Some people have pondered if Aerosmith's Steven Tyler was on drugs again. This news from Showbiz 411.com may add more fuel to the fire: Steven Tyler is starting to ease on down the Michael Jackson road: He's changed managers again. Tyler, AWOL from Aerosmith and clearly in health trouble, has left pal Jason Flom and John Greenberg of UEG. I've confirmed that he's signed with Allen Kovac of 10th Street Entertainment, who also reps recent chart toppers Papa Roach, Debbie Harry and Motley Crue. more

Fear Factory, who just announced their participation in the third annual Big Day Out festival, has announced a pair of Australian headlining off-dates in Melbourne and Sydney. more

Have Trivium changed line-up? asks Classic Rock There's a strong rumor that drummer Travis Smith has actually now left the band � and the split is said to be less than amicable. more

Metallica.com had this update: As the North American version of the World Magnetic tour is now over, next year will be one of many firsts and we are excited to announce that Croatia is one of them! On May 16, we will be in the capital city of Zagreb at the Zagreb Hippodrome. Tickets go on sale on Friday, December 18. more

An amplifier used by Randy Rhoads on the European leg of the first Blizzard of Ozz tour is being auctioned online more

Bad Religion's bassist Jay Bentley told fans that the band looks to enter the studio in late April of 2010 to record the follow up to 2007's New Maps of Hell. more

Children Of Bodom will start working on their seventh studio outing early next year and the first months of 2010 will be spent in the rehearsal lair putting the new song material together. The studio is booked for early summer, but before that the band will treat their home crowd with three shows on Finnish soil. more

Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin will be headlining next year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Also appearing are Pearl Jam, making its inaugural appearance at the fest, as well as Lionel Richie and actor Steve Martin and more

Ministry's Uncle Al Jourgensen is apparently in the Christmas spirit, having created a Christmas video "card" for you and his fans that is also his very first solo project. Al and good buddy Mark Thwait (Mission UK, Peter Murphy, Mob Research), collaborated on "It's Always Christmas Time," a tribute to friend and band mate Paul Raven (Ministry, Killing Joke, Mob Research) on the two-year anniversary of his passing in 2007. With Christmas less than two weeks away, it's Al's way of spreading his very own brand of holiday cheer. Check it out here

John Lydon had this to say about his late Sex Pistol's bandmate Sid Vicious "Poor Sid. Once you start on that heroin trail of self pity, it's gone. I'm sorry, God, for the day I brought Sid into the band. He felt so isolated, poor old Sid, because he wasn't the sharpest knife on the block. The best aspect of his character, which was his humour, just vanished the day he joined the Pistols" more

Al Di Meola will kick off a two-month U.S. tour on January 28th, with his acoustic group World Sinfonia. The dates will follow on the heels of a new live album 'Live From Seattle And Elsewhere' more

In Flames are heading to Asia in the New Year. Here what they had to say, "This is the first time we are playing China and Taiwan and we are really looking forward to it! Japan is always an amazing place to visit and play live so see you at the shows" more

Check out the new live video from The White Stripes' "Let's Shake Hands" here

Deep Purple's final concert of 2009, which will be held at Paladozza in Bologna, Italy, on Wednesday, December 16th, will be broadcast live by Radio2 more

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the fiery rock trio from New York City that's been on a virtual hiatus since 2004's "Damage," has teamed with Shout! Factory division Majordomo Records for an extensive reissue campaign in 2010. more

The Carrier are currently recording a new full-length album at The Getaway Group in Wakefield, MA. more

Attack Attack!, Breathe Carolina, I See Stars, Asking Alexandria, and Bury Tomorrow will take part in "The Artery Foundation Across The Nation Tour 2010" next March and April, dates are here

Daitribe has officially announced it's lineup. After an extensive search, Rich Collins (Habit of Force) has been chosen to handle vocal duties. more

Greece has been added to Katatonia's New Night Over Europe Spring tour 2010. The Two new dates are Saturday 10th April at the Principal Club Theater in Thessaloniki and Sunday 11th April at Gagarin 205 in Athens. The support bands on these two shows are exclusive for Greece and not part of the of rest of the European tour: Enslaved (Co-headliners), Astral Aeon (Local support) and Sorrowful Angels (Local support).

In the words of Lars: "Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal's big 4 would not only still be around and more popular than ever, but will now play together for the first time...what a mindf**k! Bring it on!"

He tells I Heart Guitar: "We were out on the road with Mudvayne and Static-X and we were having a blast on that thing. Next thing you know, I'm hanging out and my leg's frickin' killing me - my left leg behind my knee. I figured maybe I'd pulled a calf muscle but it wasn't like I fell or anything. It wasn't like I was doing David Lee Rock splits off the drum riser.

"...We had a 24-hour drive and I said, 'Before we do this I just want to get an ultrasound.' The guy goes, 'Dude, you've got two huge blood clots behind your knee.'... He told me usually airline pilots get this ----, or truck drivers, you know? I said, 'Would drinking have anything to do with this?' He just goes, 'No, dude, if anything drinking was thinning your blood.'

Over the past ten years we've accumulated a lot of guitars, keyboards, amps, posters, platinum discs and all sorts of nostalgia. From December 17 until December 31, we're going to auction them on eBay.

All items will either be signed by the four of us, or accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, again signed by all of us. All proceeds will go to Kids Company, an incredible charity that helps vulnerable children and young people in London.

New York Daily News reports "According to legal documents, the court has appointed Kurt Cobain's mother, Wendy O'Connor, and sister, Kimberly Dawn Cobain, to watch over the minor

We were just having fun with that last part; here is what Iron Maiden.com had to say about the venture: Nicko has teamed up with guitarist and friend "Moby" Rick Baum to become partners in a new BBQ restaurant called "Rock N Roll Ribs" which opened recently in Coral Springs, Florida, USA. The place is run by Rick who has been in the restaurant business since 1990, so he knows a thing or two about good food! As Nicko knows a thing or two about great music and a lively atmosphere, together this promises to be a very exciting new venture! To see the menu, and find out more about what's on offer, check out their website at http://www.rocknrollribs.com/.

All tickets go on general sale on Saturday 19th December aside from Chicago which goes on sale on Monday 21st December.

But here is what Axl Rose reportedly had to say today: Axl Rose denies releasing press statement regarding rumored LAX incident. "I did not release any statement or authorize either any statement or anyone to release a statement regarding anything at any airport anywhere.

We had recently began working with newer individuals in management in relation to our current Asian tour in support of our Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" in addition to Irving Azoff's though as it happens we are once again touring Asia without management of any kind.

"This Is War" is not your standard Christmas song. I wanted it to explore a different side of the holiday �� a different side of the story of Christ's birth. An event that we normally speak of (probably inaccurately) as peaceful, quiet, and mild, was also the most momentous event in the history of mankind. It is the equivalent of D-day. God is on the ground, in the trenches; God as man. Whether you believe this or not, it should make you stop and take notice, and to wonder who this baby really was. He was born in a stable to young unwed parents in a tiny village of a backwater territory of the Roman Empire. He grew up and worked as a carpenter for most of his life in another no-name town. At around age 30 he started a 3-year preaching ministry which ended abruptly when he was shamefully executed after being accused of being an insurrectionist and for claiming equality with God. How is it that this man is far and away the most influential man in world history? What is the true significance of Christmas? Who was that baby in the manger and why does it matter? These are questions that this song seeks to answer.

Also, I just saw the first cut of the video for this song, and I have never been more pleased with any video of mine or my bands. I am simply blown away and so excited that someone else believed in the song as much as I do.