In September, MusicRadar reported: Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are "dismayed and disappointed" in the Kurt Cobain avatar to be featured in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5 game, and today the two former Nirvana members issued a strongly worded statement regarding the situation.

The pair wrote, "We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game. The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate - we have no control whatsoever in that area. While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in re-locking Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.
"It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists' music alongside cartoon characters. Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better." Wanna see Kurt sing Bon Jovi? Check it out here.

The BBC caught up with Jon Bon Jovi for his opinion about the controversy. Bon Jovi says he understands why Nirvana's former members protested over the use of Kurt Cobain's image in video game Guitar Hero 5. more

What about Courtney Love? A series of Twitter blasts, she blamed Dave Grohl for the Cobain avatar. Responding to an angry Tweet, she wrote, "you can assrape dave he was always a bad seed and is still riding the ---- while i take bullets if theres a hell hes going. im not."

In another Tweet, Love wrote, "activision know this aos very very bad press indeed wait til you see what MY lovely lawyer has cooked up, i never ever signed off on this."

To which 'Guitar Hero' CEO Dan Rosensweig told NME.COM that Courtney Love has "cashed the check" that coincides with a contract relating to her late husband, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and his appearance the game.

"One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the f**k made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they'll sign anything' - like I did." more

Then Trent discovered Twitter, to Chris Cornell's detriment: Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor took to his relatively new Twitter account yesterday to slam one of his peers, former Audioslave/Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. "You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell's record? Jesus," Reznor wrote for all 40,000-plus of his followers to see. more

Then on April Fools day, Reznor mocked Cornell further: In what appears to be an elaborate April Fools joke, Nine Inch Nails have announced the release of a new Timbaland-produced album called 'Strobe Light'. In a suspicious posting on the band's website and a Tweeter message issued this morning (April 1), the Nine Inch Nails announced that their new full-length album can be downloaded immediately, and features collaborations from Coldplay's Chris Martin, Jay-Z and Bono, as well as a track titled 'Pussygrinder' featuring Sheryl Crow . more

Trent Vs Gene Simmons: Trent was explaining why he decided to retire from touring Nine Inch Nails and took a swing at KISS star Gene Simmons in the process: In the interview, Reznor also admits that his reasons for leaving the road have as much for what he doesn't want to be, namely a certain long-tongued member of KISS. "I'd never want to be Gene Simmons, an old man who puts on makeup to entertain kids, like a clown going to work. In my paranoia, I fear that if I don't stop this, it could become that" more

When asked if Fear Factory was "done," Raymond replied, "We're [Christian and I] actually still in Fear Factory. There's a big legal battle going on right now. Essentially, what's happened is Dino [Cazares, former Fear Factory guitarist] and Burt [C. Bell, Fear Factory singer] have become friends again and they decided to start a new band, and furthermore, they decided to call it Fear Factory.

KISS comment: "Now that the tour is over we've remixed and mastered only the very best live performances of all KISS Alive 35 klassic hits.

Topics include Zakk's signature Gibson and Epiphone guitars, Dimebag Darrell, the making of Ozzy Osbourne's "Miracle Man" music video, and Zakk's health. Additional podcast topics include Talking Metal's upcoming appearances on MTV2's Headbangers Ball, Ron "Bumblefoot," Thal, Alice In Chains, Mike Inez, and Talking Metal's appearance in the current issue of Revolver magazine featuring Pantera.