Well gee, I’ve got more news on the Foo Fighters today! According to my friends at Pulse of Radio, with their eighth studio album now underway, there’s been plenty of speculation about how the disc is being created ever since frontman Dave Grohl hinted that it was happening in a way that “no one’s ever done before.” The latest rumor is each song is being recorded in a different famous recording studio. The source of the rumor, a Twitter account named FooArchive, has posted an item from Billboard suggesting that Grohl has scouted iconic studios in 12 different cities. It seems likely that wherever they go, the band will record in analog instead of digital, since Grohl told us he prefers the former: “Definitely recording with analog 24-track equipment, you get a lot more personality and imperfection. Digital recording, you have the option to make things perfect and you can manipulate them and sometimes you just suck the human element out of it. But with tape, once you hit ‘record,’ it really is what it is.” At least four studios in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Seattle are tagged as “definite” place where the band will set up shop, with the band members all recently spotted in the Windy City. I would also suspect Nashville and Memphis will be stops on their recording road trip, and probably London. It’s not uncommon for a musical act to record in one or two different locales while making a project, but the concept of recording in 12 different studios is something that may not have ever been attempted before. Wasting Light, the band’s last record, was recorded in Grohl’s Los Angeles garage. He has also recorded in his basement studio at his home in Virginia. His Los Angeles studio now houses the legendary Neve recording console formerly located at Sound City, the now-defunct Van Nuys, CA studio that was the subject of Grohl’s 2013 documentary of the same name. The new Foo Fighters album is due out later this year, possibly by the summer. And I am guessing we will hear about the band attending & possibly performing at one certain DJ’s giant birthday bash next Friday, but hey, I am only guessing…..Metal Hammer says Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett has suggested that the metal legends’ upcoming Grammy set is going to be nothing less than “completely insane”. It was recently revealed that the band would be playing the awards show for the first time in over two decades, and would be bringing in renown pianist Lang Lang for a very special performance. As it happens, Kirk is forecasting a pretty unique spectacle, to say the very least. “Lang Lang has interjected himself into the song in a way I don’t think anyone else has ever done in the course of our career,” he tells Rolling Stone. “He’s going to be playing major parts of the songs. He’s going to be playing through the melody. He’s going to be weaving in and out of my guitar solos, which is amazing for me. I’ve never played with another instrument that’s been able to do that so effortlessly.” The performance, believed to be of hallmark Metallica track “One,” will still be “keeping all the heavy parts” and promises, according to Kirk at least, to be “really dynamic and really cool.” Set your DVR for Sunday at 8 PM to CBS-TV (Check local listings for air time & channel in your city. Don’t forget! You don’t want to miss Metallica, or Dave Grohl with Josh Homme, Trent Reznor & Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. Me thinks we’re gonna hear a “Sound City” soundtrack tune, which has been nominated for Best Soundtrack Recording.)….Blabbermouth & Metal Hammer report Pantera‘s iconic, chart-topping opus Far Beyond Driven turns 20 this year, and a special edition release is on the way to celebrate. Featuring hallmark Pantera anthems like “5 Minutes Alone,” “I’m Broken,” and “Slaughtered,” it’s a bona fide classic and still stands up today – and the 20th Anniversary Special Edition is pretty badass. As well as the original album, the special edition also comes with Far Beyond Bootleg – Live From Donington ’94 – a bonus live set featuring the Texans in their chest-beating prime. Blabbermouth mentioned the band reached a major milestone in 1994 when the legendary seventh studio album, “Far Beyond Driven”, debuted at NO. 1 on The Billboard 200, becoming the fastest-selling album of the group’s career and its second consecutive platinum release. Not only a commercial success, the album also earned positive reviews around the world for the beautiful brutality of its all-out sonic assault. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this landmark album and the Rhino label is celebrating with a special two-disc version that includes a newly remastered version of the album, along with that live performance from the 1994 Monsters Of Rock festival. “Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition” will be available on March 25 for a suggested list price of $18.98. A digital version will also be available…Lou Brutus was with Corey Taylor on Friday night and as Stone Sour brings its House Of Gold And Bones touring cycle to a close next month, the singer is turning his full attention to his other band, Slipknot. With Jim Root, guitarist for both groups, back in Los Angeles writing and demoing material, Taylor told us where things stand for the long-awaited record: “Me and Jim have been writing a lot of stuff, and it’s really starting to kind of shape up really — I mean, we’ve got a nice chunk, and now we just kind of need to, you know, shape everything to that Slipknot point of view, that Slipknot way, that Slipknot sound. There’s an excitement that we haven’t felt in a while.” Taylor said that Root, percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan and other unnamed members of the group are working in Los Angeles with the person who will produce the album — and whose name Taylor would not reveal yet. (I know, I can’t say!) All I can tell you is I think this album is going to be monumental…..Pulse of Radio is also reporting Shinedown frontman Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers will release a new digital EP called (Acoustic Sessions) next Tuesday (Jan 28th), consisting of six cover songs all selected by the group’s fans. But why isn’t the set going out under the Shinedown name? Smith explained it to us: “The label wanted to do that, and we were like, ‘Okay.’ ‘Cause the label was like, ‘Yes, you’re in Shinedown, but it’s not really Shinedown because — I mean, it’s all an extension of Shinedown because Zach’s the guitar player in Shinedown and I’m the singer in Shinedown. But, you know, it was just me and Zach, so I think the label kind of wanted to do maybe a little bit different branding on this particular acoustic cover EP that was coming out, ’cause it is a little different.” The EP will be released through iTunes and all leading digital retailers. It will include covers of the Clash‘s “London Calling,” Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters,” Otis Redding‘s “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay,” the Black Crowes‘ “She Talks to Angels,” Soul Asylum‘s “Runaway Train” and Kenny Wayne Shepherd‘s “Blue on Black” featuring Shepherd himself. A video for “London Calling” has already been filmed and posted at Billboard.…Gee, The PRP noticed Atreyu posted a picture of the band together on their Facebook. So now wonderers are wondering, is the band about to get back together? I, for one, would like to see that…..Happy 61st today to Robin Zander of Cheap Trick!
