Hard Rock
Mötley Crüe Officially Name John 5 as Mick Mars’ Replacement in Touring Lineup
Mötley Crüe have officially named Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 as a new member of their touring lineup. He replaces founding member Mick Mars, who retired from touring on Wednesday (October 26th) due to his ongoing battle with the degenerative disease Ankylosing Spondylitis. John 5 had been rumored to take Mars’ place, even before the latter officially announced his retirement. In recent days, John 5 posted pictures of himself hanging out with Mötley Crüe members Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, and Vince Neil during a celebration of Lee’s 60th birthday. In the statement that Mars’ representative issued on Wednesday night, it was made clear that Mars would still “continue as a member of the band,” but would no longer play shows with them. However, the Crüe’s statement on Thursday (October 27th) reads...
Matt Sorum Announces Kings of Chaos Album, Reunites Velvet Revolver Lineup for First Single “Judgement Day”: Stream
Veteran drummer Matt Sorum has announced the debut album from his all-star project Kings of Chaos, and reunited the Velvet Revolver lineup for the new single “Judgement Day.” Sorum performed and co-wrote “Judgement Day” alongside Slash, Duff McKagan, and Dave Kushner — all of whom played with Sorum in Velvet Revolver, the mid-2000s hard rock supergroup fronted by the late Scott Weiland. The song lives up to its all-star billing, with a high-speed pace and blazing leads from Slash and Kushner. Sorum handles lead vocals and sounds great on the mic, embracing the humor and punkish bite of the track. That humor transfers over to the music video, which features a cameo from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, and sees Sorum driving like a madman in an homage to Vanishing Point, screaming the song lyrics al...
Top 5 Mötley Crüe Guitarist Candidates Following Mick Mars’ Retirement from Touring
With Mick Mars stepping away from touring, one of the highest profile guitar gigs in rock music is now on the job market. Mötley Crüe’s founding axeman will still remain a member of the band, but will no longer play live shows due to his ongoing battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a crippling degenerative disease that affects the spine. In addition to his health issues, Mars is the elder statesman of the Crüe, roughly a decade older than everyone else in the band. In the infamous Crüe biography The Dirt, Mars described how he often caught flak for his age, as he was already established as a journeyman guitarist in the years prior to Mötley Crüe’s formation. Given Mars’ experience, it’s only fitting that Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, and Vince Neil tap someone who not only fits the part but has al...
Mötley Crüe Guitarist Mick Mars Retires from Touring
Founding Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars has retired from touring, according to an official statement released on Wednesday evening (October 26th). The veteran musician will still remain an official member of the band, but will no longer hit the road with the legendary rock act due to his ongoing battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.). After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, Mötley Crüe finally embarked on their co-headlining “Stadium Tour” with Def Leppard this past summer. The outing was an enormous success, grossing $173.5 million in ticket sales. Now, it appears that the tour marked Mars’ last with the Crüe. The full statement, issued by Mars’ representative to Variety, reads as follows: “Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe for the past 4...
AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Quashes Rumor That Bon Scott Wrote Lyrics for Back in Black
AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has closed the book on long-running rumors suggesting his late predecessor Bon Scott penned lyrics for Back in Black. For years, hardcore AC/DC fans have wondered whether Scott wrote lyrics for the seminal 1980 album, being that he passed away only months before the album was recorded and released. Songs like “Hells Bells,” “Have a Drink on Me,” and of course the legendary title track certainly share some of the imagery and themes of Scott’s lyrics. But Johnson insists that it was he himself who penned the words. Johnson laid the rumors to rest in Chapter 22 of his new memoir, The Lives of Brian: “It was me at the end of the pen, writing every night and every morning, with only the title to work with. That’s what happened. That’s the truth and I really hope that ...
Ozzy Osbourne to Perform Virtually as Part of “Ozzfest” at Metaverse Music Festival
Ozzy Osbourne is set to perform virtually for the “Ozzfest” portion of the second annual Metaverse Music Festival, which takes place online November 10th through the 13th. The Metaverse Music Festival (MVMF) will be hosted in Decentraland, the largest user-owned and operated virtual social world. Presented by digital asset platform Kraken, this year’s MVMF will feature 100-plus artists virtually performing across curated community genre stages that utilize new, Web3-enabled immersive virtual concert experiences. That said, the festival is free for all and can be attended even if you have don’t have a VR headset. As an example, the main attraction for this year’s MVMF is the “Tower of Babel” stage, which is set in a futuristic cyberpunk city. Here, attendees can watch headliners such as Uni...
Nita Strauss Unleashes New Song “The Wolf You Feed” Featuring Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz: Stream
Guitarist Nita Strauss has unveiled the new single “The Wolf You Feed” featuring Arch Enemy singer Alissa White-Gluz, along with an accompanying music video. Strauss and White-Gluz make for a mighty duo on the hard-hitting track. Strauss lays down dynamic riffs and the masterful shredding she became known for as the lead guitarist in Alice Cooper’s touring band. Meanwhile, White-Gluz wields her imitable harsh-clean vocal style, which will be immediately recognizable to fans of her work in Arch Enemy. The track follows Strauss’ 2021 rock hit “Dead Inside,” which featured Disturbed’s David Draiman. It would seem Strauss is set on tapping A-list vocalists for her as-yet-unannounced second solo album, with “The Wolf You Feed” fulfilling the guitarist’s longtime desire to collaborate with Aliss...
Serj Tankian on What’s Next for System of a Down, Mixing Humor with Facts, and Interactive Experiences
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Serj Tankian catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Perplex Cities, his second EP in as many years, as well as what’s next for System of a Down. Advertisement Related Video The System of a Down singer tells us about using his car to mix his songs and the 95 tracks found in his vault, mixing humor with serious issues, and trying to change minds in order to save the world. In fact, it’s with that that Serj discusses the current atrocities in Armenia, how the song “I Spoke Up” touches on those topics, and musically mixing cultures. Tankian also talks about the interactive experiences he bring...
OTTTO (Tye Trujillo) Announce Fall Tour, Unveil New Live Single “My Pain”: Stream
OTTTO, the young band featuring Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo), have unveiled the song “My Pain” from their upcoming Record Store Day release Locos Live in Venice. In addition the band has announced a run of fall tour dates. Locos Live in Venice features eight songs recorded at Juice Magazine headquarters at the Venice Beach boardwalk, including the new song “My Pain.” The live album, which was produced and mixed by Tim Harkins (Korn, Jerry Cantrell), will be released on November 25th as part of this tear’s Record Store Day Black Friday. It precedes a proper studio album set to arrive in Spring 2023. Regarding the new live track, Trujillo stated, “Super excited to release our next single, which includes more than enough melody and groove.” The band is rounded ...
Original Alice Cooper Band Is Working on More New Music
The original Alice Cooper group has been collaborating together in recent years, and more new music is on the way. In a new interview, Cooper revealed that he’s once again recording with guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith (all from the band’s ’60s and early ’70s heyday), and they have about a dozen new songs in the works. Previously, the three appeared on two songs on 2021’s Detroit Stories — “Social Debris” and “I Hate You” — and also on select tracks on 2017’s Paranormal. “We’re working pretty close right now,” Cooper told Ultimate Classic Rock during a Q&A session at the Motor City Comic Con this past weekend in Detroit. “We wrote, like, 12 songs together [for future projects].” Advertisement Related Video Cooper didn’t have an ETA for when the n...
Greta Van Fleet Singer Josh Kiszka Ruptures Eardrum During Concert
Greta Van Fleet singer Josh Kiszka ruptured his eardrum during a concert in Bangor, Maine, on October 8th, forcing the band to postpone three upcoming shows. The band made the announcement on Monday (October 17th), letting fans know that shows scheduled for Raleigh, North Carolina (October 18th); Greenville, South Carolina (October 19th); and Jacksonville, Florida (October 21st) would be rescheduled for later dates. As it was, Greta Van Fleet had a nine-day break built into their schedule after the Bangor show, which likely prevented them from postponing more concerts. As Kiszka explained in an Instagram post, the postponements will allow him to heal without causing further damage and affecting more shows: “To our fans in Raleigh, Greenville and Jacksonville, It’s with a heavy heart that w...
M. Shadows Admits Avenged Sevenfold “Cut a Little Too Close” to Metallica on Hail to the King
Avenged Sevenfold’s 2013 album Hail to the King attained platinum certification and yielded two No. 1 mainstream rock singles, but has been criticized for containing songs that sound too similar to Metallica. In a new social media post, A7X frontman M. Shadows admits that the album “cut a little too close” to the metal legends. As Avenged Sevenfold prepare to release their long-awaited follow up to 2016’s The Stage, Shadows took to Twitter to respond to fan commentary on Hail to the King. It started when one fan defended the album, tweeting, “Hot take: The ‘Hail to the King’ album by @TheOfficialA7X is amazing and deserves respect. So many people chaff at the ‘simple riffs’ and classic hard rock sound, but the album has incredible complexity under the surface, if you really listen.” Advert...
