It’s Friday, it’s Star Wars Day, what could be better!? How about a bunch of new music?
Guns N’ Roses will release a deluxe edition of its classic 1987 debut album, Appetite For Destruction, on June 29th. The announcement of the release ends speculation about the band’s plans that began earlier this week with the launch of a new website, GNR.fm, as well as a billboard in London that featured the cover art from the LP. An unboxing video for the package has revealed that will include 73 songs — including 49 tracks that never before been released — spread out across four CDs and seven 12-inch 180-gram vinyl LPs.
In addition to a remastered version of the original album, the set will contain the 1986 Live ?!*@ Like A Suicide EP, a second EP containing B-sides from the era, 25 previously unreleased recordings from the band’s 1986 sessions at Sound City studios, and two previously unreleased tracks from the recording sessions. A super deluxe version will also include a 96-page handbound book with unreleased photos from singer Axl Rose‘s personal archive, 12 new lithographs visualizing each song from the original LP, and replica memorabilia.
Guitarist Slash told us a while back that he never thought Guns would become so legendary: “No, uh-uh. It started out such a scrappy thing, you know, and it was cool because it definitely had a chemistry and an energy to it that, you know, obviously I didn’t know enough to recognize then. But I never, I didn’t think it was gonna be as iconic. To really hit that nerve for so many people is not something you plan for.”
There are no plans — at least for now — for the original band that cut Appetite For Destruction to reassemble and perform the album in its entirety on tour, despite rumors that such an event was in the works. Guns N’ Roses will return to the road in June for a seven-week European jaunt, continuing the semi-reunion tour that started in April 2016 and features Rose, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. Original drummer Steven Adler and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, who both played on Appetite, have not been part of the reunion trek, although Adler did play drums on two songs at a handful of stops on the tour.
Five Finger Death Punch has shared a new song and accompanying lyric video called “When The Seasons Change.” Guitarist Zoltan Bathory said about the track, “This song is about loyalty, the kind of loyalty that doesn’t crumble in the face of adversity, which we have faced many times throughout our career and in our lives. This is a very human subject everyone can relate to and it is something this world can use more of.”
“When The Seasons Change” is taken from the group’s forthcoming album And Justice For None, which is due out May 18th. Bathory told us that he thinks the album features some of the band’s strongest writing yet: “You know, you’re always trying to get better — better songwriter, you want to write better songs and, you know, it’s a skill. Songwriting is not just playing guitar, playing your instruments, that’s a mechanical skill. But writing a song is a different skill and, you know, you’re always trying to advance and I think we achieved that. There are some songs that for me, they are brilliant. You know, obviously the people will judge it for themselves, but I think we expanded our abilities a little bit again.”
The band’s current single, a cover of The Offspring‘s “Gone Away,” is currently Number Five on rock radio and has been streamed more than 27 million times in the U.S.Two additional tracks have been released from the new disc, “Fake” and “Sham Pain.” An official music video for the latter is due to arrive next week. The release of And Justice For None was delayed for the better part of a year by a legal battle between Five Finger Death Punch and its now-former label, Prospect Park.Five Finger Death Punch will hit a handful of festivals and play around a dozen dates with Shinedown this spring, before launching a massive co-headlining run with Breaking Benjamin on July 16th in Seattle.
Alice In Chains has released a new single and video titled “The One You Know” on Friday morning. The track is the first new music issued from Alice In Chains’ upcoming sixth full-length studio LP, which is due out later this year and will follow up 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
The basic tracks for the new disc were laid down at Studio X in Seattle, marking the first time Alice In Chains had recorded in its hometown in more than 20 years. Part of the recording was also done at Henson Studios in Los Angeles. Guitarist and singer Jerry Cantrell called the disc a “f**king strong record” in a recent interview with Guitar World.
Alice In Chains is currently on a short spring tour that brings the band to Concord, North Carolina on Friday for a set at the Carolina Rebellion festival. The trek finishes up on May 19th in Philadelphia. After hitting Europe and Israel, the band will start a second leg on August 22nd in Vancouver that comes to a close on September 15th.
Smashing Pumpkins frontman William Corgan told Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on the latter’s Beats One show, “It’s Electric,” that he has not been in a room with original bassist D’Arcy Wretzky in 19 years. Discussing the decision to exclude Wretzky from the band’s upcoming reunion tour, Corgan explained, “I spent two years before all that repairing my relationship and every time I tried to get into a room with her — so, I still haven’t been in a room with her in 19 years.”
Corgan continued, “It was a telephone thing and you’re trying to say, ‘This can happen, this can happen, what do you think?’ Always very pleasant, great, awesome, and only when it became obvious that it wasn’t the way she wanted it to be, it turned into this other thing that was reminiscent of the past.”
Wretzky will not join Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin in what’s being billed as a reunion of the Smashing Pumpkins’ classic lineup for a summer tour and a new album. The band has enlisted Jack Bates, the son of New Order‘s Peter Hook, to play bass during their live dates.
The Pumpkins announced the tour in February, but before that Wretzky gave an interview in which she blasted Corgan for excluding her from the trek and recording plans. Corgan responded by saying that Wretzky had declined an invitation to join, but the bassist then claimed the band had never intended to hire her full time.
Corgan did not delve too far into the details of the feud in the interview with Ulrich, saying, “The thing that keeps you on the rudder is the music . . . if that’s not your guiding principle, then it is a s**t reality show. And we don’t want the s**t reality show.”
The current almost-all-original lineup of the Pumpkins has been recording eight new songs, although a release date for the material has yet to be announced. The “Shiny And Oh So Bright” tour, which will reportedly focus on the band’s first five albums, kicks off on July 12th in Glendale, Arizona.
The 33rd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airs this Saturday, May 5th on HBO. The event took place on April 14th at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium, with the class of 2018 consisting of Bon Jovi, the Moody Blues, the Cars, Dire Straits, Nina Simone, and early influence gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. As with all the Rock Hall inductions, there were emotional moments — including Jon Bon Jovi‘s nearly 20-minute acceptance speech, along with former member Alec John Such playing with the band — and Richie Sambora taking the stage with Bon Jovi for the first time in five years. On the bizarre side was Dire Straits, which was essentially inducted by itself, minus songwriter and frontman/guitarist Mark Knopfler, who opted out of the event with no public explanation.
The 2018 inductors for the ceremony were Ann Wilson for the Moody Blues; Howard Stern for Bon Jovi; the Killers’ Brandon Flowers for the Cars; Mary J. Blige for Nina Simone; and Alabama Shakes‘ Brittany Howard for Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Along with the inductees performing, tributes were paid to recently deceased rockers with the Killers performing a medley of Tom Petty‘s “American Girl” and “Free Fallin’” and Ann Wilson with Alice In Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell performing a salute to Chris Cornell with a cover of Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun.” In addition to that, Lauren Hill brought the house down with her four-song salute to late-inductee Nina Simone.
This year’s event introduced a new category — similar to the Grammy’s Hall of Fame, in which the Rock Hall selects “Hall of Fame Singles.” The inaugural batch, which was presented by Steve Van Zandt, were “Rocket 88” by Jackie Breston & His Delta Cats; “Rumble” by Link Wray and His Ray Men; “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen; “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum; and Steppenwolf‘s “Born To Be Wild.”
Finally, we’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt and Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars! Happy Star Wars Day, May the 4th be with you!
