Last day of the month is also pay day, the coldest day of the year in NYC and a busy day with two interviews: Bring Me The Horizon and Of Mice & Men. Finally got to listen to both albums in their entireties and they are both really great. Lots of depth and fresh approach to the harder edged rock we love so. Also going to see them both tonight and I heard BMTH has some pretty amazing production with them!….Blabbermouth reports Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has told U.K.’s Kerrang! magazine the band will begin “major, major work” on its fifth album in March. Seventeen demos are ready for the band’s first CD since 2008’s All Hope Is Gone and the first since the 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray and December 2013 departure of drummer Joey Jordison, one of the band’s founding members and key songwriters. Regarding the direction of Slipknot‘s new material, Taylor said: “I can say that, to me — and this is only my opinion — it’s a cross between [2001’s] Iowa and [2004’s] Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), but that’s honestly just scratching the surface. I think fans are going to be very, very excited when they hear this stuff.” He added: “I’ve written lyrics for everything that we have right now and it’s feeling pretty good. It feels like the story of the band so far, which is a totally different take on what I’ve been used to writing with Slipknot, but I think, because of everything we’ve been through, it’s time to tell that story. Not just from our point of view, but from everything around us. So, yeah… it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be everything you want in a Slipknot album, and everything you wouldn’t expect.” Taylor did not comment on anything “controversial” during his interview with Kerrang! and wouldn’t discuss Jordison’s exit from the band, but he did hint at deeper family problems that needed to be resolved, as he reflected how his life was during the band’s break in activity IMHO, last time I saw Joey, I thought he was in the best shape I had ever seen him, even with a few extra pounds. He was bright and lucid and very amiable. Sad how the chips fall. Meanwhile, Metal Hammer reported the band have taken down their official website and earlier today instagrammed a plain black square that one can only assume means that they are to go into studio hiding until it’s time to reveal some concrete news about album number five. I may or may not know who is producing and who their new drummer is. And if they confirm the drummer I heard about, you will probably be as completely as surprised as I was!….Ernie Ball has partnered with World’s Loudest Month for Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands at the Monster Energy’s Welcome to Rockville and Rock On the Range festivals. Each competition’s winning band will receive a trip to the respective festival for their onstage performance, over $15,000 in prize gear and an Ernie Ball endorsement. Bands can register for free at BattleofTheBands.com. All they have to do is upload their music, share their profile and compete to win. World’s Loudest Month festival will kick off with Monster Energy’s Welcome to Rockville on April 26th and 27th in Jacksonville, FL @ Metropolitan Park. The lineup includes Avenged Sevenfold, Rob Zombie, Korn, Five Finger Death Punch and more. Rock On the Range will be held a few weeks later, May 16-18th, in Columbus, OH @ the Columbus Crew Stadium. The lineup features Guns N’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock and more. Be listening this weekend to hardDrive for your chance to enter to win a trip for two to Rock On The Range. Make SURE you are a registered hardDriveRadio Radical. You AREN’T? Shame on you! Register NOW on the home page! You will get to meet our very own Lou Brutus and even some of the bands on the bill. So watch your email for details!….Speaking of Rob Zombie, for the first time ever, will be releasing a live concert on DVD and Blu-ray, titled “The Zombie Horror Picture Show“. The tracklisting has been revealed and includes sixteen tracks with footage from 2013’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. It is set to be released in May of 2014. The footage was shot during stops in Houston and Dallas on August 3rd and 4th of 2013, at Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Zombie is currently working on a new horror film. He says the film will be along the likes of one of his earlier works, The Devil’s Rejects…Nonpoint is entering Groovemaster Studios in Chicago with producer Johnny K! Expect their new album later this year…..The 2014 Beale Street Music Festival lineup has been announced and set for May 2nd-4th in Memphis, TN.The three-day festival will include Foster the People, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Wolfmother, Fitz and the Tantrums and more! For tickets and complete lineup, head to MemphisInMay.org…Celebrating birthdays this weekend: Saturday, Ryan Peake-Nickelback is 41 and The Who’s Roger Daltry is 70!!! Sunday, Jon Bon Jovi is 52 and Robert Iler, AJ from The Sopranos, turns 29. See ya Monday!
