Good morning, friends! Here’s the news today: A teaser of new music from Avenged Sevenfold has been posted online, according to Blabbermouth. The untitled piece of music is now available for streaming and is taken from the California act’s sixth studio album, which is due out this summer. Also available is an audio clip of Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows talking about the songwriting process for the new CD. M. Shadows recently told NME that the new album is “a little more groove orientated . . . every song has gotta have a huge riff and every song has to have a groove to it.” The new CD is the first to be wholly written without drummer and key songwriter James “The Rev” Sullivan, who died in December 2009. The band has lined up several festival appearances this summer, starting with Rock USA on July 17th in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Also hit the band’s website to catch a glimpse of the boys in the studio. I understand a single is coming in July and an album in late summer. Once again, Mike Elizondo is producing the album….They told me I couldn’t spill the beans til May 28th, but the press release came out today! The new Five Finger Death Punch double album is called The Wrong Side of Heaven, The Righteous Side of Hell. It will come out in two parts, the first on July 23rd. The second album will drop in the fall. Find the band on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour beginning Jun 29th….Pulse Content reports Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has said that it is more likely now than ever before that the band will released Eros, the shelved 2008 album that it had nearly completed when bassist Chi Cheng got into a car accident in November 2008. The incident left Cheng in a semi-comatose state for more than four years, until his death last month. After Cheng’s accident, the band decided to scrap the record and start fresh, ultimately recording and releasing Diamond Eyes in 2010. Asked recently if Eros could see the light of day as Cheng’s final work, Moreno told Artisan News, “It will. I think (the chances of that happening are) more so now probably than ever (before). I actually went back and listened to some of it recently and . . . I don’t know when (we will put it out) . . . but I feel it’s a little more appropriate now for us to think about that.”…This is pretty cool. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith is launching his own podcast on Monday (May 13th) through Music Radar called “In Conversation with Chad Smith.” The series bills itself as a non-traditional interview format offering insight into the personal and professional lives of musicians. Smith’s guest for the first installment is Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, whom he sat down with in Los Angeles a few days before Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month. Smith described his style as “the invisible interview — that’s what I call it. Friends, thoughts, information — why do you do what you do? Admiration, respect, insight and maybe a surprise.” As for why he chose Lifeson as his first guest, Smith said, “I’ve been a Rush fan since high school. Neil (Peart, drummer) gets a lot of attention, as he should, but Al is under-appreciated, I think. He is as great a musician as he is to be around. I’m honored for him to be my first. He was gentle with me!” Additional installments of the podcast will roll out once a week for three consecutive weeks, with Smith scheduled to record interviews with more artists for episodes that will run later in the year. The Chili Peppers will co-headline Metallica‘s Orion Music + More festival on June 8th and 9th in Detroit….Adelitas Way guitarist Keith Wallen has exited the band, according to Loudwire. Wallen was the last member to join the Las Vegas-based group before it recorded its major label debut in 2009. Wallen announced his departure in a Facebook post that read in part, “I’ve been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to tour the country multiple times playing music with some of my dearest friends . . . It has been an honor every single day that I’ve had the privilege of performing with them. To all of their families who have at some time or another during various tours welcomed me into their homes, fed me, and allowed me to pretend that I was home again for a few fleeting moments, thank you for treating me as one of your own.” Wallen added, “I would like to thank all of you, the fans, who have tirelessly supported the band and myself along the way. It’s truly been an amazing experience feeling your love and appreciation at every show and venue we’ve had the honor of playing, and I will never forget you. And even though my run with this band is coming to an end, I am excited for the next chapter, and I am looking forward to creating much more music in the days, months, and years ahead, so stay tuned.” Keith was the dude with the glasses in the band. He will be missed….Black Sabbath will make a rare TV appearance this Wednesday (May 15th) when the band performs its new song “End Of The Beginning” on the season finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, airing at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS-TV. The episode’s plot follows the CSI team as they investigate a series of murders that resemble the sins in Dante’s Inferno, with the detectives played by Ted Danson and Marc Vann attending a Sabbath concert as part of their search for clues into the killings.The track is taken from the group’s upcoming album 13, due out on June 11th. The disc is the first Sabbath album in 35 years to feature Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi. Sabbath will launch a North American tour in support of the new CD on July 25th in the Woodlands, Texas….Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal, written by rock journalists Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman, (my fellow producer who is in charge of “Nights with Alice Cooper“) arrives in stores on Tuesday (May 14th). The book, compiled from more than 400 interviews done by the authors, is a chronological history of heavy metal told through the words of the men and women who created it, played it, re-invented it, and continue to do so. Among the artists included are Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Lee, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Axl Rose, Corey Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister, Dave Grohl, Phil Anselmo, Rob Zombie and hundreds more…..Slash paid tribute to late Slayer axeman Jeff Hanneman in a statement to LA Weekly on Friday (May 10th). Slash said, “For me, Jeff Hanneman was the king of thrash/speed metal guitar. Slayer was the first speed metal band I ever listened to; the riffs and chord changes were genius. And that right hand blew my mind. Never heard anything quite like it.” Hanneman died on May 2nd at the age of 49. Slayer released a statement last Thursday (May 9th) saying that Hanneman died of alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He had not played live with the band for over two years after contracting a flesh-eating disease in his arm from a spider bite that nearly took his life. (Blabbermouth)…And finally today, for those fans who miss 24, there’s good news! Fox has announced plans to bring back 24 for a limited 12-episode run. Series star Kiefer Sutherland posted a link to an article from Deadline.com on his Twitter account and confirmed the news saying, “Yep, I’m pulling double duty along w/ TYRANT. Whoo & Hoo!“
