The Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Update

[DonC]

Driver sounds very cool. I'll have to check that out.

[Deathstroke]

The new Steve Vai CD The Story of Light is due out August 14th via Favored Nations Entertainment.

[Deathstroke]

The new Katatonia CD Dead End Kings is due out August 28th via Peaceville Records.

The track listing (not final running order)

01. The Parting
02. Hypnone
03. Undo You
04. The Racing Heart
05. Buildings
06. Leech
07. The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here (with Silje Wergeland)
08. First Prayer
09. Ambitions
10. Lethean
11. Dead Letters

[Deathstroke]

The new Joe Stump CD Revenge of the Shredlord is due out August 17th via Lion Music.

01. The Ritual Begins
02. Man Your Battlestations
03. Pistoleros
04. Shredlord's Sonata
05. Master's Prelude
06. In The Master's House
07. The Black Knight's Castle
08. Enter The Coven
09. Evil Beasts Below
10. Strat Outa Hell
11. White Knuckle Mayhem
12. The End Approaches

[Deathstroke]

Here's an interview with Leather Leone (SledgeLeather Project)

[Deathstroke]

25 years after the legendary VIXEN released their first single, "Edge Of A Broken Heart", three of the original members have reunited to form VXN. Two decades have passed since they shared a stage together and they are ready to rev it up.

Singer Janet Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross, along with guitarist Gina Stile, who was the guitarist on VIXEN's "Tangerine" album, are gearing up to perform again for the first time in over 20 years. "It just feels right," says Janet Gardner. "It was simply time to do this. The fans kept asking and we respect that."

Share Ross offers, "With hits like 'Edge Of A Broken Heart', 'Cryin'', 'How Much Love', 'Not a Minute Too Soon', 'Love is a Killer' and 'Rev It Up' emblazoned upon our souls, we knew it was time to resurrect our sound. We want to give the fans what they want."

In 1987, "Edge Of A Broken Heart" climbed the Billboard chart to the Top Ten and VIXEN had hit after hit. EMI suddenly had the only platinum-selling all-female rock band of its time on their roster.

Dubbed "MTV Darlings", the hits kept coming with "Cryin'", "How Much Love", "Love Is A Killer" and "Not a Minute Too Soon". The band earned credibility as they opened up for superstars, including OZZY OSBOURNE, DEEP PURPLE, SCORPIONS and BON JOVI, to name a few. A live performance on the "Arsenio Hall" television show sealed their credibility with the fact that these girls could play.

VXN will reunite at a select number of festivals and showcase dates in 2013 to perform all of the VIXEN hits and classic favorites in celebration of 25 years of rock history. The VXN "Revved Up Reunion Concerts" will take place at the kick-off party as well as on board the Monsters Of Rock Cruise on March 16-20, 2013 sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida bound for CoCoCay and Freeport, Bahamas.

VXN, the newly formed band featuring three former members of the platinum-selling all-female '80s band VIXEN — singer Janet Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross, along with guitarist Gina Stile, who was the guitarist on VIXEN's "Tangerine" album — has changed its name to JANETSHAREROXYGINA (a.k.a. JSRG) to avoid any confusion between them and the band known as VIXEN.

The VIXEN trademark belongs to guitarist Jan Kuehnemund and the members of JANETSHAREROXYGINA want to make it clear that they are a completely different band.

Commented Gardner, "It feels so good to be reunited with Roxy and Share. And when we started jammin' some old VIXEN songs with Gina, we knew this was right."

Share Ross added, "With hits like 'Edge Of A Broken Heart', 'Cryin'', 'How Much Love', 'Not a Minute Too Soon', 'Love is a Killer' and 'Rev It Up' emblazoned upon our souls, we knew it was time to resurrect our sound. We want to give the fans what they want."

[DonC]

JANETSHARESNUFFULUPAGUSORWHATEVER was the best they could come up with?

[Deathstroke]

JANETSHARESNUFFULUPAGUSORWHATEVER was the best they could come up with?

That's a cleaner response than I had when I first saw the report.

[Deathstroke]

QUEENSRYCHE BLURB #1

The future of Queensryche is in doubt after the band announced plans to tour and record with Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre in Geoff Tate's place.

Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren have teamed up with La Torre to form Rising West. They'll play tracks from the first five Queensryche albums and aim to start work on their own record in the coming weeks. Tate, meanwhile, is concentrating on his solo career.

Speculation has increased recently that the band were experiencing internal tensions, with unconfirmed reports of arguments, secret meetings and outbursts of violence. Tate surprised fans by telling them: "You suck!" at the Rocklahoma festival last weekend.

QUEENSRYCHE BLURB #2

In the wake of a series of bizarre rumors about QUEENSRŸCHE's relationship with lead singer Geoff Tate, the band's publicist is downplaying reports of strife in the group.

Metal Talk and Metal Sludge recently reported on unsubstantiated rumors that Tate assaulted guitarist Michael Wilton and pulled a knife on drummer Scott Rockenfield at an April 14 gig in Brazil. The incident allegedly took place after Tate overheard his bandmates discussing plans to oust him from the group.

On Tuesday, four members of QUEENSRŸCHE — Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren — announced a new project called RISING WEST, which will make its live debut on Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, Washington. Tate had previously announced his plans to spend the summer focused on a series of solo acoustic shows.

When asked for a comment, QUEENSRŸCHE publicist Jeff Albright stated in an email to Billboard.com, "There's really no 'situation' other than the fact that Geoff Tate is concentrating on his acoustic solo performances this summer while the other members of the band have formed a new outfit called RISING WEST with Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY. Everyone wants to stay busy, try new things and do what they do best . . . and, of course, that's rock in front of the masses. QUEENSRŸCHE are slated to perform select dates throughout the year."

QUEENSRŸCHE's web site lists the band's next scheduled performance for June 11 in Valley City, Utah.

RISING WEST will perform rare and classic hits from the first five QUEENSRŸCHE albums — from the 1983 EP through 1990's "Empire" — and plans on hitting the studio sometime early summer to begin recording its first release.

Geoff entered the studio on February 29 to begin recording his second solo album.

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

[DonC]

Even Geoff Tate's son-in-law wants him out Queensryche?

Damn, that should make Thanksgiving dinner interesting.


By the way, here's video of Tate at Rocklahoma.

[Deathstroke]

I don't know what the hell is problem is but they surely have to do something. They've already destroyed the metal legacy of Queensryche with mostly subpar releases after Empire. (Though I loved Operation:Mindcrime II and Hear In The Now Frontier)

[DonC]

Well, they wouldn't be the first band to implode. I'm just surprised because I thought, after Chris DeGarmo quit, the band was all Tate's "Yes" men. I mean, the band hired his son-in-law after Mike Stone left.

[Deathstroke]

The new Manowar CD is due out in June and will be called The Lord Of Steel.

The album is now due September 7th.

[Deathstroke]

The new CD from The Darkness will be called Hot Cakes. It is due out August 21st via Wind-Up (North and South America) and PIAS in the rest of the world.

Here's the track listing:

1. Every Inch of You
2. Nothin's Gonna Stop Us
3. With A Woman
4. Keep Me Hangin' On
5. Living Every Day Blind
6. Everybody Have A Good Time
7. She Just A Girl Eddie
8. Forbidden Love
9. Concrete
10. Street Spirit
11. Love Is Not The Answer

[Deathstroke]

The new Wednesday 13 EP Spook & Destroy is tentatively due in the fall.