Did Metallica Take Too Big Of Gambles?

"A.J. was out on tour with a band called Adrenaline Mob, and he had a massive heart attack in his sleep and we lost him," Snider told X17 on Saturday at Los Angeles airport, as he and his wife were returning from a vacation. "He was the first member of the band to die, and it's very sad."

Asked how the band would replace Pero, Snider replied: "You don't. I mean, will we continue to play? Probably, for his family. 'Cause his family will benefit from us playing, financially. It was all five original members of Twisted Sister, and he's the first one we lost. And the band is heartbroken."

The tune follows "Runnin' With The Devil", "Panama" amd "Unchained" as the fourth song issued in advance of the album's release on March 31st. "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert" will be available as a double CD, four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, and digitally.

A deluxe collection featuring "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert" and newly remastered versions of their groundbreaking 1978 debut, "Van Halen", and their 6th album, "1984", will also be available as both a four-CD set and a six-LP vinyl set in special packaging.

Mustaine tells VH1 Classic Rock Icons (via Blabbermouth): "There was a feeling that James and I had when we would stand next to each other and play. I think people saw there was a real brotherhood there. We were a really great guitar duo."

He was fired from Metallica in 1983 before the release of Kill 'Em All and says his anger at that decision drove him to make Megadeth the most "ultra-furious metal band" in the world.

Mustaine continues: "Growing up and having all of the defence mechanisms I'd gotten over the years, I was pissed - I was going to fight. When you're scratching and clawing to have something to eat, someone takes away your livelihood, this means war.

Frontman Matt Bellamy had this to say about the new track, "This is where the story of the album begins. Where the protagonist loses hope and becomes 'Dead Inside', therefore vulnerable to the dark forces introduced in 'Psycho' and which ensue over the next few songs on the album, before eventually defecting, revolting and overcoming these dark forces later in the story."

The album's presales has already topped Amazon's digital rock album list, and is at no. 3 on their overall album list. It also topped the rock album charts on iTunes. Fans that preorder the digital version of the album receive an instant download of the new single on Amazon. Fans can stream the new song here.

The band, featuring the new lineup of founding member Ben Burnley along with guitarists Jasen Rauch (Red) and Keith Wallen (Adelitas Way), bassist Aaron Bruch, and drummer Shaun Foist (Picture Me Broken), will be launching a North American tour next month.

The tour will include a number of headline dates as well as appearances at leading music festivals. The headline dates kick off on April 17th in Pharr, Tx and conclude on July 16th in Mt. Pleasant, MI.

The award also recognizes the group as one of the most globally successful and influential rock bands of all time, with more than 90 million albums sold worldwide.

"Nordoff Robbins is an exceptional charity and their dedication to changing people's lives through music therapy is something we all very much support," says the group in a released statement. "We're extremely proud to receive the O2 Silver Clef Award and be part of the 40th anniversary event celebrating this wonderful achievement."

Fogerty and CCR burst on the music scene with hit after hit: "Proud Mary","Bad Moon Rising," "Born On The Bayou" and more. The band's quick rise to the top of the charts pushed them to new heights, even outselling The Beatles in 1969. But a series of internal band struggles eventually caused the group to implode.

"Fortunate Son" will see Fogerty explore his Northern California roots, CCR's success and the rocker's retreat from music and public life before returning to chart-topping solo success.

"I'm excited to share my story and my life with you," says Fogerty. "You're going to hear where it all started, my passion to become the best musician I could be. You'll travel down some rough roads, but that road leads to something beautiful. My book won't be sugar coated! It's all in there."

Fogerty has also announced a series of new dates for his "1969" summer tour, which begins with an appearance at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, TN on May 2.

The "1969" tour sees Fogerty performing music from the three albums he released in a single year with CCR, including "Bayou Country", "Green River" and "Willy And The Poor Boys."

Tompkins was the vocalist on the group's 2011 debut "One." The new live release packages will feature different recording on the video and audio portions.

The DVD video footage, entitled "Scala", was captured during the group's performance at the Scala live music venue in London on November 6th, 2014.

The audio part of the release, entitled "Odyssey" was recording at various shows in Europe and Russia during the band's Altered State World Tour that took place in the fall of last year.

"Odyssey/Scala" will be released in various packages on May 19th in North America and May 18th in Europe. The packages include a CD and DVD version, a vinyl LP and DVD version and a digital version.

Schenker worked with Herman and Francis on the classic Scorpions album, "Lovedrive" and when asked what it was like working with them again, Schenker responded: "The chemistry is something you can't really explain; it just is. Francis and Herman are family. Doogie, too, and Wayne� you have the chemistry. The first two albums are very much based on my concept. It is like I knew what kind of songs I wanted them to be, energetic, fast and melodic, et cetera. The rest of the guys just had to add their thoughts to it, but the skeleton was basically structured. There are a lot of fast songs on there and Herman had to kick some� he had to go for it. Now he is getting healthier because of it."

During the follow-up question he added, "That is the whole thing with Herman and Francis, to be honest. It is a screen that I can paint on. It is very important to have. I have played with the best drummers and sometimes it is very hard to play with a great drummer because there is so much coming from the drummer himself. It is, like you said, it is solid. I can do a lot with it. If you have too many people doing too many things it just becomes a 'too many cooks' kind of a thing.

"The next album I already know what we will do. We will have an additional improvement�. not improvement� but an idea to involve Doogie more. In fact, on the next album, which is kind of exciting, as it means that something unpredictable can come out of that. I am looking forward to that too."

Schenker also shared his excitement about touring with them, "This is the first time we are coming over to the USA with Herman and Francis, the Rock You Like a Hurricane rhythm section. We have been trying since last spring and we've got it together and we are excited to play the States with this lineup and we are all looking for it. Keep on rocking and we will be there soon!"

When asked if they plan to only play Temple of Rock songs or if fans can expect to hear classics from UFO and Scorpions, Schenker responded: "Of course, that is what I mean by saying we're developing. The idea of Temple of Rock started off like, basically, all of my written music. That is my temple of rock. When I did live performances in the beginning it was the most popular of my involvements from the past and now. That is my temple of rock.

"Because we've developed step by step, every six months we understand what the next step needs to be. It is developing its own entity which means that after two, or three, albums you have enough material together to actually survive without getting into all of my other stuff. I can play my stuff in the future with Gary Barden, or with Robin McAuley, or whatever. Temple of Rock, sooner or later, will be ready and then we may only play our songs. Well, right now we must play past songs like 'Rock Bottom,' or things like that. They are not really for Temple of Rock, but they are at this stage. They are the tool for Temple of Rock to become self-sufficient. That is the goal. We have three albums that have a lot of good songs on there and we can easily put together a set.

"If people like what you do--in the beginning if you have only one album out then you don't have enough material to tour and stuff like that. That period was important to perform the most popular of the past because that's what that period was, but it won't be that forever. You go through stages and over the next cycle bits and pieces develop. I can't tell what is going to happen in the future because it is impossible. I can watch the steps. Once you've made one step, then you know what the next step should be."

He tells the Belfast Telegraph: "When you're a kid and you're rebellious you want to shock people - and that's basically what we did. I don't feel that way now. I feel there are other ways to gain attention through music - by musicianship.

This is the fourth unreleased track to see the light of day, following the 'Early slow version' of Whiskey Bottle, the 'Take Before Master' of Feel Like Makin' Love and the 'Demo Reel 1' version of Little Miss Fortune.

The latest? Prince has an actual vault in his basement which holds all of his unreleased music. Several associates close to Purple One confirmed the existence of Prince's IRL music archive in interviews with The Guardian. Apparently, the vault dates back to at least 1987, two years after Paisley Park was built.

The new video was created by artist Anne Norkjaer Bang along with the band's bassist Nicolai Mogensen. The group describe the record as existing in "a borderline area of rock that is as high-flying and melodically fulfilling as it is itchy and heavy" while including "quirky trails of distorted bass and guitars, entangling synth lines and constantly groove-driven drums."

Lucassen recently explained: "I asked the fans on Facebook, 'What would you guys want to hear from me next?'" That led to the concept: "Why don't I split it up - do 10 songs in two completely different versions?"

Now he tells TeamRock of the video: "Shores Of India was the obvious choice for a video because it's the most adventurous and cinematic track on The Diary.

"I've always been partial to oriental melodies, and I'm especially proud of the epic chorus. Anneke did an amazing job singing this intricate song, both technically and emotionally.

Speaking about the new record, the band's guitarist Jamie Steadman urges you to "take 40 minutes of time out of your boring life to listen to our album."

"The album is about our choices, feelings, ambitions and aspirations being controlled in the modern world by external sources who don't have our best interests at heart," he continues.

"We've tried to capture the way that we all feel sometimes, bottle it up and then put it on this record. If you like it, please buy a copy because if we don't sell enough then our record company won't let us make any more. Thanks!"

The new album is set to be released on June 2nd in North America and June 1st in Europe. The follow-up to 2012's "Hot Cakes" was produced by guitarist Dan Hawkins.

The project sees the debut of new drummer Emily Dolan Davies, who replaced original sticksman Ed Graham after a split last year. "Last Of Our Kind" will be released on limited edition color vinyl, CD and digital download.

The trio were joined for some vocal support by guests Brendon Small of Dethklok and Ben Thomas of Zappa Plays Zappa, and have recently been working on final mixes with engineers Erich Gobel and Mike Boden.

Guitarist Govan explains the band have come a long way since forming just four short years ago and says the pressure was off when it came time to record the new album.

He says: "We've learned a lot since we started this band - four years, three studio albums, two live DVDs and about a billion notes ago - and I think our latest offering reflects this in all kinds of ways.

Waters tells Broken Neck Radio: "It's getting in the right direction now for about seven, eight years. It's been heading up and up and up everywhere I've been going. Even in Europe, where it's always been big, it's been going up and up as far as metal's popularity."

Vocalist Annie Haslam says: "It's our goal to chronicle this journey by filming and released a live concert DVD. We ask for your help in funding the recording and production by offering different levels of pledge rewards for your support.

Bottum tells Noisey: "It's not a traditional opera - it's more like weird little operettas. I grew up in LA but I moved to New York specifically to get into opera, and had this preposterous idea for a Sasquatch love story.

It follows his six sold out shows across the UK earlier this month in support of latest studio work Hand. Cannot. Erase. Wilson had the following to say in a statement:

The new album's artwork was created by Polish artist, illustrator and architect Zbigniew M Bielak, who has previously worked with Watain, Ghost and Entombed AD.

Bielak reveals he was inspired to become involved in the project after being a longtime fan. He says: "Since their late 80s inception, through sombre abrasiveness of their debut and harrowing sadness of groundbreaking Gothic, the unparalleled icons of gloom, Paradise Lost grew deep into all things murky and dreadful in modern music.

"Duncan Fergado's artwork for their debut remains one of my favourite covers, so having heard that with The Plague Within the band harks back to days of old, was - to say the least - a thrilling incentive to pick up the commission."

The new Humming House album Revelries gained its title from a lyric in our song "Carry On." "Carry On" has its roots in two bands and actually took about 4 years to finish. From 2007 - 2010, I was in a project called "Quote." My friend Jamie Bennett and I formed a duo around the concept of using the medium of story in multiple disciplines. He was a literature major in college, and I had studied music and business. We wanted to combine our two passions into one project. As a result, we wrote songs that focused on often-fictional narratives. Once we had compiled 10 finished songs, we recorded our first album with producer, Mike Odmark. We then gave each song to an author and a visual artist and had them interpret each narrative in visual mediums and prose or poetry. The result was a 150-page book titled The Pace Of Our Feet that featured the album, lyrics, visual art, and stories in one compilation. It was an ambitious coming-of-age project for two wide-eyed college grads in their early 20s. We had no real sense of how to tour, market a book/album, or get our project into the hands of those who might appreciate it.

So� in our blissful ignorance we dove headfirst into booking our own tours. One of the most epic of these tours took place in April of 2009 with Daniel Ellsworth (now of Daniel Ellsworth and The Great Lakes). The tour was very aptly titled The Fools Of April Tour as the three of us piled into the front seat of Jamie's Ford F150 pick-up to travel 3,000 miles. It also should be noted that the truck, affectionately named Beulah, had a manual transmission, which made shifting very awkward for the dude sitting in middle of the bench seat. The first line of "Carry On," "April made her way from south of Tinsel Town," is a reference to Jamie's and my childhood in San Diego. The second line talks about how the tour took us all the way North to Kennebunkport, Maine.

Baltimore was one of our favorite stops on this grand adventure. Our host was the amazing Baltimore troubadour, songwriter, and community encourager Caleb Stine. We played a cozy gig at a very inviting coffee shop called El Rancho Grande in the Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood that has now sadly gone out of business. Its proprietor Peter was a kind and weathered soul, steeped in old stories and overflowing with kindness. I distinctly remember his moving, slowed-down country rendition of "Border Radio" by The Blasters to open the night. Our Baltimore evening was spent passing songs, whiskey, and a home cooked meal around at Stine's inviting row house. From Baltimore we traveled North to the Big Apple. I remember sitting in the back of Beulah (it was a covered truck) with Daniel and peering out the window at New York in blurry wonder as we rode over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was that same night in Bushwick that we played a loft party at a community dinner gathering called One Big Table. Bushwick amazed me� The juxtaposition of the exterior and interior was baffling. The graffiti covered streets felt like a rundown warehouse district while the lofts were filled with vegans, artists, musicians, and folks who were to become dear friends. From New York we made our way to Kennebunk Port, Maine. It was my first time to Maine, and I was bewildered by the natural beauty of the coastline and rugged nature of the state. We watched the tide recede 150 yards outside our host's home and witnessed the daylight fizzle against a grey sky. As my good friend Daniel Bailey says, "It's like Narnia up there." Our northernmost stop in Maine was the pivot point of the tour, and from there we headed West. Another particularly revelrous stop on the The Fools Of April Tour was in Columbus, Ohio. We played Ruby Tuesday's Live with The Floorwalkers, an incredible funk/soul band based there. The Floorwalkers had a weekly standing gig at Ruby Tuesday's on Wednesdays and this particular night was sold out. The evening was packed with OSU college students and ended with a bar-top dance party at 2:00 AM.

When I arrived home from The Fools Of April tour, I sat down and started the song "Carry On." The lead instrument on the song is a Cherango that I picked up while traveling through Peru in 2007. It was one of those songs that seemed to persist. While I never felt like it was finished, I really enjoyed both the composition and the story behind it. It was some time in 2013 that I played it for Joshua Wolak in Humming House. Josh really dug it and we started messing with the chorus a bit. We re-wrote some of the verse lyrics� and one day Josh sent me the full chorus completely re-written. It was brilliant. It perfectly captured what I'd wanted to say all along:

From the stage a moment dances and quickly passes
Still the spirit carries on� carry on, carry on
The promise of tomorrow lingers in the curtains dreaming
Her silhouette sings move along� move along, move along

Our experience traveling and touring with Humming House has resulted in similarly epic adventures, mystical characters, and life changing moments. Josh's words say it very eloquently that those moments dance brilliantly, but seem to pass quickly. The traveler's lifestyle encourages those moments, and although they are quick, their spirit goes with us and drives us to the next gig, the next experience, the next moment, and the next Fools of April. Touring, performing live, and entertaining is a part of our job that we as a band really love. Bringing joy to the stage with which people can participate is very fulfilling. So I guess "Carry On," and in turn the album Revelries, is an ode to traveling, embracing life, and cherishing the experiences we are fortunate enough to enjoy.