"Glam – A – Gedon 25" - Mötley Crüe And Poison To Co-Headline

Bret Michaels, currently recuperating from heart surgery, will reunite with all original Poison band mates for a 25th-anniversary tour tentatively titled "Glam – A – Gedon 25". For the first time ever Poison and Mötley Crüe will co-headline a select date summer tour with special guests the New York Dolls. See Brett Michaels´announcement below.

Although several controversial statements have been made in the press by certain members of Mötley Crüe vowing this tour would never happen, that is simply not the case. Fans of both bands have spoken and want the tour to happen and both Mötley Crüe and Poison have agreed. Concert promoters in these select cities state that the buzz is unbelievable for both the Poison dates as well as the Mötley Crüe/POISON tour. No doubt this will be the rock tour of the summer.

When reporters recently asked Bret Michaels if there was any bad blood between the bands, Michaels laughed: "There may be some friendly competition but there is no bad blood at all on my part. Nikki and I have spoken several times on the phone recently and the conversations went great." Michaels continued, "Music is a universal language and I am extremely excited that this tour has come together as are the fans, they are truly going to see a great show. Honestly, I could care less about all the mudslinging, it gets nobody nowhere, and after all I have been through health wise in the last year, I am going to try to focus on what does matter which is the show, the fans, fun and personally throwing a hell of a backstage party." bassist] and I have spoken several times on the phone recently and the conversations went great." Michaels continued, "Music is a universal language and I am extremely excited that this tour has come together as are the fans, they are truly going to see a great show. Honestly, I could care less about all the mudslinging, it gets nobody nowhere, and after all I have been through health wise in the last year, I am going to try to focus on what does matter which is the show, the fans, fun and personally throwing a hell of a backstage party." Read the full story on Blabbermouth.

Phil Collen's 11 Favourite Guitar Solos of All Time

"Guitar solos are funny things," says Def Leppard axman Phil Collen. "To so many people who pick up the instrument, solos are all they can think about. They dream about the spotlight hitting them and that moment they can go, 'Hey everybody, look at me!' Personally, I've never really thought that way.

Coming from a man who's logged in thousands of such 'Look at me!' moments on stages across the globe, Collen's comments might at first seem a tad hypocritical. But the mega-platinum shred star insists that the mark of a great solo - and, for that matter, a great guitarist - is when "that little bit of time you're given to shine becomes a true part of the song. The second you start to overwhelm what's going on around you, that's when you have to ask yourself, 'Who am I really serving here?' Find out more on Music Radar.

1 Deep Purple "Highway Star"

2 Van Halen "Eruption"

3 Jimi Hendrix "Easy Rider"

4 David Bowie "Moonage Daydream"

5 Gary Moore "Cold Day In Hell"

Judas Priest: UK Tour With Queensrÿche

British metal legends Judas Priest have announced the U.K. leg of their final "Epitaph Tour". Support on the trek will come from Queensrÿche and Rival Sons.

The dates are as follows:

July 15 - Newport Centre - Newport, UK
July 16 - O2 Apollo - Manchester, UK
July 17 - The Dome - Doncaster, UK
July 19 - SECC - Glasgow, Scotland
July 20 - Metro Arena - Newcastle, UK
July 21 - Civic Hall - Wolverhampton, UK
July 24 - BIC - Bournemouth, UK

Judas Priest announced in December that they will head out on their farewell world tour beginning in 2011. The band intends to hit all major cities across the globe as they sign off on a career that has lasted for nearly 40 years. The "Epitaph" tour will launch in early June and hit a number of European festivals throughout the summer, with more dates yet to be confirmed.

According to a posting on Judas Priest's official web site, the band is currently working on new material. The message adds that "all is going really well" and promises that more details will be made available at a later date.

Whitesnake: Video Interview With Reb Beach Available

Whitesnake will release their new album "Forevermore" on March 25th. You can now watch a new video interview with guitarist Reb Beach below, as he speaks of the recording of the album.

Their 11th studio album, “Forevermore” was recorded, produced and mixed by Coverdale, guitarist Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre at Snakebyte Studios and Grumblenott Studios & Villas in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, with additional work at Casa Dala, Sherman Oaks, CA, and Whitesnake will take to the road for a full world tour in support of the release. (Tourdates)

With “Forevermore” Coverdale has reignited an explosively fruitful vein of creativity with guitarist and co-writer/producer Aldrich, Reb Beach (Winger, Alice Cooper) on guitar, Briian Tichy (Ozzy, Billy Idol, Foreigner) on drums and Michael Devin (Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Lynch Mob) on bass, and as with all Whitesnake’s albums, Coverdale (aided so capably by Aldrich) opens up his heart and soul to express emotions and empathy rarely heard these days in any musical genre.

Interview with Reb Beach - Whitesnake from Poor Albert on Vimeo.

Manowar: Vote For Your Favorite Song For The Set List

A few updates has been posted on the Manowar website: The Manowar fans have spoken again! Both Manowar's shows in Gothenburg, Sweden on are sold out! But a third date has been added, Thursday, March 31st, 2011. To all true brothers and sisters from Scandinavia and everywhere else: Come and witness Manowar's power in Gothenburg! In addition to performing Manowar classics, the band will perform the entire "Battle Hymns" record in celebration of the release of "Battle Hymns 2011"! And YOU can help shape the set list: Vote for your favorite song here, so that the untamed power of Manowar and their fans will shake the ground of Gothenburg, Sweden! The band is scheduled to re-enter the studio in April. Manowar bassist and producer Joey DeMaio previously stated about the status of the songwriting and recording sessions for "Hammer Of The Gods", "The truth is this: (original Manowar drummer) Donnie Hamzik is officially back in the band, and that changed everything for us. So all the songs that were written have been completely fucking thrown out, completely ditched — gone, never to be heard from again. The writing has changed because Donnie's back in the band and he's burning like a mad motherfucking demon on drums. So this album is gonna basically sound like I told you before — like somebody put gasoline on your fucking balls and lit it. So it'll be worth the fucking wait, 'cause when it comes, it's coming back." "Hammer Of The Gods" was previously described as the first installment of "The Asgard Saga", the band's unique multimedia fantasy adventure with best-selling author Wolfgang Hohlbein.

Testament: New Album This Year

1987 Testament´s debut release “The Legacy” threw down a marker, and by the time Testament were about to release 1988’s “The New Order” their legend was already hitting enormous popularity. However, their extreme talent got muddied and compromised by the weight of expectation, and while albums like -1989’s “Practice What You Preach" and 1990’s “Souls Of Black” continued to open the same creative doors.

We Love Metal recently conducted an interview with vocalist Chuck Billy of the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Testament is planning to enter the studio in March to begin recording the following to 2008's "The Formation Of Damnation". A late 2011 release is expected.

"The new album will most likely be a culmination of 'The Gathering' (1999) and 'The Formation of Damnation', but we're definitely not going to forget who we are or our roots. I think we've found a comfortable spot in our writing style," Billy says.

Def Leppard: "Stay tuned......Monday"

Def Leppard has posted this message on twitter:

"Stay tuned......Monday"

Earlier this month the band gave this message on their website:

"Leppard fans.....

The countdown is on for Def Leppard to make a MAJOR announcement to the world! Stay tuned, DefLeppard.com will be reporting official news soon.....!"

So what´s it all about? Guess we´ll know by tomorrow.

Asia: "Spirit of the Night – The Phoenix Tour Live in Cambridge 2009" New CD/DVD Box Set

Frontiers Records is set to release a special edition live CD/DVD box set from supergroup Asia. "Spirit of the Night – The Phoenix Tour Live in Cambridge 2009" will be released in North America on March 8th.

The CD boasts 13 tracks, which includes a CD-only track exclusive, as well as a bonus track, while the DVD features 85 minutes of material, as well as bonus DVD content including an EPK and special footage of “In The Court Of The Crimson King” featuring King Crimson founding member Ian MacDonald. See below for full track listings. The CD and DVD will also be available for purchase separately. In support of the new live release and their most recent studio album "Omega", Asia will tour in North America, kicking off dates at The State Theatre in Easton, PA on Thursday, April 28th. See tour dates on this location.

CD listing:
1. Only Time Will Tell
2. Time Again
3. An Extraordinary Life
4. My Own Time
5. Open Your Eyes
6. Fanfare For The Common Man (CD exclusive)
7. Here Comes The Feeling
8. Never Again
9. The Heat Goes On
10. Sole Survivor
11. Don’t Cry
12. Heat Of The Moment
13. Midnight Sun (bonus track)

DVD listing:
1. Only Time Will Tell
2. Time Again
3. An Extraordinary Life
4. My Own Time
5. Open Your Eyes
6. My Own Time
7. Open Your Eyes
8. Here Comes Te Feeling
9. Never Again
10. The Heat Goes On
11. Sole Survivor
12. Don’t Cry
13. Heat Of The Moment

Asia’s self-titled debut album exploded onto the music scene in March, 1982, selling over 4 million copies in North America alone, upon its initial release. The album featured several Top 10 singles including the ubiquitous “Heat Of The Moment.” Asia’s supergroup line-up features keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes, The Buggles), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and bassist/vocalist John Wetton (UK, King Crimson).

Ratt Drummer Bobby Blotzer: "Ratt Is a National Treasure"

Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer has released the following statement:

"I've been getting a lot of mixed feedback from RATT fans regarding my comments on Facebook, and I wanted to take a moment to clarify my position and hopefully provide some valuable perspective."

"Let me first say that I regard the band Ratt as a national treasure and something I feel privileged to be a part of for 30 years. I feel like we create great music, and bring a signature sound different from other bands out there keeping rock and roll alive. It is my love for all things Ratt that makes delays in touring, and creating music that much more frustrating."

"I am extremely proud of our new album, 'Infestation' (video of ´Eat Me Up Alive´ below). It was great getting back with my fellow Pi Ratts and finding out that our magic is still there. I want to continue. I want to make more music. I want to hang with the fans."

"I want you to know that I simply want Ratt to continue year in and year out making great music and celebrating rock and roll with our fans."

"Regardless of any drama, know that Ratt is alive and well. We're just trying to figure out which flavor to frost the cake with!"

(Blabbermouth)

Sebastian Bach Video Interview Avalable

Possum of Revolver TV conducted an interview with former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach at this past Thursday's (February 24th) press conference at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles to announce the details of the third annual Revolver Golden Gods awards show. You can now watch the chat below.

On a Skid Row reunion with him on vocals:

Bach: "No, because I don't base my life in 2011 on, like, 30 years ago. And I also... I was kicked out of that band. Like, if you worked at Pizza Hut and you got fired, would you be knocking on the door of the Pizza Hut, 'Please let me back in!!' You'd be, like, 'Fuck Pizza Hut! Fuck you!' I'd be, like, 'Fuck you! You wanna fucking kick me out? Go fuck yourself!' [Laughs] I'm always perplexed by that. You don't want me to sing in your band? Kiss my fucking ass! Don't hurt yourself finding someone that can. [Laughs]"

Bach has just entered a Los Angeles studio with his new, young, virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Filter) to fine-tune the material that will appear on his next CD.

Dokken: No Classic Lineup Reunion In Sight

Dokken frontman Don Dokken has issued the following updates:

On his voice problems:

"I was told not to sing for at least a year, but I'm stubborn and want to play, so here we go."

Dokken are starting to write a new CD. Don Dokkens voice problems have been hopefully fixed after recently undergoing surgery. "It's been very frustrating not to be able to sing a hundred percent," he says.

"I waited too long to have my voice looked at but after hearing Tom Keifer [Cinderella] sing after his vocal problems, I was blown away! He sounds awesome and it inspired me to see a doctor and step up my game."

On recording a new album:

"Jon Levin, (guitar) has some great new song ideas and Mick Brown, (drums), Sean McNabb, (bass), and I will be writing lyrics for them soon. The new CD should be out by the fall, if all goes well. "

On classic lineup reunion:

"As far as the Dokken reunion goes, the 'truth' is we had a meeting and Jeff Pilson, (bass]) said he is busy with Foreigner until 2012, so if it's going to happen, it will be then."

"George Lynch, (guitar) has said it's all about me wanting lots of money [which is] 'bullshit."

"I know the fans would like to see a reunion, but, as it's always been, George and I have different ideas about the direction of Dokken's music."

KISS Bring The "Hottest Show on Earth" to Japan

KISS will bring the "Hottest Show on Earth" to Japan for seven shows this April.

The dates are as follows:

April 13 - Nagoya, JPN - Aichi Prefecture Gymnasium
April 14 - Yokohama, JPN - Pacifico Yokohama
April 17 - Saitama, JPN - Saitama Super Arena
April 18 - Kobe, JPN - World Hall
April 20 - Tokyo, JPN - Nippon Budokan
April 21 - Tokyo, JPN - Budokan
April 23 - Sapporo, JPN - Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena

KISS is planning on entering the studio in March to begin recording their new studio album for a late 2011 release. During an interview with BackstageAxxess.com that was conducted during this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, KISS guitaristTommy Thayer said, "The great news is that we are going in the studio again in the next month or two. We are starting to work on writing some songs, [and we will] approach it just like we did with [2009's] 'Sonic Boom´ and keep it all in the band in terms of the writing, with no agenda besides writing great rock and roll songs that we love, then rehearsing them before recording them. It really felt good to us so we'll go the same way this time."

KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley will once again produce the new effort after things went so smoothly on "Sonic Boom". "Paul knows more what a KISS record should sound like than anybody, to be honest with you, so he is going to lead the charge and produce it again and we are all really excited about it," Thayer said.

He added, "I know we are going to start working on it really soon in terms of the writing and rehearsing and we'll probably be in the studio by March, so sometime this year I'm sure you'll see a spanking new KISSalbum that's gonna kick some butt!" (Blabbermouth)

Anvil: "Juggernaut of Justice" New Album This Spring

Canadian heavy metal legends Anvil have signed a new recording contract with The End Records. The band is currently recording their upcoming album entitled "Juggernaut of Justice" at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, California with famed producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper). "Juggernaut" is due to be released in Spring 2011.

Prior to the release of the new album, The End Recordswill be releasing the definitive Anvil anthology. The collection will be comprised of classics old and new, with some surprises, and will showcase the band’s entire career spanning back to 1978.

Anvil, considered a major influence for a generation of hard rockers including Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Guns N' Roses, was the subject of 2009’s award-winning rock documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil". The globally revered film has made the group - founding members singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, and bassist Glenn Five (the “new guy” with 15 years in the band) - a household name. Since the release of the film, Anvil has experienced unprecedented touring opportunities.

They went out with rock legends AC/DC and Saxon, as well as headlined a sold out European tour in 2010. Anvil rocked the worldwide festival circuit, with slots on the bills of Wacken and Bang Your Head in Germany, Loud Park in Japan, Sweden Rock, Soundwave Festival in Australia, as well as their first full U.S. tour in over 10 years.

Lips commented, “I must say that this is by far the best Anvil ever. There will be a few new surprises including Glenn 5's first lead vocals in Anvil's history. The production that Bob Marlette has done far surpasses anything we've done in the past. The excitement within the band is over the top and we can't wait to unleash this amazing cd to the fans.”

Reiner concurs, “The new album is pure Anvil with a new fresh kick, very exciting. Looking to rocking with The End, putting the music where it belongs - in everybody's ears and face!”

Anvil are currently planning a world tour for 2011 in support of "Juggernaut of Justice".

Stay tuned on The End Records.

Queen "Stormtroopers In Stilettos" Exhibition

"Stormtroopers in Stilettos" looks at the early years of one of the world’s most influential bands.

“Stormtroopers in Stilettos” is a major Queen exhibition in London’s East End, and the event kicks off the legendary band’s 40th Anniversary celebrations.

Opening February 25, “Stormtroopers in Stilettos: Queen, The Early Years,” is a major retrospective exhibition celebrating the formation, and first five albums, of one of the most exciting, glamorous and influential bands in global musical history.

"There are things I have forgotten," Taylor told BBC News at the launch of exhibition.

The musician added that many of the exhibits reminded him of the band's late frontman Freddie Mercury.

"It's quite shocking for us to suddenly bring back what happened all those years ago in such vivid detail," said Taylor.

Read more from BBC News.

Whitesnake To Guest On "Rockline"

U.S. nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" will broadcast two episodes dedicated to Whitesnake in March. The first — scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 — is part of the "Notes On Music" series where artists are asked to discuss their greatest hits. The second, which will air on Wednesday, March 30, is the premiere of Whitesnake's new album,"Forevermore".

"Rockline" airs at 8:30 PM (PT) / 11:30 PM (ET). Fans are encouraged to speak with the guests by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625).

For more information, visit RocklineRadio.com.

Slash: "I have a bad habit of collecting stuff that I don't necessarily use"

On February 22, Jake of the Jacksonville, Florida rock radio station Rock 104.5 conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Slash is selling many of his personal possessions next month, with a sizeable portion of the proceeds going to a local charity for abused and homeless adolescents. He says: "I have a bad habit of collecting stuff that I don't necessarily use."

According to Reuters, the legendary guitarist has teamed up with a Beverly Hills auction house for the March 7-25 sale. Among the items being auctioned are Slash's signature top hats, tee-shirts, exotic furniture and decor, an acoustic guitar on which he recorded the band's ballad"Patience", and a 1966 Corvette Stingray that Slash refers to as "a monster of a car," and which is reportedly estimated to sell for at least 90,000 to $100,000.

Megadeth´s Dave Mustiane Talks

You never know what you are going to get when you sit down to talk with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and this time around was no exception. Sit back for a 15 minute entertaining as all hell interview. Dave talked about the return of David Ellefson, the trials and tribulations his kids go through with a metal dad, and to our surprise, being saved. (Roxwel)