Good morning Radicals! Here’s what’s up in music news today:
A Perfect Circle will release its long-awaited fourth album, Eat The Elephant, on April 20th. The band has debuted a new song called “TalkTalk” from the disc, following earlier releases of the tracks “Disillusioned” and “The Doomed.” Eat The Elephant will be A Perfect Circle’s first collection of new studio recordings since the 2004 covers collection eMOTive.
Singer Maynard James Keenan said, “Although I’m extremely excited to finally be completing this album after a 14-year hiatus, I’m actually more excited that its intentional release date is serving a greater purpose. The 20th of April is Carina Round‘s birthday. She is a dear friend who is extremely difficult to shop for. Pressure off. Of course, I must also note that the potheads are gonna be thrilled that this album comes out on 4-20. May it serve as a glorious soundtrack to accompany all of the giggling and vexing sounds of nibbling and snacking. Fingers crossed, Cheech & Chong will be proud.”
Guitarist Billy Howerdel added, “Demos are these precious ideas that you love in their initial state. Then you collaborate, invite other ideas, and watch them progress. That’s the dynamics and growth of a great record. I feel we’ve made a great record.”
Pre-orders for the 12-song album are available now and come with instant digital downloads of all three previously heard songs. Eat The Elephant is being released in multiple formats, including digital, CD, double gatefold 180-gram vinyl and a box set with vinyl, CD and hi-res digital download as well as a prism and custom playing card deck.
A Perfect Circle is set to hit a number of festivals this summer, including a headlining slot at Indio, California’s Coachella Festival on April 15th and 22nd, plus events in Las Vegas, Dallas and Somerset, Wisconsin.
Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has said that the band’s guitarist, Josh Rand, is “doing really, really well,” one week after Rand left the group’s current tour and entered “treatment” for unspecified issues. Speaking with Canadian radio station 104.9 The Wolf, Taylor revealed, “We talk to him every day, and he seems to be doing really, really well, so that’s really good.”
The singer continued, “This is not just somebody who I’ve been in a band with for a while; we’ve been best friends since we were 15 years old — I mean, we go way back. For me, it’s not just the worry of my cohort, my partner, my songwriting guy, my lead guitarist, it’s about worrying about my friend, my brother, somebody who let me sleep on his floor when I was homeless.”
Taylor said, “We just support him as much as we absolutely can . . . The best way to be a friend is just to stay right where you are and just let somebody lean against you if they need it, and that’s what we’re trying to do.” It is not clear whether Rand is being treated for a medical issue or problems with substance or alcohol abuse.
Rand most recently performed with Stone Sour on last month’s ShipRocked cruise. The band has enlisted a temporary replacement for the current tour, which started last week in British Columbia and includes dates with Halestorm, In This Moment and Red Sun Rising.
Taylor told us a while back that Stone Sour has a work ethic that keeps the band going no matter what: “You get one shot, and if you botch it, you’re f***ed. We’re the kind of band that we don’t take anything for granted. We’re willing to work for it, and we’re willing to work hard for it, and people just better get the hell out of our way.”
Stone Sour is touring in support of its sixth studio effort, Hydrograd, which came out at the end of June and features the chart-topping rock radio hit “Song #3.” The latest track issued from the disc is “Rose Red Violent Blue.”
Foo Fighters are having fun with their tour requirements again, this time posting a list of prohibited items at their shows that features some decidedly suspect inclusions. While sensible things like glass containers and weapons make the list, also barred from the Foos’ shows are such items as any pencils that aren’t Number Two, issues of Cream magazine that do not mention Ted Nugent, derogatory press clippings about Shania Twain and more such nonsense. Leg warmers, “unflattering photos” of Ryan Seacrest and almond milk also make the list, the latter being the strangest since Foos leader Dave Grohl enjoys the stuff.
On a 2015 North American tour, the group banned eight random items, including Frisbees, copies of Boy’s Life magazine, uncured meats, weapons that may have been used on the show Vikings, selfie sticks, drones and wallet chains.
The Foos are known for the weirdly hilarious tour riders put together by road manager Gus Brandt, who famously designed a 2011 rider to look like a children’s activity book, complete with coloring book pages, drawings of all the Foos, a word hunt for “catering don’ts,” a maze to get guitarist Chris Shiflett to the catering area, a “which of these items belongs in a salad?” puzzle and more.
Foo Fighters will perform at the Brit Awards in London on February 21st before heading to South America for a short tour. After that, the Foos kick off a new North American run on April 18th in Austin, Texas, with dates throughout the spring, summer and fall. You can check those out on the Road Rage page.
An unconfirmed report from a longtime Australian music journalist suggests that AC/DC will continue to record and tour, with 2016’s tour vocalist Axl Rose staying on the mic for the band. Murray Engleheart, who has longstanding and deep ties within the Australian music scene, wrote on Facebook over the weekend, “Speculate all you want but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: AC/DC will continue with Axl on vocals — new album, touring, the whole nine yards. What was a massive gamble by Angus (Young) turned out to be an equally enormous triumph that has set the scene for the future.”
Rose stepped in on vocals after severe hearing damage forced singer Brian Johnson off the road after 35 years with the group. Rose’s stint on a North American and European tour was acclaimed by fans and critics.
Johnson’s exit was one of many difficult moments for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band during the promotional cycle for its 2014 album Rock Or Bust. The band recorded the LP without founding member Malcolm Young, who was suffering from dementia and died last year, while drummer Phil Rudd‘s arrest also prevented him from touring. They were replaced respectively by Stevie Young and Chris Slade. 40-year bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of the band’s world tour as well.
Co-founder and sole original member Angus Young has not indicated yet whether he intends to keep the band going. If he does plan to ask Axl to remain in the lineup, AC/DC would have to work around the ongoing Guns N’ Roses’ “Not in This Lifetime” tour.
Metallica and the San Francisco Giants will hold the sixth annual “Metallica Night” on April 23rd at AT&T Park in San Francisco, with the Giants taking the field that evening against the Washington Nationals. Metallica fan club members will have first access to tickets starting today at 10:00 a.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Saturday, February 10th at 8:00 a.m. A portion of the proceeds from every “Metallica Night” ticket sold will benefit the band’s own All Within My Hands Foundation.
At the fifth “Metallica Night,” held last August, drummer Lars Ulrich once again threw out the first pitch while guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett performed a version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Hammett also played an instrumental solo rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.”
Hetfield said about the yearly event, “We’re blessed to be doing this every year and being a part of the vibe here. You know, when times are good, when times are bad, they need the support.”
Hammett added, “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a good opportunity for us to interact with our home team, hometown, and interact with the people of the Bay Area in San Francisco. And for me, it’s a lot of fun to be able to play the national anthem.”
Metallica has strong ties overall to the Bay Area sports scene, also performing before Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks hockey games.
The band is currently on tour in Europe through mid-May.
In other rock news, Papa Roach‘s current single, “Born For Greatness,” has been chosen was one of the new official theme songs for WWE‘s long-running weekly wrestling program Raw. The band’s track “…To Be Loved” previously served as a theme song on the same show from 2006 through 2009. “Born For Greatness” is taken from Papa Roach’s ninth studio album, Crooked Teeth. (Thanks to The PRP)
Halestorm debuted a new song called “Black Vultures” at the opening show of its Canadian co-headlining tour with Stone Sour on January 27th in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance has been posted online. Halestorm is putting the finishing touches on its fourth album for a tentative mid-2018 release. (Cheers Blabbermouth)
Ozzy Osbourne became a grandfather for the eighth time, as his son Jack and Jack’s wife Lisa welcomed their third child, Minnie Theodora Osbourne, on February 3rd. She was born at 5:57 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, weighing seven pounds and measuring 20 inches. Jack and Lisa announced the birth via Instagram two days later, posting Minnie’s first photo. (Blabbermouth)
Finally, we wish a very Happy Birthday to Guns N’ Roses singer, (and maybe new AC/DC singer too?) Axl Rose!
