Def Leppard: Recording 'Forgeries' Of Old Hits To Spite Label

New music and new versions of its old hits are marking Def Leppard's recording plans these days, reports Billboard.com's Gary Graff. 

With newly recorded "forgeries" of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Rock of Ages" now available, the quintet has begun a series of re-recordings of its catalog material and "wrestled control of our career back" from the Universal Music Group, which frontman Joe Elliott says the band refuses to deal with "until we come up with some kind of arrangement" over compensation, especially for digital downloads.

"When you're at loggerheads with an ex-record label who...is not prepared to pay you a fair amount of money and we have the right to say, 'Well, you're not doing it,' that's the way it's going to be," Elliott tells Billboard.com. "Our contract is such that they can't do anything with our music without our permission, not a thing. So we just sent them a letter saying, 'No matter what you want, you are going to get "no" as an answer, so don't ask.' That's the way we've left it. We'll just replace our back catalog with brand new, exact same versions of what we did." 

Read the full story on Sleaze Roxx.

Manowar: "The Lord of Steel" World Tour Dates Announced

Manowar has confirmed the first dates for their upcoming "The Lord Of Steel" world tour. The trek will start in October in Europe, and will continue with worldwide events in 2013.

The "Lord Of Steel" world tour will feature a power-filled set, including brand new songs, a celebration of the 10th anniversary of "Warriors Of The World", and many other classic Manowar hymns.

"We can't wait to unleash 'The Lord Of Steel' to the world. It's going to be hard, heavy and brutal! Time to face The Lord Of Steel!" said Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio.

Confirmed dates:

Oct. 09 - Zaragoza, Spain - Interpeñas
Oct. 11 - La Coruña, Spain - Coliseum
Oct. 13 - Barcelona, Spain - St Jordi Club
Oct. 14 - Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
Oct. 16 - Paris, France - Trabendo
Oct. 19 - Kerkrade, Holland - Rodahal
Oct. 23 - Prague, Czech Republic - Mala Sportovni Hala
Oct. 24 - Pardubice, Czech Republic - CEZ Arena
Oct. 26 - Zlin, Czech Republic - Euronics
Nov. 23 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
Nov. 24 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
Nov. 25 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount

Manowar's new album was released as a limited "Hammer Edition" through Metal Hammer magazine and as a digital release on www.thekingdomofsteel.com and iTunes.

The retail edition will be rolled out into worldwide retail in September. (Dates may differ from territory to territory.) Track titles like "Annihilation" and "Hail, Kill And Die!" set the tone for a record that is packed with surprises.


You can listen to the title track in the clip below:

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KISS Unleash The Monster In London; Video Available

Steve Wright from the BBC's Radio 2 interviewed Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons about the upcoming release of "Monster," the Monster book, playing a concert in London, and the new single, "Hell or Hallelujah." Listen to the clip below.

Also watch KISS debut "Hell or Hallelujah" live in London on July 4.

KISS: "Hell Or Hallelujah"; Lyric Video Posted

It would be ridiculous to say KISS is back again, since the band really hasn't stopped performing for any long period of time after they released their last studio album, 2009's "Sonic Boom." This time the hottest band in the world left fans anticipating new music for three years versus the 11 they made them wait after 1998's "Psycho Circus." The new music comes in the form of a single entitled "Hell or Hallelujah" from the upcoming album "Monster," which hits stores on October 16, 2012 in North America.

The new track was recorded at the same studio as their last album, "Sonic Boom." It was produced by KISS co-founder Paul Stanley and Greg Collins. The song reflects the band's attitude of rising above opposition and doing things their own way. It's "a battle cry that encapsulates the entire record... one way or another, we're going to do it our way," stated Stanley.

(By Eric Shirey)

Aerosmith: New Album Pushed Back To November 6; Joe Perry, Steven Tyler Talks "Music From Another Dimension"

“We’ve had all kinds of problems over our career, and I mean all kinds, and having to wait a few months for the new record to come out is the best problem we’ve ever had,” Joe Perry told the Boston Herald recently with Steven Tyler.

Until the “Music from Another Dimension” sessions, it had been a decade since Perry and Tyler had sat down in the same room to write. Aerosmith’s last album of original material was the “Just Push Play” - a set of songs spiked with electronic elements and glossed with a pop shine that disappointed fans of the band’s classic sound.

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler spoke to Jed Gottlieb of BostonHerald.com about the band's long-awaited 15th studio album, "Music From Another Dimension", which recently had its release date pushed back from August 28 to November 6.