Today's Day in Rock Stories

Ozzy Osbourne Kicks Off His Farewell Tour

Recorded with producer Brendan O'Brien, "Emperor Of Sand" debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 last spring, marking the Atlanta group's third US Top 10 following 2014's "Once More 'Round The Sun" (No. 6) and 2011's "The Hunter" (No. 10).

In January, the project earned Mastodon their first Grammy Award when the track, "Sultan's Curse", was named the Best Metal Performance Of The Year at the 60th annual ceremony in New York.

Last summer, Frehley revealed that he co-wrote a pair of tune for the project with his former KISS bandmate Gene Simmons. "I called him up and I said, 'Gene, you wanna write a few songs?' He says, 'Sure.'," Frehley told SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk. "Because he had come to my show [in February] at the Saban Theater in Los Angeles with John 5, and that's when we kind of reconnected and bonded a little.

"And I just shot him an e-mail and said, 'C'mon, let's write some songs together for my new record.' Next thing you know, he's down here and within three hours we had written two songs together, which was, like, a record, for me and him."

"We had a fantastic time," continued the guitarist. "[We] just started jamming. We initially each picked up an acoustic guitar. I don't remember who came up with the beginning of the song. One guy plays one thing and then I play another thing. I think Gene actually came up with more ideas than I did and I just kind of complemented them. And then I started writing lyrics for a song title, which I don't wanna give away yet.

"And then we kind of took a break and then he started playing this bassline and he said, 'Ace, play these thee chords against it,' and within thirty minutes we had a second song. I was really pleased, and so was he."

"'Love is bigger than anything in its way' is such a strong message, especially when the world is in such turmoil," Mushegain tells Vogue. "I think the message is be yourself, but also have some fun in life and expressing yourself."

Broadcast in early 1984 on the German TV show "Rockpop In Concert", the December 18, 1983 event was one of the final shows on the band's world tour in support of their third album, "Pyromania."

The group's commercial breakthrough broke the UK rockers worldwide with hits like "Photograph" and "Rock Of Ages" while earning Diamoand status in the US for sales of more than 10 million copies.

"Pyromania" will be featured on "Volume One", the first of four career-spanning box sets from the band; due June 1 and available in limited-edition 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and CD box sets, the package delivers the group's first four studio albums - 1980's "On Through The Night", 1981's "High 'N' Dry", 1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria" - alongside bonus live and studio material.

The tune was the lead single from the band's second album, "Ride The Lightning", which peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard 200 on its way to US sales of more than 6 million copies.

Some of their performances include Houston's Party at the Plaza at Avenida, Bucks Backyard in Austin, Back To The Beach Festival in Huntington Beach, CA, alongside 311 and Sublime with Rome, Beer X Festival in San Diego, the Palladium in Worcester, MA with The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, the Fuji Rock Festival in Yuzawa, Japan, as well as an appearance at Punk Rock Bowling in historic downtown Las Vegas. Many U.S. club shows and a European tour are also being added.

The tune was the lead single from the band's second album, "Spreading The Disease", which became their first project to chart in the US when it peaked at No. 113 on the Billboard 200.

Directed by Paul M. Green (Opeth, The Damned, The Levellers) with the sound mixed by Anthrax studio producer Jay Ruston, "Kings Among Scotland" was filmed using 17 cameras, including a crane and several mobile and stationery Go-Pros to capture all the action.