Good morning Radicals! Here’s what’s up in music news today:
It’s happening! According to a new Instagram post from TOOL guitarist Adam Jones, the band has finally entered the studio to begin recording its next LP.
Last month, TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan revealed that he had finished writing the “words and melodies” to all but one new song for the new disc. Jones later wrote on Instagram that recording would begin in March.
Keenan has said very little about the new TOOL album in recent years, with his last message being perhaps his most specific in a long time. He also sings on the new album from A PERFECT CIRCLE, which arrives in April.
TOOL hasn’t released any new music since the “10,000 Days” LP, which came out in May 2006.
As one of the major summer treks unveiled this week, Avenged Sevenfold has announced the “End Of The World Tour,” a North American headlining run that kicks off on July 22nd at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts and also features Prophets Of Rage and Three Days Grace. We have all the stops listed for you on the Road Rage page.
Avenged Sevenfold is touring behind its seventh studio LP, The Stage, while Prophets Of Rage is supporting its self-titled debut album. Three Days Grace will be promoting its sixth studio set, Outsider, which arrives this Friday!
Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows said in a statement, “We’re proud to tour with Prophets Of Rage and Three Days Grace this summer across America. We see this tour as an opportunity to create an event with special bands and different generations of rock fans. From the moment you arrive at the venue until the last note is played, we’re hoping to give you the time of your life.”
More tour news, Shinedown and Godsmack have announced a co-headlining tour that will kick off on July 22nd in Detroit and finish up on September 2nd in Wantagh, New York. The “Ticket To Rock” program lets attendees purchase tickets for multiple shows by different bands in one city for one price. Bundles begin at $59 for three concerts and $69 for four concerts for lawn or reserved upper pavilion seating. Those prices jump $20 for reserved ticket bundles.
Other acts participating in “Ticket To Rock” include Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin, all of whom are teaming up for tours this summer as well.
Shinedown has completed recording its new LP for a tentative late spring/early summer release. It follows up 2015’s Threat To Survival, which contained the Number One rock hits “Cut The Cord” and “State Of My Head.”
Godsmack has set When Legends Rise as the title of its seventh studio effort and first album in four years, due out April 27th. The band has also shared the first single from the LP, called “Bulletproof.”
Metallica is getting into the whiskey business. On the latest episode of The WhiskyCast, veteran distiller Dave Pickerell revealed that he’s teaming up with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to create their own whiskey. Pickerell, formerly a master distiller for the Maker’s Mark brand, plans on building a new distillery for the group to create their juice from scratch as well.
He explained, “I can just say that we’re going to make a killer whiskey product, and probably build a little distillery someplace as well . . . putting all the logistics together and crashing just as hard as we can.”
Pickerell added that the distillery would likely be located in either Louisville, Nashville or the band’s native Bay Area. Metallica has previously put its brand on a limited-edition beer manufactured by Budweiser for the Canadian market. Frontman James Hetfield has been sober for 15 years, after checking into an extended rehab program in 2002.
Metallica recently announced the details of the 2018-2019 North American leg of its “WorldWired” tour in support of the band’s latest album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.
The 34-date jaunt will kick off on September 2nd in Madison, Wisconsin and run through March 13th in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lots of great concerts now listed for this summer! Go buy some tickets!
