www.hardrockhideout.com

Winger has announced the following tour dates for 2010.  More dates are coming soon!

Alter Bridge posted the following on their blog today:

Hello Alter Bridge Nation,

Rock on the Range announced their official lineup this morning for the festival that will be taking place May 22nd and 23rd in Columbus, Ohio.  Stage times will be announced later.

The lineup is:
Godsmack
Rob Zombie
Three Days Grace
Limp Bizkit
Rise Against
Seether
Slash
Deftones
Papa Roach
Five Finger Death Punch
Coheed and Cambria
Bullet For My Valentine
Mastodon
Killswitch Engage
Theory of A Deadman
Puddle of Mudd
Sevendust
Drowning Pool
Skillet
Apocalyptica
Halestorm
Mushroomhead
Adelitas Way
Helmet
Escape the Fate
Cold
Anberlin
Nonpoint
2Cents
Violent Soho
Janus
Shaman’s Harvest
Year Long Disaster
Taddy Porter
Like A Storm
Noise Auction

Tickets go on Sale February 20th at Ticketmaster.com.

Paradox delivers the thrash & power with Riot Squad!

PARADOX, just another one of Germany’s very finest, in a long line of Metal greats. When you wish upon a Metal star, looking for that incredible combination of Thrash with a slight dose of Power Metal, all you need is Paradox… they shall deliver! Since 1987, Paradox is Old School, yet what sets this band apart from being considered stagnant is their hunger and drive for maintaining relevancy.

Gus Drax on lead guitar summons up the ferocity of what Thrash Metal was built upon, while establishing and securing melodic leads and solo’s throughout the entire Riot Squad album. Just one listen to the song Rise In Rank and the message is clear, Paradox is not a Metal band that is about to rest on their Metal laurels. Riptide is as strong a contender of Thrash excellence in 2010 as any Thrash Metal song I’ve listened to in recent months. Riptide alone is worth a dozen repeat listens!

Charly Steinhauer on lead vocals and guitar, is never the overpowering force… which is a great attribute in any Metal outfit. Charly’s vocals are melodic and laced harmoniously with hardened edges of experience. Charly Steinhauer has the Metal gift of having both Thrash and Power Metal vocals, thus the Thrash meets Power Metal reference I made earlier. Hollow Peace is a song I consider to showcase Paradox at their tightest and most momentous as a unit, it’s melodic ferocity that I hear, which is such a fine trademark of this untiring band.

Paradox has many Metal strengths, Olly Keller on bass and Roland Jahoda on drums remind me that speed is not focused entirely around the guitarists, this tandem executes precisely how a rhythm section holds everything together with mesmerizing speed of their very own.

Paradox does not just pull it off with Riot Squad, this is a Thrash Metal strike at the knees. The roots and credibility of this band’s past comes through on every song, a continuance of a Metal legacy is what Paradox has accomplished. As I see and hear it, let the underlying nuance of Power Metal in Paradox reign, it is the Thrash Metal override that catapults them onto the level of their elite peers. Paradox fans will either agree with me or they are too busy Metal rejoicing in the streets due to Riot Squad. New fans to Paradox should not just be buying and listening to only this great Paradox album… do yourself an important Metal favor and get ahold of Product Of Imagination from 1987 and Heresy from 1989, the roots, the legacy of Paradox are seeded in these must albums. Despite the lineup changes that Paradox encountered since 1987, this band has achieved what had to be their Metal goal from the very beginning… to keep the Metal real. Paradox the band and Riot Squad the album are real.

Riot Squad was released in Europe on October 16, 2009, and on January 12th, 2010 via AFM Records. For more information on Paradox, please visit the band’s myspace page.

Rating:  Out of 10

Track Listing:

01. Suburban Riot Squad
02. Hollow Peace
03. Riptide
04. Rise In Rank
05. Evolution Reset
06. Nothingness
07. No Place To Survive
08. Dream Hero
09. Planet Terror
10. Psychofficial

Paradox is:

Charly Steinhauer – vocals/guitars

Kai Pasemann – guitars

Olly Keller – bass

Roland Jahoda – drums

Check out the brand new video, “Ladykiller” from Canadian rockers, Priestess. The new album, Prior To The Fire from Priestess is in stores now. You can purchase the CD, at this link.

FIRST RETROSPECTIVE FROM SALIVA, Moving Forward In Reverse: Greatest Hits, features HARD ROCKers “always,” “broken sunday,” “click click boom,” “ladies and gentlemen” PLUS ONE BRAND NEW TRACK AND MORE

From hit movies about car racing to Wrestlemania to nationwide television broadcasts of college basketball, one particular band has been tapped to provide aggressive, kick-ass rock ’n’ roll to jack up the pulse of the masses—Saliva.  Now, six albums and a dozen years after the Memphis-born group debuted on record, Saliva issues its first retrospective, Moving Forward In Reverse: Greatest Hits (Island/UM^e), to be released ..March 23, 2010.

Featuring 13 of Saliva’s best-known tracks and a new track, “Time To Shine,” only available on this release, Moving Forward In Reverse: Greatest Hits is brash and brazen, fast and furious.  Saliva adds, “Moving Forward In Reverse is a message to our fans to let them know we haven’t gone anywhere. It was also a lyric from one of our songs named ‘So Long,’ and seemed to apply!  The new song was written for fans who crank ‘Click Click Boom’ to pump themselves up for a game or while their working out or driving a tank! So, enjoy, ‘Time To Shine’!”

In 1998, after advancing to the final round of the Grammy® Showcase competition in ….New York City…., Saliva debuted with a self-released, self-titled disc.  That album’s impressive sales in the South led Island Records to sign the band and release Every Six Seconds, Saliva’s major label debut, in 2001.  “Your Disease” shot to #3 Mainstream Rock/#7 Alternative Rock and “Click Click Boom” went to #15 Mainstream Rock/#25 Alternative Rock.  “Click Click Boom” and “Superstar” (also included on Moving Forward In Reverse) were featured in The Fast And The Furious and on the film’s second soundtrack album.  “Superstar” was also the theme for Wrestlemania 18 and the WWE’s “No Mercy” pay-per-view event, and “Click Click Boom” was included on the Talladega Nights soundtrack.  The album would earn double platinum.

2002’s Back Into Your System reached the Top 20, went gold and spawned the #1 Alternative hit “Always” (#2 Mainstream Rock and the 2002 WWE Survivor Series theme), the #11 Mainstream Rock/#20 Alternative “Rest In Pieces” (co-written by Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe), and Top 30 Mainstream Rocker “Raise Up.”  “Bleed For Me,” from the “Rest In Pieces” single, appeared on the soundtrack album for Daredevil.

The band’s 2004 album Survival Of The Sickest, an unapologetic tribute to influences AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Mötley Crüe, also peaked Top 20, spinning off the #6 Mainstream Rock/Top 25 Alternative title track and Top 20 Mainstream Rock “Razor’s Edge.”  In 2007, Blood Stained Love Story, again a Top 20 entry, offered “Ladies and Gentlemen” (#2 Mainstream Rock)–the theme song for Wrestlemania 23, UFC’s “Wired” and a Sony PlayStation commercial–and “Broken Sunday” (#8 Mainstream Rock).  From 2008’s Cinco Diablo, “Family Reunion,” a heartfelt salute to the band’s fans, hit #14 Mainstream Rock, and was heard on ESPN college basketball broadcasts.

In 2010, Saliva looks to the future with a new album, Take That Society, after looking back with Moving Forward In Reverse: Greatest Hits.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Superstar
2. Your Disease
3. Click Click Boom
4. Always
5. Rest in Pieces
6. Raise Up
7. Bleed For Me
8. Survival of the Sickest
9. Razor’s Edge
10. Ladies and Gentlemen
11. Broken Sunday
12. Family Reunion
13. Time To Shine (newly recorded for this release)
14. Weight of the World

Megadeth founder and frontman Dave Mustaine has announced the return of original bassist David Ellefson (1983-2002) to the iconic multi-platinum group.  This reunion is appropriately timed to Megadeth’s upcoming historic month-long Rust In Peace 20th anniversary tour which launches March 1 in Spokane, WA.  At these incredibly special shows, Megadeth will play their landmark, genre-defining 1990 album Rust In Peace in its entirety, in addition to other Megadeth favorites.

“This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness,” Mustaine says.  “David Ellefson belongs in Megadeth. Next we are going to show you the power of getting your asses kicked…HARD!”

David Ellefson concurs: “This is a huge moment for all of us, band and fans alike. It is a great celebration of the music from one of the biggest landmark albums of our career.”

Ellefson will join Mustaine and Megadeth band members Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar) on tour in support of the group’s current CD Endgame, which has received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s career.

“We’d like to thank James LoMenzo for several years of loyal service on the bass, and wish him the very best,” Mustaine adds.

For more information on Megadeth, go to: www.megadeth.com.

DRAGONFORCE have their first two studio albums – Valley of the Damned & Sonic Firestorm – re-issued on February 23rd via Spinefarm Records. Both titles will now be available with updated packaging and bonus audio/DVD content, some of it exclusive to these releases. Formed in 1999, Dragonforce issued their Valley of the Damned debut in 2003 – an impressive nine-track showcase for their accomplished power metal forays. Containing a host of songs that still rank amongst the most popular of their output, the likes of ‘Black Fire’, ‘Evening Star’ and the title track itself, ‘VOTD’ has now been Remixed and Remastered to allow every aspect of the recordings to make maximum impact… “Fans who have heard the original mixes many times might find that the songs sound a bit different now,” observes guitarist Herman Li, “but that’s how we always wanted the original songs to sound. We just didn’t have the time back then to make everything sound the way we wanted.”

The studio track, ‘Where Dragons Rule’, has now been added to the audio side, and there is a bonus DVD featuring never-before-seen live footage (‘Valley of the Damned’, filmed in Japan), behind-the-scenes material (also from Japan), video commentaries, plus in-studio interviews and clips (shot in Denmark & the UK), all of it lovingly assembled by Li himself. 2004 saw the release of the follow-up album, Sonic Firestorm, which gave the band the chance to hone their skills and push their fast-lane tales of fantasy to a whole new level. They were happy with ‘Sonic…’ at the time and remain so to this day, which is why the mixing and the mastering have been left just as they are; however, the packaging has been upgraded, an extra track added (‘Cry of the Brave’ – a song the group felt uncomfortable taking off first time around), and – as with ‘Valley…’ – a bonus DVD added, this one featuring live footage from Japan (‘Fury of the Storm’), video commentaries plus freshly recorded interviews with the band members themselves. As a way of celebrating the recordings that effectively launched DF’s international career, both re-issued albums will be included in a limited edition package along with exclusive band merchandise and various exclusive collectable items.

Pre-order Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm from Relapse today.

Tune in TONIGHT to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to see Joe Satriani perform with The Roots. The legendary guitar player released his new live CD & DVD Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock February 2nd. The two-disc CD & DVD was recorded on May 27, 2008 at The Grand Rex Theater in Paris, France.

It has been a long time since KEEL has given us a new album. Their last album VI was released in ‘98 without much fanfare. How does their new reunion effort Streets of Rock & Roll stack up? A lot better than you might expect. With this CD, KEEL didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, and change their sound.  The band wanted to make a classic sounding KEEL album, and I believe they have succeeded in that task. I somewhat expected Ron Keel to have lost some of his range with his vocals, but he does a great job on this record. Marc Ferrari and Brian Jay serve up some tasty guitar riffs that fans of KEEL’s earlier releases are sure to enjoy.

There really isn’t a band tune on this CD, in fact I enjoyed them all.  If there was any doubt in your mind, the title track “Streets of Rock & Roll” quickly lets you know this album is going to rock. This song immediately captured my attention, and this is far from the hardest rocking track on this disc.

“Come Hell or High Water” might be one of the best KEEL songs ever.  This high octane rocker is easily my favorite on this CD. “Does Anybody Believe” is another great tune that will have people breaking out their lighters and cell phones in unison at KEEL’s live shows.  “Gimme That” is a tune that will instantly get you rocking.

Overall, Streets of Rock & Roll is now my second most favorite KEEL album next their awesome self titled album from 1987. Ron Keel & company have crafted a well written CD full of catchy rockers that will definitely appeal to fans of hard rock and hair metal.  This is one of the better releases of 2010.  Don’t miss this!

For more information on KEEL, check out the band’s myspace page.  Streets of Rock & Roll will be released on February 23rd, 2010.

Rating:  Out of 10

Track Listing:
1. Streets Of Rock & Roll
2. Hit The Ground Running
3. Come Hell Or High Water
4. Push & Pull
5. Does Anybody Believe
6. No More Lonely Nights
7. The Devil May Care (But I Don’t)
8. Lookin’ For A Good Time
9. Gimme That
10. Hold Steady
11. Live
12. Brothers In Blood

KEEL is:
Ron Keel – Vocals
Marc Ferrari – Guitar
Bryan Jay – Guitar
Geno Arce – Bass
Dwain Miller – Drums

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints for winning Superbowl XLIV last night. Enjoy the video clips below from New Orleans rockers, DOWN, Lillian Axe, and Supargroup. You can also get a free download of the DOWN song, “On March the Saints” at this link.

REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and Buckcherry have all been added to The Moondance Jam schedule for 2010, joining the previously-announced Lynyrd Skynyrd, who will headline the final night of this year’s festival. Now the country’s largest classic rock festival, this year’s event will take place July 14-17, 2010 in Walker, Minnesota. Tickets are available now at www.moondancejam.com or by calling 1-877-MOONJAM.

REO Speedwagon returns to Walker as the 30th anniversary of its classic “Hi Infidelity” album approaches later this year. The band still plays many of the hits from that iconic record along with its other classics. Benatar, with husband Giraldo on guitar and original drummer Myron Grombacher now back in the band, has been playing steadily over the years with a greatest hits set that satisfies even the most ardent fans. Buckcherry makes its first Walker appearance with its brand of sleazy rock slotting perfectly with the classic rock stars from the 70’s and 80’s who usually appear here.

Tickets are now available in a variety of packages. Concert goers can purchase Rockstar All Access, three-day VIP, three-day general admission, weekend packages and single day admission, as well as camping sites and parking passes by contacting the Jam office in Walker.

An official announcement concerning the entire festival line-up is due sometime later this month. Expect 15 bands to pack the main stage over three days and many more side stage acts to be added in the coming months.

The Moondance Jam has been held at the same location in Walker since 1992. This year marks the 19^th edition of the festival, which was started by resident Bill Bieloh. The Moondance Jam and its sister festival, Moondance Jamming Country Fest, help bring thousands of music fans to the Walker area every summer. Its bucolic location, situated near a huge lake on a site located three hours northwest of Minneapolis, houses thousands of camping sites during the festivals, and has been cited by many as to why they return year after year to Walker for the shows.

Check out the Stone Gods video clip “Start of Something” below. This song is from the band’s 2008 CD, Silver Spoons & Broken Bones. You can read the Hard Rock Hideout review of Silver Spoons & Broken Bones here.

Legendary drummer from Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, King Kobra, Blue Murder

Carmine Appice will be the special guest on Hard Rock Nights February 5-11. Appice discusses a wide range of topics including many of his former bands, his session work with top names, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and the progress of the new King Kobra formation with Paul Shortino on vocals. In addition, the drummer also talks about his Guitar Zeus project and SLAMM!! Appice also touches on the subject of a Blue Murder reunion with John Sykes and where that currently stands. Along with the chat, JT will be spinning several tracks from Appice’s career.

Hard Rock Nights is a weekly syndicated radio program broadcast on a number of rock and metal radio stations. A full list of stations and airtimes can be found at http://hardrocknights.wordpress.com/affiliates.

Swedish melodic metal masters LION’S SHARE is confirmed for the ROCKWEEKEND festival this summer together with bands like SAXON, DEEP PURPLE, SEPULTURA etc.

The band was voted winner of “best Heavy Metal album of 2009″, by the readers of Silence So Loud in USA and was also nominated “best Heavy/Power Metal album of the year”, at the SWEDISH METAL AWARDS for their critically acclaimed “Dark Hours” album.

The follow-up to 2007’s “Emotional Coma” was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (OPETH, SYMPHONY X, PARADISE LOST, AMON AMARTH) and features guest appearances by SYMPHONY X guitarist Mike Romeo (guest solo on “Behind The Curtain”), and drummers Conny Pettersson (from Earache Records death metal act ANATA) and Richard Evensand (CHIMAIRA, SOILWORK).

“Dark Hours” track listing:

01. Judas Must Die
02. Phantom Rider
03. Demon In Your Mind
04. Heavy Cross To Bear
05. The Bottomless Pit
06. Full Metal Jacket
07. The Presidio 27
08. Barker Ranch
09. Napalm Nights
10. Space Scam
11. Behind The Curtain
12. King Of All The Kings (bonus track)

A free download of the first single “Judas Must Die” is available at the following location www.blisteringrecords.se/downloads and the video for the same song at www.youtube.com/darkhours2009

“Dark Hours” is out now on BLISTERING RECORDS in Europe and North America, KING RECORDS in Japan and on SOYUZ MUSIC in Russia.

Check out some stunning reviews at http://goto.glocalnet.net/ls_army/dh_reviews.html

One of earliest videos on MTV back in the 80’s was Ph.D’s “Little Susie’s on the Up”.  I have no recollection of this video whatsoever, and had no idea that Tesla’s “Little Suzi” was a cover song until just a few weeks ago.

Who should win Video Showdown # 17?  Check out both video clips below, and decide with your vote!

KITTIE – “IN THE BLACK” SCREAMS KITTIE IS BACK! KITTIE – In The Black marks the fifth studio release from a Metal Band that epitomizes perseverance and a blue collar, Metal work ethic. Since 1999’s album Spit, Kittie has certainly come a long way… both in song writing and evolving as musicians. The proof is in listening to 2007’s Funeral For Yesterday and now, without a Metal doubt in my mind, In The Black. Can In The Black be considered THE breakout album of Kitties Metal career? Absolutely it can. With experience comes identity and Kittie has seemed to nestle right into their very own Metal comfort zone… still with many reminders of the vengeful lyrics, extreme vocals and Metal Music being played as fast as a ballistic missile out of control. That is the Kittie that us die-hard fans don’t ever want to see go away… while simultaneously embracing the Melodic Metal moments of Kittie that is now. The blend of extreme and melodic is reality in Metal Music, Kittie knows this and encapsulates it on In The Black better than I could have ever imagined.

The minute and a half intro of Kingdom Come is as delicate of a Heavy Metal instrumental as one can wish for. Do not be fooled by the sweetness Kingdom Come breathes however, the remaining 11 songs are greatly Metal vicious as they are sinister sweet… please Kittie, give me more! The Truth at almost 7 minutes long is a showcase of Morgan Lander’s vocal talents, she can offer up to you a freshly baked cupcake and then hand over your heart on a Metal platter. Morgan Lander can be trusted though… vocally she has elevated herself to near icon status among her female AND male peers within the Extreme and Metal community.

Die My Darling and Sorrow I Know are two songs that have their slivers of commercial appeal, the heavy, melodic and unforgettable guitar leads and riffs are complimented by once again… Morgan Lander’s Metal harmony. Morgan’s enticing vocals should not shroud the fact that she can play a credible note or two on guitar as well. Each time I listen to Sleepwalking, I need to remind myself that Metal Bands sometimes DO evolve into something special. Evolving from the stigma of Metal brutality to Metal exquisiteness like Kittie has done needs to be commended and exalted in the highest of praise. If I had to choose THE standout song on In The Black, without deliberation it is Now or Never. Every Metal quality that Kittie has in their Metal box of tricks is featured in Now or Never, from melodic and extreme vocals to a super catchy guitar solo.

Tara McLeod is now the guitar veteran of the Funeral For Yesterday and In The Black albums, solidifying her Metal legacy alongside fellow guitarist Morgan Lander, both with too numerous and solid guitar licks to mention. Kittie also empowered their unit to even greater Metal heights two years ago, by recruiting Ivy Vujic on bass guitar. What I hear on In The Black, is an asset to the rhythm section from Ivy. To be playing along with the beyond astute drummer Mercedes Lander is quite a professional achievement.

If anything can be learned from listening to In The Black, is that the Metal world has a sister duo in Morgan and Mercedes Lander that are as gifted musically as they are resilient. In The Black can easily be considered the bridge into Kittie’s second Metal chapter. The Lander sisters know and give more than a nod to their Metal roots and influences, while demonstrating they can recruit and mold new young talent within their Metal family they call Kittie… take a bow Kittie, you deserve it.

In The Black was released via E1 Music on September 29th, 2009.  You can pick up a copy at this link.  For more information on Kittie, check out their myspace page.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:
1. Kingdom Come
2. My Plauge
3. Cut Throat
4. Die My Darling
5. Sorrow I Know
6. Forgive and Forget
7. Now or Never
8. Falling Down
9. Sleepwalking
10. Whiskey Love Song
11. Ready Aim Riot
12. The Truth

KITTIE is:

Morgan Lander – Vocals & Guitar

Mercedes Lander – Drums

Tara McLeod – Lead Guitar

Ivy Vujic – Bass

Check out Outloud’s newest video, “Tonite”.  This is the band’s second video released in support of their self titled CD, that was released last September.

The Las Vegas Weekly has a free download of the Jupiter Crash song, “Dark Surprise”.  Visit this link for the free download.

What did you miss on Hard Rock Hideout Radio last night?  A ton of great music! Last night’s show featured the debut of Kenni DeNile, Debbie Ray, Rock Sugar, Underride & Inside Moves on HRH Radio, plus a bunch of great classic hard rock tunes.

Kenni DeNile – We Are The Young
Ratt – Back To Me
Steve Stevens – Atomic Playboys
Crazy Lixx – Dr. Hollywood
McQueen Street – Money (By Request)
Dirty Penny – If I Were You I’d Hate Me Too
Tora Tora – Dead Man’s Hand
Snowblynd – Dirty Water
Roadstar – If You Say
Tangier – You’re Not The Lovin’ Kind
Coldspell – Straight Things Out
The Wildhearts – The Jackson Whites
Hellcity Glamours – Back To You
Von Groove – Once is Not Enough
Trouble Tribe – Tattoo
Rock Sugar – Don’t Stop the Sandman
Keel – Cherry Lane (By Request)
Dudes of Wrath – Shocker
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster – Old Iron Hills
Saliva – Southern Girls
Razorbliss – The Mark You Leave
Like A Storm – Chemical Infatuation
Sin City Sinners – Numb
Underride – Candy Girl (By Request)
Tarsha – Second Life
The Wildhearts – You Are Proof Not All Women Are Insane (Random Pick of the Week)
Ammotrack – A Bigger Bang
Twenty 4 Seven – Dead Man Shoes
Shakra – Ashes to Ashes
Sister Sin – One Out of Ten
Debbie Ray – Road Dog Souls
American Dog – Cat Has Got You By the Tongue
Eden’s Curse – Just Like Judas
Inside Moves – Steal The Sky
KEEL – No More Lonely Nights
W.E.T. – Comes Down Like Rain
KISS – Say Yeah
Y&T – Don’t Stop Runnin’
The Wildhearts – You Took The Sunshine From New York (Random Pick of the Week)
Danger Danger – Keep on Keepin’ On

The next Hard Rock Hideout Radio show will be on Wednesday February 10th, and will feature new music from Dokken, VAIN & more.  Tune in week from 10 P.M. – 1 A.M. EST (9 P.M. – 12:00 A.M. CST) on Amarillo’s KACV FM 90, or online at www.kacvfm.org.

Sex. Drugs. Rock and roll. That’s what the music we love is all about…or at least was all about. From Led Zeppelin and the infamous mud shark story to Def Leppard having groupies beneath their stage to all the drugs and alcohol ingested by Nikki Sixx alone, the days of true rock and roll debauchery are disappearing. Somewhere between grunge and now, these notorious ingredients seemed to have slipped out of the rock and roll recipe one by one.

These days, bands still like to sing about sleeping around and downing a bottle of Jack Daniels, but I certainly haven’t witnessed any of it happening. I’ve been backstage at quite a few shows and I haven’t seen any of the legendary debauchery that rock and roll is so well known for. And for the record, I didn’t get backstage by getting on my knees; I either lucked out or knew someone who was nice enough to hook me up. It’s honestly quite shocking how tame backstage really is. Aside from my Dave Navarro incident (which really wasn’t that crazy), I have yet to see anything really, really crazy go down after a show. I’ve even been backstage at a Motley Crue show and…NOTHING.

Why such a drastic decline in after show indulgence? Perhaps a lot of these rock stars are older and wiser and know better now. Or maybe it’s that we live in a more health conscience world and rock stars want to take better care of themselves. I mean, not all of them can be like Keith Richards, right? It could be that with the birth of the internet and cell phone cameras, rock stars are afraid that actual evidence/footage of their debauchery could be spread to millions with the just a click of a button. Perhaps it’s because rock stars, old and new, are recovering addicts. Or maybe these newfangled rock stars know that there’s NO WAY they could ever live up to the likes of Motley Crue or Led Zeppelin, so why even bother? Or maybe I’ve been backstage at the wrong shows at the wrong times. Or maybe I’m just stupid and blind.

Don’t get me wrong. I am well aware that the rock stars of today drink and do drugs and sleep with hundreds of women, but it just doesn’t seem to be as in your face as it used to be. Back in the day, I envisioned liquor flowing freely, half naked groupies running around and servicing roadies, and rock stars snorting coke off of the asses of strippers in front of god and everyone. Today, it’s either not happening or it’s happening behind closed, locked and protected doors. The only current band I’ve heard any bad stories about is Hinder, but I’ve never been backstage at one of their shows so I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors.

Years go by and times change. I suppose sex, drugs and rock and roll couldn’t sustain themselves at full throttle forever. They were bound to shift back down to first gear at some point. So will debauchery continue to decline? Or will it make a resurgence in the next few years?

Check out the latest video from Chickenfoot, “Get It Up”.

Slash posted the following on his blog tonight:

Hey, how is everybody? Things are ramping up towards the release of my solo record, there’s a lot of cool shit going on. But, more importantly, there is the George Lopez’s “Help Haiti Benefit” show at the Nokia Theater tomorrow night. I am performing a couple songs with Beth Hart. Who, if you are not familiar with her is a 1st rate blues/R&R singer/song writer. But go to click here for the list of special guests & click here to get tickets. Raising cash for devastated Haiti has to be at the forefront of everybody’s minds right now & will need to be for some time so we can help them rebuild.

On another note, Ernie Ball, Guitar Center & I have a couple new campaigns, the details of which are at ernieball.com & yournextrecord.com. I’m really into the idea of inspiring young guitar players & discovering new talented R&R bands & unleashing them unto the world. Up & coming Rock & Roll talent is getting largely overlooked in the business these days & I want to change that.

Also, I want to announce that Myles Kennedy is going to be fronting the band for the upcoming tour. Something I’m really stoked about. Myles sang a killer track on the record & I think he is by far one of the best Rock & Roll singers out there today. I’m really honored & proud to be working with him. I will announce the other band members shortly.

Lastly, we’re starting to route the tour. I want all my fans to follow me on Twitter & tell me what city/country they’re from & to tell all their friends & family in that city/country, who are fans, to do the same. I want to get a really good idea on where my fans are, even the obvious major cities & focus the tour around that. So if you’re from Alaska or Zimbabwe or anywhere in between I want to hear from you. Follow me at Twitter.com/slashhudson

That’s it, I’m excited about the new record & about the band I’m putting together for the tour. I’ve been jamming around town with everybody & their brother for the last year & I can’t wait to get out & do my own show finally. It’s going to be a gas. See you soon, Slash iiii|; ),

Hard Rock Hideout Radio will be on the air tonight from 10 P.M. – 1 A.M. EST (9 P.M. – 12:00 A.M. CST).  Tune in live in Amarillo, Texas at KACV FM 90, or online at www.kacvfm.org.

DJ Brian Basher will be spinning some brand new songs from American Dog, RATT, W.E.T. as well as some classic cuts, and kick ass tunes that you will hear no where else.

ON THE RISE New Album – “DREAM ZONE” is OUT NOW in EUROPE & USA

ON THE RISE debut album caused a stir among the Melodic Rock fans community in 2003. Several magazines stated that ON THE RISE created the Melodic Rock ultimate debut album, boasting influences from the likes of Toto, Nelson and Boston with elements of the typical Scandinavian melodic rock. Thanks to the amazing songwriting and vocal abilities of founding member Terje Eide, ON THE RISE were catapulted in a few weeks on the headlines of all the Melodic Rock press.

Hailing from Bergen, Norway, Terje Eide is now the only member of ON THE RISE. His musical career started at 17 when he won a local talent contest. He later enjoyed a stint with the band Heaven & Hell, a rock institution in Bergen in the 80s. In 1986 he won the Norwegian National Rock Championship on national TV with the band The Heat. Terje went back to his Melodic Rock roots in 2000 starting a project who later on became ON THE RISE. A demo was made in early 2001 which immediately raised the interest of Frontiers Records who signed the project in June 2002.

“I’m very happy with the new album” says Terje, “The songs are catchy, groovy and they’ve got the strong choruses and melody lines that I always want them to have. It’s been a joyful musical journey. It’s an album I can support 110%. It’s got the typical ON THE RISE sound, but at some point it’s a little rougher than what has been written and produced before“. Some songs have been written by Terje in collaboration with Christian Wolff (who also appears playing keyboards and some bass and guitars on the record). Christian appeared already as songwriter in the Ambition album (featuring vocals by Thom Griffin of Trillion) and is currently collaborating with Joe Vana on the second Mecca record. Other musicians include Erik Engebretsen on drums and Eric Ragno on keyboards, while Terje took care of the vast majority of the guitar parts and all vocals, together with some keyboards and bass.

ON THE RISE – DREAM ZONE – Written & Produced by TERJE EIDE

TERJE EIDE – Lead Vocals, All Guitars, Keyboards, Bass & All Background Vocals

ERIK ENGEBRETSEN – Drums

CHRISTIAN WOLFF - Keyboards & Bass on Lost Your Track, Why Wait Another Day, Get Out Of Here, Lifeline & Howling At The Moon.

Lead Guitars on Why Wait Another Day & Lost Your Track. Acoustic Guitars on Why Wait Another Day.

ERIC RAGNO – Piano & Keyboards on Edellyn, Lifeline, Tomorrow Never Dies & Dream Zone

“Dream Zone” final tracklisting includes:

Lifeline; Lost Your Track; Dream Zone; Edellyn; Alive; In the Line of Fire; Get Out of Here; Fly Away; No Time To Lose; Why Wait Another Day;

Tomorrow Never Dies; Howling at The Moon, Find a Way (bonus track).

Here’s a summary of a few reviews from the net of the new ON THE RISE album – “DREAM ZONE” !

Westcoast/AOR Music – 10/10 Review by Bengt Isaksson

Rockreport.de – 6/6 Review by Chris Lambert

glorydayzemusic – 9/10

Metalfan.nl – 86/100 Review by Hans

Metal Integral Webzine – 4,5/5 Review by Rémifm

melodicrock.com – 85/100 Review by Andrew McNeice

Rockrealms – 80/100 Review by Jon Wilde

Heavysound.fr – 9/10 Review by Florent

melodic.net – 4/5 Review by Juha Harluja

Lordsofmetal – 81/100

Melodic Rock Fanzine – 90/100 Review by Duncan Jamieason

Planetaor.com – 7/10 Review by Johan Nylen

Rockmeeting.com – 4/5 Review by Fab

themetalfields.de – 7/10 Review by Kerb

getreadytorock.com – 4,5/5 Review by Jason Ritchie

ytsejam.com – 4/5 Review by Tommy Hash

myglobalmind.info – 4/5 Review by Denys

In case you haven’t heard, RATT has released a new single “Best of Me”.  This song is from their up and coming album, Infestation.

You can listen to “Best of Me” below.  The new song is available through Amazon.com & iTunes.

What do you think of the new song?  I am hopeful that the rest of the album will be at least as good as this. “Best of Me” sounds like classic RATT.  The cover of “Infestation” is awful, so the music has to be great right?

Photo by Kelleth Chinn

Most people might know Dave Rude as Tesla’s newest guitar player.  Dave has his own solo band, the Dave Rude Band that is more of a region act.  The band performs in Tesla’s down time. The Dave Rude Band has released a couple of EP’s, which are both available via iTunes. “Fallin’ Down” is from the band’s second release, Carry Me Home.

Check out the new video clip for “Fallin’ Down” below.  Like what you hear?  Vote SWIM below, and we will play this song on the Hard Rock Hideout Radio show next week.  Don’t like this tune?  Vote SINK. Your comments are welcome!

]

Cheap Trick and Audi of America come together to rock the big game on Sunday, February 7.  Cheap Trick went back to the studio to rescore the hit “Dream Police” and renamed it “Green Police”.  The new version will be featured as the music track in the Audi A3 TDI clean diesel commercial scheduled to air during the game. The spot shows, in a fun way, how choosing the green car A3 TDi clean diesel is an easy way to lend a hand to Mother Nature when faced with many difficult eco choices. A limited number of free downloads will be available exclusively for Twitter followers and Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/audi.

Adelitas Way has contributed a brand new song called “A New Day” to an upcoming WWE compilation titled WWE: The Music — A New Day. The collection, which also features songs from Story Of The Year and others, is available in-stores now as a standard CD and exclusively at Amazon MP3 as a digital download.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas rockers continue to give their fans a behind the scenes look at life on the road through the use of digital short videos. The latest video captures bass guitarist Derek picking a fight with front man Rick and leaves one of the band members in pain on the floor. Check out the video here and see who comes out victorious.

Head over to the bands official MySpace page to hear the band’s latest single “Last Stand” and a list of current tour dates with Theory of a Deadman and Halestorm.

Veteran guitar legend Joe Satriani, one of the world’s most renowned instrumental artists, recorded Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock on May 27, 2008 at The Grand Rex Theater in Paris, France. The brand new live two-disc CD and DVD is out today through Epic Records.

This very special recording captures Satriani’s stirring performance with memorable songs such as, “Surfing With The Alien”, “Flying In A Blue Dream”, along with recent hits like “Super Colossal” and “I Just Wanna Rock.” The quality of music by the 15-time Grammy nominee is unquestionable, yet the extraordinary editing and artful stage lighting makes this Satriani “live” DVD a pleasure for the new viewer, as well as the long-time fan. The Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock DVD will also include a very special bonus in-depth interview with Satriani as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.

Watch the interview trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnHoYg57Tzk

Enter the “I Just Wanna Rock Paris” Trivia Sweepstakes: http://web.epicrecords.com/satrianisweepstakes/

BRUCE KULICK’s third solo album “BK3” released in Europe on January 29^th and on February 2nd in the Unites States. Frontiers is getting very good responses from press and fans. It is now possible to enjoy Bruce Kulick’s own album presentation in the clip below:

WINGER announced the second leg of the European tour dates :

19/03/10       Leknes, Norway – Lekneshallen (small sports arena)

20/03/10       Norway/Denmark – Rock the Boat

22/03/10       Bristol, England – Academy 2

23/03/10       Portmouth, England – Wedgewood Rooms

24/03/10       Manchester, England – Academy 3

26/03/10       Dudley, England – JB’s

27/03/10       Belfast, Northern Ireland – Spring & Airbrake

28/03/10       Glasgow, Scotland – Cathouse

30/03/10       Newcastle, England – Academy 2

31/03/10       Leeds, England – Rio’s

02/04/10       Sheffield, England – Corporation

03/04/10       Nottingham, England – Rock City

04/04/10       London, England – Islington Academy

06/04/10       Bochum, Germany – Matrix

07/04/10       Berlin, Germany – Columbia Club

08/04/10       Munich, Germany – Backstage

10/04/10       Achaffenburg, Germany – Colos Saal

In related news Kip Winger and Reb Beach have recently recorded their participation to THAT METAL SHOW on VH1. The show will be aired on April 3^rd 2010 at 11.00 PM.

The Aerosmith insanity continues to spill into 2010 with more rumors of Aerosmith seeking out a new singer.  While the band continues talks with Lenny Kravitz, Billy Idol, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Howard Stern, Oscar the Grouch, Spongebob Squarepants and countless others that will complete dilute and destroy the Aerosmith name, Steven Tyler seems to have completely lost his mind, singing Aerosmith karaoke in Home Depot stores.  What the hell is going on with Aerosmith?!?

If Aerosmith carries on with a different singer, they will completely harm the band’s megaband status.  No one will want to see another singer with Aerosmith at this stage in the band’s career.

My sound advice for Steven Tyler, if your band mates choose to carry on without you, you need to do two things.  First, finish your rehab session and get healthy.  Second, when you are of sound mind, make one phone call, NOT to your manager, NOT to Joe Perry.  Call Slash!

A Velvet Revolver fronted by Steven Tyler would escalate VR to uber band status.  Slash and company are heavily influenced by Aerosmith, and with you joining them, the band would reach new heights, and leave your former band in the dust.  If the relationship between you and your former band is beyond all repair, this is the only move that makes sense at this stage in your career.

Of course, I would think that the grown men in Aerosmith could work out their issues, and stop all the nonsense.  I would prefer Aerosmith to keep Tyler as their front man, and move away from all the drama, but I guess this is only way they can keep the band’s name out there now.

If Aerosmith can’t continue with Steven Tyler, Velvet Revolver would be damn cool with him. Give it some thought!

Iconic Finnish rockers HIM have just released a new video for “Heartkiller,” the first single off their upcoming album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. The new album, which was produced by Matt Squire (The Used, Saosin, All Time Low), will be the HIM’s seventh  full length record over their 13 year career.

HIM frontman Ville Valo recently sat down with Metal Hammer magazine to discuss the forthcoming album saying, “Lyrically, it’s the most sexual [album], the most horny one, we’ve ever made. The horny and the horned. Like the IMPALED NAZARENE song. It’s got that and a sense of immediacy: ‘I want it now, now, now.’ It’s not about being poetic or forlorn about something that is about to happen, it’s actually about something that is happening at this very moment in time.”

He added, “I like the immediacy of it. There’s a lot of information put in short songs and they don’t let go. That was the whole vibe for me. You should have seen me working the vocals out in the middle of the night, amongst my taxidermy owls in the tower screaming my guts out, unable to stop until 9:00 a.m. and then sleeping on a couch for two hours before starting again. So the whole process of the album is very close to that mental boner that just didn’t go away.”

Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice will hit stores in the U.S. on February 9th. For more information on HIM, visit their official site at www.heartagram.com.

Slayer and Megadeth are thrilled to announce the new, confirmed routing for the American Carnage North American Tour, which will commence with the rescheduled Canadian Carnage East dates in Quebec City on Friday, July 23.  Slayer will then head to Europe for a run of festival dates, returning to kick off the American Carnage leg in Albany, NY on August 11.   American Carnage will play 26 dates across the United States and Eastern Canada up to the Labor Day weekend, ending in Portland, OR on September 4.  Testament will be Special Guest on all shows.  Tickets purchased for the American Carnage shows when they first went on sale late last year will be honored for these rescheduled dates.  Complete information regarding ticket sales can be found at www.slayer.net • www.megadeth.com • www.testamentlegiions.com

Album Features All Star Guest Line-Up Of Collaborators

From Rockline Radio.com:

Rob Zombie is one of contemporary music’s most notable figures. No, Rob Zombie is one of film and televisions most respected directors. Better pick one, because he certainly can’t be both. No one has been able to stake a claim to be at, or at least near, the top of both prestigious professions at once, they’re too disparate, too distinctly different for one person to excel at both simultaneously. Aren’t they? Apparently not. February 2nd marks the release of the long awaited of “Hellbilly Deluxe 2”, the successor to Zombie’s most successful album to date. We had expected Rob to join us in our Los Angeles area studio as he had been directing an episode of one of television’s most popular crime sagas, the CBS franchise show, “CSI Miami”, but he wrapped early and headed back to his Connecticut haunt (hey, it’s Zombie) to get ready for the launch of the new CD. Also on his agenda is the massive, much talked about Mayhem Festival tour with Korn which kicks off this summer on July 25 in San Bernadino, CA and runs into August. Perhaps there was something prophetic when Zombie, born Robert Cummings, found himself sharing his name with the star of a popular television show at the time, the Bob Cummings show, which later morphed to the more direct name, “Love That Bob”. It’s not as if Zombie were born into success either. One of his early jobs was as a bicycle messenger in the concrete canyons of New York City. If one can survive that, further tasks must seem not nearly as daunting. Rob achieved dual success the old fashioned way, the American way, he worked his tail off, first as the leader of the notorious metal band White Zombie and then as a solo artist. You can learn more about Rob at RobZombie.com and at his MySpace.

If you need an engraved invitation on a silver platter to join Rob on our next show consider this to be a reasonable facsimile because we’re fresh out of silver and our engraver quit years ago. The fact that Zombie is one of the most fascinating characters around should be incentive enough. A quick note about Rob’s directorial skills, it’s one thing to make your own movies as he did with “House of a 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects”, but quite another to be tapped to helm the latest works in the classic “Halloween” franchise, taking on myriad responsibilities as director, writer, producer and in a quite familiar role, music supervisor. In a typically classy move, Zombie first consulted with his friend John Carpenter, creator of the originals to get proper blessings. Instructed to “make it your own”, he did exactly that. Two more films are in pre-production and now Zombie has pierced the veil of mainstream Hollywood with his “CSI Miami” assignment. Fortunately, for those of us who love Zombie’s music the next edition is imminent. There had been some fears he would walk away and focus solely on film, but once again he has surrounded himself with stellar players, led by guitarist extraordinaire John 5.

Join us for the premiere of “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” with the multi-talented Rob Zombie exclusively on our next installment of Rockline! Love that Rob!

Listen Online via the Stations below:

Oklahoma City – 100.5 KATT

Abilene – 107.9 KEYJ

Lincoln – 106.3 KIBZ

Grand Rapids – 94.5 WKLQ

Detroit – 101.1 WRIF

Champaign – 92.7 WQLZ

Pensacola – 101.5 WTKX

Greenville – 93.3 WTPT

Check out White Wizzard’s new video, “Over the Top” below.  White Wizzard’s debut CD Over The Top will be released on March 9, 2010.

Normally, I am not a fan of cover albums, finding them lame at best. It’s always been my belief that if a band is going to take the time to go into the studio and record an albums worth of someone else’s material, why can’t they make the extra effort and record their own songs? However, Hatebreed has me rethinking the cover album a little bit.

For The Lions is a slamming disc containing 19 of the hardest covers you’ll ever hear, by bands that are not everyday household names, featuring songs that you do not experience often. That’s what makes this record stand out from the overpopulated crowd of cover albums.

For The Lions opens with a ripping version of Slayer’s Ghosts of War and never lets go from there. Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and The Misfits are all covered on this disc as well. Great songs from lesser known bands such as Madball, Obituary, and Bad Brains are included for your listening pleasure.

What is most unique about For The Lions is lead singer Jamey Jasta’s ability to channel the spirit of the frontmen for each of the bands that he is covering. During Metallica’s Escape, there are moments when I could swear that I was listening to the actual Metallica version of the song. The band plays the music note for note and Jasta comes as close as he can to sounding like the original singer. This is more a tribute than a cover, but it works wonderfully.

Other songs are definitely a Hatebreed interpretation as the vocals go more toward the gravelly side that Hatebreed is known for. However, not knowing the original versions of those songs, Jasta could be spot on with those vocal inflections.

The music itself is fast, loud, and raw; music your mother or wife would probably hate. Angry speed and thrash metal with a powerful lead singer belching out the hits. It fills you with a raw energy that makes you want to throw your fist in the air, scream as loud as you can, and shout at that you are alive! Hatebreed channels your inner warrior through the power of music and has a fun time doing it.

Covering 19 of their favorite songs, Hatebreed scores a winner with For The Lions. Incredible guitar work, exceptional vocals, and a ton of raw power and energy highlight this disc as a standout piece that is worthy of adding to your heavy metal collection. If you’ve never heard the original versions of these tunes, then this is an excellent introduction. If you know the songs well, this is a great way to appreciate a new interpretation on these classics. Feel the power that Hatebreed delivers with For The Lions.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:
1. Ghosts of War (Slayer) 4:00
2. Suicidal Maniac (Suicidal Tendencies) 3:06
3. Escape (Metallica) 4:38
4. Hatebreeders (Misfits) 2:52
5. Set it Off (Madball) 2:37
6. Thirsty and Miserable (Black Flag) 2:21
7. All I Had I Gave (Crowbar) 3:16
8. Your Mistake (Agnostic Front) 1:43
9. I’m in Pain (Obituary) 4:11
10. It’s the Limit (Cro Mags) 1:41
11. Refuse/Resist (Sepultura) 3:08
12. Supertouch Shitfit (Bad Brains) 2:22
13. Evil Minds (D.R.I) 0:58
14. Shut Me Out (Sick of it All) 2:14
15. Sick of Talk (Negative Approach) 0:39
16. Life is Pain (Merauder) 3:22
17. Hear Me (Judge) 1:55
18. Boxed In (Sub Zero) 2:59
19. A Spoiler (Sheer Terror)

Hatebreed is:
Jamey Jasta – Lead vocals
Chris Beattie – Bass Guitar
Wayne Lozniak – Lead Guitar
Matt Byrne – Drums
Frank Novinec – Guitar

Siberian like temperatures  of 3 degrees Fahrenheit welcome KROKUS as they arrive in Berlin, Germany for a video shoot of “Hoodoo Woman”, one of the eleven tracks of their much anticipated new cd “Hoodoo”.

The 20-men strong film crew prepares feverishly for the video shoot in an unheated club and prepare for the “Hoodoo Rock Inferno”. A huge skull serves as backdrop, blazing torches all around, one would think that the club should be nice and cozy for the rockers performance. Wrong! Outside temperatures have dropped by now to almost minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit and even the lit torches and spot lights cannot heat up the unheated club significantly. At time of actual shooting temperatures have leveled in at around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point for water!

KROKUS declare in unison that it is not just “cold”, it’s “bloody darn cold”! They huddle together in an adjacent room, shaking and shivering, waiting to start the video shoot. Guitarist Fernando fears to catch another severe cold. In the beginning of the year he had to deal with pneumonia.  Bassist Chris sits in a corner of the room, pale and shivering. Not just due to the Berlin winter; dinner did not agree with his stomach and he’s suffering from severe gastrointestinal problems due to some rotten meat he ate earlier. Smiling from ear to ear, vocalist Marc rubs his tummy and declares: “I was smart enough to eat fish for dinner. Quickly digested. Makes me look even skinnier in the video”.

Everyone at the video shoot agrees: KROKUS are back! As a band and as a team as well. The mood amongst the musicians is warm-hearted and sincere, despite of the minus degree temperatures. Once the spot lights hit the club’s stage, one cannot see how sick Chris really is. “The show must go on” is his credo. One tough Swiss rocker. Adds guitarist Mark Kohler: “We are so excited. We can hardly wait until the new cd is released and we can play on stage again”.

“Action”, shouts director Oliver Sommer. A haze of smog fills the room. KROKUS rock in front of the cameras to the playback of “Hoodoo Woman”. Over and over again. One take after the other. Different angles. Jokes drummer Freddy: “This is like in the military. It’s stone-cold, in front of the line someone jells orders and the troops follow in sync”.

It’s after midnight – outside temperatures minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest night in Berlin this year – the video shoot is completed. All involved, band and film crew alike, are tired, exhausted but with a big grin on their faces. Jokes Chris Von Rohr: “Another recipe for happiness – put everyone for a couple of hours in a fridge or large freezer!”.

[For additional pictures go to KROKUSONLINE.COM]

Nights with Alice Cooper sent out the following today:

Tune in to see your host with the most present in the Best Rock Album category–alongside Katy Perry! Yes, Beauty and the Beast. (Alice being the Beauty, of course!) Bands in the category are AC/DC, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and U2!

Coop’s a Clapton fan, but doesn’t AC/DC gotta win this one?

Tune in to the Grammys this Sunday, January 31st at 8 p. m. on CBS, and your favorite radio mutant, Alice Cooper (and Katy Perry!) will tell you who wins… and look great doing it!

Veteran rocker Billy Idol has become the latest big name rumoured to be in the running to replace Steven Tyler as frontman of Aerosmith.

The band revealed they will be hosting auditions to find a new member while Tyler takes a hiatus, with guitarist Joe Perry insisting the star won’t be ready to tour with them until he recovers from a recent stint in rehab and a series of operations.

Lenny Kravitz was the first singer linked to the role, but admitted he would never take over from Tyler, while reports have also suggested former Queen star Paul Rodgers.

Now Idol is rumoured to be in contention, with Classic Rock magazine reporting he was due to meet with the musicians but pulled out after falling sick.

A source tells the publication, “Joe said he wanted to talk to Billy about joining Aerosmith, because the band were having problems with Steven. As far as I know Idol did not show up due to having a cold.”

Perry recently admitted they have already talked to a number of singers about replacing Tyler, but refused to divulge any names. He said, “(There’s) a few people we’ve talked to, and we’ll see how it goes… As far as auditions go, we’ll probably just sit around and have a couple of drinks and see if we get along – because we’re already gonna know that they can sing.”

Source: Jam

LAS VEGAS UPSTARTS TAKING DAWN RELEASE TIME TO BURN VIA ROADRUNNER

PREPARE TO ENTERTAIN HOME CROWD WITH ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE

Las Vegas-based rockers Taking Dawn, who just released their Roadrunner debut, Time to Burn, on Tuesday, January 26, are gearing up for an acoustic performance and autograph signing session at Zia Records, also known as Las Vegas, best independent music store.  The band will perform two songs, in addition to signing autographs for fans and customers. The in-store appearance will take place on Saturday, February 13 and will begin promptly at 2 PM at Zia on Eastern, 4225 S. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas, NV, 89119.

Taking Dawn are currently on tour with labelmates Theory of a Deadman. Expect to hear a lot more from this up and coming band, who’ve been described as having “ballsy rock riffs that are ’80s-influenced while still showcasing a lot of modern touches” by Cosmos Gaming and as “not afraid to rock hard and take names” by Colossal Pop. The Las Vegas Review Journal has deemed Time to Burn “a total rager.” Metalholic said the album had “guitars with winding melodies and high impact drumming.”

The band recently unveiled a video for the rockin’ “Time to Burn” here.

HELLOWEEN CELEBRATE 25 YEARS WITH THE RELEASE OF
UNARMED – BEST OF 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Helloween, one of the most eminent melodic metal bands worldwide and – along with the Scorpions and Accept – Germany’s ultimate metal export, got their start exactly 25 years ago. A total of eleven headlining world tours took the band all over the globe, and their sensational show at the Monsters Of Rock in Castle Donington in front of more than 100,000 metalheads. Spectacular tours alongside Iron Maiden, Dio and Ozzy Osbourne, as well as their MTV Headbangers Ball US tour with Anthrax and Exodus remain unforgotten. Helloween have sold more than five million record! s and garnered 14 gold and 6 platinum awards globally, receiving two gold records in Germany. Now Andi Deris (vocals), Michael Weikath (guitar), Sascha Gerstner (guitar), Markus Großkopf (bass) and Daniel Löble (drums) have set out to prove that their great anthems ooze that special Helloween flair even with totally new arrangements.

UNARMED – Best Of 25th Anniversary is Helloween’s ‘thank-you’ to millions of fans old and new and will prove their exceptional position on the international metal scene. Instead of putting together a regular greatest hits compilation featuring their most successful tracks to celebrate this anniversary, the five band members completely rearranged the greatest melodies they had written in the course of their career to date. The album features Supercharge’s exceptional saxophonist Albie Donnelly, Hellsongs’s vocalist Harriet Ohlsson, pianist Matthias Ulmer, plus the 70-piece Prague Symphonic Orchestra and the choirs of! the Gregorian singers!

As a special surprise, Helloween have come up with ‘The Keeper´s Trilogy’ a stunning 17-minute medley of the songs ‘Halloween’, ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys’ and ‘The King For A 1000 Years’, recorded in cooperation with the Prague Symphonic Orchestra and likely to send shivers of delight down the spine of every Helloween fan.

UNARMED – Best Of 25th Anniversary sees Helloween commemorate their 25th anniversary in their very own way. “We aren’t one of those bands who like to celebrate themselves,” says Weikath. “We wanted to say thank you in a special way to all our fans who have followed us through the past 25 years – to us, this album stands for an official celebration. We had a lot of fun recording our most important tracks in an entirely new ‘outfit’ and with new arrangements. Now we can’t wait to find out how our fans will react.”

Frontiers Records to release AURAS anticipated debut album “New Generation” on March 19^th in Europe and April 6^th in the USA.

January 2010 – Hailing from Brazil, Auras is one of the most exciting new acts to hit the AOR-rock scene in the past few years and with the release of their debut album New Generation they are ready to prove the world that acts such as Journey, The Storm, Toto and Survivor have found a credible heir from South America!

Auras was formed in the beginning of 2007 by singer Gui Oliver and guitarist Ferpa Lacerda. Tired of playing in cover bands and feeling they were musically mature enough, both musicians decided to write some new music.

The first song coming out of this collaboration Hungry Hearts was sent out to several producers and musicians around the world, gathering some very warm response. Gui and Ferpa therefore kept on writing more material until their songs landed on Frontiers Records desk who some immediately some concrete interest, making Auras the first band from South America to sign with the label.

New Generation is the result of years of hard work and faith in our music, explains Gui Oliver. It sounds corny, but it’s really a dream that came true especially for a Brazilian band where this kind of music is not very popular. We really have to thank Frontiers for their trust and support.

Being a real band, not just a studio project, Auras had their live debut supporting their idols Jeff Scott Soto and Jimi Jamison in Curitiba, Auras hometown. Hearing the band play, Jamison mentioned that Auras songs took him back to the eighties and reminded him of the great bands of that period.

Artists like Toto, Journey and Survivor, tells Gui, are known worldwide and in Brazil it’s not different: their classic hits are still on the radio. Their music touched me in different ways. It was not only the beautiful and amazing melodies, but their songs also had great lyrics. Ferpa also grew up in a very musical family and this kind of music was always part of his life. Definitely melodic rock and AOR in Brazil is not for the masses but we have a faithful and loyal audience. We received lots of emails of people saying how proud they were of us about the album.

During the recording process the great jazz drummer Edu Sallum, who had already played with Rafael Moreira (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Rockstar INXS, Paul Stanley), joined the band, and the local studio musicians Matheus Brandon and Hemerson Vieira helped to complete New Generation. The album was finally mixed and mastered to sonic perfection by Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Sunstorm, Place Vendome, Khymera etc.).

Love, dreams, faith and hope are what Auras music is all about.

New Generation includes the following tracks:

Beauty Of Dreams (previewed on Rock The Bones vol. 7 compilation); Forgive and Forget; Never Give Up; In My Arms; Reach Out; New Generation; Forever In Your Eyes; Hungry Hearts; That’s the Way Love Goes; Keep On Loving You; Out of Love; Love To Survive. Includes Beauty of Dreams videoclip.

Click on this link to enjoy the Beauty of Dreams videoclip on youtube!

AURAS:

Gui Oliver – lead vocals

Ferpa Lacerda – guitars and background vocals

Edu Sallum – drums and percussion

with

Matheus Brandon – guitars and background vocals

Hemerson Vieira – bass 

Weblinks:

www.myspace.com/auraaor

www.frontiers.it

www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords

Check out the brand new video from The Last Vegas, “Whatever Gets You Off”!

RoadRunner UK just posted a retraction for the free Airbourne download today.  It will be posted online in one week, on February 5th.

Get a free download of the new Airbourne song, “Get Busy Livin” from the up and coming CD, No Guts No Glory via the Roadrunner.uk website.

Offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys and frontman for Free Reign, the band that is “heavier than metal”

Marc Colombo, offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys and vocalist for hard rock band Free Reign, will be the special guest on Hard Rock Nights January 29-February 4. Free Reign, featuring three NFL players, just released their debut EP “Tragedy.” In addition to Colombo, the band also boasts Cory Proctor (drums) and Leonard Davis (bass) from the Cowboys, as well as Davis’ longtime friend Justin Chapman (lead guitar). Free Reign is signed to Riot Entertainment, the record label home of Fozzy, fronted by WWE Wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.

Colombo will chat with JT about the formation of Free Reign, recording the 5-song EP, and how the title track “Tragedy” was written. And, of course, JT couldn’t resist asking Marc who he favors in the upcoming Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

Hard Rock Nights is a weekly syndicated radio program internationally broadcast on a number of rock and metal stations. For a full list of stations and airtimes, point your browser to http://hardrocknights.wordpress.com/affiliates.

I have been waiting forever for another good Kingdom Come album. Since 1989 to be exact.  The last Kingdom Come album I enjoyed was In Your Face with the classic lineup of Wolf, James Kottak, Rick Steier, Danny Stag, and Johnny Frank. It seems like ever since that album, Lenny Wolf has turned Kingdom Come into his own personal solo project, desperately trying to distance the pseudo band’s sound from the Led Zeppelin like tunes of the band’s past.

When I saw the new Kingdom Come video “So Unreal” in December, I thought Lenny might be returning to the band to its roots.  If this were truly the case, I would be completely overjoyed. Unfortunately, Magnified is more of the same from Lenny Wolf & friends.

The opening song, “Living Dynamite” left me scratching my head.  This is a hard rock/alternative hybrid with odd effects thrown in.  I wanted to like this song, but it just does not grow on me after repeat plays.

Luckily, “No Murderer I Kiss” is much better.  This song has a cool riff that almost takes Kingdom Come into Black Sabbath territory.  Not a bad song, but not what I expected either.

“24 Hours” is more of a modern rock effort, that is pretty hard to describe.  This mid tempo number isn’t hard rock, and it isn’t pop.  I could almost hear this song being played on a lite rock station. It isn’t a bad song, but it is a little on the boring side to me.

“So Unreal” is the closest thing to Kingdom Come’s original sound.  I liked this song the first time I heard it. Unfortunately, this is the only song in this style on Magnified.

“Hey Mama” is another rocker that I could salvage off Magnified.  This heavy tune has some definite replay value, and could find its way to radio in some markets.

Call me shallow if you will, but I thought the songs on this CD just didn’t rock very much, and  were a little too overproduced.  It is certainly an interesting listen, but overall, I just won’t get a lot of replay out of Magnified.

You can preview the songs from Magnified at this link. Tread at your own risk.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:
01. Living Dynamite
02. No Murderer I Kiss
03. 24 Hours
04. So Unreal
05. When I Was
06. Over You
07. Sweet Killing
08. Unwritten Language
09. Hey Mama
10. The Machine Inside
11. Feeding The Flame

Kingdom Come is:
Lenny Wolf – Vocals
Hendrik Thiesbrummel – Drums & Percussion
Eric Foerster – Lead Guitar
Frank Binke – Bass

If you didn’t tune in to Hard Rock Hideout Radio last night, you missed a killer show, and a really cool interview with Tunnel’s Dave Henzerling.

This is the play list from last night’s show:

Divide the Day – Let It Roll
Jetboy – Feel the Shake
Run Devil Run – Dance All Night
Zeroking – Black Friday
Jupiter Crash – Dark Surprise
Adelitas Way – Just A Little Bit
Dio – Stand Up & Shout (By Request)
W.A.S.P. – Babylon’s Burning
Black Tide – Let Me
Pearl – Rock Child
Snowblynd – She (Kiss Cover)
Judge Jackson – Radio
Tunnel – Blood on the Train (Random Pick of the Week)
Sinner Saints – Whiskey Train
Mama Kin – In The City
The Poor – Poison
Alice Cooper – What Do You Want From Me?
The Art of Dying – I Will Be There
Jaded Sun – Higher
The Cult – Libertine (by request)
Dave Henzerling Interview
Tunnel – Into The Sun
Black Robot – Money
Ace Frehley – Outer Space
KISS – War Machine
Winger – Deal With The Devil
Tunnel – In Your Groove (Random Pick of the Week)
L.A. Guns – City of Angels
Million Dollar Reload – Dead Like You (Freeloader)
Thieves & Liars – Let’s Rock
The Driving Conditions – Rock N’ Roll
Crash Kelly – Falling In & Out
Danko Jones – Hot Damn Woman
New Device – In the Fading Light
AC/DC – War Machine
‘77 – Big Smoker Pig
Airbourne – Red Dress Woman
Sideburn – Ghost of 1980 (To Bon Scott)
Guttercats – Decoy Woman
Tarsha – How could I Forget
Tunnel – American Metal (Random Pick of the Week)
Chris Laney – Last Man Standing

You can tune in to Hard Rock Hideout Radio each week from 10 P.M. – 1 A.M. EST online at www.kacvfm.org, and in Amarillo, TX on KACV FM 90.

“Feel Like I Do”, the new videofrom the Texas heavy rock act DROWNING POOL, can be viewed below. The song is the first single from the group’s new, self-titled album, which is due in April via Eleven Seven Music.

Pittsburgh’s masters of traditional metal ICARUS WITCH are on the road right now alongside original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno! Not only are ICARUS WITCH direct support for the full tour, the band are also acting as Di’Anno’s backing band, taking on double-duty every night of the tour, which hits NYC tonight.

ICARUS WITCH have completed their third full-length album entitled Draw Down The Moon which is to be released February 9th through Cleopatra Records/Koch Distribution. The nine-track release sees the band in a more mature, yet increasingly aggressive song writing mode, stripped of the extraneous bells and whistles of synths and samples and just straight-up rocking out! The band was recently described as having a “Heavy influence of Iron Maiden combined with good old fashioned hard/rock metal production and great musicianship” by Don Jamieson, host of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show.

ICARUS WITCH w/ Paul Di’anno
1/27/2010 B.B. King Blues Club – New York, NY
1/28/2010 The Reverb – Toronto, ON
1/29/2010 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
1/30/2010 Gil’s Bar And Grill – Virginia Beach, VA
1/31/2010 Jaxx Nigthclub – Springfield, VA
2/01/2010 Bogies – Albany, NY
2/04/2010 Volume 11 Tavern – Raleigh, NC
2/05/2010 Crazy Marlin’s – Panama City Beach, FL
2/06/2010 The Pit (Brewster’s) – Jacksonville, FL
2/07/2010 Senor Frogs – San Juan, PR
2/08/2010 Limelight – Nashville, TN
2/09/2010 Vino’s Brewpub – Little Rock, AR
2/10/2010 Red Eyed Fly – Austin, TX
2/11/2010 Smokin Aces – Mission, TX
2/12/2010 Zeros Hard Rock Club – Corpus Christi, TX
2/13/2010 Backstage Lounge – San Antonio, TX
2/14/2010 The Loft at The Palladium – Dallas, TX
2/17/2010 Brixton – Redondo Beach, CA
2/18/2010 New Oasis – Sparks, NV
2/19/2010 Ramona Mainstage – Ramona, CA
2/20/2010 Galaxy Theater – Santa Ana, CA
2/21/2010 Voodoo Lounge – San Jose, CA
2/25/2010 Reggies Rock Club – Chicago, IL
2/26/2010 Radmaker’s Rock n Roll Tavern – Tolono, IL
2/27/2010 Emerald Theater – Mt. Clemens, MI
2/28/2010 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
2/26/2010 Warriors of Metal III Open Air Fest – Chillicothe, Ohio

http://www.icaruswitch.com
http://www.myspace.com/icaruswitch
http://www.cleorecs.com

Frontiers Records announces the release of CRAZY LIXX second album “New Religion” on March 19^th in Europe and April 6^th in the USA.

January 2010 – Crazy Lixx, one of the most exciting bands to come out of the Sleaze-Rock movement renaissance in Sweden, together with Crashdïet, Hardcore Superstar, Babylon Bombs and Vains of Jenna, are back with the release of the brand new album entitled New Religion.

Crazy Lixx was formed in 2002 in Malmö, Sweden. The core line-up up until the first album consisted of vocalist Danny Rexon (also known as Dirtchild Danny or D.C. Danny), guitarist Vic Zino, drummer Joél Cirera and bass player Loke Rivano. The current line-up features guitarist Andy Dawson in Vic Zino’s place after the latter joined Hardcore Superstar.

Crazy Lixx debuted with Loud Minority in November 2007, an album that notwithstanding an underground release, received a great acclaim from the media and fans, reaching position #2 in the national Swedish Hard Rock chart.

The band spent all of 2008 and parts of 2009 touring like hell all over Europe and writing material for the new album, working hard to define their own music style which, even though was often compared to the likes of Def Leppard, KISS, Warrant and Skid Row, it has now matured and evolved in a personal and ultra-melodic interpretation of the Sleaze-Arena Hard Rock style.

The final result is New Religion, the new album which includes a dozen Hard Rock gems (out of over the double amount of songs written) recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, along with producer Chris Laney (Europe, Crashdïet, Candlemass).

We set out with one goal, and that was to beat the living s**t out of “Loud Minority” with these new songs, and if you ask me, we’ve beaten it black and blue. I can’t wait to get these new songs played live, states singer Danny Rexon.

And thanks to killer anthems like My Medicine and such cuts as The Witching Hour, Children of the Cross, Rock and a Hard Place and 21 ’til I Die (just to name a few), the guys can consider their mission accomplished and look at 2010 as a key year to break their talent on to the international markets!

New Religion includes the following tracks:

Rock and a Hard Place; My Medicine; 21 ‘Til I Die; Blame it on Love; Road to Babylon; Children of the Cross; The Witching Hour; Lock up Your Daughter; She’s Mine; What of Our Love; Desert Bloom; Voodoo Woman.

CRAZY LIXX are:

Danny Rexon, vocals

Andy Dawson, guitars

Joél Cirera, drums

Loke Rivano, bass

Weblinks:

www.crazylixx.com

www.myspace.com/crazylixxmusic

www.frontiers.it

www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords

Check out Nitrodive’s video “Hold Me Back”.  Like the tune?  If so, give it a SWIM vote and we will play it next week on the Hard Rock Hideout Radio show.  Hate the song?  You are welcome to vote SINK as well.

I have been a fan of Jeff Scott Soto since his early days as a singer with Yngwie Malmsteen. I have never had the luxury of seeing Soto perform live. His fan base in the United States is so small, I fear the new JSS CD, One Night in Madrid is as close as it will get for me.

If you are familiar with Soto’s solo work on his CD’s Lost in the Translation, Beautiful Mess, or music from his
previous band Talisman, you will feel right at home with this CD. Soto’s vocals are amazing as always, and the music is super tight.  Soto’s band sounds like they are having a good time while playing, and that shows in the music. This is obviously not soundboard quality with this being live, but it is far better than any bootleg you will hear.

Some of my favorites in this set are the songs, “Soul Divine”, “Drowning” “Frozen/Crazy (Seal)”.  I really got a kick out of hearing Soto do the song “Stand Up” from the Rockstar movie soundtrack. (Remember Steel Dragon?) If there was anything that I found disappointing with this live CD, it is that there are a ton of songs from Jeff’s career that he could have played, that is not in this two CD set.  How about a tune from the Malmsteen, Eyes or the Soul Sirkus days?  I would love to hear “Calling All Girls” or “Cheyenne” performed live.   There is so much great music from Soto’s career, there is no way he could pack it all in a ninety minute set.  The material that is here is very good though.

One Night in Madrid reiterates what I already knew.: Jeff Scott Soto is one of the best singers in rock today!  It is a shame that more folks in the U.S. haven’t figured this out yet. Casual fans of Jeff Scott Soto may want to invest in Soto’s solo CD’s before checking out this live disc.  I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I am familiar with most of the songs in this two CD set. If you are a die hard fan of Jeff Scott Soto, don’t miss out on this.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

CD 1:

01. Intro
02. 21st Century Man
03. Colour My XTC
04. Soul Divine
05. Our Song
06. Drowning
07. Edu Drum Solo
08. Funky Jam
09. Jorge Guitar Solo
10. Mountain
11. Eyes of Love
12. Testify
13. Band Introductions
14. Broken Man

CD 2:

01. Hey
02. Frozen/Crazy
03. Piano Medley
04. Gin & Tonic Sky
05. Jorge Workshop
06. I`ll Be Waiting
07. Stand Up
08. Funky Medley

JSS is:
Jeff Scott Soto – Lead Vocals
Jorge Salan – Lead Guitar/Vocals
Fernando Mainer – Bass/Vocals
Edu Comnato – Drums/Vocals
BJ – Rhythm & Acoustic GUitars/Keyboards/Vocals

Say it’s so Activision!  Reb Beach may have let the cat out of the bag prematurely Monday night on the Eddie Trunk show when he mentioned that he would be laying down tracks for the new Guitar Hero Alice Cooper game.  No information is online about this game yet.  I hope this one sees the light of day!!

Puddle Of Mudd gave an intimate performance of their hit single “Spaceship” last night at a private event in NYC. Video footage from the concert is now available to view online across Clear Channel Rock, Active Rock, and Alternative station websites! For a full list of station sites click here, or watch the performance directly right now at this link or in the Stripped widget below!

Pick up Puddle Of Mudd’s latest album, Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate, and stop by their official MySpace to view a full list of current tour dates with Shinedown and Skillet.

The mighty Megadeth will join forces with Testament and Exodus for a month-long jaunt that will find these thrash titans crisscrossing the nation on the ‘Rust in Peace’ twentieth anniversary tour. These will be incredibly special shows that will delight Megadeth fans, as the band will be playing their landmark, genre-defining album, 1990’s Rust in Peace, in its entirety, in addition to other Megadeth set list favorites.

Megadeth’s latest, ENDGAME, was released in September 2009 and received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s career. The band performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and was nominated for yet another Grammy – the eighth nomination of their storied career- for “Head Crusher.” Megadeth also enjoyed heaps of praise in the press, from outlets as varied as New York to Revolver to VH1’s “That Metal Show” to PopMatters. With ENDGAME, Megadeth have once again ascended to the top of the metal world.

The tour will kick off on March 1 in Spokane, WA and will run through the end of the month. The dates are as follows, with tickets going on sale this Friday, January 29.

3/1 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory

3/2 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory

3/3 – Medford, OR – Medford Armory

3/6 – Calgary, AB – Big Four (Testament with Special Guests)

3/7 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre (Testament with Special Guests)

3/8 – Saskatoon, SK – Prairieland Exhibition Hall

3/11 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theater

3/12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Palace Theater

3/13 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom

3/15 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

3/16 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live

3/18 – Scranton, PA – Scranton Cultural Center

3/19 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVa

3/21 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle

3/22 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel

3/23 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall

3/25 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater

3/26 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Amphitheate

3/27 – Lubbock, TX – The Pavilion

3/28 – El Paso, TX – Club 101

3/30 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theater

3/31 – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Palladium (Testament with Special Guests)

Stay tuned for more information next week on the rescheduling of the American Carnage tour dates.

AC/DC is putting the metal in the upcoming “Iron Man 2″ film.

The band announced Tuesday they will release the official soundtrack, “AC/DC: Iron Man 2″ on April 19. The first video from the album, “Shoot To Thrill,” was released on Tuesday.

The CD won’t contain new music, but 15 classic songs, including “Let There Be Rock,” “Thunderstruck,” and the recent “War Machine.”

The film opens in the United States on May 7.

If you haven’t seen the Iron Man 2 trailer yet, you can watch it below!

Fresh off the heels of their successful showcase at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, CA on January 14th, 2010. Halo Stereo will be showcasing at SXSW and Red Gorilla Music Festival in Austin, TX in March, 2010. In addition to these shows, Halo Stereo has been invited to perform for the U.S.O. Tour (dates TBA) and to attend the European Music Days Festival in Paris, France this summer.

Halo Stereo is also currently holding a Digital Listening Party which runs until March 1.  Fans can claim 4 free Halo Stereo songs from their new album “The Invisible War” and be entered into a drawing for a VIP night with the band. One winner and a guest get to meet Halo Stereo at a show on their bus, have dinner with the group, visit with them backstage, and introduce them before their show with Vanilla Ice. Winning contestants will also win free Halo Stereo merchandise.

To enter:

Step1: Become a fan of Halo Stereo on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/halostereo

Step2: Click on the ->> (arrow) tab on their page and click on events; choosing Halo Stereo Digital Listening Party:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=259416259395&index=1

Step 3: Join this Event by clicking Attending in the right hand column
(In return fans receive a free download of the song “Doorman”)

Step 4: Suggest to 50 of your friends that they become Facebook Fans of Halo Stereo. Simply go to the Halo Stereo fan page, and under the picture click “Suggest to Friends” and then pick 50 people you think would like Halo Stereo!
(In return fans receive a free download of “Heart Is A Vacuum”)

Step 5: Share Halo Stereo on your facebook page. Go to the Halo Stereo Fan Page and on the bottom left is a box that says share, it will put Halo Stereo on your profile for everyone to see!
(In return fans receive a free download of “Blindfold”)

Step 6: Text 102.9 The Buzz request line at 49375 and request “Doorman”.
(In return fans receive a free download of “Proud”)

Step 7: Once all steps are complete, go back to Halo Stereo’s Facebook page and post “Halo Stereo, SHITCHEA!” along with your email address. The band will send your free downloads and complete your entry into the contest.

Winners will be announced on March 2, the contest ends on March 1st, 2010.

Halo Stereo was formed in 2002 and have been steadily making their mark on the music scene, obtaining radio play, song placements on network television, and FUSE TV’s “Unsigned Artist of the Month” honors for April 2009. FUSE TV featured the video for the track “Blindfold” from the band’s sophomore album “The Invisible War”. Other tracks from “The Invisible War” receiving television placement include the song “Proud”, which was featured on A&E’s “The Cleaner”, and the song “Doorman”, featured on the CBS show “Three Rivers”.

Halo Stereo blends American rock with UK-influenced melodies tapping into a vein of pop rock music that is topped off with psychedelic lyrics and well honed musicianship. The show proved to be a success and Halo Stereo members Andrew Fry (vocals, keys, guitar), Jody Hicks (bass, vocals), Brian Meeks (drums) and Nathan McDonald (guitar) have previously showcased at the Dewey Beach Music Festival as well as at the Red Gorilla Music Festival (RGMF) in 2009, and will be showcasing again at RGMF in 2010.  Halo Stereo has also been selected for a 2010 USO Tour as well as the European Music Days festival being held in Paris, France.

Current tour dates for Halo Stereo include:

Jan 29 20108:00P
The Exit In 102.9 The Buzz New Music Showcase Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 6 2010 8:00P
Crossroads Huntsville, Alabama
Feb 18 2010 8:00P
Brew Co. Bowling Green, Kentucky
Feb 19 2010 8:00P
Foxys BBQ Madisonville, Kentucky
Feb 20 2010 8:00P
Vitellos Murray, Kentucky
Feb 27 2010 8:00P
Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 13 2010 8:00P
Coda Monroe, Louisiana
Mar 17 2010 8:00P
Fitzgeralds Houston, Texas
Mar 18 2010 8:00P
tba Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2010 8:00P
tba Austin, Texas
Mar 25 2010 8:00P
Tidballs Bowling Green, Kentucky
Mar 30 2010 8:00P
Limelight for DJ Cliffy’s Birthday Bash w/ Vanilla Ice Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 15 2010 8:00P
Big Apple Murray, Kentucky
Apr 16 2010 8:00P
Megan and Potters Birthday Bash @ The Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 17 2010 8:00P
Private Event Decatur, Alabama
Aug 27 2010 8:00P
Bike Week @ Winners Circle Indianapolis, Indiana
Aug 28 2010 8:00P
Winners Circle Indianapolis, Indiana

Halo Stereo links:

www.halostereo.com
www.sonicbids.com/halostereo
www.facebook.com/halostereo

Halo Stereo music can be purchased on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-invisible-war/id279587128) or by visiting www.halostereo.com

Live from The Coronet in London comes another epic performance from Wolfmother! In the just released footage Wolfmother, led by head Wolfie Andrew Stockdale, rip through “California Queen,” a track from their newly released album Cosmic Egg. The video debuted on the band’s official site www.Wolfmother.com, which will also be the home of additional footage from this gig.

Wolfmother is currently on tour in Europe, and will head straight into the massive Australian tour in support of rock icons AC/DC! Cosmic Egg featuring “New Moon Rising,” “California Queen” and “White Feather” is in stores now!

JON OLIVA’S PAIN will release their fourth studio album “Festival” on February, 19, 2010. A bombastic title for a bombastic record, indeed.

After the more experimental last JOP album “Global Warning” from 2008, the songs of the new album are going “back to the basics” again. Less slow tracks, more Metal!

Like the master announced it some time ago, “Festival” could be described as a mix of “Hall Of The Mountain King” (Savatage) and the second JON OLIVA’S PAIN album “Maniacal Renderings”. Epic compositions encounter with rough, heavy rockers, all melt together by Jon´s unique style of composing. This album marks the next step in the continuing legacy of the “Mountain King”. It´s once again a unique and unmatched piece of work by one of the scene´s last originals.

FEAR FACTORY fans should mark the 5th of February in their schedule. At this date, the new FEAR FACTORY album “Mechanize” will be released via AFM Records. The FEAR FACTORY line up will be Burton C. Bell (voc), Dino Cazares (g), Byron Stroud (b) and Gene Hoglan (dr).

The new album “Mechanize” will be available in different formats:

Besides the standard CD and the limited Digipak, “Mechanize” will be available as a double vinyl album and a very special FEAR FACTORY tool box. This toolbox (see picture below) includes the digipack CD, a carpenter pencil, screwdriver, hammer, calliper, folding rule, measuring tape, patch (12 x 5cm) and a DIN A2 poster.

Dave Henzerling, guitarist for the bands Tunnel, King Kobra and Big Cock will be the special guest on the January 27th edition of Hard Rock Hideout Radio.

Tunnel, the new band featuring Dave Henzerling and Scott Hammons from Icon, recently released a new self titled CD, which has been receiving rave reviews across cyberspace.
Dave Henzerling talks about his new band Tunnel, as well as other projects he is working on.
In addition, the January 27th show will feature music from bands that have joined the latest social media craze, Twitter.
Hard Rock Hideout Radio is a weekly radio program at the 100,000 watt KACV FM 90 in Amarillo, TX.  The show is broadcast live every Wednesday night from 9 P.M. – 12 A.M. CST and can be listened to online at www.kacvfm.org

The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival featuring KORN and Rob Zombie will kick off Saturday, July 10 in San Bernardino, CA and will roll through 24 cities in the U.S. and Canada between early July and late August.

This summer’s lineup turns up the heat with a main stage lineup that sees KORN and Rob Zombie joined by Lamb Of God and Five Finger Death Punch. The Jagermeister stage will feature Hatebreed, Chimaira, Shawdows Fall, Winds Of Plague and the Jagermeister Battle of The Bands Winner. The Extreme Metal stage will spotlight Atreyu, Norma Jean, In This Moment and 3 Inches Of Blood.

A special pre-sale ticket offer will go on-sale on April 1st. The package will include a specially-priced and designed limited edition ticket, a jump the line pass and more. Look for details in February.

Visit http://www.mayhemfest.com for more details.

Maylene & the Sons of Disaster are a six piece southern rock band from Birmingham, AL made up of Ex-Underoath Vocalist  Dallas Taylor, Roman Havaland – Bass, Chad Huff – Guitar, Kelly Scott Nunn - Guitar, Jake Duncan - Guitar, and Matt Clark - Drums, but make no mistake about they are not your dad’s Southern Rock, with their three guitar assault, and leaning toward the heavier side of the musical spectrum definitely blurring the lines between hardcore/metal and swampy, 1970s boogie Southern rock. One thing you can take to the bank though is you will experience a musical ass whipping like no other after one listen to the band’s newest release “III” and come back begging for more. It’s funny how fast things change, especially in music, if you would’ve asked me who Maylene & the Sons of Disaster were on Dec 12th, 2009 my honest answer would’ve been I have no freaking clue. If you had asked me the very same question on Dec 13th, 2009 my answer would’ve been one of the most kick ass bands I’ve heard in a long time and that answer was just based on hearing their single “Step Up (I’m On It)”, before I even got my hands on their album “III”. Now to make sure I wasn’t just blinded by the awesomeness that is “Step Up (I’m On It)”, I sent Rob Rockitt and Christine Sixx the band’s myspace link and the first words out of both of their mouths was “Holy Sh*T!!” so I knew my answer of  one of the most kick ass bands I’ve heard in a long time was justified.

“III” starts off with “Waiting On My Deathbed” it starts off with a slow build intro of banjo, mandolin, and piano before the band kicks in and Taylor’s vocals are unleashed, heavy but filled with melody to still sing along is the best way to describe this song, a great album opener. “Settling Scores By Burning Bridges” is up next and it is even heavier than “Deathbed” but still filled with melody and both songs have great solos in them. Just from the opening notes of “Just A Shock” you can tell this is going to be a flat out rocker and the band doesn’t disappoint in the least bit, not as heavy as the first two tracks and more commercial radio friendly I can see “Just A Shock” getting a lot of air play if released as a single and the same could be said for “Last Train Coming” it is just as radio friendly and has some great background vocals. Next up is “Step Up (I’m On It)” and to put it simply; without question in my opinion this is the most bad ass song on the planet today. I was floored the first time I heard it and it continues to kick my ass on a daily basis. “Listen Up” does a 180 from the previous songs on “III”, but it still kicks ass just the same. Easily the most commercial song on the album and should have no problem becoming a major hit on radio “Listen Up” is the kind of song you can put on repeat and listen to it over and over without getting tired of. “The Old Iron Hills” and “No Good Son” are two more great straight up rockers much in the vein of “Last Train Coming” and “Just A Shock”, while “Harvest Moon Hanging” and “Oh Lonely Grave” lean back to the heavier side of Maylene’s spectrum.

If Maylene and the Sons of Disaster do not become a known name after releasing an album like “III” the music business is more screwed up than I thought it was, because this album is damn near perfect.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Waiting On My Deathbed
2. Settling Scores by Burning Bridge
3. Just a Shock
4. Last Train Coming
5. Step Up (I’m On It)
6. Listen Close
7. The Old Iron Hills
8. No Good Son
9. Harvest Moon Hanging
10. Oh Lonely Grave
11. The End Is Here…The End Is Beautiful

Maylene & The Sons of Disaster are:

Dallas Taylor – lead vocals
Roman Haviland – bass, backing vocals
Chad Huff – guitar
Kelly Scott Nunn – guitar
Jake Duncan – guitar, backing vocals
Matt Clark – drums

Check out the brand new video, “Promise Land” from Giant.  Giant’s new album, Promise Land will be released on March 9th in the U.S.

If you missed Ozzy on the Today show this morning, you can watch the interview online at this link: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35057359#35057359

Check out Vains of Jenna’s new video “Mind Pollution” below.  VoJ’s new CD, The Art of Telling Lies is available now!