NME are reporting that Jason Newsted will rejoin Metallica when the band is inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4th April.
Newsted left the band in 2001 but had spent 14 years with the band since the death of their original bassist, Cliff Burton. According to the report, the band don’t want politics to mar the ceremony as they did with the Blondie induction in 2006.
"Jason Newsted will be there, and he will be playing with us at one point," guitarist Kirk Hammett said. "We went as a band when Black Sabbath was being inducted, and at that time Blondie was also being inducted that night. And there was so many politics and so much drama that, you know, we collectively said to each other, ‘We don’t want any of that,’ because it kind of, it puts a really bad, sour note on the whole celebration itself."
Having spent so long with the band, it’s great that Newsted can come back and be part of the celebration. After all, he was part of the biggest band in the world as their fame crested and peaked. I think he deserves it, and I’ll be looking out for footage of that performance when it hits the web!
The Hall of Fame induction takes place on 4th April in Cleveland, and the band are to receive their induction from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Look at these six geezers and their oversized branded plane! Who do they think they are, Iron Maiden? Oh, that’s right…they are.
Anyway, Flight 666 is a documentary movie chronicling the band’s world tour and the craziness that surrounds a band on the road.
The tour itself sounds like it was great fun, as the band travelled the globe on their own private plane, piloted by their multitalented lead singer, Bruce Dickinson:
I met top UK vlogger Daveyboyz (aka David Bass) back in February 2008 when he was participating in BBC’s Upstaged. He’s been in touch to tell me about his latest project, and I just have to share it with you – he’s decided to dedicate his life to an as-yet-untapped niche: Heavy Metal and… Farming.
Ooo-arrr! I know it sounds dodgy, but check out his proof of concept video:
I read somebody making an excellent point the other day about Guns N’ Roses needing to shift a serious number of copies of Chinese Democracy in order to match Appetite For Destruction.
Well, Blabbermouth are reporting that record sales for the new album, despite the initial strong sales, are plummeting.
There are two things in my mind as I approach my Death Magnetic review. One is that such a record cannot be compared to a classic (Master Of Puppets) that has been part of our lives for over twenty years.
The second thing is guilt. Yes, guilt. After the critical roasting they got for St Anger, Metallica went back to their roots. Is it even remotely right for us fans to insist on ‘more of the same’ from a band? Surely artistic growth alone suggests that Metallica should have been allowed to shape their musical style instead of returning to the sound that launched them?
You can’t stop the rock reunions. Alice In Chains are the latest act to reform, despite the sticky issue of having a deceased lead singer.
It’s been 13 years since the band’s last album, and 6 since their legendary lead singer Layne Stayley died from a drugs overdose.
In this latest incarnation, Stayley has been replaced by singer-with-a-pulse William DuVall who’s been knocking around the rock and punk scene since the early 80’s.
Welcome back, friends, to the MySpace Tour and stop #2 – the Chris George Band. The first stop on our tour was LA’s Heart Of Cygnus, and we’ve selected Chris George from their list of friends to continue the tour.
Okay, any band that sports the name of one of its members usually has that person as the focus. Chris is the main man – lead guitarist and vocalist. He’s aided and abetted by drummer Farid Medjane and bassist Rob Butterfield.
You should know that Chris is some kind of guitar prodigy – he’s been playing since he was 7 years old, and was crowned Young Guitarist Of The Year in 1997 by Guitarist Magazine.
OK, this is the first stop on our tour of MySpace, and the band we’re featuring tonight is Heart Of Cygnus, an LA-based metal band.
Yes, METAL. We’re starting with metal…
On first listen, Heart Of Cygnus are a full-on rock and metal act with a typically big sound. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll discover that the band are only two people, Jeff Lane and Jim Nahikian.
After being unintentionally outed by retailer Music Dispatch, Metallica have officially announced the track listing for Death Magnetic, due out in September.
But if an over-enthusiastic retailer is what it takes to get the low-down on the highly anticipated Death Magnetic, then shouldn’t we all just be grateful?
The song titles are suitably foreboding, and could easily hark back to the golden era of thrash that we’ve all been hoping for. Titles after the jump…
Alice Cooper. What a legend. With his trademark theatrical make-up and a gallows or guillotine always on hand to dispatch his fiendish stage persona straight to hell, Alice has left an indelible impression on the history of rock.
To celebrate the release of Alice’s 25th studio album, we thought it was a good time to look back over some of the best songs of his career. This is our Top Ten – feel free to add your own favourite Alice Cooper songs in the comments section.
10) I’m Eighteen
I’m Eighteen is the coming of age song that launched the Alice Cooper band into the limelight. Featured on their major label debut, “Love It To Death”, it’s become a heavy metal classic through the years – and the teenage angst theme would feature in future Cooper tracks like School’s Out and Teenage Lament ‘74.
