It is with regret that British
heavy metal legends Judas Priest announce that guitarist K.K. Downing has formally retired from the band and will therefore
not be joining them on their forthcoming 'Epitaph' Tour.
The band respect his decision and naturally all wish him
well.
Having thought long and hard about how to proceed, singer Rob Halford, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill
and drummer Scott Travis unanimously agreed that they should go ahead with the tour and not let the fans down all around the
world.
Fate also stepped in and delivered the perfect replacement -- 31 year-old British guitar player Richie Faulkner
-- he has blended into the band perfectly and is a great talent who is going to set the stage on fire.
The 'Epitaph'
Tour will include songs from every Judas Priest studio album and also tracks they have never before performed on stage --
plus all the old favourites.
With a new album due to be released next year, the 'Metal Gods' are preparing to tour
the planet once more -- heavy metal at it's best complete with lasers, lights, bikes and hellfire! It's a show not too be
missed!
Warrant's brand new album 'Rockaholic' has now been confirmed for the
release on May 13th in Europe and May 17th in North America on Frontiers Records. At the helm of 'Rockaholic' is mega-producer
Keith Olsen (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Scorpions) and the album is mixed by Pat Regan (Kiss, Deep Purple, Ted Nugent). The
album finds the band returning to its trademark sound.
Warrant original members Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, Joey Allen
and Steven Sweet welcomed long-time band friend and fellow touring mate, singer Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Cry of Love, Big
Cock) into the fold. With 8 million records sold worldwide, two Top Ten Billboard albums, five Top 40 Billboard hit singles
and five #1 MTV videos, Warrant was one of the most popular and successful rock bands to hail out of the Los Angeles rock
scene in the late 80s/early 90s. Formed in the mid-80s by original members Erik Turner and Jerry Dixon, Warrant's biggest
hits included "Cherry Pie" and "Heaven".
Warrant 'Rockaholic' track listing: 1. Sex Ain't Love (MP3 sample) 2. Innocence Gone 3. Snake 4. Dusty's Revenge (MP3 sample) 5. Home 6. What Love Can Do 7. Life's A Song (MP3 sample) 8. Show Must Go On 9. Cocaine Freight Train 10. Found Forever 11. Candy Man 12.
Sunshine 13. Tears In The City 14. The Last Straw
Kiss entered the studio on March 15 to begin work on their 20th studio
album. The classic rockers are now recording the follow-up to their 2009 effort 'Sonic Boom', the band's highest-ever charting
album.
Kiss bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons updated fans through Twitter.com/genesimmons stating: "Went into the studio
today for day one of the new album. We've got some rockin' stuff!"
Meanwhile, Kiss guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley
has been posting video updates from the band over at Kissonline.com. "History will be made," says Stanley in one post. "This album, I'm telling you, everybody
agrees, leaves 'Sonic Boom' in the dust. So this is awesome, and you'll be hearing it soon."
Simmons has also reported
to reveal that: "The new record is gonna be the next step to 'Sonic Boom'. Straight rock songs, no ballads, no keyboards,
no nothing, just rock!"
Says guitarist Tommy Thayer, "It's been a great week in the recording studio working on the
brand new KISS album. It truly sounds amazing and the new songs are kicking my ass. We cut basic tracks for a bunch of songs
together as a unit in the studio for two or three days. We all agreed that we've never got tracks that sound this good before.
Yesterday, I took a shot at a few guitar solos. Paul's producing and doing a superb job steering the ship."
Shock-rock godfather AliceCooper received the "Golden God Award" —
which is given to one special honoree a year who embodies the spirit of hard rock and metal — at the third annual
Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which took place last night (Wednesday, April 20) at
Club Nokia in Downtown LosAngeles.
The original ALICE
COOPER band — consisting of rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith, plus
Steve Hunter standing-in for the late Glen
Buxton — played four songs at the event: "Eighteen", "Under My Wheels", "Billion Dollar Babies" and "School's Out". Video footage of their performance can be viewed below.
Alice Cooper was inducted into the 2011 RockAndRollHallOfFame on March 14 at New York City's Waldorf Astoria. Cooper was inducted by recent
touring partner Rob Zombie, who said during his introduction, "Alice Cooper invented the rock show. Before Alice Cooper, there
was no rock show. They're more than a band. They were more like a murderous gang of drag queens — in a good way."
Cooper and the original Alice Cooper band played "Eighteen", "Under
My Wheels" and "School's Out", after which Alice
gave his acceptance speech, "We've always been a hard-rock band," he said. "We just wanted to decorate it a little bit differently."
He also saluted guitarist Glen Buxton, who died of complications from pneumonia
in 1997, calling him "the heart and soul of the band, as black and dark as it may be."
Keep your ears open for an upcoming album from a heavy metal supergroup featuring shredder
extraordinaire Chris Impellitteri, Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis, bassist Rudy
Sarzo (formerly with Dio, Quiet Riot, Ozzy) and singer Mike Vescera, who’s
spent time at the mic with Loudness, Obsession and Yngwie Malmsteen. No word yet on the
band’s name (or whether it will go beyond one album), but Chris says the sessions are smokin’. “The music
we are playing is definitely metal, loaded with lots of shredding guitar solos, screaming vocals, thunderous bass, and amazing
drumming; mixed with a lot of Spinal Tap… ha ha! Looking forward to playing live dates with my new mates.”
Here’s your first look at Juggernaut of Justice, the upcoming studio album (due out May 10) from Canadian metal
legends Anvil.
June 7 marks the date for the new Def Leppard live album, Mirrorball. The album will be available
exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club in the U.S. and Canada. Also part of the package: a bonus DVD and three brand
new studio songs, including “Undefeated”, now available on iTunes.
Hairy n’ heavy bday wishes this week to:
April 27: former KISS
guitarist Ace Frehley (60)
-------------------------------------------------
The Station Nightclub Fire February
20, 2003
On February 20, 2003, The Station nightclub in West Warwick, RI, burned to the ground
taking with it the lives of 100 people and injuring over 200. The fire was caused when pyrotechnics were set off during a
performance by Great White; the sparks ignited a flash fire that engulfed the club in 5½ minutes.
The
actual site is now an empty lot with memorial crosses (pictured); it’s expected to be a permanent memorial once all
lawsuits stemming from the fire are settled and actually paid. To date, the survivors and family members of those lost have
been offered $176 million from various defendants (sponsors, club, foam manufacturer, etc.), which is now in the process of
being distributed.
Warrant's brand new album 'Rockaholic' has now been confirmed for the
release on May 13th in Europe and May 17th in North America on Frontiers Records. At the helm of 'Rockaholic' is mega-producer
Keith Olsen (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Scorpions) and the album is mixed by Pat Regan (Kiss, Deep Purple, Ted Nugent). The
album finds the band returning to its trademark sound. 
Kiss entered the studio on March 15 to begin work on their 20th studio
album. The classic rockers are now recording the follow-up to their 2009 effort 'Sonic Boom', the band's highest-ever charting
album. 
Here’s your first look at Juggernaut of Justice, the upcoming studio album (due out May 10) from Canadian metal
legends Anvil.
June 7 marks the date for the new Def Leppard live album, Mirrorball. The album will be available
exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club in the U.S. and Canada. Also part of the package: a bonus DVD and three brand
new studio songs, including “Undefeated”, now available on iTunes.
