that we're not going to hear because they weren't ready.

"I think the new musicians, a lot of them are good players, especially with the advent of technology for people to record and stuff like that, but there are also a lot of people who aren't mature enough to get in a bus and leave their home for six weeks and ride around, slogging it out."

Earlier this year, Mustaine said that younger artists aren't being afforded the same opportunities that MEGADETH was because record labels cannot afford to sign and develop acts like they used to.

"There are a lot of new bands out there that unfortunately don't get to make the same decisions that we and other bands did because the nature of the music business has totally changed," he told Paste. "A lot of bands, when they wanna 'make it,' they go from the rehearsal room to the studio to the stage to getting signed and being a legit band in a really brief time, and they don't have the opportunity to really develop or to learn what it's really like on the road.

"In every professional business, such as the sports world, for example, they have rookie camp where they tell you there's gonna be gold diggers, and you're gonna have some of your so-called friends come out of nowhere and ask for loans, and you need to talk like this and say that," he continued. "Obviously I never had any media training. [Laughs] But some of these younger bands, I think it's disgraceful the way the labels are prostituting them out, because good songs need to germinate. You don't plant a field and harvest it the next day. You can cram for a test, but you can't cram for a crop."

As previously reported, MEGADETH will team up with AMON AMARTH, METAL CHURCH and HAVOK for a U.S. tour in the fall. The trek, which is expected to include an as-yet-undisclosed fifth band, will last for five weeks.

MEGADETH's last full U.S. tour took place earlier in the year and featured support from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, CHILDREN OF BODOM and HAVOK.

MEGADETH is continuing to tour in support of its fifteenth album, "Dystopia", which shifted 49,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending January 28. In terms of pure album sales, it opened with 48,000 copies, marking MEGADETH's highest-charting album since 1992's "Countdown To Extinction" debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the chart dated August 1 of that year. "Dystopia" also logged the group's best sales week since 2007, when "United Abominations" landed at No. 8 with first-week sales of 54,000.

Originally from Chile and now settled in Madrid, Spain, new RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero spoke to Metal Shock Finland's Alison Booth about the band's recent three comeback shows and the possibility of future performances from the Ritchie Blackmore-led outfit. You can now listen to the chat at this location. A couple of excerpts follow.

On he feels after performing the first three RAINBOW shows:

Romero: "I feel like in a dream. It's hard to assimilate all that has happened in the last few weeks. Not just living this situation with Ritchie and the other bandmates in RAINBOW, [but also the chance to] meet the fans so close to the stage and backstage and all the people going to the show. And then, all these musicians that I love and that [were] at the shows and [they] talked to me and told me that I [did] a great job. But it's a dream come true."

On RAINBOW rehearsals for recent shows:

Romero: "Well, there [were] two rounds of rehearsals — one in November and the other in May. And we rehears[ed] maybe a couple of weeks at a time. It was a little bit strange, because [they weren't] rehearsals like I know a rehearsal. [They were more] like jam sessions and improvisations a lot with the songs."

On working with RAINBOW mainman Ritchie Blackmore:

Romero: "Ritchie is Ritchie. It's amazing to see how he can still play guitar at 71 years old. It's amazing. He's a legend. Ritchie is a really nice guy inside the band. He made me feel very comfortable and very good. And all the bandmembers, we have like a little family, you know. Ritchie [made] me feel very good, not just in the rehearsals, but [also] on stage [during these] two weeks of tour[ing]."

On how he feels about his performances with RAINBOW:

Romero: "I feel really good with my job, because I tried to make justice, not just to the songs, but all these singers — Ronnie James Dio, Joe Lynn Turner, Graham Bonnet, Ian Gillan and David Coverdale. I just tried to sing the songs in my own way and my own style, and I think the people appreciate that. I'm not just a copy of the other singers. I prefer to sing like Ronnie Romero singing these songs of Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale and whatever. And I think the people prefer that, and they really appreciate the situation, because I think the people don't like to see a guy or pay for a ticket to see a guy try to sing like Ronnie James Dio. It's not a good idea. So I feel really good with my job and I know the people and the fans that have sent me messages and told me that they really appreciated [how I interpreted the songs]."

On whether there will be more shows for RAINBOW:

Romero: "I hope so. I really hope that we can do some more shows, maybe next year. I have a really great feeling about the band and about this relatship with Ritchie. He's really happy with the results, he's really happy with the audience [response]. And maybe we can make some more shows next year."

The new lineup of RAINBOW made its live debut on June 17 at the Monsters Of Rock festival at Freilichtbühne in Loreley, Germany. Joining Ritchie in the group were Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT).

Cliff Williams says that he will retire from touring and recording after AC/DC's current tour, explaining that "it's the right thing."

The bassist's revelation follows a series of misfortunes to plague AC/DC. Last year, former drummer Phil Rudd was sentenced to eight months of house arrest after he was found guilty of taking drugs and making threats to kill a former employee.

In 2014, the band announced guitarist Malcolm Young's retirement from the group after he was diagnosed with dementia.

AC/DC has since resumed its tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist," meaning that most of the people Williams has spent the past four decades with are no longer there.

"It's been what I've known for the past 40 years, but after this tour I'm backing off of touring and recording," Cliff tells Gulfshore Life. "Losing Malcolm, the thing with Phil and now with Brian, it's a changed animal. I feel in my gut it's the right thing."

Williams added that he is proud of the band's massive accomplishments, which include having the sixth-highest-selling album of all time in the U.S. with 1980's "Back In Black".

"When you start out, you kind of hope for success," Williams says. "That's what you are working for. But you never really know. It's been surreal, really."

AC/DC released a video clip earlier in the week in which Williams talked about his role in the band. He said: "AC/DC has been… you know, just… I don't know what else I would wanna do. I love the music and I love playing in the band, and I'm all filled up.

"My role as part of the rhythm section is to give drive, to give foundation, and engine, if you like, [and] support the guitars.

"My first album with the band was 'Powerage', and that was 1977. It was all new and fresh, and these people, I didn't know them, and Australia, and I'm from London, and there was the whole fitting in thing. They were great — very accepting.

"They were very famous in Australia when I joined them. They'd pretty much gotten to the top of the heap there very quickly. And they'd been to Europe once or twice at that point too. But we were still touring on a modest basis. We were playing small venues with little equipment, with a little van, and we were all driving together in a station wagon and stuff. And that, over the years, has changed. Not to say it wasn't fun; it was a lot of fun."

The rescheduled dates of AC/DC's North American tour — which will be the band's first concerts here with Rose on lead vocals — will kick off in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 27, just five days after Rose completes his summer stadium run with GUNS N' ROSES.

Original AC/DC singer Dave Evans says that he would have returned to the band if he had been asked to step in for Brian Johnson on the Australian group's recent European tour.

AC/DC postponed the last ten dates of its recent North American trek after doctors told Johnson he faced a total loss of hearing if he did not stop touring immediately. AC/DC has since resumed its tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist," with Johnson apparently not returning to the group.

Asked by Finland's Kaaos TV if he would have done the recent European shows with AC/DC if he had been asked to rejoin the group, Evans said (see video below): "Well, it depends how much they wanna pay me? [Laughs] You know, I'm busy. But, yeah, it depends on money, mate. If they wanted to pay me enough money, of course I'd do it. You'd do it too, if they asked you. But, yeah, of course."

Earlier in the year, Evans had kind words for Johnson, who admitted in a 2014 interview that his hearing loss wasn't due to playing loud rock music every night for a living but was the result of Johnson's other obsession: auto racing.

"A lot of people make jokes about going deaf from listening to loud music," Evans told The Sydney Morning Herald back in March. "It's never been a problem for me.

"I just thought it was sad news. It's your lifeblood as a singer, live performances are so personal, without the crowd and the adrenaline, it's going to be hard for him. Performances are the big highs in our lives."

Evans added that his return to AC/DC would probably never happen. But, he said, "it would be nice to do one guest performance. [Former members] were all part of the band no matters what era they were from."

Evans also said that he thought AC/DC could continue, even without Johnson. "So long as Angus [Young, guitar] is there in his uniform... it's a branding thing now, the name AC/DC is almost bigger than the [members of the] band itself. It's a massive thing all over the world."

Evans recorded AC/DC's first two singles, "Can I Sit Next To You Girl" and "Baby Please Don't Go", before leaving to join Newcastle glam rockers RABBIT.

Evans was replaced later in 1974 by Bon Scott, who sang on AC/DC's first six studio albums and became a legend himself after his death in 1980.

Evans said he "never had a problem with Bon," adding, "He had an opportunity to take my place and become the singer for AC/DC. I would have done the same thing. Bon was a rock and roller and as hard as me... He was quite a few years older than me but we grew up tough and did the hard knocks."

Evans told Wales Online that his former bandmates have not acknowledged his role in AC/DC's early history, saying, "They like to pretend in interviews that Bon Scott was there from the very beginning. The truth of the matter is that a lot went on before Bon became involved — in fact, the band had already got through two bass players, three drummers and a handful of managers by that point . . . all the stuff [Bon would] later do onstage with AC/DC, like taking off his shirt and carrying Angus around on his shoulders, was nicked off me."

Philip Anselmo says that DOWN has a future despite the the fact that the band was forced to cancel a number of shows earlier in the year after he was filmed giving a Nazi salute and shouting "white power" at a California concert.

During a question-and-answer session on June 26 at the Diamond Pub Concert Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, Anselmo said about DOWN's current status: "I think between myself, [bassist] Patrick Bruders and one James Bower [drums] from EYEHATEGOD… We haven't seen much of Pepper [Keenan, DOWN guitarist], because he's obviously been busy with C.O.C. That's the freedom that rock and roll brings. So, yeah, we're all kind of doing our own things, but we always come back together because BLACK SABBATH, TROUBLE and SAINT VITUS bring us back together, and that's where we started from, you know what I'm saying?"

You can check out an audio recording of some of the Anselmo question-and-answer session in Louisville by listening to the "Talk Toomey" podcast at this location.

Anselmo performed the PANTERA classic "Walk" at the January 22 "Dimebash" event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood, California in honor of his former bandmate, late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. As he left the stage, he made a Nazi-style salute. He appeared to say "white power" as he made the gesture, but he later claimed he was referring to drinking white wine as part of an "inside joke."

The singer apologized for the incident and wrote an open letter to the organizer of the French festival Hellfest in which he said it was not the right time for DOWN to tour. He also revealed that he was suffering from a recurring knee injury and needed rehabilitation.

Besides Hellfest, DOWN was scheduled to play at the Download festival in the U.K.

The band was dropped from the bill by Dutch festival FortaRock in February.

Keenan offered his take on what transpired, telling Metal Wani DOWN was "far from done" after the controversial incident. "You know, DOWN didn't do anything wrong," he said. "I mean, we were just guilty by association on that one. That was Phil's mistake. I've spoken to Phil and told him to get his shit together, and he is. He knows he made a mistake and was being stupid."

He continued: "I've known the guy [most of my life]. He's not what that whole thing framed him to be at all. But, yeah, there's definitely a future for DOWN. I wouldn't throw all the shit we've done, beautiful music we've done on one stupid moment that was caught on camera, and he apologized for. [So we are] far from done."

DOWN currently has just one live date on its schedule: August 26 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Revocation’s new album, Great Is Our Sin, is slated for a July 22nd release via Metal Blade Records. Head to this location to pre-order your copy. The album track, “Profanum Vulgus”, is now streaming below.

The band have released a video providing in-depth footage from the recording process of Great Is Our Sin. Watch below:

When it came time for the follow-up to 2014's Deathless, the quartet had their work cut out for them, and their response to the challenge is a record that grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go. Never forcing anything, the songs that would comprise Great Is Our Sin came together organically, and while the members being spread all around North America would have been an impediment to some, Revocation drew strength from it.

Reuniting with producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Bleeding Through), who also helmed Deathless and 2012's Teratogenesis EP, the record packs the requisite punch, yet retains the organic feel with which it was conceived. Known for their technical prowess, the band remained dedicated to upping the ante without ever losing sight of the importance of good songwriting.

While the songs come together to make for a cohesive record that is engaging from front to back, they are further united by the lyrical concept penned by Davidson. The title itself appropriated from Charles Darwin's quote: "If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin", Davidson went about building a theme that was not only fittingly expansive, but also had real resonance with regard to contemporary society. "The concept revolves around the folly of man throughout the ages. Some themes come from historical references that are hundreds of years old, yet sadly these themes are still very relevant today due to mankind's refusal to learn from the lessons history has taught us, time and time again."

Regardless of the state of the world, nothing is going to slow Revocation down any time soon. Whilst the lineup has changed over the ten years the band has been in existence, Davidson's passion has never waned, and they are arguably sounding better than ever as they look toward the future. "We can't wait to bring these songs out on the road and perform them for different audiences all over the world. 'Great Is Our Sin' is a new chapter for the band, and collectively we feel that it is our defining record to date."

Great Is Our Sin tracklisting:

“Arbiters Of The Apocalypse”
“Theatre Of Horror”
“Monolithic Ignorance”
“Crumbling Imperium”
“Communion”
“The Exaltation”
“Profanum Vulgus”
“Copernican Heresy”
“Only The Spineless Survive”
“Cleaving Giants Of Ice”

“Profanum Vulgus”:

“Crumbling Imperium” lyric video:

“Monolithic Ignorance” lyric video:

“Communion”:

In support of Great Is Our Sin, Revocation will be hitting the road this summer as part of the Summer Slaughter tour, alongside Cannibal Corpse, Nile, After The Burial, Suffocation, Carnifex, Krisiun, Slaughter to Prevail and Ingested. The tour kicks off July 23rd in Orlando, FL and runs through August 21st in Atlanta, GA. A complete list of dates can be found below.

Summer Slaughter tour dates:

July
23 - Orlando, FL - The Plaze Live
24 - Tampa, FL - The Ritz Ybor
26 - Knoxville, TN - The International
27 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
28 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
29 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
30 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
31 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Theatre

August
2 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
3 - Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
5 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
6 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
8 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
10 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
11 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Novo
13 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
15 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live
16 - Austin, TX - Empire Control Room
17 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
19 - Richmond, VA - The National (B4BQ)
20 - Wilmington, NC - Ziggy's By The Sea
21 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade

Revocation lineup:

David Davidson - Guitars / Vocals
Dan Gargiulo - Guitars / Vocals
Brett Bamberger - Bass / Vocals
Ash Pearson - Drums

(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)

abcNEWS reports that Jon Bon Jovi was a reluctant singer at a Florida wedding last weekend.

Video (below) shows the rocker sheepishly taking the microphone after a wedding band led by singer Lourdes Valentin launched into Bon Jovi's 1986 classic, "Livin' On A Prayer."

Valentin tells The Associated Press she knew Bon Jovi would be a guest at the wedding and she prepared the song specifically for him. She says he told her he didn't think he wanted to sing before the party and she was "very surprised" when he decided to "grace us with his talent."

Check out the video below, courtesy of coolcoconutstudios.com:

Bon Jovi have completed work on their upcoming 14th studio album, expected this fall. The band posted the photo below via social media with the simple tag, “The album is done!”

The new album, tentatively titled This House Is Not For Sale, will be released via the band’s label, Island Def Jam Music Group. Details on the upcoming release are expected to be revealed soon. Stay tuned.

The new album marks the first Bon Jovi album with no input from guitarist Richie Sambora, who left the band in 2013. The band’s previous release, Burning Bridges, included mostly older songs, including a co-write from Sambora.

Pictured above, left to right - Hugh McDonald, David Bryan, Tico Torres, John Shanks producer, Jon Bon Jovi, Phil X.

(Photo - David Bergman)

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame members Heart return tomorrow, Friday, July 8th, with Beautiful Broken, their sixteenth album and their first on Concord Records. An advanced album stream can be found below.

Heart has sold over 35 million records, and this anticipated album is their first in four years. Beautiful Broken finds Ann and Nancy Wilson exploring new songs, but taking some of their favorite "cherry picks" from their catalog and rerecording and rethinking them.

The title track and first single features a dynamic guest vocal contribution by Metallica's James Hetfield with Ann Wilson. A lyric video for the track can be seen below.

"There is really a seventies feel to this record both in the sound, and the way we got to the emotional core of each song," says Nancy Wilson. "We picked songs that we always wanted to re-do, plus we've added three new tracks. On both new and old, we have the band playing together the way we used to. This is classic Heart."

The seven tracks that were pulled from the Heart catalog were tunes both Nancy and Ann wanted another shot at, due many times to how they were initially produced. Songs like "City's Burning”, “Down On Me," and "Sweet Darlin'" have always been live favourites of the sisters, and of Heart's fan base, but they had somewhat languished. "Those songs may have fallen through the cracks, in a way, because of where radio was at the time when they were first released," Ann Wilson says. "Rediscovering those songs, I found ways they emotionally still speak to me." Two songs are from Passionworks, two from Private Audition, and two are from Bebe Le Strange.

Beautiful Broken's title track had been a bonus song off Fanatic, Heart's last album, but this version is essentially an entirely new song with barnburner vocals-and even some lyrics-added by Metallica's James Hetfield. "It blows the previous version out of the water," says Nancy. "James just took the song on, and what he added was perfect with a bite and a rock accent."

Tracklisting:

“Beautiful Broken”
“Two”
“Sweet Darlin'”
“I Jump”
“Johnny Moon”
“Heaven”
“City's Burning”
“Down On Me”
“One Word”
“Language Of Love”

Album stream:

“Beautiful Broken” (featuring James Hetfield) lyric video:

Beautiful Broken was co-produced by Nancy Wilson with Heart's bassist Dan Rothchild. Rothchild had previously produced Better Than Ezra's platinum-selling Deluxe, but he also comes from rock royalty: his father was legendary Doors producer Paul Rothchild. Beautiful Broken was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, the same studio the Doors cut their best work. "There were eerie echoes in the hallway," Nancy says.

Rothchild said his goal was to capture the human feel of Heart live in the studio. "On these classics, some of which had suffered from eighties-era over-editing-production-curse, we stripped the paint off and found the beauty underneath," he says.

For Ann, the album allowed her to revisit, and re-sing, songs she felt "never reached their full development." For Nancy, the lyrical Heart came alive: "I felt these songs were poetic pieces that were lost in translation with the sounds of the eighties, which was harder and more digital. We wanted to drape them in velvet, and make them shine."

One example of is "City's Burnin’”, originally on the 1982 album Private Audition. "The first time we recorded that was in 1981," says Ann, "and it was in a key that was a bit 'show-offy,' and sped-up. On Beautiful Broken, we put the key in the right place, and the song really bore fruit."

Nancy Wilson sings one of three new songs, "Two”. The song had a different genesis than many Heart classics, as Wilson first heard it on a demo made for a television show her husband Geoff was working on. She reached out to the song's writer - R&B sensation Ne-Yo - and asked if he'd consider giving her the song. "I went to work begging for the song," she says. "Ne-Yo said, 'sure.' It ends up he's a Heart fan. He may still release his own version at some point, but to me the song feels like mine now.

One of the unique aspects to Beautiful Broken is the string arrangements on four songs done by legendary arranger Paul Buckmaster. Buckmaster's resume includes work with the Rolling Stones and Elton John ("Levon"). "We were talking about how we wanted 'Paul Buckmaster-type' strings at one point," Nancy said. "So then we decided to call Paul himself."

Buckmaster's work on "Sweet Darlin'" is, in particular, a standout, but only because the strings highlight Ann's powerful vocals. Ann had always wanted another shot at "Sweet Darlin'" so it was an ideal choice for Beautiful Broken. "To me the original sounded somehow incomplete," Ann says. This version, with Buckmaster's strings, finishes the song properly, but it also showcases how Ann's voice has remained strong over the decades.

Ann and Nancy Wilson formed Heart when the idea of two women leading a rock band was still groundbreaking. From the moment 1976's Dreamboat Annie was released, they became stars. With hits like "Magic Man”, "Crazy On You”, "Barracuda”, "Alone”, "What About Love" and "These Dreams”, the band became one of the biggest hit-makers in the seventies and eighties. In 2012, their memoir Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock & Roll. became a New York Times bestseller, and in 2013 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have sold more records than any sister act in the history of popular music, but they've done so keeping their vision - that women can both rock and put forth emotional intimacy - central to their sound.

Beautiful Broken follows in that tradition, an album with pure rock power on the title track, but also tender sexual yearning on "Language Of Love”. It's a contrast that has always been the essence of Heart. "We still make records like we always have, and they are always impossibly romantic, because Ann is always an impossibly romantic singer," Nancy says. "In a world where there is less poetic lyric writing, we've always tried to plant a flag for poetry."

That may seem "broken" in a way, in a world of machine-created pop music, but it is also certainly a beautiful vision. This year Heart will bring that vision to half a million fans during their summer concert tour, and Beautiful Broken extends that relationship with radio-ready songs, and deep album cuts.

Pre-order the album via the Amazon widget below.

The dates for Heart's headlining summer tour with Joan Jett & the BlackHearts and Cheap Trick are here.

 

 

(Photo - Heart-music.com)

In the new video below, Dream Theater - currently on tour in support of their new album, The Astonishing - show the tour visuals for the new song “Moment Of Betrayal”:

Upcoming Dream Theater dates include:

July
8 - Pepsi Center WTC - Mexico City, Mexico
9 - Pepsi Center WTC - Mexico City, Mexico
11 - Teatro Diana - Guadalajara, Mexico

The video below features scenes from one of Dream Theater’s VIP Meet & Greet sessions. Get your VIP Meet & Greet tickets at this location.

Platinum Meet & Greet VIP includes:

- An exclusive meet and greet with the members of Dream Theater
- A personal photograph with the band
- A signed limited edition collectible tour poster
- A collectible Dream Theater meet and greet laminate and a special tour gift

Soundcheck video:

In the new clip below, Dutch classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen performs an acoustic/classical guitar arrangement of Deep Purple's “Highway Star”. The track is available on the Nylonized album, available at ThomasZwijsen.com.

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson's "Tears Of The Dragon" was performed on acoustic guitar, violin an vocals during the release concert of Thomas Zwijsen's new Nylon Maiden album, Preserved In Time. The video features Zwijsen on acoustic guitar, Ingrid Pontes on vocals and Anne Bakker on violin.

A video for “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” from Preserved In Time, can be seen below. Nylon Maiden is headed up Thomas Zwijsen - known for his acoustic renditions of some of metal’s greatest songs and arrangements of Iron Maiden tracks.

Nylon Maiden’s Preserved In Time was released in June. Thomas has gained almost 10 million views on YouTube with his arrangements of Iron Maiden songs for classical guitar, making this his most anticipated album to date.

Preserved In Time promises to be Zwijsen’s ultimate Iron Maiden tribute album. It makes the classical guitar world a bit more metal by adding 16 Iron Maiden songs (and two Bruce Dickinson songs) to its repertoire.

Zwijsen’s long-time collaborator Blaze Bayley is one of the returning guest musicians on this album, performing two tracks from his Iron Maiden days, as well as a unique version of “Blood Brothers” off the Brave New World album! This is the first time Blaze performs an Iron Maiden song from the post-Blaze era. It gives Iron Maiden fans an idea of what it would have sounded like if Blaze had stayed with the band.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
“If Eternity Should Fail”
“Stranger In A Strange Land”
“Judgement Of Heaven” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Ghost Of The Navigator”
“Powerslave” (Thomas & band)
“Burning Ambition”
“Tears Of The Dragon” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“Blood Brothers” (with Blaze Bayley)
“When The Wild Wind Blows” (Thomas & band)

Disc 2
“Afraid To Shoot Strangers”
“Como Estais Amigos” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Wrathchild”
“Tears Of A Clown”
“Jerusalem” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“For The Greater Good Of God”
“Reach Out”
“Fear Of The Dark”
“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” (Thomas & band)

Zwijsen comments: “In our attempt to choose the best track listing for the most fulfilling, surprising and complete Iron Maiden tribute album, we simply couldn't fit all the songs on a single CD, so we decided to make it a double CD this time. Many of the songs were requests from people on YouTube. If this were to be the setlist at an Iron Maiden concert, I’d be very happy!”

“When The Wild Wind Blows” video:

“Powerslave” video:

“Tears Of The Dragon”:

Status Quo have released a video for “Rockin' All Over The World”, from their Aquostic! Live At The Roundhouse title, released last year on 2CD, 2CD+DVD, vinyl, DVD and Blu-ray formats via earMUSIC.

This landmark release, recorded in October 2014 in a joint effort by earMUSIC and the BBC, captures the band’s first ever live acoustic performance at the glorious Roundhouse in London. This sensational recording features the new pared-back side of Quo, as revealed on the hit 2014 album Aquostic! (Stripped Bare). This album soared to #5 in the charts, giving the band their highest placing for 18 years, and has now been certified Gold. It was in fact the best-selling independent label album of 2014.

BBC Radio 2 broadcast this special Aquostic performance live, and the footage was made available on the night on Red Button and was the BBC's highest-rated music program with 1.3m views in just five days. Now, with the release of Aquostic! Live At The Roundhouse, it is available for Quo fans to own. 2015 sees Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards and Leon Cave building on the incredible momentum that Aquostic has generated. The DVD and Blu-ray formats feature bonus behind the scenes material.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“And It’s Better Now”
“Break The Rules”
“Again And Again”
“Paper Plane”
“Mystery Song”
“Little Lady”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll”
“Caroline”
“What You’re Proposing”
“Softer Ride”
“Down Down”
“Pictures Of Matchstick Men”
“Down The Dustpipe”
“All The Reasons”
“Reasons For Living”
“Rollin’ Home”
“Don’t Drive My Car”
“Claudie”
“Rain”
“Marguerita Time”
“Na Na Na”
“Whatever You Want”
“Rockin’ All Over The World / Encore”
“Rock ‘Til You Drop”
“Burning Bridges (On And Off And On Again)”

“Whatever You Want”:

Trailer:

 

Dario Mollo’s CrossBones will release a new album towards the end of 2016, with tour dates to follow.

Best known for his partnerships in the The Cage with Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath) and Voodoo Hill with Glenn Hughes (Black Country Communion, Deep Purple, California Breed), Italian guitarist Dario Mollo began his career in 1981 with the band Crossbones. With them, he released his first studio album in 1989, which was produced by Kit Woolven (Thin Lizzy, Magnum and UFO, among others) before getting involved in the production side of things himself.

“This new project, CrossBones, was created with the intent to pay homage to the band from where it all started," says Dario. For the occasion, he brought back the drummer of the original lineup, Ezio Secomandi together with his regular collaborator Dario Patti on bass and keyboards.

The choice for the singer is Carl Sentance (Nazareth, Don Airey Band, Persian Risk, Krokus), who came at the suggestion of Don Airey of Deep Purple, during a recent visit to Dario’s home.

“This album includes the best of all the experience I gathered in my career in music and in artistic production,” concludes Dario.

Updates to follow.

Elusive international prog rock powerhouse, An Endless Sporadic, is set to return on September 16th with a new album, Magic Machine. Watch a teaser video below.

Magic Machine is a showcase for mind-bending musicianship and rich expressiveness via avante garde film-score soundscapes. An abstract journey through different styles of music and environments, the album offers a coruscating kaleidoscope of colours and joy, flashes of stylistic innovation featuring ensemble work that is staggeringly packed full of drama yet still meaningful from a compositional standpoint. This is an aurally challenging album with an experimentally wide sound palette, but as a whole is assuredly palatable, mesmerising and resides in a class paralleled by none.

Hailing from the hallowed halls of Berklee College of Music in Boston, the brains behind An Endless Sporadic, Zach Kamins, is no stranger to the synergy or intuitiveness that his particular brand of prog-rock-jazz-fusion offers. Anyone who has ever played Guitar Hero can attest to the beauty of An Endless Sporadic and their songs. The band gained most of their popularity with the song, “Impulse,” which was placed on Guitar Hero 3. After that they recorded, “Anything,” which was placed on Guitar Hero World Tour. From here they produced more songs to create their first EP, “Ameliorate.” And so An Endless Sporadic was born.

Comments Zach: “I feel that Magic Machine was created out of a strong desire to bring out the true intention of the name, An Endless Sporadic. I have always had a passion for music that was part of a bigger story, where ideas can take time to develop and be presented in many different ways.”

Magic Machine's visually stunning cover art was created by Costin Chioreanu (Arch Enemy, Ihsahn, Opeth, Hexvessel), which can be seen below along with the tracklisting.

Joining master multi instrumentalist Zach Kamins on this album is a stellar lineup of virtuoso musicians (we stopped counting at 30 instruments…all recorded live and including hand hammered Lasagne trays!) and special guests including Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), Michael Iago Mellender (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) and Navene K (Animals As Leaders, Entheos) to name just a few.

Comments Jordan Rudess: "Zach has an enormous musical talent that I've been aware of for a long time. It was my pleasure to play some tracks on Magic Machine as well as to be part of this important step in his career journey. The album is filled with awesome compositions and great playing!"

Magic Machine tracklisting:

“The Departure”
“Magic Machine”
“Galactic Tactic”
“Finding The Falls”
“The Assembly”
“Agile Descent”
“Sky Run”
“Through The Fog”
“Sea Voyage”
“Impulse II”

Teaser:

Truckfighters’ own label, Fuzzorama Records, and Century Media Records team up to floor the gas and fuzz pedal. The Örebro, Sweden based band was formed in 2001 by Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm (vocals & bass) and Niklas “Dango” Källgren (guitar). Since that time, they have released four studio albums and several more releases through their own label Fuzzorama Records – including the 2011 DVD documentary (Fuzzomentary) featuring guests such as Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) and more friends from bands Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Witchcraft, Graveyard and more.

“Signing to Century Media Records is like kicking in the fuzz pedal with all knobs turned to 11 - maximum energy, maximum output and totally out of control!”, comments the band.

The new album, V will be released worldwide through Fuzzorama in cooperation with Century Media Records on September 30th. To celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary and nearly 700 shows around the world,  a new website has been created which allows fans to mark a Truckfighters show they have attended in the past. All gig dates and the names of the fans who sign in and mark their show will be printed in the special edition of the album. To join in and find more info head here.

Shortly after the album release, the Truckfighters will hit the road again to play an extensive European tour. Exact tour dates and further plans to play the rest of the world will be announced soon.

Truckfighters is:

Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm (vocals & bass)
Niklas “Dango” Källgren (guitar)
Daniel "El Danno" Israelsson (drums)

Dust Bolt have released a new video for the title track of their upcoming Mass Confusion album. Mass Confusion will hit the worldwide stores on July 8th via Napalm Records. A full album audio preview can be found below.

Mass Confusion will be available as:

- Regular Jewel Case
- CD & Shirt Bundle (Webstore)
- 1LP Gatefold (black & different colors) & Vinyl exclusive Track “Into The Void” – Black Sabbath Cover

Pre-orders are available here.

It's only been five years since Dust Bolt won the W:O:A Metal Battle 2011 - five years the band used to transform themselves from hot newcomers into national thrash heroes with their debut Violent Demolition. These Bay Area aficionados are ready to drop their third full length in shape of Mass Confusion.

Dust Bolt on their brand new album: “We are more than thrilled and excited to unveil Mass Confusion! We have never put so much blood, sweat and tears in anything else than this album before. Since the release of Awake The Riot we’ve incredibly learned, as musicians, as people and together as a band. With Mass Confusion, we have managed to accurately represent the band, exactly the way we wanted it to convey and we are incredibly happy about that. It shows the typical Dust Bolt sound, as well as new sides from us, which makes the album so unique. Our goal was to show that a new generation of musicians and metal bands have grown up, which is now ready to face the world with Mass Confusion on July 8th - the day everyone lives in confusion!”

Relentless touring plus constant fine-tuning of the typical Dust Bolt sound have finally paid off: the old school songwriting is focused and free of ballast weight, yet despite all the rage and aggression there is still plenty of breathing space for melodic guitar work, gang shouts and ten ton grooves.

Mass Confusion tracklisting:

“SickxBrain”
“Mass Confusion”
“Allergy”       
“Turned To Grey”
“Blind To Art”   
“Mind The Gap”  
“Exit”
“Empty Faces”
“Taking Your Last Breath”
“Portraits Of Decay”
“Masters Of War”
“Into The Void” (LP Bonus Track)

Album preview:

“Mass Confusion” video:

Studio videos:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Trailer:

Fan-filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT's July 6 performance at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York can be seen below. The concert once again saw SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor performing with a neck brace after undergoing surgery last month.

Taylor was ordered by doctors to refrain from headbanging and jumping when the band kicked off its summer tour on June 28 in Nashville, Tennessee. The group was forced to postpone its North American trek with MARILYN MANSON by three weeks after Taylor underwent what he described as "an unplanned spinal surgery."

Taylor previously revealed on Twitter that his follow-up appointment with the doctor went "great," but added that "for now," there will be "no headbanging" or "jumping" for him for the foreseeable future. He also offered that he expects to be "back to 90 percent" within the next four to six months, and "100 percent" in a year.

The summer trek is likely to be SLIPKNOT's last U.S. tour in support of its latest album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which was released in October 2014.

Following the tour, SLIPKNOT and BLACK SABBATH will co-headline the combined Ozzfest Meets Knotfest, a two-day festival scheduled for September 24-25 in San Bernardino, California.

"All Hail", the new video from FIRESPAWN (formerly FIREBORN) — the new Swedish death metal project featuring Lars Göran Petrov (vocals; ENTOMBED) and Victor Brandt (guitar; ENTOMBED), Alex Friberg (bass; NECROPHOBIC), Fredrik Folkare (guitar; UNLEASHED, NECROPHOBIC) and Matte Modin (drums; DARK FUNERAL, DEFLESHED) — can be seen below. The song is taken from FIRESPAWN's debut album, "Shadow Realms", which was released last November via Century Media. The cover artwork was created by Paolo Girardi, who is well known for his oil paintings for BLACK BREATH, POWER TRIP, INQUISITION and BLASPHEMOPHAGHER.

"Shadow Realms" includes 11 tracks of devil-worshipping death metal, taking inspiration from the musical vision of early MORBID ANGEL, DISSECTION and BEHEMOTH.

"Shadow Realms" track listing:

01. The Emperor02. Imperial Burning03. Lucifer Has Spoken04. Spirit Of The Black Tide05. Contemplate Death06. All Hail07. Ruination08. Necromance09. Shadow Realms10. Ginnunga11. Infernal Eternal

Hailing from Stockholm, FIRESPAWN is the unholy union of five death metal veterans with the aim to create blasphemous, sacrilegious and evil death metal, played by sharp minds with ancient souls. FIRESPAWN is:

Lars Göran Petrov (ENTOMBED) - VocalsVictor Brandt (ENTOMBED) - GuitarAlex Friberg (NECROPHOBIC) - BassFredrik Folkare (UNLEASHED, NECROPHOBIC) - GuitarMatte Modin (DARK FUNERAL, DEFLESHED) - Drums

KISS has posted a seven-minute video in which they salute the U.S. military, active duty and veterans on July 4. Check out the clip below.

KISS has partnered with Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) and Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix) to honor members of the National Guard and military Reserve forces in over 30 U.S. cities during their 2016 "Kiss: Freedom To Rock" tour.

KISS is hiring a currently serving member of the National Guard or Reserve force to be a "Roadie For The Day" for each of the 32 U.S. concerts. In addition, KISS is donating a limited number of tickets to veterans in each community and distributing those tickets through VetTix.org. Veterans and their family members also have the chance to purchase discounted tickets through Vet Tix. Military discounts are also available at venue box offices with proof of a valid military ID in select markets around the country.

The U.S "Kiss: Freedom To Rock" tour stops are all home to a large number of Army and Air National Guard or Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Reserve members. Since September 2001, hundreds of thousands of Guards and Reserve members have been recalled to active duty, and many have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly 900 of these brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice.

KISS founder Paul Stanley said: "KISS is celebrating our 'Freedom To Rock' tour this summer; the same freedom that's been upheld by our veterans and active duty service members."

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons stated: "We are proud to partner with HOH and Vet Tix to highlight the incredible commitment and sacrifices of hometown heroes serving in the National Guard and Reserve forces. Many of these heroes have given a lot — and some have given all — and we will honor them in every town we tour."

Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes and vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said: "Our members of the National Guard and Reserve are called upon at a moment's notice and they drop everything to respond. It is fitting that we honor these often invisible heroes in their communities and hometowns as part of the 'Freedom To Rock' tour."

"Getting the opportunity to partner with Hall Of Fame rockers is an amazing opportunity," said Mike Focareto, CEO of Vet Tix. "KISS fans get much more than live music and a pyrotechnics show; they get a chance to create unforgettable memories with their family and friends. We're excited to make this experience possible to our Vet Tix family."

Australian hard rockers AIRBOURNE will release their fourth studio album, "Breakin' Outta Hell", on September 16 via Spinefarm. The disc's title track, which also serves as the first single and video, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

"Breakin' Outta Hell" was produced by Bob Marlette, who helmed AIRBOURNE's "Runnin' Wild" debut in 2007, and was engineered and mixed by Mike Fraser, who has previously worked with AEROSMITH, VAN HALEN, METALLICA and more.

The "Breakin' Outta Hell" single will be released on July 8.

As previously reported, AIRBOURNE has announced a headline tour of North America for September and October. The trek kicks off in San Diego on September 12 and concludes in Baltimore on October 14, taking in 21 shows along the way. Driven by a formidable work hard, play hard ethic, the Australian outfit (led into action by brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe, vocalist/lead guitarist and drummer, respectively; guitarist David Roads and bassist Justin Street complete the lineup) has spent the past ten years establishing itself as a true force of nature: living on the road, selling out major venues and appearing on bills with some of rock's most legendary names, and this latest North American run will only add to their reputation for incendiary live performances — maximum energy, maximum entertainment.

Orlando, Florida-based hard rockers ALTER BRIDGE have set "The Last Hero" as the title of their fifth album, due in October via Napalm Records in all territories excluding North America. The CD was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who helmed the band's previous three albums, "Blackbird" (2007), "AB III" (2010) and "Fortress" (2013).

A listening party for "The Last Hero" was held Wednesday night (July 6) at The Beacham in Orlando and included a live performance by ALTER BRIDGE.

In a 2015 interview, ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti spoke to TeamRock Radio about what fans could expect from the band's next album. "It could go in any direction," he said. "I've got a ton of ideas in all different styles. Last time, it was just one heavy idea after another and hopefully this time we can branch out and bring something new to the table."

ALTER BRIDGE will return to Europe this fall. Their biggest headline shows yet, the 24-date tour treks 15 countries and kicks off on November 4. Special guests include Danish rockers VOLBEAT, who released their sixth album, "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie", last month. French progressive metallers GOJIRA and up-and-comers LIKE A STORM..

ALTER BRIDGE's last album, "Fortress", featured the Active Rock Top 15 single "Addicted To Pain".

When ALTER BRIDGE is on hiatus, Kennedy can be found fronting Slash's band, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS.

Tremonti released the third effort from his band TREMONTI, titled "Dust", on April 29.

Photo credit: Carlos Amoedo

Grammy Award-winning Seattle group SOUNDGARDEN launched a musical transformation that inspired a generation while permanently redefining alternative and hard rock music. Coming on the heels of the 20th anniversary deluxe re-release of their chart-topping, five-times-platinum 1994 album "Superunknown", and a three-CD rarities collection "Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path", SOUNDGARDEN will re-release a standard single LP vinyl of their second full-length studio album, 1989's "Louder Than Love", as well as a two-LP 180-gram vinyl 20th anniversary reissue of their seminal 1996 album, "Down On The Upside", both with download cards to include 320kbps MP4 AACs, to be released by UMe on August 26.

Formed by vocalist Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto (later replaced by Ben Shepherd) in Seattle in 1984, and soon joined by drummer Matt Cameron, SOUNDGARDEN remain one of the most influential bands to emerge from that era of rock, their chart-topping 1994 album, "Superunknown", featuring the Grammy Award-winning singles "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman".

"Louder Than Love", SOUNDGARDEN's second full-length studio album and major label debut (after the independently released, Grammy-nominated "Ultramega OK"), was originally released by A&M Records on September 5, 1989, and was the last to include bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Recorded with producer Terry Date at Seattle's London Bridge Studios, it announced the arrival of a major force on the emerging Pacific Northwest rock scene, later to include NIRVANA and PEARL JAM. The album peaked on the Billboard chart at #108, yielding the singles, "Loud Love", "Hands All Over" and the radio-only promo "Get On The Snake", the latter of which was featured in the 1989 movie "Lost Angels". GUNS N' ROSES later paid tribute to the band by covering "Big Dumb Sex" on their 1993 album "The Spaghetti Incident?" as part of a medley with T. REX's "Buick MacKane". Q magazine named the album one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" in 2001. UMe is now releasing "Louder Than Love" in a single-LP 180-gram vinyl edition on August 26, newly remastered from the original analog tapes.

"Down On The Upside", SOUNDGARDEN's fifth full-length studio album, released on May 21, 1996, debuting at #2 on The Billboard 200, represented a significant stylistic departure away from alternative metal into a more experimental sound with an emphasis on vocals, melody and more diverse instrumentation. Entertainment Weekly compared the results favorably to LED ZEPPELIN in the way the album "so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric." At the time Cornell described several of the songs as "self-affirming" and "autobiographical" while the singles, "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up The Outside World", all scored high on the U.S. mainstream rock chart, the latter two going #1, with "Pretty Noose" nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. All three singles also scored on the modern rock chart, with "Pretty Noose" and "Burden in My Hand" peaking at #2 and "Blow Up the Outside World" at #8. "Down On The Upside" went to #1 in Australia and New Zealand and #7 in the U.K., sold 1.6 million copies in the U.S. and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It would be the last new SOUNDGARDEN album for 16 years until 2012's comeback, "King Animal". Now, UMe has made "Down On The Upside" available for the first time as a two-LP 180-gram vinyl set, newly remastered from the original analog tapes.

Track listings:

"Louder Than Love" (one-LP vinyl)

Side One

01. Ugly Truth02. Hands All Over03. Gun04. Power Trip05. Get On The Snake06. Full On Kevin's Mom

Side Two

01. Loud Love02. I Awake03. No Wrong No Right04. Uncovered05. Big Dumb Sex06. Full On (Reprise)

"Down On The Upside" (two-Lp vinyl)

Side One

01. Pretty Noose02. Rhinosaur03. Zero Chance04. Dusty

Side Two

01. Ty Cobb02. Blow Up The Outside World03. Burden In My Hand04. Never Named

Side Three

01. Applebite02. Never The Machine Forever03. Tighter & Tighter04. No Attention

Side Four

01. Switch Opens02. Overfloater03. An Unkind04. Boot Camp

Paul Di'Anno says that he is recovering from an operation to remove a "rugby ball-sized abscess" on his lungs that turned out not to be cancer.

The former IRON MAIDEN frontman tells Classic Rock magazine that he expects to be in care for up to eight weeks and says that he could have to wait six months for an urgent knee replacement operation.

Rumors about Di'Anno's health status spread like wildfire yesterday after his friend and fellow former MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley told Chile's HumoNegro web site last Friday that Paul was battling cancer. But Di'Anno insists that is not the case.

Di'Anno tells Classic Rock: "I collapsed at home after coming back from Argentina and a scan found a massive big black shadow on my lungs. I thought I was on my way out, but it turned out to be non-malignant.

"It was an abscess that was all infected and the size of a rugby ball. It turns out I've been living with this thing in me for the last few years.

"The doctors said it was an airborne thing that caused the infection and I could have picked it up anywhere.

"I had to go into recovery after the operation and rather than go back to my home in Sao Paulo, Brazil, I stayed here in England and I'm now in a care home."

Di'Anno claims Bayley's interview is based on information that Blaze had earlier in the year when Di'Anno feared he might have cancer.

The 58-year-old singer said that his left knee still needs to be replaced but that he has to wait until he is free of the infection associated with the abscess.

"I'm getting a lot of physiotherapy on my left knee, so that they can try get me back on my walking sticks again," he says. "I've already had the other knee replaced and once this one is done I will be fine.

"It's very, very painful right now and I have been quite depressed. I'm on 30 pills a day and in a wheelchair. But everyone says I'm looking better. I'm trying to stay positive.

"I suppose I'm pretty damn lucky, but the last six months have been hard."

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN before being replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

Drummer Steven Adler rejoined GUNS N' ROSES on stage earlier tonight (Wednesday, July 6) in Cincinnati, Ohio to perform two songs: "Out Ta Get Me" and "My Michelle". This marked Adler's fist appearance with GN'R since 1990.

Singer Axl Rose introduced the drummer to the Brown Stadium crowd by simply saying: "On the drums, you might know this guy. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Steven Adler." After playing "Out Ta Get Me", Axl said: "I guess we should do another."

Fan-filmed video footage and photos of Adler's appearance can be seen below.

The rest of the Cincinnati show featured the same GUNS N' ROSES lineup that played seven headlining gigs in April, as well as several stadium dates in late June and earlier this month: singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, alongside keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Also appearing with them was second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

A source close to GUNS N' ROSES told LA Weekly that Adler was having back surgery around the time of GUNS N' ROSES' April 1 concert at The Troubadour, which was the real reason his band ADLER canceled its show at the Whisky A Go Go. The LA Weekly writer claimed that he was also "told [Adler was] not ready to tour with GN'R, not yet, and maybe not ever."

Fan speculation around the involvement of Adler had been heavy, with some of the bandmembers reportedly not sure whether the drummer, who has a longer history of drug problems than any of the other musicians, could hold it together on the road.

Adler was fired from GUNS N' ROSES in 1990 for his rampant drug use and replaced by Matt Sorum.

Adler said last October that he would be the last person to hear about his involvement in a GUNS N' ROSES reunion because Slash couldn't trust him to keep the information secret. "I've known for Slash thirty-what… thirty-nine years, and he knows that I would climb to the [highest] mountain and I would do, as Paul Stanley would say, 'shout it out loud,'" he said.

Adler told VH1 Classic's Eddie Trunk in a separate interview about the possibility of his involvement in a GN'R reunion: "I love those guys, and I always will, but Duff, he doesn't think I'm cool. And Slash, he doesn't believe that I have [two years] sober. He doesn't believe it. I don't know why, but they forget that at one time in their life, they were doing drugs and drinking and they were fucking up. They forget that they were like that too. Duff has got 20 years sober or more, Slash has got, like, 11 or 12 years sober, and I've got [two years]. So everybody gets it at a different time. I'm just thankful I got it."

He expressed frustration that the original GUNS had not reunited, saying, "I don't get it. We just play music. We're living our dream. When we're together, we play it really great. Let's just do it. What's the problem?"

According to the Mirror, Cream drum legend Ginger Baker has had open-heart surgery at the age of 76.

The 76-year-old’s daughter, Leda, said he is “on the road to recovery” after the surgery and a bad fall.

She said: “Ginger is on the road to recovery. After open heart surgery and a bad fall he is miraculously recovering well. He called the day after his surgery to say he was okay. Albeit a rather disorientated and unintelligible conversation he was at least awake and aware.

Baker had to cancel gigs when he was diagnosed with serious heart trouble earlier this year.

Read more at the Mirror.