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Scott Weiland Responds to Velvet Revolver’s Overthrow, Recommends Sebastian Bach

Scott Weiland has issued a scathing statement in response to yesterday’s non-April Fool’s Joke that Velvet Revolver would continue on without its singer’s services. “I find it humorous that the so called four ‘founding members’ of Velvet Revolver would decide to move on without me after I had already claimed the group dead in the water on March 20 in Glasgow,” Weiland said. Weiland went on to remind everyone that he’s reuniting with Stone Temple Pilots, saying “I choose to look forward to the future and performing with a group of friends I have known my entire life. This also speaks to my commitment to the fans who I feel would much rather watch a group of musicians who enjoy being together as opposed to a handful of discontents who at one time used to call themselves a gang.” In one last parting shot, Weiland comments on the band’s upcoming search for a new lead singer. “Good hunting lads, I think Sebastian Bach would be a fantastic choice.” We personally cast a vote for Axl Rose, but that doesn’t seem likely. Related Stories: Velvet Revolver Part Ways With Scott Weiland Due to “Erratic Onstage Behavior,” “Personal Problems” Scott Weiland, Matt Sorum Fuel Velvet Revolver Breakup Rumors Velvet Revolver on the Verge of Breaking Up? [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-04-02 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

“The Beatles: Rock Band” Beats “Guitar Hero 5″ in September Sales

As album sales soften and the industry turns to alternate ways to get music to fans, the battle between the big music video games has become increasingly heated, and new sales figures indicate The Beatles: Rock Band has a bit of an edge on Guitar Hero 5. According to Billboard, The Beatles: Rock Band sold 595,000 copies following its September 9th release, while GH5 moved 499,000 units since it hit stores on September 1st. In all, both games help fuel a revenue increase of 72 percent for music v

Published: 2009-10-20 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Video Games

Weekend Rock List: Metallica!

Here at Rock Daily, we’re getting excited about the new Metallica album. “Mission: Metallica” just launched, the band is playing live gigs again and James Hetfield says it’ll sound like Master of Puppets. To honor the legendary headbangers, for this week’s Rock List we’re asking our readers to tell us their favorite Metallica songs and on Monday, we’ll tabulate the picks and reveal your list. So before you go loading, reloading or riding the lightning, check out our favorites: “One” “Wherever I May Roam” “Fuel” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”

Published: 2008-05-16 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock Lists

The Killers - Sawdust

Artist: The Killers Review: This b-sides-and-rarities comp is split between glammy synth-pop like "Sweet Talk" and straighter, heavier rock like "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf." The cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" should have stayed in the vaults, but it's hard to deny Brandon Flowers' melodic gifts, which fuel catchy uptempos like "Under the Gun" and "Where the White Boys Dance," an eerie thing that sounds like it could have come from some great lost post-punk band. Rating: 3 Stars

Published: 2007-11-20 Provider: Rolling Stone

Former 'Idol' contestant nixes Fuel gig

Former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry said Saturday he has turned down an offer to be lead singer for the band Fuel. ...

Published: 2006-06-05 Provider: USA Today

Exclusive Premiere: Neil Young’s Video for “Light a Candle”

Click above to check out Neil Young’s new video for “Light a Candle,” which Rolling Stone is pleased to bring you exclusively. In the clip, Young is wearing a T-shirt that says “The 2nd Big Bang. World Wide Web. Born From High Energy Physics.” In the past few years Young’s made much use of the Web, from blogging about his LincVolt electric car project to posting thousands of fan-made protest songs to creating super shoe-string budget music videos. This one — the second video from the forthcoming Fork In The Road — features Young and his wife Pegi sitting in front of an old school camper. The track was a regular part of Young’s 2008 world tour and reflects his optimism that his car project can eliminate roadside refueling and change the world. It’s the quietest song Fork In The Road, a concept album about LincVolt that was recorded with his touring band. Other tracks include “Off The Road,” “Hit The Road,” “Get Behind The Wheel” and “Fuel Line.” As for the odd shirt, a Google search reveals that it’s the name of a 1998 paper written by Stanford Professor Bebo White. For much more on Fork in the Road, don’t miss our Spring Album Preview, hitting newsstands next week in our next issue. Related Stories: • Neil Young Confirms New, Electric Car-Inspired LP Fork in the Road Due April 7th • Neil Young Debuts Hilarious Clip for New Fork in the Road • Neil Young’s Eco-Challenge: How the Singer Turned His Gas Guzzler Green

Published: 2009-03-13 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Neil Young Confirms New, Electric Car-Inspired LP “Fork in the Road” Due April 7th

Photo: Gosatti/Getty When Neil Young began playing nine new songs a night towards the end of his 2008 tour it became apparent a new album was in the works. Today it was confirmed that Fork in the Road, a theme record about Young’s Linc Volt electric car project, will come out April 7th. The title track was turned into a hilarious YouTube video earlier this year. The only previously unheard song is “Johnny Magic,” a loving tribute to Jonathan Goodwin, who is Young’s partner in the Linc Volt project. Young has spent significant amounts of time working with Goodwin at his Wichita Kansas garage over the past year. Goodwin, known as the “motorhead messiah,” is one of the worlds preeminent electric car experts, and has little interest in his partner’s other career. “For the first month I thought he was Neil Diamond,” Goodwin told Rolling Stone last year. “I guess he is another singer. My wife told me ‘That’s Neil Young. He sings the older songs.’ To this day I’ve never listened to any of his music.” The album was recorded with Young’s touring band, which includes Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar, keyboards), Chad Cromwell (drums), Rick Rosas (bass), Pegi Young (vocals) and Anthony Crawford (vocals, guitar). They just wrapped up an Australian tour and are headed to Canada and Europe later in the year. Here’s the track listing: “When Worlds Collide” “Fuel Line” “Just Singing A Song” “Johnny Magic” “Cough Up The Bucks” “Get Behind The Wheel” “Off The Road” “Hit The Road” “Light A Candle” “Fork In The Road” Related Stories: • Neil Young’s Eco-Challenge • Neil Young Opens Up the Vaults With Crazy Horse Disc, Box Set • Neil Young: “There’ll Never Be Another Crazy Horse” • Neil Young’s Biggest Fan Speaks: “His Voice Is Haunting,” Says Donald Trump

Published: 2009-03-02 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Metallica Reveal “Guitar Hero” Track List

Metallica have revealed the track list for their upcoming Guitar Hero game, out on March 29th. The 28-song list combines the band’s greatest hits like “Enter Sandman” and “One” with fan favorites like “Battery” and “Dyers Eve.” Additionally, gamers can play the band’s new Death Magnetic in the full-game mode if they downloaded that album. Plus, GH: Metallica will also feature songs by artists like Bob Seger, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters and new metal all-stars like Mastodon and the Sword. As reported in Rolling Stone’s preview of Guitar Hero: Metallica, the game features a storyline concocted by James Hetfield, with players starting the game as the band’s opening act before eventually becoming Metallica. The game also contains artwork from the band’s longtime collaborator Pushead and bonus features like live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. To see the entire Guitar Hero: Metallica track list, keep reading. Metallica songs: “All Nightmare Long” “Battery” “Creeping Death” “Disposable Heroes” “Dyers Eve” “Enter Sandman” “Fade To Black” “Fight Fire With Fire” “For Whom The Bell Tolls” “Frantic” “Fuel” “Hit The Lights” “King Nothing” “Master of Puppets” “Mercyful Fate (Medley)” “No Leaf Clover” “Nothing Else Matters” “One” “Orion” “Sad But True” “Seek And Destroy” “The Memory Remains” “The Shortest Straw” “The Thing That Should Not Be” “The Unforgiven” “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” “Wherever I May Roam” “Whiplash” Other artists: Alice In Chains – “No Excuses” Bob Seger – “Turn The Page” Corrosion of Conformity – “Albatross” Diamond Head – “Am I Evil?” Foo Fighters – “Stacked Actors” Judas Priest – “Hell Bent For Leather” Kyuss – “Demon Cleaner” Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Tuesdays Gone” Machine Head – “Beautiful Mourning” Mastodon – “Blood And Thunder” Mercyful Fate – “Evil” Michael Schenker Group – “Armed and Ready” Motorhead – “Ace of Spades” Queen – “Stone Cold Crazy” Samhain – “Mother of Mercy” Slayer – “War Ensemble” Social Distortion – “Mommy’s Little Monster” Sui

Published: 2009-01-26 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Sneak Peek: “Guitar Hero: Metallica” Offers Deep Cuts and Lifelike Band, But No Cliff Burton

There is a video clip in Guitar Hero: Metallica of Lars Ulrich performing on a silent drum set while covered in motion-capture equipment. He’s playing a song Metallica haven’t played in more than a decade, and he can’t get the timing right. After a handful of takes, he finally makes it through, and collapses in a heap on the floor. “I’m sorry for all the bad things I’ve done in my life,” he moans. Now gamers can feel Lars’ pain as the Metallica-themed version of the juggernaut Guitar Hero franchise hits stores March 29th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles (Wii and PS2 versions will follow later in the spring). In a storyline concocted by frontman James Hetfield, players begin as Metallica’s opening act, and eventually play as Metallica once they prove their mettle. Everything about the game, from the menu animations based on art by Pushead, Metallica’s long-running collaborating artist, to venues and stage sets from all phases of the band’s career to signature lighting effects and crowd chants will be familiar to fans. The motion-capture used to animate the band is strikingly lifelike, as all of the signature moves are there: the contemplative Hetfield during the opening of “The Unforgiven,” the preening Ulrich hopping up from behind his kit to be seen after every song, and bassist Rob Trujillo’s crabwalk and spins. The members all initially appear as their modern-day selves, but there will be unlockable character skins that hearken back to earlier eras. Although no past members are in the game (there go fantasies for a Cliff Burton cameo — the band feared his inclusion may have felt like a slight to Trujillo), a few of Metallica’s heroes make appearances. The full track list for the game will be released next week, and Neversoft employees admit that the list of songs which has been announced so far was a bit of a tease — a list heavy on material from the band’s self-titled album and onward (”King Nothing,” “Fuel,” “No Leaf Clover,” etc.) — but fans of the ea

Published: 2009-01-22 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Smoking Section: Weezer, Kings of Leon, The Decemberists

The Donaldson Correctional Facility houses 1,500 of Alabama’s most vicious criminals. In 2002, fed up with their crappy rehab programs, administrators allowed 36 prisoners to take an intense Vipassana meditation course, involving 10 days of complete silence and soul-searching. The remarkable results are captured in the doc The Dhamma Brothers, financed in part by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, whose life was changed by Vipassana. “What struck me was how similar my experience is in the meditation course to how it is for these criminals serving life sentences,” says Cuomo. “A few years ago, I might have felt a tremendous fear, and now I can walk into things feeling perfectly peaceful.” He relates to a statement in the movie by a convicted murderer named Grady Bankhead. “He said, ‘I’ve been on death row for eight years, and this 10-day course was harder,’” says Cuomo. “I can relate to that.” * * * * “I know I sound like a fucking cock right now,” says Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill, “but this is the first time I’ve really been proud of myself, track for track.” After a grueling 2007 tour, and Caleb’s recent surgery to repair his arm after a fistfight with his brother Nathan (”Nathan won”), the Kings planned to take a well-deserved break. But when we called them, they were at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio wrapping up their fourth disc, out in September. Three days after his surgery, Caleb says he removed his arm from a sling and began writing: “I don’t know if it was the pills or what, but the melodies were so much stronger than anything I’ve ever done — it’s just really beautiful songs.” In addition to the pills, the band members say they drank all day to fuel songs like “Cold Desert” and “Crawl.” (In the latter, Caleb touches on politics: “Let’s just say that Sean

Published: 2008-06-10 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Smoking Section

“Guitar Hero: Metallica” Confirmed By Band, Details Emerge

Photo: GettyConfirming “the worst kept secret in rock n’ roll,” Metallica officially revealed on their website this weekend that there will be an all-Metallica Guitar Hero game “released in the first half (!?) of 2009.” According to the band, gamers will have the option of playing as Metallica themselves, with a “career mode” that echoes Metallica’s own rise to heavy metal stardom. The game will house roughly 28 Metallica songs, plus songs from “buddies” like the Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Slayer and Queen. The game will also contain new Guitar Hero features like an “Expert+” mode that requires faux-drummers to emulate Lars Ulrich and master two bass kick drum pedals. While the band didn’t let slip the track list, the gaming community has confirmed that “Enter Sandman,” “Fuel,” “Master of Puppets,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Sad But True” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” will all make the final cut. The All-Metallica game continues a bond between the band and Guitar Hero that started when Metallica made their Death Magnetic playable for GH3. The Metallica game is also the second GH game to chronicle one band’s discography, following the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game from earlier this year. Related Stories: • Metallica’s “All Nightmare Long” Video Premieres • Fans Complain After Death Magnetic Sounds Better On Guitar Hero Than CD • Metallica’s Death Magnetic Playable on Guitar Hero III Same Day of Album Release

Published: 2008-12-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Metallica

Metallica Pound SXSW With 90-Minute Greatest-Hits Set at “Surprise” Show

“Surprise, surprise — you’re all surprised, right?” singer-guitarist James Hetfield cracked in his sea-captain’s growl, leering at the heaving crowd two songs into Metallica’s poorly-kept-secret SXSW show, March 20th at Stubb’s. “Thank you for letting us come to your party.” Then his voice changed. “We are an unsigned band from Norway,” he said in a terrible Scandanavian accent and Andy Kaufman-like chirp. “Maybe we get signed.” Any unsigned Norwegian band that could write and play anything as smart and brutal as Metallica’s next song, “Harvester of Sorrow,” would have been signed before it left the building. (For more photos of Metallica and other SXSW performers, check out our gallery.) So you ask: Why Metallica at SXSW? The answer: Why the hell not? SXSW stopped being only about alternative rock and regional baby bands when superstars started giving the keynote speeches and the acts playing corporate-sponsor day parties outnumbered the evening showcases. Metallica were at SXSW to sell their imminent edition of the interactive video game Guitar Hero. But they ended up proving something else: You don’t get anywhere in this world, with a guitar, in a band, until you get off the couch. The promotion was in full effect — Metallica played in front of a giant Guitar Hero banner, and one of the opening acts was a trio of local Guitar Hero contest winners, who “played” a version of “Fuel” on Guitar Hero “instruments.” But the real deal came to perform, opening with “Creeping Death” and, except for two Death Magnetic numbers, giving the audience 90 minutes of greatest hits, including “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “One,” “Sad But True” and a scorched-earth tear through “Master of Puppets.” There was, surprisingly, no “Enter Sandman.” Instead, Metallica ended the set with a rare “Blackened” from … And Justice for All and started the three-song encore with their Garage Days-EP roasting of Budgie’s “Breadfan.” The primary lesson of this show: You can learn how to play like Metal

Published: 2009-03-21 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, SXSW