Category : LATEST NEWS

GRIM REAPER SINGER STEVE GRIMMETT PASSES AT AGE 62

Grim Reaper singer Steve Grimmett has died at the age of 62.

Grimmett’s passing was confirmed by his brother Mark Grimmett, who wrote on social media: “I don’t really know where to start so I guess I will just come right out with it. It is with great sadness, and a very heavy heart, that I have to tell you all, as many of you know him, my very talented brother Steve Grimmett, very sadly passed away today, my heart goes out to Millie his wife, my Mum, and Dad, Russell , Sami and Ethan . I will miss you more than words will ever say, love you bro xx.”

His son Russ Grimmett also shared the news, writing, “We can’t begin to put into words the current feelings. But, as dad was so well known, the news is starting to reach out earlier than we would have liked. Unfortunately, our dad passed away today and leaves a massive hole in the world and our hearts. We are utterly heartbroken. Sleep tight dad. We we always love you xxx.”

Producer Max Norman, who worked on the band’s classic third album, 1987’s Rock You To Hell, weighed in on the singer’s passing, writing: “Very distressed to hear that old friend and singer for Grim Reaper, Steve Grimmett has left us… A terrific vocalist, and all around perfect gentleman – you will be missed my friend. Condolences to Mark and Millie and friends and family – a very very sad loss…”

Grimmett’s passing comes more than five years after he had his right leg partially amputated in January 2017 when an infected wound on his foot spread to the bones in his leg partway through the group’s five-week tour of South America. The life-saving surgery was carried out in Ecuador and the frontman was in hospital for just over a month while fans raised $14,000 to bring him home after his insurance company refused to pay because of the type of work he was doing.

One of Grim Reapers most popular, and well known songs, See You Hell, from their 1984 eponymous album, can be seen here.

METALLICA’S JAMES HETFIELD AND WIFE SET TO DIVORCE AFTER 25 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

According to the Daily Mail, Metallica frontman, James Hetfield, has reportedly filed for divorce from his wife of more than two decades.

James, 59, filed documents in Colorado to divorce Francesca Hetfield, according to TMZ.

The two are said to still be in touch as they co-parent their daughters Cali, 20, and Marcella, 16, and son Castor, 18.

The couple have been married for 25 years after tying the knot in 1997.

James, who is worth an estimated $300 million, and his family are based in Vail, Colorado.

The small town, and popular ski resort, lies at the base of Vail Mountain and is Francesca’s hometown.

While the couple have chosen to live their life relatively out of the spotlight, James has previously admitted that he credits Francesca for helping him to mature.

The rhythm guitarist – who has maintained total abstinence from alcohol since going sober in 2002 – also previously stated that Fran, 48, helped him to deal with his issues more constructively.

He told NPR in 2005 that his wife had helped him to mature after he went “straight-edge,” and that he was embarrassed by his former destructive tendencies, caused by his addiction and anger issues.

In an interview with radio talk show host Joe Rogan after he relocated to Colorado, Hetfield said that after decades of living in Northern California, he grew tired of the negative reaction from locals who did not look kindly upon his political views and lifestyle choices.

‘I kind of got sick of the Bay Area, the attitudes of the people there, a little bit,’ Hetfield said.

‘They talk about how diverse they are, and things like that, and it’s fine if you’re diverse like them…”

ALICE IN CHAINS TO RELEASE, “DIRT” 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX SET, ON SEPTEMBER 23RD

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release a remastered 30th-anniversary 2LP 12″ black vinyl edition of Alice In Chains‘ landmark album Dirt on September 23rd.

Originally released through Columbia Records on September 29th, 1992, Alice In Chains’ second full-length studio album established the band as formidable frontrunners in the alt-rock music revolution rolling out of the Pacific Northwest, achieving multi-platinum mainstream success while remaining true to an uncompromising underground sound and vision. Dirt was the last Alice In Chains’ album to be recorded with the Seattle group’s core four founding members: Jerry Cantrell (guitar, vocals),Sean Kinney(drums),Mike Starr (bass) and Layne Staley (lead vocals).

Walmart will be offering customers an exclusive apple red variant pressing of the 2LP 12″ vinyl 30th-anniversary edition of Dirt.

Alice In Chains will release an exclusive translucent orange variant of the 2LP 12″ vinyl 30th anniversary edition of Dirt as a D2C offering on the band’s web site. The AIC exclusive translucent orange pressing of Dirt will be available as a stand-alone purchase as well as a component in the ultimate Dirt super deluxe package which also includes a resin figurine custom sculpted girl from the album cover as a vinyl topper and magnet, four show posters, a 24″ square poster featuring the album cover and band photo, four reimagined Dirt album cover prints, a Dirt hardcover book with never-before-seen photos, CD with remastered audio, and the album’s five 7″ vinyl singles: Them Bones, Down In A Hole, Rooster, Angry Chair and Would? Each of the singles has been released with a music video, all previously up-rezzed to HD.

Box includes:

* Box with lid filled with metal shavings. Move shavings around to create your own dirt design using magnetic cover figurine
* Resin cover figurine fits atop vinyl records on your record player
* “Dirt” on orange 2LP for the first time with remastered audio
* “Dirt” on CD with remastered audio
* Five 7″ singles with brand new artwork on various colored vinyl: Them Bones, Down In A Hole, Rooster, Angry Chair and Would?
* 80-page hardbound book
* Exclusive Dirt-inspired art prints by Cody Melick, Victor Melendez, Brent McKee, and Eric Wolfe Sahlsten
* 2-sided foldout poster
* 8×10 band photo glossy
* Four reprinted show posters
* Reprinted setlist
* Dirt tour laminate

Dirt peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and remained on the Billboard charts for nearly two years. The album was voted Kerrang! Critic’s Choice Album of the Year for 1992 and in October 2011, Guitar World ranked Dirt as the number one guitar album of 1992.

MEGADETH RELEASE VISUALIZER FOR NEW SONG “SOLDIER ON!”

Megadeth has released a new single,  from the band’s sixteenth forthcoming studio album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, called Soldier On!, it can be streamed below.

Frontman Dave Mustaine says about Soldier On!, “Coming to the realization that you need to walk away from a relationship that’s very toxic, and how hard it can be to start down that road. But you know you need to, and just taking that first step is the hardest part. Whatever your leaving does to them, you have to block that part out, stay the course and do what’s right for you. It will be hard in the beginning, but you have got to live for yourself to be worth a damn to anyone else. You’ve got to soldier on.”

Megadeth have already released two other songs from The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, We’ll Be Back, which can be heard here, and Night Stalkers, here.

The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! track listing:

1.  The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
2.  Life In Hell
3.  Night Stalkers (feat. Ice T)
4.  Dogs Of Chernobyl
5.  Sacrifice
6.  Junkie
7.  Psychopathy
8.  Killing Time
9.  Soldier On!
10. Célebutante
11. Mission To Mars
12. We’ll Be Back
13. Police Truck (Dead Kennedys cover)
14. This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell) (Sammy Hagar cover) (feat. Sammy Hagar)

TED NUGENT DISCUSSES HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH EDDIE VAN HALEN AND SAYS “WHAT A GREAT MAN HE WAS”

On August 11th, Ted Nugent was a guest on Eddie’s Sirius/XM show, Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, where he discussed his friendship with guitar icon, Eddie Van Halen.

Nugent said (as per blabbermouth.net), “What a great man he was. What a force to reckon with, how he enriched our lives with his musical genius.

And let me clarify, in case Howard Stern, his lying punks are listening, because they made up a dirty f-king lie on The Howard Stern Show, that I was jealous of Eddie and that we had a contention because of the way we played guitar. What a bunch of f–king liars.”

“Eddie and I were dear friends,” Ted continued. “When Eddie became clean and sober, guess who his first phone call was. To me. Because I lovingly prodded him to get the drugs and alcohol and tobacco out of his life. I did it in a loving way, and he was resistant, as most people are, but we had a wonderful relationship.”

The Motorcity Madman also recalled a conversation he had with Van Halen when the band first opened for him 45 years ago.

“On that stage, I was fascinated to see what this guy was doing with a handmade guitar, back in ’77,” Nugent said. “And I went up and I said, ‘Hi, Eddie. I’m Ted. What is this rig? It’s awesome.’ And he whipped out those unbelievable, unique licks of his. And he handed me his guitar. And even though it was this unique rig and the amplification and all these effects and just one of a kind, as soon as I started playing his bastard Stratocaster, it sounded like me, because of the way I touch the instrument. But, not quite like a [Gibson] Birdland, because a Birdland just feeds back uncontrollably [laughs] — it’s like an angry, pissed off beast. And I handed him the Birdland and it fed back and fed back.”

“But here’s the takeaway, it’s in the hands and in the heart. It’s in the spirit of the musician,” he continued. “And when Eddie played my Birdland, and I was able to back it down a little bit so it wasn’t so out-of-control feedback, on my Gibson Birdland through my Fender amps, it sounded like Eddie f–king Van Halen, because he is it. And even with his rig — I would play some of my licks; I played the Cat Scratch lick and I played the Free-For-All lick — it sounded like Ted f–king Nugent.”

“But my point is: Eddie Van Halen, we all worship the gift he gave us,” Nugent added. “There was never a negative moment between Eddie and I. He and I got along just great. And we loved the same kind of music. And he had a miraculous touch on the guitar, and I had my own touch. And that moment, with those two different guitars and two different rigs, it proves that it really is in the hands of the individual. And it was a great, great moment. I cherish that moment.”

Three months ago, Nugent named Van Halen the best guitar player he has ever seen. “He was so diverse in not only his histrionics but his groove,” he said about Eddie. “He had an unbelievable organic sense of rhythm in his delivery of not just exciting lead guitar parts but his grind of a grooving rhythm as a white kid. He really defied the history of who can groove like that. ‘Cause I come from the world of the funk brothers of Motown, so I know what the gods of groove look and sound like. And Eddie Van Halen, the times I jammed with him, and just listening to the records, you can tell he had an unbelievable, uncanny Superman sense of rhythm beyond just his outrageous athleticism on the guitar neck.”

Nugent’s latest album, Detroit Muscle, on on April 29th. To read more about this release, and to listen to the first single,

Nugent’s latest album, Detroit Muscle, on on April 29th. To read more about this release, and to listen to the first single,

Nugent’s latest album, Detroit Muscle, on on April 29th. To read more about this release, and to listen to the first single, Come And Take It, please go here.

DIO’S “DONINGTON ’83” AND ” ’87” TO BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 23RD

On September 23rd, Niji Entertainment and BMG will re-release two legendary live performances from Dio at the Castle Donington festival in the United Kingdom. Donington ’83 captures the original Dio lineup on the Holy Diver tour and captures a young, hungry band three months after the release of their debut album. The set features classic tracks from Ronnie James Dio‘s already-amazing career as vocalist for Rainbow and Black Sabbath, alongside future classics like Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark and Stand Up And Shout.

Following three hugely successful studio albums and silver, gold and platinum certifications around the world, Donington ’87 captures the Dream Evil lineup and features such classics as The Last In Line, Rock ‘N’ Roll Children and All The Fools Sailed Away.

Additionally, the two discs contain killer renditions of both Rainbow and Black Sabbath classics, including Man On The Silver Mountain, Neon Knights, Stargazer and Heaven And Hell.

Donington ’83 and Donington ’87 is available in both limited-edition 2LP and CD configurations. Each features a 3D lenticular art print of the cover. The LP sets feature an exclusive etching on Side D.

Donington ’83

Personnel:

Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Vivian Campbell – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards

Track listing:

1.  Stand Up and Shout
2.  Straight Through The Heart
3.  Children Of The Sea
4.  Rainbow In The Dark
5.  Holy Diver
6.  Drum Solo
7.  Stargazer
8.  Guitar Solo
9.  Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. Starstruck
12. Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise)

Donington ’87:

Personnel:

Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards

Track listing:

1.  Dream Evil
2.  Neon Knights
3.  Naked In The Rain
4.  Rock ‘N’ Roll Children
5.  Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll
6.  The Last In Line
7.  Children Of The Sea
8.  Holy Diver
9.  Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. All The Fools Sailed Away
12. The Last In Line (Reprise)
13. Rainbow In The Dark