Category: Rock News

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FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently launched a new video series, "Guitar Zero: Legends Of The Fail", in which singer Ivan Moody embarks on a journey to learn to play guitar. The ninth and final episode can be seen below. The video description reads as follows: "Ivan's wish to learn to play guitar has led him to quite an interesting journey… and some situations he did not expect. Does he reach his goal… let's find out". FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's latest album, "F8", was released on February 28. The follow-up to 2018's "And Justice For None" caps a turbulent period for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in which Moody finally got sober after a near-fatal struggle with addiction, while co-founding drummer Jeremy Spencer bowed out of the band due to physical issues. Much of "F8"'s lyrical content deals with Moody's battle with addiction, its aftermath and his recovery. The singer celebrated two years of sobriety in March. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's spring tour with PAPA ROACH, I PREVAIL and ICE NINE KILLS has been postponed and rescheduled for the fall. The trek was originally due to run from April 8 to May 20, but is now slated to kick off on September 28 in Sunrise, Florida. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has also launched the "Quarantine Theater 2020" series. Taking inspiration from "Mystery Science Theater 3000", it features Moody, guitarist Zoltan Bathory and bassist Chris Kael offering commentary on the band's past music videos.

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Legendary rockers AC/DC have launched a new video series, "The Story Of Back In Black", as part of the 40th-anniversary celebrations of AC/DC's classic 1980 album "Back In Black". The first two episodes in the series, focusing on the songs "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Hells Bells", can be seen below. Last December, "Back in Black" was certified by the Recording Industry Association Of America for U.S. shipments of 25 million copies. "Back in Black" first went platinum in October 1980 and had previously been certified 22 times platinum in December 2007. The RIAA lists "Back In Black" as the fourth biggest-selling album of all time. On July 25, 1980, AC/DC released "Back In Black" in the U.S., followed by the album's U.K. release on July 31. It was the band's first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who had died a few months earlier after passing out and choking on his own vomit following a long night of drinking. The group quickly decided to press on and hired Brian Johnson from the band GEORDIE to take over on vocals, and they headed to the Bahamas for about six weeks to do the album. AC/DC had made some serious headway in America before Scott's death, but no one knew how "Back In Black" would be received. Johnson told The Pulse of Radio that he didn't have a clue how successful "Back In Black" would turn out to be. "I'd just melted me brain in there, and I didn't know if it was good or bad," he said. "That was the first time I'd been in the Bahamas, anyway, or near America, you know, and you (have to) remember, I was just fascinated by the whole culture and all, and I had no idea what the hell I was doing! And (laughs) lucky, really — I was a bit lucky, I think." "Back In Black" included the singles "You Shook Me All Night Long", which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Back In Black", which peaked at No. 37. Despite its massive success, it never got higher than No. 4 on the album charts. The band's next album, "For Those About To Rock", reached No. 1. "Back In Black" was produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange, who went on to produce DEF LEPPARD, FOREIGNER, THE CARS, and BRYAN ADAMS. In 2012, "Back In Black" was added to The Recording Academy's legendary Grammy Hall Of Fame collection. AC/DC recently launched a range of new merchandise to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Back In Black".

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THE DEAD DAISIES — the hard rock "collective" founded by Australian musician and businessman David Lowy — released a new digital EP, "The Lockdown Sessions", on July 17 via Steamhammer/SPV. The effort contains four acoustic tracks, all of them exclusive to this EP. Lowy said: "As soon as it had become clear that our tour and album release would have to be postponed until 2021, we recorded these acoustic tracks with our fans in mind. 'The Lockdown Sessions' is our way to stay in touch with everyone despite the global restrictions." "The Lockdown Sessions" contains four tracks: "Unspoken", "Righteous Days" and an amazing version of the HUMBLE PIE classic "30 Days In The Hole", with these three exclusive unplugged versions also featuring as powerful rock tracks on the upcoming album, "Holy Ground". The EP rounds out with a stripped back version of "Fortunate Son", featuring drummer Deen Castronovo on lead vocals. A 15-minute video featuring THE DEAD DAISIES' performances of all four songs from "The Lockdown Sessions" EP can be seen below. "The Lockdown Sessions" unmistakably proves that Glenn Hughes has already added his distinctive sound to THE DEAD DAISIES. "As we all know, Glenn is a fantastic bassist and vocalist who is rightly referred to as 'The Voice Of Rock,'" Lowy says. "We really enjoyed ourselves with him at the studio and can hardly wait to present the new songs and current lineup live on stage." "The Lockdown Sessions" track listing: 01. Unspoken (acoustic version) 02. Fortunate Son (live) 03. Righteous Days (acoustic version) 04. 30 Days In The Hole (acoustic version) "Holy Ground" will be released on January 22, 2021. The album was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in the south of France with producer Ben Grosse. The follow-up to 2018's "Burn It Down", will be the band's first to feature Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), who joined the group last year as its new bassist and vocalist, replacing John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY). In an interview with "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" at this past January's NAMM convention in Anaheim, California, Hughes spoke about how he came to be involved with THE DEAD DAISIES. He said: "They wanted someone in, and they were asking me about a year ago if I would be interested in doing this. And I've been doing the 'Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple' [shows] for a couple of years, and I thought it would be appropriate for me to take a break from that and do something other than [that]. And I got together with the guys and we had a play. I've known Doug a long time, as you know. And it just fell together beautifully. It's a beautiful piece of music. I can't wait for people to hear it." Asked what the new DEAD DAISIES material sounds like, Glenn said: "It's classic rock and it's a groovy album. It's got a lot of melodies to it. It's what you can imagine with me joining them — what could have happened and what has happened. It's a very interesting piece of music." THE DEAD DAISIES 2020 are: * Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) - Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar * Doug Aldrich (WHITESNAKE, DIO) - Guitar * David Lowy (MINK, RED PHOENIX) - Guitar * Deen Castronovo (JOURNEY, BAD ENGLISH, HARDLINE) - Drums

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Sebastian Bach claims that he has been "trying to get a response" from Chris Jericho days after the former SKID ROW frontman accused FOZZY's lead singer of using pre-recorded vocal tracks during live performances. On Thursday (July 16), Jericho challenged Bach to a "singoff" with "no effects, no tuning, no bullshit" in response to Sebastian's allegation that Chris "mimes to a tape" during FOZZY's live shows. "Bas is a great singer...but I'm better," Chris wrote on Twitter." The wrestler-turned-singer added: "I've never mimed anything ever! I will fucking sing in your face anytime, anyplace dude. I've been a fan & a defender of u since day one...but don't u ever question my rock abilities!" Bach fired back: " You're full of s*** bro. Every clip on the Internet is you miming to a tape. I will sing in your f****** face anytime. Wrestling is not rock and roll. I will show you f****** rock and roll. Check your texts set up The Sing-Off I am ready when you are" During this past Saturday night's episode of "Saturday Night Special", Jericho's weekly live series which airs on his YouTube channel and Facebook page, Chris ended the show by tackling the chorus to "Youth Gone Wild", SKID ROW's first single from the group's self-titled debut album. Calling it "a tribute to a great band," Jericho sang the lines "They call us problem child / We spend our lives on trial / We walk an endless mile / We are the youth gone wild / We stand and we won't fall / We're one and one for all / The writing's on the wall / We are the youth gone wild" while clearly struggling to hit some of the highest notes. He later posted an extended version of his "Youth Gone Wild" rendition on Twitter, writing in a caption: "Saturday Night Singalong! One of my all time favorite tunes.... @OfficialSkidRow" Early this morning (Monday, July 20), Bach reacted to Jericho's "Youth Gone Wild" attempt, writing in a since-deleted tweet: "What does someone have to do to get a response out of the most amazing singer of all time @IAmJericho ? I have been trying to get a response from this vocalist who is so much better than I am, just ask him he will tell you" Sebastian also included a screenshot of what appears to be his text messages to Chris which went unanswered. In the texts, Bach writes: "Hey man do you ever suck! Nice video online what a complete joke "You are one complete talentless f***. Get your own s*** and quit copying mine. Badly "Your singing sucks. You should stop singing for the benefit of all mankind "Is this still your number pussy? I accept your challenge to a singing match if you accept my challenge to a whooping your f****** ass match "Believe me it won't be much of a match unless you bring like a phonebook to stand on or something you fuxkin pussy "You are such a joke I can't wait to kick the s*** out of you just for fun "Hey shrimp why don't you text me back you f****** a******? "Pussy" When Bach first went public with his Jericho accusation last week, FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward called Sebastian "universally disliked" and said that seeing Bach "publicly go after the only guy that I have ever witness utter a nice word about him is sad." Sebastian, who has been outspoken about rock bands using pre-recorded backing tracks during live shows, later tried to explain his outburst, writing: "I'm not trying to beat anybody at anything. I'm actually trying to say hey Chris maybe you're right maybe I'll stop singing live and prance around while the tape is playing just like you do Chris. I'm tired of trying so hard it's like beating my head against the wall." After a self-proclaimed Bach fan called Sebastian "an asshat" on Twitter for firing "the first shots" in his war of words with Jericho, Bach came back with: "Hey man f*** you. I have spent my life learning how to sing live on stage. When someone comes along and mimes to a tape it sucks for all of the rest of us that don't. You want to go see a wrestling match good. Don't call it rock and roll" Jericho has long been suspected of relying on backing tapes during FOZZY's live performances. When the band played in Canada in November 2018, several concert-goers accused Jericho of singing along to pre-recorded tracks. After a video of FOZZY's Toronto gig surfaced online, Bach weighed in, writing from his personal Facebook account: "Wow he mimes to a tape very well"

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Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke has teamed up with bassist EJ Curse and drummer Troy Patrick Farrell to record a cover version of HEARTBREAKERS' "Born To Lose". The track, which was originally released as part of "The Bowery Electric Presents: Live Premiere Series", was produced by Gilby at his Los Angeles recording studio, Redrum Recording, where he's also helmed records for such artists as L.A. GUNS, THE BRONX, BEAT ANGELS, BULLETS AND OCTANE and many more Clarke recently completed work on his long-awaited new solo album, "The Gospel Truth", due later this year via Golden Robot Records. The disc was produced and written by Gilby at Redrum, and was mixed by Grammy Award winner Chris Lord-Alge and mastered by Maor Appelbaum. Joining Gilby on the LP are Muddy Stardust on bass, Kenny Aronoff (JOHN MELLENCAMP, JOHN FOGERTY, CHICKENFOOT) on drums, along with Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, MR. BIG) and Chad Stewart (FASTER PUSSYCAT, L.A. GUNS) on backing vocals. This past April, Clarke released the official music video for his first single, "Rock N Roll Is Getting Louder". The Christopher C. Pearson-directed clip was shot in Palmdale, California and downtown Los Angeles, while the band performance footage was filmed in Hollywood club Oh My Ribs! Gilby's live bandmembers Curse and Jimmy D'Anda (BULLETBOYS, GEORGE LYNCH) both appear in the video, along with some great cameos by Slim Jim Phantom (STRAY CATS), Taime Downe (FASTER PUSSYCAT), Jimmy Herald (HILLBILLY HERALD) and Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis (GUNS N' ROSES, CAROLE KING, CHUCK BERRY, BO DIDDLEY, ALICE COOPER). Gilby stated about the track: "The song is about having a rebellious spirit. Rock and roll means many things: rebelling, freedom and being who you are on your own terms — not following whatever's now in vogue. Therefore, 'Rock N Roll Is Getting Louder' means 'I am what I am, I won't change that, and I stand up for things that are important to me, even if it's not popular.'" When asked how his new music may be different to his previous material, Gilby said: "I don't think it's very different at all. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. I have found the music that I like as an artist and a musician. It's important that I get better at it and try new things, but I like rock and roll, and loud guitars are good for the soul." Clarke also discussed his songwriting process, saying: "I always start with a good guitar riff, then add the devil's drumbeat. It's good when you can put some interesting lyrics to it, too. I always try to find a new way of saying something simple. I don't like to complicate my lyrics, but I never duplicate them either." At last year's NAMM show in in Anaheim, California, Clarke stated about the long delay in getting his new solo album completed: "For me, I can't do a record unless I feel good about the songs. I wanna make a record that I wanna listen to. So, these songs I'm really excited about. They're new songs. It really is classic rock. There's really nothing new on it — it's just a new version of what I like to do, which is loud guitars, man. So, I went in there. I used guys like Kenny Aronoff on drums, Steve Perkins — some really great players. I played all the guitars and did all the singing on it. But I think it's good — I think it's a good fresh approach on classic rock, really." Clarke replaced founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin in the GUNS lineup in 1991, during the "Use Your Illusion" tour, and stayed with the band for three years. After exiting GUNS N' ROSES, Clarke continued as a producer and solo artist, while also playing in SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA, HEART and other acts. Clarke released his solo debut, "Pawnshop Guitars", in 1994.

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Chris Cornell's estate has released his previously unreleased cover of GUNS N' ROSES' "Patience" on what would have been his 56th birthday. The recording was produced by Brendan O'Brien and was reportedly completed only a few months before Chris died in 2017. "His birthday seemed the perfect time to share this and celebrate Chris, his voice, music, stories and art," reads a statement on Cornell's Facebook page. "It is true a man is not dead while his name is still spoken… and, through his art, an artist's soul still burns just as bright as ever upon all those that look up to him and his memory. "Releasing music that was special to Chris keeps a part of him here with us — his heart and his soul. His love and his legacy." "Patience" originally appeared on GUNS N' ROSES second album, 1988's "GN'R Lies". SOUNDGARDEN supported GUNS N' ROSES on the "Use Your Illusion" tour nearly 30 years ago. At the time, Axl Rose hailed Cornell as the best rock vocalist. In the months following Cornell's passing in 2017, GUNS N' ROSES regularly covered SOUNDGARDEN's "Black Hole Sun". Cornell was reportedly working on a covers album with O'Brien prior to his death. In a 2012 interview with Vulture, Cornell stated about touring with GUNS N' ROSES: "Without saying anything negative about Axl, what I remember the most was Duff [McKagan] and Slash and everyone else being regular, sweet, warm guys in a rock band that just wanted to play rock music. And then, like, there was this 'Wizard Of Oz' character behind the curtain that seemed to complicate what was the most ideal situation they could ever have been in: They were the most successful and famous rock band on the planet. Every single show, hundreds of thousands of fans just wanted to hear songs. For some reason, there seemed to be this obstacle in just going out and participating in that. That is what I remember the most. It's sad." Chris Cornell was found hanged in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017, following a SOUNDGARDEN show at the city's Fox Theatre. His body was found soon after he had spoken with a "slurred" voice to his wife, Vicky Cornell, by phone. The death was ruled a suicide. But his family has questioned the medical examiner's ruling, saying that he had a prescription for Ativan and that a higher than recommended dosage may have caused him to experience suicidal thoughts.