Alternative Music

On April 8, the four-time Grammy-winning and diamond-certified rock legends AEROSMITH will release “Aerosmith – 1971: The Road Starts Hear” (UMe), a rare and previously unheard rehearsal from 1971, on CD and digital. The effort was originally only available as a limited-edition cassette and vinyl release for Record Store Day in 2021. The heavily sought-after RSD release quickly sold out and debuted on the Billboard 200, hitting No. 2 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, No. 12 on the Top Rock Albums chart, No. 13 on the Vinyl Albums chart, and No. 19 on the Top Album Sales chart. Recently discovered in the AEROSMITH vaults, the original tape had not been touched in decades. This historic recording features seven extraordinary tracks showcasing the early, unbridled talent of...

Professionally filmed video footage of JUDAS PRIEST performing the song “Breaking The Law” on August 15, 2021 at the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which took place at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, can be seen below. The British heavy metal legends, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary, were rejoined by guitarist Glenn Tipton during their first concert in more than two years. The band also pulled out a number of surprises in its set, including first-ever performances of “One Shot At Glory” and “Invader”, as well as several tracks that hadn’t been played in a long time, such as “Rocka Rolla (performed for the first time since 1976), “Exciter” (first time since 2005), “Hell Patrol” (first time since ...

 Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), Universal Music Group‘s leading global music publishing division, has announced the acquisition of 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting‘s career catalog of music. Financial terms were not disclosed, but according to The New York Times, the deal is estimated to be worth around $300 million. This historic, comprehensive worldwide agreement for the catalog of one of the most commercially successful and critically-acclaimed songwriters of the last half-century encompasses the entirety of both Sting‘s solo works as well as those with THE POLICE, including “Roxanne”, “Every Breath You Take”, “Shape Of My Heart”, “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”, “Fields Of Gold”, “Desert Ros...

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers VIO-LENCE have returned with “Let The World Burn”, their second new song in 29 years. It is the title track of their upcoming EP, “Let The World Burn”, their first original release since 1993’s “Nothing To Gain”. The five-song collection will be available worldwide on March 4 via Metal Blade Records. Frontman Sean Killian commented: “For 34 years, a creation called ‘Eternal Nightmare’ has been making memories for people around the world. Now, it is time to create some new memories in 2022. I am very proud of the new music we created, and we are fortunate to have worked with some very creative people. Nothing too polished here, unless fragments of glass and broken razor blades are what you consider ...

MORBID ANGEL has canceled its appearance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest, set to take place May 26-29 at various venues in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival organizers announced the death metal veterans’ decision to pull out of the event in a social media post earlier today, writing: “MORBID ANGEL will no longer be performing at MDF 2022. Despite trying to convince them to not cancel, the only thing we’ve been told is that the band ‘will not be playing MDF or any other shows in the current climate’, so we’ll let you interpret that however you see fit.” MORBID ANGEL is being replaced at Maryland Deathfest by fellow Florida death metallers DEICIDE who will perform their 1992 album “Legion” in its entirety at the festival. Other ba...

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman says that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music “saved” the music industry. The 48-year-old singer shared his opinion after a video compilation surfaced of podcaster Joe Rogan repeatedly using the “n-word” on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, which first launched in 2009 and became exclusive to Spotify in late 2020, prompting renewed criticism against both Rogan and Spotify at large. Just a couple of weeks earlier, Neil Young and other musicians pulled their music from the platform over their belief that Rogan and his guests spread COVID-19 misinformation. Meanwhile, some musicians have taken the opportunity to open up larger conversations about Spotify‘s payout structures, artist rights, and the streami...

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor will release a solo album of covers and acoustic recordings, titled “CMFB…Sides”, on February 25 via Roadrunner Records. The official lyric video for the LP’s first single, Corey‘s rendition of “On The Dark Side” by JOHN CAFFERY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND, can be seen below. “CMFB…Sides” track listing: 01. Holier Than Thou (METALLICA cover) 02. All This And More (DEAD BOYS cover) 03. Kansas (acoustic) 04. Shakin’ (Eddie Money cover) 05. Home/Zzyzx (STONE SOUR medley) (live) 06. Lunatic Fringe (RED RIDER cover) 07. Got To Choose (KISS cover) 08. Halfway Down (acoustic) 09. On The Dark Side (JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND cover) Corey broke the news of the “CMFB…Sides” ...

The life of late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton was celebrated with “Cliff Burton Day” on what would have been his 60th birthday, February 10. A special livestream, emceed by Nicholas Gomez, included such guests as Big Mick, Metal Joe, Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER), Dan Riley, Brian Lew, Dean Delray, Brian Slagel, Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE), Canada Dave and Connie Burton. You can now watch the entire four-hour event below. Cliff was asked to join METALLICA in 1982 after the band saw him perform with his group at the time, TRAUMA. The bassist was not willing to move to Los Angeles, where METALLICA was based, so they decided to move to the San Francisco area so that he would join. Burton played on METALLICA‘s first three studio albums — “Kill ...