Happy Monday to all! Hope everyone got their taxes done. (or filed for an extension, why stop procrastinating now?) Anywho, enough with the tedious paperwork, let’s get down to the fun stuff, music news!
An online petition has launched to re-name the recently photographed black hole after the late Chris Cornell. The very first image of the cosmic phenomenon was revealed last week – and some music fans want it named in tribute to Cornell and Soundgarden’s 1994 track, “Black Hole Sun.”
The petition was started by Giuliana Jarrin, who says: ““He was one of the most beloved figures not just in rock, but all of music, by people from all over the world. His music, his voice and his personality inspired, influenced, changed and even saved the lives of thousands of people.”
The petition may be pointless, because the black hole has already been named – Powehi – a Hawaiian name referring to the embellished dark source of unending creation.
Chris Cornell , who died in 2017, wrote “Black Hole Sun,” which topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and spent a total of seven weeks at #1.
Just in case you didn’t think we could make a vicious acoustic version…https://t.co/EMIdpSgbWi
— Halestorm (@Halestorm) April 11, 2019
Joe Hottinger, guitarist and vocalist for Halestorm is currently assembling a special package to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band’s self-titled, debut album. In a recent radio interview in Iowa, Hottinger talked about preparing for it and said: “Lzzy Hale, and I just went through all these demos we made from 2005 to 2008 when we were making that first record. I had forgotten all about them. It’s like hearing these songs for the first time again. They weren’t terrible. There’s a reason they didn’t make the first record. The thing was there; the magic was there, that we fight for even today. I kind of realized that we’re doing what we’ve always done.”
Halestorm’s first album was released in 2009 and featured the single, “I Get Off.”
Five Finger Death Punch has teamed up with Brian May of Queen, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and country artist, Brantley Gilbert to record a special version of Shepherd’s song, “Blue On Black.”
Along with recording the song, they’ve released a behind the scenes video. All proceeds will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation, which honors America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families and those in need. Five Finger Death Punch’s guitarist Zoltan Bathory states: “To raise awareness for and support first responders is a cause that’s always been close to our hearts. These brave men and women leave their homes every morning not knowing if they’ll ever see their families again. Yet they make a conscious choice to do so for the greater good.”
Just last month, Five Finger Death Punch celebrated their seventh #1 single at rock radio with “When The Seasons Change,” a song from their 2018 album And Justice For None.
METALLICA‘s Kirk Hammett has told Australia’s Mixdown magazine in a new interview that the band’s “WorldWired” tour is scheduled to last until November 2019, after which it could be time to hop back into the studio.
Fans had to wait five years for 2008’s “Death Magnetic” and eight years for 2016’s “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, but the guitarist says the next disc might not take as long to complete.
“When I was 13-14 years old, bands put out albums every year,” Hammett said. “Seriously, KISS put out an album every eight months. None of this eight years between albums.
“None of us are very comfortable with the fact it’s been so long, because that is a long time,” he continued. “We’re hoping to avoid that this time around.
“We’re in our third year since ‘Hardwired’. Maybe we can get a bit more focus and go into the studio a bit sooner. I have a ton of material. I’ve over-compensated, so I’m ready to go anytime.”
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo also recently said the band’s next studio album would arrive “a lot sooner than the previous two did.” He added: “This time around, I think we’ll be able to jump on it a lot quicker and jump in the studio and start working. We’ve all vowed to get this one going sooner than later. Now, how soon? I don’t know. We’ve been touring non-stop. It’s been over two years now. At some point, sure, we’ll need to take a little bit of a break. It’s sort of the right thing for us to do because we’ve been going so hard.” (thanks to Blabbermouth!)
Finally, we want to wish a Happy Birthday to All That Remains singer Phil Labonte and Bad Wolves singer Tommy Vext! A great day to all!
